436: Don't open the cabin (two-in-one)

Seven days after the warp jump.

The Stone Statue reappeared punctually.

"It really can't be shaken off, not even with a warp jump."

Lin Yang was also somewhat shocked by the statue's strangeness and power.

Every time it appeared, it was in the same state: stationary, and could be directly bypassed.

Logically, after bypassing it, the Stone Statue should have been left behind.

But every time they encountered the statue, it appeared directly in front of the battleship.

Now, even under continuous warp jumps, it remained the same, which completely ruled out the possibility of the Stone Statue constantly chasing and moving behind them.

Because they had already conducted several experiments before, when the Stone Statue hadn't appeared on the seventh day, the spaceship began a comprehensive scan of all detectable areas front and back.

But even one second before the Stone Statue appeared, no statue could be detected in the surroundings; the Stone Statue always appeared out of thin air in front.

In fact, once Lin Yang even had a sudden idea and instructed the spaceship to fly back two days after leaving the Stone Statue, wanting to see if the Stone Statue was following far behind, but he didn't see the Stone Statue along the way.

Now, with it still happening after warp jumps, it at least completely proves one of the Stone Statue's follow-up mechanisms: it utilizes some unknown power, no matter how far the pursued moves, as long as it is within the Unknown Space, the Stone Statue can precisely lock onto and instantly appear.

This is an extremely eerie and terrifying method.

"After seven days of ultra-long-distance warp jumps, the Stone Statue can still accurately follow. What kind of power is this!"

Lin Yang exclaimed.

This was simply an unimaginable ability.

Afterward, he no longer paid much attention to the statue and went to hibernate as well.

When they arrive to support the Fifth Team in the fifth sector, they will enter a major battle, and it will be difficult to rest then.

He would use the remaining time to recuperate and prepare for the battle against the unknown Life forms attacking the Fifth Team.

Time flew by, and more than thirty days passed.

"All crew members, please note, we have arrived at the target area. This super warp jump has ended."

The voice of the Vermilion Bird intelligent system echoed within the battleship.

Immediately after, Lin Yang and the others emerged from their hibernation pods, one by one.

"We're here!"

Everyone instantly entered combat readiness.

"Vermilion Bird, re-precisely locate the distress signal source," Lin Yang instructed.

Now they needed to confirm if the Fifth Team's battleship still existed.

The positioning system flickered for thirty seconds, then the Vermilion Bird intelligent system said:

"Captain, the original signal source has been destroyed and cannot be located. We have re-located the Fourth Team's battleship via wartime authorization. We are now three days of super warp jump distance from the Fourth Team's battleship's current location. Would you like to initiate another super warp jump?"

Lin Yang's brows furrowed.

The original signal source being destroyed meant that the Fifth Team's battleship had already been destroyed.

"It's been over thirty days; it's normal for the battleship to be destroyed," Que Tian said slowly.

Lin Yang nodded: "Then let's initiate another super warp jump to the Fourth Team's battleship."

"Vermilion Bird received. Super warp jump mode has been reactivated and will enter super warp jump state in thirty seconds."

"By the way, Vermilion Bird, did you not locate any Fifth Team member devices or other personnel's devices?" Lin Yang asked again.

He didn't see any other signal sources on the positioning system.

There was only the red dot representing the Fourth Team's battleship.

This was not normal.

When entering a state of war, all team members would activate their combat device positioning.

Now that the Fourth Team's battleship could be located, it meant that the Fourth Team had already arrived as support, so in addition to the battleship itself, every member's device should also be locatable.

But now, no personal equipment information for the members was retrieved, which was a bit strange.

"Captain, only the Fourth Team's battleship has been located for now," Vermilion Bird replied.

"This..." Lin Yang instantly had a bad premonition.

As the saying goes, when things are abnormal, there must be a demon.

This abnormal phenomenon most likely meant that other unexpected events and troubles might have occurred.

This was not a good sign.

"Team Leader, maybe they actively turned off their positioning devices."

Cai Fei saw Lin Yang's worry and couldn't help but say.

"I hope so. For these three days, everyone should prepare themselves. We'll assess the situation when we arrive near the Fourth Team's battleship."

Lin Yang said, while also sending a message to the Fourth Team through the team intercom device, inquiring about the situation.

Now the distance between them was very close; at such a short distance, communication should be almost real-time.

However, the Fourth Team never replied.

"This is very abnormal," Lin Yang frowned, and then sent messages to the other teams separately.

Soon, the First and Second Teams replied, stating that they were too far away and had not yet provided support. They hoped Lin Yang would inform them of the support situation upon arrival to determine if they needed to increase their support.

Except for the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Teams, all other teams sent similar messages.

Lin Yang was not surprised by this.

Because as early as when they entered the Unknown Space, there had been prior instructions regarding rescue.

Under normal circumstances, if one team encountered danger, the two adjacent teams would go to their aid.

This ensured timely support and did not delay the exploration of other teams.

Only if the two adjacent teams' support still failed to resolve the current crisis would other teams increase their support.

Their team was the Third Team, and logically, they shouldn't have needed to provide support this time.

It was only because they wanted to test the Stone Statue's follow-up mechanism that they joined the support mission.

But now, with the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Teams all uncontactable, Lin Yang felt that the situation might be more serious.

At the very first moment the Fifth Team sent out a distress signal, both the Fourth and Sixth Teams immediately went to provide support.

Now that the Fourth Team had already arrived, the Sixth Team should also be close to arriving, if not already there.

Even if not, they should still be not too far away.

But now, Vermilion Bird could only locate the Fourth Team's battleship, which was clearly not right.

After a pause, Lin Yang sent another message: "Everyone, I am Lin Yang, leader of the Third Team. My team has initially arrived in the rescue zone, but we cannot contact the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Teams."

"My team can currently only locate the Fourth Team's battleship and cannot locate any other member devices."

"Therefore, my team speculates that the danger level may have escalated. My team is currently warping to the Fourth Team's battleship's location, estimated to arrive in three days."

"If, after three days, my team does not timely transmit rescue-related information and reports to you all, please consider providing support as appropriate, or promptly withdraw from the Unknown Space. The Unknown Space is suspected to have new unknown dangers, including the strange statue my team encountered, which may trigger new unknown crises at any time. Please be aware, all teams."

As soon as Lin Yang finished speaking, Que Tian and the others looked over. Cai Fei even asked in confusion: "Team Leader, what is this..."

Lin Yang looked at the endless darkness outside and said faintly: "Under the current circumstances, we need to give a warning to the other teams in advance. A danger that three teams—the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth—combined cannot resolve, and even cannot transmit warning information to us in time, shows how serious the situation is!"

"While we can still contact other teams, we should naturally be cautious, give an early warning, and arrange things to minimize unnecessary personnel losses. If we really encounter an intractable problem, it can also let them know the seriousness of the situation and leave the Unknown Space in time, requesting support from Alien Management Bureau powerhouses."

Upon hearing this, Cai Fei immediately gave a thumbs up and exclaimed: "Team Leader, when it comes to being steady, I only admire you. This is a bit too steady..."

Que Tian and the other three also nodded in agreement.

Even without knowing the specific situation, Lin Yang immediately made arrangements for the worst outcome, which was indeed very steady.

"Prepare for battle."

Lin Yang, however, said no more... Three days later.

"We're here!"

As the Vermilion Bird ship stopped warping, Lin Yang and the others instantly prepared for battle.

At this moment, they could already vaguely see the lights on the Fourth Team's battleship.

For these three days, due to precise positioning lock, Vermilion Bird had warped directly to the closest position to the Fourth Team's battleship.

Now, through the porthole, they could already see the Fourth Team's battleship.

At this time, the Fourth Team's battleship was still sailing deeper into the Unknown Space.

"It's really strange. Normally, they should know that we've come to support them. Why aren't they letting the battleship actively rendezvous with us? Instead, they're continuously sailing deeper. They haven't shown any intention of meeting us midway during these three days."

Looking at the Fourth Team's battleship right in front of them, Cai Fei couldn't help but say.

"I don't know, but, no matter what, since we've arrived to support, let's just dock directly. Try to approach the Fourth Battleship and continue to establish a link."

Lin Yang shook his head and directly instructed Vermilion Bird to continue approaching.

As for the question Cai Fei raised, they had actually been very puzzled by it for these three days.

After all, under normal circumstances, knowing that your reinforcements have arrived, you would definitely try every means to approach the direction of the reinforcements in order to rendezvous as quickly as possible.

But the Fourth Team's battleship, on the other hand, continued to sail deeper.

This was clearly an abnormal behavior as well.

Lin Yang pondered for a moment and began sending messages to the other teams.

They had agreed three days ago that they would provide feedback in a timely manner after their arrival.

Now, the strangeness of the Fourth Team also needed to be communicated promptly.

However, as the message was sent, it quickly showed 'sending failed'!

"Hmm? Sending failed?" Lin Yang couldn't help but become serious. "Vermilion Bird, are the battleship's information network and equipment not functioning normally?"

"Captain, everything is normal."

Vermilion Bird, however, gave a reply that everything was normal.

"Normal? Then why can't the message be sent?" Lin Yang frowned.

"Perhaps it's being interfered with by an unknown force or magnetic field," Que Tian said. "Perhaps this is also why the Fourth Team couldn't transmit information to us. It's possible that after entering a certain range of this area, they were affected by this magnetic field or force."

Lin Yang looked at him: "Have you encountered this before?"

He was referring to the exploration teams of the Taixuan Ancient Dynasty.

Que Tian shook his head: "Never. I'm just guessing."

"Then it seems we're about to witness something new. Even in the records of the Alien Management Bureau, they haven't encountered a situation where messages couldn't be sent; at most, there was a longer delay," Lin Yang said.

Indeed, within the Ten Thousand Universes, there were some places with special magnetic fields that could interfere with or even block signals.

But they were extremely rare.

Those that could affect ninth-level civilization communication were even rarer.

And within the Unknown Space, they had never been encountered.

Whether it was transmitting information to the outside world or sending messages to other teams within the Unknown Space, this phenomenon of sending failure had never occurred.

At most, the transmission speed was very slow.

Now, it directly showed 'sending failed,' which could be said to be a first encounter.

"Team Leader, this is clearly not right. Do we really still need to proceed with docking?" Cai Fei said with some hesitation.

They were already this close, the Fourth Team wasn't replying, and they couldn't send messages to other teams. This already amounted to a clear indication that they had encountered a new, unknown danger.

Continuing to approach was too risky.

It wasn't steady enough at all.

Lin Yang, however, said in a deep voice: "We've already come to support. Wouldn't retreating now be a waste of all our efforts?"

Que Tian also nodded: "Team Leader is right. Our main purpose in coming all this way is to provide support. At the very least, we need to find out what danger they've encountered and what the current situation is."

Yuan Hao glanced at Cai Fei and teased: "What? Scared? If you're scared, then go hide in the escape pod later."

..."What the hell? Am I scared? What are you kidding about?" Cai Fei instantly became anxious. "I just said it casually. Go to an escape pod? What's the difference between that and being a deserter? I, Cai, would rather die than be a deserter!"

..."You two stop bickering. After the battleship docks, I'll board first. You guys wait on the Vermilion Bird. If the situation is unusual, just disconnect and run. If I don't come out in time, then Que Tian will be the new Team Leader!" Lin Yang waved his hand, interrupting Cai Fei and Yuan Hao, and made arrangements.

"Ah? Team Leader, you'll board first? How can that be? Let me go first instead." Cai Fei was stunned.

He only liked to make small jokes; when it came to real issues, he was not ambiguous.

"That's right, Team Leader. As the Team Leader, you are the backbone. Let us go first instead," Yuan Hao also said.

"I'll go," Lin Yang waved his hand.

As the Team Leader and the strongest in the team, he had to lead by example.

This was also the responsibility a Team Leader should bear.

"Team Leader, I'll go with you," Que Tian suddenly said. "With the two of us together, if we really encounter trouble, our chances of getting away are greater."

Lin Yang looked at Que Tian, initially wanting to refuse, as if both of them fell into danger, Cai Fei and the other three would be even more at risk. But after a slight pause, he nodded and said, "Alright, then the two of us will board together."

Although he was the champion of the last Cosmic Competition, Que Tian's strength clearly still had some reservations.

The two of them working together was indeed safer.

After speaking, Lin Yang again instructed Cai Fei and the other three: "Given the current inability to transmit information, within the first ten minutes after Que Tian and I enter, regardless of the situation, one of us will come out on time to inform you."

"If neither of us comes out after the first ten minutes, it means the danger level is beyond control. Do not hesitate, run immediately. After getting out of the signal interference and shielding area, tell the other teams not to provide any more support, and to quickly move away from the Unknown Space."

With him and Que Tian working together, their combat power was already among the top fifty in this batch. If even the two of them couldn't escape, then there wouldn't be much point in other teams coming over.

"Understood!"

Cai Fei and the other three immediately responded seriously.

Soon, Vermilion Bird fully approached the Fourth Team's battleship.

Lin Yang and Que Tian, each wearing a single-person combat device, rapidly rushed towards the Fourth Battleship.

However, just as the hatch was about to open, a human face suddenly appeared pressed against a porthole of the Fourth Battleship, shouting at them.

But no sound was transmitted.

Only vaguely from the shape of the mouth could it be seen that the person was shouting:

"Don't open the hatch!"