231: Chapter 231 Shield

Chu Ge watched as Captain Gong and his team approached the Energy Ball step by step; his heart was in his throat.

To say there was no danger at all would be a lie.

Deep down, Chu Ge was praying that nothing would go wrong, otherwise, he would be the one who harmed Captain Gong and his team.

The more one doesn't want something to go wrong, the more likely it is that it will; that's the damned Murphy's Law.

Captain Gong and his team hadn't even walked very close to the Energy Ball yet.

Chu Ge saw what looked like a surge of electrical current erupt, and then he saw Captain Gong and the other two being blown away like leaves.

They then slammed heavily onto the ground.

The incident happened too suddenly, and those on the scene didn't react in time.

Chu Ge was the first to rush to Captain Gong's side, slowly helped him up, and then began trying to call out to him.

Captain Gong's eyes rolled, and after a good while, he slowly regained consciousness, followed by a fit of coughing.

"Damn, it's okay, it's okay. It seems there's no major issue. Captain Gong, try to move around a bit."

Captain Gong followed orders, and after a while, he slowly stood up with Chu Ge's assistance.

"General Chu, I feel like I'm fine."

Chu Ge didn't reply but looked at his data terminal, which showed that aside from a slightly elevated heart rate, there were no other abnormalities.

"Hmm, we'll do a thorough check once we get back to the aerospace carrier. You sit for a while; I'm going to check on those two soldiers."

Captain Gong nodded. Chu Ge called a few people over to look after him, while he headed straight toward Elder Huang.

He had glanced over earlier; one of the two soldiers, like Captain Gong, had already been helped up, so it seemed there was no major issue there either.

Things seemed more serious over at Elder Huang's side; he had been calling out to that soldier over the team comms.

"How is it?" Chu Ge asked with concern after walking over, and the people gathered around the soldier made way for him.

"Vital signs are fine, but he remains unconscious. He might have hit his head when he landed," Elder Huang replied quickly.

"Guards, prepare a stretcher. Get ready to return to the surface; we need to rush back to the aerospace carrier as fast as possible. There's a medical bay there."

After hitting one's head, the issue could be minor or major; it all depends on the results of the examination.

One thing Chu Ge understood was that this couldn't be delayed. If there was truly some hemorrhaging in the brain, dragging it out could lead to a major problem.

Two guard soldiers quickly set up the stretcher, and the group lifted the injured soldier onto it.

Chu Ge returned to Captain Gong's side.

"Captain Gong, if you're not feeling well, you two should lie on a stretcher as well."

"No need, I've almost recovered." As Captain Gong said this, he even hopped in place a couple of times. Looking at his condition, Chu Ge didn't think he was just putting on a brave face.

Chu Ge helped Captain Gong check his protective suit again.

The outer armor layer of the protective suit had shattered, revealing the elastic bionic composite isolation layer inside.

Captain Gong followed Chu Ge's gaze toward his own protective suit.

"This suit saved my life, didn't it?"

"Yes."

Captain Gong didn't say anything else. Chu Ge patted Captain Gong on the shoulder and stood up.

"Attention, team. Pack up your gear immediately. We leave in 5 minutes. Return to the lunar surface at maximum speed."

"Yes!"

"Soldiers carrying the stretcher, be careful not to move too abruptly."

"Yes!"

The soldiers began assisting the experts and engineers in packing up the instruments. The scene was busy but not chaotic; this was a well-trained team, whether they were soldiers or scientific personnel.

After scanning the area, Chu Ge cast his gaze toward the blue Energy Ball.

Just a moment ago, Chu Ge had been too busy saving people to pay it any mind.

It was in a different state than before.

A transparent shield had appeared where it had blown Captain Gong and his team away.

The reason Chu Ge and his team could see this shield was that it blocked a portion of the light's penetration, causing an uncoordinated discontinuity between the light sources inside and outside the shield.

The shield appeared circular in form, and there seemed to be faint electric arcs wandering across its surface.

Chu Ge covered the distance in a few strides, instantly arriving before it.

"General Chu..." Before Captain Gong could finish his sentence, he saw Chu Ge extend a hand toward him. Chu Ge didn't turn back; he kept his eyes fixed on the Energy Ball.

He was a bit angry now.

Captain Gong didn't continue speaking either.

Chu Ge stared at the shield in front of him. "Quite the temper, huh? Believe it or not, I'll tear the ship hull behind you to pieces tomorrow!"

The Energy Ball, of course, wouldn't answer him, but the shield in front of it reacted.

The electric arcs on it intensified.

Chu Ge watched as the electric arcs wandering around suddenly gathered at the point facing him; he could almost hear that "zzzt" sound.

Chu Ge was greatly surprised. Could this Energy Ball actually understand his anger?

After a slight pause, Chu Ge resolutely took another step forward.

"You think only you have a shield?"

Elder Huang and the others were watching from the side; Chu Ge was talking to thin air, and for a moment, everyone was confused about the situation and kept looking toward Chu Ge.

"You just wait, I'll come back to deal with you tomorrow."

The blue Energy Ball showed no reaction, still emitting light that flickered on and off, but the transparent shield surrounding it seemed to respond to Chu Ge once more.

Unafraid.

Chu Ge didn't tangle with it any further and turned to leave. He didn't have time to delay here now; the soldier on the stretcher was still unconscious.

The five minutes were up, and after the group reformed their ranks, they began to head back along the path they came.

No one spoke on the way back; this silent team was advancing at full speed.

Directly beneath the shaft, Chu Ge had previously arranged for someone to make a mark.

When Chu Ge could faintly see the mark, he immediately tried to contact Captain Wang and the others.

Communication had returned to normal by this time.

Captain Wang's clear voice came through:

"Thank heavens, Academician Chu, you've finally contacted us. We've been calling you the whole time and were just about to prepare a rescue team to go down and find you..."

"Captain Wang, have the vehicles ready. Once we return to the lunar surface, the entire team will immediately return to the aerospace carrier."

Chu Ge didn't explain, but spoke to Captain Wang in a commanding tone.

"Yes, Academician Chu."

"Three team members are injured. I will arrange for them to go up immediately. Don't worry about us; just arrange for a tracked vehicle to take them back to the aerospace carrier first."

"Yes!" Captain Wang didn't ask any unnecessary questions and answered hurriedly.

After cutting off the call with Commander Wang, Chu Ge tried to connect to the Flight Control Center of the aerospace carrier.

"Chu Ge?" It was Commander Wang who answered. Commander Wang was so anxious that he even called out Chu Ge's full name.

"It's me, Commander Wang. Three guard soldiers are injured. I'm having them sent back to the aerospace carrier first; have the medical bay ready."

"Everything else, I'll explain to you in detail after I get back."

"Good, I'll arrange it immediately. Are the injuries serious?" Commander Wang still asked.

"Two of the team members should be fine, they just need some checks. One is more serious and is still unconscious."

"Unconscious? Then don't take the tracked vehicle; it's too slow. I'll arrange for a carrier-based aircraft to go over."

"Fine, you arrange it."

Chu Ge was arranging everything down to the smallest detail and had actually forgotten about the carrier-based aircraft.

A manned carrier-based aircraft could carry two people in addition to the pilot, was fast, and would also avoid the bumps of the vehicle.

Once everything was arranged, the suspension ladder was lowered, and Chu Ge immediately arranged for Captain Gong and the others to get on the ladder.

After the suspension ladder ascended, Chu Ge felt relieved. He began to plot how to take revenge on that ball, which was acting as arrogant as could be...