44: Meteor shower crisis, suspension bridge effect

"Warning! Warning! High-energy reaction detected ahead!"

"Shield energy dropping to 85%... 80%..."

The shrill alarm echoed throughout the bridge, and the red warning lights flashed frantically, casting flickering, uneven light on everyone's faces.

The spaceship was shaking violently.

Like a small boat caught in a raging sea, every impact was accompanied by a teeth-gritting screech of metal.

"Ahhh—!"

Screams from the girls came from the lower living quarters.

Even through the thick deck, one could feel the panic.

Gu Pingsheng sat in the captain's chair, his hands gripping the armrests so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

His eyes were fixed on the holographic screen.

On the screen, countless burning meteors rained down like a storm. Each one dragged a long tail of fire, carving trails of death across the dark universe.

It was too dense.

There was simply no way to avoid it.

"Alice! How much longer can the shield hold?"

"Reporting, Master! Based on the current frequency of impacts, the shield is estimated to hold for another 5 minutes!"

Alice's voice remained calm, but her speaking speed had clearly increased.

"5 minutes..."

Gu Pingsheng narrowed his eyes.

This meteor shower belt was even wider than the radar had indicated.

If they tried to tank it, once the shield shattered, the spaceship would be riddled with holes in an instant.

"Full speed ahead!"

Gu Pingsheng made a decisive choice.

"Divert all power to the engines and shields! Push through!"

"Yes!"

The roar of the engines instantly pitched up an octave.

A massive G-force hit, pinning everyone tightly against their seats.

The spaceship, like an angry bull, charged forward, accelerating wildly against the meteor shower.

"Boom!"

A massive meteorite grazed the side of the spaceship, sending violent blue ripples across the shield's surface, as if it would shatter the next second.

Lin Qinghan sat in the officer's seat, her face pale.

She bit her lip tightly, her hands operating rapidly on the console to assist Alice in adjusting the shield's energy distribution.

"Port side damaged! Shield overloaded!"

"Starboard thruster temperature too high!"

Bad news came one after another.

Just then.

"Bang—!"

A loud crash.

The entire spaceship jolted violently, as if slapped hard by an invisible giant hand.

The lights on the bridge instantly went out, leaving only the eerie red glow of the emergency lights.

"What's going on?!"

Gu Pingsheng asked loudly.

"Report!"

For the first time, there was a trace of fluctuation in Alice's voice.

"A meteorite containing high-energy ore pierced the upper-left corner of the shield and struck the hull directly!"

"External communication antenna damaged! Navigation system offline!"

Navigation offline.

In this chaotic meteor belt, losing navigation was equivalent to being blinded.

They would either hit a larger meteorite or get lost in deep space.

"We must repair it immediately!"

Gu Pingsheng unbuckled his seatbelt and stood up.

The spaceship was still shaking, and he had to hold onto the console to steady himself.

"Alice, take over piloting, maintain a straight course!"

"Lin Qinghan!"

"Here!"

Lin Qinghan stood up straight instinctively, even though her legs were still trembling slightly.

"Come with me."

Gu Pingsheng looked at her, his eyes calm and firm.

"We have to go EVA."

...

Airlock chamber.

The air was pumped out, and the surroundings became deathly silent.

Gu Pingsheng and Lin Qinghan had already put on heavy EVA suits.

This type of spacesuit was the basic model that came with the spaceship; it was bulky, cumbersome, and felt like a tin can when worn.

"Check oxygen."

"Oxygen normal."

"Check thrusters."

"Thrusters normal."

"Check safety tether."

Gu Pingsheng walked over to Lin Qinghan and reached out to pull the safety tether fastened to her waist.

That thin alloy rope was their only lifeline in space.

Through the helmet visor, he saw Lin Qinghan's face.

Her face was very pale, her lips were pressed tight, and a hint of imperceptible fear was hidden in her eyes.

After all, this was her first space walk.

And in such a dangerous environment, too.

"Are you afraid?"

Gu Pingsheng's voice came through the bone-conduction headset with a slight static hiss, sounding somewhat distorted, yet strangely reassuring.

Lin Qinghan took a deep breath.

"Not afraid."

She replied stubbornly.

Gu Pingsheng smiled.

Through the thick visor, he seemed to be able to see her putting on a brave front.

"That's good."

He reached out and, through his glove, gently patted her helmet.

"Stay close to me."

"Don't let go."

The airlock door slowly opened.

In that instant, the vast starry sky was revealed to them without reservation.

Beautiful.

Extremely beautiful.

Countless meteors streaked past them like a grand fireworks display. In the distance, the nebula emitted magnificent light—purple, red, blue—interweaving into a dreamlike painting.

But also deadly.

Every meteor was a sickle of death.

Gu Pingsheng floated out first.

The thrusters emitted a faint airflow, pushing him to move slowly through space.

Lin Qinghan followed closely behind.

She gripped the safety tether tightly, her movements stiff, like a child who had just learned to walk.

It was too quiet all around.

Except for Gu Pingsheng's breathing in the headset, nothing could be heard.

This extreme silence could give one the illusion of being abandoned by the world.

"A little to the left, avoid that piece of debris."

Gu Pingsheng's voice rang out at the right moment, breaking the silence.

Lin Qinghan snapped out of it and hurriedly adjusted her posture.

The two of them, like two tiny ants, clung to the outer wall of the massive spaceship, moving with difficulty toward the damaged antenna.

The spaceship was still flying at high speed.

Although they couldn't feel the speed in a relatively stationary state, watching the meteors streak past, that heart-stopping feeling still lingered.

Finally.

They saw the damaged antenna.

That huge metal pillar had been smashed and bent, with several cables exposed, sizzling and sparking.

"I'll fix it; you help me illuminate it."

Gu Pingsheng took the toolbox from his waist.

Lin Qinghan nodded and turned on the searchlight on her helmet, focusing the beam on the broken connection point.

The repair work was not complicated.

It only required replacing a few modules and reconnecting the lines.

But in this environment, every movement became exceptionally difficult.

The thick gloves made his fingers lose dexterity, and the zero-gravity environment meant his body couldn't find leverage.

Gu Pingsheng operated with full concentration.

Sweat flowed down his forehead and into his eyes, stinging unbearably. But he couldn't wipe it, so he could only blink hard to squeeze the sweat out.

Lin Qinghan held the light to the side, not daring to even breathe loudly.

She looked at Gu Pingsheng's profile.

Focused, calm, determined.

In this space where they could lose their lives at any moment, this man's back became her only reliance.

"Done."

Ten minutes later.

Gu Pingsheng let out a breath and closed the cover plate.

"Communication restored, navigation online."

Alice's voice came through the headset: "Signal received! Recalculating route!"

Success!

Lin Qinghan felt a surge of joy, and her tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

However.

Just then.

"Watch out!"

Gu Pingsheng suddenly roared.

Before Lin Qinghan could react, she felt a massive force hit her shoulder.

"Bang!"

A fist-sized piece of debris grazed her left shoulder at extremely high speed.

Although it didn't pierce the spacesuit, the massive kinetic energy directly severed the auxiliary thruster tube on her left side.

"Hiss—!"

The thruster tube ruptured, and high-pressure gas sprayed out frantically.

Lin Qinghan's body instantly lost balance, spinning violently in space like a top.

"Ahhh—!"

She screamed in terror.

The centrifugal force from the rotation made it impossible for her to control her body.

What was even more terrifying was that the spewing gas was pushing her away from the spaceship, toward the bottomless depths of the universe.

The safety tether instantly went taut.

"Snap!"

A crisp sound.

Because of the immense pulling force, the hook of the safety tether actually came loose!

"Don't move! Don't struggle!"

Gu Pingsheng roared.

He watched Lin Qinghan, who was rapidly drifting away, his pupils constricting sharply.

If the safety tether broke, she would truly never come back.

In this vast universe, drifting away alone meant certain death.

Without hesitation.

Gu Pingsheng kicked off the outer wall of the spaceship hard.

Thrusters at full power.

He shot out like a cannonball.

"Grab me!"

He shouted in the communication channel.

The distance was closing.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Three meters.

Lin Qinghan saw Gu Pingsheng charging over amidst her spinning.

He was against the light, with the meteor shower behind him.

At that moment, he was like a god descending from the heavens.

"Hand! Give me your hand!"

Gu Pingsheng reached out.

Lin Qinghan reached out desperately.

Two heavy gloves collided in the void, then locked together tightly.

"Got you!"

Gu Pingsheng pulled hard, dragging Lin Qinghan into his arms.

"Thud!"

Their spacesuits collided heavily.

Gu Pingsheng wrapped one arm around her waist and used the other to quickly shut off her damaged thruster tube.

The spinning finally stopped.

The two floated in space, drifting slowly with inertia.

All around was endless darkness and starlight.

Lin Qinghan hugged Gu Pingsheng's waist tightly, her whole body trembling.

In that instant just now, she truly thought she was going to die.

That fear of being swallowed by the endless abyss almost made her break down.

"It's okay now."

Gu Pingsheng's voice rang in her ear.

Very light, very steady.

Carrying a force that made one feel at ease.

Their helmets were pressed tightly together.

Through the visor, Lin Qinghan could clearly see Gu Pingsheng's eyes.

In those eyes, there was no fear, only deep calmness.

And a hint of... tenderness she had never seen before.

"Look at me."

Gu Pingsheng said in a low voice.

Lin Qinghan looked up instinctively, meeting his gaze.

The distance between them was extremely close.

Even though separated by two layers of glass, that meeting of eyes was more intense than any physical contact.

Breathing echoed in the narrow helmet.

Rapid, heavy.

Lin Qinghan could hear her own heartbeat.

Thump, thump, thump.

Fast, as if it were about to jump out of her chest.

Was it because of the fear just now?

Or was it because of... this man's embrace at this moment?

Gu Pingsheng's arms were strong, and even through the heavy spacesuit, she could still feel that tight grip.

He held her prisoner in his arms, as if he wanted to merge her into his own bones and blood.

In this deathly silent space, they were each other's only reliance.

This feeling of depending on each other for survival caused a strange warm current to surge in Lin Qinghan's heart.

The original fear slowly receded, replaced by a palpitation she had never felt before.

She was no longer that aloof officer.

Nor was she that iceberg who needed to remain calm at all times.

At this moment, she was just a woman.

A little woman who was protected and saved.

"Hold on tight to me."

Gu Pingsheng looked at her glistening eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned.

"We are going back."

He activated his thrusters.

Carrying Lin Qinghan, he flew slowly toward the spaceship.

...

Airlock chamber.

Air pressure balanced.

"Hiss—"

Gu Pingsheng took off his helmet and tossed it aside.

He breathed in the fresh air deeply and shook his hair, which was soaked with sweat.

Then he turned around to help Lin Qinghan unfasten her helmet lock.

"Click."

Helmet removed.

Lin Qinghan's long hair instantly cascaded down, sticking to her face in a somewhat messy way.

Her face was very red, and her forehead was covered in fine beads of sweat.

Those usually cold eyes were now glistening with moisture, carrying a hint of lingering fragility.

"Are you okay?"

Gu Pingsheng asked.

Lin Qinghan opened her mouth, wanting to speak.

But her legs suddenly went weak.

Her whole body uncontrollably slid downward.

Gu Pingsheng was quick-witted, catching her by the waist and pulling her into his arms.

This time, there was no thick spacesuit in the way.

Their bodies were pressed tightly together.

Lin Qinghan was wearing a tight-fitting Nano-Combat Suit; that special material wrapped around her body like a second skin, outlining perfect curves.

Gu Pingsheng could clearly feel the softness of her body, as well as that intense heartbeat.

"Just now..."

Lin Qinghan leaned against his chest, her voice somewhat choked with emotion.

"I thought... I was going to die..."

She looked up at Gu Pingsheng.

Tears at the corners of her eyes finally couldn't help but fall.

That relief of surviving, mixed with reliance on the man in front of her, completely broke down her psychological defenses.

Gu Pingsheng looked at her.

Looking at this woman who was usually as strong as a rock, now crying in his arms like a child.

He didn't speak.

He just reached out and gently wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes.

His fingertips were rough, carrying a hint of warmth.

Brushing across her delicate cheek, causing a shiver.

"Silly girl."

He said in a low voice.

"With me here, even the Grim Reaper cannot take you away."

Lin Qinghan shuddered.

She looked into Gu Pingsheng's deep eyes and felt as if she were about to sink into them.

Driven by an impulse.

She stood on tiptoe.

Her hands climbed onto Gu Pingsheng's shoulders.

Leaning in.

Leaning in closer.

Until their breaths intertwined.

That was a kiss with the taste of salty tears.

It was also a kiss that blossomed on the edge of life and death.