Chapter 114 We...Are Back

BOOM————!!!!

No sound could describe the commotion of this moment. It had already exceeded the limits of sound wave transmission; it was an earthquake acting directly upon the material structure itself.

Deep within the originally pitch-black and profound conduits, a glimmer of light suddenly ignited.

It was not the light of fire, nor was it the light of electricity.

It was an extremely pure, purple-gold frenzy carrying an aura of destruction!

The void crystal core, a high-dimensional energy body originally used to drive the heart of an interstellar warship, was completely induced into a chain reaction under the absolute high pressure of the combustion chamber. It was like a supernova detonated inside a sealed tin can.

The violent energy instantly filled the combustion chamber, then surged along the pre-set energy loops, frantically scouring the remaining 119,999 dormant engines.

"Energy circuits connected! Node ignition rate: 10%... 50%... 100%!"

gaia's originally gentle voice sounded somewhat sharp at this moment, "All units... ignite!"

THUD!

The entire Subspace felt as if it had been struck hard by a fist.

In the field of vision of everyone on the "luan bird", that scene was enough for them to remember for a lifetime.

The "South Pole" at the base of the fortress, that steel mountain range stretching for tens of thousands of kilometers, lit up.

One hundred and twenty thousand dark blue plasma beams erupted simultaneously!

Each beam was over ten kilometers in diameter and tens of thousands of kilometers long. They converged together, forming a sea of blue light sufficient to shroud the stars.

The terrifying reaction force erupted instantly.

This steel planet, with a diameter of two thousand kilometers and a mass calculated in quintillions of tons, emitted a teeth-gritting sound of metal twisting. Millions of years of dust were shaken off, resembling a global sandstorm.

It moved.

Although it was just a slight tremor, it had truly moved!

"Thrust output has reached peak! Constructing curvature bubble!" gaia reported, "Warning: The fortress's mass is too great, static inertia has exceeded the threshold! Starting speed is too slow! Estimated time to escape the collapse zone: 19 minutes."

"19 minutes?"

Lin Yuan looked at the black storm circle frantically approaching on the holographic projection, "By then, we'll already be dead!"

The space behind them was shattering like a cracker.

Collapse speed: 3000 kilometers per second.

And this behemoth's current starting speed was not even as fast as a slow mobility scooter.

This was just like a fully loaded heavy truck trying to start in a mud pit; even if the engine was revved to the point of exploding, the tires would just spin in place. It needed an initial traction force, even if just a little bit!

"Damn it..."

Lin Yuan glanced at the "ghost" which only had 3% energy left; this amount of energy wasn't even enough to tickle the fortress.

His gaze suddenly shifted to the "luan bird" hovering on the flank.

"Li Na!"

Lin Yuan's voice was like a thunderclap, "Turn on all of the luan bird's tractor beams! Lock them all onto the fortress's outer wall!"

"Captain?" Li Na's voice was trembling, "Our tonnage difference is a billion times! This is an ant dragging an elephant! It will snap the ship's keel!"

"If it snaps, we'll repair it when we get back!"

A crazy light flickered in Lin Yuan's eyes, "Listen! Right now, this fortress is a car stuck in the mud! Its engines are already spinning, it just needs someone to give it a push! Just one push!"

"Auxiliary engines at full power! Overload mode!"

"Pull for me!!!"

The command was the will.

The silver-black "luan bird" did not hesitate at all. All the auxiliary gun ports on the ship's body flipped, no longer firing lethal particle beams, but instead shooting out dozens of thick gravitational tractor beams, firmly "biting" onto the fortress's thick outer armor.

"Power group! Output to the max! Don't worry about whether the reactor will explode!"

Li Na pushed the power lever with all her might. At this moment, this usually gentle female officer roared like a grumpy dockworker.

HUM———!!!

The four-hundred-meter-long interstellar warship erupted at this moment with the most shrill roar of its life.

The Hall thrusters at the stern spewed out blinding white light, even beginning to turn red and melt due to the high temperature.

SNAP, SNAP, SNAP!

The tractor beams were instantly pulled taut, emitting a heart-palpitating humming sound.

The "luan bird"'s keel was groaning, and alarms rang throughout the bridge.

"Structural damage 20%... 35%..."

"Forget about it! Keep pulling!"

Against the backdrop of that vast, collapsing Subspace, this scene appeared tragic and absurd.

Behind them was the black void devouring all things, and in front was a steel planet as majestic as a kingdom of gods. And between the two, that tiny warship was like an ant trying with all its might to drag a giant.

An ant trying to shake a tree?

No.

Just at the moment when the luan bird was about to disintegrate.

That massive giant, under the traction of this insignificant external force, finally overcame that last bit of damn static inertia.

CREAK———

The fortress's speed jumped instantly from a few hundred meters per second to tens of thousands of kilometers per second!

The thrust generated by the 120,000 planetary engines finally overcame the deathly silence.

"It moved! It moved!" Academician Wang was so excited that tears streamed down his face; the tablet in his hand was crushed, "Speed is rising exponentially! Curvature bubble forming!"

"Release the traction! Quick!"

Lin Yuan roared.

Li Na cut off the beams almost subconsciously.

The next second, the "luan bird" was violently repelled by the gravitational waves formed around the fortress, tumbling and flying away like a fallen leaf.

And that fortress named "gate of hades" had already turned into a streak of blue light.

Braving the turbulent currents filling the sky, it crashed fiercely into the boundary barrier of the Subspace with an indomitable posture.

"Impact countdown: 3... 2... 1!"

RUMBLE———!

There was no sound.

That was the ultimate overload of vision.

The massive metal shell rubbed violently against the spatial barrier, igniting a brilliant fire brighter than a star. That was the spark of dimensions, the collision of rules.

Must get out...

Lin Yuan stared fixedly ahead in the violently jolting cockpit.

Must bring it back.

This is humanity's future. It is the assurance that this planet will no longer be bullied.

CRACK.

It was as if a mirror had been shattered.

The field of vision that was originally filled with black cracks and turbulent currents suddenly cleared.

All the noise, all the vibrations, all the alarms vanished in this instant.

Replacing them was a kind of eternal tranquility.

It was a profound black.

And on that endless black curtain, hundreds of millions of dazzling diamonds were dotted about.

"This is..."

Lin Yuan blinked somewhat blankly, his eyelashes, matted with blood, trembling slightly.

He saw a familiar fireball.

Although the distance was still vast, against the pitch-black cosmic background, that star emitting a warm yellow glow was so familiar.

The Sun.

And on the third orbit of the Sun, that azure planet hung quietly there, so beautiful it made one want to cry.

"Coordinates confirmed: Outer side of the Solar System's Kuiper Belt."

Succeeded.

Really succeeded.

The massive titan fortress had by now shut down its main engines, gliding through the void relying on inertia. It was like a lost traveler that had suddenly intruded into the Solar System, bearing a body full of scars and vicissitudes, quietly watching this young star system.

And beside it, the tiny "luan bird" and the even tinier "ghost" mech were like two fireflies flying alongside.

The communication channel was dead silent.

No one cheered.

Under the massive shock of such a narrow escape, cheering seemed too frivolous.

There were only Li Na's suppressed sobs and Academician Wang's rapid breathing.

Lin Yuan lifted his hand with great effort, wiped the blood from his face, and his mouth curled up bit by bit, finally turning into an incredibly brilliant, yet extremely exhausted smile.

He pressed the all-channel communication button.

His voice was hoarse, yet it carried a power that put people at ease.

"We... are back."