303: The choice between the hunting game and "hope"

"Qianlong" darted through the "underwater jungle" of metal debris on the periphery of the "Anvil" like a vigilant silver fish.

Behind it, the dark golden figures of the "Hunting Bees" clung to it like bone-deep maggots, refusing to let go.

These "Hunting Bees" were different from all the Swarm units encountered before.

They were more slender and streamlined, with mirror-smooth surfaces and almost no protruding structures.

They flew in complete silence, causing only a faint ripple in space during sharp turns.

Their speed was immense; their short-range bursts could even briefly exceed the standard cruising speed of "Qianlong."

Furthermore, they seemed equipped with more advanced tracking and locking Systems, making it difficult for "Qianlong" to completely shake them off, even in complex environments.

[Target unit's speed and maneuverability exceed expectations. Continued pursuit will consume a large amount of energy and may lead to being lured into a pre-set trap area.] "Qianlong's" consciousness calmly analyzed the situation.

Xiao Wu, in charge of navigation, had sweat on its brow, its fingers darting across the star map: "We can't run in a straight line! Use the 'Flipped Ruins' ahead. The structure there is unstable and the energy turbulence is strong. Let's see if we can shake them off or make them crash into something!"

The "Flipped Ruins" was an extremely unique area, formed by countless massive starship wrecks twisted, flipped, and interlocked by some immense force.

It was like a colossal, chaotic metal Rubik's Cube, filled with intricate internal passages, powerful chaotic gravity, and energy vortices—a natural labyrinth and a treacherous place.

"Qianlong" did not hesitate and plunged into the metal labyrinth, which resembled the internal organs of a giant beast.

It shrank its form to the extreme, nimbly weaving through narrow gaps and twisted passages, occasionally braking urgently to avoid suddenly appearing broken steel beams, and at other times using the shadows of the wreckage for brief concealment.

The "Hunting Bees" followed closely behind.

Their performance in the labyrinth was equally excellent, perhaps even more "cold-blooded."

When faced with narrow gaps they couldn't pass through, they would directly fire slender energy beams to cut or melt them; when encountering energy vortices, they would force their way through with their robust bodies, though the dark golden glow on their surfaces would dim slightly.

This was a death race on a knife's edge.

"Qianlong" managed to maintain distance by relying on its familiarity with the terrain (partly from "pangolin" probe data) and extreme maneuverability, but its energy reserves were dropping rapidly, and it narrowly dodged the "Hunting Bees'" predictive interception shots several times.

"This won't work!" Xiao Wu said anxiously, "The energy of 'Qianlong' cannot support high-intensity pursuit and stealth for much longer!"

Just then, "Qianlong's" detectors captured an exceptionally powerful and unstable energy turbulence at the end of the passage ahead, which appeared to be an "Energy Storm Eye" formed by the collision of two energy fields with different properties.

A bold idea flashed through the mind of Wen Youyi (Divided Soul).

"Qianlong, calculate: if we lure those 'tailing bugs' behind us into that 'Storm Eye' and use the chaos of the energy collision, is there a chance to counterattack, or at least heavily damage them?"

[Calculating...] "Qianlong's" consciousness operated at high speed, [Feasible. But the risk is extremely high. Precise control of timing and position is required. Recommendation: Upon reaching the influence zone of the Storm Eye, perform extreme deceleration and sharp turns to induce the pursuers to enter the core area of the energy collision first. We will use the resulting brief energy shielding and shockwaves to evade, and seize the opportunity to use the "starlight focusing array" to attack their weak points exposed by the energy interference.]

"Execute!" Wen Youyi (Divided Soul) made the decision instantly.

"Qianlong" no longer just fled blindly. Instead, it began to consciously fine-tune its course, leading the "Hunting Bees" behind it toward the "Energy Storm Eye."

It even deliberately exposed a flaw by slowing down just a fraction, tempting the "Hunting Bees" to accelerate closer.

The "Hunting Bees" fell for it, thinking the "prey" was exhausted. They instantly burst into higher speeds, flanking in a pincer formation!

Just as both sides were about to rush into the edge of the colorful and violently churning "Storm Eye," "Qianlong's" thrusters fired in reverse.

The ship's hull made a sharp lateral turn at an angle that almost defied physical laws, like a falling leaf, narrowly skimming past the edge of the Storm Eye!

The three "Hunting Bees" in the lead could not stop in time—or rather, they never expected the "prey" to pull such a suicidal maneuver—and plunged headlong into the core area where the energy collision was most violent!

Boom!!!

A silent explosion bloomed in the vacuum.

The chaotic energy flow erupted like a lake surface struck by a giant boulder!

Blinding golden, purple, and silvery-white energy turbulence intertwined, collided, and annihilated, instantly engulfing the three "Hunting Bees"!

The dark golden glow on their surfaces flickered and dimmed like a candle in the wind, their structures groaned under the unbearable load, one weaker one disintegrated in mid-air, and the other two were heavily damaged, sent tumbling away with out-of-control trajectories.

"Now!" "Qianlong" stabilized its posture.

The "starlight focusing array" on its bow had already locked onto the two heavily damaged, tumbling "Hunting Bees."

Two condensed, silvery-white beams shot out precisely, like the scythe of a grim reaper delivering the finishing blow, completely ending their ability to act.

The remaining two "Hunting Bees" further away slowed down in shock at this sudden turn of events; clearly, their "logic" could not comprehend such a mutually destructive tactic.

"Qianlong" did not linger. Taking advantage of the enemy's hesitation and the chaos before the energy storm subsided, it injected its last bit of energy into the thrusters, transformed into a streak of silver light, and disappeared deep into the labyrinth.

A thrilling hunt and counter-hunt ended in a pyrrhic victory for "Qianlong."

But it had paid a price: energy reserves dropped to 35%, some external armor was grazed by the edge of the energy storm, and the stealth System needed time to cool down and recover.

"'Qianlong' is temporarily out of danger but needs time to recover and replenish energy," the consciousness of Wen Youyi (Divided Soul) transmitted back to the bridge of "hope."

"It cannot perform high-intensity harassment missions for a short time."

"'hope' received," Wen Youyi (Main Body) frowned slightly.

Without the continuous harassment from "Qianlong," the "Bee Queen's" control over the Swarm would quickly recover, and the pressure from the pursuers behind would increase again.

Sure enough, not long after, the pursuit formation of the Swarm behind became noticeably more coordinated, and their speed increased again, causing the distance to "hope" to begin shrinking slowly but steadily.

[Warning: The Swarm behind has finished re-integrating. It is estimated that in one hour, the vanguard 'Soldier Drones' will enter effective firing range.] The report from the "hope" ship spirit rang out again.

The atmosphere on the bridge became heavy again.

One hour was not long.

"Has our speed reached its limit?" Zhao Iron Pillar roared in the communication channel.

He was in the engine room staring at the power output meter, wishing he could go down and push it himself.

[Current engine output is 92% of the safety limit.] The ship spirit replied, [If forced to increase to over 95%, extra speed can be briefly gained, but it will accelerate energy consumption and may cause instability in the engine core. The risk is high.]

"What about using 'logic bombs'?" Senior Brother Li suggested, "Give them some more internal conflict?"

"The distance is too great, and the Swarm is in a state of high-speed movement and high alert. The 'Bee Language Maze' signal is easily filtered or interfered with," Senior Brother Zhang analyzed.

"The success rate is not high."

Everyone's gaze fell upon Wen Youyi.

Wen Youyi looked at the star map.

Ahead was the long star path leading to "Return to Ruins," behind was the relentless tide of destruction, and to the side was the temporarily toothless "Qianlong" and the "Anvil" behemoth that was accelerating its awakening.

Time and space seemed to be squeezing this ark that had just set sail.

He remained silent for a few breaths, his gaze sweeping over every tired yet determined face on the bridge, and then felt the steady, powerful "heartbeat" of the massive ship beneath him.

A decision slowly took shape in his heart.

"We cannot keep fleeing passively like this." Wen Youyi spoke slowly, his voice not loud but carrying an unquestionable decisiveness.

"The 'Beehive's' goal is to stop us from leaving, or to destroy us before we leave. The more we flee, the more force it may commit, and it might even... awaken the thing underground early to intercept us."

"Then what do we do? Are we going to turn back and fight them?" Zhao Iron Pillar widened his eyes.

"No," Wen Youyi shook his head, his finger pointing to a pre-set coordinate on the star map.

It was a key turning point on the evacuation route, surrounded by several relatively dense asteroid belts and energy turbulence zones.

"We will fight a limited, high-intensity defensive battle here."

"Use the terrain, actively decelerate, and lure the Swarm's vanguard into our pre-set ambush zone."

"Concentrate all of 'hope's' firepower, and with the fastest speed and maximum intensity, take out its elite vanguard! We don't need to annihilate them, just heavily damage their lead forces, disrupt their pursuit rhythm, and make the 'Bee Queen' realize that continuing to pursue relentlessly will require a price it cannot afford!"

"Then, we will use the time window gained from this defensive battle to accelerate away and shake them off completely!"

This plan was extremely bold, arguably even reckless.

Actively decelerating to engage pursuers that outnumbered them several times over—a slight misstep could lead to being entangled by the main force of the Swarm, falling into a desperate situation.

But... this was also the only chance to break the current stalemate and win a truly safe evacuation space for "hope."

"'hope,' what is your opinion?" Wen Youyi looked toward the front of the bridge, as if making eye contact with the newborn ship spirit.

[Analysis complete.] The ship spirit's consciousness transmitted, calm yet carrying a hint of newborn, calf-like sharpness, [The tactic is feasible. Success rate estimate: 67%. Risk: High. Recommendation: Fully utilize the pre-set terrain advantages, and precisely calculate the timing of firepower deployment and the evacuation route. This ship... is ready.]

Even "hope" agreed.

Wen Youyi took a deep breath, his gaze as sharp as the stars.

"Then, notify the whole ship: prepare to change course!"

"In one hour, we will teach those metal lumps a lesson called 'pain'!"

(End of Chapter)