313: Extreme traversal and "starry sky ballet"

The atmosphere on the bridge of the hope was so heavy it felt like it was about to solidify.

On the main screen, the star map route obtained from Captain Raymond was displayed in an enlarged view.

Everyone stared at the winding, teeth-achingly dangerous path, and for a moment, no one spoke.

"This... are we really going this way?" Zhao Iron Pillar swallowed hard, pointing to an area on the star map labeled "Rotating Blade Belt."

"The asteroids in this place are all spinning at high speeds, like a meat grinder! With a ship as big as ours, wouldn't we get sliced into pieces if we go in there?"

Senior Brother Zhang adjusted his glasses and looked closely at the data: "According to calculations, if we maintain an absolutely constant speed and concentrate all shield energy to the bow and both sides before entering, the probability of passing is... 68%."

"And what about the remaining 32%?" Wang Wu asked.

"Sliced into 'star sashimi'," Senior Brother Zhang answered expressionlessly.

Senior Brother Li pointed to another spot: "And here, the gap in the middle of the 'Twin Energy Turbulence'... its width is only 1.2 times the width of the hope's hull.

This means we have to pass through with centimeter-level precision. If we veer even slightly, we'll be sucked into the energy turbulence on both sides, which is strong enough to tear a frigate apart."

Aila Xinghen stood before the console, her indigo eyes quickly scanning the entire flight path.

Her fingers danced across the virtual keyboard as she ran some kind of complex simulation program.

A moment later, she looked up: [If I combine my adaptive navigation algorithm with the real-time computing power of the ship's neural network, plus Flowing Silver's fine-tuned control over the ship's attitude... the success rate for passing this route can be increased to 85%.]

"And what about the remaining 15%?" Zhao Iron Pillar asked again.

[Minor scratches to the hull, or crew members fainting from excessive G-force.] Aila Xinghen paused and added, [But no one will die.]

Wen Youyi looked at the route, then at the signal of the ace fleet of the Star Devourers that was rapidly approaching, displayed on the key.

He took a deep breath and made his decision.

"Go."

A simple, single word, yet it made everyone on the bridge straighten their backs.

"Notify the entire ship to enter Level 1 combat readiness. Shut down all non-essential Systems and prioritize energy to the engines, shields, and navigation," Wen Youyi issued the order.

"Everyone, secure yourselves. The upcoming journey... might be a bit bumpy."

The phrase "a bit bumpy" was later rated by the crew of the hope as the "gentlest lie ever told by the captain."

The voyage began.

The first challenge: the "Rotating Blade Belt."

Seen from a distance, it was a ring-shaped region composed of thousands of giant rocks.

But eerily, these rocks were not stationary—they were like puppets controlled by an invisible hand, spinning wildly at different speeds and directions, some even doing somersaults in the air.

The surfaces of the rocks were covered with sharp edges, glinting with a cold, hard light under the starlight.

The footage returned from the earlier reconnaissance by the "Hidden Dragon" showed that the rotation trajectories of these rocks were not entirely random but followed a complex law of gravitational resonance.

In other words... theoretically, it was possible to find a safe path to pass through.

The term "theoretically" was also later rated as "one of the most dangerous words."

"Preparing to enter." Aila Xinghen's voice was as calm as if she were saying "the weather is nice today," [Navigation algorithm initiated. Neural network taking over 97% of control. Everyone pay attention, there will be high-frequency, small-scale maneuvers ahead. Those prone to motion sickness... I suggest closing your eyes.]

As soon as she finished speaking, the hope moved.

It wasn't conventional navigation; it was a... dance.

The massive starship seemed to have been imbued with life, weaving lightly between the densely spinning rocks.

At times, it performed a rapid side-slip, grazing past a tumbling boulder; at other times, a short dive, slipping beneath two rocks rotating in opposite directions; and sometimes, it even performed a 360-degree spin in place to dodge a cluster of debris closing in from all sides.

On the bridge, everyone gripped their fixed points tightly. Even with the inertial damping System, the frequent changes in direction and acceleration/deceleration made everyone's stomachs churn.

Several crew members with weaker Physiques had already turned pale, but they gritted their teeth and held on.

Zhao Iron Pillar stared wide-eyed out the porthole—a rock the size of a small hill was heading straight for the bow, and the debris kicked up by its rotation hit the shields like bullets, creating ripples.

"We're going to hit it!" he couldn't help but shout.

Just at the critical moment, the hull of the hope suddenly performed an inconceivable "waist twist"—the entire rear half of the ship shifted thirty degrees to the left, while the front half maintained its original direction.

The boulder grazed right past the starboard side, at one point less than fifty meters away!

The sharp edges on the rock's surface scraped against the shields with a piercing screech, but they ultimately failed to break through.

"We... we made it..." Wang Wu wiped away a cold sweat.

"It's not over yet." Senior Brother Zhang stared at the screen. "Thirty miles ahead is the densest area of the 'Blade Belt'—the 'Meat Grinder Core'."

The so-called "Meat Grinder Core" was a death zone formed by seven super-giant rocks orbiting and rotating around each other in some strange way.

The gaps between them opened and closed; at their widest, they could accommodate two hopes passing side-by-side, and at their narrowest... even the "Hidden Dragon" would have to squeeze through sideways.

What was even more fatal was that the rotation periods of these seven giant rocks were different, meaning the opening and closing of the gaps followed no predictable pattern.

"How are we supposed to pass this?!" Senior Brother Li's face turned pale. "The gaps are changing too fast! Even the most powerful algorithm can't calculate that in real-time!"

Aila Xinghen, however, curled the corners of her mouth: [Who said we need to 'calculate'?]

She operated quickly on the console, bringing up a new program interface: [Initiating 'Predictive Mode'. The algorithm will deduce the future movement trajectories of all the rocks in advance, and then... 'reserve' a path for us.]

[3, 2, 1... Now!]

The hope accelerated violently, charging towards the seven giant rocks!

Directly in front of it, two giant rocks happened to rotate to a certain angle, creating a narrow gap in the middle. But according to the projected trajectories, this gap would close in at most three seconds.

Three seconds to pass a starship several miles long.

"Engine overload! 150% power!" Senior Brother Li roared over the communication channel.

The hope turned into a streak of silver lightning, shooting straight for that gap!

The first second, the bow entered the gap.

The second second, the entire ship was halfway in.

The third second—

The gap began to close! The boulders on both sides were converging toward the center at a terrifying speed!

Everyone on the bridge held their breath.

Just at this critical moment, the thrusters at the stern of the hope suddenly erupted in an asymmetrical manner—the left thruster output dropped to 30%, while the right one surged to 220%!

The entire starship, as if shoved by an invisible hand, performed a "tail-drift" at the very last moment before the gap closed completely, and the stern slid out, narrowly scraping against the closing rocks!

"Boom!"

Two boulders collided behind them with a roar, erupting in dazzling sparks and a shockwave. The shields of the hope flickered violently, but they held.

"We... we made it..." Zhao Iron Pillar collapsed into his chair, feeling as if he had just finished a marathon.

"Don't relax," Wen Youyi's voice came. "The second challenge, the 'Twin Energy Turbulence', is almost here."

If the first challenge tested maneuverability, then the second challenge would test... composure.

In the starfield ahead, two energy turbulences with diameters exceeding a hundred miles surged side-by-side like two enraged Dragons.

They were composed of pure, destructive energy, colorful, beautiful, and lethal. Any matter swept into them would be instantly torn apart and annihilated.

And between the two "Dragons" was a narrow "calm zone." Its width... was just a tiny bit wider than the hope.

"A tiny bit" meant that if the ship maintained an absolutely straight course, the distance from the left and right sides to the energy turbulence would be less than twenty meters.

Twenty meters, on the scale of space, was no different from being right in someone's face.

"There cannot be the slightest deviation this time." Aila's expression also turned serious. "The energy turbulence will interfere with the navigation System, and the neural network's calculations will also be affected. I need... manual assistance."

She looked at Wen Youyi: "You handle the main steering, and I'll be responsible for the fine-tuning. Can you do it?"

Wen Youyi nodded: "Leave it to me."

Both of them grasped the control sticks simultaneously—not physical ones, but neural-linked virtual controls.

Their consciousnesses connected with hope through the neural network; at this moment, they were the ship.

"Entering the calm zone." Wen Youyi took a deep breath.

hope slowly sailed into that narrow passage.

As soon as they entered, everyone felt that suffocating pressure.

Outside the porthole, on the left was a rolling crimson torrent of energy, and on the right was a surging, dark blue destructive turbulence.

The two extreme energies were close at hand, and the radiation they emitted caused the shields to sound constant alarms.

Inside the ship, the temperature began to rise, and various instruments experienced slight interference.

The most terrifying thing was the psychological pressure—you knew that if you deviated even a little, the entire ship, and everyone on it, would instantly vanish.

Wen Youyi was fully focused. He didn't dare look outside the porthole, only staring fixedly at the straight virtual flight path on the navigation screen.

His hands were as steady as if they were welded to the control sticks, every minute adjustment precise to the extreme.

Aila was responsible for the more delicate work—real-time monitoring of the fluctuations in the energy turbulence on both sides, predicting the gravitational disturbances they might cause, and then pre-adjusting the ship's attitude to compensate.

Fine beads of sweat had already seeped onto her forehead, and her indigo eyes shimmered with the faint light brought on by high-intensity computation.

Ten breaths... twenty breaths... fifty breaths...

hope moved steadily like a needle through the gaps of destruction.

Just as they were more than halfway through, a sudden change occurred!

The dark blue energy turbulence on the right suddenly erupted with an abnormal fluctuation, and a tentacle of energy extended outward without warning, heading straight for hope's starboard side!

"Full right rudder! Emergency evasion!" Aila barked.

Wen Youyi pushed the control stick to the left with almost instinctive speed.

hope tilted sharply to the left, and the energy tentacle brushed past the starboard shield, erupting with a harsh tearing sound the moment it made contact.

The shield energy dropped by 15% instantly!

But the worst was yet to come—because of this emergency evasion, the ship had shifted too far to the left! The crimson energy turbulence on the left was right before them!

"Correct course! Quickly!" Aila's fingers flew, mobilizing all reserve energy to reinforce the port shield.

Wen Youyi gritted his teeth and jerked the control stick back.

The massive starship performed a thrilling "S" maneuver in the narrow passage, the hull skimming almost against the energy turbulence on both sides.

For a moment, the scene outside the left porthole was completely filled with crimson, and everyone thought they were done for.

But in the end, hope stabilized.

Like a ballet dancer dancing on the tip of a knife, it returned to the center of the flight path with astonishing control.

Ten breaths later, the bow of the ship surged out of the "Twin Energy Turbulence" region.

Ahead, the starry sky opened up once again.

"Hoo..." Wen Youyi released the control stick and found his palms were covered in sweat.

Aila also let out a long sigh of relief: "Well done. That final course correction... the timing was perfect."

Zhao Iron Pillar and the others had collapsed into a heap. Those few dozen breaths just now felt longer than a lifetime.

"Is... is there still a third stage?" Wang Wu asked weakly.

Wen Youyi looked at the star map—the third stage, the gravitational edge of a micro black hole.

Compared to the first two stages, this one was actually... simpler.

"Simpler" meant that as long as the calculations were precise, one just had to avoid being sucked in.

That micro black hole was newly formed; it was only a few kilometers in diameter, but its gravity was astonishingly large.

Outside its "event horizon" (the boundary from which there is no return), there was a relatively safe "critical orbit."

What hope had to do was slide along this critical orbit, use the black hole's gravity assist effect to accelerate itself, and then slingshot out.

It sounded cool, but in practice... it was like driving a speeding car on the edge of a cliff.

"Preparing to enter the black hole's gravitational field." Aila had already regained her composure. "Activate the gravity stabilization System. Everyone secure yourselves again; there will be intense G-force this time."

hope adjusted its course and sailed toward that darkness.

The closer they got, the more they could feel that invisible, terrifying gravity that seemed to want to devour everything.

The hull began to tremble slightly, and all unsecured items floated toward the black hole.

"Entering critical orbit... 3, 2, 1!"

hope was seized by an invisible hand and accelerated violently!

The hull creaked as it was pulled by gravity, and shield energy was consumed frantically to resist the tidal forces.

Outside the porthole, the starry sky began to distort and stretch, eventually turning into a blurry band of light.

And straight ahead, that pure darkness from which even light could not escape stared at them like the eyes of the Grim Reaper.

Ten breaths... twenty breaths...

Just as they were about to reach the "slingshot point" of the gravity assist, an alarm suddenly blared!

"Abnormal gravitational fluctuations detected! Black hole activity intensifying! The critical orbit is contracting!"

"What?!" Wen Youyi's expression changed.

The screen showed that for some reason, the micro black hole had suddenly become unstable, and the gravitational field began to fluctuate violently.

The originally safe critical orbit was shrinking toward the event horizon at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In other words... they were about to be sucked in!

"Engines at full power! Break orbit!" Wen Youyi roared.

"No! Breaking away now will tear us apart with gravity!" Aila calculated rapidly. "There is only one way—execute the 'slingshot' maneuver early! But the timing must be precise to the millisecond!"

"Then do it!"

Aila's hands became a blur as she entered a series of complex commands on the console.

The ship's neural network ran at full power, calculating the optimal escape trajectory amidst the chaotic gravitational field.

Three seconds later—

"Now! Reverse engine thrust! Full left rudder! Pitch up 45 degrees!"

hope's thrusters erupted with reverse flames, and the entire starship was kicked as if by a giant foot, charging out of the gravitational field at a near-suicidal angle!

The hull groaned under the unbearable strain, and some structures even developed tiny cracks.

Inside the cabin, the G-force reached an astonishing 12 Gs; even with inertial dampeners, half the crew passed out instantly.

But... they had made it out!

hope, like a stone shot from a slingshot, broke free from the gravitational clutches of the black hole and sped off into the distance.

Behind them, the micro black hole slowly returned to calm after its violent activity.

On the bridge, less than one-third of the people remained conscious.

Wen Youyi struggled to lift his head and looked at the navigation screen.

They... had succeeded.

They had made it through all three of the most dangerous stages of the Shattered Star Belt.

Now, they had arrived behind the Star Devourers' blockade line.

"Report... damage status..." Wen Youyi said weakly.

"Hull structural integrity is at 91%, forty-seven minor damages, no fatal damage. Shield energy remaining at 32%, engines need to cool down. Personnel... 37% temporarily incapacitated, but no life-threatening injuries." Aila reported. Although she was also pale, her eyes shimmered with excitement. "We did it."

Wen Youyi smiled; it was a bit ugly, but very satisfying.

He connected to the ship-wide broadcast and used his last bit of strength to say:

"Attention all crew... we... have shaken off the pursuers."

"Now... you can... pass out."

After saying that, his vision went black, and he passed out quite decisively.

Before he completely lost consciousness, he seemed to hear Zhao Iron Pillar shouting from far away:

"Boss! You can't pass out! Where are we going next?!"

Hmm... that was a good question.

Let's talk about it after waking up.

(End of chapter)