54: Shattered Star Sea and Alien Remains

After the deep space exploration fleet, consisting of 'seagull three' and the 'explorer,' broke free from Mars' gravity, they entered a long period of inertial navigation. Outside the windows lay eternal darkness, dotted with cold stars. The orange-red silhouette of Mars gradually shrank into a bright star, while the vast Asteroid Belt ahead slowly revealed its true form from a blurry band of light.

Countless rocks and chunks of ice of various sizes and shapes floated boundlessly in the void like shattered stars. They silently followed ancient orbits, forming a magnificent and dangerous barrier within the Solar System.

Lieutenant Colonel Falcon sat in the bridge of 'seagull three,' his expression focused. The star map before him marked a continuous source of abnormal signals, located in a relatively sparse area on the outer edge of the Asteroid Belt. The fleet carefully adjusted its course to avoid irregular celestial bodies that might hide dangers.

"explorer reporting: signal strength is steadily increasing. Interference index is normal; no Scrin energy signatures detected," the scout ship's captain reported.

"Stay alert, decelerate and approach," Falcon ordered. The closer they got to the target, the less they could afford to be careless.

As the distance closed, high-precision sensors sent back clearer images. The signal source did not come from a larger asteroid but was located in the center of an empty area composed of fine rubble and dust.

"Target discovered! Optical imaging confirmed!" the observer's voice carried an unbelievable excitement.

The enlarged image on the main screen made everyone on the bridge hold their breath.

A massive, non-natural object was floating quietly in that void!

It wasn't an asteroid, but a colossal man-made structure! Its shape was extremely peculiar, resembling a section of an irregular metal ring that had been torn apart, with jagged edges revealing complex, dark internal passages. The ring's diameter was estimated to be several kilometers, and its entire body displayed a dull, grayish-black metallic luster as if it had weathered billions of years. Its surface was covered in impact craters and cosmic dust, clearly having floated here for an extremely long time.

Most striking was a region at the relatively intact end of the wreckage that was emitting a soft, steady blue light! The fluctuation frequency of that light was perfectly consistent with the detected abnormal signal!

"Is this... a ship's wreckage?" Lieutenant Colonel Falcon murmured. This ship's scale far exceeded any human spacecraft, and its style was also completely different from the organic-mechanical feel of the Scrin, filled with a certain cold, geometric beauty.

"Scan the wreckage structure! Analyze the energy signal!" Falcon ordered.

"Scan in progress... The wreckage material is unknown, structural strength is extremely high, and damage exceeds 70%. The energy signal source is located inside the wreckage and cannot be scanned directly. No signs of life detected... Repeat, no signs of life detected."

A dead ship. A massive, ancient dead ship of unknown technological level.

"Has Commander Sun Zheng at 'Hope Fortress' received the signal? We've found..." Falcon immediately transmitted the image data back to Mars.

In the Hope Fortress Command Center, Sun Zheng looked at the magnificent, broken interstellar ship on the screen, his heart filled with immense shock. The ship's design was vaguely similar to the 'Silver Ring' memory fragments in his consciousness, but more concrete! The energy fluctuations it emitted caused the glimmer keystone within his body to produce an unprecedentedly strong resonance!

"This is likely a ship from the ancient 'order' civilization!" Sun Zheng's voice trembled. They had found it! Besides the Lunar Ruin and the glimmer keystone, they had found more direct evidence of this lost civilization!

"Falcon, try to approach for reconnaissance, but you must maintain a safe distance! Watch for any automated defense systems or other anomalies around the wreckage!" Sun Zheng ordered, suppressing his excitement.

"Understood!"

The 'explorer' scout ship, like a cautious moth, began to slowly approach the massive wreckage. It circled the wreckage's perimeter, scanning for an entrance or more obvious markings.

"Relatively intact hatch structure discovered near the blue light region. The hatch is in a closed state, but there seems to be energy flow," the scout ship reported.

"Can it be opened safely?"

"Analyzing... The hatch locking system is extremely complex, but the energy level is stable. It seems an external energy input might trigger it?"

Just as Lieutenant Colonel Falcon was considering whether to risk opening the hatch, a sudden change occurred!

"Warning! High-speed approaching objects detected! Emerging from the shadow zone on the other side of the wreckage! Count: three! Speed: extremely fast!" the radar operator suddenly shouted an alarm!

Three slender objects, shaped like metallic darts, rushed out from behind the wreckage at an astonishing speed, charging straight for the 'explorer' in a triangular formation!

Their design was simple and sharp, with smooth surfaces and no visible thrusters or weapons, but the energy levels they emitted were not to be underestimated!

"They're Defense Drones! explorer, emergency evasive maneuvers!" Falcon roared!

The 'explorer's' engines went to full power as it banked sharply toward the rear! But those three drones, as if possessing intelligence, instantly scattered to block the retreat! The tip of one drone lit up with a blinding white light, condensing an energy beam that fired instantly!

Boom!

The energy beam grazed the 'explorer's' hull, and the shield values instantly dropped by a third!

"Return fire!" Falcon ordered.

The 'explorer's' light laser cannons opened fire, but they only kicked up a few sparks on the drones' smooth shells; the effect was negligible!

Even though it was broken, this ancient ship still possessed powerful automated defense forces!