57: Time-space reinforcements and the core of the ancient ship

On the bridge of the seagull one, the Chronosphere's energy readings soared to the critical point. Forcing a lock on coordinates inside the ancient ship—hundreds of millions of kilometers away with a complex energy environment—was practically an impossible task. But Sun Zheng had no choice.

"Energy overload! Coordinate stability at 78%! The risk of teleportation failure is extremely high!" the operator's voice trembled.

"Execute the teleportation!" Sun Zheng said decisively. "We must get our people inside!"

"Yes, sir! Chrono Legionnaire 'Shadow' is ready for teleportation!"

The Chrono Legionnaire codenamed "Shadow" was one of the base's most experienced veterans. Beneath his heavy, phase crystal-reinforced Chrono Armor, his eyes were as calm as ice.

"Good luck, Shadow," Sun Zheng's voice came through the comms.

"For the base," Shadow replied briefly.

Hum—!

A blinding blue light erupted, swallowing Shadow's figure. The Chronosphere vibrated violently as the energy flow flickered with extreme instability.

Inside the ancient ship, the battle in the corridor near the gate had reached a fever pitch.

The Marine Squad sent by Falcon was putting up a desperate resistance against the Scrin landing force, using the metal structures at the corridor's corner for cover. Phase Barrages poured down like rain, leaving scorched craters in the metal walls. One soldier's shield overloaded; he fell with a scream and was dragged to the rear by his comrades.

"Engineer! Have you found a way to control this damn gate yet?!" the squad leader roared while returning fire with his rifle.

"I'm trying! These control patterns are too complex!" The Engineer, drenched in sweat, used a portable device to scan the glowing wall next to the gate, attempting to find a way to close it or activate more defenses.

Outside the corridor, the Scrin "Reaper" minions were attempting a forced breakthrough. Even worse, the ancient ship's own defense drones were rampaging through the corridor; they seemed to view everyone as intruders and were firing Phase Beams indiscriminately!

The three-way melee turned the corridor into a death trap.

At the critical moment—

The space inside the gate suddenly warped! Amidst a flash of blue light, a heavily armored figure stumbled into view!

It was Shadow! He had successfully arrived! Although the bumpy teleportation process made him dizzy, he immediately steadied himself.

"Reinforcements! It's a Chrono soldier!" the surviving soldiers shouted in pleasant surprise.

Without hesitation, Shadow instantly assessed the situation. He raised his Chrono Emitter and aimed at the leading Reaper!

"Freeze!"

An eerie blue light enveloped the Reaper, and its movements instantly became extremely slow, as if it had fallen into a temporal quagmire! This bought the squad a precious moment to breathe!

"Great job!" the squad leader's spirits lifted. "Cover the Chrono soldier!"

Shadow's appearance instantly turned the tide of the local battle. Spacetime abilities were remarkably effective against Scrin units, sometimes freezing the most threatening enemies and sometimes deflecting deadly Phase Beams. With his support, the Marine Squad managed to stabilize their defensive line.

"Engineer! How much longer?" Shadow asked in a low voice while fighting. He knew that a few people couldn't hold off the tide of enemies for long.

"I've found a pattern! This pattern node seems to control the gate! But I need energy to activate it!" the Engineer shouted.

Energy? Shadow glanced at the phase crystals flickering on his Chrono Armor. Steeling himself, he shouted to the Engineer, "Connect to my energy core! Quick!"

This was a risky move that would greatly deplete his combat effectiveness, but it was their only hope!

The Engineer immediately hooked his equipment into the energy port on the back of Shadow's armor. Shadow let out a muffled groan as he channeled pure spacetime energy toward the control node.

Hum... The patterns beside the gate suddenly lit up! The thick, circular gate let out a heavy grinding sound as it slowly began to close!

"The gate is closing!" the soldiers cheered.

The attacking Scrin units clearly noticed this as well, and their attacks became even more frenzied! They tried to rush in before the gate closed!

"Hold them back!" Shadow roared, enduring the weakness from the energy output as he continued to use Chrono Rays to delay the enemy charge.

Bang! Bang! The gate's closing speed increased!

At the last moment, the claws of several Reapers had already reached inside! Using the last of his strength, Shadow used a Spacetime Distortion to freeze them and their claws in the gap of the door!

Boom!

The gate slammed shut, cutting off the majority of the Scrin forces! Only a few severed Reaper limbs stuck in the door gap were crushed as the gate closed!

The corridor was temporarily safe. Only a few ancient ship defense drones were still hovering, but their aggression seemed to decrease in the area after the gate was closed.

"We did it..." The squad leader collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Shadow also dropped to one knee, his Chrono Armor steaming from the excessive energy output.

"Thanks... thank you, brother," the Engineer said gratefully to Shadow.

Shadow waved him off and looked toward the blue-glowing hall deep within the corridor. "The mission isn't over yet. We must keep moving to find the key and uncover the secrets of this ship."

After a brief rest, the squad regrouped. Under Shadow's lead, they cautiously advanced toward the hall.