Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 102: Penetrating the Frozen Atmosphere

With a leap, Fearless quickly reached the appointed search area. The area was filled with countless asteroids. The ship carefully navigated the forest of asteroids, and after going through an asteroid belt, two massive silhouettes appeared ahead of the ship.

"Sure enough, there is a second planet here. Looks like we have really found it," exclaimed Lifu in excitement.

The ship approached the two planets. We could clearly see that Amoeba had accidentally encroached upon the black planet's ring. The asteroid belt we had just passed through was probably a result of the intrusion. The drifting planet looked even colder than the black planet. Thus, its frosty atmosphere had struck the black planet's atmosphere and dispersed almost half of it. Oddly, the two planets had not fully collided. The two continued moving in opposite directions, slowly separating from each other.

"Data comparison confirmed that the silver white planet on the left is Planet Amoeba," said Dodo.

"Great! We finally found it!" I exclaimed in joy.

"I have another piece of good news. Due to the collision, a gap had opened up in Amoeba's frozen atmosphere. This is an excellent and rare opportunity to perform an actual landing on the planet," said Dodo.

"Good heavens, are we actually this lucky? I remember that when the planet approached Eternal, the imperial fleet had tried penetrating its frozen atmosphere, but the endeavor had failed," said Master Crystal.

"Take this chance and send these little fellows to their new home," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Through the laser scans, I calculated that the gap will close in an hour," Dodo's urgent voice rang out.

"Shit. If we were any slower, things would have been troublesome," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Dodo, immediately scan the planet's surface. Dondon, help Dodo pilot the ship and go through the gap," said Zhang Xingxing.

With a jolt, Fearless shot toward the gap in Amoeba's atmosphere. The ship did not take long to reach it. The atmosphere was hundreds of kilometers thick, with a temperature of negative 150 degrees. The gap was closing up at an astonishing speed visible to the naked eye.

"Go through it quickly and look for a suitable landing spot," Zhang Xingxing said.

Fearless descended, heading quickly toward the planet's surface. The world beyond the atmosphere was filled with an unknown white gas. It was likely that the collision and the gap in the atmosphere had resulted in a change of temperature that resulted in the rise of these steam-like substances in the air.

"According to the laser scans, Amoeba's surface is covered by a thick layer of ice. However, there seems to be an area with a comparatively higher temperature at the planet's equator," Dodo reported.

"We don't have much time. The gap is closing up soon. Head for the high-temperature zone immediately," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Roger. Estimated arrival in 10 minutes," said Dondon.

As Fearless flew toward our destination, we could see through the window that the world outside was a world of white with no signs of life.

"This place is way too desolate. There is nothing here at all! Can Bulu and its kin even survive here?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"The environment here is much better than the Adelanoid. In fact, it is possible that a drifting planet could have an environment suitable for life to thrive. Even after the external gravitational force knocked the planet out of its orbit, a decent amount of resources will still remain," said Old Du.

"That's right. Furthermore, there are no competing life forms on this planet, so we won't be ruining the balance of this planet either," I added.

While we were speaking, Fearless approached our destination. A dark area with steam-like substances in the air appeared before us.

"Wow, this place looks quite like a paradise," I exclaimed in astonishment.

Amid the world of ice and snow, several sharp protrusions rose up from the ground, each spread randomly around the dark zone. The protrusions were constantly emitting a large amount of steam. Within about 100 square kilometers of the area, a wide expanse of black flora resembling cedar trees could be seen.

"Looks like the core of Amoeba is not dead. It is still generating geothermal heat," Lifu remarked.

"Exactly. The planet's frozen atmosphere had preserved the energy system of this drifting planet, protecting its surface from being encroached upon by the cold of the universe," said Master Crystal.

According to our system, the dark zone had a temperature of roughly zero degrees, making it a greatly livable area.

"Dodo, perform a scan on the ecosystem of the planet. At the same time, release the sterile probes," said Zhang Xingxing.

Immediately after she spoke, a loud cracking rang out in the air.

"The gap is on the eve of fully closing up. We need to speed this up, everyone," Dondon reminded.

Dodo performed a scan on the dark zone as quickly as possible as the probes worked tirelessly to relay a stream of information back to the ship. About 10 minutes later, the final result was out. From our scans, this was a planet with only flora and no fauna. It was also filled with abundant water and a suitable source of heat.

"Finally, we have an easy mission with a happy result. Like I said, we can't be so unlucky every single time," said Zhang Bao'er.

"From the data, the core of this planet will continue working for hundreds of millions of years," said Dodo.

"This is it, then. Let's release Bulu and its kin speedily. These transparent creatures are finally free," said Zhang Xingxing.

It was time for farewell. Everyone went to the cargo bay. The moment the cargo door was opened, the little fellows cautiously aimed their feelers at us. Bulu, still with the adhesive bandage on, was the leader of the group.

"Bulu, I found a suitable planet for you and your people. The temperature and resources here are very suited for your species. Also, it is a hidden planet so you guys will be safe. We've arrived. Let me show you the way," I said.

Bulu seemed to have understood my words; the substance in its transparent feeler started flowing rapidly. The little fellow took the lead and hopped out of the ship, its kin in tow.

"Permission to escort them with Old Du?" I asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Granted," Zhang Xingxing replied.

Old Du and I thus followed Bulu and its kin to the airlock. After I turned on my suit, the room's indicator lit up, and the door opened. The transparent creatures rushed out of the door, entering a world that was extremely suitable for them.

After reaching Amoeba's surface, the transparent creatures slowly turned from dark green to light green. They also returned to their normal lively selves. After hopping around randomly, some transparent creatures started heading out. About 10 minutes later, all the transparent creatures had departed, looking for a new home. Before me, only Bulu with his adhesive bandage remained.

"Little fellow, go. This will be your home from now on," I said as I crouched down and lightly stroked Bulu when I saw that it was unwilling to leave.

However, the red light in Bulu's body turned brighter because Bulu refused to leave.

"Canyue, we need to leave now. We're running out of time," Old Du reminded me.

For some reason, I found myself extremely hesitant to part with Bulu. This little fellow had formed a bond with my heart and had been silently helping us all along. Alas, there was an end to every beginning. It was time for us to part. I stood up, waved my hand at Bulu, and turned to walk back to Fearless.

Old Du and I walked forward one step at a time. Just as I was about to take the final step into the spaceship, I turned to give Bulu my final farewell. But when I did, the little fellow had already vanished, leaving only an empty frosty expanse and the swirling mist in the air. The sight before my eyes was akin to a scene out of a fantasy, vague yet clear at the same time.

Beside me, Old Du said, "It left. We had helped them gain their freedom. You should be happy. Let's go."

I was sad to part with Bulu, but Old Du was right. I should be happy with this ending. We returned to the spaceship. The mood was turning nervous due to how little time we had left.

"Dodo, immediately prepare for take off," said Zhang Xingxing.

The cracking in the air was turning louder and louder as the gap closed and the frosty atmosphere ground against itself. Fearless soared rapidly toward the atmosphere's fringe, but after passing through a thick layer of mist, a terrifying scene unfolded before our eyes.

The gap in the atmosphere had nearly fully closed up. Because the gap had closed up in an inconsistent pattern, the edges of the gap were grinding against each other, sending a hail of massive ice spikes down. Each spike was as large as a mountain, falling at an incredibly dense concentration from the sky.

"Good lord. It feels like an entire iceberg is dropping from the sky," remarked Zhang Bao'er fearfully.

"Dodo, perform a calculation on these spikes and draw up an optimal flight trajectory. How long before the gap fully closes? Do we have enough time?" asked Zhang Xingxing rapidly.

"Don't worry, Team Leader. It's time for me to perform. Everyone, get seated. I will be displaying the supreme piloting skills only an android can possess," said Dodo.

Both Dodo and Dondon performed rapid calculations before drawing a flight plan. Then, Fearless started weaving nimbly amid the rain of icebergs.

Fearless was truly a treasure left behind by Nomo. Even under such a concentrated rain of icebergs, the ship could still perfectly avoid all the icebergs apart from the few the ship's energy shield had pushed aside relying on data. A few minutes later, the ship passed through the rain of icebergs and reached the gap. Thundering sounds came from the gap as it continued to close.

"Shit! The gap is closing! We're too late," I exclaimed when we were halfway through the atmosphere and I saw that we were still several kilometers away from exiting. In fact, the atmosphere had fully closed up behind us.

My heart raced as the sheer power of this massive atmosphere was something beyond any sort of technology. We could very well be crushed by it. During the critical moment, Dodo decisively performed a short-distance leap, causing the ship to shoot out of the atmosphere at the very last moment like a bolt of lightning.

A loud thud rang out in the cockpit. The massive acceleration had actually snapped Zhang Bao'er's belt, sending the fellow tumbling to the ground. A loud crash sounded behind us; the gap had fully closed. Silence returned.

In a short span of time, all of us had experienced a close brush with death. My heart was still beating rapidly. The relaxed joy Zhang Bao'er had displayed earlier was shared by all of us, and that had nearly been a mistake that had cost all our lives.

Suddenly, a loud curse came behind me.