Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 231: Blue's Time

My brain spun rapidly as I sank deep into thought and ignored Zhang Bao'er's question.

"What are you thinking about?" Zhang Bao'er roared at me.

After I was finally done thinking, I replied, "I'm thinking about an entire lifetime."

"A lifetime? What do you mean?" Zhang Bao'er was confused.

"Dodo, if Blue's history is compressed into only one day, what time of the day will humans start appearing on the stage?" I asked.

"23:59:22. That will be the time humans get on the stage," replied Dodo.

"Canyue, you think these clocks represent different points in time on Blue?" asked Zhang Xingxing, instantly understanding me.

"Yeah. I think if these clocks are so accurate that there are even second hands, this puzzle might be created based on Blue's history, which has been compressed into a single day. After all, this clock system is Blue's way of measuring time," I said.

"Canyue, if we follow your theory, I don't think we should take the time when humans stepped onto the stage. This is a beast planet. We need to look at the time when beasts stepped onto the stage," said Old Du.

"When beasts stepped onto the stage? What is the strongest beast in Blue's history?" Zhang Xingxing asked Dodo.

"Probably a T. rex, right?" replied Zhang Bao'er.

"The strongest beast in the history of Blue is not the T. rex. It should be the megalodon, which was a species of shark that could grow up to 21 meters long and weigh 100 tons. Its biting force is far stronger than a T. rex's," said Dodo, rejecting Zhang Bao'er's idea.

"Megalodon, a species that lived on Blue roughly 15 million years ago. After the fifth mass extinction event, it came to dominate Blue's ocean. It was also a species that had appeared relatively late on Blue's timeline," said Old Du.

"Fifteen million years ago. What time would it be if history is compressed into a single day?" I asked Dodo.

They replied, "23:57:44."

Everyone appeared excited upon hearing that. This was a great breakthrough in our attempt to solve the clock puzzle.

"Follow the pattern of the clocks and calculate the position of that time!" I ordered quickly.

"But the clocks here only display 12 hours. The same time will appear twice. We need to be sure which clock is correct," said Dodo.

"That's simple. We can make a simple test after finding the two clocks," I replied.

Since the time difference between each clock with the next was only one minute, we were able to easily find the clocks bearing the time we wanted. One of them was close to us while the other was quite far away.

The members of the scouting party returned to the Kangaroo and headed toward the closer clock while the Wargod soldiers returned to the battleship to head toward the second clock. Based on Dodo's calculation, the clock we were heading to was only 30 minutes away. The other battleships also followed us in the air.

"Commander, permission for Spacetime to head toward the clocks bearing the same time?" Kelly asked, maintaining the same pace of exploration as us.

Kelly's request was quickly granted. Apart from the fleet led by the princes, who were told to wait, the other two fleets started to work on solving the clock puzzle.

In the Kangaroo, Zhang Bao'er asked, "Canyue, how did you come to the conclusion that these clocks are based on Blue's history compressed into one day?"

"Our conversation about a lifetime. It had reminded me that Blue's lifetime could also be portrayed through a clock. Of course, that was only a guess. We will know if it's correct after we arrive," I said.

"In short, I am the main contributor?" said Zhang Bao'er smugly.

Sarje joined the conversation. "Following Zhang Bao'er's logic, I am the one who discovered the flashing points making up the clocks. Without my staff, Canyue wouldn't have been able to find them."

While everyone was talking, Dodo suddenly slammed the brake. We had arrived.

"Jack, please assist with forming the correct angles in the sky to reveal the clock," said Old Du.

Jack, who was already experienced by now, quickly adjusted the positions of the ships to reveal the clock on the ground. By then, we had left the Kangaroo and scattered around our target. One of the battleships had also deployed about a dozen Wargod soldiers. Each soldier was carrying a steel plate.

In a well-practiced manner, the soldiers formed a circle. With the help of the ships in the sky, the familiar clock appeared on the ground. I grew nervous for no reason, an ominous feeling rising in me.

"Everyone, turn on your shields and be ready for combat!" I ordered in my nervousness.

Next, yellow, blue, and red beams were allowed through the cracks between the ships. The time on the clock was revealed: 23:57:43.

"A difference of one second. This is the moment right before the megalodon steps onto the stage. Looks like the beasts are going to appear soon," said Zhang Bao'er anxiously.

Zhang Xingxing suddenly said, "Canyue, the surrounding air pressure seems to have changed. I suggest that you all return to the Kangaroo."

Our surroundings were still calm. The clock could clearly be seen on the ground, but the planet was still as uneventful as ever.

"Perhaps the correct password isn't megalodon's time of appearance but the T. rex's?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Or perhaps the time displayed here is 11:57:43 in the morning and we need to get to the next clock," suggested Dodo.

We waited for 10 more minutes. Nothing changed, so I decided to give up on this clock and head to the next clock.

"Commander, let's give up on this clock for now and head to the other clock," I said to Zhang Xingxing.

But only static came through the communicator.

"Commander, Commander, do you hear me?" I started calling.

By my side, Dodo and Old Du were also trying to contact Skyhawk, but the result was the same. Only static could be heard.

"What is this? It's like contact was cut off immediately after Zhang Xingxing reminded us about the change in pressure," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Had the change in air pressure interrupted the transmission of our radio waves?" muttered Old Du as he waved at the ships in the sky.

With the short distance between us and the ship, Lin Feixue and the others in the ships should have been able to easily see us when we beckoned to them. Oddly, none of the ships in the sky showed any reaction.

"Weird. What are they doing?" said Zhang Bao'er as he looked up at the ships.

"Bao'er, Old Du, prepare for combat. Something isn't right," I hurriedly said.

Immediately, something happened. We had been looking for some sort of progress in solving the puzzle, and the important moment had appeared just like that. The clock on the ground was no longer formed by the flashing points generated by the Wargod warriors' steel plates. Rather, the ground itself displayed the clock. Alongside the three hands of light, a complete clock took form. The clock's second hand started moving, making us even more nervous.

"Canyue, look! The second hand is moving!" Zhang Bao'er exclaimed.

"Yes, I see. Everyone, get ready for combat. Old Du, fire a few flares into the sky and see if the commander and the others can notice us," I ordered.

Two orange emergency flares soared into the sky. They were very obvious and impossible to miss, but oddly, the ships still didn't react.

"This is troublesome. Did they encounter some trouble? Why are they not reacting at all?" asked Zhang Bao'er anxiously.

"What I don't understand is the loss of contact with the entire fleet. Just what kind of power had caused something like that?" I said.

Old Du voiced his worry. "The ships are filled with experts. Master Crystal and Baron Sisse are there as well. I believe they can solve any trouble they encounter. What about us? It seems like we're trapped here."

The time displayed on the clock kept changing. At that moment, it became 23:59:00, and my surroundings slowly darkened.

"Canyue, the sky is turning dark," said Zhang Bao'er nervously.

"Anxashe, have all the Wargod soldiers put down their steel plates. There is no need to keep them raised," I ordered.

With my order, the dozen or so Wargod soldiers put down their steel plates and raised their weapons, assembling with us. The sky was getting darker and darker. The three stars were still covered by the ships in the sky, and we couldn't return to our ship due to a lack of transportation.

"Canyue, look, a river of stars has appeared in the sky. It's so beautiful," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er as he pointed at the sky.

At that point, the sky had turned completely dark. To my astonishment, I found that the sky was suddenly dotted with stars. Running through the starry sky was a beautiful river of stars.

After some observation, Old Du said, "This isn't something we can observe from Blue. This is something completely new.".

"This is weird. The systems inside the Horsehead Nebula are covered by the dark nebula and the space fortress's wall of light. This river and these stars, where did they come from?" I questioned doubtfully.

Our visibility gradually decreased. Apart from the three hands on the clock, the stars in the sky, and the dark silhouettes of the ships blocking this star system's three stars, the world around us sank into complete darkness. We instinctively drew close to the clock, the only bright place near us. There, we entered a defensive position.

"Canyue, we can no longer see with the naked eye. We need to immediately turn on our lighting equipment," said Old Du.

Zhang Bao'er complained, "What shitty place is this? Why is it suddenly so dark that we can't see anything?".

Instantly, a terrifying howl sounded from the darkness ahead of us.