Chapter 423: Chapter 423: Subspace

Red alert boxes popped up one after another on the holographic control screen.

"Warning: V13 armor plating breached!"

"Warning: Decompression in V13 sector!"

...

"Seal the emergency bulkheads for Sector V13! Full speed! Break through and shake them off!"

Hopka shouted anxiously.

In truth, if they had only encountered the Blue Illusion Butterfly, Long Ming and the others wouldn’t have been afraid at all. They would have gone out and slaughtered it long ago.

But the problem was, they were currently deep within the Insect Race’s territory.

Bugs were everywhere. It wouldn’t be long before the swarms gathered and tore them to pieces.

"No good, we can’t shake them!"

an operator cried out in terror.

"I told you! Infiltrating the Insect Race’s territory is a stupid, suicidal act, but you just wouldn’t believe me!"

Antilo said, his face dark.

Long Ming didn’t refute Antilo because the situation was indeed dire. If the Azure Blue was shot down, they would be well and truly finished. Especially since his own suit of colonial armor lacked flight capabilities.

"Shut up! We’re soldiers. The mission comes first. We’d jump into hell itself if we had to!"

Hopka roared at Antilo, furious.

Just as Antilo was about to say something...

BOOM—

The entire Azure Blue shuddered violently again.

"C6 armor plating damaged!"

an operator yelled in panic.

Hearing this, Long Ming calmly looked at the scanning radar display.

It was covered in red dots. They were truly about to be swamped.

But just then, Long Ming suddenly spotted a gray dot and asked.

"What’s that gray dot?"

"Is this really the time? You’re in the mood to ask about that now?!"

Hopka shot back, his face grim.

"Just answer me!"

"It’s a spatial rift. Probably an unstable tear caused by the Insect Race mass-producing Wormholes in this area."

"If our ship flies into it, can it hold up?"

Long Ming asked immediately upon hearing this.

"Are you crazy? Who the hell knows what’s inside a spatial rift? We could fly in and disintegrate on the spot."

"So you’re saying there’s a chance we could withstand it."

"Yes, but the chance is extremely small."

Hopka replied, annoyed.

"Then let’s go in. We’re dead either way, might as well take a gamble."

Long Ming replied, his expression calm.

Hearing Long Ming’s words, Hopka’s expression shifted constantly.

RUMBLE—

At that moment, the ship shook violently again.

"It’s no use, sir! We’re not going to hold!"

an operator reported in a panic.

"Captain, you need to make a decision!"

Woperi and the others also looked at Hopka with grave expressions.

"Dammit! Ever since I met you, I haven’t had a single good day. It’s like I owed you a debt in a past life and you’re here to collect. Change course! Destination, the spatial rift!"

Hopka ordered the operator.

"Yes, sir!"

The operator immediately carried out the order.

After giving the command, Hopka stood up from his command chair, walked straight to a nearby mechanical platform, and suited up in the fourth-generation Mechanical God, Hell-Breaker.

The Azure Blue flew towards the spatial rift at high speed.

The optical imaging system displayed the spatial rift.

The entire rift looked like an irregular wound. Inside, it was pitch-black, like a man-eating Fierce Beast.

"Distance: 13,200 kilometers!"

"Distance: 7,900 kilometers!"

...

The operator continuously reported the data.

The spatial rift drew closer, but the Blue Illusion Butterfly and its swarm were still in hot pursuit, relentlessly firing beams of light at the Azure Blue.

Seeing the swarm in close pursuit, Hopka decided to risk it all.

"Accelerate! Punch through!"

The Azure Blue immediately accelerated and plunged into the spatial rift.

The Blue Illusion Butterfly abruptly beat its wings to a halt, emitting a peculiar chirp. The dark swarm behind it stopped as well.

Then, the Blue Illusion Butterfly led the swarm and flew above the spatial rift.

Meanwhile, inside the spatial rift...

The entire Azure Blue was shaking violently, and the lights in the central control room flickered.

On the control consoles, the needles on the instrument panels swung wildly.

All sorts of red alert boxes kept popping up.

"Warning: Hull undergoing extreme compression!"

...

The entire main structure of the Azure Blue was already starting to deform. Long Ming and the others could clearly hear the sound of metal twisting.

If this continued, it wouldn’t be long before the ship couldn’t take it anymore and disintegrated.

"It’s no good! The ship’s about to break apart!"

Numerous operators shouted in panic.

"Hold her steady!"

Hopka said through gritted teeth.

Long Ming and the others’ nerves were stretched to the breaking point.

Just then, the Azure Blue gave a sudden, violent shudder, and then stabilized.

"What’s happening?"

Hopka asked, stunned.

"Sir, it seems we’ve entered a stable region of subspace."

an operator said in astonishment.

"Put the visuals on screen."

Hopka quickly said to the operator.

"Yes, sir!"

The operator immediately complied.

SWOOSH!

A holographic image appeared.

It showed the Azure Blue in a dim region of subspace, surrounded by flowing, dark red halos of light.

"What the hell is this place?"

Hopka’s face was full of confusion.

But before Long Ming and the others could figure out what was going on, piercing alarms blared once more, and the scanner was flooded with a dense cluster of red dots.

The optical imager displayed the holographic view.

Behind them in subspace, a Wormhole had appeared out of nowhere. Then, the Blue Illusion Butterfly and its swarm charged through.

"Not good, the swarm followed us in!"

an operator shouted in terror.

"Those psychos! Full speed ahead!"

Hopka roared, shocked and enraged.

The operator immediately followed the order, piloting the battered Azure Blue forward.

Long Ming’s nerves tensed up again.

At that moment, the Blue Illusion Butterfly led the dark swarm in an assault, attacking the Azure Blue with frenzied intensity.

WHOOSH WHOOSH—

A sky full of light beams rained down on the Azure Blue.

RUMBLE RUMBLE—

Explosions rocked the surface of the Azure Blue, and the ship’s damage levels soared.

"No, we can’t take it! The ship’s going down!"

"Power systems are failing."

...

The operators cried out in terror.

Just then, Woperi suddenly shouted.

"Everyone, look! What’s that ahead?!"

Colonel Hopka and the others looked at the image on the optical display and saw a dark red planet floating in the distance.

"A planet?"

"How can there be a planet here?"

"No idea!"

"Never mind that, just crash-land the ship on it!"

Long Ming told Hopka.

"Crash-land!"

Hopka had no other choice but to comply.

The entire Azure Blue began its emergency descent toward the planet.

As the Blue Illusion Butterfly and its swarm neared the dark red planet, they seemed to sense something. They instinctively stopped their pursuit in fear, turned, and flew away with the swarm.

Meanwhile, the Azure Blue made a rough landing on the dark red planet.

BANG—

The ship skidded across the crimson earth, carving out a massive trench.

In the central control room, crew members were thrown about everywhere.

Even in his mecha-armor, Long Ming couldn’t keep his balance and was thrown to the floor.

Fortunately, the Azure Blue finally came to a stop.

"Oof!"

Groans of pain could be heard all around.

Long Ming, Hopka, and the others picked themselves up.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.