Chapter 454: Chapter 454: Ominous Premonition

"This isn’t your Mechanical God?"

Yuri stared in astonishment at the Lurker before her.

"Yeah. This Mechanical God is called the Lurker. It has excellent camouflage capabilities. I’m putting you in it now. Then, you’ll follow the escape route I’m giving you to get out. Colonel Hopka and the others are waiting outside to rendezvous with you!"

Long Ming said as he helped Yuri into the Lurker.

"If you give the Mechanical God to me, what about you?"

Yuri asked, her eyes red.

"Don’t worry, I have my ways!"

Long Ming told Yuri calmly.

"Okay."

Yuri nodded.

Soon, Long Ming had finished fitting Yuri into the Mechanical God and had given her the escape route.

"If you can’t remember it, just bring up the Lurker’s built-in route map."

"I’ve memorized it all."

Yuri replied with certainty.

"Go!"

Long Ming said to Yuri.

Yuri immediately activated the Lurker, vanishing in an instant and departing with agility.

Long Ming, on the other hand, crept toward the breach, watching and counting the seconds silently.

’I’ve done all I can. Whether she lives or dies is up to her now.’

In the central control room of the Azure Blue.

Hopka was pacing like an ant on a hot pan, repeatedly asking Fakadon,

"Has Red Ghost returned yet?"

"No."

Fakadon couldn’t help but shake his head.

Just then, an operator suddenly shouted in pleasant surprise.

"Sir, the signal source has started moving! It’s coming up from the bottom of the Insect Nest."

"Everyone, get ready. If he’s exposed, prepare for a forced extraction."

Hopka commanded grimly.

"Yes, sir!"

Everyone responded in unison.

「Time ticked by.」

Soon, the green dot on the display screen successfully exited the Insect Nest’s entrance and began moving toward the Azure Blue.

"Red Ghost is out! He’s heading toward us."

Fakadon reported to Hopka.

Hopka immediately turned and headed for the concealed boarding hatch.

「A short while later.」

The concealed boarding hatch opened.

Yuri piloted the Lurker and rushed inside.

"Red Ghost, what’s the situation?"

Hopka asked urgently.

"Off- Officer Hopka."

Yuri said timidly.

"You’re not Red Ghost. Who are you?"

Hopka was also taken aback.

Yuri disengaged the helmet covering her head, revealing her face as she spoke.

"I’m Sergeant Yuri of the 7th Reconnaissance Team."

"Where’s Red Ghost?"

"He took off his Mechanical God and gave it to me, telling me to escape first."

"Then how is he supposed to get out?"

Hopka asked, his brow tightly furrowed.

"I don’t know. He said he had his own way."

Yuri explained the situation nervously.

"That guy is so reckless. Are there any other survivors on the ship?"

Hopka asked, taking a deep breath.

"No, I’m the only one left alive."

Yuri shook her head vigorously.

"I understand."

There was nothing Hopka could do.

Inside the Feixiang.

Long Ming silently calculated the time. Seeing the moment was right, he took a deep breath, preparing to make his move.

In truth, Long Ming didn’t have a great plan. After all, he couldn’t just magically gain stealth abilities.

Therefore, Long Ming’s plan was simple: burst out and dash away at top speed in one go.

This would certainly alert some of the insects, but as long as he could make it back to the Azure Blue before the swarm fully reacted, he would be fine.

Long Ming’s pupils constricted. Unleashing all his Power, he shot forward.

His entire body flashed past like a crimson streak.

Without a single pause, Long Ming fled, sprinting along the planned route.

Flying insects of various forms zipped past him.

Just then, Long Ming suddenly felt something was off. His body seemed to have become more agile, his speed even faster.

But he had no time to worry about that now. He was completely focused on sprinting for his life.

Soon, Long Ming burst out of the Insect Nest’s entrance.

He glanced back and saw that not a single insect was chasing him.

A look of sheer ecstasy appeared on Long Ming’s face. He couldn’t believe he had actually succeeded.

He accelerated wildly, running toward the Azure Blue. Opening his communication channel, he said,

"Hopka, open the concealed boarding hatch! Prepare for evac!"

"Roger!"

Hopka shouted with excitement upon hearing Long Ming’s voice.

Soon, Long Ming reached the Azure Blue’s emergency boarding hatch.

CLICK!

The emergency boarding hatch instantly opened.

Long Ming leaped right in.

「In the central control room.」

Fakadon immediately reported to Hopka.

"We’ve successfully retrieved Red Ghost!"

"Quick, launch!"

Hopka yelled, exhilarated.

"Yes, sir!"

Fakadon immediately took control of the Azure Blue, activating its anti-gravity device for a rapid ascent.

「Several minutes later.」

The door to the central control room opened.

Long Ming walked in and asked,

"What’s the situation?"

"Haha, the Azure Blue has taken off! We’re breaking through the atmosphere of the Insect Star. So far, the swarm hasn’t spotted us. We did it!"

Hopka said to Long Ming, utterly ecstatic.

"That’s great."

Hearing this, Long Ming also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Red Ghost, you did a magnificent job this time."

Hopka reached out and patted Long Ming’s shoulder in praise.

"Just got lucky. I didn’t expect it to go so smoothly. By the way, you’re probably in for a major commendation this time."

Even Long Ming himself found it a bit surreal.

"A major commendation for what?"

Hopka looked at Long Ming, stunned.

"Yuri, tell Hopka what you scouted."

Long Ming said to Yuri with a smile.

"Officer Hopka, we scouted the Insect Race’s strategic movements. The reason the Insect Race occupied this region of space is that the nearby planets all have Energy Crystal veins. And this Insect Star has a Level 4 Energy Crystal vein!"

Yuri reported to Hopka.

"What did you say? These damn insects are mass-producing their forces here?"

Hopka leaped up as if his tail had been stepped on.

"That’s right."

Long Ming nodded in reply.

"Damn it, hurry back and report this!"

Hopka’s expression was grim.

"Captain, we’ve broken through the atmosphere and left the Insect Star. But this area is full of Wormholes, making the spatial nodes extremely unstable. We can’t engage superluminal flight until we’re clear of this Wormhole cluster."

Fakadon reported to Hopka.

"I know. Be careful!"

Hopka nodded.

"Understood!"

Fakadon nodded.

Long Ming and the others stood quietly to the side, looking at the displayed star chart.

Although they had escaped the Insect Star without being detected, it didn’t mean they were safe yet.

Only after successfully entering superluminal flight could they be considered relatively safe.

「The seconds ticked away.」

The Azure Blue flew back cautiously.

Suddenly, Long Ming felt a jolt, as if a raw nerve had been struck. A deeply unsettling feeling rose in his heart. He instinctively felt a sense of unease, as if a pair of invisible eyes were staring at him.

It was the feeling of prey being watched by a Hunter.

Long Ming’s expression shifted as he spoke.

"Something’s wrong. Hopka, push the scanners to maximum power."

"Fakadon!"

Hopka yelled immediately.

"Yes, sir!"

Fakadon immediately pushed the scanner’s power to maximum.

But the scanner didn’t show any new red dots. The ones on the display were all pre-existing contacts.

"No anomalies detected?"

Fakadon looked at Hopka in confusion.

"No, something’s wrong."

Long Ming said, his expression constantly changing.

"What is it? You feel that something’s off again? Don’t tell me it’s another Death Filth Spirit?"

Hopka asked warily.

"I don’t know for sure, but I have a bad feeling."

Long Ming replied in a low voice.

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.