Chapter 347: Dark Forest (Five-in-One)

The next morning.

Inside the Tsar’s central control room.

Major General Vickers sat in the command chair, holding a steaming cup of coffee, and took a small sip.

Colonel Zhou Quan walked up to Vickers and said, “General, do you want to rest? I can keep an eye on things here.”

“No need. We are currently within the Dark Star Empire, and situations can arise at any time. It’s safer if I personally oversee this.”

Major General Vickers declined Colonel Zhou Quan’s kind offer.

“Understood.”

Hearing Vickers say that, Colonel Zhou Quan did not try to persuade him further.

At this moment, Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, looked at the prompt message from the scanning device and immediately reported to Major General Vickers.

“General, three search vessels have been detected, located at our 7 o’clock, 11 o’clock, and 2 o’clock directions respectively!”

“Carefully avoid them. These Imperial Army hawks are not easily fooled.”

Vickers issued the command in a low voice.

“Yes!”

Zhou Yuelin nodded in response.

In the starry sky, the camouflaged Tsar continuously fine-tuned its course to evade these searching pawns.

Because the hull was covered with Mechanical Octopus camouflage, the Tsar could not travel too fast.

Therefore, each evasion required a little time.

Zhou Yuelin and the other Operators were all on edge. Although they knew that under normal circumstances, the enemy ships would not be able to scan them, they were afraid of any slip-ups.

Fortunately, they eventually managed to shake them off without incident.

However, before Zhou Yuelin and the others could breathe a sigh of relief, a red alert immediately popped up on the operation screen.

“Warning: Ahead is the Dark Star Empire’s Lekga Space Monitoring Checkpoint.”

Zhou Yuelin quickly activated the optical device for observation.

In the starry sky ahead, black, gem-like mechanical monitoring devices were scattered, with red lights flashing intermittently from these mechanical devices.

At the center of the checkpoint, there was a small monitoring fortress.

Zhou Yuelin quickly reported to Vickers.

“General, ahead is the Lekga Space Monitoring Checkpoint. It uses conventional YCS-01 type monitoring equipment, which is within the shielded range.”

“I understand. Proceed carefully and don’t give yourselves away!”

Vickers instructed Zhou Yuelin.

“Understood!”

Zhou Yuelin responded gravely.

Inside the Lekga Space Monitoring Fortress control room.

A man in a Dark Star Empire lieutenant’s uniform, with a face full of pockmarks and a large nose, looked at the monitoring screen and sighed.

“Staying in this godforsaken place, I’m almost depressed. I wonder when I’ll have a chance to earn merits and get promoted!”

“Merits? If this broken checkpoint of ours really discovers something, they’ll just blow us up with one shot, and we’ll lose our lives! I say, Deda, stop dreaming those beautiful dreams, come over and have a couple of drinks, eating some meat is the most practical thing.”

A middle-aged man with some gray hair and a rough nose set up a makeshift table with three plates of meat dishes and a bottle of industrial liquor on it.

“Coming, Chen Qi.”

Deda walked over and sat down.

Chen Qi quickly poured Deda a glass of wine and said, “I’m telling you, there’s nothing wrong with staying here. Although it’s a bit lonely, it’s at least stable. You don’t have to be sent to the front lines to fight, constantly on edge! In this day and age, being able to live a stable life is already very good.”

Deda took the wine glass, looked at the starry sky outside the window, gulped it down, and then said with great emotion, “Sigh~ Of course I know, it’s just a bit unwilling, isn’t it? Wasting the prime of my life here. You know, I’ve been guarding this broken checkpoint for over thirty years, I’m almost neurotic!”

“Only thirty years? I’ve been watching for over fifty years.”

Chen Qi replied with a smile.

“Sigh, when will this day end, eh?”

Deda looked at the starry sky outside the window and suddenly said with great confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

Chen Qi asked curiously.

“Something’s not right. Why are there a few less stars outside the window? I could clearly see seven.”

Deda frowned and said doubtfully.

“Let me see!”

Chen Qi leaned over, took a look, and said, “There are seven, no problem. Are you seeing things?”

“How could I be seeing things? I’ve been sitting in this position for how many years? Is it possible that I’m really suffering from neurasthenia? No, I need to see a doctor.”

Deda said with some concern.

“See a doctor for what? Drink a couple more and sleep it off, and you’ll be fine tomorrow! Doesn’t seeing a doctor cost money? With your salary, don’t you need to support your family?”

“You have a point. Drink a couple more and sleep it off.”

Inside the Tsar’s central control room.

Zhou Yuelin let out a long sigh of relief and reported to General Vickers.

“General, we have successfully passed the checkpoint. The enemy did not detect us.”

“Understood. Continue forward!”

Vickers said in a deep voice.

At this moment, in the distant starry sky, a 3rd-class battleship, 5 kilometers long with a swordfish-shaped hull, was rapidly sailing.

Inside the central control room.

A seemingly frivolous man, with a somewhat roguish handsome appearance, sat in a chair with his feet propped on the control panel, boasting in a very good mood.

“As long as we find traces of the Federal forces, our days of soaring to success will arrive. By then, I won’t just get a direct three-rank promotion, I’ll receive all sorts of Imperial Army rewards until my hands are soft, and there will be plenty of beauties too.”

“Qiu Qi, stop daydreaming. The Federal Army is most likely to attack the main planets of the 30-36 Star Lords near the defense line. Everyone is basically searching in that area. Who would come here to search like us? This place is right next to the border! Could it be that the Federal forces want to leave as soon as they enter?”

A woman with flaxen hair, wheat-colored skin, and a good figure, retorted irritably.

“Qiu Qi, you don’t understand, do you? This is what I call reverse thinking, understand? Everyone knows that the Federal Army is most likely to act in that area, but don’t the Federal Army know that everyone will concentrate their search there? Besides, even if we follow the main force to search there, even if we really find the Federal Army, at best we’ll only get a tiny bit of leftover credit, which is useless! We might as well come to this godforsaken place and try our luck.”

Mattke said disdainfully.

“Alright, what you said makes sense, fine. This time, the ship’s fuel costs will probably go to waste again. We’ll go back and eat dirt.”

Qiu Qi was too lazy to argue with Mattke anymore; this guy always acted on impulse.

Just then, a chubby young man operating the ship let out a confused sound.

“That’s strange!”

“What’s wrong, Ante?”

Mattke immediately sat up and asked his companion.

“Boss, when I was confirming the route just now, I performed an optical observation and found something was off.”

“How was it off?”

“It’s like the starry sky was blocked by something.”

“Which part of the starry sky?”

“This part of the starry sky, it’s back to normal now.”

Ante pointed to a pitch-black starry sky and said.

Mattke’s expression changed, and then he said, “Qiu Qi, you guys come with me to investigate!”

“Understood.”

Qiu Qi and the others immediately responded with serious expressions.

Wind Movement · Residential Area.

Su Ming opened the door and walked out, encountering Rhine and the others head-on.

“Squad Leader, you’re up.”

“Yes.”

Su Ming nodded slightly.

“What are we doing today?”

Rhine and the others immediately asked.

“The Tsar’s internal space, due to the large number of people, doesn’t have a large enough training ground, so there will be no training!”

Su Ming thought for a moment and said.

“Then can we have a holiday?”

Rhine and the others’ eyes immediately lit up.

“You can have free activities, but don’t be too relaxed. Be prepared to deal with sudden situations.”

Su Ming instructed Rhine and the others.

“Alright!”

Rhine nodded.

Su Ming then left the Wind Movement and headed towards the Tsar’s temporary officer’s office.

Although there wasn’t much to do now, these officers still had to be on duty.

Not long after, Su Ming arrived at the office. When he pushed open the door and walked in.

He saw Kaff, Hugh Eun, Currifa and the others all there, gathered together and chatting.

At this moment, Currifa and the others saw Su Ming enter and quickly greeted him.

“Su Ming, you’re here. Come and sit with us and chat!”

“What are you guys talking about that’s so lively?”

Su Ming walked over and asked with a smile.

“We’re talking about returning.”

“What’s there to talk about returning?”

“Of course there’s nothing to talk about returning, the main point is about the declaration of military merits after returning!”

Currifa explained to Su Ming.

“Is there any problem with the military merit declaration?”

Su Ming looked curiously at Currifa and the others.

“Brother Su Ming, those two review departments, the Military Department and the Parliament, are not humane. They will definitely take a big axe to cut down our declared military merit points. We can’t just sit here and wait for death! These merit points are all earned with our lives, and this kind of opportunity to earn military merits is very rare.”

Major Chen Ying explained to Su Ming.

“I know about this, but there’s not much we can do about it.”

Su Ming replied with a smile.

“That’s why we gathered together to discuss, to see who has connections to smooth things over, so they don’t cut too much.”

Ye Hai explained the reason to Su Ming.

“Oh, I see.”

Su Ming suddenly realized upon hearing this.

“Listen to me, we are all from the same corps, and we shared life and death on the battlefield. It’s okay to say we’re brothers, right?”

Currifa asked everyone.

“No problem!”

Hugh Eun and Hegas nodded in agreement.

“So if everyone has connections, let’s all work together! We must defend our merit points to the death!”

Currifa said to everyone with excitement.

“That’s absolutely right.”

Everyone agreed.

At this moment, Lieutenant Colonel Aragon looked at Kaff and asked curiously, “Kaff, what family are you from?”

Kaff said in a deep voice, “I am from the Domodik family.”

“Wow! You’re from the Domodik family? I remember many people in your family are parliament members, aren’t they?”

Chen Ying asked in surprise.

“Yes, the family holds a seat in the Parliament and has produced many parliament members.”

“Then, Officer Kafu, you must help us speak up more on the Parliament’s side!”

Currifa and the others pleaded.

“I’ll do my best.”

Kaff didn’t refuse and readily agreed.

“By the way, Su Ming, you’re so impressive, what does your family do?”

Major Ye Hai looked at Su Ming with anticipation and asked.

“Yes, which family are you from?”

Everyone looked at Su Ming with curiosity. He became a Major at such a young age, and his strength was so formidable. There were even rumors that he was a connected individual before. With all these conditions combined, his background must be extremely strong!

Su Ming, upon hearing this, looked a bit awkward. His grandfather’s status was similar to Kaff’s, and Kaff was still active duty.

Even if his grandfather had an elder brother above him, it would probably still be tough. How could he have such great ability to influence the review members of the Parliament and the Military Department?

“Don’t be so wishy-washy, just say it!”

Currifa urged with a smile.

“I’m from Thunder Interstellar Heavy Industries Group. My grandfather is Su Zhentian.”

Su Ming replied helplessly.

“Thunder Interstellar Heavy Industries Group, huh? This group is quite famous, and it’s not bad! Is the Third Generation Mecha · Chaser produced by your family?”

Chen Ying thought for a moment and replied.

“Yes.”

Su Ming admitted openly.

“Wait, you’re from Thunder Interstellar Heavy Industries Group. I remember you guys also have a Lei Shen Group above you, don’t you?”

Currifa’s eyes lit up, and he quickly asked Su Ming.

“The Lei Shen Group, that’s a giant of the Federation!”

At this moment, Aragon and the others also spoke up.

“Huh? Lei Shen Group? Never heard of it?”

Su Ming was also stunned for a moment; his grandfather had never mentioned it.

“No? I remember you all have the surname Su, and there’s a rumor that the two companies are related?”

Currifa also asked, a bit uncertain.

“I really don’t know, and I don’t recognize them.”

Major Su Ming shook his head and replied.

“Oh.”

When Currifa and the others heard Major Su Ming say that, they immediately realized that he probably had nothing to do with Lei Shen Group.

Although it was a bit regrettable, Major Su Ming’s background was quite good; he was better than some, but not as good as others.

At this moment, Hegas, hearing that Major Su Ming was just from a middle-tier family, felt a pang of guilt and spoke up.

“I have something to say.”

“Cough, cough, Hegas, maybe you shouldn’t say it.”

Hugh Eun quickly stopped Hegas when he saw him about to speak.

However, Hegas was as stubborn as ever and, ignoring Hugh Eun’s dissuasion, spoke up.

“What’s there not to say? To be honest! I used to look down on Royal Court Academy students, thinking they were all spineless people who got in through connections and had no real ability! But ever since I got along with Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu, I realized that wasn’t the case; I was shortsighted.”

Major Su Ming heard this and asked with a strange expression.

“Hegas, is that how you all evaluate Royal Court Academy over there?”

“That’s right, and not only that, we people from Sky Dome City also believe that people from Starlight City are a bunch of show-offs who rely on their good background and are overly particular.”

Hegas said bluntly.

Hugh Eun touched his forehead when he heard this, feeling a bit of a headache; this guy was being reckless with his words again.

Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu looked at each other in dismay when they heard this.

At this moment, Timmy calmly spoke up.

“Actually, there’s nothing strange about this. Our Rainy City also doesn’t have a very good opinion of Sky Dome City.”

“How do you all evaluate us over there?”

Hegas asked directly.

“You’re said to be simple-minded, mostly reckless, and chauvinistic.”

Timmy said relatively tactfully.

But even with such tact, Hegas and the other officers from Sky Dome City all had faces as dark as charcoal.

At this moment, Officer Kafu sighed and said.

“In fact, Starlight City’s evaluation of Rainy City isn’t very good either.”

“Oh, how do you all evaluate us?”

Timmy looked at Officer Kafu and asked curiously.

“Starlight City believes that the men of Rainy City are all spineless and rely entirely on women, and that Rainy City’s current status is solely due to women’s public relations efforts.”

Officer Kafu pondered for a long time before speaking.

Timmy’s expression immediately became unnatural when she heard Officer Kafu’s words.

In an instant, the originally lively office suddenly became quiet.

Major Su Ming’s expression was also incredibly rich; good heavens, everyone was launching area-of-effect attacks! If their relationship could be good after this, he’d write his name backward.

It seemed that the disunity within the Federation all these years had a lot to do with this atmosphere. And Major Su Ming finally understood why everyone’s relationship was so strained when the Thirteenth Corps was first established.

But then again, this Hegas really couldn’t speak properly, always bringing up sensitive topics.

The good atmosphere was completely ruined; it was already good that they hadn’t started fighting.

At this moment, Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu’s wristbands suddenly simultaneously displayed an urgent message.

The two of them glanced at the message and immediately stood up.

“What happened?”

Hugh Eun and the others asked, slightly stunned.

“I don’t know. Major General Vickers summoned me to the Central Control Room.”

Major Su Ming said to Hugh Eun.

“Me too!”

Officer Kafu also replied.

“Could it be that the Imperial Army discovered us?”

Timmy asked with a deep frown.

“Unclear. We’ll go to the Central Control Room first. If there are subsequent actions, you should also be notified. Don’t go anywhere; just stay here and wait for orders.”

Officer Kafu instructed everyone.

“Alright!”

Hugh Eun and the others replied gravely.

“Let’s go, Major Su Ming!”

Officer Kafu directly led Major Su Ming out of the office.

Soon after, Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu passed through layers of checkpoints and arrived at the Tsar’s Central Control Room.

Upon entering the Central Control Room, Major Su Ming saw hundreds of Operators sitting at their stations, performing complex operations.

Some were monitoring the status of various ship equipment, some were responsible for data analysis, and others were responsible for operating the ship.

Major Su Ming looked at this scene and secretly pondered that although his Wind Movement was smaller than the Tsar, the manpower it would require would probably not be much less.

However, Major Su Ming quickly put this matter aside for now. He and Officer Kafu walked up to Major General Vickers and saluted him solemnly.

“General, we’re here.”

Major General Vickers said gravely.

“Now we’ve encountered a bit of trouble. Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, please explain the situation to them in detail.”

“Two officers, the situation is this: a Class 3 Battleship seems to have discovered our traces. They dispatched two Third Generation Mecha · Barbarian Beasts and three Second Generation Mecha · Beast Teeth, and they have been probing towards our ship.”

Zhou Yuelin briefly explained the matter.

“So that’s how it is.”

Officer Kafu and Major Su Ming immediately understood.

At this moment, Major General Vickers said in a deep voice.

“I now require both of you to pilot your Mecha into battle. I will have the Mechanical Octopus attach to you, providing camouflage protection. You are to keep an eye on that Imperial Army team. Remember to be careful while tailing them; don’t let them discover you.”

“General, wouldn’t it be better if we just killed them directly? Major Su Ming and I acting simultaneously, we could wipe them out in less than ten seconds!”

Officer Kafu suggested to Vickers in a deep voice.

“No, you absolutely cannot eliminate them unless it’s absolutely necessary!”

Vickers heard Officer Kafu’s words and warned him with a very firm attitude.

Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu were also stunned when they saw Vickers’s firm attitude, revealing expressions of confusion.

Officer Kafu asked with a deep frown.

“General, I don’t quite understand. Why can’t we kill them?”

“If we kill this Imperial Army squad, wouldn’t we be exposed!”

Vickers seemed to realize his tone was a bit too harsh, so he explained in a deep voice.

“I don’t think being exposed is too big of a problem. We’re already on our way back! Even if the Imperial Army notices, their troops are all searching for and encircling Star Radiance Fortress. By the time they redeploy, we’ll be long gone.”

Officer Kafu asked somewhat puzzled.

“Don’t expose yourselves if you can avoid it. What if the Imperial Army mobilizes external forces to intercept us on our way back? In short, you two just keep an eye on that squad. As long as they haven’t discovered the ship, you are absolutely not allowed to engage. And even if you do need to engage, you must inform me. At that time, their ship behind them must also be destroyed, and not a single living person can be left!”

Vickers said with extremely sharp eyes.

Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu looked at each other and responded in a deep voice.

“Yes!”

“Go!”

Vickers waved his hand, sending Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu to carry out the mission.

Major Su Ming and the other person immediately left the Central Control Room, taking the fast-moving metal transport platform to the hangar.

At this moment, Officer Kafu lowered his voice and said to Major Su Ming.

“Major Su Ming, do you feel like something isn’t quite right?”

“Are you referring to Major General Vickers’s order?”

“Mmm.”

Officer Kafu said in a deep voice.

“I think Major General Vickers’s order is fine, but also problematic.”

Major Su Ming pondered for a moment and replied.

“I think so too. If it’s just a simple return journey, does it really need to go to this extent? After all, we’re taking a long detour to leave and don’t need to pass through the Imperial Army’s defense line. It would be very difficult for them to intercept us.”

Officer Kafu said, his eyes constantly shifting.

In fact, the defense lines of the three major powers were not impenetrable. As long as you carried enough supplies and weren’t afraid of danger, you could completely take a long detour and pass through some dangerous Star Sea.

“I think we should just pretend we don’t know about this matter. Let’s not discuss it too much, lest someone with ulterior motives overhears it, which would be bad.”

Major Su Ming pondered for a moment and stated his thoughts.

“Alright!”

After hearing Major Su Ming’s words, Officer Kafu said nothing more.

Soon after.

Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu piloted their Mecha to detach from the Tsar mothership, with three Mechanical Octopuses wrapped around the bodies of their Mecha.

These Mechanical Octopuses provided comprehensive camouflage for Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu’s Mecha.

The two Mecha flew through the starry sky like ghosts.

Soon, the two successfully approached the five Imperial Army Mecha.

“Let’s not get too close.”

Major Su Ming said to Officer Kafu.

“Mmm!”

Officer Kafu didn’t say anything either.

The two piloted their Mecha, tailing these five Mecha, and in a blink of an eye, over twenty minutes passed.

Officer Kafu said with a deep frown.

“Major Su Ming, this won’t do! The direction these five Mecha are flying is roughly consistent with the Tsar’s heading. They must have discovered something.”

“No rush. Didn’t Major General Vickers say not to engage unless absolutely necessary?”

Major Su Ming replied calmly.

“Then just following them like this isn’t a solution, is it?”

Officer Kafu discussed with Major Su Ming, staring at the five Mecha.

Major Su Ming, upon hearing this, suddenly had a thought and tried to tune the communication channel to the public channel. As a result, he actually heard the other party speaking.

He immediately tuned back and said to Officer Kafu.

“Officer Kafu, tune your communication channel to the public channel; you’ll be surprised!”

“Alright!”

Officer Kafu immediately tried tuning it.

When he tuned to the public channel, he immediately heard the other party’s voice.

“Mattke, we’ve been chasing for so long, are you sure there’s a problem?”

“Qi Qiu, for a brief moment just now, I observed through the optical device and indeed found a tiny bit of a problem. The starry sky ahead seems to be blocked by something.”

Mattke said, sounding a bit uncertain.

“Look closely, don’t waste our time later, especially since the scanning device didn’t pick up anything.”

Qi Wei said to Mattke.

“Alright, I’ll observe some more.”

Mattke replied gravely.

Officer Kafu heard this, tuned the channel to the encrypted channel, and said to Major Su Ming.

“The situation is a bit grim; they really did notice something unusual.”

“But we haven’t been fully exposed yet, so Major General Vickers wouldn’t possibly let us eliminate them.”

“Then let’s continue to keep an eye on them!”

“Mmm!”

Major Su Ming nodded.

The two continued to control their Mecha, staring intently at them, but the longer they stared, the worse the situation became. These people were getting closer and closer to the Tsar.

It seemed the Tsar could be exposed at any moment.

At this moment, Officer Kafu’s patience reached its limit. He said to Major Su Ming.

“Major Su Ming, we can’t let them continue to follow us. If this goes on, there will be problems. I need to report to Major General Vickers and request permission to eliminate the enemy.”

Major Su Ming’s brows also furrowed after hearing Officer Kafu’s words.

At this moment, he suddenly noticed a distant asteroid field to his right, and an idea immediately sparked in his mind, so he spoke up.

“I have a plan, watch me!”

“Huh?”

Officer Kafu was also stunned, then followed along.

At this moment, Mattke led his companions, continuing to explore forward. Just as he was carefully observing the starry sky ahead, searching for anomalies.

Suddenly, a very small shattered meteorite flew through space and, without deviation, directly hit his Mecha.

Bang!

Upon hearing the Mecha’s simulated alert sound, Mattke’s expression immediately tensed, and he said in the communication channel.

“Something’s happening!”

“What is it, Mattke!”

Qi Qiu and the others immediately asked.

“A meteorite hit me.”

“That’s not very normal. Could it be a coincidence?”

“This… no, something’s fishy, over here!”

Mattke was also a bit unsure, but just then, he keenly saw another very small shattered meteorite fly over and, without deviation, hit him again.

“Alright!”

Qi Qiu and the others immediately followed Mattke, changing direction to pursue.

However, every time Mattke slowed down slightly, intending to stop and observe, another shattered meteorite flew over without warning.

Boom~

His Mecha was hit again.

“Damn it, what exactly is going on?”

Mattke grew increasingly irritated, continuously flying in the direction from which the shattered meteorites were coming.

Before long, they chased into the asteroid field, and the deeper they went, the further they pursued.

But even after chasing to this extent, Mattke still hadn’t figured out what was throwing shattered meteorites at him; he hadn’t even seen a ghost.

Suddenly, Mattke began to feel a chill in his heart, sensing something eerie.

At this moment, Qi Qiu, in the communication channel, anxiously urged him.

“Max, don’t chase! I have a bad feeling about this. It seems like we’re being led into the asteroid field.”

Max immediately stopped. He said to Qi Qiu,

“Just like that?”

“Max, this is too abnormal. It might be some special creature targeting us. We don’t need to take this risk.”

Qi Qiu strongly advised Max.

“Alright, let’s retreat!”

Max’s expression changed several times, but he ultimately decided to give up. He led his subordinates out of the asteroid field and returned to his ship.

Shortly after they left, Major Su Ming and Officer Kafu appeared at the edge of the asteroid field.

“Done!”

Major Su Ming said to Officer Kafu with a smile.

“Your brain is still the best. You used the strange phenomena to make them fear the unknown and retreat.”

Officer Kafu couldn’t help but praise Major Su Ming.

“Not bad, let’s go!”

Major Su Ming replied with a smile.

“Mm!”

Officer Kafu immediately responded.

The two then controlled their mechs to catch up with the Tsar.

Two days later.

Inside the Tsar’s central control room.

Major General Vickers sat in the command chair, constantly checking the star map.

At this moment, Colonel Zhou Quan walked over and reported with a solemn expression.

“Major General Vickers, we are almost at the edge of the Dark Forest. Are we really going this way?”

“Is there a problem?”

“Wouldn’t it be too risky? This Dark Forest is very dangerous, and in the Dark Star Empire, it’s a forbidden Star Sea.”

“Precisely because it’s dangerous, we must take this route.”

“But…”

“There are no ‘buts.’ Send a message to all officer-ranked officers, telling them to enter combat readiness.”

Major General Vickers directly issued the order.

“Yes.”

Colonel Zhou Quan took a deep breath and responded.

Inside the Wind Movement’s room.

Major Su Ming sat at his desk, scrolling through his wristband, browsing some data.

At this moment, Little Gray kept poking its head towards the wristband screen.

“Stop it!”

Major Su Ming tapped Little Gray’s small head and said with a smile.

At this moment, Major Su Ming’s wristband popped up a notification.

“Urgent Notice: Esteemed Major Su Ming, the Tsar fleet is about to enter the Dark Forest Star Sea. Please immediately gather all combat personnel to enter combat readiness. Please note, relevant information needs to be kept confidential from personnel below officer rank.”

After reading it, Major Su Ming directly sent a message to Rhine and others, telling them to go to the Tsar’s hangar and await orders in their mechs.

After doing this, Major Su Ming had just gotten up to leave when Little Gray directly jumped onto his shoulder.

“Little Gray, you stay at home. I have to go to work.”

Major Su Ming said to Little Gray with some surprise.

Little Gray, however, kept shaking its head, insisting on going along.

“Alright then!”

Seeing this, Major Su Ming agreed. After all, it was just combat readiness, not actual combat.

When Little Gray saw Major Su Ming agree, it immediately darted from his shoulder into his pocket to hide.

Soon after, Major Su Ming arrived at the Tsar’s hangar.

Throughout the hangar, officers were running everywhere, rushing towards their mechs.

“Su Ming.”

At this moment, a familiar voice came from behind.

Major Su Ming turned his head and saw Hugh Eun, Officer Kafu, and others walking over together, then greeted them.

“You’re here.”

“Mm, you received that message too, right?”

Officer Kafu asked in a deep voice.

“Mm!”

Major Su Ming nodded slightly in response.

“Do you feel like something isn’t quite right?”

Officer Kafu said with a deep frown.

“It’s clearly not right, okay? We’re not being chased, so there’s absolutely no need to take such a big risk and enter the Dark Forest Star Sea. We could even just leave by sticking to the edge of the Dark Star Sea.”

Currifa said in a low voice.

“Exactly! I think so too. What do you think Major General Vickers is thinking?”

Hugh Eun was also a bit unsure.

“I have a very bad premonition. Could it be that the Legion Commander is pulling that trick again?”

Chen Ying asked somewhat nervously.

Major Su Ming and the others all looked at Chen Ying with dark expressions upon hearing his words.

“I was just talking nonsense, bah bah! Children’s words are harmless!”

Chen Ying swallowed hard and said.

“Forget it, stop guessing. Let’s get into our mechs and await orders!”

Major Su Ming coughed and said.

“Alright!”

Officer Kafu and the others didn’t say much more.

Everyone walked towards their respective mechs.

Not long after, Major Su Ming sat in the Slayer mech’s cockpit.

He brought up the operating interface and tried to search the mech’s database for information about the Dark Forest Star Sea. It turned out he found a whole bunch.

It seemed Master Acala had kept the original Blood Falcon mech’s database intact.

Major Su Ming first clicked on the images and diagrams of the Dark Forest Star Sea to view them.

The Dark Forest Star Sea was different from conventional Star Seas. The entire Star Sea was filled with black stardust. These black stardust gathered together, forming nebulae of different shapes: grotesque skull shapes, monstrous shapes, and various bizarre, deformed creature shapes.

It gave a tremendous visual and psychological impact.

Of course, the reason the Dark Forest was listed as a forbidden Star Sea by the Dark Star Empire was not because of these eerie nebulae. The main reason was that this Star Sea was home to various dangerous racial creatures, including Kirami, the Mechanical Clan, the Zerg, and some unknown races.

Basically, very few ships that entered this Star Sea managed to come out alive.

After carefully browsing the information on the Dark Forest, Major Su Ming then brought up the Star Sea map of the entire Dark Star Empire.

He looked at the Dark Star Empire’s star map, combined with the Tsar’s current location, and analyzed it carefully.

He found that Currifa, Officer Kafu, and the others were right. If they simply wanted to return to the Federation, there was no need to enter the Dark Forest. They could just leave the Dark Star Empire by sticking to the edge.

Thinking of this, Major Su Ming immediately focused his attention on the map of the Dark Forest.

He gestured with his hand. If they entered the Dark Forest but didn’t leave the Dark Star Empire, and instead navigated around to exit, they would arrive here.

Major Su Ming was stunned when he saw the direction he was pointing.

He found that the location he was pointing to was actually behind the Dark Star Empire’s main planet, which meant that if they didn’t leave the Dark Star Empire, they would Around to the enemy’s rear.

Major Su Ming couldn’t help but show a wry smile. What was the Legion Commander planning to do? Was he going to turn the Dark Star Empire upside down?

Inside the Tsar’s central control room.

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, kept reporting.

“General, all combat personnel have entered combat readiness. The ship has entered the Dark Forest Star Sea, and everything is currently normal.”

“Mm, everyone, stay alert, especially the monitoring personnel.”

Major General Vickers said in a deep voice.

“Yes!”

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, and the others responded solemnly.

After Major General Vickers issued the order, he sat tensely in the command chair, waiting quietly.

If all went well, they would navigate through the Dark Forest for 2 days.

Soon, time passed little by little.

In the blink of an eye, more than a dozen hours passed. Everything was calm. Thanks to the disguise of these Mechanical Octopuses, although they encountered many alien creatures along the way, they were not attacked.

Major General Vickers’ tense nerves relaxed a little. He picked up his cold coffee and took a sip.

Suddenly, a piercing alarm sounded.

A red warning box popped up.

“Warning: High energy reaction detected!”

“General, it seems we’ve been targeted by an unknown creature.”

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant’s words were not yet finished.

From a distance, a gray beam of light cut through the starry sky, directly hitting the Tsar’s energy shield.

A gray sun rose, and the entire Tsar shook violently. Major General Vickers’ coffee spilled directly onto him.

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, reported nervously.

“The Tsar’s energy shield strength has dropped by thirty percent!”

Major General Vickers’ face suddenly changed. He immediately stood up and asked,

“Did you see the target that attacked us?”

“No! The radar scanning device can’t detect the target. The interference in this area is too strong.”

The Operator reported nervously.

“Damn it! What about the Gemini?”

Major General Vickers immediately felt a very bad premonition. To be able to knock out thirty percent of the Tsar’s energy shield in one go, the attacker must be at least an IV-type creature, and definitely not an ordinary IV-type creature.

“No, the Gemini’s scanning device also didn’t capture the target. General, what do we do now?”

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, asked anxiously. If they took two more hits, the energy shield would shatter. Once the energy shield shattered, the ship would be damaged and it would be over.

“My order: immediately send out the 1st-3rd Mech Regiments to search for the target, and at the same time, order the Gemini to approach the Tsar, ready to block attacks for the Tsar at any time!”

Major General Vickers issued the order very decisively.

“Yes!”

Zhou Yuelin, Lieutenant, quickly responded.

Inside the hangar, a piercing alarm immediately sounded, and an urgent broadcast came through.

“Emergency Combat Notification: The Tsar has been attacked by an unknown creature. 1st-3rd Mech Regiment formations are to deploy.”

After hearing the broadcast, Major Su Ming immediately controlled the Slayer mech and led Rhine and the others to the exit.

Inside the exit passage, a row of yellow indicator lights instantly turned green.

Major Su Ming was the first to step into the exit passage, rushing out at high speed along the passage.

Rhine and the others followed closely behind.

Swish! Swish!

Soon, Major Su Ming and the others controlled their mechs, rushing out from the Tsar and appearing in the dark starry sky.

For a moment, various twisted and grotesque nebulae came into everyone’s view.

Everyone was instantly stunned and spoke uneasily in the communication channel.

“Where is this?”

“I don’t know. Why do the black nebulae around here look so terrifying?”

“It looks like a monster.”

Major Su Ming listened to everyone’s discussion and said in a deep voice,

“Everyone quiet down. Don’t be affected by the external environment. Our current mission is to find the unknown creature that attacked the mothership, understand?”

“Understood!”

Hearing this, everyone responded.

However, at this moment, a terrified scream suddenly came from the public channel.

“Ah!”

“Chen Qi!”

Immediately after, the angry roar of a companion echoed in the communication channel.

Major Su Ming immediately turned his head and saw a black figure biting through an Iron Guard Mech, then directly darting into the black nebula and disappearing.

Colonel Aragon controlled his mech to chase, but came up empty-handed, finding nothing. He then cursed angrily in the communication channel.

“Damn it, what the hell is that?”

Major Su Ming glanced at his scanning device, not seeing a single red dot.

His heart immediately sank to the bottom. Although he only caught a glimpse just now,

Major Su Ming could determine that the creature that attacked the ship was extremely large and incredibly fast. The situation was worse than imagined.

At this moment, suddenly all scanning devices sounded a piercing alarm.

“Warning: High energy reaction detected!”

Major Su Ming and the others looked at their scanning radar devices and found a flickering red dot moving erratically at high speed.

When they followed the radar’s indicated position and looked at the starry sky, they saw nothing.

Swish!

The next second, a gray beam of light shot out without warning, piercing through several Iron Guard Mechs, and accurately hitting the Tsar again!

Boom!

A huge explosion spread out.

The Tsar’s energy shield dropped by another twenty-nine percent.

Inside the central control room, Major General Vickers roared in rage.

“Quick, find it for me.”