Extra 3 : Alien
“General, bad news! The situation has changed!”
Su Ming had barely left the command room when he heard An Xi’s tense voice.
He turned back to the observation window. In the distance, near the massive black hole, an energy fluctuation was occurring. A small, pitch-black vortex was gradually opening.
“It looks like someone activated a teleportation portal,” An Xi said.
The Kroll Empire possessed many pieces of advanced technology. This type of teleportation device functioned somewhat like a temporary black hole, and its usage depended entirely on its energy reserves.
Sure enough, a faint silver glow flickered around the small vortex, and soon, a starship emerged from it.
The model of this starship was unlike the enemy ships they had repelled earlier. Instead, it resembled those used by the Kroll Empire’s military. Though it had been modified, with its internal connection pathways deliberately severed.
But who would dare modify a military starship?
“Chang Zhi had a starship hijacked recently?” Su Ming stared in that direction, his voice remaining calm and deep.
“Yes. General, do you suspect that’s the one?” At the mention of Chang Zhi, An Xi’s expression darkened with anger.
Chang Zhi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, was an aging politician who constantly schemed for his own gain. He advocated for alliances with extraterrestrial civilizations and sought diplomacy with alien species. However, most people opposed this, as the clash of civilizations often led to catastrophic consequences.
Every time Su Ming led an attack against an enemy star, Chang Zhi accused him of trampling on alien civilizations. He even proposed peaceful negotiations, brainwashing many into his ideology.
Because of their opposing stances, Chang Zhi frequently targeted Su Ming, calling him a ruthless butcher who had annihilated countless extraterrestrial beings.
Back when Su Ming was still in the awakening system, Chang Zhi had even assembled a group of scientists at another space station to develop a Raider System, one that contracted the souls of deceased sentinels and guides, infiltrating the awakening system in an attempt to destroy Su Ming’s mental sea and keep him permanently unconscious.
“Do we know who hijacked it?” Su Ming asked. He had come straight to the battlefield upon waking and had yet to fully catch up on domestic affairs.
“Not sure. It seems to be one of their experimental subjects.”
But why had that starship suddenly appeared here?
From a distance, the ship was still spinning, seemingly out of control, and drifting toward the enemy’s black hole.
“General, we can’t let that starship cross over.” They had no idea what lay beyond that black hole. If this modified starship were captured, it could become a research subject for the enemy, which would be extremely detrimental to their future battles.
“Destroy it,” Su Ming ordered expressionlessly.
“Yes, sir!”
“Damn it! Get the hell down from there!”
A blond young man cursed at Wan Tong, who stood on the control panel. His head was still buzzing, and two other young men beside him had already collapsed, unable to withstand the pressure.
Enoch’s expression was dark as he approached her. “Wan Tong, stop this. That’s a teleportation device!”
Inside the Raider System, he had already sensed that her guiding power was extraordinary, but he hadn’t expected her to be just as powerful in reality.
He was an SS-ranked Sentinel, but since his mental state had only recently recovered, he was struggling to resist her attacks.
Wan Tong stood atop the control panel, looking indifferent. Her father had once been a captain under Su Ming’s command, and she had been trained in starship operations since childhood. She could always absorb knowledge faster than others.
She had scared them enough for now. Looking at Enoch, she said, “Send me back to school.”
She wanted to fight on the interstellar battlefield, but for now, it was best to return and hone her skills first.
“Fine, we’ll send you,” Enoch said, enunciating each word clearly.
But as he moved closer, Wan Tong instinctively sensed his hostility.
He struck swiftly, grabbing her shoulder and locking her in front of him, his arm tightening around her delicate neck. “Don’t move, kid, or I’ll kill you.”
Wan Tong’s guiding power was formidable, but her physical strength was weak.
Panicking, she unleashed a burst of energy. The control panel beside her sparked violently, accompanied by a stream of curses from the blond youth.
Enoch immediately let go of Wan Tong to regain control of the starship.
But the observation window had already plunged into darkness. Wan Tong felt the air around her twisting and warping. After just a few seconds of discomfort, a familiar sight appeared through the window, an entire fleet of military starships.
“Shit, it’s them!”
“Energy depleted. The teleportation gate is useless now.”
“Control panel is damaged!”
Enoch and the blond youth sounded frantic, while the temporary black hole slowly faded.
Wan Tong stood there in a daze, her heart pounding as she gazed at the grand and awe-inspiring fleet.
Five years ago, she had witnessed the most brutal battlefield. Low-intelligence, bloodthirsty alien invaders had torn her parents to pieces before her eyes.
She had been saved by Su Ming, and ever since, she had dreamed of returning to the battlefield as a soldier.
But the chances were slim. In the past, Sentinels and Guides fought together, but their already rare numbers had suffered heavy losses. Now, Guides were forbidden from the frontlines, strictly protected in the rear. At the first sign of danger, the entire team would retreat.
The starship spun, and the scene through the observation window shifted, revealing a massive black hole pulsing with faint silver light.
Wan Tong knew what it was. Five years ago, the bloodthirsty creatures had emerged from countless black holes just like this, shattering the Kroll Empire’s defenses.
But this black hole was larger than any she had seen before. Whatever alien force lay beyond must be incredibly powerful.
“Damn it, the black hole has a pull force!” Enoch stared at the observation window, his fist slamming against the sparking control panel.
The controls were damaged!
The blond youth, both terrified and enraged, lunged at Wan Tong. But Enoch stopped him. “Wait. Let’s see what happens first.”
“You have a plan? Falling into the army’s hands means death, and the other end might be even worse.” The blond youth was well aware of their predicament.
“We won’t die, with her here.” Enoch looked toward Wan Tong. “See that? The starship at the very front, that’s Su Ming.”
He was gambling that Su Ming wouldn’t let Wan Tong die.
But the problem now was that he had modified the starship, severing its fast connection channel with the military. If he wanted to contact them now, he had to send a new connection request.
“*Beep beep beep*, system detected an explosive attack. Please evacuate immediately. 10, 9…”
The command room flashed red.
Enoch’s face darkened as he continued trying to repair the console. “Damn it, of course it’s Su Ming.” He wasn’t even giving them a chance to struggle.
Hearing the countdown, Wan Tong quickly crouched down and felt around under the console. Her father had told her before that all military starships had a hidden operating system. As long as she entered the internal password, she could regain control of the starship.
Soon, a palm-sized interface appeared on the console.
It required an internal password.
Wan Tong’s hands trembled as she entered the password her father had once used.
“General, they dodged the attack.”
“General, someone activated the internal operating system… It’s… Wan Xiao!”
An Xi leaned closer to the console and reported in a low voice.
Wan Xiao had once been a captain under the General’s command, but he died five years ago. He was Wan Tong’s father.
Hearing Wan Xiao’s name, Su Ming’s eyes narrowed slightly as he looked toward the observation window. Sure enough, that starship had evaded their attack and was now drifting toward a black hole.
“Could it be Wan Tong on that ship?” An Xi speculated, glancing at Su Ming’s expression.
It was possible. Wan Xiao had risen to the rank of major and sometimes took his family along on patrols. Even though Wan Tong had been young, she might have remembered the password.
“Cease fire. Establish a communication channel. Send a docking signal.”
Su Ming’s voice remained as cold and deep as ever, but An Xi detected a hint of urgency.
On the other side, everyone let out a breath of relief.
Wan Tong deactivated the starship’s autonomous signal jamming, and almost immediately, they received a communication request and a docking signal.
She was about to accept when Enoch stopped her. “We can’t go over.”
Wan Tong glanced at the young man. Right, they were fugitives.
“You guys… can discuss whether to connect later. Right now, let’s think about how to survive this first.” The blond youth stared tensely at the observation window.
Wan Tong and Enoch followed his gaze, and froze.
A massive, semicircular structure emerged from the black hole. Silver metal glowed with a faint blue light.
It was a spacecraft, dozens of times larger than an imperial starship. In its presence, even the distant military fleet seemed minuscule.
Enoch kicked the two unconscious crew members awake and gathered everyone in front of the controls.
Wan Tong tried to steer the starship away from the spacecraft, but it was useless.
Their ship was caught in its pull.
Through the observation window, Su Ming and An Xi were equally stunned.
There was no doubt. If that ship made even the slightest move, the starship below would be reduced to fragments, scattered across the silent void.
Su Ming felt the blood in his veins reverse flow. For a moment, his mind went blank. The thought that she might be on that ship made his chest feel like it was being pounded.
He straightened his back, took a step forward, and ordered the fleet to surround the alien spacecraft and open fire.
But the massive ship remained completely unaffected.
From the observation window, a small aperture opened on the alien vessel, emitting a blue beam that enveloped the starship. In the blink of an eye, the ship was drawn inside.
At that moment, the starship’s signal vanished.
Su Ming braced his hands on the console, staring at the fading blue light. He suppressed the emotions churning in his eyes and hoarsely ordered a retreat.
“General…” An Xi noticed Su Ming’s unusual state. “The one who used the password might not be Wan Tong.”
Su Ming remained silent, feeling as if something was tearing at his heart. He had no choice but to retreat. He couldn’t risk the entire fleet.
The fleet withdrew to the defensive perimeter, forming a semicircle around the enormous spacecraft while sending out communication signals.
For the first time, Su Ming attempted to make contact with an alien vessel. In the past, he would have simply attacked.
But there was no response from the ship. Maybe it couldn’t decipher their signals, or maybe it had come with hostile intent.
Just then, Su Ming’s personal terminal lit up.
His previously cold and silent gaze suddenly flickered with light. He accepted the call and activated the holographic projection.
A young girl in a pure white dress appeared before him.
Su Ming’s Adam’s apple moved slightly, but his lips remained tightly pressed together. For a fleeting moment, a memory surfaced—of another world, where she once played in the palm of his hand.
“General, can you hear me?” Wan Tong was adjusting the terminal on her end.
She really was on that ship.
Behind her, several figures were scrambling around the control panel.
Suppressing the pounding in his chest, Su Ming coldly instructed, “Activate safe mode. There’s an escape pod beneath the bridge.”
“But, General… I think we’re already inside the ship.”
Strangely, even though the starship’s signal was blocked, their personal terminals still worked.
It was as if the enemy had studied their starships thoroughly, building this vessel specifically to capture them, but had failed to account for their personal communication devices, allowing them to still make contact.
The young girl’s voice was still soft, seemingly a little nervous, and her eyes showed a hint of panic.
“General, we could take this opportunity to probe the enemy,” An Xi suggested.
But Su Ming acted as if he hadn’t heard. “The escape pod has a teleportation function. Select Channel 1.”
His indisputable tone made Wan Tong pause for a moment.
Behind them, Enoch and the others had already located the escape pods.
Six escape pods were lined up in a row.
“Damn, how much more about this starship do we not know?” someone muttered.
“Wan Tong, the hatch has been breached. They’re getting closer. We need to leave immediately.” Enoch stepped up beside Wan Tong, glancing at Su Ming’s projection before furrowing his brows.
Seeing Wan Tong still standing motionless, he grabbed her hand. “To be able to breach the hatch this quickly, these aliens are extremely dangerous.”
Wan Tong’s heart pounded wildly, filled with both fear and anticipation. She looked toward Su Ming. “General, I think—”
But before she could finish, Su Ming’s voice came coldly through the terminal once more. “Wan Tong, I order you. Get into the escape pod immediately.”
He was only worried that the spaceship might interfere with the pod’s teleportation system.
Wan Tong pressed her lips together, then obediently lay down inside the escape pod. Hearing the beeping sounds from the other pods nearby, she bit her lip, hesitated for a second, and then opened the escape pod.
*Bang!* The command room’s hatch was forced open.
Wan Tong turned her head and saw over a dozen figures standing at the entrance. They were wearing the uniforms of the Kroll military.
But why would military personnel be here? Had Su Ming’s fleet taken control of the spaceship? That was impossible…
“General, have you taken over the spaceship?” she asked quickly.
She glanced down at her personal terminal—it was still connected. But just as she was about to reactivate the projection, she heard Su Ming’s voice from the other end, hoarse and urgent, “Danger! Shut down the escape pod immediately!”
Meanwhile, in the starship’s command room, Su Ming’s pupils trembled slightly as he stared at the figures appearing in the projection.
They weren’t human.
Their entire bodies were green and hairless. Their oversized heads were covered with countless eyes, all glowing green. Three gaping, blood-red mouths were filled with sharp black teeth. Instead of legs, they had six trunk-like appendages planted firmly on the floor—legs, if they could even be called that.
Even Su Ming, who had seen countless alien creatures, found them utterly repulsive.
Yet, in Wan Tong’s voice, there wasn’t the slightest trace of fear.
That meant, she was likely seeing an illusion!