Chapter 988: Sacrifice

Chapter 988: Sacrifice

Players of "Wasteland OL" were known for their warm hearts, especially the cloud players who wished they could snatch a helmet and jump in to help themselves.

Not long after Medical Miracle posted, lines of comments rapidly refreshed beneath the thread.

"Playing crazy is simple—just be yourself."

"Emmm... how about downing a bowl of hot shit first?"

"Ugh—"

"That's too cringey! And eating shit on the sly will get you banned!"

"I think doing it in public would be the way..."

"Damn, what's so hard about acting crazy? Get up, dance a Section Three, then drop a rap! Forget NPCs, I bet even A-Guang peeking from the shadows would be dumbfounded!"

"Pfft—I can't take it, my toes have already dug out a four-bedroom apartment for A-Guang."

Staring at the unfamiliar IDs and pre-order player tags, Medical Miracle was baffled. He scrolled for ages without a single serious suggestion, nearly spitting out his takeout.

"Damn it! Give me some real advice!"

Fang Chang: "Is there a chance that what they gave you is real advice? (Squint)"

Medical Miracle: "?"

Elf King Fugui: "Holy crap?! Brother Fang Chang?!"

Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "Wait, aren't you supposed to be up in the sky? (Confused)"

Big Eyes in Debt: "How's the mission going? Already wrapped up? (Smirk)"

Irena: "That's way too fast. I bet he just came down to discuss things off-screen with his teammates."

An hour ago, Brother Fang Chang had been showing off on the forum, saying he was about to save the world, and now he'd turned up on the forum again.

Everyone was amazed—this guy had the leisure to browse the forum while on a mission.

Maybe realizing it wasn't time to slack off, Fang Chang just popped in and vanished from the thread, ignoring all subsequent @mentions.

The thread quickly went off-topic.

The original theme was about how to act crazy and stupid, but the conversation drifted to synchronous orbit and the "mysterious mission" the Burning Legion was undertaking.

Medical Miracle tried several times to steer it back, and almost succeeded, but another ID popped up and twisted the topic he'd barely straightened.

Quit Smoking: "Uh, screwed up. (Guilty)"

The air went silent for many seconds.

The once lively thread seemed hit by a silence spell, with no new replies for several seconds.

Just as all the onlookers thought the server was lagging, replies burst forth like an avalanche.

Sisi: "...?"

Tail: "???"

Mole on the Run from the Canyon: "What the hell does 'screwed up' mean? (Dazed)"

Spring Water Commander: "Can you Burning Legion guys finish your sentences in one go? Don't drop one line at a time—my heart can't take it. (Sweat)"

Old White: "Haha, sorry everyone. Even a good horse stumbles, and we're dealing with something we've never seen before... Anyway, we got played."

Edge Loafing: "Holy crap..."

Spring Water Commander: "That kind of joke isn't funny..."

Old White: "So it's not a joke."

Big Eyes in Debt: "For real?! (Terrified)"

Construction Site Youth and Brick: "So... is it the end of the world?! (Terrified)"

Professor Yang, the Thunder Mage: "Holy crap, is the silver coin price going to crash?! (Terrified)"

Teng Teng: "You're treating silver coins like stocks, huh... (Surprised)"

Crow: "No way, I don't want to restart! QAQ"

Old White: "Ahem, don't talk nonsense. Even if we failed, it doesn't mean the Alliance lost. The near-orbit defense platforms being deployed are the real highlight."

Gale: "Yeah, at least we've figured out the true nature of that Orion-class missile cruiser."

Fang Chang: "What I'm afraid of is that the Administrator and we are both treating each other as the last trump card... (Squint)"

Old White: "Don't say such discouraging words. It's just a small setback—not as big as the tumbles we took in the Brahmin Province. (Grin)"

Fang Chang: "Anyway, we really did our best... Next, either we ask the Academy for another research ship to try, or we just wait."

Medical Miracle: "Looks like it's up to me to save the Alliance! By the way, after faking insanity and fooling the interrogator, how do I climb the ranks of the Enlightenment Society? Everyone, let's brainstorm. (Grin)"

Battlefield Atmosphere Group: "Speaking of which, where's Night Ten? He's usually the first to jump in, but I haven't seen him this time."

Killer's Dagger: "Uh... his little girlfriend kicked the bucket. He's probably in emo mode."

Edge Loafing: "What?! Jiang Xuezhou... dead?"

Tail: "Giao... (Shocked)"

Fang Chang: "In that situation... it's hard to say she survived."

Old White: "After all, it was in space."

Most people in the thread felt mixed emotions, unsure what to say.

Especially Fang Chang.

He couldn't help but think of Dolly, and then a sharp pain seized his heart—the kind that made it hard to breathe.

Players could revive no matter how many times they died, but an NPC's death meant permanent data deletion.

He couldn't imagine a world without her.

That was why he understood exactly what Night Ten was feeling right now.

That feeling must be awful...

Just as Fang Chang thought this, a familiar ID popped up on the screen.

Jiu Jiu Loves Pineapple: "Wait... that's not right. My brother is still online. Are you guys mistaken about something? (Dazed)"

Fang Chang: "?"

Quit Smoking: "How is that possible?!"

Jiu Jiu Loves Pineapple: "Should I wake him up? (Worried)"

Fang Chang: "...No, leave him alone. Let him wake up on his own!"

Gale: "Something's off. Let's wait and see."

Jiu Jiu Loves Pineapple: "Oh! Roger that! (Salute)"

Medical Miracle: "Damn it! Look at me! (Frustrated)"

Angry Fatty Liver: "Saving face."

“……”

The messages in the post were still refreshing.

Fang Chang sat before the computer, waiting a long time without seeing Night Ten’s ID appear. The tension on his face finally loosened into a faint smile, and the stone hanging in his heart gently settled.

“……Looks like I was overthinking things.”

The guy might not even be dead.

Glancing at the helmet beside the computer, Fang Chang felt a sudden impulse and reached out to take it in his hands.

What if it was all a misunderstanding?

Maybe…

No one had died.

Driven by some inexplicable force, he put the helmet back on and leaned into the computer chair.

Deep darkness soon enveloped his sight and thoughts.

Just as his heart was pounding fiercely, a pale blue pop-up window appeared before his eyes, plunging his once-lifted spirits back into the abyss.

[Remaining resurrection time: 70 hours, 30 minutes, 15 seconds]

The flickering numbers were like cold water thrown in his face. Fang Chang let out a bitter laugh and took off the helmet.

“I suppose…”

He shook his head and placed the helmet on the corner of the desk.

“The whole research ship blew up—how could anyone have survived…”

Time went back an hour and a half—

In the deep, dark outer space, a majestic starship floated silently amid a vast sea of steel wreckage, an abandoned graveyard untouched by time.

In that boundless graveyard drifted not only broken steel structures and severed cables, but also bodies in spacesuits.

Judging by the oxidized remains inside those suits, most had likely starved or frozen to death, with only a few succumbing to lack of oxygen.

There were also tattered uniforms of the Space Force, their owners nowhere to be seen.

Their bodies had either exploded or been sliced apart by orbital debris.

Without the protection of a spacesuit, leaving a complete corpse in space was nearly impossible.

If Vault 13 was a paradise on the ground, then the missile cruiser *Orion* was undoubtedly a hell in the sky.

Even though that war had ended two centuries ago, the devastation of that battle was still clearly visible in the ruins.

At that moment, on a certain deck of the abandoned starship, a man with a jetpack on his back stood expressionless before an open hibernation pod.

The pod’s door was wide open, revealing a cold skeleton lying inside.

The skeleton wore a uniform from the era of the Human Union, its gold-embroidered insignia still vivid under the flashlight’s beam, untouched by the dust of two centuries.

Luo Yi stared at the skeleton for a long time, trying to make out the nearly unrecognizable face.

After a moment, he seemed convinced that this was the person he was looking for. He reached out and searched the skeleton’s remains, eventually pulling a shiny silver metal disc from beneath the folded finger bones.

It was the soldier’s dog tag.

The only remaining relic.

By the light of the flashlight, Luo Yi confirmed the name and rank engraved on the tag.

[Luo Yi, Corporal.]

That was his name!

A trace of nostalgia flickered in Luo Yi’s eyes, and his thoughts drifted back over two hundred years.

But just then, a voice from the communication channel interrupted his reverie.

“An unidentified object is approaching. Direct line distance: 1,200 kilometers.”

It was the voice of the starship’s control system.

On the ground, that distance wouldn’t be much to worry about, but on an astronomical scale, 1,200 kilometers was practically face-to-face.

He tapped his ear lightly, looked up at the ceiling, and asked flatly,

“Can you identify them?”

The gentle electronic voice continued.

“Their ship is the same model as the one you left outside.”

Hearing this, Luo Yi already guessed who the uninvited guests were, and a cold smirk curled at the corner of his mouth.

If they had arrived a few days earlier, before he restarted the backup reactor and seized control of the starship, he might have had to be cautious.

But now, it was too late.

Though this starship had lain dormant for two centuries, that didn’t mean it had turned into scrap.

He paused, then said in a low voice,

“Search for usable point-defense weapons.”

After a brief silence, the gentle electronic voice sounded again in his ear.

“One electromagnetic point-defense cannon available… According to ballistic calculations, it can cover their flight path.”

Luo Yi immediately ordered,

“Take them out.”

The gentle electronic voice replied,

“Understood… Fire control unit is powering up. Estimated completion in 30 seconds.”

Taking one last look at the dog tag in his hand, Luo Yi pocketed it, then pressed the switch on his jetpack and headed back toward the starship’s bridge.

Meanwhile, outside the starship, a silver-gray research ship was slowly approaching.

Having finally crossed the asteroid belt of space debris before the shield capacitor’s energy ran out, Jiang Xuezhou let out a relieved sigh and relaxed into her seat, her head resting on the backrest.

“We made it…”

Seeing they had arrived, Night Ten reached to unbuckle his seatbelt, but Jiang Xuezhou, sitting beside him, stopped him.

“Wait…”

Night Ten paused, looking at her with confusion.

“What’s wrong?”

Biting her lower lip lightly, Jiang Xuezhou lowered her head and whispered,

“Can you… stay here with me? I’m scared alone.”

Night Ten was taken aback and said in bewilderment,

“What’s there to be scared of? The most dangerous part is already behind us, isn’t it?”

Jiang Xuezhou's face was etched with hesitation, whether unable to articulate a reason or simply unwilling to speak.

Seeing that the station was almost upon them, Ye Shi decided he didn't want to wait any longer and made a move to stand up.

As he was about to leave, Jiang Xuezhou set aside her embarrassment and spoke up in a tone of resigned defeat.

"It's, it's just thalassophobia! Haven't you heard of that condition? Some people are born terrified of really dark places... What can I do about it?"

"Huh?!"

Ye Shi stared at her in disbelief, finally squeezing out a single sentence.

"Can't you just get over it?"

"..." Jiang Xuezhou said nothing, only glaring at him with red-rimmed eyes.

Ye Shi's heart softened in the end. He sighed, tapped his helmet twice with his index finger, and said,

"Old Bai, I've got a situation here..."

Before he could organize his words, Old Bai's hearty laughter came through the comm channel.

"Haha, got it. Just stay in the cockpit."

Ye Shi: "What the hell?! Did you put a camera on me or something?"

Old Bai chuckled.

"Not exactly, but I can guess. Honestly, Fang Chang had planned it that way from the start. There's no need for everyone to go down anyway. Having someone stay on the research ship is good for backup. Just remember to keep an eye on the offline messages and don't focus all your attention on your friend."

Ye Shi was speechless for a moment, then silently ended the call.

Knowing he was consulting his teammates, Jiang Xuezhou, seated in the pilot's chair, watched him intently. As soon as he finished the call, she immediately asked,

"What did your teammates say?"

"They didn't say much. They told me to handle it myself."

Meeting her hopeful, sparkling eyes, Ye Shi suddenly felt a bit embarrassed and looked away.

The NPCs in this game were way too human-like.

Could they be played by real people?

That would be awkward.

"Sorry, I've always been a bit thick-skulled. I've never experienced things like fear of heights, motion sickness, or 3D dizziness. That thalassophobia thing must be similar... Anyway, thanks for sticking it out this far."

Unexpectedly, he could say something caring. Jiang Xuezhou felt her cheeks grow warm.

Embarrassment took over, and she quickly averted her gaze, turning her face away.

"It's, it's not as exaggerated as you say... I can actually overcome it with a bit more effort."

Watching her stubbornness, Ye Shi couldn't resist his urge to tease and joked,

"So, should I leave?"

"!!!"

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou spin around in panic, Ye Shi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

"Haha, I'm just kidding—"

Before he could finish, a sudden sense of danger crept into his heart, making it involuntarily clench.

It was a feeling he had never experienced before.

Even after countless brushes with death, even after dying itself, he had never felt the same.

It was like...

He was about to lose something more precious than a life that renewed every three days.

Driven by that strong premonition, he blurted out without thinking,

"Something's locked onto us..."

The moment she heard those words, Jiang Xuezhou, who had been raising her fist to knock him on the head, immediately dropped her angry expression.

Without a second of hesitation or doubt, she instinctively lunged at the control panel, her fingers dancing across the holographic interface, leaving afterimages as she executed a lateral maneuver, altering the research ship's trajectory.

Even without any warning from the radar!

Almost simultaneously, a surge of electromagnetic signals, accompanied by an alert of a high-speed object detected by radar, appeared on the research ship's control interface!

Watching the mass points on the radar screen that barely missed the ship, cold sweat broke out on Jiang Xuezhou's forehead.

That was close!

Just a hair's breadth away!

After all, the Academy's research ship wasn't military equipment but a scientific exploration vessel.

Though its deflector shield could withstand mass accelerator fire, they were facing a dense salvo from a People's Union Aerospace Force cruiser!

Not to mention they had just exited a debris field, and the shield capacitor's energy had only recovered to 30%...

Even if only one or two point-defense cannons were targeting them, it would still be a rough ride!

"What happened?" Almost choked by his seatbelt, Ye Shi coughed several times before catching his breath.

Good thing he hadn't unfastened it earlier, or that last move would have sent him flying.

Jiang Xuezhou, relatively calm, took a few deep breaths and steadied herself.

"It's the point-defense system!"

Ye Shi was dumbfounded.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's like the thing on the South Sea Alliance destroyers... basically the same!" Jiang Xuezhou explained while her hands worked nonstop on the holographic screens, trying to evade the tracking of that point-defense cannon.

Ye Shi stared at her profile in bewilderment and couldn't help cursing.

"What the hell?! This wreck has been parked for over two hundred years and it can still fire?!"

Jiang Xuezhou replied urgently.

"This isn't on Earth. Things in space don't decay that easily! Especially not a ship that's been venting atmosphere... Tell your teammates to hold on tight! We probably can't slow down!"

"They're steady enough... already cursing up a storm." Ye Shi pressed his finger to his helmet, grinning wryly, his eyes fixed ahead as he tried to let his instincts do more.

But he soon realized that aside from the initial warning, his intuition was useless in this close-quarters duel.

Under Jiang Xuezhou's control, the research ship weaved like a snake, while the howling mass rounds and the premonition of death never ceased.

No doubt about it—

His instincts were telling him they could dodge the point-defense system's tracking countless times, but one failure would mean certain death!

At less than 300 kilometers, they were practically face-to-face!

Both sides were predicting each other's moves, silently calculating the next attack and evasion!

As the one on the defensive, Jiang Xuezhou had no advantage.

The best strategy right now wasn't to close in but to retreat immediately—

But they had no other choice.

A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes had already fallen into the hands of the Celestial Ones!

There was simply no way back for them!

"Ahhh..."

Pale blue data streams reflected in Jiang Xuezhou's pupils, and from her slightly parted lips came a series of strained, low growls.

To pilot the research vessel with greater precision, she had linked her consciousness directly into its deep operating system, leveraging the ship's computational power and all its sensors, including panoramic cameras, for more direct control!

She had thrown all caution to the wind!

Thinking of her "bathophobia," Ye Shi couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy, yet he had no idea how to help.

Just then, Fang Chang's calm voice reached his ears.

"Ye Shi! Tell Jiang Xuezhou not to slow down—just drop us off near the breach in the starship!"

Ye Shi froze for a moment, then blurted out,

"What the hell, are you guys crazy?!"

This wasn't a damn airplane!

The speed and inertia were no joke—not only could it turn a person into a bloody pulp, but if things went wrong, their feet wouldn't even touch the ground before they disintegrated midair.

Fang Chang's voice remained steady as he continued,

"This is the option with the highest success rate. The reverse thrust from the nitrogen tanks should be enough to slow us down before we reach the target, and we can also draw some of the point-defense system's firepower... Rather than everyone dying on one ship, my plan will at least get a few of us inside alive. Don't dawdle—hurry!"

Hearing the urgency in that voice, Ye Shi didn't dare hesitate. He quickly turned and shouted,

"Xuezhou! My teammate says when you get close to the starship's breach, don't slow down—just open the hatch!"

Without a second thought, Jiang Xuezhou shot back,

"Is your teammate's brain scrambled? Or did a wire get crossed?! Do you think this is an airplane?!"

"But there's no other way, is there?! There's no way to decelerate in this situation... Listen to me, just fly straight past that breach and keep heading toward the bow. That's the best plan."

Seeing Jiang Xuezhou still hesitating, Ye Shi took a deep breath and said earnestly,

"I trust you... Use your expertise to calculate it—get them inside, please!"

Jiang Xuezhou gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'll try..."

Indeed.

There was simply no way to slow down now—they had to take the risk and gamble!

As long as the deceleration distance was sufficient, they might still manage a "self-docking" using the nitrogen tanks' thrust.

Just as Jiang Xuezhou changed tactics and accelerated toward the breach on the starship's side, Luo Yi, who had just entered the bridge and taken his seat, was watching the elegant "dance" through the dust-covered floor-to-ceiling windows.

That silver-gray research vessel had indeed been put through its paces by these vermin from the wasteland—but so what?

Seeing the struggling little insect suddenly accelerate, a cold smirk curled at the corner of Luo Yi's mouth.

"A paltry trick."

After all, he was a former soldier of the Pre-Union Aerospace Force—he could see through their plan at a glance.

They wanted to board?

He wouldn't let them succeed.

Closing his eyes, Luo Yi sat alone in the captain's chair and spoke slowly.

"Starship main control system."

A gentle electronic voice drifted into his ear.

"I'm here."

Watching the research vessel draw closer and closer to the Orion-class missile cruiser, he ordered expressionlessly,

"Fire one neutron torpedo."

"Apologies, but at this distance, it may not be advisable. Given the neutron beam's lethal radius, you would also be affected."

The gentle voice carried a hint of hesitation.

As the Orion's onboard AI, it had to prioritize the safety of its passengers.

But Luo Yi wore a look of indifference.

"It doesn't matter. Do as I say."

The captain's command was absolute.

Even if it conflicted with safety protocols.

The onboard AI hesitated only briefly before acknowledging Luo Yi's repeated order and activating the torpedo that had been sitting on its launch rack for nearly two centuries.

Though the torpedo was old and decrepit, its sensors long dead, it could still explode well enough.

At this range, no aiming was needed.

They were doomed!

Meanwhile, after a series of evasive maneuvers, the research vessel finally reached the side of the Orion-class starship!

Without a moment's hesitation, Jiang Xuezhou opened the research vessel's hatch and released the safety locks on every seat.

Under the force of inertia and the pressure differential, the power-armored figures sitting in their chairs spun like tops, arcing in a parabola toward the starship just a stone's throw away.

"Steady, brothers!"

"Hold tight to your nitrogen tanks! Spray them toward the starship!"

"Holy shit—where the hell is the starship?!"

"Ugh—I'm gonna puke—"

To be fair, Jiang Xuezhou's trajectory calculations were quite accurate; barring accidents, most of them would land inside that not-too-large opening.

But the process of ejection was brutally rough—even the Awakened were struggling to bear it.

The agility-type players fared slightly better. Fang Chang, relying on his agility talent "Bullet Time," manipulated the nitrogen tank with a flurry of actions, barely managing to stop the spinning of his speeding seat.

But just then, a flash of white light erupted from the pitch-black void, blinding him in an instant.

That was...

A neutron torpedo?!

A burning sting spread across his skin. Fang Chang tried to call out to his teammates, but the communication equipment had failed.

Objectively speaking, this weapon's power was somewhat greater than a conventional nuclear warhead—after all, power armor was designed for nuclear, biological, and chemical environments.

The "Xia Guang" power armor, though developed and produced by the Alliance, was not far behind pre-war power armor in most performance metrics.

Especially in biological and chemical protection...

His invisible health bar was draining at a visible rate. With the last of his fading vision, Fang Chang saw the silver-gray research vessel careen out of control and crash into the wreckage of the Orion-class starship.

It crashed uncontrollably into the vicinity of the lower deck, like a fly whose head had been severed.

Sparks of explosion blossomed.

He saw a fleeting, rolling flame, and also the alloy fragments scattering in flight.

His heart involuntarily trembled.

He who had never taken death seriously had never been so afraid of its arrival.

"No..."

The game did not pause.

The next second—

The cold numbers had already entered his sight.

[Respawn time remaining: 72 hours 0 minutes 0 seconds]