Seeing the whale depart, the captain of Agamemnon let out a long sigh: "All hands remain alert! Prevent their return."
"We..." His eyes grew vacant, words trailing off.
Shaking his head, he waved his hand decisively: "All ships move out! Zhou Tianming will definitely enter the satellite wreckage—this is our chance to capture him alive!" "Understood!"
The warship's thrusters flared as they advanced toward Black Tortoise.
They hadn't gone far when suddenly, golden light erupted across cosmic space.
The captain grew wary, then gasped at the sight of the whale.
All ship attacks proved ineffective. Retreat.
The whale began its feast, disappearing into a golden void.
The captain's gaze turned vacant.
In the silent emptiness of space, a single Agamemnon warship floated alone.
On the bridge, the radar operator announced a target detection.
The captain exhaled sharply, brows furrowed: "What's going on up there? How can one warship possibly match Zhou Tianming? And they want him alive?"
A crew member looked confused: "Weren't there many ships with us?"
The captain glanced at him: "There were never other ships—just ours from the start."
Sighing, he ordered: "Advance slowly toward the target. Dispatch the MA teams to infiltrate the satellite wreckage. Zhou Tianming will enter—it's our only chance."
"Understood!"
Just then, golden light appeared ahead...
On Black Tortoise's bridge, Natarle puzzled over the data White Rabbit had captured.
The text appeared as garbled code, the video showed flickering rainbow static, and the audio screeched like nails on chalkboard.
"Can we trace the signal source?"
"Originates approximately 10,000 units southwest of Black Tortoise."
"Activate optical telescope."
The southwestern screen zoomed in continuously—expanding, expanding further.
Only pitch-black emptiness.
No asteroids. No debris. Nothing.
Though baffled, Natarle remained vigilant: "Divert 60% power to radar systems. Full perimeter scan—leave no suspicious activity unchecked."
"Roger!"
Approaching the satellite wreckage, Vermilion Bird appeared no larger than a sesame seed by comparison.
Zhou Tianming deployed [Feather Plumes], sending them ahead.
Crimson beams vaporized floating debris, clearing a safe path for Vermilion Bird.
As [Feather Plumes] returned to recharge, the Gundam's energy reserves dropped noticeably.
"Quite power-intensive. Pity Vermilion Bird's too small for a nuclear engine."
However, upon second thought, the Vermilion Bird was developed as an MA-type floating weapon backpack, so there was no need for nuclear power—it could simply draw energy from the Gundam later. Still, he noted the idea down, mentally revising the design plans while slowly navigating deeper into the satellite wreckage.
Suddenly, a woman's voice whispered in his ear.
"Huh?" Zhou Tianming checked the comm indicator. "Natarle?"
The indicator wasn't flashing, meaning no incoming transmission was active.
The voice in his ear flickered in and out, faint and intermittent.
No background noise, no lyrics—just a soft hum.
His heart skipped a beat. "Don't tell me there really are cosmic ghosts..."
He quickly pressed the pedal, maneuvering the control stick to accelerate into the satellite.
Pulling up the route map organized by White Rabbit, he steered the Vermilion Bird left and right, sometimes descending vertically, other times folding its wings to slip through pitch-black passages. By now, he had penetrated deep into the satellite's interior.
"Hidden well. No wonder that grandfather and grandson couldn't take everything—transporting it must've been a problem."
The shattered satellite terrain was either tilted or composed of intersecting metal plates, some horizontal, others vertical. Freed from gravity, they floated in chaotic formations, making it impossible to find stable footing.
After a while, Zhou Tianming carefully adjusted the Vermilion Bird's wings to stabilize a floating metal plate, wedging it into a secure gap to serve as a landing pad. "Whew."
Exhaling, he opened the cockpit hatch above the Vermilion Bird's spine and unbuckled his harness, floating out.
The small propulsion backpack on his back deployed four omnidirectional thrusters, their jets of air pushing him forward.
Over ten minutes later, after navigating the maze of floating debris, Zhou Tianming reached the target's main entrance.
This was an underground research facility, and his objective lay in a storage area below.
As he moved, he studied the map, considering where to cut an opening for easier transport.
The crooked corridor was pitch-black, illuminated only by the headlamp on his forehead.
Suddenly, a figure floated horizontally ahead. Zhou Tianming drew his sidearm and approached cautiously.
Naturally, it was a corpse—the body inside the spacesuit had long since mummified.
But his attention was drawn to the helmet. Holstering his gun, he used both hands to remove it.
The desiccated remains inside crumbled at the slightest touch, their ashes drifting in the air.
Waving them aside, Zhou Tianming examined the helmet closely, his expression growing increasingly puzzled.
"No mistake—this definitely contains [Psycommu Alloy]. No wonder there's so much stock here. It seems they'd already found a way to utilize it."
Then his face twisted in confusion. "But why was it developed back then, yet there's no trace of it now?"
He swept his light across the silent corridor and rooms.
"Seems this place holds many secrets."
Dropping the helmet, Zhou Tianming began inspecting the rooms one by one.
Few remained intact, and those that did were mostly empty—likely stripped of anything valuable.
He found several more corpses, their helmets also incorporating [Psycommu Alloy].
Then an idea struck him.
He could simply use [Sense] to scan the area—any presence of [Psycommu Alloy] would trigger a reaction.
With his mind made up, Zhou Tianming didn't hesitate. SEED activated.
His Mental Power expanded outward.
In just an instant, feedback was received. [Analyze] swiftly recorded and compiled the data.
About three seconds later, Zhou Tianming deactivated Seed, allowing it to enter its cooldown phase.
He mentally reviewed the information he had just obtained.
Outside, there was a cluster of eleven feedback signals—undoubtedly the Vermilion Bird and its [Feather Plumes].
Deep below, Mental Power was being voraciously consumed—clear evidence of the target, confirming that this place indeed held substantial reserves. Their trip hadn't been in vain.
Within the building, there were also scattered reactions from over twenty locations—likely the helmets of the spacesuits.
Among them, twelve signals were clustered together. He decided to investigate.
Just as Zhou Tianming thought the review was over, the strange woman's humming voice resurfaced.
Through [Analyze]'s deduction, the source of the sound was far beyond the Satellite, embedded within the chaotic electromagnetic waves of Cosmic Space. His expression turned odd. "Could this be the legendary voice from the past?"
Even someone as bold as Zhou Tianming felt a chill. He quickly contacted Natarle, eager to hear her voice.
"Wh...at...hap...ened...?"
The signal was intermittent, filled with static and buzzing noises.
"Nothing. I just wanted to hear your voice."
With that, he headed toward the location with the dense cluster of signals.
Inside the Black Tortoise, Natarle's end was equally chaotic. Hearing Zhou Tianming say, "I just wanted to hear your voice," inexplicably made her cheeks flush.
She was about to respond when the call disconnected abruptly, leaving her eyes flashing with cold fury.
Suddenly, alarms blared inside the Black Tortoise. The White Rabbit announced, "Unknown light source detected ahead!"
The screens displayed the trajectories of sunlight and reflections from surrounding metal structures. Yet, the golden glow ahead didn't originate from the sun or any reflections.
Cosmic Space itself was emitting light.
A golden aperture appeared.
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