Chapter 458: Out of the Purple Gas Cloud
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The cold bodies of the red-tailed beasts were everywhere. This was a hindrance to Ye Chong's pursuit. The wounded red-tailed beast moved deftly, easily moving between the bodies. Had it not been wounded, Ye Chong would have lost it long ago. It was a pity that Sang Pu and the rest were not here, or the beast would never stand a chance at escaping.
Ye Chong did not know that Sang Pu and the rest were destroying the flesh columns around them somewhere not far away. However, due to the flesh columns between them and the lack of comms, they had passed by each other without noticing.
The red-tailed beast was injured, but Ye Chong would not have been able to tell had he not seen how fast it could actually move beforehand. Knowing its true abilities, Ye Chong could see that it was actually moving quite a bit slower right now.
Han Jia continued its pursuit, avoiding the obstacles along the way. Ultimately, however, Han Jia was just a machine, and not as agile as the red-tailed beast. It was only because of Ye Chong's superior flying skills that he managed to keep up.
An environment like this, with obstacles floating around everywhere was the least preferred for mech pilots, and the most dangerous. It would be difficult for long range mechs to aim, and equally difficult for close range mechs to fight in this environment, since they could not accelerate as much as they would like, fighting with their full potential, without putting their lives at risk.
Of course, there were exceptions. Sniper mech pilots, for example, would love complicated places like these. Besides, they were good at concealing themselves, and long distance single-shot kills made them the most fearsome killers that concealed themselves in the dark.
Ye Chong considered Mu to be an excellent sniper mech pilot. However, the place he was in now was too strange, such that even Mu's scanning system would not work. Ye Chong could only rely on his own to keep his target in sight.
The red-tailed beast seemed to realize that the place was no longer its territory. It flew towards the edge of the purple gas cloud, intending to leave.
This was good news for Ye Chong. He knew that once they were out of the gas cloud, the odds would be in his favor.
As he flew by rows and rows of flesh columns, Ye Chong soon noticed that they looked thinner and thinner.
They were now near the edge of the purple gas cloud. Ye Chong estimated around half a minute before they were completely outside the purple gas cloud.
As the red-tailed beast in front of him continued its swift escape, Ye Chong concentrated on his pursuit. Here in the purple gas cloud, if they got separated any further, he would not be able to see his target.
Whoosh! A red-tailed beast burst out of the whirling purple gas cloud like a bolt of lightning. In the next instant, a mech swooshed out in pursuit of the creature.
They were finally outside!
In that instant, Han Jia's photon processor began to function normally again. The red-tailed beast's image became clearer, and this was a relief to Ye Chong.
Just then, Mu spoke up, "Ye, I just received a message from the base."
"What message?" Ye Chong's eyes were on the holographic screen as he asked.
"It's about a report by Fei Si on these creatures," Mu explained calmly.
"Report?" Ye Chong paused slightly. Why would they send over a report at this hour? However, he quickly focused. "What's it say?"
"Fei Si's research showed that these creatures can undergo evolution very quickly. There are two main catalysts for their evolution - pure energy and metals." Mu's voice was characteristically mechanical.
"Pure energy and metals?" Ye Chong frowned, but his eyes never left the holographic screen. With the photon processor and Mu's aid, he would easily keep up with his target, allowing him some room to think about this problem.
"Could it be that energy weapons are ineffective against them?" Ye Chong reached the crux of the issue quickly. He thought of the mollusc bristleworms, which could absorb energy beams.
Ye Chong looked at the back silhouette of the red-tailed beast and frowned again. The mollusc bristleworms were immune to energy weapons, but they moved slowly and were not particularly aggressive. However, the red-tailed beasts were entirely different animals. They were fast and agile, with astonishing power in them. The bright red tips of their tails were a dangerous threat. If these creatures were immune to energy weapons, it would be a huge problem!
"That would have to be confirmed by experiment. Should we begin now?" Mu asked methodically.
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Ye Chong felt helpless as he stole a glance at the starship some distance away from him, and rejected the idea. "There's too many people now." He understood Mu's idea of an experiment. If Mu or Shang suddenly appeared before their massive audience, it would be shocking news to the world. Ye Chong had begun to have an inkling of where Mu and Shang came from. He must be closely related to the Xue Lai Clan in some way, even though he was not sure of the details.
However, both Ye Chong, Mu and Shang did not mind the topic so much. After experiencing so much together, Ye Chong did not hold too much issues like his own origin, or Mu's and Shang's. Right now, he only wanted to return to the Five Galaxies and spend time on his interests, like research. Even if he could not return, living a peaceful life in the He Yue Galaxy would be fine. As for Mu and Shang, the mech would of course be uninterested in the story of their own origin.
It was truly regretful for him that such a simple wish could not be so easily granted. With the sudden appearance of these unknown lifeforms, war had officially begun. War between men would have room for mercy, but it would be not be the case for war between different species. The end result would usually be the elimination of one of the two species involved.
Fei Si's report had proved that much. Pure energy and metals were the catalysts for the evolution of these creatures. These two elements were also essential for human survival. With that, the incompatibility between humans and these creatures was obvious.
This war would not end without the annihilation of one of the two species.
The He Yue Galaxy would not be peaceful for long time ahead. For some reason, Ye Chong could no help but sighed at the thought. What were the Five Galaxies like at this moment? Would he be able to have peace there?
Ye Chong was not particularly ambitious. He did not feel like some protagonist in this war. The main players on the human side were probably the Three Aristocratic Families. Perhaps, when the Sang Tribe won this battle, they would also rise to become one of the main players too.
In fact, Ye Chong was also not particularly dedicated to the Sang Tribe. The way he saw it, he was helped by the Sang Tribe, and had in turn assisted them himself. Based on the principle of equal exchange that Mu told him about, they did not owe each other anything.
The only reason he returned this time was to ensure that the Sang Tribe was not entirely destroyed due to their ignorance. Now that they were winning, he had no business here anymore. After killing this red-tailed beast, Ye Chong planned to bring Rui Bing and Little Rock with him and find their way back to the Five Galaxies.
The war in the He Yue Galaxy would only worsen in the future. Ye Chong did not mind the fight, but he would not fight for meaningless ideals. Fighting for himself - that was his motto.
Perhaps, returning to the Five Galaxies would not be such a bad idea.
"Mu, where are Sang Pu and the rest?" Ye Chong broke off his train of thought, took a look at the red-tailed beast on the holographic screen, and asked Mu.
"Still in the purple gas cloud. Sang Tie had brought 30 thousand men with him, and they are now all in the battlefield." From the moment he left the purple gas cloud, Mu and Shang had kept in touch with the base.
Ye Chong acknowledged the mech. He was not worried about Sang Pu and the others. He could not offer help in terms of directing the battalion, Sang Pu was more than equipped for that. Besides, with Sang Tie's 30 thousand strong reinforcement, they should be able to handle themselves.
Mu reminded Ye Chong, "This red-tailed beast is heading for the Calamitous Asteroid Belt."
"Right," Ye Chong replied softly. Han Jia continued its pursuit. If Mu or Shang made their appearance now, they could give long distance shooting a try, but Ye Chong did not want that. Mu's and Shang's origin story must be extraordinary. He might not mind it, but other people would. The Xue Lai Clan, for example, would surely do something if they knew about Mu and Shang. If history was any indication, they would probably opt for some dangerous and hostile approach.
On the other hand, long distance shooting was Ye Chong's Achilles heel. He had no choice but to continue chasing the beast.
Once they entered the calamitous asteroid belt, beyond the eyes of outsiders, Mu would be free to do his thing. More importantly, the red-tailed beast was ultimately only an animal, and had limited stamina. Han Jia, however, was powered by teardrop mineralite, and could fly longer than anything else.
Ye Chong could not help but felt impressed by the red-tailed beast's strength. Despite its injury, Han Jia still needed to keep all its engines at maximum power to keep up with the creature.
The chase was noticed by the reporters who were following the war closely.
"Look at that," one of the reporters cried out in excitement, "Just now, an unknown lifeform and a mech had burst out of the purple gas cloud. Here, we can see the creature clearly."
The image of the red-tailed beast appeared more clearly on the holographic screen.
"Wah!" The reporter could not help but gasped. "This is the clearest view we have of the unknown lifeform so far. Dear viewers, you can see that this unknown lifeform is different from the ones we had seen before, it's back …"
The reporter suddenly changed topic. "Let's talk about the creature later. Now let's look at the mech behind it."
"Huh?" The reporter gasped again in surprise. "Here is a regretful news for all our dear viewers. The mech's anti-scanning system is excellent. Our holographic scanning system cannot capture it. What you're seeing now is a feed from our optical system. It's not too clear, and we can hardly see the how the mech looks like …"
As the reporter made his commentary, the red-tailed beast and Han Jia vanished into the Calamitous Asteroid Belt, one after the other.