Chapter 98: All Aboard!
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
A gigantic spacecraft flew at high speed in the sky. It was such a breathtaking sight, an impulsive view of a powerful contrast. Imagine it - a whale of a size of a small mountain slamming its body right onto you, with the shadow of its body engulfing you completely and one could stop breathing, one’s heart could stop beating by then! Ye Chong was assured that this was by far the most enormous spacecraft he had ever encountered - it was colossal, so colossal that a great mech would feel as minuscule as a mosquito hovering before it.
Beep!
The hummingbirds transferred some data to the interface. "Oh my Fal-" Ye Chong was utterly stunned. His could hardly shut his mouth as the data illustrated the length of the spacecraft - head to tail, a whopping 10 kilometers.
"Is... Is this even a spacecraft?"
A length about 10 kilometers might have sounded grand to a caveman like Ye Chong. Little did Ye Chong know that there was actually a variety for spacecraft models. Depending on the model, the size varied. A prime example would be the spacecraft Ye Chong spotted in the space. As a matter of fact, the spacecraft was a Slan-graded premium spacecraft which would only be produced under special request pre-orders. One could never see a finished Slan grade spacecraft in the normal market. As astronomical as its size, its price was of a whopping length and without a doubt it was not something even the so-called millionaires could purchase on a whim.
A Slan spacecraft might not be the most advanced kind in the universe, however undeniably there was no other spacecraft that could compete its premium coziness, as if it was a flying palace in the space.
The outer appearance was demurely elegant. In spite of its overwhelming size, the details of every single inch of the design was not disregarded, presenting an exceptional standard of craftsmanship.
Being the first time encountering such a giant in the space, it was mind-blowing and eye-opening to Ye Chong. His brain was unable to perceive such huge amount of shock and was jammed for the moment.
"Mu…Mu… Is this really a spacecraft?" muttered Ye Chong.
"Certainly," Mu replied without hesitation.
"Are you sure we could hijack such a whale with only two of us? How should we get in? The armor is at least a hundred meter thick. It’s impossible for us to break in!" Although Mu was the guarantee to the operation, Ye Chong was shaken by the size of this thing.
"Ye, one’s capability does not share a consequential relationship with one’s size! It is not strenuous to hijack or even to destroy it. Speaking from a theoretical approach, there is nothing truly invincible in this world," Mu replied indifferently.
"Really?" Ye Chong was skeptical about it. "Well… It's not like I have any other better ideas to get through this giant’s armor…"
However, Mu disagreed, "The relationship between the thickness of an armor and the possibility of successful hijacking does not show a valid modus ponens! Smashing an armor to seize control of the entire craft is merely a method of pure violence and also a manifestation of strength under low-intelligence. Take note that the strength mentioned does not solely define one’s vigor."
"Oh I see…" Ye Chong seemed to have gotten it somehow… "Ah!" A sudden realization struck Ye Chong, "Does that mean the method of ‘threatening’ Shang had taught me before was a form of manifestation too?"
"You are correct. That resides in the field of psychology. Shang is knowledgeable at it, which is one of the reasons that explains a more developed mood matrix in comparison to me."
"I still prefer the to act straightforward, being concise and simple. These are a little complicated for me to understand," confessed Ye Chong. To a big fan of nature’s law of survival like Ye Chong, these techniques were truly more problematic to understand.
"These tactics are faster and more effective than pure violence, which is something important you need to learn in future. In spite of my understanding on these philosophies being unnecessary to a pilot like you, Shang showed perseverance to educate you on these. Judging by the situation now, clearly Shang’s suggestion is right." Mu answered in a serious tone.
As Shang was mentioned, it was both funny and annoying to Ye Chong. Shang was such a respectable character yet he just did not want to put up a respectable behavior. A curiosity arose out of the blue, "If you were Mu, what tactic do you think he would use to fulfill our goals?"
"Negative. Insufficient information. Unable to perform a calculation," answered Mu.
Well, Harmony of the Winter Aria surely had some really good anti-detection system. They had been traveling by the giant for quite a while yet they were never detected. This again flaunted the strength of the Ji family. They were one of the 4 aristocratic families for a reason. But for Mu, Ye Chong wondered if a detection system that could work against him had been invented.
The 2 hovering mechs wavered like 2 mosquitos surrounding a massive sleeping beast.
"So what tactics are you going to use?" Ye Chong asked on behalf of his overflowing curiosity. Mu had been holding back the details for long enough to thirst Ye Chong into desperation.
"Based on our current condition…" Mu began, "Assuming we were to break this armor directly with brutal force, the possibility would only be 2.5% and below - you can safely presume that as ‘impossible’. Hence, as my forte is performing calculation while having greater influences in the virtual network and all the controlling network in the processors of the spacecrafts is interconnected with the multi-channeled signal system. Furthermore I also happened to have a multi-channeled signal transmitter, with the nature being interconnected with the system, I could hack into the main processor of the spacecraft to seize the control of the entire unit," explained Mu.
After that much of explanation, it was then Ye Chong recalled the fact that Mu was a top wrecking maverick in the virtual web who had once destroyed the entire Luo family on a mere cyberattack.
"If that’s the case, aren’t you already invincible, with all these hacking-into-spacecrafts processes being like a stroll in the garden?" Mu’s explanation sounded too easy for an infiltration so, Ye Chong asked skeptically.
"What you have stated is incorrect," Mu showed disapproval to Ye Chong’s point. "Firstly, such hacking process is only possible under the circumstance that you are unnoticed by the foes. Secondly, one loses the ability to self-defend under the hacking mode, thus one could not react effectively if any form of casualties had occurred. Thirdly, if the foes too hold a group of mavericks, even if they were weak, such plan would fail unavoidably. Fourthly, if the foes had shut down the multi-channeled signal connecting system, such method would succeed at a possibility of 0%."
"Looks like this plan is very much limited by circumstances," Ye Chong showed understanding. "Still, mavericks are sure strong!" his tone was filled with admiration.
"Correct. The strength of mavericks is a kind of manifestation of wisdom. Comparing with sole physique or piloting skills, it is much stronger. However, it is such a pity that you do not show keen interests in this field, or it would have been a very useful course for your future," agreed Mu.
"Ay…" Ye Chong nodded his head heavily and spoke on, "Whatever that is related to the processor is alien to me. You can keep them to yourself. Somehow it just so happened that I don’t have talent in this thing. And I still have a lot more things to learn other than this. Sigh, the alchemy was quite interesting after getting the hang of it. But well, all was interrupted…"
"No matter what form of strength you would manifest, remember there always exists no limit to it. As long as the application is proper, theoretically speaking, any sort of problem always have one or more reasonable and correct solution to it!" concluded Mu.
"Right!" Ye Chong was inspired.
…
Inside the spacecraft, the experienced elderly sat on his throne in the main control room. The tray on his left was placed with a cup of steaming aromatic tea. He took a glance at the people running around as busily as bees with their chores in the room. He smiled, showing fond of such a contented life.
Capt. Hatik was an accomplished captain to spacecraft-voyages. It had been 35 years since his first sail as a captain. His face was torn by his age, his eyes glowed with one-of-a-kind steadiness that would imbue anyone with confidence upon seeing them.
Beep! Beep! Beep!
The communicator before him beeped out of sudden.
He frowned as he connected the transmission An elderly appeared in the hologram. He appeared much in the pink of health despite his age, with his face reddish and lack of wrinkles. Apparently the elderly had worked hard to keep his skin young.
"Yes, Fred the Great sir, how may I help you?" the captain spoke respectfully.
"Captain Hatik, how far are we from Blue Ocean?" his expression was a little stiff but his voice was crystal clear.
"Yes sir, we are less than a day away from our destination. Estimated about a few more hours till we meet the patrolling team around the planet," replied Hatik.
"Oh." The elderly was serene as he spoke, "We are changing our plans. We are not going to Blue Ocean. Change the course to Morienste."
The captain was undoubtedly shocked, "Fred the Great, sir, b-but, the Blue Ocean is just before us. Why are we changing our course so suddenly? Sir, if you do not desire to linger at the Blue Ocean, we could at least resupply our ship there! With the current supply, we have to stop by somewhere to resupply on the way to Morienste. Also, would not this be a little bad for…"
"No. Don’t have to!" Fred waved his hands forcefully, "Blue Ocean Planet has enforced the martial law. We are better off going somewhere else than being imprisoned there. Change the course now!"
"Martial law? What in the world has happened? That has made sir to change your mind at the eleventh hour?" Hatik was dumbfounded by his decision. Fred the Great was known for his capricious nature by the people, but Hatik saw him as a wise elderly. He believed that whatever Fred the Great did held a rationale behind.
"Yes… Umm…," Fred’s face stiffened for a quick while then he looked calm. "I got the news just now. The Blue Ocean has been completely locked out, due to a possible outbreak of a virus namely Charles-V. I personally think that the change of course would be a better choice for us. Yes, I’ll inform some of my old friends at Blue Ocean Academy, telling them to keep the wines away. For the reporters, just leave them! They are used to this anyway!"
"Charles-V? The Black Charles?" Hatik’s face was pale, "Oh my Fal Galaxy! How could such a terrible thing have an outbreak? Yes sir! You are right! We are changing the course as soon as possible!" His eyes were flooded with blatant fear towards Charles-V the virus.
"Charles-V?"
"What? Of all virus?"
"What do we do?"
"We have to change the course, move!"
Right when Capt. Hatik mentioned about the Charles-V virus, the main control room was boomed by the hushes of the panicked workers.
"Yes, truly, certainly, absolutely," Fred the Great became serious. "I think we are better off leaving this planet as far as possible. I believe that none of us would want to be infected by such a nuisance. It is quite fatal and horrifying after all. If that would happen, I guess the Blue Ocean planet would be in quite a mess, so it would be the worst timing to pay a visit."
"Truly, certainly, absolutely sir!" Hatik nodded his head repetitively, "You are right with what you said. We change the course now! We are ready!" and he turned back to his crewmen as he shouted, "Change the course! All aboard to Morienste!"
In the midst of the crewmen aligning the steers to a new world, at that darker corner behind where the light of Fred the Great’s hologram camera did not capture, there stood a young man with a crippled mech!