Chapter 247: The Risk of Disintegration
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The out of control propulsion system was increasing its output by the moment. The situation became more and more unpredictable with the way things were going. Due to an initial design flaw, the propulsion unit had several smaller stabiliser engines around it. As the engines were controlled by the propulsion unit's AI, the moment the system went out of control, so did the stabiliser engines.
This resulted in the whole island quaking under the enormous and unstable propulsion. Even though the artificial gravitational system strained itself to regulate the force of gravity, to lessen the impact caused by the quakes, many areas still did not escape unscathed. A few old structures had collapsed altogether whereas some places had sinkholes and cracks. The island was under such pressure, which exceeded its designed capacity that the island was slowly breaking apart. It was fortuitious that the hoop was very resilient and somehow managed to hold the island together, if barely.
The rolling had returned the gravitational field in the area. Hao Ren was back to "normal", but things were still jittery and shakey. It took a lot of effort trying to stay upright. As the sky spinned above them, they awaited news from the team that went forward to destroy the propulsion unit.
A squadron from the nearby spaceport, armed with missiles had since departed and if things went according to schedule, they were probably already in the inferno zone. Yet, no news came. Hao Ren looked up towards the other side of the island and he could see a faint light of dawn from the far end. It was however, getting brighter and brighter at a very fast pace. This was indeed the first, most drastic break of dawn in the Dawnbreak Island. If their efforts failed, this would be the last break of dawn the island would see.
After a while, the corvette squadron brought news, but it was not good news: The thrusters were in full blast at this point, and they could not even get close. Even the missiles exploded prematurely from the blistering heat. They were now requesting for an even bigger battleship, but time was running out.
Hao Ren cracked his head, wondering what could be done to help. He spoke to the MDT telephatically, "Doesn't the Petrachelys have a macrocannon or something? Can we take a shot—"
"That will blow the whole island up. I think we should also install some other weapons of smaller calibres next time," the MDT answered as it strained to supply power to the dome. "This thing sure has a way of going haywire... almost half of my energy has been taken up by the propulsion system!"
At that moment, Y'zaks suddenly stood up and asked with his booming voice, "We just need to take that propulsion system out, right?"
"Yes..." One of the elf raised an eyebrow at the giant. "But, we have no way of getting close to it."
"I can probably make it there. Make an exit for me." Y'zaks pointed towards the wall. "Tell me, how does the propulsion thing look like?"
The elf turned pale immediately. "That's suicide! It's the void out there! We don't even have spacesuits that you can use!"
Y'zaks simply shrugged. "Not a problem. I can live in space. Besides, the wider space gives me extra berth."
Hao Ren stared at the daredevil with his jaw dropped. Lily could not just sit still too, and she bounced towards Hao Ren. "Can we do anything to help? Let's go wreck some—"
The MDT had to yell at the top of its voice. "No! It's a no go for you. You have not been enhanced for deep space enviroment. Even if you can survive in deep space for a period of time, don't count on yourself being of any help. Hao Ren on the other hand, can go. That hunk of muscle can be put to good use afterall, with him not being affected by deep space."
Hao Ren pointed at himself in shock. "Me? Going into deep space?"
"Your bio-enhancement included deep space travel in it. Inspectors do need to be able to work in space after all. This is a basic ability. Your body has some nanobots that will automatically regulate your dermal and respiratory system, giving you enough energy, heat and air pressure. Your Steel Membrane Shield can filter cosmic rays and some space organisms too. But, don't stay out there too long, humans are not meant to be space creatures."
"Since when did I have this ability? Was it during the last bio-enhancement? Why didn't anyone tell me about it?"
"Welp, Madam Raven didn't even give you a user's manual, and besides, have you actually met a situation like this before?" The MDT said as it urged Hao Ren to get moving. "Quickly, I don't think this place can hold on much longer. Oh, don't stray too far from the floating islands. Your movement in space is based on a simplified coordination conversion system, pretty new tech. It's something similar to your cells and has very limited capacity. It will also cause direct mental stress. A human's mental system is unable to adapt to the stress caused by this high intensity conversion. Basically, if you fly too far out, you won't have the strength to get back."
Hao Ren tried his best to remember everything the MDT said. He did feel that the information should have been given to him eons ago, in order for him to digest the ability, which already exceeded a normal human's sensory limits. He never knew of this ability until now, and he reckoned that this would take ages to even get used to it. Nonetheless, Hao Ren did not hold a grudge or anything. He knew very well that this was an unforseen situation. Even Raven 12345 would not have counted on him running into this sort of trouble so quickly.
Truly, trouble does come knocking, usually at the least opportune of times.
"You two, stay here to help out with the evacuation." Hao Ren patted Lily on her shoulder. "I'll be back in a jiffy."
The elves realised that these bunch of weirdos were not joking, and after knowing them for a short period of time, they came to realise that these people were indeed capable. They were guests brought home by Her Majesty after all. They also came to believe that there were beings in their universe that were beyond their comprehension. An elven military officer approached them and gave a crisp salute. "I'll lead you two to the nearest maintenance pipeline. This area is just too vulnerable to open up the barrier."
There was a maintenance entryway near the blast area, which led into the propulsion system room. Inside, there was a slanted corridor, lit with dim yellow light. The officer that led the way reminded Hao Ren and Y'zaks before they went into the entryway. "There are two bulkheads in front of you. They have been sealed to prevent lost of air pressure. I'll be opening the first bulkhead in a short while. After 10 seconds, I will close the first bulkhead and open the second one, which will be held open until your return. After the second bulkhead, it will probably be vacuum space as the whole propulsion sytem area has already been breached. After the second bulkhead, there will be no air. Are you sure you want to go ahead?"
Hao Ren nodded without a word and walked with Y'zaks into the corridor. The reinforced steel gate slowly closed behind them as they went forth.
The first bulkhead was upon them; a heavy, greyish alloy gate. Hao Ren noticed that by the gate, there was a button to signal those outside. As he pressed the button, he saw a row of Aerymic letters carved into the wall. "Hold until the second day."
It made no sense without context, but it was perhaps just an Aerymian idiom of sorts.
With a loud hiss, the first bulkhead opened, and a small airtight compartment appeared in front of them. Hao Ren and Y'zaks stepped into the compartment and after a rather long 10-second wait, the first bulkhead closed behind them. The moment the bulkhead sealed shut, the air in the compartment was sucked out as the second bulkhead slowly opened.
As the air was sucked out, Hao Ren's heart rate shot up automatically. The initial sensation was rather unpleasant, but he soon realised that his body managed to somehow adapt to being in a vacuum. He was not able to breathe, but his lung activity had been somewhat curtailed, and the breathlessness quickly went away. Even his skin started to tighten. Evidently, the nanomachines within his body were quickly adapting for him to survive in space. At the same time, he felt some weird tingly sensation on his eyes and ears before they went slightly numb.
Hao Ren tried to speak but realised that there was no sound coming out from his mouth. He could not hear anything.
Y'zaks noticed Hao Ren's predicament. His eyes lit up in an eerie, green glow and Hao Ren soon heard a thunderous voice in his head. "Speak to me telepathically."
"You can use telepathy too?" Hao Ren was surprised.
"An old demon trick." Y'zaks smiled as he led the way. "Us demons used to love utilising telepathy to project our will into humans, using the promise of power or forbidden knowledge to cause their downfall. It used to be a popular trick to obtain followers as well. However, as human religious circles started publishing guides to avoid a demon's whisper, it fell out of use. I never did so of course, but I'm a demon after all."
The two walked silently along the corridor and after a few corners they reached a location that was utterly wrecked.
It was the rear part of the propulsion system's control centre. It had been blown to smithereens when the explosion occurred.