Chapter 396 - 362: The Last Warning

Chapter 396: Chapter 362: The Last Warning

Terra Star. The temporary survival base of Dream Ship One.

Several astronauts, led by Wei Xuan, were suiting up in their spacesuits.

Three others weren’t joining them, their faces etched with worry.

One of them couldn’t help but ask, "Leader, are you really going to the other survival base?"

"These are orders from the Aerospace Agency, and it’s our responsibility to carry them out. If we were the ones who’d gone dark, the astronauts from the Imperial Pioneers would be obligated to come check on us."

"I understand, it’s just... those screams were so chilling..."

The screams that had come through the comms earlier were so horrifying that no one could imagine what could make such strong-willed astronauts cry out like that.

"If they had all died, we’d probably be recalled. But the problem is, their life signs are all stable," another astronaut suiting up said, baffled. "Logically, if they’d suffered a terrible attack, there would be casualties. If there are no casualties, why aren’t they answering our hails?"

"That’s what we have to find out," Wei Xuan said, looking at the three who were staying behind. "There must be some kind of unknown threat on this planet. You need to stay on high alert and maintain constant contact with us."

"Yes, Leader."

"Please be careful, Leader!"

"Alright, let’s move out."

Fully equipped, Wei Xuan and his team departed the survival base and began heading toward the Imperial Pioneers’ location.

The two landing sites were about twenty kilometers apart. With no vehicles, the journey on foot would take at least five or six hours.

However, the gravity on Terra Star was only about one-fifth that of Celestial Water Star, allowing them to travel much more efficiently and shortening the journey considerably.

With twelve hours of oxygen reserves per person, they had enough to make the round trip twice over.

The team advanced in a series of low-gravity bounds. Their movements looked somewhat comical, but no one was in the mood to laugh.

Everyone was thinking the same thing. ’As a moon of Celestial Water Star, Terra has been surveyed by probes countless times since the dawn of human spaceflight.’

’If there were any unknown life forms on this planet, they should have been detected long ago.’

’But if there isn’t any unknown life, what could have terrified the Imperial Pioneers crew so badly that they’d gone completely silent?’

The pressure of this unknown fear weighed heavily on everyone.

The group traveled in silence, with Leader Wei Xuan speaking only during the scheduled check-ins with the base. Before long, the Imperial Pioneers’ rocket came into view.

"I see the rocket. We’re almost there."

"Don’t let your guard down. Watch our surroundings."

As they drew closer to the survival base, the tension mounted. No one knew what they were about to face.

When they were only five kilometers away, Wei Xuan had everyone stop and took out a metal case he was carrying.

He placed it flat on the ground and opened it. An Intelligent Robot, shaped like a spider, crawled out.

This was the "Celestial Spider Probe," a drone designed for ground reconnaissance. It was loaded with sensors, equipped with a high-definition camera and audio recorder, and its custom-built, 360-degree rotating metal legs could adapt to any terrain.

Wei Xuan programmed a course, activated the drone, and it scurried off toward the target survival base.

’As the leader, I can’t lead the team straight into an unknown situation. It’s too dangerous,’ he thought. ’Better to send the drone in to scout first. If there’s danger inside, we can prepare for it.’

He watched the Celestial Spider’s real-time feed on the receiver’s screen.

It quickly reached the survival base established by the Imperial Pioneers’ crew. The setup looked much like their own at Dream Ship One, consisting of two inflatable modules: one for supplies and one for living quarters.

Under Wei Xuan’s control, the Celestial Spider circled the base, but found no external damage to either module.

’Strange...’

’No external damage. That means the astronauts are all inside the inflatable modules. There was no breach.’

Wei Xuan switched to thermal imaging and saw multiple human heat signatures inside. The count matched the number of astronauts perfectly—no more, no less.

Wei Xuan lowered the receiver and addressed his team. "The Celestial Spider found no enemies, but the base modules are sealed. We have to go over and unlock them. Let’s move."

"Understood."

The team members breathed a small sigh of relief at the news. A short time later, they reached the survival base with Wei Xuan. A careful inspection of the surrounding area confirmed the Celestial Spider’s findings: no signs of a struggle.

Wei Xuan walked up to the living quarters. A small screen by the door lit up, requiring an iris scan to open.

The astronauts from both missions had shared access privileges. Wei Xuan leaned into the scanner, and the screen immediately turned green.

[Wei Xuan, Leader, Dream Ship One. Access Granted.]

The outer door of the module opened, and Wei Xuan and the others entered.

As the outer door sealed behind them, everyone either tightened their grip on their firearms or readied their Psychic Power devices.

When the inner door opened, the crew of the Imperial Pioneers came into view!

"They’re--!"

Over a dozen astronauts were scattered around the room—some lying on the floor, some slumped over tables, others twisted in unnatural positions. What they all had in common was an expression of absolute terror frozen on their faces, their bodies as rigid as stone.

The expressions were so grotesquely twisted with fear that they sent a chill down Wei Xuan’s spine. His team immediately swept the module; aside from the astronauts, there were no other life forms present.

The team’s medic performed a quick examination, then reported with uncertainty, "Leader, it looks like... their bodies have entered some kind of specific stress response, brought on by extreme fear."

"A stress response?" another team member said, walking over to an astronaut who was frozen with his eyes wide and mouth agape. He waved a hand in front of the man’s face. "Can a stress response turn someone into... this? He’s practically catatonic."

"Normally, no. Especially not this many people falling into such a bizarre state simultaneously... And yet, their heart rates are stable. That’s why their life signs are still showing up. It’s unbelievable."

"..."

Wei Xuan remained silent, walking over to Robert, the leader of the Imperial Pioneers, who was seated at a table. Robert’s hands were clamped to his head, his face a frozen mask of terror, teeth clenched. He had a fresh cut on his lip, and drops of blood stained the tabletop before him.

A communicator and the module’s control console sat on the table. Wei Xuan tapped a few controls, and a video began to play on the screen.

For safety, the survival bases were equipped with internal cameras, meaning that whatever had happened here, there would be a recording.

Wei Xuan cued the video to five minutes before Robert had contacted him. The footage showed the astronauts chatting and laughing. Nothing seemed amiss.

He let it play. A little over four minutes in, everything changed.

At almost the exact same instant, every astronaut in the module stared wide-eyed at something unseen, letting out continuous, bloodcurdling screams.

Leader Robert screamed along with them, but after a few seconds, he seemed to regain a moment of clarity. He bit through his own lip, ignoring the dripping blood as he snatched the communicator to contact Wei Xuan. He shouted a single sentence before once again succumbing to terror and frenzy.

This went on for just over ten seconds before all the astronauts in the module stiffened, their expressions locking into place.

The faces of everyone who watched the video turned deathly pale. Because the recording device on the table had been so close to Robert, his shout hadn’t been completely drowned out by the other screams. This time, they all heard it clearly—the final warning Robert had managed to cry out in his single moment of lucidity.

"Leave! There’s a demon on this planet!"