Shadows of the Deep Space
Chapter 264: Answering Three Questions with Ignorance (Added for the alliance leader, Maple Night) (Part 5)

Chapter 264: Chapter 264: Answering Three Questions with Ignorance (Added for the alliance leader, Maple Night) (Part 5)

Inside the Red Teeth Command Room.

Lieutenant An Jie looked at the Star Map and quickly reported,

"Sir, we are about to arrive at the location where the Nautilus encountered trouble."

"Mm."

Colonel Xiao Ye replied steadily as he sat in the command chair.

At this moment, an operator reported,

"Radar scanning device has detected the Level 4 Mother Ship Nautilus, Level 3 Battleship Swift Wind, and Level 3 Battleship Shanye!"

"Initiating optical devices for imaging!"

...

Following the conclusion of the voice, a holographic image surfaced.

A special Mother Ship with a diameter of 120 kilometers, saucer-shaped, with a raised center, covered entirely with thick green armor, came into view.

On either side of this Mother Ship floated two Level 3 Battleships.

Colonel Xiao Ye issued orders in a deep voice,

"Attempt communication link."

"Sending communication request now."

"No response from the Nautilus, but Swift Wind and Shanye have accepted the communication request." freewёbnoνel.com

...

The next second, two virtual image frames popped up.

Two young-looking military officers wearing the uniforms of lieutenants asked anxiously,

"Sir, have you come to rescue us?"

"Yes, we’ve come to rescue. What’s the situation with the Nautilus right now?"

Colonel Xiao Ye asked sternly.

"We’re not sure; all we know now is that the Nautilus command room is unresponsive and the power system has also shut down."

"How many survivors are there on the ship?"

"We don’t know."

"What kind of creatures are rampant on the ship? How many are there?"

"It seems to be Chilami, but we don’t know the exact number."

"How did Chilami get on board? Was it an invasion, or was there a loss of control inside?"

"We don’t know."

The two officers in front of him were nearly ignorant of everything.

Colonel Xiao Ye, hearing their responses, his face grew as dark as ink as he suppressed his anger and asked,

"What do you know then?"

"We’re actually not clear about the situation ourselves. Our commanding officer died inside during the rescue, and we’re just temporary replacements."

"That’s right, but one thing we are certain of is that when the Nautilus ran into trouble, to ensure safety, the captain of the Nautilus initiated the emergency safety mode, bringing all the hatches down! Also, due to issues with the power system stopping operations, the Nautilus is now relying on the emergency life support system, which can only hold out for another 24 hours. Now only 7 hours and 16 minutes are left, and if we can’t rescue the people within this timeframe, it’ll be dangerous."

The two lieutenants replied with extreme nervousness.

Colonel Xiao Ye, after hearing their words, rubbed his temples, his entire head throbbing in pain.

Nothing was known about the situation inside the Nautilus, and then one piece of bad news after another.

"Sir? What do we do now?"

Lieutenant An Jie asked quietly.

"What else can we do, relay my order, the rescue operation starts now."

Colonel Xiao Ye let out a slight breath and issued the order.

In the vast expanse of space, Red Teeth opened several exit hatches, one Mecha after another flying out at great speed.

Soon all the Mechas had launched.

Su Ming glanced around at the surrounding Mechas and was also slightly surprised.

Not just their group was involved in the rescue, but all the regular Mecha troops aboard the Red Teeth were fully deployed, totaling about 200 units, along with 100 marine soldiers.

Of course, this number was indeed small, but also quite normal, as after all, the Red Teeth was carrying so many students and teachers, there was no way to be fully crewed.

At this moment, Colonel Xiao Ye’s voice rose in the communication channel.

"The rescue mission has now begun, and we’re arranging the action," came the announcement. "First, students from Imperial Court Academy who are not involved in boarding combat will assist in surrounding the Nautilus."

"Understood!"

"Attention to those responsible for boarding and rescue, we have established contact with two escort ships. Information about the current situation aboard the Nautilus has been sent to you. Review it carefully!"

Xiao Ye continued immediately.

At that moment, Su Ming accessed the screen and pulled up a document.

He clicked to open it and glanced through, seeing a detailed internal structure map of the Nautilus and other relevant information.

Su Ming initially felt okay when he saw the map, but as he read the accompanying information, his expression grew increasingly grave.

Then, an excited voice from Rhein came through the squad’s communication channel.

"We’re finally starting a real mission; this is so thrilling. But this information is so sloppy and perfunctory. Are you sure there’s no problem with the data, teacher?"

"Yeah, this information only tells us that the ship is overrun by Chilami. Almost everything else is unknown."

"The worst part is, they’ve initiated the emergency safety mode. Now everyone’s trapped inside, and on top of that, there’s a time limit for the rescue."

Zhang Yi and Angel were also expressing their confusion.

"The situation as we know it is all there is. Don’t ask me any further; I’m just as in the dark as you are."

Mia replied irritably; she too found it absurd that they were about to embark on a rescue mission and yet couldn’t receive any detailed intelligence from the other side.

"All right."

Rhein and the others stopped questioning after hearing Mia’s words.

Then Xiao Ye spoke with a heavy tone.

"Have all of you reviewed the information? The situation is very pessimistic, and we must make every second count. I’m dividing the boarding rescue personnel into three teams! The first team will head to the Nautilus Command Room and attempt to take control of the ship, restarting the power system. The second team will proceed to the laboratory for rescue; the primary targets and items needed for retrieval have been sent to you. The third team, head to the safe zone to search—check if there are any survivors. Under normal circumstances, it’s likely that not many have survived."

"Understood!"

Mia and the others responded in succession.

Then Su Ming checked the prompt that popped up in the system; his six-person squad was assigned as Group 3, responsible for searching the safe zone for survivors.

Su Ming quickly entered commands to find out how many were in their group and who the leader was.

Swish~

A list of names appeared.

There were 150 personnel in their team, with Vice Captain of the Red Teeth Mecha Corps, Captain Wang Sheng, in charge of leading. Main participants were mostly students, with fewer from the regular forces.

However, such a distribution made sense since the danger level of searching the safe zone was relatively low.

Immediately after, Su Ming checked the composition of the other two groups and discovered to his dismay that Lin Chuyu and An Ruoxue had been assigned to the highly perilous second group, where they would follow Major Gene to the most dangerous lab for rescue operations.

And while Su Ming was reviewing the personnel distribution list, Xiao Ye issued a commanding order with a serious tone.

"Depart!"

Swish~

One after another, mechas sped towards the distant Nautilus.

...

In the Red Teeth Command Room.

Xiao Ye stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the eerily silent Nautilus, and spoke coldly to An Jie.

"Load all launch ports in advance and preheat all power units."

"Commander, are you intending to?"

An Jie looked at Xiao Ye in surprise.

"Just as a precaution, I hope my concerns are unwarranted," Xiao Ye said in a very low voice.

...

Amongst the stars.

Su Ming maneuvered the Iron Guard, following the troops and steadily closing in on the Nautilus.

Before long, the massive hull came into view, becoming clearer and clearer.

Su Ming entered a string of commands, activating optical equipment, constantly magnifying and capturing the images, closely observing the mother ship.

From the outside, the Nautilus seemed unscathed. Yet, with all exterior indicator lights off and the ship ominously drifting, it gave off an eerie and ominous vibe.

At this time, all students not involved in the boarding operation began to spread out and encircle the Nautilus.

As for those participating in the operation, they started splitting up according to their teams, flying towards different boarding points.