Chapter 44: A Desperate Departure
Translator: LonelytreeEFT Editor: Lucas
At an altitude of 5,000 meters, the Hope’s anti-gravitational system finally regained its usual
performance. Its previously slow ascent picked up speed. In the blink of an eye, the russet
surrounding of Planet Sahara shifted to the inky black of the cosmos. A collective sigh of relief
could be felt all over the Hope as the air of consternation hovering over its residents dispersed.
People were celebrating their successful escape from that death trap of a planet.
It was around this time of celebration that Yao Yuan awoke. He was already mighty tired when
Jay caught him mid falling. That combined with the many rough tumbles as the shuttle
slammed into the Hope had completely knocked him out.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself safely tucked inside a hospital bed. It was a
deja-vu experience because the situation was very similar to when he first awoke from Virus X.
Doctors and nurses sans the hazmat suits circled him, admitting medicine, check-ups, and
bandages.
Pinpricks of pain shot through his system when he tried moving his hands and feet. The pain
was a source of comfort because that meant the plants didn’t cause any nerve damage.
“How long have I been unconscious?” croaked Yao Yuan.
After the initial shock, all of the attending doctors were glad to see their major awake. The
leading doctor said, “Major, you weren’t out of it for long; it was only about ten minutes.
However, you survived a harsh tumble before you lost consciousness, and that was without the
protection of a space suit. So, Major, please rest easy while we take a few x-rays to ensure that
you aren’t suffering from any broken bones and concussions…”
Shaking his head, Yao Yuan adamantly rejected, “Sorry, doctor, I can’t do that. Now is not the
time to rest. After you are finished with the bandages, bring me a wheelchair. I need to get to
central command.”
The European middle-aged doctor dithered before finally yielding, “Alright, Major, if you are so
inclined… But we hope you will agree to a full body-check after this business is over.”
“Of course. I need to know whether those parasitic plant spores had burrowed their way into my
body,” Yao Yuan joked. Then he took a forty-winks while waiting for the wheelchair to arrive.
He was so tired…
The superhuman state was undoubtedly strong. In fact, they wouldn’t have survived Planet
Sahara without it. The last mission alone would have been impossible without access to that
mysterious state.
Jay and Zhang Heng were, in all senses of the word, the Hope’s heroes. Without their powers,
the mission would have a zero percent success rate. It was thanks to Jay’s power at mental
manipulation and Zhang Heng’s divination that the virus was deployed so successfully.
The superhuman state came with its own complications though. The exertion it had on one’s
physical and mental vigor was astronomical. It was enervating. As if proving the point, Yao
Yuan spotted out of the corner of his eye both Jay and Zhang Heng soundly asleep. He envied
them deeply because his short nap barely helped. What he wouldn’t give to lie down there and
enjoy a restful sleep.
But he knew it was not the time for sleep.
He could hear the sound of rejoice echoing through the Hope. But for Yao Yuan, it belied
people’s desperate need for safety and stability. And at the moment, the Hope was everything
they had.
Yao Yuan could almost pick out the thread of worry weaving through the cheers because he of
all people knew that the Hope’s excursion to Planet Sahara was not without its heavy price!
For one, they had lost an incredible amount of energy. The amount of energy that had been
drained was massive enough to support almost two space warps!
For another, they had not found any radioactive minerals on the planet. Yao Yuan suspected
that these had all already been converted into energy crystals by the plants. All in all, humanity
came off worse from the ordeal…
Based on initial reports, the Hope had enough energy left for one more space warp.
Even if they decided to go on with the space warp, the numbers were definitely not on their
side!
To have the first warp land within a solar system system with a terrestrial planet was already in
itself bordering impossibility and the chance of continuing that streak was… indescribably
small!
To give the Hope a fighting chance, Yao Yuan had to know exactly how much energy the ship
had left. He also needed to have a meeting with the Academy to figure out whether it was
possible to unlock the energy crystals found within the plants, and to use them as fuel for the
Hope.
With these missions in mind, Yao Yuan steeled his determination as he dragged his bandaged
body out of bed.
At that moment, a few lieutenants rushed into the room. They were led by Liu Bai, who, right
after stepping into the room, knelt before Yao Yuan to give him a cursory check. “I’m glad that
you’re doing fine, Ol’ Cap’n… By the way, what is your next course of action regarding the
capsule of energy crystal you brought back with you? None of us dared to move it without your
orders, so it has been left sitting beside the broken shuttle. The scientists have been notified of
this, so what’s the plan?”
“Energy crystal?” questioned Yao Yuan. He recalled the baggage that he had grasped before
falling. He originally thought it housed some sort of mineral.
“The crystal itself should be quite stable. If not, it would have exploded during the tumble… But
to be safe, keep it out of the civilians’ reach. For all we know, it could be highly radioactive. Let
the scientists do their analysis first.”
Nodding his head, Liu Bai added earnestly, “Yes, sir… Ol’ Cap’n, the doctor told me of your
request. I believe you should take a longer rest; God knows you deserve it.”
Yao Yuan only laughed wryly. Other than the few scientists who were directly responsible for
the Hope’s store of energy, Yao Yuan had told no one about the spaceship’s dangerously low
level. He had been trying to breach the topic with the Black Star Unit, but he couldn’t do
it with so many unrelated personnel in hearing range. He didn’t want to sow the seeds of panic.
Ten minutes later, Yao Yuan was already in central command, having a video meeting with the
few selected scientists.
“Major, the Hope’s current energy level has been calculated… We are relatively confident that it
can still support one more space warp. After that, the remaining energy could keep the Hope
running for another 25 days, give or take five days,” said a frowning scientist as he glossed over
his report.
Yao Yuan guzzled down the tea that someone handed him before replying, “How about solar
energy? Hasn’t the Hope been using its solar panels to gather solar energy?”
Another scientist interjected to pan the idea. “I’m sorry, Major, but that won’t work. The level of
energy the Hope uses is too high to be supported by solar energy. Even if we transfer all the
solar energy away from the biomes, it can only supplement a third of the ship’s total energy
consumption. However, due to the importance of the biomes, we really shouldn’t do that unless
absolutely necessary.”
Yao Yuan lowered his head to think. After a minute, he asked, “How about the desert planet?
Now that the heart of the plant has been vanquished, couldn’t we issue another landing to
search for radioactive minerals or to salvage them from the dead plants?”
A cloud of gloom eclipsed the faces of the scientists on the screen. One of them finally said,
“That would not be possible… Major, we are sorry to report, but I’m afraid that what you
destroyed is only a single heart of the plants.”
“A single heart of the plants? What do you mean?” Yao Yuan demanded.
The scientist turned to whisper to one of his interns that were standing by. After a few seconds,
a window appeared on screen. It showed the map of Planet Sahara. Circling a spot, the scientist
explained, “Major, this area is around where the Hope landed. As you can see, as big as the Hope
may be, it occupies only a small space when viewed in relation to the whole planet’s land mass.
However, it didn’t take long for the plants to get attached to the Hope. This could only mean
that the heart for this particular set of plants wasn’t that far away from us. If we take into
account the size of the heart that we saw and the size of this planet, we can safely speculate that
there are almost forty hearts occupying this planet. They are evenly spread across Planet
Sahara, and it was rather fortunate for us to stumble into only one of them…”
The more Yao Yuan looked at the graphs and statistics on screen, the more he was convinced of
the scientist’s argument. If there really was only one heart, then it meant that they had been
extremely unlucky to have landed within its gathering zone. The odds of that happening had
also been calculated, it was one over forty… It was not an odd Yao Yuan favored.
In other words, the biggest possibility was that the planet housed more such plant hearts.
“Major, this is why we are incredibly adamant against another landing. This is a chance that we
are unwilling to take. We can’t afford to have any more energy drained…” the scientist offered
despairingly.
Gritting his teeth, Yao Yuan sat brooding. Finally, he sighed. “I understand. We can’t gamble
with the lives of twelve million people. But space warping is also a risk, a bigger risk in fact…
Then again, since we can’t land on this planet, how about other planets in this galaxy? Have
there been any other discoveries?”
An astronomer stepped forth to answer. “Major, we have managed to detect six more planets in
this galaxy. Three of them are terrestrial planets and the other three are gas giants. But
regretfully, getting to the nearest terrestrial planet will take at least one month. The furthest
planet requires us to travel for almost a year before we can reach it… In conclusion, they are all
too far from where we are. Other than the space warp technology, the rest of the Hope is
equipped with Earth’s technology. We still aren’t advanced enough to be able to cross great
distances in a short span of time.”
“Is that so?”
Yao Yuan closed his eyes. After a while, his head dipped. He remained still for so long that the
people around him thought that he had accidentally fallen asleep. Suddenly, he said, with a
pained expression, “Then do the space warp. We can’t afford to waste more time staying put.
We have tried our best and so we shall leave it all to God. May he smile upon us… We will
prepare for the space warp in an hour. In the meantime, Lieutenant Wong will be the acting
captain. It is instrumental to save every single ounce of energy possible because we have to be
prepared for all situations…”
Yao Yuan’s voice slowed before finally tailing off as he slipped into slumber…
Everyone else who was present gazed silently at their leader’s sleeping profile. This was a man
who had saved the lives of twelve million people twice; once on Earth and once on Planet
Sahara. In the eyes of these men and women shone immeasurable respect and reverence.
The scientists ended the video meeting and then everyone started retreating quietly out of the
room. Central command descended into a pool of silence with the exception of Yao Yuan’s light
snoring and the pitter-patter of receding footsteps…
For the people that left the room, their hearts were as heavy as their footsteps.
They had survived a supposedly doomed planet, a miraculous space warp, and an industrialized
plant species, but what would their future hold? How much longer would this journey be?
No one truly knew…
An hour later, the Hope blinked out of this starry galaxy, erasing all traces of its existence. It
was as if it had never really been there…
Chapter 44: A Desperate Departure
Translator: LonelytreeEFT Editor: Lucas
At an altitude of 5,000 meters, the Hope’s anti-gravitational system finally regained its usual
performance. Its previously slow ascent picked up speed. In the blink of an eye, the russet
surrounding of Planet Sahara shifted to the inky black of the cosmos. A collective sigh of relief
could be felt all over the Hope as the air of consternation hovering over its residents dispersed.
People were celebrating their successful escape from that death trap of a planet.
It was around this time of celebration that Yao Yuan awoke. He was already mighty tired when
Jay caught him mid falling. That combined with the many rough tumbles as the shuttle
slammed into the Hope had completely knocked him out.
When he regained consciousness, he found himself safely tucked inside a hospital bed. It was a
deja-vu experience because the situation was very similar to when he first awoke from Virus X.
Doctors and nurses sans the hazmat suits circled him, admitting medicine, check-ups, and
bandages.
Pinpricks of pain shot through his system when he tried moving his hands and feet. The pain
was a source of comfort because that meant the plants didn’t cause any nerve damage.
“How long have I been unconscious?” croaked Yao Yuan.
After the initial shock, all of the attending doctors were glad to see their major awake. The
leading doctor said, “Major, you weren’t out of it for long; it was only about ten minutes.
However, you survived a harsh tumble before you lost consciousness, and that was without the
protection of a space suit. So, Major, please rest easy while we take a few x-rays to ensure that
you aren’t suffering from any broken bones and concussions…”
Shaking his head, Yao Yuan adamantly rejected, “Sorry, doctor, I can’t do that. Now is not the
time to rest. After you are finished with the bandages, bring me a wheelchair. I need to get to
central command.”
The European middle-aged doctor dithered before finally yielding, “Alright, Major, if you are so
inclined… But we hope you will agree to a full body-check after this business is over.”
“Of course. I need to know whether those parasitic plant spores had burrowed their way into my
body,” Yao Yuan joked. Then he took a forty-winks while waiting for the wheelchair to arrive.
He was so tired…
The superhuman state was undoubtedly strong. In fact, they wouldn’t have survived Planet
Sahara without it. The last mission alone would have been impossible without access to that
mysterious state.
Jay and Zhang Heng were, in all senses of the word, the Hope’s heroes. Without their powers,
the mission would have a zero percent success rate. It was thanks to Jay’s power at mental
manipulation and Zhang Heng’s divination that the virus was deployed so successfully.
The superhuman state came with its own complications though. The exertion it had on one’s
physical and mental vigor was astronomical. It was enervating. As if proving the point, Yao
Yuan spotted out of the corner of his eye both Jay and Zhang Heng soundly asleep. He envied
them deeply because his short nap barely helped. What he wouldn’t give to lie down there and
enjoy a restful sleep.
But he knew it was not the time for sleep.
He could hear the sound of rejoice echoing through the Hope. But for Yao Yuan, it belied
people’s desperate need for safety and stability. And at the moment, the Hope was everything
they had.
Yao Yuan could almost pick out the thread of worry weaving through the cheers because he of
all people knew that the Hope’s excursion to Planet Sahara was not without its heavy price!
For one, they had lost an incredible amount of energy. The amount of energy that had been
drained was massive enough to support almost two space warps!
For another, they had not found any radioactive minerals on the planet. Yao Yuan suspected
that these had all already been converted into energy crystals by the plants. All in all, humanity
came off worse from the ordeal…
Based on initial reports, the Hope had enough energy left for one more space warp.
Even if they decided to go on with the space warp, the numbers were definitely not on their
side!
To have the first warp land within a solar system system with a terrestrial planet was already in
itself bordering impossibility and the chance of continuing that streak was… indescribably
small!
To give the Hope a fighting chance, Yao Yuan had to know exactly how much energy the ship
had left. He also needed to have a meeting with the Academy to figure out whether it was
possible to unlock the energy crystals found within the plants, and to use them as fuel for the
Hope.
With these missions in mind, Yao Yuan steeled his determination as he dragged his bandaged
body out of bed.
At that moment, a few lieutenants rushed into the room. They were led by Liu Bai, who, right
after stepping into the room, knelt before Yao Yuan to give him a cursory check. “I’m glad that
you’re doing fine, Ol’ Cap’n… By the way, what is your next course of action regarding the
capsule of energy crystal you brought back with you? None of us dared to move it without your
orders, so it has been left sitting beside the broken shuttle. The scientists have been notified of
this, so what’s the plan?”
“Energy crystal?” questioned Yao Yuan. He recalled the baggage that he had grasped before
falling. He originally thought it housed some sort of mineral.
“The crystal itself should be quite stable. If not, it would have exploded during the tumble… But
to be safe, keep it out of the civilians’ reach. For all we know, it could be highly radioactive. Let
the scientists do their analysis first.”
Nodding his head, Liu Bai added earnestly, “Yes, sir… Ol’ Cap’n, the doctor told me of your
request. I believe you should take a longer rest; God knows you deserve it.”
Yao Yuan only laughed wryly. Other than the few scientists who were directly responsible for
the Hope’s store of energy, Yao Yuan had told no one about the spaceship’s dangerously low
level. He had been trying to breach the topic with the Black Star Unit, but he couldn’t do
it with so many unrelated personnel in hearing range. He didn’t want to sow the seeds of panic.
Ten minutes later, Yao Yuan was already in central command, having a video meeting with the
few selected scientists.
“Major, the Hope’s current energy level has been calculated… We are relatively confident that it
can still support one more space warp. After that, the remaining energy could keep the Hope
running for another 25 days, give or take five days,” said a frowning scientist as he glossed over
his report.
Yao Yuan guzzled down the tea that someone handed him before replying, “How about solar
energy? Hasn’t the Hope been using its solar panels to gather solar energy?”
Another scientist interjected to pan the idea. “I’m sorry, Major, but that won’t work. The level of
energy the Hope uses is too high to be supported by solar energy. Even if we transfer all the
solar energy away from the biomes, it can only supplement a third of the ship’s total energy
consumption. However, due to the importance of the biomes, we really shouldn’t do that unless
absolutely necessary.”
Yao Yuan lowered his head to think. After a minute, he asked, “How about the desert planet?
Now that the heart of the plant has been vanquished, couldn’t we issue another landing to
search for radioactive minerals or to salvage them from the dead plants?”
A cloud of gloom eclipsed the faces of the scientists on the screen. One of them finally said,
“That would not be possible… Major, we are sorry to report, but I’m afraid that what you
destroyed is only a single heart of the plants.”
“A single heart of the plants? What do you mean?” Yao Yuan demanded.
The scientist turned to whisper to one of his interns that were standing by. After a few seconds,
a window appeared on screen. It showed the map of Planet Sahara. Circling a spot, the scientist
explained, “Major, this area is around where the Hope landed. As you can see, as big as the Hope
may be, it occupies only a small space when viewed in relation to the whole planet’s land mass.
However, it didn’t take long for the plants to get attached to the Hope. This could only mean
that the heart for this particular set of plants wasn’t that far away from us. If we take into
account the size of the heart that we saw and the size of this planet, we can safely speculate that
there are almost forty hearts occupying this planet. They are evenly spread across Planet
Sahara, and it was rather fortunate for us to stumble into only one of them…”
The more Yao Yuan looked at the graphs and statistics on screen, the more he was convinced of
the scientist’s argument. If there really was only one heart, then it meant that they had been
extremely unlucky to have landed within its gathering zone. The odds of that happening had
also been calculated, it was one over forty… It was not an odd Yao Yuan favored.
In other words, the biggest possibility was that the planet housed more such plant hearts.
“Major, this is why we are incredibly adamant against another landing. This is a chance that we
are unwilling to take. We can’t afford to have any more energy drained…” the scientist offered
despairingly.
Gritting his teeth, Yao Yuan sat brooding. Finally, he sighed. “I understand. We can’t gamble
with the lives of twelve million people. But space warping is also a risk, a bigger risk in fact…
Then again, since we can’t land on this planet, how about other planets in this galaxy? Have
there been any other discoveries?”
An astronomer stepped forth to answer. “Major, we have managed to detect six more planets in
this galaxy. Three of them are terrestrial planets and the other three are gas giants. But
regretfully, getting to the nearest terrestrial planet will take at least one month. The furthest
planet requires us to travel for almost a year before we can reach it… In conclusion, they are all
too far from where we are. Other than the space warp technology, the rest of the Hope is
equipped with Earth’s technology. We still aren’t advanced enough to be able to cross great
distances in a short span of time.”
“Is that so?”
Yao Yuan closed his eyes. After a while, his head dipped. He remained still for so long that the
people around him thought that he had accidentally fallen asleep. Suddenly, he said, with a
pained expression, “Then do the space warp. We can’t afford to waste more time staying put.
We have tried our best and so we shall leave it all to God. May he smile upon us… We will
prepare for the space warp in an hour. In the meantime, Lieutenant Wong will be the acting
captain. It is instrumental to save every single ounce of energy possible because we have to be
prepared for all situations…”
Yao Yuan’s voice slowed before finally tailing off as he slipped into slumber…
Everyone else who was present gazed silently at their leader’s sleeping profile. This was a man
who had saved the lives of twelve million people twice; once on Earth and once on Planet
Sahara. In the eyes of these men and women shone immeasurable respect and reverence.
The scientists ended the video meeting and then everyone started retreating quietly out of the
room. Central command descended into a pool of silence with the exception of Yao Yuan’s light
snoring and the pitter-patter of receding footsteps…
For the people that left the room, their hearts were as heavy as their footsteps.
They had survived a supposedly doomed planet, a miraculous space warp, and an industrialized
plant species, but what would their future hold? How much longer would this journey be?
No one truly knew…
An hour later, the Hope blinked out of this starry galaxy, erasing all traces of its existence. It
was as if it had never really been there…
