The Ark was like a wounded steel giant, dragging the tail flame of its overloaded engine, and slid with difficulty into the huge low-Earth orbit maintenance platform.
The Earth was spinning below, and the massive crack in the atmosphere was slowly healing at a speed visible to the naked eye, thanks to the pale blue force field projected by the GDA-developed "Sky Shield." However, it was still a shocking sight.
Inside the bridge, the atmosphere was so heavy that water could drip out of it.
On the holographic star map, a huge group of red light spots representing the main fleet of the Angrum Empire's exterminators was approaching the edge of the solar system at a desperate speed, like a red tide that swallowed everything.
The robot's cold voice echoed in the dead silence, analyzing the core data brought back from "Outpost-7".
48 hours ago, Nolan Grayson sent the Earth's precise coordinates, atmospheric and gravity parameters, the distribution of major population centers, and the weak coordinates of space stability nodes to the Angrum Empire High Command through the outpost's highest authority channel.
The flagship of the Exterminator Fleet has issued a combat order: immediately upon arrival, concentrate firepower to destroy weak points and tear apart space defenses.
They then launched orbital bombardments of major cities and released genetic decomposition weapons to completely exterminate intelligent life on Earth.
Estimated execution time: within 6 hours after the fleet arrives.
Nolan's signal finally disappeared deep in the Kuiper Belt, pointing towards the direction of Vitrum's home planet.
Combined with the analysis of encrypted communication fragments within the outpost, the Vitrum Empire is experiencing severe turmoil and a coup against the current emperor is suspected.
Nolan's trip...is most likely to seize the supreme power.
In addition, a data stream of unknown origin and encoding method very different from that of Vitrum or Angrum was found in the deep encrypted partition of the outpost database.
Pointing to the internal coordinates of the earth: around 30° north latitude, an area of abnormal geological activity.
Preliminary analysis shows that this data stream has a high degree of autonomy and...some observation properties.
The robot stated: "Its purpose is unknown, but the energy signature... bears traces of unnatural stellar activity. Highest priority investigation is recommended."
The intelligence was like an ice-cold steel needle, piercing the last glimmer of hope.
The catastrophe will strike in 72 hours, and Nolan, the mastermind behind it, is at large and may even seek greater power.
What's even more terrifying is that there is an anomaly hidden inside the earth that even the Vitrum Outpost is secretly watching!
"72 hours..."
Black Rhino Samson slammed his fist on the alloy table, making a dull thud and causing the table to dent.
"It will take at least 48 hours to repair the weak point! How can we stop that fleet? Our heads?!"
"And that damn anomaly!"
Rudy scratched his colorfully dyed hair in annoyance.
"My hometown is about to be demolished by aliens, and there's some weird thing hiding underground! How can we fight this war?!"
"calm!"
Atomic Eve tries to maintain order.
"The top priority is to repair the atmospheric weaknesses! All GDA resources have been mobilized! Robot, we need you to join the engineering team immediately!"
"Logical priority, repairing the defense nodes is above all else."
The robot's engineering suit turned to the console.
"I will devote all my computing power to strengthening the weak points, but time is...extremely tight."
"What about the Angrum Fleet?"
Everyone looked at Mark, who had been standing silently in front of the porthole.
"In 72 hours, they'll be in orbit! Even if they're repaired, they might not be able to withstand the concentrated firepower of the main fleet!"
"We must take the initiative and intercept them before they enter the solar system!"
"agree!"
The black rhino responded immediately, fighting spirit burning in his eyes.
"Instead of just sitting there waiting to be bombed, why not rush out and kill them? The Ark is still able to move, and with us, we can definitely tear a piece of their flesh off!"
"My new Galaxy Storm bomb is just in need of a testing ground!"
Rudy is eager to try.
"It's too risky!" Atomic Eve immediately retorted.
"The Ark is in poor condition right now! We only have one ship, and the enemy has an entire main fleet. A head-on interception would be tantamount to suicide!"
"We should rely on the Earth's orbital defense system to fight a defensive battle! Buy time! Wait for a miracle!"
"Miracle?"
The clone's voice was pessimistic.
"After 72 hours, where will the miracle happen? Will Nolan come to save us? Or will that underground anomaly suddenly jump out to help us fight the aliens?"
"Maybe... we can try to negotiate with them? For example... offer Rudy's artwork as a token of peace?"
"Get out!" Rudy cursed.
Disagreements erupted instantly.
The radical Black Rhino and Rudy advocate taking the initiative to keep the enemy out of the country.
Conservatives Atomic Eve and the clones believe that they should rely on defense to hold on and conserve their strength.
But that mysterious anomaly adds a huge amount of uncertainty.
Everyone's eyes finally focused on Mark.
He is the commander, the tip of the spear of this legion, and the only one who has the power to act independently in the universe and possibly shake the situation of the war.
Mark turned around slowly.
The light of the star map illuminated his angular face. Deep in his golden-red pupils, there was no anger, no fear, only a will that burned calmly like the core of a star.
His eyes swept over the arguing team members, and his voice was low and clear, with unquestionable determination.
"That's the end of the argument."
"Robot, you stay here and integrate all of GDA's resources. Within 48 hours, you must complete the repair and reinforcement of the weak points. This is the bottom line."
"Eve, Samson, Rudy..."
"The three of you will assist the robots and ensure the smooth progress of the project. You must also be prepared to respond to orbital defense battles at any time. Earth is our root and we cannot afford to lose it."
"Clone, you are responsible for the ground. Cooperate with the GDA to monitor global anomalies, especially that coordinate point. Maintain the highest alert, but... without my order, you are not allowed to contact or explore anomalies without authorization."
"As for me..."
Mark cast his gaze into the deep universe, looking in the direction where the Angrum fleet was attacking.
"I'm going to buy time, to...seek the possibility of a miracle."
"You're going alone?!"
Atomic Eve exclaimed.
"Facing a fleet, Mark, this is crazy!"
"It's not a head-on confrontation with the fleet."
Mark's voice was steely calm.
"It's the harassment, the delays, every minute that keeps them from moving at full speed, buying us time to repair and find a solution."
He walked over to the holographic star map and pointed to several areas on the fleet's route marked as high-gravity nebulae and unstable asteroid belts.
"These places are natural hunting grounds."
"My speed and strength make me more flexible than their warships in complex environments. I will make them pay for every step they take."
"What about the anomaly?"
Eve demanded.
"If it's a threat..."
"If it was a threat, it would have erupted long ago."
Mark's eyes were as sharp as a knife.
"The data streams captured by the robot are observations, not attacks."
"We cannot afford to open a new front internally before resolving the external catastrophe. Maintain surveillance and hold your ground. These are orders!"
Mark's decision-making is clear, cold, and even a little arbitrary.
He did not choose to take the initiative to attack in a seemingly heroic manner, nor did he choose to completely retreat and defend. Instead, he precisely divided the team's strength and gave each person their own responsibilities.
At the same time, he took on the most dangerous and lonely tasks.
He went deep into the sea of stars alone, using himself as bait to delay the torrent of destruction.
This caution, based on absolute rationality and heavy responsibility, even seemed a bit fearful of fighting, which made Black Rhino and Rudy, who were eager for a good fight, feel suffocated, but it also made the worried Atomic Eve and others unable to refute it.
"Follow orders."
Mark said finally, his tone leaving no room for doubt.
He stopped looking at the crowd, turned and walked towards the equipment area, and began to change into a set of lighter close-fitting armor that was more suitable for high-speed space mobile operations.
...…
The cold deep space of the universe is far away from the warmth of the stars.
Mark's figure was like a tiny meteor, shuttling through a chaotic, high-gravity nebula belt between the orbits of Jupiter and Saturn.
It is filled with violent gravitational turbulence, dangerous ion storms and high-speed swirling interstellar dust.
In order to avoid risks, the huge Angrum fleet had to slow down, activate its powerful shields, and carefully adjust its course, like a giant beast wading through the mud.
Mark is the deadliest hunter in this quagmire.
boom!
He was like a human cannonball, suddenly shot out from behind a huge ice meteorite!
The target is an Anglum fast frigate responsible for outer perimeter surveillance!
No fancy energy attacks, only pure physical acceleration!
His fist formed a short shock cone in the vacuum, and with a scream that tore through space, it slammed hard into the fragile engine jet of the frigate!
Crack—boom!!!
The hard alloy twisted and shattered like a piece of paper!
The engine overloaded and exploded instantly!
Violent flames and debris spurted out, and the frigate rolled violently and lost power like a poisonous snake with its tail cut off!
"Alert! Attacked by an unknown high-speed individual! Engine damaged! Repeat, engine damaged!" The alarm on the ship sounded shrilly.
"Lock on the target! Fire! Fire!" the captain roared.
Several high-energy beams shot towards Mark!
But he had already used the recoil of the explosion to turn his body at an incredible angle and disappeared in the dense group of meteorites like a swimming fish.
The beam left only molten craters in the cold rock.
This is just the beginning.
A few hours later, in a dense asteroid belt ahead of the fleet, Mark was attached to a rapidly rotating asteroid like a ghost.
As an Angrum heavy cruiser cautiously entered the area, Mark stomped his legs hard on the surface of the asteroid!
Boom!
A huge crater instantly exploded on the surface of the asteroid with a diameter of several kilometers, and Mark's figure gained a terrifying initial velocity!
He was like an interstellar missile, accurately crashing into a relatively weak armor seam on the belly of the cruiser!
This time, he hooked his fingers and exerted force with his whole body!
Chi-chi-chi-chi!!
The hard alloy armor was torn open with a huge crack like butter being cut by a red-hot knife!
The internal pipelines are exposed and sparks are flying!
Although no major explosion occurred, the battleship instantly lost some power and shield strength and was forced to withdraw from the formation for emergency repairs.
Mark's figure disappeared again among the rocks, leaving behind only the cruiser captain's angry roar and the helplessness of the fleet's overall speed being slowed down again.
Such attacks continued to occur over the next few dozen hours, like maggots on the tarsal bone.
Mark took advantage of the complex environment, appearing and disappearing elusively, and striking and running away.
He no longer sought to kill, but instead precisely disabled the ship's power, shield, or sensor systems, creating chaos and slowing down its speed.
Every raid was accompanied by his deeper exploration and control of his own power.
Steady your body in the violent gravitational turbulence, temper your physique in the ion storm, and hone your nerve reactions while evading particle cannons at high speed...
The harsh environment of the universe became his best whetstone.
His strength became more condensed, his speed became faster, his defense became stronger, and his control over his body reached an incredible level.
He even began to try to use pure physical strength to compress space while moving at high speed, forming a short-term small-scale gravitational trap to interfere with the enemy ship's navigation system.
However, the frequent attacks and the terrifying individual combat power displayed by Mark also aroused the anger of the top leaders of the Angrum Fleet and the attention of other entities.
Several light years away from the battlefield, an elegant stealth spacecraft, like a giant crystal leaf, quietly floats in the stardust.
Inside the spaceship, several figures of various shapes and emitting powerful auras were watching the blurry image of Mark attacking the Anglum fleet through high-dimensional projection.
"Interesting... A native of a primitive planet actually possesses such pure power? Even capable of causing trouble for Angrum's fleet?"
A lizard-like creature covered in emerald green scales whispered, interest flashing in its vertical pupils.
"His power pattern... bears traces of Vitrum, but seems to be fused with something else?"
Another female figure, like a condensed energy body and emitting a soft glow, murmured.
"This planet called Earth seems to be hiding a lot of secrets, Nolan Grayson's abnormal behavior, Angrum's extermination order, and this super individual that suddenly appeared..."
"The Vitrum Empire is in civil strife, and the main force of the Angrum is pinned down in a remote galaxy... The situation on the edge of the galaxy is spiraling out of control."
A figure shrouded in shadows, with only two flashes of scarlet light, emitted a cold, mechanical synthesized sound.
"This Mark Grayson might be a variable worth observing...to inform our 'eyes' near the solar system and improve our observation level."
"At the same time... keep an eye on the movements of the Vitrum exiles and the hostile factions of Angrum. There may be opportunities amidst the chaos."
The crystal blade ship slid silently into hyperspace and disappeared.
Mark's battle in the stardust was like a stone thrown into a dark pond. The ripples it caused were quietly spreading, attracting many curious, greedy, or vigilant eyes in the galaxy.