TCPUAAV Chapter 77

 

 

The group disguised themselves as space station staff. With the cooperation of the station’s administrator, they successfully reached the surface control center of Balham Star via the emergency evacuation tunnel.

 

Medical personnel were already waiting by the passageway with stretchers. Seeing the group emerge, they asked the administrator with some confusion, “Flynn, where’s the injured?”

 

“Right here…”

 

Hector swiftly moved to the back and shut the passage door.

 

At the same moment, Merrell stepped forward and pressed a gun to one of the staff members’ heads.

 

The administrator gave a helpless smile, apologetic but resigned, as he obediently crouched against the wall with his hands over his head. Within moments, the four medics who had come to assist were also restrained, their hands cuffed behind their backs, and were made to squat in the corner alongside the administrator.

 

Rong Heng inserted a chip into the data port of the emergency passage and activated Noah. “Disable surveillance, cut off all external communications from the control center, map out the facility, and assess enemy forces.”

 

“Understood.” A steady female voice responded. Noah swiftly infiltrated the system. Five minutes later, she sent a fully mapped layout to Rong Heng’s AI interface. “There are a total of 103 personnel, primarily administrative and research staff. The main combat force consists of RX-class battle droids. Do you need me to deploy a virus to disable them?”

 

“That’s such an obvious question. Do you really need to ask?” Hector scoffed. “Shut down their firepower already. From here on, the battlefield belongs to us.”

 

“Understood. Please hold on.” Noah acknowledged and got to work.

 

Meanwhile, Rong Heng contacted the soldiers stationed at the space station, instructing them to reach the control center through the emergency passage.

 

Ten minutes later, Noah successfully disabled all battle droids.

 

Fifteen minutes later, the control center personnel noticed abnormalities in the emergency passage and sent a team to investigate—only to end up as additional captives against the wall.

 

Twenty-five minutes later, once all personnel were in place, Rong Heng quickly devised a battle plan. Hector, Merrell, the little fox cub, and the little dragon cub led separate teams to systematically clear the facility.

 

Meanwhile, Rong Heng, accompanied by the little mermaid and Ruan Jiao, advanced toward the central control room.

 

With the battle droids out of commission and both surveillance and communications disabled, the remaining staff fell into chaos and panic.

 

The heavy reliance on automation had boosted their efficiency, but it also left them utterly helpless when their systems failed.

 

The remaining administrators and researchers had little to no combat ability. It took only an hour for them to fully take control of the facility.

 

All captives were separately confined in empty storage rooms, while Rong Heng inserted another chip into the quantum computer in the main control room. “Noah, transfer control authority and add B3024 Star to the system.”

 

A long progress bar appeared on the computer screen.

 

“The data is vast. It will take about 30 minutes to complete the transfer and update the system,” Noah reported.

 

Thirty minutes wasn’t too long, but it wasn’t exactly short either.

 

The group decided to take the opportunity to rest.

 

Leaving a few people to guard the control room, the rest discussed their next steps and agreed to head to the cafeteria for a meal. After all, they had expended a lot of energy during the operation.

 

The control center’s cafeteria was well-stocked, offering a variety of brands and flavors of nutritional supplements, along with a wide selection of beverages.

 

Rong Heng poured himself a cup of black coffee and took a seat in a booth in the corner.

 

The little ones each picked their preferred nutritional supplements and instinctively gathered around Rong Heng’s corner.

 

The booth was meant for four, but with Rong Heng and the four little ones, there was one seat short.

 

Ruan Jiao, holding his nutritional supplement, glanced around before climbing onto Rong Heng’s lap. He then carefully placed his supplement on the table and began sipping it slowly.

 

Rong Heng let out a small snort and flicked the small tendrils on Ruan Jiao’s forehead.

 

The dragon cub and the fox cub sat across from them, gulping down their supplements to replenish the energy they had lost in combat. Meanwhile, the little mermaid, who sat beside Rong Heng, took his time finishing his supplement before reaching out to poke Rong Heng and typed:

 

[Should we check in with Dad?]

 

Before their departure, Ruan Shiqing had specifically instructed them to report back once they arrived on Balham Star.

 

Rong Heng considered it for a moment and decided it was time. He knocked on the table to get the little ones’ attention.

 

“When you talk to your dad later, you are not to mention anything about combat.”

 

“Why?” The dragon cub was the first to ask.

 

The little fox cub rolled her eyes. “Are you dumb? They’re calling us space pirates. If we tell Dad we’re out here acting like space pirates, of course, we’ll get scolded!”

 

Though her understanding of space pirates was vague, the fox cub knew they weren’t exactly good people.

 

If their dad found out they were doing something bad, there was no doubt they’d get reprimanded.

 

“????”

 

“We’re space pirates?” Heli looked utterly confused. “But aren’t we on a military mission?”

 

In the dragon cub’s mind, everything they were doing was part of a military mission. After all, Snowball’s older brother[mfn]Heli calls him “big bro” basically, but he uses a term that can also mean “gang leader/boss” lol [/mfn] and Hector were both frontline soldiers!

 

His tone and expression were so firm that the little fox cub hesitated. She began to doubt herself, wondering if she had misunderstood something. Looking to Rong Heng for confirmation, she asked with a confused gaze, “Is that true?”

 

Rong Heng narrowed his eyes slightly and, without a hint of guilt, nodded. “Interstellar pirates are ruthless killers who engage in lawless activities. Have we harmed any of the staff here?”

 

The little ones shook their heads vigorously.

 

They had only temporarily restrained the staff, nothing more.

 

“Then we are not space pirates,” Rong Heng said as he leaned back into his chair. “The conflict between the military and major corporate powers like the Naxi Group is irreconcilable. Right now, we’re just taking advantage of the capitalists—this is a long-standing military tradition, and it’s not exactly illegal.”

 

“I’m only telling you not to mention anything to your dad because I don’t want him to worry.”

 

The little ones suddenly understood. “Just like with the transport ship before!”

 

Rong Heng nodded, satisfied with their realization.

 

Once the little ones had all shifted back into their beast forms, he dialed Ruan Shiqing’s communication line.

 

A moment later, Ruan Shiqing’s virtual projection appeared above the table.

 

“Mr. Rong, have you arrived at Balham Star?”

 

The dragon cub immediately jumped onto the table, his tail wagging happily as he was the first to answer, “We’re here! We’re having dinner!”

 

The fox cub lifted up her nutritional supplement with both paws, showing it to Ruan Shiqing.

 

Ruan Shiqing had been worried that something might go wrong during the mission, but things had gone far smoother than he expected. It seemed that Rong Heng’s group had even received a warm welcome on Balham Star.

 

“Were you able to negotiate the weapon loan?” he asked.

 

“It’s done,” Rong Heng replied. “Balham Star is in the process of adding B3024 to its control group. Once the data update is complete, you’ll be able to remotely access their weapon control system.”

 

Hearing this, Ruan Shiqing let out a breath of relief. “This has gone even smoother than I imagined,” he said with a chuckle. “Maybe I need to reevaluate my impression of the military—who knew that in times of crisis, the various star systems could come together like this.”

 

Rong Heng accepted the praise on behalf of the military without the slightest hesitation. “We’ll remain here until the crisis is resolved before returning.”

 

The looming threat of Sijialan Star was like a sword of Damocles hanging over them. At present, they had no way of knowing when Sijialan Star would activate the Dyson Sphere. Staying stationed on Balham Star was the best decision. Although Balham Star had agreed to lend their weapons for interception, it was still safer to remain on-site just in case.

 

After a brief conversation, Ruan Shiqing reminded the little ones not to cause trouble for Mr. Rong before ending the call.

 

As soon as the communication cut off, the little ones transformed back into their humanoid forms.

 

Only Ruan Jiao, who had remained in the same form the entire time, had a confused look on his face.

 

It seemed like… he was the only one who couldn’t transform.

 

After dinner, Rong Heng returned to the main control room. By this time, Noah had completed the data update, and the progress bar on the computer screen finally reached 100%.

 

The quantum computer, which housed an enormous amount of data, restarted almost instantly. When the system rebooted, the highest authority control had been transferred to Rong Heng.

 

“Activate the battle droids and bring the detection system online.”

 

With the change in control, the previously infected and disabled battle droids were reactivated—but now, they followed Rong Heng’s commands.

 

At this point, the entire control center was under their complete control.

 

Meanwhile, outside the facility, the factories and mining operations remained unaware of what had transpired inside.

 

Three days later, the detection system issued an early warning.

 

It had picked up a neutron beam traveling at superluminal speed from a million light-years away.

 

Carrying immense thermal energy, the neutron beam vaporized every asteroid and comet in its path, reducing them to mere stardust.

 

And now, it was hurtling directly toward B3024 at superluminal speed.

 

As soon as Balham Star received the alert, Ruan Shiqing also got the news.

 

He immediately connected with Rong Heng’s communication line.

 

Using the quantum computer’s precise calculations, they determined the beam’s trajectory and launched their own neutron beam in response.

 

The two beams met in the dark void of space—

 

And in an instant, a massive explosion erupted.

 

The resulting energy shockwave obliterated everything in its vicinity, turning all matter around it into stardust.

 

Far away on Sijialan Star, chaos erupted in their military base’s control room.

 

The neutron beam they had been tracking had suddenly vanished without a trace.

 

The once-quiet control room buzzed with confusion as one question after another filled the air, growing louder and more frantic.

 

The leader of the merfolk race, who had personally come to oversee the situation, wore a dark, stormy expression.

 

“Find out what happened,” he ordered coldly. “Immediately.”

 

 

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We’re officially halfway through the novel!!!

 

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~