TCPUAAV Chapter 112

 

With their escape route sealed off, the ship was thrown into a dire dilemma.

 

They couldn’t leave, and they couldn’t land either. It was like a kite with its string cut—drifting helplessly in the sky, ready to crash at any moment.

 

“We can’t keep waiting like this,” Ruan Shiqing said grimly. “If the ship runs out of energy, the Zerg won’t even have to lift a claw—we’ll be dead in the air.”

 

The ground was a Zerg nest, their primary battlefield—landing was out of the question. But circling aimlessly in mid-air wasn’t a solution either. They had to find a breakthrough, and fast.

 

The two exchanged a look—then, almost in unison, looked upward. “The space station.”

 

The station was also within the shield’s protective range. If they could seize control of it, they could disable the planetary shield—at least temporarily. That would not only allow their ship to escape, but also open a way in for reinforcements.

 

They didn’t waste another second. Ruan Shiqing stayed behind to calm the captain and monitor the ship’s data feed, while Rong Heng strode toward the passenger cabins.

 

By now, the passenger area was in complete chaos.

 

News of Zerg appearing on Driftwood Star had spread, and panic followed swiftly behind.

 

Some passengers were already weeping in despair, while others—loud, aggressive, and increasingly irrational—began shouting at the crew, demanding the ship leave immediately.

 

But the crew members were just as frightened. They knew no more than the passengers and were doing their best to remain composed and maintain order.

 

“What the hell is all this noise?!” Rong Heng’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade.

 

He swept his sharp gaze across the crowd. For those venting their fear on others, he didn’t bother to be polite. “Driftwood Star has been completely overrun by Zerg. External communications are cut. The planetary shield is up. All escape routes are blocked. Do you think yelling will magically deactivate the shield?”

 

He stood tall at the junction between cabins, the brim of his white military cap casting a shadow over much of his face. But even so, he stood straight as a javelin, a living embodiment of military authority. In that moment, he inspired a deep, almost instinctive trust—though his expression was anything but kind.

 

The once-noisy cabin slowly fell silent.

 

Someone, still trembling with fear, asked, “Then what do we do? Are we just supposed to sit here and wait to die?”

 

“Yeah… Can’t we call the Imperial military for help?”

 

“…?”

 

Once someone broke the silence, the questions started again—voices of doubt, panic, helplessness.

 

Rong Heng raised a hand and motioned for silence. When the room settled again, he said in a low, steady voice, “We’ve already contacted the rescue forces. But even moving at full speed, they’ll need at least ten hours to get here.” He pointed out the porthole. “The Zerg down there? They won’t sit and wait like we are.”

 

Despair returned to many of the passengers’ faces—until Rong Heng changed his tone.

 

“But as long as a single Imperial soldier stands, we will never sit by and let the Zerg harm our people.” His voice deepened with resolve. “We’re already working on a plan to break through. But we need all of you to stay calm and stay put. Don’t become a liability.”

 

Then, in a colder voice, he ran a thumb across his throat in a chilling gesture. “In times like this, military personnel have absolute discretionary authority. If anyone tries to interfere with operations—don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

 

That blend of stick and carrot—firm leadership with a clear threat—was enough to subdue even the most panicked of passengers.

 

Once Rong Heng had given instructions to the crew to continue their usual duties and maintain routine, he headed toward the observation deck.

 

Along the way, as he passed through other chaotic sections of the ship, he repeated the same warning speech. Only when most of the passengers had finally quieted down did he reunite with the little cubs.

 

“What’s the situation?” Garland asked.

 

“Not great,” Rong Heng shook his head. “There are too many Zerg on the ground—we’re outnumbered. Our only chance is to take control of the space station.”

 

He swept a glance over the cubs, then turned to Garland. “Ruan Shiqing is assisting the captain in the cockpit. I’ll take them to seize the station. I’m leaving the ship’s safety in your hands.”

 

He knew very well that the Zerg hadn’t launched their attack yet—not because they were afraid, but because these creatures, long considered primitive and unintelligent, had learned how to assess situations. They were watching, waiting for the next move.

 

Garland’s expression turned serious. He looked at the cubs, clearly uneasy. “Are you sure they’re up for this?”

 

“Don’t worry,” Rong Heng replied. “They’re already qualified warriors.”

 

They might act like clingy, mischievous little cubs in front of their parents, but in the face of danger, they were already comrades who could fight side by side.

 

The cubs shifted into their fully human forms and followed Rong Heng and 09 down to the lower deck.

 

Passenger ships weren’t equipped with many offensive weapons—defense was their main priority. After a quick sweep through the armory, Rong Heng had no choice but to go with the flyers the cubs had used during their return from Sikkim.

 

These flyers were fast, but their weapons systems were minimal—much weaker than actual combat fighters.

 

But given the circumstances, he couldn’t afford to be picky.

 

He split 09 and the cubs into teams, two per flyer.

 

He’d originally planned to leave Ruan Jiao behind, but the little cub clung to his coat like a stubborn patch of sticky glue, his big eyes full of defiance and resolve.

 

Considering that if the ship was attacked by Zerg, Garland would have to go out and defend it, and Ruan Shiqing would be too busy in the cockpit to look after anyone, Rong Heng figured it was safer to keep the cub close rather than leave him unattended among panicked passengers.

 

So he compromised and let Ruan Jiao sit in the co-pilot seat.

 

The little one clambered into the seat and fastened the safety belt himself.

 

With the hangar bay doors wide open, the three flyers launched from the ship and sped toward the coordinates of the space station.

 

Ruan Jiao leaned against the flyer’s window, his tendrils twitching hesitantly.

 

For some reason, he couldn’t sense the presence of the Zerg here.

 

Back on Planet B3024, he’d been able to feel them clearly—their aggression, their aura. But here… even as the ship had nearly landed, he hadn’t picked up on anything unusual.

 

The little cub slumped slightly, feeling like he’d let his guard down.

 

He closed his eyes and deliberately swayed his tendrils in wide arcs, trying to feel for any ambient waves in the air.

 

But even after a long while, there were no familiar pulses.

 

Instead, he picked up on something else—something strange and unfamiliar. A subtle, alien fluctuation that he couldn’t identify.

 

Rong Heng, glancing aside mid-flight, noticed the cub gnawing thoughtfully on his finger, his forehead tendrils drooping in visible frustration.

 

“Getting scared now, are we?” Rong Heng flicked one of the dangling tendrils with a free hand.

 

Ruan Jiao’s concentration was broken. The tendrils instantly curled and then unfurled again. He shot Rong Heng an unhappy glare, scooting toward the edge of the cockpit and going back to chewing his finger in thought.

 

…?

 

Rong Heng ground his teeth. So now he doesn’t want to stick to me anymore? Wasn’t he just tugging at my coat, begging to come along?

 

These little brats… one trip off the ship and suddenly they’re experts at switching faces.

 

The flyers rapidly approached the space station—but before the cubs could feel any joy, a massive swarm of Zerg erupted from within the station.

 

These Zerg were larger than the ones they’d seen on B3024. Their compound eyes glowed a blood-red hue, their carapaces were jet-black, and their limbs curved like sickles—razor-sharp and deadly.

 

“Stay sharp. These Zerg aren’t like the ones we’ve faced before,” Rong Heng narrowed his eyes and opened a comms channel while expertly maneuvering to dodge a barrage of slashing limbs.

 

Against the vast tide of Zerg, the three flyers looked pitifully small. Worse, their firepower was insufficient. Even with all guns blazing, they could barely make a dent.

 

Forget repelling the Zerg—they were barely managing to thread their way between the flurry of blades, unable to even engage in a head-on confrontation.

 

Rong Heng frowned deeply. This wasn’t going to work.

 

He patched into Ruan Shiqing’s channel, voice crisp and to the point: “We need firepower support—can’t break through their defense line otherwise.”

 

The Zerg clearly knew they were targeting the space station and had piled themselves into a thick, impenetrable wall around it.

 

They held no advantage in the air. Without something to clear a path, getting close was nearly impossible.

 

Ruan Shiqing replied quickly, “The Zerg on the ground are closing in on the ship. I’ve checked our onboard arsenal—we’re barely holding out ourselves. I don’t think I can provide you with support.”

 

Passenger ships simply weren’t designed for combat. Their weapons were too weak.

 

Rong Heng let out a frustrated hiss through clenched teeth. “No other options?”

 

He stared at the ever-thickening swarm outside the cockpit. If push came to shove, he and the little dragon would have to transform into their full beast forms and break a path through. Then 09 could escort the remaining cubs into the station. Once inside, they could fight on equal footing and give Noah a chance to seize control.

 

“Let me think,” Ruan Shiqing muttered.

 

He didn’t end the call. Instead, he swiftly brought up the ship’s cargo manifest and scanned through the inventory, one item at a time, looking for anything that could be of use.

 

His eyes finally settled on the escape pods.

 

“There’s one thing we could try,” Ruan Shiqing said quickly, his words concise and urgent. “The ship’s stocked with a large number of escape pods. They have their own power sources and high defensive ratings. We can use them as bombs.”

 

These pods were meant for emergency evacuations—fully powered, highly durable. If detonated, the energy contained inside would cause a massive explosion.

 

“I’ll launch them using the ship’s mechanical arms,” he added, tone firm. “Once they’re in position, you trigger the explosions.”

 

He explained the detonation mechanism over the public channel as efficiently as possible.

 

Once Rong Heng’s team confirmed they were ready, Ruan Shiqing rushed to the lower deck’s control room and began manually operating the mechanical arm to hurl the escape pods in their direction.

 

The mechanical arm was originally designed for space maintenance—it wasn’t easy to control. Ruan Shiqing fumbled twice before finally achieving the precision needed, launching a pod directly toward Rong Heng’s position.

 

Rong Heng pulled off a clean side-slip maneuver and used the tail of his flyer to swat the falling pod into the heart of the swarm. “Target locked!”

 

Before he even finished speaking, the little dragon had already fired. The shot hit the pod’s energy chamber dead center.

 

A violent explosion tore through the air as the pod detonated. The resulting shockwave spread with brutal force, slicing the surrounding Zerg clean in half.

 

“Direct hit!” the cubs cheered, eyes sparkling. “Do it again!”

 

And so it continued. Ruan Shiqing kept launching pods one after another, and the flyers coordinated their attacks, guiding the pods into clusters of Zerg and blasting them apart.

 

Zerg carcasses rained down like dumplings in boiling water, and Rong Heng’s team drew closer and closer to the space station.

 

But as he watched the Zerg fail to dodge or react to the attacks, a thought flickered through Rong Heng’s mind. These Zerg didn’t seem all that intelligent. That didn’t match what they’d seen on Driftwood Star. Which meant…

 

Someone had to be commanding them.

 

Just as that suspicion settled in, Ruan Shiqing’s voice crackled urgently through the channel: “The ground Zerg have completely surrounded the ship—they’re trying to stop me from launching more escape pods!”

 

The Zerg were even attacking the mechanical arm protruding from the hull.

 

Rong Heng’s eyes narrowed. That confirmed it. Someone—or something—was coordinating the Zerg.

 

He looked ahead at the space station, now just within reach, then back at the swarm amassing around the ship.

 

He spoke decisively: “Don’t engage the Zerg directly—just lead them away. Tell Garland to send out another batch of escape pods.”

 

If his guess was right, there weren’t as many active Zerg as they’d thought.

 

Most of them were probably still waiting to hatch inside the nest.

 

 

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Jiao Jiao feeling something familiar, eh? A member of his “family” maybe???

 

Thanks for reading!

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