Interstellar Survival: Invasion

Chapter 300: Bob's Recollections

"What the hell is that? Why isn't that mentioned in any of the league's records?" asked Kelly in astonishment.

"The monster is something that had appeared after the super virus's appearance. The league had found the super virus within the broken ice layer, and the freak had appeared together with the super virus. It is said that it has no ears but that its eyes can detect any source of light," said Bob.

"How are you sure that it isn't a type of germ?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Prior to its destruction, Outpost Penguin had transmitted a video back to us. In the video, the back of the monster could be seen. It is a life form whose shape is constantly changing."

"Constantly changing? What do you mean? From its footsteps earlier, we can be sure that it is quite a heavy and sturdy monster," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Don't you have any more information?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"No. That monster is extremely sensitive to light. Those from Outpost Penguin had all been killed precisely because they hadn't been able to turn off their lights in time. On the same day, we felt the monster coming for us as well. However, Outpost Koala happened to be under maintenance, so our lights were all off. That saved us, but subsequently, the monster went to Outpost Penguin and killed everyone there. After that, Base Brown Bear ordered a withdrawal," replied Bob guiltily.

"Even if it's constantly changing shapes, it can still be a germ. What attacking methods does it have?" asked Temo.

"After losing contact with the base, Second Lieutenant Daisy attempted to re-establish contact with them. In doing so, she turned on the power, attracting the monster again. During the attack, we were able to cut off our power in time and escape destruction," said Bob.

"In other words, that monster had attacked you multiple times?" asked Old Du.

"Yes. It attacked us three times in total. After the destruction of Outpost Penguin, we concluded that the fiend relied on light to determine the target to attack. Subsequently, we managed to establish some patterns of its movement. After every attack, there will be eight safe hours. After eight hours, darkness must be maintained at all costs. Eventually, Daisy ran out of patience. She decided to head to the base for help. At that time, we were no longer in contact with the base," said Bob.

"Why didn't you contact the league headquarters to have them pick you up with a spaceship?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"We can't abandon the samples kept in the outpost, and we have been maintaining contact with Mars. For some reason, the spaceship they promised never arrived, and they couldn't contact Base Brown Bear either. Eventually, we also lost contact with Mars. When that happened, Second Lieutenant Daisy recalled that there were spaceships in Base Brown Bear. Thus, she wanted all of us to head to Base Brown Bear for the ship before returning to collect all the samples here. We would then be able to leave with all the samples," said Bob.

"Are those samples really so important? Just abandon them and leave with the ship," said Zhang Bao'er.

"That won't do. If we did, we would be subjected to exile for acting against military orders," replied Bob, reminding us of our own painful experience.

At that point, the few of us who were once fugitives for acting against orders did not know what to say. An awkward silence descended.

"In that case, you need a specially designed ship if you want to leave with all these samples," said Baron Sisse, breaking the silence.

"Yes. Our utility ship can simulate Pluto's environment. With the special simulated environment, we can make use of solid hydrocarbons to contain the germs. Otherwise, we might bring a great loss of life to our destination," said Bob.

"I remember hearing from the records that Daisy and the others had left on foot. Is that right?" asked Kelly.

"There are two shuttles in Outpost Koala. One of them was taken by soldier David to seek help from the base. He never returned. David is most likely dead. Daisy decided to take the second shuttle to Base Brown Bear. To be safe, she sent me ahead to start the ship, but right before I could enter the ship, the cloud germs attacked me. I lost my sense of direction before eventually losing all perception," replied Bob.

"I understand. Second Lieutenant Daisy must have decided to set off on foot after seeing the sole remaining shuttle being surrounded by cloud germs," said Kelly.

"That might not be the case. Perhaps something else happened after that. Daisy should have been aware of what the cloud germs were capable of. She can still save Bob. This is still a puzzle that we can only solve after seeing Daisy," said Zhang Xingxing.

Kelly asked Bob an important question: "Where is Daisy? Can you contact her?"

"Second Lieutenant Daisy had probably set off to Base Brown Bear. I'll try contacting her," said Bob as they started working at the control desk.

"Wait. It has been a year. It is very unlikely that you'll be able to contact them. Also, this planet is now under the Divine Empire's control. If you send a message out, you'll only attract the empire's attention," said Baron Sisse.

"What? Pluto has been conquered by the Divine Empire?" exclaimed Bob in shock.

"Yes, conquered by the Divine Empire. I have one question. Earlier, we were able to clearly see the dots of light coming from the imperial military base. Why isn't the fiend attacking the imperial base?" asked Baron Sisse.

"The imperial army must have found a way to deal with the fiend. After losing tens of thousands of people here, the empire would not stay silent. They must have made some specific arrangements for this planet," said Temo. It was obvious he was very confident in the capabilities of the Sacred Wing race.

"There is no point in staying here any longer. That fiend will return after a few hours. I suggest we head to Base Brown Bear to obtain more information. Don't forget our main mission here," said Zhang Xingxing.

"How should we handle these virus samples?" asked Bob, still worried about the consequences of acting against orders.

"Just leave them here. I'll use my wartime prerogative to cancel your initial order," said Zhang Xingxing.

With Zhang Xingxing's words, Bob stopped worrying. We started making preparations to head for Base Brown Bear. At that time, we were faced with a new problem. How should we return to Markus? The outpost was already surrounded by germs.

"Don't worry, everyone. I have an idea," said Bob, offering us a piece of good news.

"What is it? Say it," urged Zhang Bao'er.

"Isi virus. We can use Isi to chase the cloud germs away. That was how we protected ourselves during our outdoor operations," said Bob.

"If you have Isi with you, how did you end up frozen out there?" asked Zhang Bao'er doubtfully.

"The situation on that day was very urgent. I left with the regular amount of Isi, but there were too many cloud germs. I did not take enough Isi with me. Therefore, I suggest we take enough Isi with us to protect us," said Bob.

"Where's the Isi virus? We didn't find much even after searching the outpost several times," asked Old Du.

"We have an Isi-breeding center in the basement. I'll take you there," said Bob while working on the control desk. Surprisingly, the control desk split apart, revealing an entrance leading to the basement.

'What a surprise. A basement is hidden right below the control desk. No wonder we weren't able to find it,' I thought.

We followed Bob into the basement. A germ-breeding base appeared before our eyes. Within the glass room, numerous germs were kept in different glass cabins.

"My god. So not only are they gathering germ samples on Pluto, but they have also reached the breeding stage," exclaimed Zhang Bao'er.

"At present, the league has only started breeding beneficial germs. These germs are still controllable and useful to us. The league is capable of breeding these germs, but some of the fiercer ones are still under observation and can't be bred. Through tests, we discovered that the Isi virus could resist the cloud germs," said Bob.

"Where are the Isi viruses kept?" asked Zhang Xingxing while looking at the numerous breeding cabins in the basement.

"Here. I'll take the properly packaged ones," said Bob as they stopped in front of a relatively large cabin.

We walked up to the cabin and saw numerous red Petri dishes. Bob controlled the robots in the cabin and had them withdraw the red Petri dishes. After receiving the command, the robots moved all the Petri dishes into a relatively large test tube. Over 20 sets were prepared based on our numbers and were then sent out on a conveyor belt.

"We'll take two each. A single set is not enough to resist the cloud germs. I doubled the dose for everyone. These containers will automatically release the Isi virus when we encounter the cloud germs. We won't need to do anything with them," said Bob while carefully taking two of the tubes and putting them away.

"Bob, if the germ samples are to be moved, how does the league intend to handle the ones here?" asked Kelly.

"In the event of withdrawal, we will use the heat control facility to kill everything down here. After that, the outpost will self-detonate to erase everything here," said Bob.