Chapter 428: From Here the Path Winds Upward_1

"Do you still remember the Dark Battle?" Jiang Yu countered.

Hao Ying roughly understood Jiang Yu's meaning, "I learned about it from history textbooks."

Jiang Yu looked at the metallic walls of the meeting room, nearly losing himself in memories: "The civilian ships only have a two-year food supply, yet reinforcements won't arrive for another twenty-two years.

"So after evading the enemy's first round of searches, we must put everyone into hibernation as soon as possible.

"Moreover, there are not enough hibernation pods on the civilian ships; the additional hundred or so officers and soldiers represent a huge instability factor over the next twenty years."

Hao Ying said, "If we plan carefully, the food should..."

Jiang Yu shook his head, "You really have only read about the Dark Battle in textbooks.

"It's only when people realize that life's resources are scarce that instability begins to emerge.

"What if the reinforcements don't come after twenty-two years? The officers and soldiers have already consumed all the food. There must be a day to wake up from hibernation, what then will people eat?

"Believe me, these questions can drive people insane!"

"To prevent a tragedy like the Dark Battle from happening again, I must make sacrifices!"

Hao Ying also came to realize, Jiang Yu's reason for staying behind was to stabilize the officers and soldiers; after all, if the Wallfacer stayed, what grounds would they have for complaint?

"Hold the defense team tightly in your own hands, and control the weapons on the civilian ships." Jiang Yu began his final admonitions:

"In a life-or-death situation, don't have expectations of human nature.

"But respect human nature, because it is often at times like this that the value of humanity is revealed.

"And, after the enemy has searched this place, bring the two civilian ships back.

"Because by that time, this place will have become the safest."

Hao Ying, wiping away tears, nodded. It was only then that she truly felt the desperate situation humanity faced in this icy world.

Before this moment, the burden had been on Jiang Yu's shoulders, and she hadn't felt its weight.

Now that the burden had suddenly shifted to her own shoulders, she realized just how heavy a weight Jiang Yu had been carrying.

After briefing Hao Ying on the subsequent matters, Jiang Yu called Cao Yang, Xing Yuanbin, and others to a meeting in the conference room.

The meeting lasted half the day; Jiang Yu smoked almost half a pack of cigarettes, yet remained utterly at a loss.

Jiang Yu lit another cigarette, his voice somewhat hoarse, "Let me recap what we have on hand. First, the remaining energy can sustain a small caliber Antimatter Cannon for 0.7 seconds, or maintain the Force Field Protection for 2 seconds.

"The spare nuclear fuel can be made into two nuclear bombs; there's air on this planet, so the shockwave from a nuclear blast has some destructive power.

"And we have 76 J195s, right?"

Everyone nodded; although they were all tired, no one wanted to give up.

Jiang Yu took a deep drag on his cigarette, "In a direct confrontation, we are no match!

"We can use any underhanded or dirty trick, and remember, our aim is not to defeat these ten warships, but to find a way to survive!"

This was also a big problem, as the Command Ship couldn't move and was a sitting duck!

Everyone had a basket of ideas, but almost none of them were feasible.

Seeing Cao Yang with his arms crossed and silent for a long time, Jiang Yu said, "If you have any ideas, share them. Collective wisdom can help you refine them."

Cao Yang looked at everyone, "I actually have an idea..."

Cao Yang's plan was simple, and when he finished explaining it, Jiang Yu felt it was feasible, "Let's do it! I'll name this operation 'Turning Point'!"

Everyone thought the name was very fitting and praised its appropriateness.

Once Jiang Yu thought of a real solution, he pressed his cigarette into the ashtray that resembled a small hill, "When the action begins, let the three civilian ships leave."

Everyone was stunned, and their expressions turned somewhat unpleasant.

Jiang Yu was prepared for this reaction. He asked everyone, "Tell me! What was your oath when you enlisted?"

The crowd answered Jiang Yu in a scattered manner.

"I can't hear you!"

Together the crowd shouted, "To protect the people, to defend the Solar System!"

A hint of a smile appeared on Jiang Yu's face, "Now, the people need you to protect them; we can't let them be involved in the dangerous action to come!

"I will be waiting in the command center for the news of your triumph. If we succeed, we will survive; if we fail, I will be glad to die alongside you."

The eyes of everyone in the captain's room filled with tears, and suddenly, they felt that the imminent life-or-death situation didn't seem so terrifying.

After the meeting ended, Cao Yang immediately took people to "make up" the warship. Although the command ship already looked terrible, it had to be made to look even worse.

...

The enemy arrived as expected, and the closest enemy warship quickly spotted the command ship and immediately moved towards it.

The moment the enemy warship's plasma cannon fired, a massive explosion occurred in the ice below it, giving the enemy the illusion that the explosion happened simultaneously with their firing.

That's when dozens of J195s burst out of the explosion and swarmed towards the enemy warship, which suddenly had to deal carefully with these small combat targets.

Simultaneously with the explosion, the command ship released a massive signal output, broadcasting a file over a wide area.

The content of the file was an estimation of the enemy's likely search route and timetable, calculated by the military staff based on the enemy's current movement speed and location.

The hope was that the civilian ships could receive this file and use it to evade the enemy's search.

Charging at the forefront, Cao Yang quickly realized their charge had caught the enemy off guard, and he immediately ordered an all-out attack on the enemy warship.

Since there were no human bases or satellites on this planet to allow electronic signals to propagate unhindered, there was no way to pilot the J195s with simulators.

Cao Yang and his group had to personally engage in combat and pilot the J195s for the attack.

It was apparent that the enemy warship also had systems like force field protection; the firepower of the J195s felt like mere tickling to the enemy warship.

Not until the enemy started attacking the J195s, which were like pesky flies, did Cao Yang finally breath a sigh of relief—the first phase of the mission was complete.

By then, the command ship was surrounded by a sea of flames, the former ice cavern had become a huge pit hundreds of meters deep, as if it were a grave dug for the command ship itself.

To escape the harassment of the human fighters, the enemy warship continued moving forward. It soon left the command ship behind, but the explosion of the command ship continued, the shockwaves even splitting the ice layer.

When the steam from the explosion cleared, it revealed the command ship, utterly destroyed.

From its appearance, the command ship no longer seemed to warrant any attacking.

The only thing left seemed to be the individual combat equipment swarming around the enemy warship like a final stand.

Soon, the enemy deployed their spherical combat weapons. Cao Yang immediately ordered his forces to surround the enemy warship, looking for opportunities to eliminate enemy targets.

It was a close-quarters battle, small in scale but incredibly fierce.