Chapter 31: The Arrival of the Vessel

"Sky Laugh!"

"Our mission is relatively dangerous."

"There have been past security and defense failures here. I've sent you the relevant cases, take a good look and familiarize yourself with your responsibilities and precautions."

Chen Wuling's voice was serious as she gave her final instructions to Sky Laugh.

"The transport ship will enter low Earth orbit within the next three hours. We will depart in an hour and begin reconnaissance at the designated location."

Unlike mining craft, the Qingniao ship could operate outside the atmosphere.

However, what Chen Wuling didn't know was that the man in front of her, despite being a newcomer, had far more experience than she could imagine.

Sky Laugh had already survived an attack from a swarm of monstrous beasts that had targeted a transport ship. He had also endured a brutal close-quarters battle when insectoid creatures infiltrated the vessel. Even more harrowing was a catastrophic incident where an entire transport ship was obliterated, forcing a group of survivors to navigate the perilous near-Earth orbit in a desperate struggle for survival.

In the vastness of space, danger lurked at every turn, and any scenario could unfold.

Sky Laugh knew one thing for certain: only by mastering one's own skills could one seize a slim chance of survival when danger struck.

Truth be told, he felt the decision to assign a rookie without any escort experience to a mission in low Earth orbit was highly questionable.

The security team was small—only Luo Fei, Wu Hao, Iron Bear, and Zhao Jia had the required chip-processing capabilities and physical fitness to meet the standard.

If the situation were stricter, only Luo Fei and Wu Hao, both wearing true H-class combat suits, would be fully equipped to handle the various dangers.

Others lacked the required processing power in their chips, or didn't have the necessary escape abilities in certain environments.

But…

In this case, with insectoid creatures and beasts acting like rats in a sewer, the scale and intensity of their attacks were generally low. Given the shortage of security personnel, they had no choice but to select from the available options, however inadequate.

An hour later, under Chen Wuling's lead, the six-person team formed a triangular formation as they soared into the sky, dropping off Zhu Xiaotian, Old Lu, Liu Xuesong, and Qiao Dazhi along the way.

By the time they reached their destination, only two remained.

Chen Wuling and Sky Laugh were the last ones to break through the atmosphere, entering the zero-gravity near-Earth orbit.

Four safety straps securely fastened Sky Laugh in his seat. The display screen in front of him showed a swarm of meteorites, hurtling towards them at an incredible speed.

The Qinglong AI had already taken control of the Qingniao ship's calculations and navigation, weaving effortlessly through the meteorites in a fluid, agile dance.

This was the advantage of an H5-class chip.

The more powerful the chip, the better it could handle complex environments, reacting with ease. The flight trajectories of the numerous meteorites, coupled with the ship's speed, demanded a high level of computational ability. For a standard H3 chip, processing this would consume most of its power, resulting in sluggish responses when unforeseen situations arose. It was much like old computer processors—less memory meant slower performance.

With ample computational capacity and space, everything ran smoothly.

Sky Laugh glanced at Qinglong's processing capabilities.

At ten units per second, the current usage was one-third, or 3.3 units…

The ship had enough power to last for thirty-three hours.

The remaining energy and processing capacity were more than sufficient to handle low-intensity skirmishes.

After a period of flying through the meteorite belt, the two Qingniao ships broke free from the chaos, soaring above the belt and into clearer space.

The Qinglong AI expanded its processing capacity dramatically.

Sky Laugh couldn't help but glance back at the resource planet.

The massive, sweeping meteorite belt looked like an enormous, flowing mudslide, winding around the huge, ochre-colored planet below.

The sight was breathtaking—anyone experiencing it for the first time would be captivated, overwhelmed by its grandeur.

But Sky Laugh wasn't mesmerized. His eyes scanned the area, always on the lookout for abnormalities.

He hadn't forgotten his mission:

Reconnoiter the low Earth orbit.

Assist the life transport ship.

Escort the small cargo vessels.

Upon reaching the designated rendezvous point, the next task was to ensure there were no threats in the vicinity.

The two Qingniao ships began their patrols, one to the left, the other to the right.

The patrol area spanned a star system with a diameter of 5,000 kilometers.

Three minutes later, three red dots appeared in the distance, emerging from deep within the star system.

A minute later, the dots multiplied into several dozen, revealing a massive object—a transport ship, over a thousand meters long—silently accelerating toward them, its blue exhaust flames streaking out in the vacuum.

It was the Flying Shadow Corporation's life transport ship… it had arrived!

Sky Laugh's attention snapped to the approaching vessel.

The transport ship, colossal and dark in color, resembled a giant, flattened rocket. Beneath its belly, two light strips extended outward, signaling a deceleration. As the ship slowed, the doors at the end of these light strips slowly opened, and several Qingniao ships flew out, forming a protective ring around the transport vessel.

The main ship had arrived!

The crew escorting the transport ship also came from Flying Shadow Corporation. They were part of the security team, yet they exuded an air of arrogance, making no effort to greet Sky Laugh or Chen Wuling. They acted as though they didn't even see them.

It wasn't until the transport ship had reduced its engine power by 90% that Sky Laugh received a transmission: "Low Earth orbit adaptive navigation activated. Ships 28 and 37, you are to escort transport vessels one and two."

The moment the message ended, two massive transport vessels, each over fifty meters long, emerged from the belly of the transport ship. The vessels roared to life, adjusting their trajectories with powerful, intermittent bursts of exhaust flames.

Compared to the Qingniao, these transport ships were far more durable, their thick outer shells seemingly impervious to damage. However, their agility was lacking.

"Sky Laugh."

"Proceed as planned."

Chen Wuling's calm voice came through.

Ship 28, already ahead of the two transport vessels, formed part of the convoy.

Sky Laugh didn't hesitate. He quickly aligned with Ship 28, flying in parallel.

Chen Wuling was already calculating their safe travel route.

"Ding!"

"Route determined."

"Please confirm, all convoy members."

Sky Laugh received the shared route from Chen Wuling.

Confirmed.

The transport vessels also confirmed the route.

Though the mission of rendezvousing with the transport ship was relatively simple, the real danger lay in the escort task.

Sky Laugh could feel the tension starting to build.

Of course, not yet.

In their current state—empty cargo vessels—there was little interest from any predators, whether it be monstrous beasts, insectoid creatures, or space pirates. They wouldn't dare attack a base or a life transport ship, as the risk was too great. Instead, they would target smaller, fully-loaded ships.

The real danger would come on the return journey.

In the meantime, Sky Laugh stayed vigilant. As they passed through the meteorite belt, he discreetly deployed a batch of drones—tiny, thumb-sized machines that swiftly dispersed and settled among the nearby meteorites.

The deployment was subtle, and nothing unusual was detected.

A series of split-screen feeds appeared on the side of Sky Laugh's monitor.

The drones were in position.