Chapter 37: The Breaking Point

Boom, boom, boom…

The intense, rapid bursts of heavy machine gun fire echoed through the void of space, a seemingly insignificant line of sparks in the vast, star-strewn emptiness. Seven Bluebirds and two modified Bluebirds danced through space, their movements so swift and fluid that they became a blur to the naked eye.

The unmanned Flying Shadow 3, though intact, was limited by its surveillance capabilities. The modified Bluebirds kept their distance, carefully avoiding close engagement, making it nearly impossible for Chen Wuling and Tian Xiao to find an opening for intervention.

Chen Wuling's hands gripped the triggers of the aircraft's machine guns and heavy guns, but without support from his computational systems, he had no certainty in his shots.

Too far...

Even with battlefield calculations and predictions of enemy movement, the opponent's chips could counter any attempt by adjusting flight trajectories, easily dodging the fire. Yet, every shot they took consumed vital biological energy.

Chen Wuling couldn't find an opening. Sweat beaded on his palms, his body tense with anxiety.

Tian Xiao was just as uneasy.

Without access to the fighter's chips or energy consumption systems, their biological energy could only sustain them for a very brief period of combat. While he felt he could take swift action to neutralize the two modified Bluebirds, the real threat wasn't them.

The pirates' flagship had not shown itself yet.

This was merely the pirates' trap, their apparent weakness meant to lure them in.

Eliminating these two modified Bluebirds would only result in more reinforcements arriving. The pirate group operated like a wolf pack.

Since the battle began, Tian Xiao had deployed all available drones. The drones spread out in all directions from the battlefield, scouring the area for any trace of the pirate flagship, seeking out any potential reinforcements or intelligence.

The clock ticked down relentlessly.

Tian Xiao could feel the pressure mounting. The situation for Feiying Corporation was dire.

They had fallen into an ambush.

The transport ship was dead in space, its systems completely shut down. All their defenses and firepower were in passive mode, while an invisible threat lurked in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment to strike the fatal blow.

Feiying Corporation had one chance to act.

By concentrating their biological energy, they could potentially take out the pirate flagship—because the pirate flagship, at this moment, wasn't particularly strong.

But if they made even the slightest misstep, they would be doomed.

It was a hellish challenge.

Tian Xiao took a deep breath, ignoring all distractions. He focused, analyzing the data sent back from the drones.

At that moment, one of the members of Luo Fei's attack squad made a fatal mistake. Their biological energy reached critical levels, causing their Bluebird's maneuverability to drop dramatically.

A modified Bluebird, always vigilant, instantly detected the opening and locked onto the struggling craft with its machine cannon.

Boom!

The Bluebird, now locked onto, tried to make an evasive maneuver—a sudden upward surge—putting extreme stress on the pilot's body, exceeding the limits of what they could endure.

Hummm...

The biological energy drained away in an instant.

Warning!

Boom!!

A shell exploded in the Bluebird's left wing, igniting a catastrophic chain reaction. The fighter spun uncontrollably, flames licking the edges, and the unconscious pilot went down with it.

The defense line was breached.

Chen Wuling couldn't hold back anymore.

"I'm going in to support!"

"Tian Xiao, you stay back and keep an eye on things. Find an opportunity!"

With that, the Bluebird shot forward, entering the fray to replace the fallen ship, using its firepower to suppress the enemy's modified Bluebird and preventing them from exploiting the opening.

Luo Fei's face darkened in frustration.

If only Wu Hao were here...

With two seasoned fighters, they could have handled this much more smoothly.

But with the current squad... their experience and skills were limited, and there was still much to be desired.

A deep sense of helplessness gripped Luo Fei.

Liu Xuesong, Qiao Dazhi, and another pilot burst out of Flying Shadow 3.

"Haha."

"Feiying 3's fourteen Bluebirds—this is their entire security force?"

"Two Bluebirds are tasked with deploying drones. The rest—eleven Bluebirds—have all appeared. They've shown their hand."

"We only need two more minutes to dismantle all the security forces aboard Feiying 3!"

A voice full of mocking laughter came from the modified Bluebirds.

"The security team of the Cloud Group is no match for us!"

"It's pathetic! Look at you all, so useless, not knowing the meaning of real combat."

The two pirates, eager for recognition, activated their communication channels, their victory proclaimed to the universe.

"Remember our names!"

"We are Longjian and Longqiang of the Starry Gale Legion. You've been defeated by us!"

"What do you want?" Tian Xiao's eyes gleamed as he heard the pirates' taunts.

Their overconfidence was their undoing. By broadcasting their transmission channel, they had just made a critical mistake.

"Qinglong!"

"Activate the computation system!"

"Immediately analyze the transmission signals from their channel. Find the farthest signal and pinpoint its location!"

Tian Xiao had extensive combat experience, having served with the Earth Military, especially in dealing with space pirates. He knew the pirates' arrogant move was a huge advantage—they had just revealed the location of their flagship.

Sure enough, Qinglong, the drone's advanced AI, quickly processed the transmission signals, isolating the feedback from the modified Bluebirds and calculating their exact coordinates.

Beyond the Bluebirds' scattered signals, there was one particularly clear transmission source—five hundred miles away, hidden within a deep space rift.

The pirates' flagship had been in stealth mode, its external shell designed to absorb all detection signals. But now, due to their arrogance, they had given away its position. It was slowly approaching the battlefield.

Five hundred miles...

This is it.

This distance was well within the firing range of Feiying 3.

Tian Xiao remained calm, relaying the newly acquired data to Flying Shadow 3 without a hint of emotion.

Inside the Flying Shadow 3's command center, Zhang Lian and the others had been on the verge of despair.

The pirate flagship had yet to reveal itself.

The biological energy of the twelve Bluebirds was rapidly depleting.

Two of the modified Bluebirds had completed their tasks and were about to overwhelm the last of their defenses, preparing to take down the Flying Shadow 3.

But at that moment, Bluebird 37 suddenly uploaded a new set of images.

The main screen flickered to life, showing a massive, unusual warship in the dark expanse of space. Over a hundred meters long, the ship was adorned with a giant umbrella-shaped radar array—an unexpected sight, now in full view of everyone on board.