Chapter 5: Panic Aboard the Spaceship

Kyle piloted the spaceship he had seized from the Federal agents and quickly broke through the atmosphere of Planet Tar. The spaceship's engine rumbled deeply, as if telling the story of the intense battle it had just endured. Kyle gripped the control stick tightly, and fine beads of sweat formed on his forehead. His heart was still pounding rapidly, and the thrilling escape played on a loop in his mind - the encirclement of the Federal agents, the outburst of the stardust power, and how he had snatched this spaceship at the last moment.

"I can't relax yet..." Kyle murmured to himself, his eyes scanning the spaceship's dashboard. Although the fuel was barely sufficient, the spaceship's outer shell had been severely damaged in the previous battle, and the shield energy was almost depleted. What's more, he knew that the Federal Fleet would never let him go easily. Rain's cold eyes seemed to be watching him from behind, sending a chill down his spine.

Sure enough, the spaceship's radar suddenly emitted a shrill alarm. Kyle quickly glanced at the screen and saw several small Federal pursuit ships rapidly approaching from the direction of Planet Tar. They were moving at an extremely high speed, clearly lightweight ships designed specifically for pursuit.

"Damn it, they're chasing us!" Kyle gritted his teeth and quickly adjusted the spaceship's course, trying to use the surrounding meteorite belt as cover. However, the Federal pursuit ships clearly had no intention of giving him any chance to catch his breath. They quickly spread out and surrounded Kyle's spaceship from different directions.

Kyle took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. He knew that with the spaceship's current performance alone, there was no way he could shake off these pursuit ships. The only hope lay in the mysterious stardust power within him.

"Come on, let's see what else you can do..." Kyle whispered, as if speaking to the power inside his body. He closed his eyes, concentrated, and tried to feel the flow of that power. Gradually, his hands began to glow faintly, and the stardust power surged within him, as if responding to his call.

Just then, a Federal pursuit ship suddenly approached from the side and fired an energy beam. Kyle's eyes snapped open, and he quickly maneuvered the spaceship to evade. The energy beam passed by the spaceship's outer shell and hit a floating meteorite, triggering a small - scale explosion.

"I can't keep taking hits like this!" Kyle thought to himself. He focused again and channeled the stardust power into his hands. This time, he felt that the power was more stable and controllable than before. He raised his hand and waved it in the direction of the pursuit ship, and an energy wave condensed from stardust shot out instantly.

The energy wave hit the pursuit ship's shield, causing a violent shock. The pilot of the pursuit ship clearly didn't expect Kyle to fight back. In a panic, he tried to adjust the course but crashed into another meteorite instead. The spaceship's outer shell cracked instantly, billowing out thick smoke, and then it lost control and drifted into the depths of the universe.

"Yes, I did it!" Kyle felt a surge of joy, but he knew that this was only a temporary victory. The other pursuit ships were still in hot pursuit, and their attacks became even more intense.

Kyle quickly maneuvered the spaceship and flew deeper into the meteorite belt. He used the stardust power to sense the movement trajectories of the surrounding meteorites and skillfully dodged the pursuit ships' attacks. Every time an energy beam came, he could avoid it at the last moment, as if the stardust power had given him an extraordinary intuition.

However, there were simply too many pursuit ships. Kyle's spaceship was grazed by several beams. The shield energy dropped rapidly, and cracks began to appear on the spaceship's outer shell. Kyle felt that it was getting more and more difficult to control the spaceship, and the engine's roar became extremely harsh.

"I have to find a way to get rid of them..." Kyle was anxious, and his eyes scanned the spaceship's console quickly. Suddenly, he noticed a dense meteorite cluster ahead. The gaps between the meteorites were extremely narrow, and ordinary spaceships couldn't pass through.

An idea flashed through Kyle's mind. He quickly adjusted the course and flew towards the meteorite cluster. The pilots of the pursuit ships clearly didn't expect him to take such a risky move. They quickly slowed down to avoid it. But Kyle charged into the meteorite cluster without hesitation.

With the help of the stardust power, Kyle could clearly sense the position and movement trajectory of each meteorite. His hands moved quickly on the control stick, and the spaceship weaved nimbly between the meteorites, like a cheetah running through the jungle. The pursuit ships, due to their larger size, couldn't navigate in such a narrow space and could only watch as Kyle's spaceship gradually disappeared into the meteorite cluster.

"Is he crazy?!" The pilot of one pursuit ship exclaimed. "It's impossible to pass through this place!"

However, with the help of the stardust power, Kyle successfully passed through the meteorite cluster. When he flew out from the other side, the pursuit ships were left far behind. Kyle let out a long sigh of relief and felt his heartbeat gradually return to normal.

However, before he could relax, the spaceship's alarm sounded again. Kyle quickly checked the radar and found a huge Federal cruiser ahead. It was several times larger than the pursuit ships, and its weapon system was more advanced. Apparently, the Federation had deployed more powerful forces to capture him.

"This is never - ending..." Kyle cursed under his breath. He knew that with this small spaceship alone, he had no chance against the cruiser. The only hope was to find a place to hide as soon as possible.

Kyle quickly adjusted the course and flew towards an abandoned space station nearby. This space station had once been an outpost of the Interstellar Federation, but it had been abandoned for many years and had become a ruin in the universe. Kyle hoped to find temporary shelter there from the Federal pursuit.

As the spaceship approached the space station, Kyle noticed that its external structure was severely damaged, and in many places, the internal metal framework was exposed. However, this was exactly what he needed - a complex and dangerous environment that would make the Federal pursuit more difficult.

Kyle carefully maneuvered the spaceship and entered the interior of the space station. The corridors of the space station were narrow and dim, with rust and cracks covering the walls. Kyle turned off the spaceship's external lights and relied solely on the stardust power to sense the surrounding environment. His hands glowed faintly, as if guiding him in the dark.

However, just when he thought he was safe for the moment, the spaceship's radar issued an alarm again. Kyle quickly checked the screen and found that several small Federal landing crafts had entered the space station and were approaching his direction.

"They really won't leave me alone..." Kyle said in a low voice, a hint of determination flashing in his eyes. He knew that he had to find a place to hide as soon as possible. Otherwise, once surrounded by the Federal soldiers, he would have nowhere to run.

Kyle quickly got off the spaceship and started running through the corridors of the space station. His footsteps echoed in the empty hallway, as if reminding him of the urgency of the situation. The footsteps of the Federal soldiers also came from the distance, getting closer and closer.

As he ran, Kyle concentrated, trying to mobilize the stardust power. He felt the power surging in his body, but he couldn't release it as steadily as before. Apparently, the continuous escape and battles had pushed his physical strength to the limit.

Just then, Kyle suddenly heard the sound of machinery operating ahead. He quickly stopped, hid behind a corner, and cautiously peeked out. In front of him was a huge metal door covered with complex mechanical devices. It was clearly an important facility.

Kyle's heart skipped a beat. He quickly ran to the door and tried to open it. However, the lock on the door had rusted shut, and ordinary strength couldn't open it. Kyle gritted his teeth, concentrated again, and channeled the stardust power into his hands. His hands began to glow faintly, and then he pressed them hard against the door.

With a "click", the lock was forcefully broken by the stardust power, and the metal door slowly opened. Kyle quickly slipped inside and closed the door behind him. Leaning against the door, he gasped for breath, feeling that his physical strength was almost exhausted.

However, before he could rest, he heard the footsteps of the Federal soldiers outside. They had clearly found his trail and were trying to open the door.

Kyle took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He knew that he had to find a way out as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the Federal soldiers broke through the door, he would be cornered.

He looked around and found himself in a large warehouse. The warehouse was filled with all kinds of discarded mechanical equipment and parts,and it was obvious that no one had used it for years. Kyle quickly searched the warehouse for a place to hide and finally found a hidden ventilation duct.

Without hesitation, he climbed into the ventilation duct and moved forward carefully. The duct was narrow and dark, but his stardust power allowed him to clearly sense the surrounding environment. He heard the sound of the Federal soldiers breaking into the room, followed by their footsteps as they searched the warehouse.

Kyle held his breath and continued to crawl forward carefully. He knew that he had to find an exit as soon as possible. Otherwise, once the Federal soldiers discovered the ventilation duct, he would be trapped.

Just when he thought he was safe for the moment, the sound of machinery operating suddenly came from the other end of the ventilation duct. Kyle's heart tightened, and he quickly stopped, listening carefully. He heard a deep rumble, as if some huge machine was starting up.

"What's that sound?" Kyle was puzzled, but he knew that he had no way back. He could only continue moving forward, trying to find an exit.

As he got closer to the source of the sound, the temperature in the ventilation duct began to rise, and the air was filled with a scorching heat. Kyle felt his skin burning, but he still gritted his teeth and persevered, continuing to crawl forward.

Finally, he reached the end of the ventilation duct. Through the cracks in the duct, he saw a huge energy reactor below. The core of the reactor was operating violently, emitting a dazzling light and intense heat.

Kyle was shocked. He realized that he had accidentally entered the energy core area of the space station. The temperature here was extremely high, and ordinary people couldn't survive. However, he felt that the stardust power in his body seemed to resonate with the energy of the reactor.

"Maybe... I can use this reactor..." An idea flashed through Kyle's mind. He quickly climbed out of the ventilation duct and carefully approached the reactor. He felt the stardust power surging in his body, as if responding to the energy of the reactor.

Kyle took a deep breath, concentrated, and channeled the stardust power into his hands. His hands began to shine brightly, and then he pressed them hard against the outer shell of the reactor. The stardust power and the energy of the reactor quickly merged, triggering a violent energy fluctuation.

The entire space station began to shake violently, and the energy of the energy core quickly got out of control. Kyle felt a powerful force gushing out from the reactor, pushing him into the air. He quickly adjusted his posture, used the stardust power to stabilize himself in the air, and then flew towards the exit.

At the same time, the Federal soldiers also felt the abnormal vibration of the space station. They quickly evacuated the warehouse, trying to return to the landing crafts. However, the out - of - control energy core had triggered a chain reaction, and the structure of the space station began to collapse.

Kyle flew out of the space station and looked back. He saw the entire space station being engulfed by a huge energy storm and then turning into a dazzling light in the universe. The Federal pursuit ships and landing crafts were also affected by the energy storm and lost control one after another, drifting into the depths of the universe.

Kyle let out a long sigh of relief, feeling that his physical strength was almost completely drained. He quickly returned to the spaceship, started the engine, and flew in the direction away from the Federation.

In the pilot's seat of the spaceship, Kyle looked at the gradually receding wreckage of the space station, his heart filled with complex emotions. He knew that he had just gone through a life - and - death test, and this escape was far from over.

"Stardust power... What exactly are you?" Kyle murmured to himself, a hint of confusion and determination flashing in his eyes. He knew that he had to master this power as soon as possible, otherwise, the future challenges would be even more difficult to face.