Interstellar Survival: Invasion

"Flying vehicle discovered. Flying vehicle discovered," Dodo reported to Zhang Xingxing.

I slowly walked up to the flying vehicle. A thick layer of dust covered it, and from its appearance, it looked to have a history of tens of thousands of years. The constant high temperature of this place had not melted the device, so one could only imagine how sturdy the materials of this vehicle were.

"There won't be another giant paw monster in there, right?" Zhang Bao'er mumbled.

Dodo performed an extensive scan on the flying vehicle with its probe. No signs of life were found.

"We need to go in and take a look. The data of this vehicle might be the clue we need," Zhang Xingxing said.

"I agree. I'll go with Old Du to scout around first," I offered.

"No. This is the ship of our ancestor. We want to go in as well. We want to know its secrets," Titan and Amethyst objected.

"I want to enter first as well. Why must I always be the last to go?" Zhang Bao'er said.

Zhang Xingxing and I looked at each other in dismay.

"Zhang Bao'er, this is not the time to act all heroic," I said.

"You get to be the hero every single time. Let me try it out this time," said Zhang Bao'er with a wide smile on his face.

"Stop wasting time. Canyue and I will stay to keep watch. Bao'er, Old Du, enter with Titan and the others. Maintain communication at all times. Be careful of your safety," Zhang Xingxing fired off a series of commands.

"Roger!" Bao'er replied in excitement.

I could only helplessly turn on my probe and work alongside Dodo. Meanwhile, Blueflash and the other flying fish were lying on the ground, resting away.

"This is an ancient spaceship. I have confirmed that the deepest layer of dust is more than 10 thousand years old," said Dodo.

"Over 10 thousand years," I exclaimed. "In an environment like this, even a monster can't live that long, right?"

"I don't know. Have you forgotten the giant paw monster?" Dodo replied.

Zhang Bao'er was preparing to enter the ship. The ship was roughly T-shaped, propped up by four massive legs. Right below the ship was something that looked like a door. That was where Zhang Bao'er and Old Du were trying to figure out how to open the door.

Suddenly, the prophecy case in Zhang Bao'er's bag shook violently. Zhang Bao'er hurriedly took the case out of his bag. At the same time, intense purple light was leaking out of its seams. The shaking was so violent Zhang Bao'er almost couldn't maintain his grip on it.

"Canyue, did the case sense something? It feels like it's about to explode soon," Zhang Bao'er shouted nervously.

"What should we do now? Should we retreat?" I asked Zhang Xingxing.

"No. The truth might be right before us. We have no other options. If we retreat, where can we go after this?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"True. At this point, retreat is no longer an option," I agreed.

"Proceed with our operation. Maximize your defensive shields and protect both Titan and Amethyst," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

Just as Zhang Bao'er and Old Du were trying to put the shaking case under control, over ten beams of sparkling purple light shot out of the case. The beams landed on the ship, and surprisingly, we saw corresponding purple dots appear on the ship's body, seemingly in reaction to the case.

The contact between the beams and the ship caused a reaction. With a hum, the ancient ship came alive while the case became dormant yet again. The ancient ship lit up and shook lightly, shaking off the layer of dust that had accumulated for over 10 thousand years on its body. The hull of the ship was finally visible, and on it, I saw Dondon's painting.

"Th-this...why is Dondon here?" I asked anxiously as I pointed at the painting.

Inside my bag, Dondon also saw its portrait on the ship. For some reason, it started calling out loudly at the portrait.

"This shouldn't be Dondon. You're getting too nervous, Canyue," Zhang Xingxing said.

"Why do you say so?" I asked.

"You are really too nervous, Canyue. Let me explain?" Dodo said. "This might be Dondon's ancestor. Perhaps it is Nommo's companion, but it definitely isn't Dondon."

'Geez. Why didn't I think of that? I'm making a fool out of myself!' I cursed inwardly. Then, I said aloud, trying to hide my shame, "I said that on purpose to test you all. You fell for it!"

"Sigh. You humans think too much. None of you are pure in mind," complained Dodo.

After several minutes, the ship seemed to have resumed normal operation. With a hiss, the door opened.

"Hahaha! I, Zhang Bao'er, am a genius! I didn't even break a sweat opening the door of an ancient spaceship!" Zhang Bao'er bragged.

"Stop joking around. Prepare to enter," Zhang Xingxing commanded.

At that command, everyone turned serious. With a nod from me, Zhang Bao'er led the team into the ancient ship.

"This is a sealed cabin. There is another door inside. We opened the door and went through it. This is a spacious room. It seems to be a storeroom filled with diamonds," Zhang Bao'er's voice rang out in my earpiece.

"Canyue, we're rich!" Zhang Bao'er said with a laugh.

"Focus on the mission. If you get sidetracked one more time, I'll change the team members," Zhang Xingxing's strict voice rang out.

"There are two other doors in the diamond storeroom. Old Du and I will split out and go through one door each," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Be very careful. Maintain your communication channel at all times," I said.

The sound of a door opening came from the earpieces. After several minutes, Zhang Bao'er's excited voice rang out, "Reporting, everything is safe in here. We made a major discovery. Please enter as quickly as possible."

I exchanged a gaze with Zhang Xingxing before entering with Dodo. We arrived in the diamond storeroom shortly after. Indeed, the room was stocked with piles of diamonds. The diamonds here seemed several times larger than the ones we saw outside.

"No wonder Zhang Bao'er got excited. This is truly a treasure trove," I thought to myself.

There were two other doors in the room. Just as I was about to ask which door to go through, Dondon leaped off my bag and rushed through the left door. We hurried after Dondon. Behind the door was a massive cockpit. Zhang Bao'er and the others were all gathered inside. They were all huddled around something on the wall while Dondon was calling out incessantly from the ground at the thing on the wall. Meanwhile, Titan and Amethyst were prostrated on the ground, seemingly in the midst of a prayer.

Zhang Xingxing and I rushed over. When Zhang Bao'er saw us, he moved aside and said, "Canyue, look. Dondon's ancestor."

I walked forth and saw that on the wall facing the cockpit was a jar-like container. Within the container, a blue Dondon clad in a spacesuit hovered. It had a serene expression, as though it was merely dozing off.

"My god. Is Dondon a downgraded version of his species while its ancestors are smart enough to operate spaceships?" I exclaimed.

"This is Nommo's personal guard," said Titan. He had gotten back on his feet after his prayer.

"Personal guard? This little fellow can fight?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"In the ancient records, all Brightlings have a loyal blue companion. We know them as the Storms, and the one you call Dondon is one of them. The Storms are highly intelligent, possessing their own unique linguistic and inheritance system," said Titan.

"Storm sounds so much better than Dondon," said Zhang Bao'er.

Zhang Xingxing glared at him before asking, "Why can't our Dondon speak, then?"

"The Storms had sustained heavy losses during the battle with the Darklings. To cover our escape, all the Storms had decided to stay behind and sacrifice their lives. Only a single couple left with the fleeing Brightlings," said Titan.

"So this Storm is one of the pair?" I asked Titan.

"Likely. The two that came with us were Nommo's personal guards. The male was called Plum and the female was called Crystal. Back then, Crystal was pregnant. After arriving on Sirius B, she gave birth to eight little Storm cubs. Plum had stayed by Nommo's side, but he had gone missing after the battle at Terror Island," said Titan.

"Then this must be Plum. How about Crystal?" I asked.

"On the day Nommo returned from Terror Island, Crystal learned that Plum had not returned. She then left alone in her spaceship. Apart from her eight newborns, she left not even a message behind. As the Storm language and knowledge had always been passed on from individual to individual, the departure of Crystal also severed the inheritance of the Storms," Titan said.

"And because of the loss of the inheritance, the eight newborns did not manage to gain the ability to speak?" I asked.

"That's correct. The eight Storms managed to grow up, but without the inheritance, the culture of the Storms was gone. But thanks to their powerful reproductive abilities, their species have been able to survive until today," said Titan.

"Dodo, can we wake Plum up? That way, everything can be solved easily, including the matter of their inheritance," I provided a genius solution.

"Canyue, what a genius! That's an excellent idea!" Zhang Bao'er agreed in excitement.

I could see that even Zhang Xingxing had an expectant look in her eyes. She seemed to agree with my proposal as well.

"Let me check how well he's preserved. It has been over 10 thousand years. In our history, we have only ever revived a microorganism so old," said Dodo.

"Do not use common sense on a life form of Sirius B," I said firmly. "This is our best option."

"Dodo, do your thing. Canyue, I'll show you a different room. We also found something major there," said Old Du. "Bao'er, bring the prophecy case with you."

We grew excited upon hearing that clues regarding the prophecy case had been found as well. We immediately followed Old Du to the other room.