Chapter 99: The Stealth Night Assault Plan on Starships

The night was thick, nearly to the point where one could not see one's own fingers, the pitch-black port area with a massive starship anchored there like a lurking beast.

At that moment, a small vehicle, no bigger than a car, slowly crawled forward along the path in the port area toward the starship. A short distance away, it shot out several faint beams of light.

The starship seemed to be activated by something, slowly opening one side of its entrance. The small vehicle was drawn toward it, floating up gently and entering the starship.

Splash! After the vehicle entered the starship, instead of following the predetermined route deeper inside, it passed through a long corridor and stopped outside a large door.

Click! Beside the small vehicle, a narrow slit split open, and in an instant, it transformed into an exit. They all surged out from the exit, rushing into the corridor, weapons raised, defending in all directions.

The corridor was completely empty, nothing but bare, silver-white metal.

"It seems we were right to break in now. We actually encountered an empty nest," Du Yun's face lit up with joy as she scanned the surroundings with her spiritual power and spoke to Dou Zhi.

"Clear the area!" The leader's command rang out, and all his teammates instantly dispersed, forming small groups of three, beginning to clear the sides of the corridor.

This corridor gleamed with a silver-white metallic luster, spanning over a hundred meters, with pale green doors at both ends and in the middle. The side far from them was the route they had come from, while the nearer side was the direction they needed to proceed.

The leader's team members slowly advanced toward both sides, their movements cautious and silent, their footsteps almost inaudible.

Du Yun stood in place, gazing into the corridor. Information from the energy absorption vehicle's chip, which Dou Zhi had accessed, indicated that the core area of this blue-glowing starship was nearby in the corridor they occupied, as the vehicle's level was low, granting only corridor access. To reach the core, they would have to navigate blindly.

The energy absorption vehicle's function was too brutal; it could not be operated by humans. Upon realizing this, Du Yun began to seriously doubt whether there were any humans aboard the starship, given that its lethality far exceeded that of the energy vehicle.

"Dou Zhi, is there any monitoring here?" Du Yun scanned the entire corridor with her spiritual power and found nothing of the sort. She was startled, and fearing her scan might be faulty, she had Dou Zhi confirm it twice.

"No, if there were, we would have been discovered already." Dou Zhi also found it strange. Based on the starship's primary materials, it was of medium to low grade, unsuitable for long-distance interstellar travel or combat, but perfectly adequate as a civilian transport vessel.

In theory, such a starship should have monitoring devices everywhere, robotic sentries, and other defenses.

Within Dou Zhi's scanning range, none of these defensive measures were present, which only heightened Dou Zhi's astonishment. A colossal starship without fear of intruders?

"There are no monitoring devices, it's too strange," Du Yun walked over to the leader and said this gravely.

"Indeed," the leader acknowledged through the team's reports. Not only were there no monitoring devices, but no humans had even been seen in the vast starship.

"If this place is not insignificant, then there must be something more formidable than monitors and guards to prevent intruders," Liya approached the two, her tall stature making her half a head taller than Du Yun. She eyed Du Yun arrogantly and stated her conclusion.

"I agree," Du Yun nodded, her gaze turning to the leader. She felt Liya was correct, aligning with her own thoughts. Though admitting it was a bit awkward, she spoke up generously.

"Hmph!" Liya had been glaring at Du Yun, expecting to hear something else after such a brilliant insight, but instead Du Yun had bluntly agreed. She choked back her words, feeling utterly frustrated and awkward, and could only let out a hum to convey her displeasure.

"Let's go find the command room," the leader frowned slightly at Liya's strange shift in attitude toward Du Yun but didn't dwell on it. Regardless of the starship's hidden traps, they should locate the command room first.

"Let's try this way," Du Yun connected to the energy absorption vehicle; its operational history now flashed in her mind. She knew these routes didn't lead to the command room. For the remaining two doors, she picked one at random to test.

"You say pick this side, so pick this side?" Liya subconsciously rebutted after hearing Du Yun's words.

"Then what would you suggest?" Du Yun looked up at Liya, slightly raising an eyebrow as she asked. Her long, lustrous chestnut hair framed her slightly narrowed chestnut eyes, which gave her a striking beauty. Standing beside the leader, she looked particularly captivating, especially since she seemed to harbor feelings for him, stirring a small jealousy in Du Yun's heart.

"Go this way!" Liya, annoyed by Du Yun's provocation, sulked and said, "Actually, there's no particular reason for my choice; I just didn't want to follow Du Yun's lead."

"This way it is," Du Yun observed Liya's emotions flaring up from the stimulation, noting the leader's disapproving gaze toward Liya, which gave her a small sense of satisfaction. Then she despised herself again.

The leader had already named her as family, and the team called her "sister-in-law." Why was she arguing with Liya like a child? It was truly inappropriate.

Du Yun secretly berated herself and decided to focus on finding the command room when she felt a slight vibration beneath her feet.

"Watch your step!" Du Yun barely got the words out before the section of the corridor she stood on began to deform. Two door-like structures rapidly extended from both sides, closing firmly within two or three seconds, sealing Du Yun and the others inside like a steel barrel.

Had she not warned in time, two teammates would have been crushed and sliced in half by the closing doors. They hastily wiped the sweat from their brows, casting grateful looks at Du Yun.

Being trapped wasn't the end. Du Yun felt the corridor shifting under her feet. It seemed this was the hidden defense mechanism of the starship they had anticipated.

"Where do you think they'll send us?" Du Yun looked up at the leader, suddenly recalling the energy absorption vehicle's path. Could it be...? Her face turned deathly pale.

The leader and Liya, it seemed, had thought of the same thing, their expressions growing grave. If they were sent to the high-temperature, high-pressure chamber where energy crystals were formed, none of them could escape!

Help!