Sorry, You Came Up Empty

"Master, we've passed the Nine-stage light ship. The meteorite impact site is less than twenty minutes away, but the area around the center has been sealed off to shipping, so we can only drop anchor nearby."

Hearing this, Chu Feng finally grew interested. He had finally found it! From the looks of it, nothing had gone wrong yet!

Standing on the yacht's observation deck, Chu Feng saw that the waves caused by the meteorite's impact had already subsided. The waves had been far smaller than predicted. June was not typhoon season, and with clear skies and gentle winds, it was perfect for sightseeing.

The five nautical miles around Daji Mountain had been designated a no-navigation zone, and the yacht had anchored outside the perimeter.

A massive floating crane rose and fell on the sea, hoisting unknown equipment. Patrol boats constantly circled the area, preventing unaware vessels from entering.

Meanwhile, Xue Qing was livestreaming, explaining things to her viewers based on the frequent radio chatter.

But Chu Feng's attention was no longer here.

"Xiao Meng, contact the spaceship AI."

"Yes, Master. Connecting to the spaceship AI..."

"Bzz... bzz..."

A burst of static sounded in Chu Feng's mind. He knew Xiao Meng was establishing a connection with the spaceship AI.

Although Xiao Meng could contact the spaceship AI over long distances, the AI would never grant access until it confirmed Chu Feng's brainwave frequency!

"Please enter password."

"85467346."

"Password confirmed. Verifying brainwave frequency..."

"Verification successful. Welcome back, Captain. The Dream Weaver AI is pleased to serve you!"

At first, Chu Feng had complained about the password setup. Technology was supposedly so advanced, yet they still used something so old-fashioned. Even his hometown used fingerprints and iris scans.

Unexpectedly, the AI had taught Chu Feng a proper lesson.

Planet Taibo had once also favored fingerprints and iris scans.

But they had gradually discovered many drawbacks. Fingerprint and iris data were far too easy to leak. Some criminals had even mutilated their victims to obtain those biometrics, cutting off fingers and gouging out eyeballs directly from living people.

In the end, they had no choice but to use the dual security of passwords and brainwaves.

"Dream Weaver, how did you end up on Earth?"

Chu Feng was somewhat puzzled.

"Captain, according to the Dream Weaver AI's records, after the Captain abandoned the ship in an escape pod, the spacecraft was swept into a spacetime storm. It was instantly transported near Earth. Due to electromagnetic interference from the spacetime storm, the AI could not properly control the spacecraft's operations. It could only barely guide the ship toward the vicinity of the Captain's last signal before crashing. The spacecraft's communications equipment was damaged as a result."

Since he had not gotten the answer he wanted, there was nothing Chu Feng could do. He could only take things one step at a time.

"Dream Weaver, inspect the ship's current condition and send it to me."

What Chu Feng cared about most now was the ship's condition. He hoped it had not suffered too much damage. He would still have to rely on her in the future.

"Yes, Captain. Initiating self-diagnostic system..."

"Central Energy Control Room: Energy rods consumed: 12.4%. Reserve energy: untouched."

"Electromagnetic Defense Module: Damage rate: 42.3%. Immediate repairs recommended."

"Main Hull: No damage."

"Main Stealth Equipment: Damage rate: 11.3%. Can continue operating. Repairs recommended."

"Storage Space Folding Device: Sustained impact damage. Storage locker No. 32 lost. All other storage lockers intact."

"Propulsion Energy System: Operating normally."

"Energy Recovery System: Operating normally."

"Anti-gravity System: Operating normally."

"Primary Defense Module: Main cannon, high-energy particle kinetic cannon, operating normally. Three secondary cannons; one lost. No replacement materials available. Repairs not recommended."

"Secondary Defense Module: Sixty-eight laser defense cannons operating normally."

"Escape Equipment: One use expended. Five uses remaining."

"Communications Equipment: Long-range interstellar communications equipment damaged by 56.4%. Communications abnormal. Unable to transmit signals. Repairs recommended."

"Interstellar Positioning System incomplete. Unable to send location or distress signals."

"Fortunately, there wasn't any major problem. No wonder the signal was so poor. Normally, the ship's communications equipment should have no problem reaching across the Solar System. So it was damaged."

But the thought also broke Chu Feng out in a cold sweat. Luckily it was damaged. Otherwise, if the ship sent out a distress signal, wouldn't others find out about it?

"Dream Weaver, can you move now?"

"Captain, I can move now!"

"Warning, warning. Scan detected above the spacecraft. Potential threat detected. Eliminate?"

"Don't!"

Chu Feng cried out in fright.

Hearing Chu Feng's voice, Xue Qing turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong, Brother Chu?"

"Nothing. I was just wondering why they still haven't salvaged it. It's almost evening."

Chu Feng changed the subject.

"Yeah, it's been a whole day and they still haven't found it. Who knows where it fell? It obviously landed here. Could the meteorite have turned invisible or something?"

Xue Qing answered in confusion.

They would only be able to salvage it if ghosts existed. The ship had ample energy, and its stealth system was still operating normally.

Even if they walked right up beside it, they would never discover it.

Furthermore, electromagnetic waves and the like simply could not detect a spacecraft protected by a defensive field.

Through the ship's holographic projection, a hologram of the spacecraft's current location appeared before Chu Feng's eyes.

In the slightly murky seawater, the ship lay quietly on the seabed. Submersibles kept searching around it, and the closest had come within ten meters.

"No wonder the ship issued a warning."

Chu Feng sighed inwardly.

He absolutely could not let the ship retaliate. Chu Feng knew the main cannon's power all too well. If he was not careful, it could blast straight through Water Blue Star.

Who could withstand something like that? Wouldn't it bring about the end of the world?

But Chu Feng also had a headache. How was he supposed to deal with the ship? He could not just leave it here to grow seaweed.

The ship was 142 meters long and 56 meters wide. To get inside such a massive thing, he would need to find somewhere quiet and deserted. Otherwise, if someone saw him, they would think he was an alien.

Though it really was an extraterrestrial technological spacecraft.

"Dream Weaver, follow the route I send you. Enter the river first, and we'll make further arrangements later."

Chu Feng immediately sent the route to the Dream Weaver. Fortunately, Hailing was a city along the river.

He remembered there was a Jiangxin Islet near Hailing Bridge. Since it was a sandbar, the water level was shallow and transportation was inconvenient, so nobody lived there. It would be a good place to temporarily hide the ship.

"Dream Weaver, start moving. Get away from here and enter the river directly. Avoid vessels along the way. Do not use weapons! You may use repair robots to autonomously repair damaged equipment. Also, forcibly shut down the positioning equipment and prevent any signals from being transmitted."

Chu Feng issued his orders.

"Yes, Captain. I will obey your orders!"

The spacecraft began moving silently, without alerting anyone. Even the little fish swimming around it failed to notice the colossal object.

It stirred up a little silt, startling away some small fish and shrimp.

Afterward, the spacecraft left the area while surrounded by numerous submersibles.

The busy people on the surface continued their work, while several news reporters kept filming.

But sorry, you came up empty.