Alien Landing

A month passed in the blink of an eye.

That day, as Lu Feng was cultivating in deep focus on the Observation Deck, Luo Lin's gentle yet clear voice rang through the entire starship:

"Attention all crew members, the Dawn will activate Superluminal Flight Mode in one hour. Please proceed to your designated Cryo Pods in an orderly fashion within thirty minutes."

"Attention all crew members, the Dawn will activate Superluminal Flight Mode in one hour. Please proceed to your designated Cryo Pods in an orderly fashion within thirty minutes."

"..."

Lu Feng slowly opened his eyes, took one last look at the deep, resplendent Star Sea beyond the Cabin Window, then rose and returned to the Living Quarters.

In the corridor, Team Members were filing toward their respective Cryo Pod units.

He spotted Gao Zhan and Fang Qing; the two exchanged a brief glance, words unnecessary.

Hong Kun walked past him and gave his shoulder a firm slap.

Many of the Team Members he got along with were also bidding each other farewell, promising to meet again in a year and a half.

Lu Feng entered his own cabin, number 1227. The wall slid open smoothly, revealing the Cryo Pod that had never been used before.

Inside, the chamber was filled with a faint blue mist of nutrient fluid, exuding a weak aura of life activity.

"Have a pleasant dream, 1227," Luo Lin's voice sounded within the cabin. "We'll see each other in eighteen months."

Lu Feng lay down steadily inside the pod. As the lid slowly closed, his consciousness gradually sank into a tranquil darkness.

Time flowed silently through slumber.

In the blink of an eye, eighteen months passed swiftly.

In May of Interstellar Year 3072, the Dawn precisely disengaged from Superluminal Flight Mode and arrived smoothly at the outskirts of the Carro Galaxy.

"Wake-up sequence initiated. Welcome back, all crew members!"

Accompanied by Luo Lin's announcement and the gentle wake-up agent injected into his body, Lu Feng slowly stirred awake in the Cryo Pod.

The lid opened. He squinted uncomfortably and habitually looked toward the Observation Window in the Living Quarters.

Beyond the window, aside from the familiar starry sky, Lu Feng was startled to find seven or eight starships of various designs floating nearby. They stood silent and still like steel Giant Beasts, forming a temporary interstellar fleet together with the Dawn.

"Those are...?"

"They are the Expeditionary Force from three human auxiliary planets beyond Tianlan Star," Luo Lin's voice chimed in at the right moment, answering his confusion. "Including us, four teams are jointly executing this 'Spirit Slaughter' operation. The other starships have been arriving at the outskirts of the Carro Galaxy over the past half month to assemble."

Only then did Lu Feng recall that before boarding the Dawn, Fang Qing had mentioned it.

For this expedition, besides Tianlan Star, legions from three other planets were also participating, bringing the total number to a staggering sixty thousand.

The next seven days were a centralized recovery period for all crew members.

The Warriors on each starship underwent high-intensity physical recovery, neural response coordination, and tactical adaptation training in specialized training pods, awakening bodily functions that had slept for a year and a half.

On the final day of the recovery period, all members assembled in the central hall of the mecha bay.

Gao Zhan stood at the front of the formation, his expression solemn: "Everyone, preparations are complete. In three hours, we will land on Planet Caro 9 in waves. Remember, this is no longer a drill—this is a true expedition."

A low vibration spread through the Vessel Body as the Dawn slowly cut into the atmosphere of Planet Caro 9.

The massive hull finally stabilized, hovering several thousand meters above the ground. Below stretched an endless expanse of reddish-brown continent.

"Attention all personnel," Gao Zhan's steady voice reached every Team Member's ears, "enter your mechas immediately and prepare to land in the predetermined formation. After landing, keep all Communication Channels open. The distance between Team Members must not exceed one kilometer."

With the order given, the hall burst into activity.

Lu Feng walked toward his designated mecha. On the chest of the Alloy Mecha was his number—1227.

He skillfully opened the mecha's hatch and climbed inside. As the system booted up, data indicators lit up one by one on the Display Screen of his faceplate.

"Mecha self-check complete. Status optimal," Luo Lin's voice sounded within the cockpit.

One by one, hatches opened along the starship's side, and a powerful gust of air rushed in instantly.

Lu Feng saw Gao Zhan step to the edge of the hatch first. He turned back and gestured to the Team Members, then leaped into the sky.

Fang Qing, Hong Kun, Yang Qian, and the other Team Members followed closely, turning into streaks of meteors as they plunged toward the planet below.

Meanwhile, from other mecha cabins, the remaining Expeditionary Force legions of Tianlan Star were also flying toward the ground in an orderly fashion.

Lu Feng took a deep breath and walked to the hatch edge.

He took one last look at the unfamiliar, vast alien land beneath his feet, then activated his thrusters. His figure vanished into the howling wind.

After several minutes of descent, thousands of Alloy Mechas landed steadily under the counter-thrust of their boosters, rapidly deploying across the Sudali Plain of Carro 9 Star, forming a containment line stretching thousands of kilometers.

"Current area: Sudali Plain. The primary inhabitant is an Exotic Beast known as the 'Purple-eyed Earth-drilling Bull.' This species has a Huge Size and astonishing strength. Mission objective: eliminate all Purple-eyed Earth-drilling Bulls in the area, occupy the plain, and establish a Temporary Starry Sky Station."

Lu Feng sat in the mecha cockpit, listening to Luo Lin's mission briefing while maneuvering the mecha forward.

Just then, Captain Gao Zhan's voice came through the team's Communication Channel: "All members of the Chasing Wind Squad, converge on me. Maintain formation and advance steadily."

"Roll call begins now. Respond immediately when your number is called."

"1113."

"Present!"

"1118."

"Here!"

"1367."

"Here!"

"1227."

"1227."

"1227... what are you doing?"

Gao Zhan called out three times in the communication channel before Lu Feng snapped back to attention: "Here!"

At that moment, directly in front of Lu Feng's mecha, a Purple-eyed Earth-drilling Bull over eight meters long and five meters tall at the shoulder had just emerged from the loose sand. Its violet-glowing eyes were fixed dead on him.

"What are you doing? Turn on radar sharing immediately!"

The atmospheric density on Carro 9 Star was extremely high, compounded by the raging sandstorms, making it impossible for mecha pilots to observe their surroundings with the naked eye.

Team members could only rely on the communication channel and shared radar to maintain contact and positioning.

"1227, do you copy? Turn on your radar now!"

It wasn't until Gao Zhan urged a second time that Lu Feng hastily flipped the radar switch.

Hong Kun, Yang Qian, and the other two Skyfire Club members closest to him immediately drove their mechas toward his position.

As they drew near, they saw a massive Earth-drilling Bull standing silently in front of Lu Feng's mecha.

"Quick! Take down this beast!"

Hong Kun shouted over the communication channel as all four mechas opened fire simultaneously.

Scorching high-energy fusion beams erupted from the weapon systems, dozens of red lights weaving into a net in an instant, riddling the Earth-drilling Bull with holes.

"Damn it!"

Witnessing this, Lu Feng couldn't help but curse under his breath.

This was exactly why he hadn't responded to Gao Zhan right away—he had been fully absorbed in draining the energy from the bull's body.

In the end, he still hadn't managed to finish the absorption in time.

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