Assault

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Tsk, that win rate was a little awkward.

But it was understandable. He was using unupgraded starter ships, so every battle was an uphill challenge.

A major reason Wang Dong's win rate was still below 50% was that his opponents' ships had simply outclassed his.

After reviewing the battle, Wang Dong prepared to continue playing.

Wang Dong usually played for four hours at a time. With Star Sea Expedition's virtual time passing at eight times the real-world rate, that amounted to thirty-two hours in the game.

Although, by Wang Dong's current standards, Star Sea Expedition involved far fewer actual gameplay elements than a real Kindling Warship did,

it was simple.

A nice, mindless way to pass the time.

"Continue with one-on-one random matchmaking."

"Waiting in queue...3, 2, 1. Match found.

May fortune favor you in battle, Captain."

The same familiar electronic voice, the same familiar feeling.

Time: June 14, Star Calendar 10103

Terrain: Cosmic Void Belt, radius 1 light-minute

Ships: Mass-produced Scout-class Destroyer LV1 (ID: Han Feng), mass-produced Scout-class Destroyer LV5 (ID: I Love Juice)

Victory condition: One side is destroyed or surrenders

Battle duration: 30 minutes

Battle start.

Cosmic voids were regions of extremely sparse matter that often existed between galaxies.

Because of gravity, star systems throughout the universe pulled on one another, forming enormous galaxies, each of which might contain hundreds of thousands or even millions of star systems.

As matter pulled on other matter, it formed dense regions, naturally creating corresponding regions of sparse matter.

The voids between star systems and the voids between galaxies both belonged to these sparse regions.

The regions of extremely sparse matter between galaxies were especially vast. Often, there wasn't a single star system across tens of thousands of light-years.

That was what a cosmic void was.

Many Kindling Warships roamed the Cosmic Void Belt year-round because of its exceptionally pristine astronomical conditions.

This allowed them to receive signals from Otherworldly Space as effectively as possible, then enter Otherworldly Space battlefields and obtain Source Points to strengthen their warships.

In the game, the battlefield's background music might as well have said: Don't chicken out—just fight!

Or, to put it another way: Don't even try to hide—you'll only get yourself killed.

Wang Dong laughed. This was about as hostile as it got toward starter ships.

"Activate the Sky-Scanning Radar in active mode."

There was nothing to think about. Time to go.

There was no point trying to lie low in terrain like this.

Within seconds, the Sky-Scanning Radar returned a reading.

"Enemy ship locked. Coordinates (X16, Y16, Z09), distance 0.5 light-minutes."

"Warning: Enemy ship has locked onto us."

Just as expected. The scanning waves traveled at the same speed. While you were observing your opponent, they were staring right back at you.

"Engine output at level three. Advance toward the enemy ship."

"Aye, Captain. This ship is moving out."

A few dozen seconds later, Wang Dong frowned as he continued monitoring the data.

"That speed... They must have upgraded their engines."

After watching for several dozen seconds, he could tell that I Love Juice's warship was accelerating noticeably faster than an LV1 engine running at full output could manage. The other player's engine had clearly been upgraded to LV2.

"So they're not a complete beginner..."

In the game, upgrading an engine from LV1 to LV2 cost 200 upgrade points. Upgrading the main cannon from LV1 to LV2 cost the same. Most players prioritized attack, so anyone who had upgraded their engine to LV2 had probably upgraded their main cannon to LV2 first.

"This could be tricky."

Wang Dong smiled faintly.

Unupgraded LV1 armor would collapse if hit by an LV2 main cannon. If the same area was hit a second time, it would very likely be blasted straight through, sinking the ship.

The main issue was that the game had omitted the energy shield module, making many delaying tactics impossible.

This sped up the game, but also left less room for error.

Of course, even if he couldn't win in a straight fight, Wang Dong still had options.

He'd fought plenty of battles for real. He wasn't going to lie down and die that easily.

"Enemy ship at coordinates (X10, Y01, Z01), distance 0.3 light-minutes."

Two minutes later, the ships entered main cannon range.

I Love Juice fired first.

Wang Dong didn't order his main cannon to charge. The hit rate at maximum range wasn't high, and the enemy's higher engine level gave it greater maneuverability. There was no need to waste firepower.

"Full power to the attitude-control thrusters. Evade randomly."

Wang Dong gave the order at once.

The attitude-control thrusters were mounted on the sides of a warship and were used to maintain balance and assist with adjusting its course.

The mass-produced Scout-class Destroyer had four attitude-control thrusters, one on each side of the ship.

"Evasion complete. Enemy main cannon is charging again."

A dozen or so seconds later, a high-energy projectile passed a few hundred kilometers beneath Wang Dong's warship.

Fifty-odd seconds later, a second high-speed projectile passed by the side of Wang Dong's warship, missing by barely a hundred kilometers.

In space, that was practically a near miss!

Distance: 0.15 light-minutes!

Wang Dong still didn't order his main cannon to charge.

"Switch to manual control!"

"Aye, Captain. Manual control in 3, 2, 1. Switch complete. May you ride to victory, Captain."

"Hahaha! Scout, charge!"