Waiting for You, Isaac!

"UGS Ishimura, this is the USG Seongho Emergency Repair Team. This is Safety Supervisor Zach Hammond. We have received your distress call. Ishimura, please respond."

"Ishimura, did you receive it?"

"This is the USG Seongho. Please respond!"

However, only silence answered them.

Just a few days ago, the Ishimura suddenly sent out a distress call, which included a female safety consultant who spoke incomprehensible and incoherent language. This made Isaac, the chief engineer of CEC, feel extremely uneasy.

Nicole-

Isaac looked at the Planet Cracker Ship hovering above Aegis VI's orbit, his eyes filled with deep worry.

"Their communications array might be malfunctioning." Another member of the rescue ship, Daniels, shrugged, tossing his short blond hair, and reassured him, "Don't worry, we'll fix it as soon as possible, so you'll have time to have a good talk with Nicole."

"Thanks."

Isaac responded with a dull groan.

"Get us aboard." Safety supervisor and captain Zach Hammond immediately told the two pilots. "Be careful, everyone, until we figure out what's going on on the Ishimura."

Over the years, CEC's frantic efforts to establish various mining platforms in space have caused widespread discontent.

Hammond's gaze was sharp. He was a former Marine Corps, responsible for team armaments and tactics, as well as dealing with... human problems.

For example, the rebels!

Perhaps it's a matter of interests, or perhaps there are other reasons; in the desolate expanse of space, anything can happen.

"Gravity Cable connected, automatic docking in progress!" Johnston carefully piloted the rescue boat and completed the docking.

A pale blue halo formed a tunnel, and the rescue ship slowly entered it. If all went well, they would soon be able to board the Ishimura and find out what was happening here.

But, the unexpected still happened!

The system, which was supposed to assist the rescue ship in docking with the Ishimura, somehow detached itself from the Gravity Cable due to unknown factors.

"Oh no! The Gravity Cable has gone out of control!"

Johnston screamed in terror, straining the control lever to try and prevent the spaceship from crashing directly into it!

"Aim at the emergency stabilization device!" In this extremely critical moment, Isaac stepped forward to help the pilot stabilize the spacecraft's attitude and control.

"Crash!"

"Drop the protective shock shield!"

Seconds before impact, Hammond gave an urgent order to ensure the rescue ship would not break apart.

Boom!!!

After a brief, loud bang, the force of the violent impact felt like hundreds of pounds of weight pressing down on us. If it weren't for the seatbelts, everyone would have been thrown out of the seats.

Sparks flew everywhere inside the rescue ship.

Scattered circuit boards and cables were pulsating wildly, and multiple fires were visible.

"Quickly, get out of here!"

Hammond was also thrown around quite a bit, his head even hitting the control panel, resulting in a cut several centimeters long.

Blood stained half of his face, making him look horrifying.

"Everyone, evacuate." Isaac, fighting off dizziness and nausea, stumbled and unbuckled his seatbelt.

Supporting Daniels, who was standing to the side, he hurriedly limped out of the cabin.

Although the rescue ship was severely damaged in the collision, it didn't explode, which was the only good news.

As everyone gradually withdrew from the rescue ship, Isaac stared at the ship, its hull almost twisted and deformed, and was speechless for a moment.

What is going on here?!

They were ordered to rescue the Ishimura, but it turned into a rescue-saves-grandpa situation, with the rescuers becoming the rescued. Can these people be any more reliable?

Seemingly sensing the chief engineer's speechlessness, Hammond coldly defended his crew. "I trust Johnston; he has ten thousand hours of piloting experience, there's no way he would make such a basic mistake."

"It wasn't my fault, I swear to God!" a disheveled Johnston immediately exclaimed. "I really did calibrate the orbit, but that damned Gravity Cable suddenly failed, which caused our ship to deviate from its orbit!"

"Okay, there's no point in discussing this now."

Hammond calmly interrupted Johnston's argument, turning to survey their surroundings. "Whatever the reason, the fact that there were no casualties is the best outcome. Now we need to find out what happened on the Ishimura and then locate the backup escape ship."

"Report the extent of the damage," Hammond said, turning to Johnston.

"The communications system has collapsed, the side boosters are destroyed, one stabilizer is on fire, the Singularity Core is a complete mess—" Johnston sighed, "This is the worst-case scenario."

It would take at least a dozen hours to fix these problems— Isaac raised an eyebrow, thinking that seemed like a good idea, allowing him to have a deeper conversation with his girlfriend whom he hadn't seen for months.

"You look like you're smirking, thinking about Nicole?" Daniels noticed his expression and couldn't help but tease, "Alright, we'll take care of repairing the spaceship. Go find your little girlfriend."

"Stop fooling around."

Hammond reprimanded the two unreliable men sternly. "Don't forget, we still have to investigate the Ishimura's problems. We don't have time for jokes now."

"Okay, you're the security chief, you're right." Daniels shrugged, seemingly unconcerned, but his mind was elsewhere.

Her public identity is CEC's Security Liaison Officer, but in reality, she is a spy for the Earth United Government, specifically there to investigate CEC's hidden secrets.

According to evidence held by the Earth United Government, the CEC's large Planet Cracker Ship, the Ishimura, seems to be stationed here not only for mining, but also for some unknown secret.

Just then, Hammond's face turned as if he had seen a ghost. Veins bulged on his forehead, his pupils contracted rapidly, and he aimed his Pulse Rifle directly at the area behind them, roaring, "Halt! Who are you?!"

Hammond's sudden shout startled Isaac and Daniels for half a second. When they came to their senses, they immediately turned around to look.

But then, they noticed that many figures had appeared around them. These people stood in the shadows like ghosts, almost silent, like statues, making them difficult to detect.

What's even more terrifying is that each of those figures is almost two meters tall, and under the cover of darkness, only two blood-red eyes, like those of eyes, are watching them intently.

At that moment, even Hammond, a former Marine Corps, felt a chill run down his spine.

He looks like a ghost, who wouldn't be afraid?

Especially in a place like the Ishimura, where no one knew what had happened, the crew of the rescue ship, who had just stepped into the area, undoubtedly felt an invisible fear.

"Report your identity information, immediately!"

Hammond, Pulse Rifle in hand, index finger already on the trigger, beads of cold sweat beading on his forehead, shouted sternly, "According to CEC security regulations, you need to verify your identity immediately, or I'll shoot!"

However, as soon as he finished speaking, he felt as if he were flying.

Is it just my imagination?

No, Isaac, standing to the side, stared wide-eyed.

Because he was nearby, he could see more clearly that right after Hammond uttered the word "fire," one of the figures vanished like lightning. Immediately afterward, their security chief was thrown like a ball and slammed hard into the twisted hull of the rescue ship, his head lolling to the side as he passed out.

Isaac, Daniels, and Johnston turned their heads stiffly, and only then did they finally see the true face of the figure.

They wore heavy, steel-like armor, with intricate and ornate patterns engraved on their semi-circular shoulder armor, and two blood-red mechanical Cybernetic eye staring at them from their skull-like helmets.

The jet-black armor and the skull patterns of the children all highlight the terror of this group of "people"!

"Are you Isaac Clark, CEC's chief engineer?" The man in armor, with a burly, giant-like physique, spoke in a deep, hoarse voice, carrying a terrifyingly oppressive aura.

"I, I am—"

Isaac couldn't help but tremble, his mind already conjuring up images of his gruesome death.

"Very good, identity confirmed."

The soldier walked past Isaac with heavy steps. "Disarm them and take them all back!"

And so, Isaac, completely bewildered, along with Daniels, Johnston, and the unconscious Hammond, were led to the captain's cabin by this group of tall, muscular, devilish giants.