Clear the Field

"Ten."

Ronan's voice came through the holographic projection, flat, cold, devoid of emotion. Like a falling block of iron.

"Nine."

A faint yet constant tremor ran through the deck beneath their feet. It was the groan of the space station's structure under the pressure of the external energy field.

The golden radiance around Carol flared brilliantly, warping the air around her with heat. She glared at Ronan's projection, her knuckles white from clenching her fists. She wanted to charge out and smash that arrogant face with her fists.

"Eight."

Talos's face was no longer merely pale, but a bloodless, ashen gray. He had only just found his family after years of separation. Was he about to watch them be "purified" into cosmic dust alongside him? He looked desperately at Chu Hang. This man was his only hope. Yet Chu Hang did not even turn around. With his back to Ronan, he seemed not to hear the countdown to death at all.

"Seven."

"What are you doing?!" Carol finally could not hold back any longer. She growled at Chu Hang's back, "We need to think of something! We need to break out!"

"Don't rush." Chu Hang's calm voice was enough to drive anyone mad. "Take care of business first."

"Six."

After saying that, he ignored the anxious looks of the two behind him, as well as Ronan's cold voice already counting down to "five," and headed straight for an inconspicuous cargo transport passage in the corner of the laboratory.

"There's nothing there!" Talos was nearly breaking down. He could not understand why, at a time like this, this man still cared about an empty corner.

Chu Hang ignored him. He walked to the unremarkable metal floor panel, crouched down, extended his right hand, and gently pressed the center of it.

He