"..."
"???"
"Professor?!"
At Lü Yongchang's words, Hope lost his composure too and asked, "Can the Poseidon withstand its attacks?"
"That's uncertain too."
Lü Yongchang once again answered honestly.
"..."
A long silence followed.
"Relax, relax." Amusement shone in Lü Yongchang's eyes as he continued, "I'm teasing you."
"The atmosphere over there was too tense. I thought I'd lighten the mood."
There was still a long silence over the superluminal communication link.
Hope: You call this lightening the mood?
It took him quite a while to recover before he asked again, "So you're saying it won't attack us?"
"Oh, that's genuinely uncertain." Lü Yongchang shrugged and repeated himself.
"After all, this is a species we've never encountered before. We don't know its eating habits, much less how aggressive it is."
"All we can say right now is that its movements have become considerably calmer since we turned off the sonar."
Hearing this, Hope and Hansent nearly choked: "..."
Hansent: You call this an honest man?
"Still, it's only a living creature." Lü Yongchang smiled. "I don't think it can destroy our Exploration Ship."
"Go ahead and ascend."
Hope relaxed a little.
At last, he had heard something definite.
Without another word, he raised his hand and adjusted the various parameters on the holographic projection.
Once the adjustments were complete, he activated the Exploration Ship Poseidon without hesitation.
An extremely slight recoil traveled through the seat back.
The Exploration Ship began to ascend.
In the simulated image provided by Zero, the liquid ammonia lifeform remained where it was, slowly circling, seemingly watching them leave.
"Professor, it doesn't seem particularly aggressive." Seeing this, Hope let out a long sigh of relief.
"We should be safe..."
Before he could finish, a shrill alarm blared in their ears!
Hansent swiftly glanced at the holographic