Everyone immediately objected: how could they escape without a spaceship?
"Breaking through DarkStar's blockade in a spaceship was impossible from the start; the chance of escape was practically zero. From the beginning, we only had one option: to stall for time and wait for rescue. Abandoning the spaceship and losing maneuverability would be extremely disadvantageous for us, but it would also reduce the intensity of DarkStar's pursuit... Without the spaceship, we would be like fish in a barrel to DarkStar DarkStar, and their vigilance would further relax. We would break up into smaller groups and escape separately through underground spaces. DarkStar would stop bombing the surface because without the protection of the spaceship, the collapse of underground spaces would bury us alive. And what they want is... cough cough, to capture us alive. Therefore, DarkStar's strategy is very likely to use floating ships to slowly search and send ground troops to capture us."
Han Xiao explained that this was a risky method, and the mercenaries looked at each other in bewilderment.
Although it sounded reasonable, the risk of abandoning the spaceship still made everyone hesitate.
"Are you absolutely certain?" Goya couldn't help but ask.
What do you think?
Everyone was immediately annoyed. Why are you still keeping me in suspense at this point? And Tu Shu...
Han Xiao shook his head. In this situation, how could he be 100% confident? Otherwise, how could it be called taking a risk?
Piloting the spaceship may seem safe, but in reality, it's about to encounter Thunder with little chance of survival. Abandoning the spaceship may seem like a desperate situation, but it can buy time to continue delaying the situation.
The bombing continued, and time was of the essence. Goya and Porter discussed the matter briefly, and finally, gritting their teeth, they agreed to carry out the abandon ship plan. Goya asked, "How exactly do we do it?"
"The plan is as follows..."
Han Xiao began to explain in detail.
Rumble rumble rumble...
High in the planet's atmosphere, dozens of DarkStar bombardment fleets lined up in formation, dropping explosives onto the surface. Mushroom clouds shot into the sky, and the hot air from the explosions whipped up dust and sand, creating craters and spiderweb-like cracks.
The earth is cracked.
In the command center of the DarkStar mothership, Sarota stared at the ground screen, her fingers tapping incessantly on the table, her impatience evident in her subtle movements.
After the spaceship escaped into the underground space and the pursuit had yielded no results for several hours, his patience reached its limit. He decided to make a big commotion by sending bombers to destroy the surface, causing the underground space to collapse and forcing the target to return from the narrow and winding underground space to the open surface.
Furthermore, he deployed numerous medium-sized interceptors on the surface, forming an encirclement. Once the mercenaries' ships appeared on the surface, there would be no more chases, and the ships could be captured immediately.
"Reporting to the captain, the interrogation is complete. The captured mercenaries have never seen the Whispering Bead, and there was nothing found on their clothes or inside their bodies," one of them said. This group of prisoners was none other than Fasereni and the others who had been captured.
"At least the scope has been narrowed."
Sarota nodded.
Therefore, the remaining two ships are the most suspicious.
Just then, the Sky Ring spaceship suddenly appeared in the pursuit footage of the floating fleet. They had been left behind, but now they were getting closer and closer. The Sky Ring spaceship slowed down considerably and occasionally crashed into the rock walls.
Bang! Bang!
Lasers struck the spaceship's shields one after another. The Sky Ring spaceship seemed to be piloted by a different person, no longer displaying the dazzling evasions it had before, and instead becoming quite clumsy.
Almost all attacks hit.
The shield shattered quickly.
Boom!!
Laser fire focused on the tail of the spacecraft, causing a burst of flames and thick smoke!
The Sky Ring spaceship's thrusters were damaged, causing it to lose power. It crashed into and shattered more than a dozen stone pillars, becoming embedded in the rock wall, billowing thick smoke.
The floating fleet immediately surrounded it, but the Sky Ring ship was deathly silent. Several squads of Dark DarkStar warriors jumped off the floating ship, raised their guns, and blasted open the hatch, only to find the interior of the ship completely dark. The DarkStar warriors rushed inside, only to find it empty. They went to the cockpit, where a warrior checked the system and then quickly reported to his superiors.
"Report: There is no one inside the spacecraft. This is the spacecraft's autopilot system."
Sarota slammed her hands on the edge of the table, her eyes piercing. "They've abandoned ship!"
On the other side, the Blades Ship followed suit, jumping off the ship in batches. Because they hadn't shaken off the enemy like Han Xiao, their jumping was directly seen by the pursuing forces. However, the mercenaries didn't care about this and, after landing, each used their own abilities to escape in different directions.
"Abandoning ship... looks like it's just to buy time. Ha, still hoping for rescue?" Sarota scoffed. "Quite bold, daring to gamble like this..."
Then, he loudly ordered, "Cease the bombing! Disperse the floating fleet to search for signs of life! Send ground troops to assist in the pursuit!"
Sarota glanced to the side and said, "Ashes, you lead the ground forces."
Upon hearing this, Ashes nodded and turned to leave the bridge.
Puff puff puff--
Hundreds of egg-shaped drop pods detached from the mothership and fell to the ground from orbital altitude, each containing DarkStar superhumans, including Ashes.
Sarota understood Han Xiao's plan, but he still followed it because DarkStar's goal was indeed to capture everyone alive. In his view, the mercenaries were betting on this, and it was an open conspiracy.
With no spaceship in sight, Sarota was free of worries. If the previous chase was like a hunter Pursuit its prey, now it was like catching animals within a circle, with no need to worry about anyone escaping.
At this moment, in a hard-to-find corner underground, a round, silvery-white metal sphere rested quietly. Inside the metal sphere was a sophisticated cockpit, where Han Xiao and the others sat.
This is the vehicle Han Xiao has been building – the [Spherical Mobile Fortress].
Its exterior is a perfectly round metal sphere, amphibious on land, sea, and air. Its internal structure is complex, with multiple layers. The silver-white outer shell serves as both armor and a means of ground movement. The sphere is suitable for rolling, easy to steer, and can also adjust its speed. It is equipped with a gravity level sensor. When rolling, only the outer shell moves; the internal cockpit is a separate structure, independent of the outer shell, and does not rotate. The cockpit's huge curved surface displays real-time images of the outside world.
When encountering complex terrain, it can extend four mechanical limbs to crawl. Furthermore, the sphere is equipped with thrusters, stabilizers, and turbines, enabling it to fly at low altitudes and swim underwater, making it a multi-functional vehicle.
In his previous life, players called this thing a "Ball Vehicle." Han Xiao built it in Dragon Calm and placed it on the spaceship, where it came in handy when abandoning the ship.
The plan was to escape separately. At this point, the only members in the Ball Vehicle were Melos, Aroshia, the Volga Three Brothers, Frenzied Saber, and Maple Moon.
"The bombing has stopped."
Han Xiao sat in the control room, his eyes lighting up.
The underground space stopped shaking, indicating that DarkStar had stopped bombing as expected, which relieved him. He thought to himself, "Next, DarkStar will send ground troops to search for us, starting a cat-and-mouse game, transitioning to ground warfare. The mercenaries are scattered, broken into smaller groups; some will definitely be captured. Hopefully, this can buy us a little more time..."
The Ball Vehicle rolled backward and disappeared into the darkness along the winding underground passage.
The darkness provided cover for the mercenaries, making the search more difficult.
The two ships had a crew of two to three hundred people, all dispersed. The DarkStar's targets increased from two to over a hundred. The floating fleet also split up and patrolled slowly, with the blue light of the cone-shaped probes sweeping across every corner.
Before long, the DarkStar ground forces, led by Ashes, arrived underground and conducted a thorough search, their footsteps echoing through the deep underground space.
The situation shifted from a spaceship chase to a time-consuming search, seemingly less intense. However, the tension in the mercenaries' hearts continued to build amidst the boundless darkness and the ever-present vigilance of the possibility of encountering the enemy at any moment, becoming increasingly strained.
At first, DarkStar quickly captured some mercenaries, but as time went on, the mercenaries scattered more and more, and the capture efficiency rapidly decreased.
DarkStar often has to conduct a long search to find one or two mercenaries. These mercenaries possess various abilities, and some are particularly skilled at stealth.
Time passed.
On the Streamer, Sivadi was getting impatient. DarkStar had been lingering for a day and hadn't left yet. He had issued several warnings, but DarkStar kept announcing progress, saying that since the mercenaries had abandoned ship, it wouldn't be long before everyone was captured. Sivadi had no choice but to patiently continue waiting.
"Buzzing--"
An alarm suddenly sounded, and radar scans showed that a new force was rapidly approaching from nearby, its numbers growing quickly.
"Which faction is this?"
Sivadi's expression changed.
Through the porthole, one could see the starry sky behind the DarkStar mothership. Streaks of warp light flashed from afar, then abruptly stopped, revealing their true forms.
What arrived was a massive fleet, characterized by its mixed style, seemingly including warships from various races, making it appear like a ragtag army. However, upon seeing the insignia on the warships, the officers of the Holy Stone and Black Raven forces suddenly became serious.
This is a fleet temporarily assembled by the three mercenary groups: Sky Ring, Blades, and Purple Gold. In addition to the three major mercenary groups, there are dozens of mercenary group partners and hundreds of warships of various types, all eyeing the DarkStar mothership covetously.
"Is it really necessary for these large armies to make such a big show?"
Sivadi was surprised and secretly thought, "Oh no!"
If these mercenaries and DarkStar's negotiations break down, a fight will definitely break out, and then it will be difficult for Holy Stone and Black Raven to avoid being affected.
Sivadi's face darkened instantly. If those mercenaries had been captured sooner, things wouldn't have turned out this way.