Age of Cosmic Exploration

Chapter 163: The Awakening

Bo Li was burning with agitation!

But she had no idea where that agitation came from. Even though she usually presented an indifferent front, it didn’t mean that she was unfeeling. Her natural temperament coupled with her history had forced her to keep her emotions to herself.

But at the end of day, she too was one made of flesh and blood…

In her flustered state of mind, she had made multiple mistakes in her readings. It had gotten so obvious that almost everyone else in her lab had noticed it. However, because she was the leader of the lab, nobody dared to confront her.

Bo Li kept trying to pin down the source of her frustration; was it the alien or the Hope’s state of emergency? Both seemed close, but neither appeared to be the source. Like a star missing a corner, she got increasingly restless to a degree where she wanted to scream out loud.

"Professor Bo Li. Professor Bo Li."

A voice beside her called softly. It pulled her back to reality and she replied faintly, "Yes, is the data out?"

The assistant quickly answered, "Yes, Professor Bo Li, data from the large particle accelerator is back. It is as expected: it’s extremely unstable, and it’ll explode in less than a minute."

"Thank you." Bo Li frowned as she accepted the data report. Suddenly, the world around her became quiet and the familiar mumblings appeared beside her ear. They excited many new fresh ideas in her mind.

Half a minute later, Bo Li relaxed the lock in her brow, saying, "Double the output of the supermagnetic attenuator, and add magnetized alloy to material compartment C. Also, here…"

Bo Li was struck by a thought and stopped mid-sentence. The assistant waited for her continue, but after an extended period of silence, he lifted his head to look at her with questions in his eyes.

Bo Li had her head lowered and was deep in thought. Finally running thin on patience, the assistant coughed lightly to bring Bo Li out of her reverie.

"The solution is so close, but I’m still missing a key component," Bo Li uttered after she came to.

"Have you reached a breakthrough with regards to this research, Professor Bo Li?" the assistant implored.

"No… It has more to do with a plan to defeat the alien…"

Bo Li reentered her contemplation. Suddenly she stood up. "I need a Thinker’s help to figure out this plan. We need this plan to beat the alien." Before anyone realized what had happened, she was already out the door.

After a short while, the assistant caught up to her, saying, "No, Professor Bo Li, you’re a Whisperer! You’re not allowed on the battlefield! Marshal law states that very clearly. You’ll end up at the military court!"

However, when she thought of the planet that would come with this victory, her agitation and worry melted away to be replaced by a sense of joy…

"It’s fine. It’s all for the sake of victory. I so wish to see the ocean again…"

Bo Li balled her hands tightly as she told herself that.

It didn’t take long for Bo Li to reach the hangar. When she arrived, several military figures were already there. From their expressions, Bo Li knew they were waiting for her.

A European soldier stepped forth to intercept Bo Li. He saluted. "I’m sorry, Professor Bo Li, but according to the law, personnel that haven’t received official military training are not allowed on the battlefield under all circumstance. Violators will be jailed for 3 to 10 years. The case will be brought under the military court, so there will be no civil course of action, and convicts can only be pardoned by those above the ranks of major. If you are determined to pursue this foolish action, we are given the permission to forcibly put you into custody until the war’s over, so please… Professor Bo Li, let’s not make this hard for all of us."

Her agitation long gone, Bo Li replied calmly, "I’ve figured out the key to winning this battle, but it is a plan that I can’t complete alone. I need the help of a thinker, and if my information’s correct, Ren Tao is up there acting as the strategist. Don’t you want to win this war? To save this possible home planet…"

The European soldier interrupted her. "I’m sorry, Professor Bo Li. We’re in the middle of a war, and as soldiers, we’re bound to the military law. We can’t waive it for anyone… Furthermore, the alien’s technology is currently lower than our's, but their method of research is different. If you’re… forgive me for saying this, absorbed by the alien during combat, it’ll be indefinitely harmful to mankind! There’s no way we’ll allow you to go up there."

Bo Li lowered her head and mumbled, "Is that so? Such a shame…"

The soldier smiled kindly. "Then please return to your lab. Leave the actual combat to us soldiers, but of course, we won’t be successful without the Academy. So please continue to design helpful weapons to aid the combat…"

"Voice activation, PM Original Prototype, Password 0316121. My orders… Incapacitate everyone in this area."

"YES!"

A section of the hangar wall moved to reveal an opening. Everyone was shocked because no one knew of its existence, but more shockingly, an alien robot floated out from it!

Yes, a fully functional, tentacles flaying, floating alien robot, the exact one that massacred the Hope years ago. The robot floated obediently to rest beside Bo Li, but one of its tentacles kept sparking threateningly.

"Professor Bo Li, this… you’ve fully recovered an alien robot? What’s the meaning of this…"

Before the soldiers could recollect themselves from their daze, tiny, metallic needles sprayed out of the robot’s tentacles. The soldiers fell to the floor fully paralyzed.

"Sudden high-voltage shock. Don’t worry, it’s non-lethal; it’ll only incapacitate you for half an hour. Rest well," Bo Li whispered after she squatted down beside the European soldier. Then she raced to the spacesuit storage room, the robot following her closely behind.

The European soldier opened his mouth to mutter something, but the paralysis was too strong. Bo Li, though, had the presence of mind to turn around and add, "I’m a Whisperer, so don’t be surprised that I know a thing or two about the Hope’s mysteries. I might even know more than you do." With that, she excused herself from the area.

After putting on the spacesuit, Bo Li stared at the robot and said, "So… naturally you’ll follow me to the battlefield. But here’s an extra order. After you’ve ascertained that my life signals are gone, destroy my body immediately, especially the brain. Secondly, if I’m captured and there is no chance of rescue, I want you to activate your self-destruct device and search me out. Countdown for self-destruct will be 3 seconds. Please confirm acceptance of orders, PM Original Prototype."

"…YES, orders accepted."

"Okay, then let’s get up there."

Bo Li gave a bright smile before it was curtailed by her usual cool expression. She used the robot to hack into the vacuum quarantine room… Since her robot had already been connected to the Hope’s central mainframe, Bo Li was one of the few on the Hope who had the main password. In other words, she could use the password to override, restart, or even destroy the systems on the Hope.

Very easily, she went through the many doors and air locks that stood in her way. When the support soldiers arrived at the hangar, she was already on a shuttle heading towards the battlefield.

The battle aboveground was at its height. Gaussian bullets showered down on the battlefield like rain. The power of mankind's 4th revolution was showcased completely!

The enemies, though, were no pushover. The cannon monsters and Gaussian rifle monsters proved to be powerful adversaries. Multiple shots were needed to break their electromagnetic shields. Therefore, most of the Support Battalion focused their shots on these special monsters. This meant that less support was provided to handle the foot soldiers. At many occasions, it appeared like the temporary base was going to be overwhelmed by these melee monsters.

Thankfully, the base was supported by the 9 troopers. With an ability equivalent to a tank, they rammed through the enemy ranks easily. The sole monster type that provided some resistance was the centipede creatures. However, because their speed was greatly lower than the troopers', with careful planning, the monsters could be taken down easily.

All 9 troopers were short of breath when Ren Tao led them back from another successful assault. They were shocked to see that a shuttle had appeared from the hole and then proceeded to float down towards them.

Ren Tao cursed loudly, "Which idiot picks such a time to come up? If the shuttle is hit in mid-air, it’ll crash and destroy part of the base! Go round up its passengers, they’re in serious trouble!"

Then Bo Li appeared before Ren Tao with a flustered smile…