"Is that 'thirty years' a rounded-up result?"
Could the rebellion by the transformed people break out at any moment?
Images began to flash across Yang Ming's mind.
In the dimly lit game instance, fully armed player squads were chased and wildly chopped by the sexy and powerful Valkyrie, meeting their demise amid curses and swears.
The gloomy corridors were plastered with dark red bloodstains, decapitated skeletons still dressed in the light blue uniforms of the Empire's military, while monstrous lumps of flesh seemingly devoured something at the entrance to the bridge, with occasional deep sobs echoing from the depths of the hallway.
This was the fate of the research ship.
No, sitting ducks we shall not be.
It had not been easy for him to be alive again; the taste of death was unbearably unpleasant.
Yang Ming turned and rushed towards the hatch, now completely daring not to rest.
He wanted to speak with Kigrov, the person in charge here, they must urgently escape the research ship that could turn into a Shura hell at any moment.
However...
As the hatch opened, a young woman who was just raising her hand to knock on the door made the hurried Yang Ming stop in his tracks.
She appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five.
Although the current cosmetic medical technology made it impossible to judge the specific age by appearance, Yang Ming knew that she was of the same age as him, the ship's intern navigator, whose job was to check the Star Map, confirm the navigation route, and serve tea and water.
Of course, she also had a unique personal identity:
Hanton's mistress number one.
She was a sexy woman with plump lips, bright eyes, and a high nose bridge, her fair skin and shapely figure evident even though her waistline was not so pronounced, but Yang Ming was captivated by the bulges in her swollen work uniform.
"Hi, darling! Are you feeling better?"
Surprise flitted across her eyes as she expertly wrapped her arms around Yang Ming's waist.
Yang Ming instinctively took a half step back, and before he could speak, a pair of plump, soft lips tasting of sweetness blocked his own.
Ah, what?
Are Empire girls always this warm and welcoming?
Thanks, Hanton.
After a bout of entangled lips and teeth, just as Yang Ming's breathing was about to become labored, he finally regained some sense.
This young woman was a navigator, one who could read sea maps, so she must know the current heading of the spaceship, right?
Since the time node was a bit fuzzy, he might try to probe the spatial node.
"Where have we flown to now, my dear?" Yang Ming asked.
"Oh, darling, are you sure you want to discuss such a mood-dampening topic right now?" the woman complained with coy annoyance.
Yang Ming firmly gripped his belt.
Mistress number one quickly yielded.
"Darling, why have you suddenly started caring about this? We've just shaken off the Human Council's Detection Ship and are near the Empire's boundary tower 4339. In two hours, we'll pass by an abandoned Resource Star where we can extract water for supplies."
Yang Ming nodded, ready to resume their earlier 'academic exchange' between Earth's civilization and extraterrestrial culture, when suddenly his hands trembled.
Resource Star?
An abandoned Resource Star?
How does the first sentence of the "Lost Voice" instance background introduction go?
[The Detection Ship discovered a research ship abandoned at the edge of a deserted Resource Star.]
"My dear, hold on a minute!"
Yang Ming once again pushed away the octopus-like woman, "Doctor Lina said I shouldn't engage in strenuous activity right now."
"Oh, right, you've been honorably wounded," said mistress number one, revealing a tender smile, then biting her lip seductively, her eyes suggestive, and slowly pushed Yang Ming onto the single bed.
"This is your reward as our hero; you just lie down today, you don't need to do anything."
Yang Ming quickly asked, "Is that abandoned Resource Star surrounded by a Planet Ring? Made of rocks and dust, looking like a yellowish soil on the surface, with a massive storm in the atmosphere that never dissipates?"
She seemed puzzled, staring at Yang Ming for a while, the passion in her eyes subsiding a bit.
"How did you know all this? Our Star Map is confidential..."
He knew it!
Yang Ming swiftly turned back over, gently laid her on the bed with a touch of reluctance, then bit her plump lips, tightened his belt, pulled off his tank top, grabbed the military jacket and ID card hanging on the wall, and without a backward glance, bolted towards the metal door.
"Sorry, my dear, I have some things to take care of."
The woman on the bed seemed rather confused.
Before leaving, Yang Ming paused, turned to look at the beautiful girl, and memories of their blissful times together flashed through his mind.
"There are three lifeboats on the ship; you can stay near any of them if you like."
It wasn't rational and might easily lead to misunderstandings.
But Yang Ming felt he should warn her.
"Darling?" confusion filled the eyes of mistress number one.
Bang!
The hatch slammed shut.
Yang Ming hurried towards the nearest elevator, springing into his step.
At the convex mirror at the corner, he saw his current appearance, a chiseled face, standard Empire military buzz cut, a long neck, and a muscular physique, no wonder he was popular with female crew members.
But, nothing was more important than the need for survival.
No one was going to let him die again!
Yang Ming had already started running.
To find Kigrov, only Kigrov had the authority to order the Valkyrie's abandonment!
...
Yang Ming found the ID card in his shirt pocket, quickly swiped it, dived into the elevator, pressed the uppermost button with the bridge label, and instinctively held onto the handrail.
While the elevator moved, it would enter a low-gravity environment, and the ship's simulated force field would temporarily fail due to the limitations of domain technology.