Luojian Mountain, a transport ship slowly landed on the tarmac.
Ou Zhanpeng, who had been waiting there, sighed and extended his right hand to Xie Yu, who had specifically come to see them off: "Then we'll be leaving. Take care."
"Take care!" Xie Yu clasped Ou Zhanpeng's hand and shook it firmly.
Ling Xiao rolled his eyes helplessly: "I say, you two, is this necessary? Making it sound like a tragic farewell. Is this interesting? Come, come, laugh with me, be happy!"
Xie Yu chuckled: "You, you... what can I say about you!"
"Don't mind him, that's just how this guy is." Ou Zhanpeng picked up his luggage and waved as he boarded the transport ship.
Xie Yu saluted, bidding farewell to his two comrades.
Ou Zhanpeng returned the salute, a surge of uncontrollable sadness welling up within him.
Ling Xiao also returned the salute, but he wasn't truly sentimental. It was purely out of politeness.
The transport ship took off. Xie Yu watched it ascend until it was out of sight, then left with a sense of loss.
Military life often involved goodbyes, and he should have been used to it by now, but he never could.
Ou Zhanpeng also kept looking at the ground until the terrain blocked everything within the pass.
In early December 2064, Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao finally concluded their lunar mission and returned to the ship "Polaris." Later that evening, they departed the moon aboard a supply vessel.
Two days later, the ship arrived in synchronous orbit. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
With half an hour left to reach their destination, Ou Zhanpeng could already see Yun Gong II in the distance. It was the first time he had seen Yun Gong in person since the attack.
With just a casual glance, the space station suddenly enlarged, instantly appearing before him.
Young Master Ou couldn't control this ability yet. He could only remain still, focusing all his attention on the space station, trying his best to sense its current state, hoping to find some clue. After more than a month of repairs, Yun Gong was still severely damaged, with more than half of its jagged cross-sections sealed. Glimmers of light could be vaguely seen.
Those must be engineers repairing the cross-sections.
Ling Xiao's large head poked over, and Ou Zhanpeng's vision immediately returned to normal.
"What are you looking at, so engrossed?" Ling Xiao's face was almost pressed against the porthole. He peered around in all directions but found nothing unusual.
"What else can I be looking at? The space station!" Ou Zhanpeng replied. "It's only been a little over a month, but it feels like centuries."
Ling Xiao pouted: "If you ask me, people like you are just idle!"
At this moment, a transport ship flew from the distance, approached the ship, and docked.
Ou and Ling also received a notification from the captain: "Gentlemen, the transport ship is here to pick you up. Time is limited, please board it as soon as possible!"
The ship was not Yun Gong, it was merely bringing them along en route, so they had to transfer to a transport ship.
The two men floated into the transport ship. The airlock closed, the transport ship detached from the main vessel, and turned towards its destination.
As the transport ship flew closer, Yun Gong became increasingly clear.
The base was not only half missing, but the remaining parts were also in ruins, with mottled craters everywhere.
Ling Xiao's voice was low: "I really can't imagine this thing is Yun Gong II."
Ou Zhanpeng remained silent, but his eyes held a remarkably complex gaze.
The transport ship docked at the space station. The two men floated inside and updated their terminal data as reminded by the staff.
"Green is a safe zone, yellow requires sufficient protection to enter, and red zones must be absolutely avoided!"
Ou Zhanpeng opened the electronic map. He estimated that the three colors each occupied about a third of the space, indicating that the repair work on Yun Gong II was a long and arduous task.
They were familiar with the space station and didn't need anyone to guide them. They floated along and found the director's office.
Knocking on the door, they both saluted in unison.
Mu Xingyu, behind the desk, immediately broke into a wide smile: "Oh my, it's finally great to have you two back!"
They saluted, and Ou Zhanpeng said: "Director, you're too kind. Please just give us your orders if you need anything from us."
"Good, enough pleasantries. Come over here. I'll first brief you two on the recent situation." Mu Xingyu led them to the side. "As you can see, Yun Gong is in a very bad state right now. We've done our best, but many problems remain unresolved. We can only say it's barely operational."
Mu Xingyu's words were not an exaggeration; in fact, he had tried to downplay the situation.
Yun Gong II was now like a broken ship. Although it could still float on the sea, its complete sinking was only a matter of time.
By a stroke of coincidence, although the space station was damaged on one side by alien warships, the crucial reactor remained intact, barely saving half of the base.
According to ground assessments, the main structure of Yun Gong II was severely damaged and had no repair value. It was only because there were no available space bases in orbit that it had to be kept operational.
Mu Xingyu turned on the projector. A holographic projection of Earth appeared in the air, followed by scattered points of light in orbit: "The biggest problem now is that there are too many debris in orbit..."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a dull thud. Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao were startled simultaneously. Something had clearly hit the space station!
"Don't be nervous, you'll get used to it," Mu Xingyu said. "We've divided the debris into three main clusters. The first is debris with insufficient velocity, which is gradually falling towards the atmosphere, seriously threatening the safety of low and mid-altitude orbits. For some time, Earth has been experiencing meteor showers every day. Ground forces have been mobilized to organize an anti-air unit, which will fire upon and destroy any large debris immediately. Our task is to patrol low-altitude orbits, find larger debris, and destroy or recover them in advance."
"This is the first cluster, also called the low-orbit cluster!" Mu Xingyu tapped lightly, and the light spot closest to Earth flickered.
"The second is debris with sufficient velocity, remaining in synchronous orbit. There's a large quantity and high density, but this debris is moving forward, with little relative velocity to the space station. It looks very dangerous, but it's not that serious. As long as we spend some time, we can eventually clear it all."
As he spoke, he tapped again, and the light spot representing synchronous orbit debris flickered: "This is the second cluster, also called the pro-orbital cluster."
"Finally, and the most threatening, is the debris in retrograde orbit. Although the quantity is small, the threat is immense." Mu Xingyu turned off the holographic projection, his tone filled with anticipation. "You two are top-tier orbital pilots. I hope you can shoulder this responsibility."
Ou and Ling exchanged glances, and no one spoke for a while.
Mu Xingyu's smile faded, and his brows gradually furrowed: "What, are there difficulties?"
They looked at each other. Just as Ling Xiao was about to speak, Ou Zhanpeng cut him off: "Yes, and quite a few."