Speaking, they turned into the main passage and stopped before an airlock door. Ling Xiao pulled the handle to open it, and after they passed through one by one, Ou Zhanpeng closed and locked it securely.
The first few doors were normal, but the fourth airlock door was marked with an glaring red label.
The two donned their helmets and activated the pumping system. The hissing sound gradually faded from clear to barely audible. Just as the pressure was about to reach zero, the red indicator suddenly turned green.
The airlock door was equipped with a mechanical pressure device. If the pressure on both sides was equal, the indicator would be green, allowing direct passage. Red indicated unequal pressure, locking the mechanism. Pressure had to be adjusted according to the situation to open the airlock door.
It was a simple device, but effective in preventing accidental openings.
The airlock door opened before Ou Zhanpeng. With just a door separating them, it felt like two different worlds.
Inside, everything appeared normal, at least at first glance. Outside, debris floated everywhere, half of the corridor was missing, and a slight leap would send one drifting into the vastness of space.
Despite the dim lighting, Ou Zhanpeng could immediately see several figures drifting in the darkness, busy with tasks like organizing circuits or patching the hull.
Ling Xiao's voice came over the radio, "Fortunately, the 'Polaris' is still functional, otherwise we'd be completely finished!"
Ou Zhanpeng understood that the 'Polaris' had borne the brunt of the rescue efforts after the incident. "Is the damage severe?"
"Two-thirds of the starboard side is damaged, all the cabins on the right are unusable. But the engine room is fine, the thrusters are fine, navigation and control are all fine. It's just that the loss of mass on the starboard side makes it a bit unbalanced during flight."
As they spoke, the two reached the end of the damaged corridor and passed through another airlock door into a different section.
Opening his mask, Ling Xiao took a deep breath and then, turning a corner, announced, "We're here!"
Ou Zhanpeng looked up. The airlock door was marked with three large characters: Briefing Room.
The door opened, revealing dozens of people already seated, with a major floating at the front.
Ling Xiao raised his hand in a salute, "Staff Officer Luo, I've brought Ou Zhanpeng!" In the absence of gravity on the battleship, a formal standing salute wasn't required, only correct posture of the upper body.
Ou Zhanpeng quickly saluted, thinking, "You little rascal, springing surprises again! Couldn't you have given me a heads-up?"
Luo Jintang returned the salute, "You're here just in time. Have a seat!"
Ou Zhanpeng found a spot and hooked his toes onto a beam fixed to the floor, managing to wedge himself into the seat.
In a state of weightlessness, up and down were indistinguishable, and sitting was less comfortable than standing.
However, with a group of people gathered, they couldn't all be floating around haphazardly. Drifting together made neat arrangement difficult, hence this peculiar way of sitting.
Major Luo also secured himself at the podium, "The meeting will now commence. First, we will report on the situation."
The briefing room lights dimmed, and an image of the alien mothership appeared on the large screen. Only its front half was visible; the rear half was still within the wormhole.
"This is the first known photograph, taken by our satellite monitoring the Joint Base. Twenty-four seconds later, the Joint Base was destroyed by the enemy ship."
Ou Zhanpeng's gaze fell to the bottom left corner, where the time of the photograph was displayed: October 16, 2046, 14:22:04.
The photo switched, showing both the enemy ship in flight and the exploding Joint Base, with debris flying and flames erupting.
At this moment, Ou Zhanpeng's emotions were indescribable.
In outer space beyond Blue Star, there were three major space bases: the Queqiao Base at L1, the geostationary Yun Gong II, and the Joint Base, also in geostationary orbit, built by the United States with over a dozen partners.
Although not overtly hostile, their rivalry was fierce, and they were constantly in competition.
Yet, witnessing this scene, Ou Zhanpeng could only feel a sense of shared misfortune and indignation – the alien warship had merely fired a few shots, and two bases were gone! httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
The image switched again, showing a black spot that had appeared on the surface of the sun. Ou Da Shao couldn't help but be slightly startled.
"This is another photograph taken at the time of the incident."
It switched again, "This is a photograph of the enemy ship opening a wormhole..."
Another switch, "This is a photograph of the enemy ship traversing the wormhole again... You all know what happened afterwards. Our bases were destroyed, our warships were destroyed, and the Second Fleet was left with only the severely damaged 'Polaris'."
Major Luo's voice was filled with emotion. After a moment, he calmed down slightly, "To be backward is to be vulnerable. This is a bitter lesson, comrades!"
The atmosphere in the room was extremely oppressive. Ou Zhanpeng didn't know what others were thinking, but whenever he recalled his experience before losing consciousness, he couldn't suppress the grief and anger in his heart.
But the aliens' power was beyond imagination. What could he do besides rage and sorrow?
Was he supposed to charge at the aliens with a nuclear bomb to achieve mutual destruction? But even then, he'd have to get close to them first!
The image changed again; the enemy ship in the photograph was now broken in two.
Luo Jintang's tone was wistful, "The power of the alien warship is undeniable. As for why it suddenly broke in half, we have no clue. But it's a good thing, otherwise Blue Star might have fallen into alien hands by now."
In humanity's five-thousand-year history, this was the era of the most advanced technology and the strongest military might. Yet, in the face of powerful interstellar civilization, humanity's meager military strength was a complete joke.
"Here is a video," Luo Jintang said.
The screen changed again, showing half of the alien warship tumbling and rotating in space, with the azure Earth below. Several trails of smoke were rapidly rising in the atmosphere.
Luo Jintang stated, "After the enemy ship broke apart, its front half fell towards Blue Star and approached the atmosphere earlier today. In response, several countries, including our own, launched a joint interception operation, firing dozens of heavy missiles. However, none hit their mark."
On the screen, the missiles flying towards the enemy ship detonated prematurely, unable to get close. In a short while, the broken ship entered the atmosphere, its surface enveloped in a faint red glow.
More missiles flew from all directions, the screen filled with chaotic smoke trails, but the outcome remained unchanged. The enemy ship seemed to have a defensive radius; any missile entering it was immediately destroyed.
The video concluded with footage of the enemy ship crashing into the ocean, creating colossal waves.
The image froze, with the time marker in the lower right corner indicating October 18th, 15:26.
The screen switched to a world map, where a blinking dot appeared over the ocean.
"This is the landing point of the enemy ship. The depth of the affected sea area exceeds three thousand meters, and there are two trenches nearby exceeding six thousand meters. However, we have reason to believe that there are still alien survivors on the ship. Therefore, countries immediately declared the incident area a military exclusion zone. The navies of China, the United States, Russia, and other nations have rushed to the scene to search for the alien warship. I believe there will be good news soon... I firmly believe this!"