Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Zhang Lisheng’s straightforward answer revealed his alienation towards the military intelligence officer. Still, Alison replied enthusiastically as though she did not notice his attitude, “Doctor, I’m ordered by General Franwell from the Special Service Bureau of the Department of Defense to assist you in your journey to the Shrimp World No. 2. I’m glad to have the opportunity to work with you again. ”
“The Special Service Bureau?” The young man frowned. “Have you transferred again, Captain Alison? What a coincidence!”
“Yes, doctor. I guess this is what you Chinese people call ‘fate,’” The female officer replied jokingly on the phone, “I’m in the lobby of the Sea Empire Hotel now, are you in the hotel?”
“No, I came back home yesterday to say goodbye to my mother, so I spent the night at home. How about this? Just wait for me in the hotel lobby, I’ll hurry up and meet you later.” Zhang Lisheng answered and hung up the phone. When he put the phone back in his pocket, Lili, who had just placed the fried patties in front of her son, asked, “Baby, are you in a hurry? Should I pack these patties for you to take away?”
“No, it’s alright, mom. Beef patties are much more delicious when they’re eaten hot. The person waiting for me has good ‘patience,’ so it doesn’t matter how long she waits for me,” The young man smiled faintly and cut the patties in half with a dining knife as he replied in a low voice.
Just like this, Zhang Lisheng finished his breakfast slowly and drove to the Ocean Empire Building with neither fast nor slow speed. It was only until the sun had risen to the mid-sky that he finally appeared in the lobby of the Ocean Empire Hotel.
He glanced around a few times and immediately saw a graceful yet valiant and heroic-looking Alison who was wearing an unusually conspicuous military suit skirt. He slowly walked up to the fountain and extended his hand in an obviously not sincere manner, “Oh, I’m sorry for letting you wait, Allison. You’ve been promoted again, congratulations, Major. I’m sorry, it was a little jam on the road.”
“It’s okay, doctor. Waiting for someone in such a comfortable environment here is quite an enjoyment anyway. I won’t mind even if you’re a few hours late,” The female officer stood up from the round sofa, shook hands with the black-haired young man in front of her, and smiled. “Unfortunately, the scheduled departure time of the spacecraft mothership is three o’clock in the afternoon, so we need to move quickly.”
“Spacecraft mothership?” Zhang Lisheng opened his mouth in alarm. “You mean, we’re going to take the Sky Fortress to the Shrimp World No. 2!? This is too exaggerated! Has the relationship between the Federation and the Atlanteans become so tense to such an extent?”
“Things are not as serious as you think, doctor. It just so happens that the Logistics and Security Bureau is going to the Wizard Li to transport gold, so we’re just getting a hitchhike from them.”
“Oh, I see. In that case, let us depart now. Since we’re hitchhiking, it’s not polite to let the host wait for a long time,” The young man was hit by a pang of realization. Shrugging, he walked out of the hotel lobby with the female officer.
A sizable off-road jeep with a military license plate driven by a black officer was already waiting in the lobby. Both of them got in the car directly and crossed half of the New Washington A at a speed of 50 kilometers per hour under the city speed limit straight into the vast desert.
Under the guidance of the navigator, the jeep sped on the sand for more than an hour. Soon, a steel city with its appearance faintly distorted by the steaming hot air around it appeared on the sand dunes in the distance.
Looking at the most potent weapon technology product known to the Earth, the young man could not help but have a glimmer of excitement flashed across his eyes. Alison, who was sitting next to him proudly introduced him while pointing her finger in front, “Doctor, that is the Sky Fortress, AKA Mammoth, that we’re going to board today. Among the six spacecraft carrier motherships in the Federation, it has the largest tonnage, the strongest firepower, and the largest number of auxiliary ships and mechanical warriors. It had once fought against the gods of the Shrimp World No. 1 all by itself and achieved a repressive victory when the gods raided the Earth satellites.”
“A weapon that can compete with the gods?” Learning of such a secret for the first time, Zhang Lisheng’s expression unknowingly turned strange. “Major Alison, it sounds like you’re very proud of this ‘elephant’ that can fly in the sky.”
“Doctor, the spacecraft mothership is the pride of every federal serviceman. It is also the greatest guarantee for the survival of the United States of America,” The female officer turned to look at the young man’s side face and said in a low voice. “The ultimate weapon, the nuclear warhead, equipped in each Sky Fortress has an explosive that can theoretically destroy a ‘world.’ Behind the hundreds of thousands of spatial gates on Earth might be a powerful civilization that humans could not compete with, but when it comes down to the last moment, no intelligent creature can stop us from dying together with them.”
“Oh, Major, your thoughts are really extreme and rogue.” The young man fell into a moment of silence with a blank expression but all of a sudden, he burst out into a chuckle and shook his head. Shrugging, he looked into Alison’s eyes and commented.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you that I’m a tough War Hawk soldier,” The female officer replied with a small smile calmly.
During the conversation, the car had already arrived near the Mammoth. The powerful mothership’s scanner automatically recognized the approaching jeep number and a remotely activated communication system of the military vehicle. “TI098, TI098, please stop the car within a 50-meter safety distance to declare your identity and be inspected. Please stop the car within a 50-meter safety distance to declare your identity and be inspected.”
“Command tower, command tower. I’m Sergeant Chad Morrie, the pilot of TI098. I’ve completed my pick-up mission, and now, I request to return to the mothership,” The black sergeant stepped on the brake and let the jeep to draw out a haste short brake line on the sand as he picked up the communicating device to speak into it.
As soon as his words left his mouth, a divergent green light beam shot out from the top of the steel fortress that was 100 meters away and surrounded the entire jeep. A few seconds later, amidst the intersection between light and shadow, an emotionless female voice resonated again from the communication system in the vehicle. “Your request has been approved. Your request has been approved. Welcome back, Sergeant Chad. Please board the ship through channel A069; please board the ship through channel A069.”
At the same time, a square hole with a length of only five to six meters cracked open on the black metal surface of the mothership that had a height of over a hundred meters.
The black sergeant immediately restarted the jeep and slowly drove into the square hole. The vehicle continued to climb along a long steel ramp before stopping on a ‘metal plain’ that had an area so large that it stretched out as far as eyes could see.
After being urged by Alison, “We are here, doctor,” Zhang Lisheng pushed open the door and jumped out of the car. He looked around the thousands of elliptical or square barbettes densely arranged on six to seven areas. The pedestrian walkway intercrossing each other was marked by thick red lines that had a flowing of crowds so large that it could be compared to the most prosperous commercial districts in Noah’s large oasis city. The hundreds of big and tall frames of orderly steel giants fixed on a silver metal frame could be raised and lowered. Finally, he took a deep breath.
“What do you think, doctor?” The female officer beside him asked.
“Very shocking, Alison. seeing the real thing and admiring the Sky Fortress in a sci-fi movie gives a completely different degree of shock,” the young man crouched down unexpectedly and stretched out his hands to touch the dark metal floor that was gleaming with dull obscure luster as he mumbled sincerely. “I can feel its power. Like you said, it is indeed a safeguard that the Federation can rely on.”
After hearing this, Alison stood beside Zhang Lisheng and was rendered speechless for a long time. She looked down at the black-haired young man touching the mothership for more than ten seconds long before finally whispering. “Dr. Lisheng, let’s go. It’s time for take-off now. Let us go meet Mammoth’s captain, General Menger Ford.”
“Since we’re hitchhiking, of course, we need to be polite and say hello to the ‘driver.’” Zhang Lisheng stood up and nodded. Then he followed the female officer to walk towards a large dome-shaped building that looked like a giant mercury bead that had dripped on the center of the mothership.
Along the way, professional soldiers who were rushing around yet still appeared to be orderly did not give any notice about the two strange visitors who brushed across themselves. It was only until they were about 40 to 50 meters near the ‘mercury bead’ that a guard finally stopped them from advancing.
However, after Alison’s identity was verified quickly, the soldier who was stopping them became their guides instead. He brought the female officer and the young man to the sealed ‘mercury bead’ and pressed on the bracelet-like instrument that was blinking with a red light on his wrist to open a passageway that could accommodate at least four people side by side.
“Liquid metal?” Zhang Lisheng’s eyes widened as he asked as he stared at the door that suddenly appeared on the silver wall like an opaque water curtain.
“Yes, doctor. It’s a liquid metal with plant properties. I can’t tell you more due to the confidentiality regulations.” Alison replied with a smile and took the lead in walking into the ‘mercury bead.’
“The war is indeed the best breeding ground for technological leap…” The young man muttered to himself as he followed the female officer into the huge command bay of the space carrier mothership constructed of liquid metal.
After walking through a slightly inclined crowded corridor and stepping on the escalator, he came to a platform with a vast field of vision where 200 to 300 advanced instruments were placed on it.
Beneath him was a dark silver metal floor that was as soft as a long-fleece carpet while above and around him were ceilings and walls that were so transparent that there was not even a spot of sand-sized dirt. Zhang Lisheng looked around curiously, feeling as though he was in a sandy area now.
Alison who was standing in front of him had already walked lightly but powerfully to the side rear flank of the platform to salute an expressionless old-fashioned-looking thin officer who appeared to be in his fifties who was standing on a slightly raised platform that was no more than three to four square meters in size. “General Menger Ford, I’m Major Alison K. Ambel from the Special Service Bureau of Department of Defense.”
“You’re not under my direct control, Major Alison, so you don’t have to be so formal,” The captain who had three golden stars on his shoulder badge smiled in an amicable manner that contradicted his solemn appearance and turned his attention to the black-haired young man who was wearing casual clothes not far away, “You must be Dr. Zhang Lisheng. Good day to you, doctor. I’m Menger Ford, the commander of Mammoth. Nice to meet you.”
