Chapter 58: The Invasion of the Mecha

High above the skies of the Celestial Sphere Star, tension suddenly surged within the experimental spacecraft.

The moment the communications signal from the ground reconnaissance team vanished, the ship’s alarm system erupted with a shrill warning.

“Warning! Warning!”

The urgent alarm reverberated throughout the vessel, striking everyone like a heavy blow to the heart.

On the display screen, the five red dots that had once blinked in and out now faded into nothingness.

Their last known location was precisely the central temple of Celestial Sphere City.

This discovery left Natasha and the other scientists deeply uneasy.

Faced with the lives of their colleagues, all previous minor disagreements and resentments seemed trivial.

Natasha clenched her fists, worry flooding her eyes.

The other scientists anxiously tried to reestablish contact with Yao Yuan and his team at the control console.

No matter how they tried, only silence and emptiness replied.

“Still no response!”

“With the technological level of Celestial Sphere Star, it’s impossible for our signal to be jammed!”

“The only explanation is that the communicators were violently destroyed!”

“Professor Yao and the others must have encountered grave danger, subdued so quickly they had no chance to call for help!”

“Weren’t they armed with energy guns?”

“The people of Celestial Sphere Star can’t withstand energy gun fire, but the guns are not omnipotent,” Claire said heavily, shaking her head. “Professor Yao’s group numbers only five and none are warriors. If they’re caught in a large-scale conflict, outnumbered, it will be difficult for them to cope.”

The tension began to spread among the crowd, everyone growing increasingly anxious.

“What do we do now?” someone asked.

Natasha issued her command without hesitation: “Report immediately to Major General Lu Hongfeng! Request deployment of armed mechs to search for Professor Yao Yuan and his team!”

“We must locate them as quickly as possible! Even if tragedy has struck, as long as their brains remain intact, we can immediately perform consciousness transfer surgery.”

“But if too much time passes and their brain waves dissipate, or their bodies are destroyed, we’ll truly be helpless!”

“Prepare their clones at once!”

Natasha’s words drove home the gravity of the situation for everyone.

They understood that for Yao Yuan and his companions, time now equated to life itself—every passing second could mean irretrievable loss.

...

In the outer orbit above Celestial Sphere Star, aboard the Earth Pioneering Vessel,

Lu Hongfeng received Natasha’s urgent report. His expression darkened at once.

Never had he expected that the humans of this supposedly technologically inferior star could pose a threat to Earth’s explorers.

He too was filled with concern for Yao Yuan’s safety, fearing their consciousness might vanish.

They were friends bound by centuries of camaraderie—he could not allow them to die in obscurity.

With barely a moment’s hesitation, Major General Lu Hongfeng issued his orders.

Fifty armed mechs were dispatched at top speed to Celestial Sphere City, tasked with thoroughly searching the temple precinct for any trace of Professor Yao Yuan’s group.

At this moment, the urgency of rescue eclipsed all else.

Unveiling the secrets of Celestial Sphere Star’s humanity was important, but compared to the lives of his companions, those mysteries could wait.

Lu Hongfeng believed that, with Earth’s technological prowess, conquering Celestial Sphere Star and unraveling every enigma was only a matter of time.

The fifty armed mechs assembled in the sky, soaring like a flock of steel titans. Once gathered, they flew toward Celestial Sphere City, ultimately hovering above the central temple.

Their presence was formidable—movements synchronized, radiating an awe-inspiring aura.

Citizens of Celestial Sphere City gazed upward, witnessing this unprecedented spectacle.

The mechs, gleaming with cold metallic luster and trailing blue flames from their tails, descended like divine warriors—majestic, mysterious.

The city’s tranquility was shattered by the sudden arrival of these visitors from the heavens.

People poured from their homes, gathering along broad avenues.

Fifty silver-gleaming mechs circled the central temple in a display of overwhelming might, their arrival devoid of any sign of goodwill.

The populace stared skyward, bewildered and confused.

They murmured among themselves, yet none could fathom what had transpired.

Unable to comprehend this abrupt crisis, they watched the steel beasts with questioning eyes.

At the front of the formation, a mech facing the main hall of the temple broadcast a declaration across the city:

“I order you to release Yao Yuan, Yao Ling, Zhang Yu, Yang Kui, and Peng Wenyan immediately, or we will open fire and destroy your temple!”

This proclamation stunned everyone present.

The citizens of Celestial Sphere City heard this blasphemous threat, and their emotions ignited in an instant.

Rage swept through the crowd, their shouts deafening.

The central temple was not only the heart of their faith but also the sanctum of their culture and spirit—any attempt to harm it was unforgivable.

Waves of anger surged throughout Celestial Sphere City, curses and cries filling the air.

Their fury, like a heatwave, engulfed the city; they harbored intense hostility toward the unknown intruders who dared threaten the central temple.

The district government of the central region was equally shaken by this sudden aerial incursion.

The central temple had been surrounded by mechs, but the military defense department was utterly ignorant of the crisis’s origins, plunged into unprecedented panic.

It was well known that the High Priest possessed awe-inspiring divine powers—able to summon storms, even wreak havoc upon the world.

Now, faced with such brazen assault, the district leader was seized with doubt.

Who could possess such audacity, daring to challenge the High Priest’s authority?

Had they gone mad?

Were they so reckless as to defy the world?

Though the High Priest presided over the central temple, the district government felt no fear for the sanctity of the temple itself.

Their true terror stemmed from the enemy’s ghost-like arrival, appearing without warning in the central district’s airspace, unnoticed until it was too late.

This was an egregious lapse in security.

Should the High Priest lay blame, all officials of the central district combined could never withstand his wrath.

Thus, the central district must mobilize every available armed force, demonstrating their resolve.

The district head immediately issued an emergency order, rallying all armed units to defend the inviolable central temple.

At the same time, he reported the emergency to neighboring districts, seeking support and aid.

Soon, weapon systems within and outside the central district locked onto the mechs hovering in the sky.

Fighter jets soared aloft, ready for the impending conflict.