Chapter 97: Fright

When Lei Yaotian saw Wangcai mysteriously giving tasks to the Artificial Human Soldiers, he became very curious.

He slowly walked over and stood behind Wangcai, asking, “What is going on? What are you mysteriously up to?”

Hearing this, Wangcai turned around and saw his master looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“Should I report that matter to the master?” Wangcai quickly thought to himself. In the end, Wangcai decided it would be better to tell his master, because some things are better not kept hidden.

Then, Wangcai told Lei Yaotian everything in detail about the fact that a spaceship was parked outside the planet’s atmosphere.

“Young Master, according to Tom Cruise’s report, the satellite detected a spaceship carrying unknown life forms parked outside our planet’s outer atmosphere. Moreover, the beings on that ship launched objects similar to escape pods, which broke through the atmosphere and landed on this planet.” Wangcai began a very detailed report for Lei Yaotian.

“Those beings landed on the plains not far from our base, so just now I assigned the Artificial Human Soldiers to go and check it out.” After speaking, Wangcai stood there watching Lei Yaotian’s reaction.

“What! Other life forms have appeared? How many are there? Are they carrying weapons…” After hearing Wangcai’s words, Lei Yaotian immediately asked a series of questions.

Wangcai shook his head and replied, “Young Master, I just heard the report too. I haven’t had any contact with them, so I’m not really clear about these questions.” A bitter smile appeared on Wangcai’s face.

“Send more Artificial Human Soldiers over right away. Since those fellows are not far from us, try to gather some detailed information and report back. I want to know the feedback as soon as possible.” After learning about the appearance of alien life forms, Lei Yaotian became extremely nervous.

He did not know why the alien beings came here, nor did he know whether they were friendly or hostile. After all, in Lei Yaotian’s view, differences in life forms were bound to lead to ideological conflicts.

For example, just based on appearance, it was possible that both sides might dislike each other and end up in conflict.

If these suddenly appearing beings possessed powerful weapons and strength, would he be able to withstand them now? These were the questions that made him tense. Lei Yaotian was somewhat paranoid about being harmed.

“Alright, Young Master, I will send more people over right now. However, according to Tom Cruise’s intelligence, the other side’s numbers are not very large—about eighty-nine units. Also, before landing on this planet, they self-destructed the ship that was parked outside the atmosphere. This is quite abnormal, and I can’t figure out the reason either.”

Wangcai suddenly remembered some details Tom Cruise had reported and relayed them to Lei Yaotian.

“The ship self-destructed?” Lei Yaotian’s eyes widened in disbelief. “Why did those guys blow up their own ship? Didn’t they think about leaving this place?”

Lei Yaotian felt this matter was very strange.

Wangcai also found it very odd. He too was puzzled as to why those beings destroyed the ship outside the atmosphere after leaving it.

But no matter how hard the two of them thought, they could not figure out the reason.

“Strengthen our alert. I don’t want to be taken down by these guys,” Lei Yaotian finally said to Wangcai.

Wangcai nodded seriously and replied, “Don’t worry, Young Master. With their small numbers, it’s impossible for them to attack us.” Lei Yaotian said very seriously to Wangcai, “Don’t be careless. Send as many soldiers as possible. If possible, capturing them would be good too. If they resist…” The implication in Lei Yaotian’s words was clear: if those guys dared to resist, they should be killed without mercy.

…

After some intense discussion, Menlo and the others decided to abandon their nearly fuel-depleted ship, enter the escape pods, and descend through the atmosphere to the planet.

The eighty-nine members of the Iktans sorted the few weapons they had, gathered the remaining fuel, and then each entered an escape pod. They launched from inside the ship and were ejected toward the planet to land.

In order to destroy any traces, they detonated the ship after they had left it, causing the ship to vanish into the vastness of space.

Menlo’s decision to destroy the ship was born out of necessity. In his view, since there was no fuel left anyway, it was better to burn their bridges and commit to surviving on this planet rather than holding onto false hopes.

To live—that was Menlo’s thought.

However, what the many Iktans did not expect was that there was already a group of beings on this planet. Moreover, those beings had become nervous because of their arrival.

When Lei Yaotian gave that command, the Iktans did not know they were already standing at the edge of the Ghost Gate. If anything went slightly wrong, those eighty-nine individuals would go meet their so-called Star God in their faith.

“Boom~ boom~ boom boom~”

The escape pods landed one after another on the plains, creating dozens of deep craters.

Before landing, Menlo had used the ship’s not-very-advanced radar to scan the planet’s situation. After seeing the many rolling mountains on this planet, Menlo ultimately chose this single large plain as their landing site.

After all, the open plain offered a wide field of vision, allowing them to spot any danger immediately.

Moreover, the plain could serve as a site for them to set up camp, and they could even plant some food around it.

Now, these Iktans were no longer civilized merchants in the universe, nor did they have Star Coins to spend freely. In order to escape pursuit, they now had to live a primitive life.

As for when they would reappear in the universe, Menlo did not consider that.

Right now, what Menlo thought about was leading these eighty-nine clan members to live well here. Then they could slowly multiply and increase their population again.

“Fssssss~~~~~~”

The door of the escape pod slowly opened, and Menlo stepped out, looking around.

Twenty-centimeter-tall green grass swayed gently in the breeze. The scent of the grass drifted with the wind, and the air was very fresh.

The sky was a vast blue. Standing on the grassland and looking up at the sky made one feel very small.

“The environment here is good!” Menlo was quite satisfied with the planet’s environment.

“Menlo, what should we do now?” Gradually, the clan members emerged from their escape pods and gathered around Menlo. Menlo’s father, Elder Mensa, slowly approached, supported by his steward. But he did not say anything; instead, he waited for his son’s decision.

He was already old, and it was time for the younger generation to take charge. So Elder Mensa wanted to use this opportunity to see if his son could bear this responsibility.

“Everyone, quickly take the food and fuel from the escape pods and gather them in one place. Xiu Ye’er, take a few people with weapons and come with me to the edge of the grassland. I know there’s a large lake over there.”

The landing spot Menlo had chosen happened to be where the forest at the edge of Lei Yaotian’s base met the grassland. Moreover, it was not very far from Lei Yaotian’s construction site.

The distance was roughly about two kilometers.

However, because it was blocked by a forest about one kilometer wide, Menlo did not know that just beyond that forest lay the base of Lei Yaotian and the others.

Actually, it wasn’t Menlo’s fault, because when they escaped, they had only temporarily found an old, worn-out ship. Some of the equipment on it wasn’t very advanced, and moreover, in order to conceal their location, Lei Yaotian had ordered Wangcai to use satellites to shield their base from detection.

This meant Menlo had not detected Lei Yaotian and the others at all.

At Menlo’s call, the Iktan named Xiu Ye’er, along with several other clan members holding high-energy rapid-fire weapons, quickly walked over.

“Let’s go! We’ll go take a look at the edge of the forest, and then try our best to see if we can reach the lake.” Menlo raised his hand and pointed toward the forest not far away.

Xiu Ye’er and the other Iktans looked at the dense forest and shivered slightly.

The Iktans were naturally timid and rather weak.

They had no idea what kind of dangers might exist in that forest.

Even though they held weapons, they still did not feel very safe.

Xiu Ye’er, trembling, walked over to Menlo and said, “Menlo, we still have some water left. For now, I think we shouldn’t go over there. When we run out of water, we can go check it out then. Right now, I feel we should set up camp immediately…” In truth, Xiu Ye’er did not want to risk going near the forest—at least not now, when he felt there was no need to take the risk.

Just looking at that forest made him feel scared for no reason.

The other Iktans also nodded, clearly agreeing with Xiu Ye’er’s words.

Menlo was actually very scared too, but he knew he must not show it. Because if even he was afraid, wouldn’t the others be even more frightened?

If that happened, how could he lead this group of clan members to survive here?

If they couldn’t survive here, then where else could they go?

Their ship had already self-destructed, and even if it hadn’t, they did not have extra fuel for travel.

Therefore, this place was their only hope for survival.

Just as Menlo was about to try to persuade them, suddenly the clan members screamed in terror, their faces full of fear.

Menlo followed their terrified gazes and saw hundreds of fully armed ‘humans’ riding Hover Vehicles rushing out of the forest not far away.