Interstellar Survival: Invasion

The current of the boiling river continued to carry us forward.
I could notice that the steaming river was leading to an even lower altitude.

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”If we ’re really brought into the core, it will be really troublesome, ” said Zhang Xingxing anxiously.

”I don ’t think we ’ll be that unlucky, ” I said.

”It ’s just one fall after another here.
Even Temo has never been here before.
How can we be sure that his scans are accurate? ” Zhang Bao ’er was still complaining.

As time passed, the conversation died off.
The boiling river had brought us so deep into the planet that our surroundings were enveloped in darkness.
We could only rely on our probes to observe our surroundings.

We had been brought deep into a subterranean mountain.
The walls of the mountain looked extremely smooth and sleek after all the years of contact with the boiling water.
The tunnel we were in did not look like it had an exit.

”I have two questions.
Firstly, we saw a big river far in the distance from atop the mountain, but why are we now underground? Secondly, will this underground river flow directly beneath the dark side of the planet? If that ’s the case, finding our way back to the surface will be very difficult, ” said the cautious Old Du, breaking the long silence.

Before I could come up with a reply, I felt my body drop again.
Zhang Xingxing ’s greatest fear had materialized.
We were dropping even deeper into the planet.
However, the fall was much shorter, ending after less than a minute.
The waterfall was only hundreds of meters tall this time.

We fell into a rapidly flowing body of water, but unlike the previous rivers, this area seemed to be a hub of several boiling rivers.
The currents of the different rivers collide against each other before flowing even deeper underground.
Abruptly, my laser probe indicated that not far away was a spiraling pillar of water.
My heart skipped a beat.
That might be our best opportunity to return to the surface.

”Xingxing, to the left is an upward spiraling stream.
We should use our suits to try to reach that stream and leave this place, ” I said.

”I also see it.
Everyone, move toward the spiraling stream at 10 o ’clock, ” ordered Zhang Xingxing.

Everyone was already tired of the repeated falls.
We all activated our motion assistants and overcame the currents with the power of technology.
Before long, we were all gathered around the pillar of water.
Our laser probes indicated that the pillar of water was moving upward at a rapid pace, and it could very well be our best chance at leaving the underground.

”Everyone, let ’s enter the pillar and leave this place.
Remember to keep your shields on, ” ordered Zhang Xingxing, excitement in her voice.

Nobody wasted any time.
All of us dove into the pillar of hope.
A powerful upward force instantly hit me.
My morph-capable suit immediately went to work, preventing my body from spinning along the spiraling water.
I could clearly feel my body being brought rapidly upward.

Wherever we were going, it was definitely better than going downward.
The higher we went, the colder the water became.
Even so, the water remained at around 70 degrees in temperature.
It was clear that we were slowly moving away from the core.
As the flow of the water increased in speed, I became even more confident that this pillar was our exit.
After nearly two hours, traces of light finally appeared above us.

”There seems to be some light coming from above us.
It might be an exit.
We ’re going to be out of here soon! ” reported Anxashe in excitement.

The light grew clearer and clearer.
Our laser scans also indicated that we were heading toward a massive opening.
Near the exit, the water moved even faster.
Instantly, we burst out of the opening and into the air.

My thrusters activated immediately, keeping me hovering.
One after another, my companions stabilized themselves in the air.
Both Old Du and Anxashe were helping Dodo and Bob remain in the sky, preventing them from falling.
Only then did I notice that our exit was actually an erupting volcano.
Instead of lava, boiling water was erupting from it.

There was so much water bursting out of the volcano that the surroundings of the volcano turned into a sea, making the volcano a lonesome island.
This seemed to be our sole exit from the underground, and I was glad that we had managed to grab this opportunity.

”Look over there.
The sea is freezing, ” said Old Du as he pointed at a distant white piece of land.

”The sky here is darker than the area where we landed.
The temperature is much lower as well.
Since the seawater is frozen, it can only mean that we ’re nearing the dark side, ” said Baron Sisse.

”Damn that Temo.
He claimed that we would only need three hours, but it took us nearly seven hours to get here, ” scolded Zhang Bao ’er.

”Fortunately, we have not exhausted much of our energy supply.
We need to get on that frozen land as soon as possible, ” suggested Dodo.

”Robot, try to contact the ship.
See if a connection can be established, ” said the great sovereign after recovering from the intense travel.

Following our plan, we wasted no time on landing on the boundless field of ice.
According to our system, the temperature was lower than negative 30 degrees.
The sky above us was also darker than where we were before.

”Why did the fiend come to such a shitty place? ” asked Domo.
None of us could answer that question.

We were pleased to learn that Dodo was able to establish contact with Markus, and we transmitted our location to Temo.
Temo replied that there were some issues with the elemental analysis, so he needed a little more time to fully recharge Markus.
He promised to come for us afterward.

That calmed our nerves, and we approached the location where the fiend was last detected.
As we walked, we discovered another piece of good news.
Even after the intense ride through the river, we were still heading in the right direction.
The volcano was actually bordering the dark side.
According to our latest information, the fiend was less than 80 kilometers away from us.

That boosted our morale considerably, to the point where we forgot all our previous troubles and started moving swiftly to our destination.
As we were already quite far from the livable zone, the temperature and visibility levels were quite low, making our journey rather difficult.

However, even in such a harsh environment, we could still see life around us.
Objects that we initially thought were ice chunks were actually plants.
The plants covered a large area, and we couldn ’t help but be impressed by the prowess of light.
The boiling sea around the volcano was probably the sole source of heat for these plants.

Eventually, the sky turned completely dark as the blue star disappeared into the horizon.
We had arrived at a place that had been enveloped in darkness for billions of years.
The wind hissed violently while the temperature dropped to negative 100 degrees.
At that point, we could no longer see any life around us.

”Just why did that fiend decide to come here? Is there some sort of energy source here in this terrible place that attracts it here? ” wondered Baron Sisse.

”You have forgotten that the Little Ant has been living under Pluto ’s ice for billions of years.
I believe this environment is better for its recovery or growth, ” said the great sovereign.
It seemed to understand the fiend better than us.

”We ’re going to leave the ice sheet soon.
There is dry land ahead of us, ” said Old Du.

”According to Temo ’s latest update, the fiend seems to be quickly approaching us.
It is less than 40 kilometers away from us.
It is currently in the valley right ahead of us, ” said Dodo.

We had been spending so much time searching for the fiend.
Now that the fiend was really going to show itself, I started growing nervous.
After all, none of us knew what would happen to the fiend after sustaining all those injuries and evolving.
Nevertheless, we still needed to face it.
Thus, we did not hesitate to approach the dark valley.

After leaving the field of ice, the temperature around us dropped even lower, reaching a level of negative 200 degrees.
The frozen rocks around us were probably as hard as steel.
The harsh environment combined with the violent gale created an environment far harsher than Pluto ’s surface.
When we discovered that the fiend was only 15 kilometers from us and was still moving rapidly, we started growing nervous.

”Everyone, do not act rashly if you see any surprises.
Markus is fully recharged and will arrive at your location in roughly 20 minutes.
You can just hide and wait for my arrival, ” said Temo.

As a precaution, Zhang Xingxing ordered us to scatter and hide amid the rocks.
We were going to avoid direct contact with the fiend for now.

”What is there to fear? The Little Ant is not scary at all, ” said the great sovereign even though it also joined us and hid.

Both Domo and Anxashe picked the same hiding spot as me.
It was very rare to see Domo so nervous that he didn ’t dare to make a sound.
The fiend was truly a terrifying being.
In the distance, the valley entrance was covered in thick mist.
The fiend seemed to know our location; it was still moving quickly toward us.
At that point, it was less than five kilometers away from us.
Before it arrived, the familiar laughter started ringing in the air.

”Looks like that fellow has grown stronger than how it was before it had received all those injuries.
It must have found an energy source suited to its body on this planet, ” said the great sovereign.

I couldn ’t see the others, but I could guess that everyone was fully focused on the mist ahead of us, awaiting the fiend ’s appearance.