Azure Star Domain · Water Lily Star System · On a Certain Planet
At this moment, the entire sky seemed dyed blood-red, with Starships exploding and plummeting to the ground due to Zerg attacks, and Stellar Fighters still engaged in desperate resistance.
In the cities, Combat Mechs and Ground Forces were locked in bloody combat with the Interstellar Zergs' ground units that had landed on the planet.
Amidst a mountain range, a T3 Starship lay overturned between ridges, its Ship Hull severely damaged in multiple places, even emitting flames.
Not far away, the wreckage of several T2 Starships could be seen.
"Warning! Warning! Fire in K931 compartment, automatic fire suppression system activated."
"Warning! Warning! Oxidizer leak in T711 compartment, Starship Engineers required for immediate repairs."
"Warning! Warning! Hazardous gas concentration in N771 compartment exceeds safe levels, risk of explosion imminent. Personnel in adjacent compartments must evacuate immediately! Evacuate immediately!"
The bridge of this Starship was in utter chaos, with various alarm sounds overlapping.
"Zerg ground units detected at 13 o'clock direction outside the ship!"
"Put all mecha units and ground combat forces on full alert!"
"Report, we still cannot establish contact with the outside. Only communication with this planet's defense department is possible."
"Latest update from the planet's defense department: the patrol fleet's combat loss rate has exceeded 50%. Without reinforcements, they will be completely annihilated within 20 hours.
Furthermore, the planet's ground military installations are projected to fall entirely within the next sixty hours!"
A woman with a bandaged forehead stood at the Captain's command post. Her expression was grave, her eyes filled with tension and worry, yet she forced herself to remain calm as she issued orders.
"Contact the other Starships that made emergency landings nearby to check for survivors.
Perform emergency repairs inside the ship. Seal off any high-risk compartments that cannot be repaired immediately! Most importantly, assess the remaining Starship Weapons and individual weapons. Arm all personnel capable of fighting!
And gather the wounded for centralized care!" The woman continued issuing commands, and the teachers and students who could still move carried them out diligently. Only under such circumstances did the tense atmosphere within the Starship ease somewhat.
"Reporting, Teacher Qin. Currently, we have confirmed 237 survivors. Among them, 17 are severely injured, and 57 have minor injuries but are incapacitated.
We have discovered the bodies of... 61 casualties..." Su Lan ran up to Teacher Qin, reporting the current situation.
Teacher Qin clenched her fists, her expression filled with guilt and anguish.
She was a female instructor from the North Star Starship Military Academy and the lead teacher responsible for this dual-academy interstellar mission from the North Star Starship Military Academy.
But who could have imagined that this seemingly routine dual-academy interstellar mission would encounter such a dire situation.
If she hadn't evacuated most of her students to this T3 Knight-class medium interstellar destroyer—awarded as the top prize for this mission—she and her students would have faced almost certain doom.
Teacher Qin looked at the students from both academies, half of whom were crouched in corners, most still in a state of shock. Only a few possessed the strong mental fortitude to remain calm in such a situation; the vast majority were like startled birds, easily frightened.
"For the time being, we are not in immediate danger. However, to hold out until reinforcements arrive, we must quickly restore everyone's confidence. Only then do we have hope of surviving! Teacher Cheng, I must ask your students from Tianyao Noble Starship Military Academy to cooperate with us as well!" Teacher Qin said, turning to Teacher Cheng beside her, whose expression remained somewhat dazed.
Teacher Cheng was the leading instructor from Tianyao Noble Starship Military Academy. Perhaps still shaken from the emergency landing earlier, her expression remained vacant.
"Alright... alright," Teacher Cheng nodded blankly and walked toward her students, but her trembling legs betrayed the tension and fear in her heart.
"Su Lan, thank you for your hard work. You should also rest for a while. We likely won't face any danger in the short term..." Teacher Qin looked at Su Lan, though her eyes held a trace of helplessness.
How long this "short term" would last depended entirely on how long the planet's defense forces could hold out. Once those Interstellar Zergs truly descended upon this planet, it would spell the beginning of the end for them.
"Teacher Qin, you should also rest and take care of yourself. You're injured, after all," Su Lan said with concern.
Su Lan then left the bridge and entered a cabin where the wounded were being treated. All around her, she could hear the pained cries and sobs of teachers and students alike.
Once so privileged and delicate, the students now appeared utterly disheveled, like crying infants cradled in their parents' arms. Some were indeed calling out for their mothers and fathers.
Amidst the chaos, a few busy figures moved about, assisting the teachers in caring for and treating the wounded.
"Hold her leg down!" Zhao Wan'er said to Xue Xiaoxiao beside her.
Xue Xiaoxiao swallowed hard and pressed her hands onto the girl's bloodied, mangled leg.
Zhao Wan'er sprayed a wound-coagulating agent over the injury. It could stop the bleeding temporarily and numb the pain, but proper medical equipment would be needed for a full recovery.
After finishing the treatment, Zhao Wan'er wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Wan'er, most of the wounded have been treated. You should rest too," Su Lan said as she approached with concern.
Zhao Wan'er shook her head, forcing a faint smile. "I learned a bit of first aid at the Academy. If I can help even a little now, I will."
"Senior Su Lan, do you think... we'll make it out alive? Those Interstellar Zergs are so terrifying... they came in swarms..." Xue Xiaoxiao recalled the scene when their Two-Academy Fleet was attacked by the Interstellar Zergs in space.
Some of the Zergs had even managed to breach the starships. Many of the wounded teachers and students here had been harmed by those very creatures!
Just thinking about it made her scalp crawl.
Xue Xiaoxiao then muttered softly, "I haven't even had the chance to touch the heavy artillery on a T4 Star Battleship yet... I don't want to die..."
Su Lan hugged her two close friends, comforting them, "Don't worry, the Academy has already received our distress signal. They will definitely send a fleet to rescue us!"
"Hahaha... Dream on... We've been completely abandoned..." A self-mocking voice came from nearby.
Su Lan frowned and looked over. It was Zhou Min, the one who had previously engaged in a Starship Duel with Zhao Wan'er.
Zhou Min had only suffered a minor injury to her left arm, wrapped in a layer of gauze.
But to avoid the demands of work outside, she had hidden herself in this area designated for the wounded.
"Zhou Min, we must hold onto hope now! Only then can we all survive and leave this place!" Zhao Wan'er stood up, staring at Zhou Min.
Zhou Min laughed hysterically, "Hope? Hope? What hope is left here? Haven't you heard?
The Stargate in the Water Lily Star System has been destroyed by the Interstellar Zergs. Although we escaped to this planet, it will soon fall as well.
Without the Stargate, the fastest rescue fleet can only enter the Water Lily Star System by crossing the Interstellar Frontier Space!
How long will that take? Three days? Five days? Or even a week!
Not to mention, the Interstellar Zergs are everywhere now. Neither the Imperial Army nor the leadership of the two Academies would risk paying a higher price to rescue us.
Stop clinging to false hope... We have been utterly abandoned."
As she spoke, Zhou Min broke down in tears of despair.
Hearing Zhou Min's words, Zhao Wan'er's face showed disgust. She said with unwavering determination, "I... I believe someone will come to rescue us!"
As Zhao Wan'er spoke these words, for some reason, she thought of that figure.
Would he come to save her?
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