Chapter 52: Out of this Predicament (2/2)
Mu poured cold water onto his enthusiasm as usual. “Don’t get happy too soon. If we manage to leave the asteroid belt, then what? Who knows where we are. Are there planets nearby? How far away are they from us? Is it inhabited? If there are no starships…”
Mu paused abruptly and his tone took an anxious turn. “Quick! Steer fifteen degrees from the radius vector and fly straight ahead! Maximum speed!” Mu swiftly kept the black gold ore into the alternate dimension and returned himself there.
Upon hearing his words, Ye Chong knew there must be new changes in their situation. He stopped conserving energy as before and accelerated the mech to its maximum velocity. After spending some time in the asteroid belt, Ye Chong was now quite skillful in avoiding the asteroids. Although the speed was now maximised, Ye Chong still managed to easily and adroitly evade the rocks in front of him. Mu was surprised by his ability. “Ye, your skills are great!”
Ye Chong may seemed to be at ease after hearing those words, but he was entirely focused on flying the mech so he did not reply Mu. His eyes were plastered to the holographic screen fearing for any mishaps. At this speed, no matter how solid the F-58’s armour was, his mech would not survive an impact with an asteroid. Ye Chong sure did not want to take this situation lightly!
The ores which were visible in sight became lesser with time and Ye Chong felt more relieved. Ye Chong also knew that he had finally reached the edge of the asteroid belt and was greatly encouraged by that fact.
As expected, after a light beep sounded, Ye Chong’s scanning systems returned to normal and began to scan the surroundings automatically.
Black Cove produced excellent products! The F-58’s detection system, one that Ye Chong had never used before was actually quite modern. It immediately detected something abnormal ahead and a red spot on the holographic screen began to enlarge! As the holographic image became larger, it also became clearer to view.
It’s a starship! Ye Chong was overjoyed and revved the engines to approach the ship.
Three minutes later, the other party was still not aware of his presence! Ye Chong was intrigued. While the F-58 could detect its target at such a far distance due to its advanced detection system, how could the other party not manage to notice him now that he meters a away from the starship? Could it be that the F-58 also had an excellent anti-detection system? Ye Chong immediately searched through the information in the photon processor of the F-58. As he had in mind, the F-58’s armour had a special absorptive material mixed into it and the material was capable of absorbing a wide spectrum of waves, resulting in the mech’s exceptional anti-detection performance. This material also gave the mech its black colour.
“Black Cove was a formidable force, but what were they aiming for?” This thought flashed through Ye Chong’s mind. “What does have to do with me? It’s not like I’m going back.” Ye Chong thought conceitedly.
“Should we carry out a surprise attack on them?” Ye Chong inquired Mu for his opinion. The method, as expected, suited his usual habit and style.
“A surprise attack? If the starship is damaged then you’ll be finished!” Mu obviously disagreed. “This seems to be an average civilian ship. You can signal them first!”
“Ok!” Ye Chong did not have a better idea. From his past experiences, he knew that an external damage on the starship would be devastating. If it wasn’t for One-eye’s well equipped ship, he might not have survived!
The other party did not seem nervous upon receiving his signal. Instead, they replied repeatedly that they were medical volunteers.
“Medical volunteers? What are those?” Ye Chong asked with full of curiosity.
Mu explained, “Medical volunteers are people who have expertise in medical skills or nursing. They offer free medical treatment for all, charging no fees, and they usually lead more difficult lives. Their principle is that life trumps all! Since they believe that all lives are equal, even if pirates are injured, they would also offer treatments. Hence, they are respected by almost everyone and no pirate would rob the medical volunteers. On the contrary, when the volunteers were in their hunting zone, the pirates would send escorts to protect them!”
“They are mostly amiable and kind in nature besides being incredibly sympathetic. I believe that if you were to ask for a ride on their ship, they will not reject you!” Mu suggested.
“Amiable?” Ye Chong thought of all the mutants he was familiar with on the trash planet and could not even remember any of them being what Mu described as amiable. It was truly confounding! “ Since Mu had said so, he wouldn’t be wrong!” Ye Chong thought to himself.
Ye Chong agreed to his suggestion and signalled a request to board the ship!