Chapter 344: Between Life and Death (1/2)

Chapter 344: Between Life and Death

Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation

”Armor is breached, please repair immediately.” The melodic voice made a shocking announcement. Ye Chong quickly returned to his position before the photon processor console. The ship was shaking violently, so he needed to direct some of his attention on keeping it steady.

The debris was too dense. The individual rocks were small, but the continuous damage had taken its toll. The armor was breached in a few places, leaving tiny holes in it. The holes were small, but would widen without timely reparation. When that happens, the whole ship would go down.

Ye Chong tensed up as he stared fixedly on the holographic screen, his slender fingers flying across the console like a pianist performing a mysterious piece, or a flower unfurling its petals. His ten fingers issued command after command to the starship’s systems.

Ye Chong was like a fireman. He needed to find the breaches as soon as possible and repair them quickly. Fortunately, the starship was equipped with specialized reparation systems, or Ye Chong would have to do it all by himself. Not even 10 Ye Chongs would be enough to fix all the breaches in time.

Ye Chong's mind was a blank as he did the insane reparation work. He was already at his speed limit with his hands. His hands were too stressed, as they were almost going to cramp. However, there was not much time to think about all these. The longer he held on, the higher the chance of pulling it off.

Ye Chong breathed heavily as Rui Bing watched him with concern.

There were more and more breaches, and their chances were getting lower and lower. Unlike the calmness in Ye Chong’s mind, his eyes were burning wildly as he struggled. Surrender was not in his nature.

20 seconds more! Ye Chong’s head was crystal clear. He knew exactly how long it was before the starship yielded to the breaches.

15 seconds! Ye Chong’s hands danced wildly on the console.

10 seconds! He did not give up, gritting his teeth as he worked.

Eight seconds! His eyes reflected the final drop of hope before the ultimate despair.

Seven seconds! The undying flame continued to dance in his eyes.

Six seconds! Ye Chong’s madness was suddenly replaced by an indescribable peace.

Was he really going to die here? Was this end of his life?

Five seconds! Ye Chong suddenly realized that the new breaches were happening slower.

His dreadfully calm heart beat made him hopeful once again. Ye Chong could hear every beat of his heart. Time seemed to slow down. His hands seemed to slow down and his eyes could clearly see every movement of his fingers.

”I need to be faster!”

He shouted in his heart. Five seconds. He now had five seconds! In these five seconds, he must not err in controlling the starship. Any mistake would bury this final hope forever.

The human will to survive was a force to reckon with.

Ye Chong felt like all his fatigue was swept away. His hands moved faster than ever before, and his thoughts came with unprecedented clarity. With his enhanced mental capacity, everything seemed to slow down and clear up.

Finally, just when the starship was three seconds away from exploding, Ye Chong reached a reparation speed that balanced out the damage due to the new breaches.

The number of new breaches became less and less. Ye Chong controlled the ship steadily, not once making a mistake or delaying any precious second.

Five seconds … 10 seconds … 15 seconds …

Slowly but surely, Ye Chong lengthened the time until the starship exploded.

When the new breaches stopped happening, Ye Chong also managed to repair all the holes in the ship.

Success!

Even the calm Ye Chong wanted to raise his hands and scream. However, he found that he could not do that. He could not even move a single finger. His body felt like lead, and his head was heavy. His vision was turning blurry. If Ye Chong was still clear headed now, he would notice that his hands were trembling wildly. His hands were cramping.

However, he saw nothing at all. His consciousness was escaping him. The light in his vision slowly faded out into darkness. He blacked out.

”Ye!” Rui Bing’s face that was the nevermelting ice on the coldest planet in the galaxy finally softened. She rushed to Ye Chong and caught him as he slumped to the floor.

Ye Chong heard a faint cry through his slipping consciousness, and recognized Rui Bing’s voice.

He awoke later, and the first person he saw was Rui Bing. She was caressing his hands quietly.

”You’re awake,” Rui Bing sounded overjoyed.

Ye Chong said nothing, his large eyes staring at Rui Bing’s eyes.