Chapter 501: Hope to Live II (1/2)
Chapter 501: Hope to Live II
Translator: EndlessFantasy TranslationEditor: EndlessFantasy Translation
The warships at both wings were not having a fun time being the first line of defense, as they were preoccupied with the task of destroying the larger space rocks coming towards them. The damage caused by the collision between these space rocks and the spaceship would be horrendous. It would be easily a critical hit on any spot of the other ships. So they had to crush them before the space rocks could touch them, as what Master Jay ordered.
They might be as busy as bees, but they were better off compared to the transporting spaceships. Their armors were far thicker, to begin with. Every single part of their warship was armored. As long as collision on the same spot did not occur consecutively, they were very much safe.
The fleet traveled steadily towards the depth of the asteroid belt.
It was the second day of penetrating the asteroid belt. Clearly the density of asteroids had increased 3 times more than the day before, which consequently stressed the people more. Haskel remained at the center of the entire formation so no space pebble could even touch it.
There had not been any form of casualties at the moment. The crew members had a boost in will, as they seemed to have seen a light of hope despite being in probably the darkest, the most treacherous corner of galaxy. Nonetheless, the leader, Ye Chong did not seem particularly happy with the situation.
”This isn't right,” Shang said without cheekiness in his tone. ”There is high activity in asteroid region.” Worries were flooding his beeping, ”It could destabilize at any moment, especially with our intrusion. There is a considerable amount of possibility that an asteroid whirlpool could occur.” He was not entirely wrong. The Calamitous Asteroid Belt was known deadly for its great deal of unstable regions which were identified to be frequented by whirlpool phenomenon. If Ye Chong was traveling alone, he would have chosen to leave the area right away.
”Mhm,” replied Ye Chong. He was as worried as Shang but there was no workaround for him at the moment. The area of this region was exceptionally sizable. They had been traveling on the shortest course to perform a space jump. Yes, they could have made a detour but there would be no guarantee that they could avoid the entire region safely while only consuming more time. The shortest course was estimated to be a three-day travel, yet they would need to spend a few more days breaking the rocks if they took a turn. The longer they took in the asteroid belt, the more risk they would get.
”Shang, calculate the chance of us, at maximum as well as the current speed, being able to pass this region before a potential whirlpool phenomena occurred.”
One was not meant to travel at maximum speed in Calamitous Asteroid Belt. With these asteroids, the spaceships would only be hindered. Not only the spaceships would be damaged greatly, the space would be further destabilized. The damage was not an issue compared to the chance of being sucked into a quantum singularity.
Ye Chong had no idea what the maximum destabilization the space could take before a whirlpool phenomena would occur. Thus, he asked Shang to perform simulation on both properties to get a basic reference on whether an asteroid whirlpool could form; if so, they also had to find out the timing when it occurred. They must not be the passive ones here. They must do something, however, the acceleration would highly increase the likelihood of the formation. So, which would be a better choice then?
5 minutes lapsed, ”5%,” muttered Shang.” Assuming the fleet accelerated, the likelihood of a safe escape would be 5% higher.” Then he added, ”That is Mu's calculation, by the way.” Even though Mu did not provide the entire sequence of calculation, Ye Chong was fairly convinced.
”Alright, we have to leave this dangerous area as soon as possible,” commanded Ye Chong firmly after a moment of ponder.
5% might not look like something in the eyes of most people, but that could be the very feather that tilted the scale of life for Ye Chong.
The fleet was speeding up upon his command.
The asteroid shower intensified!
The domino of asteroids were breaking up.
The zone was destabilizing rapidly!
The activity was getting stronger, as the fleet sped up.
Boom!
One spaceship at the end of the fleet was crushed by a giant spaceship with a diameter of 300 meters right in the body. The spaceship blew up.
That was the first casualty.
People could not help but to flinch at the scene. Simply no one would have survived that explosion. They could not do a thing to the situation. They were already occupied in saving themselves.