Interstellar Survival: Invasion

”Those bastards didn ’t even bother undoing the strings for us.
This is too uncomfortable, ” complained Zhang Bao ’er.

I suddenly noticed General Edward and Kelly sitting silently on the ground.
A thought rose in me that I should perhaps try to console them.

”My apologies, General.
Like you, I can ’t agree to help the emperor with the negotiations, ” I said.

”Child, you made the right choice.
Even if the league agrees to release the three legions, there will still be a war.
In fact, with the three legions around, more lives will be lost, ” said General Edward.

A quick look at tinyurl.com/2p9emv8w will leave you more fulfilled.

”Father, it ’s my fault.
I was the one who got you into this trouble, ” said Kelly, who had been silent.

”Foolish child, what are you talking about? If I go back in time, I will still make the same choice, ” said General Edward.

”What happened to the two of you? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er.

”At the defensive line outside Planet Akko, thousands of imperial battleships suddenly appeared to attack our fleet.
Due to their numerical advantage, we weren ’t able to resist and were forced to retreat.
Duke Yidon ordered someone to cover the retreat, and I volunteered, ” said Kelly.

”Shouldn ’t General Edward be responsible for the command of multiple ships? How can he personally remain to cover the rear? ” asked Old Du doubtfully.

”The league deployed five Zeus-class battleships and 20 Poseidon-class battleships to cover the rear.
However, the enemy instantly surrounded us with overwhelming firepower.
We were able to hold them back for an hour, completing our mission after losing 60 percent of our ships, ” said Kelly.

”At the time, the league had ordered those covering the rear to withdraw.
However, the imperial fleet made use of the encirclement to lock them out of their wormholes.
As a response, the league organized a rescue operation for them, ” said General Edward.

”My father volunteered to lead the rescue operation.
However, he was ambushed by 30 imperial battleships and was captured.
As for the group in charge of covering the rear, we were also captured after exhausting all our ammunition, ” said Kelly.

”If you had not volunteered to lead the rescue operation, you wouldn ’t be in such a hopeless situation, ” I said with a sigh.

”Yes.
Brigadier General Angela was the initial candidate to lead the rescue operation, ” said Kelly.

”I heard that the command center in the royal palace had retreated into the underground palace after we left? ” asked General Edward.

”Yes.
Prince Toruse provided cover when King Xido, Duke Yidon, Zhang Xingxing, and the rest retreated into the underground palace, ” I said.

General Edward looked consoled after hearing that.
We talked late into the night.
Due to the lack of windows in the cargo bay, we could only rely on the small opening on the door to observe the four imperial soldiers standing guard on full alert.

The people tied up in the cargo bay had calmed down by now.
However, none had fallen asleep.
Everyone was seated silently while their minds wandered off.
Dondon was the sole exception, as even with his hands tied up, he could still tear open a pack of crackers and chew on them silently.

”Canyue, do you think Master Wind will help us? ” whispered Old Du.

”I believe Master Wind is under monitoring.
It will be very difficult for him to help us, especially with four Gandos who are even bigger than the black and white Gandos outside, ” I said.

”Are we going to just sit here and wait to die? ” said Zhang Bao ’er.

”With no weapons, how do we retaliate? Can you fire shockwaves out of your palm? ” I asked him.

”No, I can ’t.
Neither can our mascot nor the dwarf.
Looks like we can only wait for our deaths, ” said Zhang Bao ’er gloomily.

”No matter what, us brothers are still together until the end, ” I said.

We might be trying to console each other, but there was no changing the downcast mood everyone was in.
Divine Empire ’s nights had a length of 24 hours, so it felt endless.
Gradually, I could no longer resist the call of sleep as I sat blankly on the ground.
I lay down and shut my eyes.

In my sleep, I dreamed of returning to my homeland, the beautiful Blue.
I dreamed of having dinner with my father and my mother.
After dinner, I lay on my cozy bed and enjoyed the shower of the silvery white moon in blissful peace.

Mother had made a new comfortable pillow for me.
It felt good to lean against the soft pillow.
As I lay on my bed, I wondered why war existed in the universe.
Why wouldn ’t all lives coexist peacefully?

In the dream, the more I thought about it, the angrier I became.
I was unable to restrain myself from brandishing my arms in fury.
While venting my anger, I saw my new pillow move suddenly.
The odd scene immediately roused me from my sleep.

I could see that everyone else had also fallen asleep.
Kelly was leaning against General Edward ’s shoulder as she slept.
Zhang Bao ’er was snoring loudly.
Dondon still had a piece of a cracker in his mouth when he fell asleep.
This group of kind individuals would soon face the cruel execution ordered by the emperor, losing their lives.

I leaned against the pillow my mother made.
It was warm and snug.
I hoped to never wake up from this dream.
Suddenly, I realized that I should already be awake while the pillow should be an item in my dream.
But now, I could clearly feel a soft and warm pillow at the back of my head.

I sat up in shock.
I turned my head and saw that at the spot where my head had been resting, a dark green transparent fellow could be seen.
The fellow still had the familiar-looking adhesive bandage stuck on its belly, with a red light shining from below the bandage.

”Bulu! ” I had to stop myself from screaming.

Bulu suddenly jumped onto my shoulder before rubbing against my face with its body.

”You! I knew you wouldn ’t listen.
Why did you escape from Amoeba? ” I grumbled inwardly.

I knew Bulu could actually hear my thoughts.
This little fellow was extremely capable in telepathy.
Upon hearing my words, the substance within Bulu started flowing rapidly.
I suddenly had a bright idea.
I described our current situation with Bulu through my thoughts.

I could see the red substance within Bulu ’s body suddenly shining brightly.
I felt someone prodding my back.
When I turned around, I saw that Old Du had awakened.

”Canyue, look at this, ” said Old Du in a low voice.

We silently went toward the observation window on the door.
The four imperial guards were still standing guard on full alert.
I shook my head at Old Du.

”Canyue, look properly.
Look at their eyes, ” said Old Du in the same low voice.

I immediately looked at their eyes, and sure enough, something seemed off about them.
The four guards were staring at the door without even blinking.
However, the expression in their eyes looked empty, and their bodies were also completely still.

”They ’re not blinking at all.
It almost looks like they ’re under control, ” I said joyfully.

”Yes, it must be Bulu controlling them with his telepathy, ” said Old Du.

”Bulu, well done, little fellow! ” I praised.

The red light in Bulu ’s body bloomed in praise.
Then, something astonishing happened.
One of the guards stood up, walked over, and started opening the door.
The sound of the door opening woke everyone up.
Old Du immediately signaled everyone to stay silent.
Zhang Bao ’er instantly noticed Bulu on my shoulder and understood what was happening.
Excitement covered his face.

”I thought we left this little fellow on Amoeba? Did it fly off the planet? ” whispered Zhang Bao ’er.

”No, this little fellow had been following me, ” I replied.

”Well done.
I have always known that you have remarkable luck, Canyue.
With your luck, you won ’t die here.
See, the heavens never fully bar one ’s way, ” said Zhang Bao ’er as he grew more and more excited thinking about our imminent escape.

An even more bizarre scene appeared.
The imperial guard walked inside after opening the door and removed the string around my hands, shocking the general and his daughter.

”When did you bribe these guards? ” asked Kelly doubtfully.

”I planted a spy here 18 years ago, ” bluffed Zhang Bao ’er while helping untie Old Du.

I walked over and helped the father and daughter out of their bindings as I said, ”Let ’s leave first.
I ’ll explain later. ”

When I was undoing the bindings, Kelly noticed Bulu on my shoulder.

”Canyue, what monster do you have on your shoulder? ” exclaimed Kelly in shock.

”This is not a monster.
This is our friend.
Its name is Bulu, and it is helping us, ” I replied.

Kelly had an incredulous look as she reached out to touch Bulu.
Bulu seemed frightened as it immediately jumped to my other shoulder.
Soon, everyone was untied.

”Canyue, we should take off their shields and rayguns, ” said Old Du.

Old Du, Bao ’er, Kelly, and I put on the guards ’ uniforms.
Dondon promptly jumped into Zhang Bao ’er ’s backpack.

”General, we ’ll start our escape, ” I said to the general and handed a ray-pistol to him.

”Good.
Children, you guys probably know this place very well.
I noticed four security points with patrols when we were brought in.
In addition to 20 guards, there are 16 guards spread over the security points.
We need to clear the security points quietly, ” said General Edward.

When I listened to the general ’s words, I couldn ’t help but feel respect for his ability to study his surroundings even when he was in such a plight.
It seemed like the general had never given up on escaping.

”I know this place well.
The bend 20 meters ahead of us is the staircase leading to the middle level.
There is probably a security point there, ” said Dondon from Zhang Bao ’er ’s backpack.
Both his front limbs were resting atop Zhang Bao ’er ’s shoulders.

I nodded at Dondon before saying to Bulu, ”Bulu, we ’ll be relying on you. ”

Zhang Bao ’er and Dondon took the lead ahead of the group.
Together, we approached the security point.
When we reached the bend, Zhang Bao ’er leaned over to take a look at the security point.
He then stood up and started walking straight forward without bothering to hide.

’What is this fellow doing? ’ I wondered as I quickly followed him.

Only then did I notice that the four guards stationed at the security point were all lying on the ground, blissfully snoring away.

I couldn ’t help but praise, ”Well done, Bulu! ”

I finally understood why the emperor had tried so hard to obtain the ability of Bulu ’s species.
A single small Bulu was already so powerful in telepathy.
What if this ability could be given to the beasts we saw in Prophet Nomo ’s recordings? Would there still be anywhere safe in the universe?

The general and Domo were finally also equipped with shields and heavy weapons.

”The exit is up there.
There are two sections on the middle level.
Both paths are interconnected, and each path is visible from the other.
The two security points there will be able to reinforce each other, ” said Dondon.

”Bulu, can your telepathy control the two groups at once? ” I asked.

The red light in Bulu ’s body dimmed.
I could understand that Bulu wouldn ’t be able to control two teams at once.

”We need to think of a way to deal with the two security points at the same time, ” said Old Du.