A Core Ship From The Start
Chapter 1400 - 947: Abandoned Ships Aren’t Places You Can Visit Whenever You Please_2

Chapter 1400: Chapter 947: Abandoned Ships Aren’t Places You Can Visit Whenever You Please_2

"Ah————!"

With the last attacker screaming as he fell, the entire warship seemed to fall into silence once again. At this moment, the Star Alliance Soldiers too felt a lingering fear, constantly watching each other.

"What on earth are these guys? They’re like a bunch of lunatics, those damned monsters!"

"I agree with you, these guys are monsters."

Shepperd stepped forward, extending the barrel of his gun to lift the cloaks of the attackers, revealing beneath them were bodies - mutated, bloated, decaying. These corpses, while at first glance still bore human features, in many other aspects had undergone mutations; some had eight eyes on their heads, others had appendages like crab claws growing from their armpits. Countless were covered in scales and fur, and even their limbs looked more like those of wild beasts rather than humans.

"God, what are these, aliens?"

"I don’t think so, aliens might look weird too, but they at least have some common points. Look at these monsters, each one is completely different, even the Batarei look much better in comparison."

Looking at these monsters, the Star Alliance Soldiers also began discussing amongst themselves. After all, they were from the Star Union, and the presence of aliens in this world wasn’t something new to them. Although most alien home planets had been destroyed in the great battle with the Reapers, and they had been harvested, some of them had managed to survive for various reasons. So, when it came to strange creatures like these, the Star Alliance Soldiers were somewhat resistant.

"...... Let’s keep moving."

Looking at these eerie monsters, Shepperd’s brother always felt uneasy inside. These things, they weren’t human, but they resembled humans, as if some mysterious, unknowable force had changed their bodies, turning them into what they were now – which of course, seemed impossible... or was it?

"Be careful, now we know that we’re not the only ones on this warship."

On the continuing path, everyone became more cautious. After all, the warship was so large, just walking its deck one could see nothing but dark, iron wreckage all around. No one knew if those wrecks hid nothing or something. At least several times, Shepperd’s brother felt as if there was something moving in those ruins, as if someone was watching them. But when he turned his head to look, it would seem as if nothing were there.

"How much longer do we have to walk?"

"At least twenty more minutes, if everything goes well."

Unfortunately, nothing ever goes perfectly as planned.

Just as the group cautiously crossed the steel plaza and reached the corridor on the other side, suddenly, a bolt of lightning flashed out of nowhere, striking a Star Alliance Soldier in the back. He screamed pitifully and fell to the ground motionless.

"Hey, what happened?"

Everyone quickly turned around, and only then did they realize that strange silhouettes had appeared among the ruins and the high towers above. They had smooth, elongated heads, some with two arms, others with four, wearing armor pieced together from ripped-off scraps of others’, and wielding weapons in their hands. They opened their mouths, from which sharp teeth and long tongues protruded.

"Damn, it’s a trap, run!"

Even though Shepperd’s brother didn’t know what kind of monsters these were, he was certain they meant no good. With the enemy in large numbers, it was clear that fighting them in this open plaza was not the wise move. So, Shepperd’s brother quickly raised his gun and fired at the ruins above.

"Bang!"

As the gunshot rang out, the shaky columns and the platform hanging from them crashed down, blocking their path. At the same time, Shepperd’s brother hurriedly led the Star Alliance Soldiers and sprinted into the passage ahead.

The sound of chaotic footsteps and angry howls came from behind. Shepperd’s brother didn’t need to look back to imagine hundreds of bizarre monsters chasing after them. All he could do now was to lead everyone forward, running on.

Soon, a fork appeared ahead, with one path dark and unlit, and the other shining with a bright red light. Shepperd’s brother instinctively wanted to run towards the tunnel glowing with red light, but at that moment, a strange premonition made him stop in his tracks.

"Commander, we must get out of here quickly!"

Ashley, while shooting behind her, shouted as she ran towards the passage glowing with the bright red light, but Shepperd’s brother grabbed her.

"No, we can’t go that way, this way!"

After finishing speaking, Shepperd’s brother turned on the searchlight and rushed into the pitch-dark tunnel devoid of any light.

Under the light’s illumination, the group stumbled onward, and then came to another fork in the road. This time, the left side was flashing with yellow brilliance while the right side was pitch black. Without any hesitation, Shepperd’s brother once again plunged into the pitch-black tunnel — yet even so, because of their unfamiliarity with the dark environment, two warriors fell onto the ground; they uttered brief screams before vanishing without a trace.

Then, they once again arrived at a junction where two diverging paths presented themselves, the left one twinkling with a blue glow and the right one suffused with grim, dark purple light. Faced with this scene, Shepperd’s brother couldn’t help but halt his steps. After a moment’s hesitation, he looked towards the tightly shut elevator doors.

"We take this side. Quick, open the elevator door."

"Why? Commander? Why must we take this side? Isn’t it better to walk on a path that’s lit?"

"I can’t explain it, but I have a feeling that side will be very dangerous..."

"Damn it, I don’t want to stay here!"

However, although Shepperd’s brother tried to persuade them, several soldiers directly left the group, each rushing into the tunnels on both sides. Shepperd’s brother could only clench his teeth, reach out, force open the elevator’s large door, and then leaped onto the cables.

"Let’s go!"

Even though Shepperd’s brother could not explain, he could feel that this was probably the safest route.

Damn it, what kind of hellish place is this?

"...Spaceship Wreck?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s explanation, Sister Shepard furrowed her brows.

"What is that?"

"Ever seen a sci-fi movie? A warship goes on a trial voyage, then it loses contact. Many years later, people discover the distress signals from the ship, and when they go to check it out, it turns out that the ship has been to hell, everyone onboard died a violent death..."

While speaking, Duanmu Huai silently recommended the movie "Beyond The Black Hole" to Sister Shepard.

"I’ve seen plenty of similar movies, but that’s just a movie, right?"

"Well, take that as reality, and you’ve got a Spaceship Wreck."

"What...?"

Hearing Duanmu Huai’s response, Sister Shepard looked utterly dumbfounded.

"I’ve said before, the interstellar travel technology used during the Imperial Era involved crossing subspace, and subspace is extremely dangerous. No one knows what might happen during traversal through subspace. Ships often encounter various problems in subspace, and then it’s all over. Then, they drift back and forth, shuttling between subspace and the real world like Ghost Ships. You should have notified me sooner, instead of going straight to your doom—err, sorry, generally speaking, boarding a Spaceship Wreck is indeed like sending yourself to death."

"What would the Tribunal do then?"

"The Tribunal? Back away to a safe distance, lock the target, a single blast solves all worries, and then there’s nothing left to fret about."

"What about now..."

"I got it, I will take a look."

Duanmu Huai waved his hand, cutting off Sister Shepard’s words.

Ah, the Spaceship Wreck, it’s really been a long time since I’ve been to one.