Chapter 3

In the dark energy glow and red laser beams colliding in the air, a burst of intense light and shockwaves erupted. Inside the bridge, everyone stared in shock at the scene, watching the unscathed Luo Jie, at a loss for what to do.

The laser cannons on the Yuanwang had only six, distributed at the front, back, and sides. At full power, one shot could turn a meteor the size of the Yuanwang into fragments. Now, it had actually been deflected by the opponent bare-handed.

"Is... is this even human?" someone muttered in the corner, the voice soft, but in the silent bridge, it felt heart-stopping.

No, the opponent was indeed not human. If not human, achieving this was not strange at all. Zhang Yuanshan was the first to react, shouting, "Don't stop, keep firing."

As he said this, Luo Jie's figure disappeared from the screen, reappearing less than three hundred meters from the Yuanwang.

The six laser cannons on the Yuanwang, even with the best positioning, could only have four in range, and in most cases, only three could aim at the target. One had already fired, and the remaining two quickly adjusted their barrels.

At the same time, the twelve electromagnetic cannons continued to suppress, making Luo Jie dart left and right, but hitting him was extremely difficult. Luo Jie's focus was mainly on the laser cannon platforms.

The speed of the laser was too fast to dodge, so he had to move out of the cannon's range before it fired. Whether it was the electromagnetic cannons or the laser cannons, these weapons were too powerful, and even a slight graze would injure Luo Jie.

At a distance of three hundred meters, Luo Jie was already within his attack range. As he darted, he gathered his strength, preparing to attack.

Inside the bridge, the observer watched the energy intensity representing Luo Jie on the small screen soar, breaking through the red zone, and cried out in alarm, "Four hundred, breaking four hundred, the target's energy intensity is breaking four hundred and still rising."

Zhang Yuanshan drew a sharp breath.

The material disintegration engine used by the Yuanwang had an output power of thirty thousand, but before the material disintegration engine was installed, the same type of exploration ship used a nuclear fusion engine with an output power of only around four hundred.

Wasn't this saying that the zombie in front of them was a human-sized nuclear reactor?

"Be careful, the shield might overload," Zhang Yuanshan shouted. If four hundred units of energy exploded on the shield, it would at least reduce the shield by half.

Luo Jie, who had been darting, suddenly paused in the air for a moment, then swung his right fist.

A thick black energy beam, like a roaring dragon, rushed straight at the Yuanwang.

The violent energy struck the energy shield of the Yuanwang at a speed faster than the electromagnetic cannons, causing a series of sparks to erupt from the shield modules. At least three percent of the shield modules overloaded and burned out, and a hole the size of a basin was torn in the shield.

Because of the modular design, the entire shield would not break due to a single point of failure. The backup modules quickly activated to seal the hole. However, before that, an invisible mental beam slipped through the hole.

The two laser cannons, which had been preparing for a long time, finally caught their chance and successfully fired. Two red beams cut through the void, instantly hitting Luo Jie's body, which was torn apart.

"Hit... hit... hit?" The gunner, looking at the shattered body, clearly found it hard to believe, muttering hesitantly, as if asking a companion or talking to himself. Seeing the zombie intercept the laser cannon bare-handed, it seemed like a legendary boss-level existence. How could it be so easily defeated?

"Energy fluctuations disappeared, energy fluctuations disappeared, hit, the zombie is dead," the observer called out excitedly.

"The zombie army is retreating, the zombie army is retreating."

The high-level undead creatures, which had been rushing towards the Yuanwang without fear of death, now turned and fell to the ground at an even faster speed.

"Wow, we won." The bridge erupted in cheers.

Zhang Yuanshan leaned back in his chair, feeling a bit weak. Indeed, during the long space voyage, there were many more dangerous situations than this, but none had ever put such psychological pressure on him. Moving corpses, legendary zombies!

Everyone thought that in the space age, with advanced technology, they would never encounter things that existed only in the ignorant era on Earth. Could it be that all those ghost stories were true?

Although curious, Zhang Yuanshan absolutely did not want to investigate further. There were two zombie armies in battle, meaning that on this planet, there might be more than one zombie as powerful as the main target. One such level of zombie had already made them flustered; a few more would mean their end.

Since the mission's objective had been completed, there was no need to take any more risks. Thinking of this, Zhang Yuanshan ordered, "Leave immediately, we're going home."

The bridge erupted in cheers again, and everyone's face showed a sense of relief. Clearly, the psychological pressure from the zombies was not much less than what Zhang Yuanshan had felt.

The Yuanwang gently trembled, the engine increasing its power output to accelerate the entire ship. Once it escaped the star's gravitational field, the ship could enter hyperspace travel. Before that, all personnel except for the necessary duty personnel had to enter hibernation.

The universe was vast, and even the fastest hyperspace travel to another star system could take years or even decades. Without hibernation, a round trip might result in grandchildren being born.

Moreover, long-term space travel would increase the consumption of resources and cause severe psychological issues. Hibernation could solve all these problems.

For a medium-sized exploration ship like the Yuanwang, the standard crew was fifty, including families, which could reach around two hundred. Only three people needed to remain on duty, while the rest would enter hibernation, with a duty cycle of one year.

Most ships did not carry families, but exploration ships and long-distance transport ships were exceptions. A single voyage could take over a decade, and a child born at the start of the journey could be old enough to have grandchildren by the time they returned.

Therefore, exploration ships had dedicated family accommodations for crew members who wished to bring their families.

Of course, exploration work was a very dangerous profession, and many did not want their families to take the risk, leaving them in safe places. However, by the time they returned, they often found their wives remarried and their husbands with new partners, so many chose not to marry and remained single.

Zhang Yuanshan was one of those who brought his family on board. As the captain, he had to set an example, and his wife, who had grown up on the ship, was a professional with advanced navigation skills and did not resist life on the ship.

They had a child named Zhang Qifan, who was ten years old but had been in hibernation for most of his life, making him only two years old in real time.

After Zhang Yuanshan finished all his work, he entered the family's dedicated hibernation room. Zhang Qifan, with his mother's help, was already lying in the hibernation pod. Through the thick glass, he stared at Zhang Yuanshan with big, round eyes, waving his hands as if asking to be held.

The affection in his son's eyes warmed Zhang Yuanshan's heart. He leaned down and kissed the glass, smiling and saying, "Baby, Dad can't hold you now. We're about to leave the gravitational field. I'll hold you when we get home. We'll stay longer at home so my baby can grow up."

Zhang Qifan, of course, couldn't hear him, but seeing his father's lips move without sound made him giggle.

Zhang Yuanshan's wife gently leaned into his arms, looking at their baby, feeling a sense of happiness. This atmosphere lasted for a while, and the cabin flashed a soft red light, signaling the start of hibernation.

Zhang Yuanshan activated Zhang Qifan's hibernation button, watching his son close his eyes and enter hibernation. Then, he and his wife entered their own hibernation pods and closed the glass lids.

Thus, except for the duty personnel on the bridge, there was no one else awake on the Yuanwang. At this moment, the Yuanwang trembled, officially breaking the speed of light and entering hyperspace travel.

At the same time, in the hibernation pod, Zhang Qifan, who should have been in deep sleep, suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils devoid of life, cold and empty.

On the desolate planet, countless undead creatures knelt in reverence, as if bidding farewell to their king.

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