Deep Space Wandering Fleet-Chapter 219 - Intercept Intercept
Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Intercept! Intercept!
Chapter 219: Chapter 219: Intercept! Intercept!
Many insiders were cursing this damnable civilization for not playing by the conventional rules. For thousands of years, humans had been sending electromagnetic waves into this star domain, asking if there were intelligent life forms, with absolutely no response…
In addition, scientists had not found any artificial satellites above the atmosphere, nor had they definitively discovered surface activity traces.
“Damn it, this civilization can’t possibly think the universe is a dark forest… Impossible, the Dyson Sphere is right there…”
“How could a civilization that doesn’t even have satellites or hasn’t left its own planet possibly launch rockets?”
“Could they be underground rats?!”
Swallowing hard, Zhang Yuan also found it somewhat incredible. If it weren’t for his incompatible status, he even wanted to personally go to the battlefield to see how this damned civilization had technologically evolved!
First off, if the interception mission failed, could Earth Era withstand these four nuclear bombs?
The answer was… uncertain!
In outer space, nuclear bombs would not produce massive shockwaves, only light and electromagnetic radiation, significantly reducing their impact. Earth Era had enough mass to withstand these nuclear bombs, and theoretically, it shouldn’t be directly turned into interstellar junk.
However, the spaceship was a whole, and if the hull was severely damaged, it would significantly hinder subsequent activities. If some areas’ warehouses were blown up, humans would lose a massive amount of resources; if the thermal radiation zone was destroyed, heat would accumulate inside the ship, and all industrial activities would have to stop!
And without a doubt, until now, humans simply lacked the industrial strength to extensively maintain a damaged spaceship.
If it were crippled in this wave, it would undoubtedly become a sitting duck afterward, the kind that couldn’t even resist!
“So, we can’t fail, we absolutely can’t fail!”
The industrial zone on the planet’s surface was still not fully built, and the human mothership could not afford to fail.
Second point, why would they initiate an attack?
Couldn’t things be negotiated? Was it due to different modes of thought, or some other reason?
Zhang Yuan frowned deeply, quickly grasping the reason: If a seemingly weak civilization suddenly entered the Solar System, wanting to establish interstellar colonies on humanity’s turf, and this weakling had already exhausted its fuel, unable to return… what would the native civilization choose?
“The other side has observed us for a year and a half, basically understanding our technological strength.”
“So, without a second word, we should knock them down first, right? It’s not like they’d wait for us to develop, right?”
Wrong!
If presenting an overwhelming advantage, going straight to battle was the most foolish approach.
“By negotiating and forcing the opponent into submission, we can gain greater benefits.”
Think about it: if Earth Era entered a territory of a strong interstellar civilization, the correct solution for them would be to capture humans for study, not barbarically destroy them with missiles. Given the significant difference in strength, humans would likely surrender immediately.
“Unless, their mode of thought is drastically different from ours… or perhaps, they aren’t sure they can handle us, which is why they’d resort to this sneak-attack strategy!”
Yes, that must be it!
Thinking this, Zhang Yuan loudly said, “Everyone, as long as we survive this wave, it’s very likely that the opponent will be helpless against us! Launching a super rocket that can directly break free from planetary gravity isn’t something that can be done on a whim; it requires a tremendous amount of a civilization’s productive capacity.”
As he pondered this, three space shuttles blazed out from the spaceship, becoming faster and faster as seen on the screen, turning into a tiny speck within a minute.
Under the massive acceleration, several soldiers were firmly pressed into their seats, their eyeballs quickly becoming bloodshot.
It was impossible to say they weren’t nervous; the soldiers normally only functioned as police within the spaceship, and it had been a very long time since any war had happened… The entire civilization simply didn’t have the means to train them, all their training could only be done in simulators.
“Major Guo, Captain Li, Captain Wang, have all three of you understood your missions?”
Just as the acceleration gradually faded and their bodies relaxed, Captain Zhao’s voice sounded in the headset.
“Understood!”
“… You will encounter these high-speed missiles in 1,228 seconds. The time of the encounter will be extremely brief, too brief for human neural response speed to handle.”
“To launch an attack, we’ll need to set our sights well in advance!”
“Zhang Yuan, tell us your plan…”
“It’s like this…”
Zhang Yuan paused, not beating around the bush. “In our shuttle, there is a deceleration umbrella for use after the spaceship enters the atmosphere, which is the third button on the left.”
Major Guo’s heart jolted slightly, a deceleration umbrella? What did that mean?
That’s right, every spaceship had such a deceleration umbrella to facilitate landing on planets with atmospheres.
Zhang Yuan quickly continued, “There’s no atmosphere in space, so the deceleration umbrella can’t fully deploy, but it can at least partly deploy. Our shuttle isn’t armed,”
“Just seconds before you and those missiles prepare to intersect, you just need to launch the deceleration umbrella ahead of time, let it open, and hit the opponent’s missiles.”
“Right before the shuttle launched, I had someone disconnect the rope between the deceleration umbrella and the spaceship, so there’s no need to worry.”
“After launching the deceleration umbrella, the shuttle will immediately change course to avoid being affected by the nuclear explosion…”
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Major Guo’s gaze grew distant for a moment as he grasped the combat strategy, internally praising Zhang Yuan for his sharper wit.
Initially, they had thought of using machine guns to strafe. However, the relative speed between the shuttle and the missiles was more than 120 kilometers per second. A distance of 120 kilometers flashed by in just one second!
With such high speed, how could they possibly manage a precision strike?
Later, they thought of sacrificing one life by directly colliding the spaceship with the missiles! That had a slight possibility.
But now with the deceleration umbrella, it was different; each one covered an area of over three thousand square meters!
Zhang Yuan’s voice came through the headset: “Even though we can’t fully deploy it in space…”
“Striking a point with a surface… The probability of success is much higher, and with such significant relative velocity, the moment the deceleration umbrella covers them, it will destroy those missiles instantly!”
“Do you understand?”
“Understood!” A few pilots shouted excitedly and in unison.
Time ticked away by the second, and the distance between the two parties was rapidly closing.
Even from within the Captain’s Room, Zhang Yuan felt his forehead burn, sweating profusely.
Although he wasn’t piloting the spaceship, he couldn’t help but feel tense… How could he not be nervous.
The entire meeting room was very hot.
In fact, there was one more thing he hadn’t said—if destroying these rockets set off their nuclear bombs, they might still be affected by the explosion even if they changed course due to the close proximity. But what would saying that change… Perhaps those pilots already knew this.
At such a moment, professional soldiers have no time for dithering!
“Little Li, do you have any last words?” Major Guo sat in the shuttle, wiping the sweat from his forehead. The three shuttles weren’t far apart, and each pilot could communicate with each other.
They had already endured the most difficult period of excessive gravitational force, and the spaceship had entered a stable operation state. They were rapidly approaching the relative position of the missiles.
“Last words? None, just a bit nervous…”
“Not scared of dying?”
“Of course, I am.” Little Li paused, his complexion flush as he spoke, “But who can care about that now?”
“You know, just before now, I thought the best method was direct collision, not the deceleration umbrella,” Major Guo said half-jokingly to ease the tension.
“The Divine Wind Special Team? Major, I thought of that method too. Haha”
“Although it’s not exactly a glorious term…”
“If we’re lucky enough to survive and complete the mission, we still have to toast Mr. Zhang with a drink!”
…
