CHAPTER 152: CHAPTER 152: THE LEGENDARY SHIP (1ST UPDATE)

The cave was too vast for the beam of Dora’s flashlight to illuminate, making it impossible for everyone to fully discern its contours.

As Dora fired two flares as instructed, the bright light revealed a rugged landscape of rocks. The cavern seemed to be anything but natural.

Among those rocks, there lay an ancient-looking Starship, deeply buried in a mass of rubble.

"A Starship!" Boluo was surprised and began to imagine the possibilities. "Could it be a Starship whose crew was contaminated by Mutants, causing it to crash down from the starry sky and end up here? Doesn’t that mean there might be a lot of Mutants on the Starship?"

Annoyed, Dora gave him a jab with the butt of her gun. "Can’t you stop scaring yourself all the time?"

Big Rabbit’s delicate body trembled slightly; she too was frightened.

Chen Gu had already noticed some marks on the Starship and shook his head. "It was brought down by an external attack. Definitely not the work of Mutants."

He moved forward. "Let’s go take a look."

The trio tightened their formation, covering each other as they approached. Getting closer, they could see the Starship more clearly. Most of it was buried in the rocks, with only about one-third visible in the cave.

"Its scale is similar to the Confederation’s current fourth-level Starships. However, if it fell during the great war of that era, a vessel of this size would have been equivalent to a first-level main fleet Starship."

On one side of the warship, there was a huge, elongated breach. Chen Gu frowned. "This was caused by a super life form. Damage from a ship-to-ship bombardment wouldn’t look like this."

The three of them climbed in through the breach, encountering decorations typical of that bygone era, vastly different from the present style.

They searched the command center, then moved to the lower deck’s cabins. Suddenly, Chen Gu came to a halt in front of one cabin and blurted out, "I know which Starship this is!"

Dora and Boluo immediately caught up. "Which one?"

Chen Gu wiped the dust from the cabin door, revealing the nameplate underneath: Sauron Scyther.

Dora was still puzzled, but Boluo had remembered. "The Sorcerer Sauron! I’ve seen it on the interstellar net. I’m not mistaken; it’s him! This is the Four Hundred Brave!"

Dora felt incredulous, looking around. "This is the Four Hundred Brave? That legendary pirate ship? They actually fell in the Yingudusi Devil’s Pit!"

Chen Gu recollected for a moment but felt confused. After the Battle of the Yingudusi Devil’s Pit, there were still some records of the Four Hundred Brave’s exploits.

At least, that’s what the interstellar net recorded.

However, after that point in time, the tales about them had indeed dwindled significantly, eventually fading away.

And upon closer recollection, Chen Gu realized that the exploits of the Four Hundred Brave after that time were nowhere near as legendary as those before.

The Four Hundred Brave fell here... Someone must have carved out that tunnel to escape and then reformed the Four Hundred Brave. Chen Gu suddenly pieced it all together. He, or they, sealed the cave entrance with a rock wall, leaving behind that array of formulas. It wasn’t for others, but to ensure their own smooth re-entry in the future!

Why would they want to come back? There must be something inside this Starship that they couldn’t take with them, yet is extremely important!

The trio moved past this deck, observing the nameplates on the cabins. In that era, these all belonged to renowned star crew members.

Chen Gu found the cabin belonging to the rebel Dilina and pushed the door open. Inside, the cabin was very plain, akin to the abode of an ascetic.

This puzzled Chen Gu even more: Dilina was a defector from the Atomic Holy Church, having absconded with the crucial artifact, the Doomsday Holy Hand.

Common sense would suggest that once she had rebelled, she should have abandoned her faith in the Atomic Holy Church.

Yet whether it was in the wreckage of the Starship Burning Tyrannosaurus or on the Four Hundred Brave, Dilina’s quarters were filled with decorations indicating devout belief in the Atomic Holy Church.

Even when she was out on missions, she always carried the Holy Church’s scriptures and drew its emblem on the walls.

Chen Gu conducted a search, with Dora and Boluo covering him from behind.

Chen Gu pulled open several drawers, all of which contained paper books about the Atomic Holy Church that turned to ash at the slightest touch.

Only a hardcover scripture at the bedside was intact. Its pages had already decayed, but the cover was still preserved. Chen Gu casually pocketed it.

"Let’s go; there’s nothing more to see here." The three emerged, puzzled that every cabin was empty. Where could all those powerful crew members have gone?

They continued their search, swiftly reaching the bottom deck, where a section of cabins was sealed by a thick armored door.

Dora and Boluo tried several times but were unable to open it.

Boluo got angry. "Move aside, I’ll blow it open!"

Before Chen Gu and Dora could speak, a voice suddenly rang out from behind them. "No, no, no, you mustn’t be so crude. Inside lies the true essence of the Four Hundred Brave. If you damage even the tiniest piece, the boss would be so heartbroken he’d go berserk and spend a fortune hiring assassins to hunt you across the entire Star Sea."

Boluo was taken aback and turned around. "Leder?"

Leder sauntered out with his hands behind his back, smiling. The three of them widened their eyes at the sight of the pitch-black monster following him.

"A Mutant!"

Big Rabbit instantly understood and was filled with rage. "You’re working with Mutants? You traitor to humanity!"

The roots of the Mutants lay in the Endless Realm, and the Endless Realm was every professional’s greatest enemy. Thus, Leder’s actions naturally put him in opposition to all professionals.

Chen Gu sensed a subtle anomaly. This is no ordinary Mutant.

He almost blurted it out, but saying so would have exposed him as not an ordinary person. He cautiously stayed behind the two professionals, watching the pitch-black creature, a nagging sense of familiarity washing over him.

If I’m not mistaken, Leder must be a professional too, and that creature is even more terrifying. Dora and Boluo... they probably can’t handle it.

I wonder how Qing Ruyan is doing. If she can’t make it, even with me joining in, the situation will still look bleak.

That pitch-black creature, in Chen Gu’s Mind Belief, radiated an intense sense of danger. It was undoubtedly extremely powerful, perhaps not inferior to a Second Energy Level professional!

Leder, unperturbed by Dora’s accusation, smiled and gestured towards the black monster. "Come, let me reintroduce you. This is Hu Ling."

"What!" Boluo roared, completely in disbelief. "Captain? Impossible, this can’t be! Captain wouldn’t attempt to advance his Energy Level here! Not without an activator, not without super-matter... He wouldn’t Fall!"

Dora also felt a sudden chill in her heart. Her gun still aimed at Leder, she asked through clenched teeth, "What have you done to him?"

Another cold voice intervened. "I’ll tell you what he’s done."

Qing Ruyan, her face frosty, stepped forward, her eyes locked on Leder.