Interstellar Survival: Invasion

After staying in the bag for so long, little Dondon was very happy to be out and about again.
After a stretch, it started exploring its surroundings.
Meanwhile, I continued scanning my surroundings with the laser probe, trying to look for an exit.

After scanning the entire small room, I found that this was a completely sealed room.
It was as though the room was surrounded only by walls.
I started wondering how I had gotten into the room in the first place.
After searching for an hour, I still found no exit.
I grew more and more agitated as I worried about the fates of Zhang Xingxing, Zhang Bao ’er, and Old Du.

’Just what kind of a ship is this? There is no exit at all.
Did I overlook something? ’ I asked myself.
’In times like this, it is important that I maintain a rational mind.
I need to calm down. ’

At that thought, I shut my eyes and rearranged my thoughts.
It was at that time that I noticed my energy supply.
I only had 21 hours left.
Time was running out.
Suddenly, I heard Dondon cooing at me.
I looked for the little fellow by tracing its voice and the blue glow on its body.
I saw it calling out to me from the corner of the room.
I went over and carefully rubbed the wall, but I did not find anything special.
However, Dondon continued crying incessantly.

”There must be something here.
This should be the clue I seek. ”

I carefully checked the wall before me again, but I still found nothing.
On the wall was the star chart of the Solar System.
I had already checked the chart.
There was nothing special about it.
But why was Dondon continuing to cry?

Suddenly, a thought rose in my mind.
A total of five of us had come from Blue.
Including Dondon, the prophecy indicated that five visitors would come.
Was my appearance here an arrangement of fate?

”I ’m a Blueling, I ’m a Blueling, ” I chanted incessantly.

As I chanted, something unknown seemed to guide my finger to press on Blue ’s position on the star chart.
Where I pressed, the wall sank.
Then, cracking sounds rang out from the wall.
The wall started shifting in accordance with the orbit of the seven planets.
Slowly, the wall opened to reveal another small room.

”Dondon, your Daddy Canyue is truly a genius! ” I said to Dondon.

Hanging atop the room was a flickering blue lamp, and seated right below the lamp was an individual.
When I scanned the individual, I noted that it was not a human but a corpse of a different species.

The individual was seated upright at the very center of the room.
He had the face of a human and the body of a fish.
His eyes were still wide open as though he was staring at me, causing my hair to raise.
Thus, I stepped forth and covered his eyes.

From up close, I continued observing the creature.
My probe indicated that the creature had died a long time ago, but for some reason, the corpse was very well preserved and had a serene appearance.
The corpse ’s face resembled that of a human, yet it was also slightly different.
The mouth was slightly protruding, and this individual gave off the impression of a dependable person.

”Nommo? Is he the Nommo of the legends? ” I exclaimed.

I was actually bearing witness to a life form that was supposed to have existed ages ago.
This life form was seated before me, the same life form that had witnessed the fabled Atlantis, witnessed the construction of the great pyramids, witnessed the first emperor of Qin….
Such a person was now before me.
An indescribable sensation welled within me.

Nommo, the fabled alien life form that had descended upon Blue from Sirius in the legends of the Dogon people.
He was an individual who had helped the people of Blue in the past, a predecessor in the realm of interstellar exploration.
Surprisingly, after so many years, I was able to witness the very same Nommo in the flesh.
It was understandable why I became so excited.
This was yet another moment that would enter the history books of interstellar exploration.

The recording device on my suit recorded the encounter faithfully.
When I thought of how the Nommo people were the predecessors of interstellar exploration, I straightened my body and gave the Nommo before me three deep bows.

’Xingxing and the others are still awaiting my rescue! ’ I abruptly remembered.

That thought dragged me back to reality.
My current priority was to find a way out and help Xingxing and the others.
I inspected the second room and found that the second room was also completely sealed and airtight, allowing not even outside air to enter.
However, my intuition told me that there must be an exit somewhere.
I just hadn ’t found it.

”How should I leave? Senior Nommo, please teach me, ” I said to the seated corpse.

Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of Nommo ’s tail.
The tail seemed to be pointing at a spot on the floor.
I quickly lay down and scanned the floor.
Sure enough, there was a diagram on the floor.

’Hehe, I am truly a genius, ’ I praised myself.

The diagram on the ground depicted a massive paw wreathed in flame.
The paw carried five circles and a case.
Above the paw were several flying fish.

”Prophet.
So this Nommo is the prophet.
He knew we were coming, so he has been waiting here for us.
He seems to have something he wishes to entrust upon us, ” I couldn ’t help but gasp in astonishment.

But even after seeing the diagram, I still didn ’t know where the exit was.
Neither had I discovered a method to defeat the giant paw.

’Should I be using fire? ’ An idea rose in my mind.
’Flaming paw.
Was the prophet trying to say that I should burn his body with fire? ’

Time was of the essence.
This was a conclusion I had reached with my rather lacking combat experience.
I decided to put it to use.

I gave Nommo three more bows.
”Prophet Nommo, I, Li Canyue, came here following your guidance.
I will definitely complete your final wish in accordance with your guidance as well.
Now, I shall release you from your eternal slumber in this destroyed ship, ” I said respectfully.

Then, I hugged Dondon and burned the corpse with my flamethrower.
The fire burned as the corpse flickered with blue and purple sparks.
Slowly but surely, the corpse was reduced to ashes.

’He hailed from Sirius, he roamed the universe, helped the various races, and finally returned to Sirius.
This is his final resting place, ’ I said to myself.

Suddenly, the room shook alongside a deafening rumble.
I hurriedly placed Dondon back into my bag.
When I lifted my head, I saw that a big hole had appeared in the ceiling.
The same old giant paw appeared yet again.
After looking at the burning remains for several minutes, it turned around and lifted me out of the hole.

It was only then that I discovered with astonishment that the room was actually situated within the giant ’s body, or the giant ’s torso, to be precise.

The giant paw brought me back to the initial room in which we had arrived.
I saw that the army of worms was still surrounding Zhang Xingxing and the others.
They were completely surrounded by the monsters, but the monsters weren ’t attacking.
The group sat silently in the middle of the encirclement, their hands tightly gripping their weapons.

When Zhang Bao ’er saw me, he cried out in excitement, ”Canyue, you ’re still alive? You ’re fine? ”

”I ’m fine.
I ’m here to save you guys, ” I yelled back.

”Canyue, be careful.
Don ’t let that giant paw harm you, ” Zhang Xingxing said.

A warm current circulated in my heart when I heard her words of concern. 

Slowly, the giant paw brought me toward them.
I took the chance to release my mechanical arm toward Old Du.
He also sent his mechanical arm out.
When the two arms connected, Old Du carried Dodo and leaped onto the giant paw.
Zhang Xingxing followed their steps and leaped onto the paw as well.

”Remember to take the case with you, ” I yelled to Zhang Bao ’er.
He hurriedly grabbed the case before leaping onto the paw with the help of my mechanical arm.

All the worms were lying silently on the ground, bearing witness to our performance.
They seemed to have been ordered to stand down, as all of them were surprisingly docile.
When all of us were on the giant paw, it repeatedly winked its huge black eye at us.
Then, it lifted its massive yet nimble body and moved out of the room.

We were all curled up together atop the giant paw, allowing it to carry us through different doors.
We could see numerous objects originating from numerous different star systems, each with a unique and unimaginable form and composition.
One of the many rooms was filled with metallic objects.
I could clearly hear Zhang Bao ’er gulp when we passed through that room.

The prophet had spent many years traversing the universe, gathering samples and technologies from many different planets.
Ultimately, everything collected had been buried here before he could share all he had learned.
He had been waiting for us here, the people he had seen in his prophecy.
Perhaps that was why he had been waiting for us.
He wanted us to share all he had learned on his behalf.

Suddenly, the space before us opened up, and our surroundings became filled with light once again.
A door had opened to our side.
The radiance from Sirius A was shining upon us yet again.
After carrying us out of the ship, the giant paw continued rising, all the way to the top of the black mountain before placing us on the ground.

Then, the eye on the paw blinked at us.
I could see a wave of blue flame spread out from the ship.
It traveled along the long body of the giant and slowly reached the paw.
The giant paw demonstrated a remarkable temperament as it remained completely calm despite the fire all over it.
Its pitch-black eye almost seemed gratified as it looked at us.
I stepped forth and gave it a deep bow.
When the others saw, they followed suit.

The blue flame raged, and finally, the giant paw crumbled apart.
At that time, the ship below us exploded.
With that, the Nommo prophet and his guardian, the giant paw, were laid to rest on Sirius B ’s black mountain.

Everyone was excited at having survived such a dangerous ordeal.
Zhang Bao ’er, Old Du, and I hugged each other.
At the same time, Zhang Xingxing also hugged Dondon in joy.
I then told them everything that had happened to me.

”So everything we did had all been foretold.
The prophet had known about us 10 thousand years ago, ” said Old Du.

”Sigh.
If the prophet was actually alive, I could have asked him how rich we would eventually get, ” said Zhang Bao ’er.

”Screw you. ” I kicked Zhang Bao ’er, interrupting his vulgar musings.

However, we still hadn ’t found any clues about Captain Zhang Han.
The prophet had not told us of the captain ’s whereabouts.
After Zhang Xingxing listened to my whole story, she appeared somewhat dejected.

”Don ’t worry.
I have a feeling we will discover new clues.
Let ’s think together, ” I comforted her.

Everyone started thinking about my experience, seeking new clues.

”Flying fish! Where ’s the flying fish? ” Dodo, the rational machine, suddenly asked.

”Flying fish! ” I jumped.

Everything the diagram depicted had appeared except for the flying fish.
Where were the flying fish? We started searching our surroundings, but no flying fish was found.

Find the original at bit.ly/3iBfjkV.

”If there ’s nothing up here, why did it deliver us so high up? Won ’t that waste more of our energy? ” Zhang Bao ’er complained.

”No, this isn ’t right.
We must have overlooked something.
Let ’s think about it carefully, ” I said.

Suddenly, an idea rose in my mind.