Chapter 37

Inside the cabin, Gu Ding had already hidden in the escape capsule. Under the effect of the hypnotic gas, he quickly fell into a deep sleep. He knew that he would only add to Neptune's troubles in this situation, so he could only leave the rest to Neptune to handle.

Neptune also entered a state of high-speed calculation. Due to the limitations of Gu Ding's gene level, many of his permissions were not open, and even the basic detection function could only extend to about a hundred meters. In addition, the network had been affected by the electromagnetic oscillation caused by the interstellar storm, and there was no way to obtain real-time information about the interstellar storm from the outside network. He could only rely on the spacecraft's own detection radar and his initial predictions to operate.

He urged the Kittyhawk Model to fly at top speed, trying to get as far away from the center of the storm as possible. The spacecraft began to show some instability due to its high-speed operation, but everything was within Neptune's expectations. The Kittyhawk Model itself was just a cheap modified model with very limited performance. It was already quite good that it could operate like this. If the requirements were any higher, it would be impossible to achieve.

Half an hour later, there was finally a response on the detection radar. It was a group of meteorites brought about by the interstellar storm. Neptune calmly calculated the trajectory of each meteorite, and then slightly slowed down the Kittyhawk Model's speed. There would be slight errors in the trajectory of the Kittyhawk Model at top speed, and Neptune did not want to see it hit by the meteorite group because of such errors. Therefore, he would rather give up on speed and endure this wave of meteorites first.

Within a few minutes, the group of meteorites had approached. Meteorite fragments of all sizes were densely packed together. The statistics Neptune had compiled showed that there were a total of 11281 meteorite fragments. He had made precise calculations of the trajectories of each of them, and had also calculated the best trajectory for the Kittyhawk Model to move.

Because the meteorite fragments were too dense, it was impossible to completely avoid all the meteorite attacks even though the spacecraft was not large. Neptune opened the spacecraft's energy shield and carefully controlled the Kittyhawk Model's trajectory to avoid the impact of hundreds of large meteorites.

"Boom!" With a bang, the spacecraft's energy shield was hit by a meteorite fragment, and the energy shield dimmed a little. Neptune immediately adjusted the direction of the spacecraft. After being hit, the spacecraft's operation needed to be fine-tuned again.

Just holding up the energy shield consumed a lot of energy, and every time it was hit, the energy consumed by the shield would be depleted several times over. According to Neptune's estimation, the Kittyhawk Model's protective shield would only be able to withstand twelve hits like the one just now. After that, its energy would be completely exhausted.

Even with Neptune's calculation of the optimal trajectory, it was inevitable that they would have to endure eight more impacts like the one just now. About twenty minutes passed by quickly, and the Kittyhawk Model finally made it through this wave of meteorites. There was only a thin layer of the energy shield left.

After deactivating the energy shield, Neptune pulled up the star map of the nearby area. He knew that he had to find a planet for the spaceship to rest on as soon as possible. It would be best if it was a planet with oxygen because the Kittyhawk Model needed enough energy to produce oxygen. If the energy was depleted, the oxygen in the Kittyhawk Model would only be enough for Gu Ding to use for three days, and that was if the ship was in good condition. If the hull was damaged and oxygen was exposed, Gu Ding might not even last twenty-four hours.

Neptune was also secretly praying, "Please don't let a second wave of meteorites appear."

If a second wave of meteorites appeared, the spaceship's energy was likely to be completely depleted, and Gu Ding would be in a dangerous situation.

However, things often developed in the opposite direction of what people expected. Neptune's prayer was not answered by the gods — the second wave of meteorites soon appeared on the spaceship's radar.

The size of this wave of meteorites was more than three times the size of the previous one, and Neptune began to frantically calculate an escape strategy.

"If we fight it head-on, the spaceship will definitely be destroyed …" Neptune carefully analyzed the various possibilities. "When that happens, we can only lower the temperature of the escape capsule and let Gu Ding enter a state of suspended animation to reduce the consumption of oxygen. Then, we can let the escape capsule escape to a nearby planet. The escape capsule's power is not strong enough, and if we encounter a meteorite group, Gu Ding's death rate is one hundred percent.

"Now the spaceship has less than thirty percent of its energy left, and we can't find a suitable planet to land on in a short time. A suitable landing requires not only oxygen, but also gravity of the same order of magnitude as Cerule, and the temperature must not exceed the limit that humans can withstand. Humans are really fragile creatures … "Thinking of these conditions, Neptune could not help but sigh.

"There's no other way. The best way to save energy is to float with the meteorites. However, I'm afraid Gu Ding won't be able to reach Fengyuan." Thinking of this, Neptune could not help but swear, "F * ck Fengyuan. Surviving is more important than anything else!"

These days, he had learned many human catchphrases, and most of them were not good words. As it turned out, these words were not only learned quickly by humans, but even a super intelligence like Neptune could learn them quickly. However, when Neptune scolded in a childish voice, it was a little funny no matter how one listened to it. If Gu Ding heard it, he would definitely laugh until his stomach hurt.

Making what he thought was the best choice, Neptune controlled the Kittyhawk Model to avoid the impact of a few meteorites. On the Kittyhawk Model's radar, he found a relatively large meteorite that was relatively close to them. He changed the spaceship's course and controlled the Kittyhawk Model to land on the huge meteorite. Then, he turned off the Kittyhawk Model's engine.

He did not wake Gu Ding up because Gu Ding would consume more oxygen when he was in a state of motion, and he would need to replenish himself with enough food. In a state of sleep, not only could he save some oxygen consumption, but he could also preserve more food. Neptune did not know where Gu Ding's final landing point would be. Faced with such an unknown situation, preserving more oxygen and food would allow Gu Ding to live longer.

Almost all of the equipment in the Kittyhawk Model had stopped working. Only the escape capsule that Gu Ding was in still had a supply of oxygen, and the spaceship's radar was still densely packed with red dots.

The radar was always on because Neptune needed the radar's feedback to compare it with the star map before they set off, so he could know where he and Gu Ding were. Due to the electromagnetic shielding of Skynet's network, Neptune could only use this stupid method to determine their location.

If they were on the course of the previous star map, then Neptune could use the various information marked on the previous star map to find a suitable planet for the spaceship to land on.

However, Neptune's idea soon fell through. The Kittyhawk Model stayed on the meteorite for three days, and the meteorite's trajectory soon deviated from the previous star map's course. Not only that, but this wave of meteorites also left the Skyriver Sector and plunged into the Dark Star Sector, which was infected by various viruses.

Along the way, Neptune did not even find a planet for the spaceship to land on, so he could only follow the meteorites into the Dark Star Sector …