Danger Is Approaching

Thor frowned. "This is not a good sign. There are too many unknown forces in the universe, some of which can affect a person’s mind. Luo Wen, you haven’t been possessed by something, have you?"

"No, it’s not like that." Luo Wen shook his head. "How should I put it? That voice feels familiar, yet strange. It’s like… it’s like it has some kind of connection to me, yet is separated by time and space."

Hong approached the stone box and carefully examined the patterns on it without touching it. "These symbols look like relics from an ancient cosmic civilization. I’ve seen similar records in some ancient texts. It’s said that certain ancient civilizations mastered telepathy, allowing them to establish connections with specific individuals across time and space."

Thor cautiously scanned the surroundings. "Whatever it is, we have a more urgent problem now. Ying is clearly especially interested in this stone box, and his behavior is far too abnormal. A normal captain wouldn’t detain crew members over something like this."

"I noticed that too." Hong nodded. "His reaction to this cargo crate was excessive. Logically, we were only responsible for escorting it. We didn’t need to know the exact contents of the cargo. But Ying seems to know this stone box very well, and he’s unusually nervous about it."

Luo Wen suddenly thought of something. "Wait, was this stone box mentioned on our mission list? I remember there being only ordinary trade goods and scientific research equipment."

Thor and Hong exchanged a glance, then shook their heads at the same time.

"No," Thor confirmed. "The mission list didn’t mention any stone box, especially not one specially sealed like this."

"That’s strange." Luo Wen’s brow furrowed tightly. "If this isn’t within the scope of our mission, why does Ying care so much about it? More importantly, why is it on our ship?"

At that moment, the ship suddenly lurched violently, and all three nearly lost their balance. Then the alarm blared throughout the ship:

"Warning. The ship has entered the outer region of the Chaotic Star System. Intense spatial turbulence detected. All personnel, return to your respective stations immediately and secure protective equipment! Repeating: intense spatial turbulence detected."

"We need to get out of here right now," Thor said, bracing himself against a swaying cargo rack. "The spatial turbulence in the Chaotic Star System is no joke. If the defense system fails, we’ll all be in danger."

But Luo Wen remained where he was, his gaze still fixed on the Mysterious Stone Box. "You two go ahead. I want to take another look at this thing."

"Don’t be stupid!" Thor grabbed Luo Wen’s arm. "Do you want to give Ying another reason to arrest you? Besides, the spatial turbulence in the Chaotic Star System isn’t something to take lightly. The cargo hold has the lowest protection rating. If something goes wrong, this will be the first place to collapse."

Hong nodded in agreement. "Thor is right, Luo Wen. Whatever secrets this stone box holds, it isn’t worth taking this risk. Let’s leave first and investigate after the ship stabilizes."

Luo Wen hesitated, then finally nodded. The three quickly headed for the cargo hold exit, but just as they were about to leave, Luo Wen could not help looking back one last time.

In that instant, he seemed to see the patterns on the stone box flicker, shining with an even brighter blue light. Then the calling voice rang out in his mind again:

"Luo Wen… we will meet again…"

"Luo Wen! Hurry!" Thor shouted from ahead.

Luo Wen shook his head, trying to throw off the voice’s influence, then hurried after his companions. The three rushed out of the cargo hold and ran through the shaking corridor toward the bridge.

The inside of the ship had already entered emergency status. Red warning lights flashed constantly, and all hatchways had automatically closed, leaving only essential passages open. Astronauts hurried nervously between workstations, checking equipment and ensuring the ship’s defense systems were operating normally.

"We need to get to the control room," Hong said, his voice trembling slightly from the violent shaking. "It has the highest protection level, and we can monitor the ship’s entire condition from there."

Luo Wen and Thor nodded and followed Hong into a side corridor. However, just as they were about to reach the control room, a familiar figure blocked the doorway—Ying stood there, watching them coldly.

"I thought you would obediently return to your stations," Ying said, his tone filled with icy mockery. "Looks like all three of you are looking for trouble."

Thor stepped forward. "Listen, Ying, now isn’t the time for infighting. The ship is in danger. We need everyone at their posts."

Ying sneered. "Precisely because the ship is in danger, I need to make sure no one takes the opportunity to do anything they shouldn’t. Especially you, Luo Wen. You’ve already shown an abnormal interest in that stone box."

Anger surged through Luo Wen. "I already told you, I don’t know how I got there! If you really care about the ship’s safety, you should let us in to help instead of arguing pointlessly here!"

At that moment, the ship lurched violently again. This impact was even stronger, and everyone lost their balance and fell to the floor. The alarms became more piercing, while the main computer’s mechanical female voice echoed throughout the ship:

"Severe warning. Shield energy has fallen to 53%. Abnormal spatial turbulence detected. All personnel, prepare for emergency evacuation."

Ying pushed himself upright against the wall, his face darkening further. "The situation has changed. I need to return to the bridge. But that does not mean I’m letting you off, especially you, Luo Wen. Once we safely pass through the Chaotic Star System, I will continue pursuing this matter."

With that, Ying turned and hurried toward the bridge.

Thor helped Luo Wen up. "Are you all right?"

"I’m fine." Luo Wen moved his aching shoulder. "But I’m worried about the ship’s condition. The spatial turbulence in the Chaotic Star System has always been unpredictable. If the shield energy keeps dropping, we could be in trouble."

Hong had already gotten to his feet and was checking the ship’s status through an emergency terminal in the corridor. "It doesn’t look good. The spatial turbulence is much stronger than expected, and it seems to be continuously intensifying. At this rate, the shields may not hold until we pass through the outer region of the Chaotic Star System."

"Is there any way to strengthen the shields?" Luo Wen asked, walking over to examine the terminal data with Hong.

Hong shook his head. "The main energy supply is already entirely devoted to the shields. Unless…" He suddenly stopped, as if something had occurred to him.

"Unless what?" Thor pressed.

"Unless we can find an additional energy source." Hong looked at Luo Wen and Thor. "Do you remember that paper published by the Alliance Academy of Sciences last month? The research on using the energy of spatial turbulence itself to strengthen a ship’s defenses."

Luo Wen suddenly understood. "I remember! That paper proposed a new type of energy converter that could turn the chaotic energy of spatial turbulence into ordered energy to reinforce a ship’s defense system."

"The problem is," Thor said with a frown, "that technology is still at the theoretical stage. Our ship shouldn’t be equipped with something like that."

Hong revealed a mysterious smile. "Actually, I secretly checked the ship’s equipment list before boarding. Our ship does have an experimental Space Energy Converter, in the equipment bay beside the engine room."

Luo Wen and Thor stared at Hong in surprise.

"When did you check the equipment list?" Thor asked.

"Before taking on any mission, I try to learn as much as possible about the environment I’m in." Hong shrugged. "It’s a basic survival skill."

Luo Wen nodded. "All right, then let’s activate that converter now. If it really works, we can safely pass through the Chaotic Star System."

"The problem is…" Hong’s expression turned serious. "That converter is in the captain’s restricted area. It requires the highest level of authorization to access. And I doubt Ying will let us get close easily."

Thor clenched his fists, producing a crackling sound. "Then we force our way in. There’s no time for politeness. If the ship breaks apart in the Chaotic Star System, we’re all finished."

Luo Wen pondered for a moment. "No. Forcing our way in will only cause a bigger conflict. We need a smarter way."

At that moment, an idea suddenly struck Luo Wen. "Wait, I have an idea. We can enter the equipment bay through the maintenance passages. Those routes usually don’t require special authorization, and Ying probably won’t expect anyone to enter from there."

Hong’s eyes lit up. "Right, the maintenance passages! I remember seeing it on the equipment list. Maintenance Passage One connects to the equipment bay."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Thor urged anxiously. "Let’s move!"

The three quickly formed a simple plan: Hong would hack into the system and disable the maintenance passage security lock; Thor would stand watch to keep Ying or other crew members from discovering them; and Luo Wen would operate the Space Energy Converter, since he had studied the principles behind similar equipment before.

They quickly moved to the nearest maintenance entrance. Hong took a small hacking device from his pocket and connected it to the security panel beside the entrance.

"Give me two minutes," Hong said, his fingers flying over the device. "I’ve dealt with this kind of security system plenty of times. It’s not too difficult."

Thor kept watch in the corridor while Luo Wen considered how to activate the converter as efficiently as possible. Based on what he knew, the Space Energy Converter required precise parameter settings to transform chaotic spatial turbulence energy into useful defensive energy.

In less than two minutes, Hong successfully cracked the security lock. The maintenance hatch slowly opened, revealing a narrow passage.

"Done," Hong said with a smile. "But we need to hurry. The system may detect the anomaly and sound an alarm."

The three quickly crawled into the maintenance passage. It was much narrower than an ordinary corridor, barely wide enough for one person to pass, with pipes and equipment surrounding them. The passage was dimly lit, with only a few emergency lights providing illumination. They had to move bent over, and sometimes even crawl through particularly narrow sections.

"According to my memory," Hong led the way at the front, his voice sounding strange from the echoes in the cramped space, "the equipment bay should be about two hundred meters ahead."

The ship continued to shake violently, making their progress even more difficult. Several powerful tremors nearly caused Luo Wen to lose his balance, but Thor caught him in time.

"Shield energy has fallen to 43%," the ship’s broadcast system continued reporting the worsening situation. "All nonessential personnel, proceed to the escape pods and prepare for evacuation."

"We need to move faster," Thor urged from behind. "It sounds like things are even worse than we thought."

After nearly twenty minutes of difficult travel, the three finally reached the entrance to the equipment bay. It was a metal door much smaller than an ordinary hatch, covered with warning signs and various safety notices.

"This is it," Hong said softly. He took out his hacking device again and connected it to the nearby security panel. "This security level is much higher than the one outside. It might take a few minutes."

Thor anxiously looked toward both sides of the passage. "Hurry. I can feel the ship shaking harder and harder."

Luo Wen leaned against the wall beside him and suddenly felt dizzy. That mysterious voice appeared in his mind again, clearer than before:

"Luo Wen… danger is approaching…"

"Did you hear anything?" Luo Wen asked, his brow tightly furrowed.

Thor and Hong both shook their heads in confusion.

"Other than the roar of the ship’s engines and the alarms, nothing," Thor said. "Are you all right?"

Luo Wen shook his head, forcing himself to focus. "I’m fine. Maybe I’m just too nervous."

Just then, Hong gave a cheer. "Got it!" The equipment bay door slowly opened, revealing a room filled with all kinds of high-tech equipment.

The three quickly entered the equipment bay and shut the door behind them. The room was larger than they had expected, around fifty square meters, with various control panels and monitoring devices installed along the walls. In the center stood a massive machine that looked like a spherical energy converter, surrounded by several smaller consoles.

"That’s the Space Energy Converter," Hong said, pointing at the central device. "According to the theory, it should be able to capture the spatial turbulence of the Chaotic Star System and convert it into ordered energy to reinforce the ship’s shields."

Luo Wen stepped forward and began examining the converter’s console. "It looks like this device was indeed designed based on that Alliance Academy of Sciences paper, but with some improvements. The control interface has been simplified, probably so it can be operated quickly in an emergency."

Thor stood guard by the door. "Then activate it quickly. We don’t have much time."

Luo Wen nodded and began entering commands into the console. After a series of keystrokes and adjustments, the converter began to emit a soft hum. Its spherical core slowly lit up, shining with blue-white light.

"Initialization complete," Luo Wen said, staring intently at the constantly changing data on the screen. "Now we need to set the capture parameters. This is the most critical part. If the parameters are set incorrectly, not only will we fail to use the spatial turbulence energy effectively, but the ship may suffer an even greater impact."

Hong stepped beside Luo Wen and studied the data with him. "Based on the current turbulence pattern, I suggest setting the frequency to seventy-eight hertz and resonating with the turbulence’s primary frequency. That will maximize energy capture efficiency."

Luo Wen nodded in agreement and quickly adjusted the parameters. As the settings were completed, the converter’s core shone brighter, and rings of energy ripples began forming around it like ripples on water.