Chapter 348: Cannot Give Up
This was a somewhat desolate planet, with sand, dust, and rocks swirling everywhere.
To avoid planets teeming with Alien Beasts or Exotic Plants, the pilot had specifically chosen to land on a planet with no visible greenery on its surface.
After landing, everyone obediently stayed inside the escape pod, not venturing out.
Fortunately, Interstellar technology was advanced. Although the escape pod had been stripped of many functions to focus solely on survival, it was still equipped with basic living amenities.
For example, a small lavatory, a small reserve of potable water, and a safe containing a thousand tubes of nutrient liquid.
Combined with the supplies everyone had in their Space Buttons, surviving for a month wouldn’t be a major problem.
The most important thing now was to try and establish a signal.
There was no need to worry too much about this. The Federation Soldiers were all basically proficient, as they were a group of people who often faced the possibility of being stranded on a Wild Star.
As for Jiang Qin and the other two, their role as the protected targets was a bit boring.
The warriors even set up a rotation, with three shifts—morning, noon, and night—to leave the escape pod and patrol the surroundings in case any danger was lurking nearby.
Out of sheer boredom, and to calm everyone’s nerves, Jiang Qin decided to give the warriors inside the escape pod a one-hour group soothing session.
She took out her guitar and began to play "The Brightest Star in the Night Sky."
"Brightest star in the night sky, can you hear
The loneliness and sighs in the hearts of those who look up..."
As the rhythm grew more uplifting, the silent planet finally seemed to gain a hint of life.
"Will the sun rise first, or will tragedy strike?
I would rather keep all the pain within my heart..."
’The sun...’
Everyone looked out at the planet shrouded in darkness, a sense of melancholy in their hearts.
This was clearly another planet that was perpetually untouched by sunlight. To see the sun, they would probably have to build an environmental simulator.
’But at least we can see the Stars in the night sky...’
They could also see the brightest few Stars, and they wondered if any of them were planets they had once visited.
...
After the song ended, the warriors, who had just been feeling mentally agitated, all felt their spirits soothe considerably.
They all felt much more relaxed.
"No wonder so many people say Miss Jiang’s soothing is the best. Trying it today, it’s truly extraordinary."
"It’s true. It’s rare for a soothing master to calm down Beastmen like us with high Riot Values in just one group session."
"I wonder if all S-level females are this powerful."
The highest rank among this group of warriors was S-level. They rarely had the chance to be soothed by a fellow S-level soothing master; most of the time, they were treated by A-level soothing masters.
So, many of them didn’t know just how strong an S-level soothing master’s Calming Power was. They only felt that Jiang Qin’s Calming Power was truly different.
If all soothing masters were as strong as Jiang Qin, perhaps not so many Beastmen would turn into Frenzied Beasts each year.
But obviously, that was impossible.
Because as soon as an S-level female appeared, she would be madly pursued by many. Most females couldn’t resist the endless temptations and ended up taking many partners.
As a result, they could barely soothe all of their own partners, so how could there be any slots left for ordinary warriors like them?
Only high-ranking officers could use their connections to get a few slots.
Although no one said it, they were all grateful to Jiang Qin.
If it weren’t for the Lan Family Brothers guarding her, some of them might have even offered themselves to her.
Unfortunately, with those two around, they didn’t even have a chance to try and curry favor.
***
Meanwhile, Shi Lichuan and the others, rushing toward the Frontline Star, were pushing the spaceship so hard they wished it would leave afterimages.
But then, Yuan Ling suddenly said, "Change course ahead."
"What’s wrong?"
"I just connected with a warrior on the Frontline Star. He said the rescue ships have already departed, and most of the females have been safely evacuated.
I confirmed this with several people. They all said that Qinqin has boarded a ship and should be on her way back now."
"Which ship is she on?"
"Military rescue ship, A70 model, number AE-37."
Long Hao nodded. ’This guy who just lazes around at home is actually useful sometimes,’ he thought.
"Alright, let’s change course then."
"Wait!" Suddenly, Yuan Ling spoke up again to stop them. "Mr. Shi, pull the ship into an emergency docking lane and wait for a moment."
The others didn’t understand why, but Shi Lichuan listened to him and pulled into an emergency lane.
Watching Yuan Ling furiously typing away, a tense atmosphere gradually filled the ship.
"What is it?" Cang Hong couldn’t help but ask cautiously.
"The warriors told me that although Qinqin got on the ship, Yun Xie didn’t make it.
He’s still at the front, fighting back the Alien Beasts with Admiral Mo Chen, and he’s been injured."
Shi Lichuan immediately said with determination, "Then you guys go back to the Main Star and wait for Qinqin. I’ll go get Yun Xie."
"I’ll go with you," Cang Hong said. "Let Long Hao and Yuan Ling head back."
Cang Hong felt that since his Beastman form could fly and run, he could be a great help in a rescue mission.
As for abandoning Yun Xie or taking the opportunity to get rid of a love rival, not a single one of them even considered it.
Even Long Hao, who usually found Yun Xie secretly annoying, didn’t think that way.
After all, infighting was just infighting, at most just bickering for favor. But if they truly lost someone, it would be their female master and this family who would suffer the loss.
Especially since Yun Xie was an SS-level male, Jiang Qin’s most powerful bodyguard. Unless he was truly beyond saving, they had to at least try to rescue him.
Yuan Ling said, "Then the two of you go. But the Frontline Star has become a Heaven of slaughter for the Alien Beasts. You must be careful not to get trapped there yourselves."
"Exactly. Save him if you can, but if you can’t, you two get back here immediately. Don’t let Qinqin come back to find she’s missing three partners."
After Shi Lichuan and Cang Hong agreed, they hurried to the rear bay, boarded a backup ship, and flew out.
As for the pilot’s seat, Long Hao naturally took over.
"Hey, where are we going next? Straight back to the Main Star?"
Without looking up, Yuan Ling said, "Hold on. I’m trying to locate ship AE-37."
But perhaps because signals in space were erratic, he couldn’t pick up AE-37’s signal at all.
He did, however, pick up signals from other ships.
Most of these ships were flying from the Frontline Star; some were military rescue ships, others were private.
He patiently filtered through all the signals.
At first, he focused on the area where he estimated AE-37 should be, but after searching the region over and over, he still couldn’t find its signal.
So, he expanded his search to the entire route connecting the Frontline Star to the Main Star.
After another round of filtering, he still couldn’t find it.
AE-37 wasn’t on the entire route!
A bad premonition began to surface in Yuan Ling’s heart, but he forced himself to think positively.
’Maybe the ship isn’t heading to the Main Star. Maybe it chose to transit through another planet.’
So he began to check the ship signals on all routes near the Frontline Star.
Just in case, he began hacking into the signal networks of nearby planets—a massive undertaking.
The impatient Long Hao pressed him, "Did you find it?"
He got no response. Seeing Yuan Ling’s expression grow increasingly grave, Long Hao’s breath hitched for a moment. "Did something happen?"
’If I knew how to work this damn thing, I’d snatch the machine from Yuan Ling and look myself,’ he thought.
But Yuan Ling had no time to answer him.