I slammed the accelerator down, surging toward the battleship mid-transit. Linglong stared at the rapidly enlarging vessel, anxiety etched on her face. "Master, what are you doing? Our meager strength can't possibly destroy that thing."

I held my resolve firm. "Find a way to blow it up, then use the wreckage to plug the wormhole exit. Otherwise, if a flood of aliens pours into Gemini, we’ll be slaughtered."

Zhou Ni fretted, "Are you sure? Judging by the energy cannon blast they accidentally fired earlier, that meter-thick armor plating isn't something we can penetrate."

"First, we'll use the laser cannon to bore a hole in their hull," I countered. "Then, we feed the energy cannon directly into that aperture. Maybe that will work."

My plan terrified Linglong and Yun Yao, who clung to each other. Truthfully, my own stomach churned. Behind us, space fighters, buzzing like crickets, were in hot pursuit. Their firepower was intense; we couldn't afford to dismiss them as mere gnats like the previous skirmish. To chase them off while simultaneously using the laser cannon to pierce a meter of reinforced hull required precious time. God help us.

I don't really believe in God; I trust myself more. The more critical the moment, the calmer I become. My consciousness seemed to pierce the hull of the ship, the vastness of space suddenly under my grasp. This state felt exponentially more powerful than when I used my mind to locate my wives imprisoned by Pang Hu. Every instant and opportunity was being analyzed by my brain to a precision of one-thousandth of a second. I wondered, was this still a human brain? Even Xiao Hui and Xiao Yu Di weren't this sharp.

The ship, shadowed by a swarm of fighters, executed a wide loop, losing them momentarily as we vanished toward the edge of the wormhole. From a distance, the enemy battleship looked like nothing more than a thin rod, but up close, it revealed a bewildering array of uneven protrusions: turrets, signal masts, landing pads, and other structures whose functions I couldn't discern. There were also deep trenches, wide enough for our ship to fly through comfortably.

It seems that traversing a wormhole might cause a complete loss of propulsion; movement within the tunnel itself is governed by the wormhole's mysterious forces. I was certain our vessel had entered the battleship's early warning zone, yet no alarms sounded, and not a single fighter emerged from the landing bays to intercept us. This convenient quiet aided our maneuver, but I dared not stray too close to the wormhole’s mouth, operating only along the half of the enemy ship that extended beyond the opening. Being sucked in would mean crashing, whether we intended to or not. However, one detail struck me as deeply odd: at this distance, I should have felt the wormhole's gravitational pull when I entered, but everything felt normal now. Perhaps because the wormhole was actively ejecting an object, its suction force had temporarily vanished.

There was no time for deep analysis. The computer system quickly scanned for the thinnest section of armor plating. I unleashed the laser cannon, targeting that spot. The intense heat began to scorch a hole in the metal. It was shallow at first, but with continuous firing, the laser bored deeper and deeper.

Suddenly, the weapon system alarm blared—the laser cannon's barrel was overheating. Seeing that I wouldn't stop, Yun Yao urged, "Husband, don't be so stubborn! If the laser cannon destroys itself, our mission fails."

I glanced at the rear monitoring window. "Their fighters are back on us. Yun Yao, you take the helm. Continue burning through once the cooling system recovers. Once we breach that armor, fire the energy cannons directly inside—quickly! Half the battleship is already clear of the hole; their defensive systems will recover fast. I’ll go deal with those fighters."

"Ah, no!" The three women grabbed at me.

I firmly pushed Yun Yao into the pilot's seat. "At this critical juncture, I'm counting on you three. Don't disappoint me. Relax, my energy shield is better than any space suit; I'll be fine."

In that moment, I truly wished the ancient laser sword was in my hand. If it were, I wouldn't fear ten times the number of these cricket-like fighters outside. But now, I faced them empty-handed. I had no idea how much of my energy I could expend, especially since I felt my energy reserves growing daily. Seeing the dense cloud of fighters approaching like arrows, a reckless urge to fight erupted. I channeled a massive surge of energy and plunged into the swarm.

The ship's laser cannon cooling system alarm finally silenced. Yun Yao hit the firing stud, resuming the melting process on the hull: forty centimeters, thirty, ten... A sharp cry escaped the three women. "We did it!" A plume of white mist erupted from the point of continuous laser fire, mixed with miscellaneous debris—likely a breach in an internal compartment caused by the massive internal/external pressure differential.

"Their battleship is powering up!" Zhou Ni pointed to several blinking signal lights across the hull.

Yun Yao smirked coldly. "Too late for them. Zhou Ni, aim the energy cannons at the breach and fire—hit them hard—then pull out fast."

The energy cannon shells were no wider than the laser cannon barrels, and the ship's auto-targeting system ensured accuracy. Zhou Ni slammed the fire button, raining a continuous volley of high-yield projectiles as if they were free. Meanwhile, Yun Yao rapidly accelerated the ship, peeling away from the alien vessel like an arrow. Behind us, waves of explosions bloomed like festive fireworks.

"Master, open the hatch quickly!" Linglong had been monitoring the situation outside the decompression chamber.

Disposing of the trailing space fighters had cost me considerable effort, mainly due to the lack of suitable weaponry. I'd need to ask Xiao Yu'er later, or perhaps Xi Men Yan had a solution—even a less powerful laser sword would be better than trading raw energy against them. Thankfully, my current power reserves were vast, or I feared I wouldn't have held out.

"Master, are you alright?" Linglong waited for me outside the decompression chamber. Her earnest concern warmed my heart.

"Heh, what could happen to me? I can regrow limbs; dealing with these machines is no problem. Did you complete your task?"

As soon as I spoke, the ship shuddered violently, as if a massive explosion had just occurred nearby. Linglong’s legs gave way, and she collapsed into my embrace. I seized the opportunity to hold her tight. "Come on, let's check the cockpit."

The scene on the rear monitor shocked us into silence. The energy projectiles fired into the hole in the battleship's armor had triggered a chain reaction. Explosions, large and small, erupted across the entire alien vessel—mushroom clouds blooming one after another. The largest blast moments ago must have hit their ammunition depot or propulsion core.

Zhou Ni could hardly believe her eyes. "Are we... are we that formidable? We actually destroyed their colossal battleship!"

"I hope the ship doesn't completely disintegrate," I said, "or we won't achieve our goal of plugging the wormhole."

Yun Yao pointed to several other screen windows. "Look, those two other battleships are rushing to the rescue. Let's pull back. The energy shells on that ship have auto-tracking features; getting entangled with them would be a nightmare."

I nodded. They would be busy here for a while. We needed to return to Gemini immediately to organize things. This trip into space, besides scouting a path for our eventual return home, had yielded great rewards: discovering the alien invasion plot and destroying one of their major battleships. Hopefully, its wreckage could temporarily seal the wormhole exit. Whether this would affect the arrival of Xiao Yu Di and Long Nü would be a concern for later.

I took over the helm from Yun Yao, carefully navigating the asteroid field. All the fighters had converged toward the wormhole; they ignored us even when we passed close to one or two stragglers. The two remaining battleships were moving sluggishly; it would take them a long time to reach the scene, giving us ample time to escape safely.

The two moons of Gemini drifted into our view. Yun Yao pointed them out to Linglong. "Linglong, these are the two moons we saw from the surface. Are they different from what you imagined?"

Linglong wrinkled her nose. "Yes, so ugly. Yet from the ground, they looked so beautiful."

A thought struck me. "It would be best if we could establish bases on these two moons. Only then might we have a chance to defeat the aliens, otherwise, our ships might not even break through the atmosphere."

Zhou Ni sighed. "But their production technology isn't like ours. They don't have construction or production robots. Doing this solely by manual labor—the scale of the project is immense."

I sighed again. "We'll take it slow. Who else has the luck I had on Earth? First, meeting Xiao Yu Di, then Long Nü. Our technology isn't something these humans, who developed step-by-step through accumulation, can match."

As we entered the atmosphere, the ship briefly lost control. Gemini's gravity accelerated our descent, and the friction heating nearly made the three women strip off their clothes. I thought that while other problems might remain unsolved, this cooling system absolutely needed improvement.

In the Royal Garden, Xiao Yu'er was swimming with Ma Xiaorui. The moment the ship landed on the small square, the two women surfaced. I have no idea who gave them bikinis; if Madar saw his daughter dressed so openly, his mustache would probably stand straight up from anger.

"Weren't you supposed to be test-flying? Why have you been gone so long?" Xiao Yu'er asked. Her legs were long and graceful; even Ma Xiaorui couldn't help but feel inferior.

I barely had time to admire their enticing figures. "Hurry and get dressed. We have urgent matters to discuss. We broke through the atmosphere into space just now, and guess what? We ran into aliens emerging from a wormhole. We fought a battle. They might be tracing us soon; we need to prepare."

Xiao Yu'er snatched up the nearest clothes. "Then let's go! Such a massive event, and you're just standing here like nothing happened. If we're late, the aliens will slaughter us all."

Soon, Ma Xiaoda learned the news, and an emergency meeting was convened in Ma Xiaowei’s chambers. The Merman Emperor and the Dwarf Emperor joined via video call. Thanks to the rapid construction of relay stations, even the Emperor of Wanma Kingdom and the Emperor of Jin Kingdom were notified by telephone. The network systems of those two nations had only been integrated into the dual-city intranet a few days prior for easier communication, allowing Ma Xiaoda to lie in bed and converse with the Wanma Kingdom Emperor.

I played the combat footage recorded on the ship for them. The Merman and Dwarf Emperors proved highly adaptable. However, the two human emperors from the surface were utterly terrified, reduced to shaking, sweating, and incessantly asking what they should do.

I stopped the recording. "Comrades, since we currently lack space early warning capabilities, we must remain constantly prepared for battle. Whether we win or lose this fight, we absolutely cannot yield easily. Otherwise, the aliens will only look down on us more and use cruel methods to torture us. The primary fighting force for our side in this conflict will be the Merman Kingdom’s Whale-Fish Chariots; we've already improved five thousand units—a number that is neither too large nor too small. The dual cities, Jin Kingdom, and Wanma Kingdom will be responsible for logistics and supply. The Dwarf Kingdom is currently establishing new production lines and maintenance bases. Once we have more fighters and warships produced, the dual cities, Jin Kingdom, and Wanma Kingdom must contribute manpower and resources. The humans of our Gemini must unite wholeheartedly to defeat the aliens!"