The psychic power wielded by Yang Ying was dozens of times greater than Si Xixia’s, and its essence was far superior to Song Lianxun’s. Applying the mental control spell to the serpentine captain was like pouring mercury, breaking through defenses like an unstoppable tide. In just one second, Si Xixia’s feeble resistance was easily crushed, and he was completely brought under control.
The other crew members in the cockpit were frozen, their expressions and movements fixed at the very moment the Great Vortex spell was cast. The avatar, using third-level peak psychic power to drive the Great Vortex, had already frozen their thoughts. When the vortex energy dissipated and they recovered, they wouldn't even possess the memory of having been immobilized.
“Set the ship’s course. Ram it into an asteroid.”
The avatar commanded Si Xixia using telepathy, directly implanting the intended meaning into the serpentine captain's mind, bypassing the need for spoken language, as Yang Ying did not yet understand the Serpentine tongue.
While casting the mental control, the avatar simultaneously released the Great Vortex spell from the serpentine captain. Otherwise, given Si Xixia’s mental strength, it would have taken at least five minutes for his consciousness to resume normal function. As for the ordinary crew, except for one first mate, they lacked any psychic power whatsoever, requiring even longer recovery times.
The serpentine captain had now become a subordinate with one hundred percent loyalty to Yang Ying. Without hesitation, he set the ship’s direction toward a large asteroid not far away, and the vessel hurtled toward it.
Seeing this, the avatar said nothing more, allowing the main soul to absorb the serpentine captain into the Floating Continent. Then, the avatar and the rear avatar dug two more holes in the bulkhead and departed the spaceship.
Ten seconds after the two avatars left, the ship violently impacted the asteroid, exploding into a ball of blue fire!
The two avatars watched the fireball from a distance. Seeing that no one escaped, they moved closer to confirm the absence of life signs before returning to the Ghost Fighters and flying away.
“On an exploration ship, the captain holds the most experience. The value of the other crew members is far less. They haven't even awakened psychic powers; how much knowledge could they retain? It's no great loss to eliminate them,” Yang Ying mused internally.
Acquiring the serpentine captain did not satisfy Yang Ying. After waiting in the gas cloud for half a day, he found an opportunity to seize another exploration vessel.
The second target Yang Ying deemed worthy was a spherical spaceship. After the avatar sliced into it with a lightsaber, he discovered the crew were all a species less than a meter tall, squat and round like balls.
Their skin was gray, they possessed short, thick limbs, and their bodies were corded with dense muscle, making them look like stones at first glance. However, their heads lacked any discernible neck, tapering to a sharp point on top, resulting in a triangular overall shape. A single, soybean-sized eye sat in the center of the triangle, darting left and right with exceptional agility.
Since the entire ship was spherical, discerning direction inside was difficult. The avatar casually grabbed a crew member and, using a combination of telepathy and enchantment, demanded, “Quickly, take me to your captain.”
The crew member obeyed immediately, folding his limbs inward until he formed a sphere, rolling like a bowling ball toward a passageway.
Witnessing this distinctive mode of travel, the avatar was quite surprised. The universe truly held infinite marvels. It was his first time seeing someone walk by rolling!
“I recall a book describing local customs that mentioned the Nim people, ranked fifty-second among advanced civilizations in the Orion Arm. They are said to have iron-hard bodies, strength great enough to lift twice their body weight in lead balls. Their legs are too short for efficient running, so they substitute with rolling. They must be the Nim people.”
The avatar followed leisurely, keeping pace, and arrived at the cockpit, cleaving the door open with one sweep of his saber.
The Nim captain inside reacted with extreme speed. Without even turning his head, he leaped upward, executing a full somersault in the air. A lightsaber materialized in his hand, ignited with a Zzzzt, and he slashed toward the avatar.
Due to their physique, Nim people generally wield shorter lightsabers, their blades only about sixty percent the length of a standard one. It resembled a short club, and their swordsmanship heavily relied on powerful leaps and ground rolls.
The avatar did not draw his weapon. Instead, he simply reached out a palm toward the airborne Nim captain and pushed. A torrent of immense psychic force erupted. The Nim captain felt a giant shove driving his body backward, pushing him farther and farther away from the enemy, even knocking over a few of his comrades in the process.
Seeing that the captain was only at the limit of the second level, the avatar wasted no further words. He directly unleashed a Great Vortex spell, then repeated the exact procedure performed on the serpentine ship: control the captain, set the course, and ram the asteroid.
Boom!
Watching the Nim ship crash into the asteroid and confirming no survivors emerged, the avatar returned to the Jushou (Giant Beast). On the bridge of the Jushou, Yang Ying summoned both the serpentine captain and the Nim captain.
“Do you speak Singerese?” Yang Ying asked, reasoning that exploration ships traveled widely, and two captains who were nearly master-level experts would likely know multiple languages.
“Yes! Yes.”
Indeed, both exploration captains affirmed they did.
Yang Ying raised an eyebrow and smiled. “That’s good. Knowing Singerese will make things much more convenient in the future. First, state your names and species.”
“Si Xixia, Sistar,” the serpentine captain replied. The Sistar ranked twenty-seventh among the advanced civilizations of the Orion Arm.
“Boli, Nim,” the Nim captain stated.
“Good. Si Xixia, Boli, how much do you know about the various civilizations and species in the galaxy?” Yang Ying was pleased by their immediate cooperation, though it was expected, and nodded internally.
“Regarding the advanced civilizations of the Orion Arm, I have this knowledge. The most detailed understanding I possess is of our own Sistar military capabilities. However, if you ask about lower-level civilizations, I am less informed,” Si Xixia answered honestly, his voice retaining a hiss even when speaking Singerese, likely due to differences in vocal cord structure.
“Like Si Xixia, I am most deeply knowledgeable about the military strength of my own species. For other advanced civilizations, I only know some publicly disclosed information and some hearsay. But regarding core intelligence such as the cutting edge of military technology for advanced races, I am not privy to that,” Boli stated respectfully. His voice was slightly heavy and dry, lending an air of trustworthiness.
“Knowing some surface-level intelligence is sufficient for now. In-depth intelligence gathering is not urgent. As for lower-level civilizations, I have no interest in their military strength.”
Yang Ying was quite satisfied with their answers. The information in their minds was enough to establish the structural framework for an Orion Arm intelligence database. The initial goal of this expedition had, in essence, been achieved.
Yang Ying turned and called out to Howard, “Howard, we’re returning to Aer.”
“Yes, Officer,” Howard nodded.
The Jushou began to turn its prow, flying out of the gas cloud, preparing for the journey back to Planet Aer.
However, just a few minutes into the turn, a strong premonition flashed through Yang Ying’s mind. As he was tracing the source of the alarm, a nearby staff officer suddenly shouted, “Captain, Officer! Equipment detected a massive energy reaction! A cosmic ray shower is about to erupt here!”
A cosmic ray shower is an energy release phenomenon with an extremely wide impact range, characterized by rapid onset and cessation. It is mostly composed of high-energy gamma rays or high-energy particle beams, containing enormous energy—sometimes the energy released by a single shower equals the total energy a star emits in a year!
For a warship, this is a terrifying cosmic natural disaster. Being caught within the area of a ray shower is far more dangerous than being hit by a laser cannon!
“How long until the rays reach us?” Yang Ying pressed.
“Five minutes and forty-two seconds!” The staff officer’s hands flew across the console, quickly calculating the result.
“How long until we exit the gas cloud?” Howard immediately asked next.
“At least ten minutes, but we should be able to find an open area nearby where we can initiate a jump,” another staff officer replied.
Si Xixia commented casually at this moment, “Back then, the Kynbu people lost heavily when five thousand of their warships were struck by a sudden cosmic ray burst. We explorers had assumed the gas cloud had already experienced one ray shower, meaning the next wouldn't come so soon. That's why we came here hoping to try our luck, not expecting another burst so quickly. I wonder if this is a residual wave from the last one, or if the last one was just a prelude to this one.”
“If it’s the former, this one’s power won’t be much stronger than the last. If it’s the latter, it could be troublesome; it might be several times stronger than the previous one,” Boli added.
“Is that so?” As Yang Ying heard the impending cosmic ray burst, his mind began to stir. His first thought was not about escaping quickly, but about the Burkian fleet. They should also be within the ray shower’s range. Since the cosmic ray shower was the disaster that devastated five thousand Kynbu warships, even if the Burkian technology far surpassed the Kynbu’s, they might not escape the rays unscathed.
“Perhaps this is an opportunity. Planet Aer is near the edge of the star field controlled by the Burkians. Once developed, dealing with the Burkians will be inevitable. Having someone who knows the Burkians inside and out would be very helpful when formulating future plans.”
Yang Ying mused internally. This exploration fleet of ten warships wasn't worth expending significant effort over ordinarily, but if they ran into trouble during the cosmic ray event, Yang Ying wouldn't mind striking while the iron was hot.
“Immediately analyze the environment around the Burkian fleet and see if they can escape the cosmic rays,” Yang Ying instructed the staff officer.
After a series of calculations and analyses, the staff officer replied two minutes later, “They cannot.”
“Very well. You all go to the Floating Continent for a while to avoid the effects of the cosmic rays. I’ll summon you back when I’m done with my business.” Yang Ying raised his right hand, and with a flash of golden light, he sent the Jushou back to the Floating Continent.
Then, piloting a cloaked Ghost Fighter, he flew toward the Burkian exploration fleet.
Originally, Diamond thought Earth's land area was 500 million square kilometers, not realizing that was the total surface area. As a result, he made a mistake when writing about Aer, putting down 600 million. Now, this figure will be corrected, changing the total land area of Planet Aer to 500 million square kilometers. Thank you to the reader who suggested this correction!
Additionally, July is nearly over, and many books are desperately fighting for monthly ticket rankings, causing this book’s position to drop, nearly falling out of the top one hundred. Diamond is extremely anxious and urgently needs everyone's support. I promise: if this book reaches the threshold for monthly tickets before the end of this month, I will add one extra chapter; if it surpasses that, I will add another chapter. Please vote enthusiastically!