https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-73-Departure-Civilizational-Ruins/12833413/
Chapter 74: Desert Sea Storms and the Spatial Curtain
Chapter 74: Desert Sea Storms and the Spatial Curtain
Without needing Shen Qing’s reminder, Song Chi activated the energy shield faster than anyone else. However, the energy shield on the dark energy airship couldn’t be instantly generated; a 20-second charging time was unavoidable.
During this charging period, two massive sandstorms, each with a diameter of several dozen meters, converged on the two dark energy airships from either side.
Judging by their speed, it was clear that a collision was inevitable before the airships could fully activate their energy shields.
Whoo! Whoo! Whoo!
Outside the airship, the high-pitched howling of the wind echoed continuously, and the Azure Sky was violently shaking even though the sandstorms hadn’t fully approached. The massive hurricanes they carried were already having a significant impact on the two airships.
"These sandstorm eyes are generating hurricanes of peak first-tier strength..."
Just as he reached this conclusion, Shen Qing’s voice came through the communication projection again.
"Xiao Chi, don’t be careless. This is just the weakest type of sandstorm. This floating land is dotted with countless storm eyes. Last time, I encountered a superstorm with a diameter of over a kilometer. Even from ten thousand meters away, the Qingfeng nearly couldn’t break free from its wind force field."
"Remember, never get caught in a sandstorm over a hundred meters in diameter. That level of storm eye can tear through our energy shields and armor."
Song Chi was taken aback. Before setting out, Shen Qing had told him a lot about this abandoned floating land, and he knew about the terrifying natural disasters like sandstorms. But a kilometer-wide storm eye sounded truly frightening.
The current sandstorms, which were only a few dozen meters in diameter, were already terrifying. Imagine what a hundred-meter or even a kilometer-wide sandstorm would be like.
The locking beams around the two airships were quickly retracted, and the engines of the Azure Sky and Qingfeng simultaneously powered up to full thrust. With the strong propulsion, the two airships easily broke free from the gravitational pull of the sandstorms, which was still relatively weak in the outer regions.
Once the Azure Sky and Qingfeng reached a relatively safe position, their energy shields were fully activated. Unlike the Azure Sky’s deep black energy shield, Shen Qing’s Qingfeng had a white energy shield. A quick glance was enough for Song Chi to make a rough guess.
The energy shield on the Qingfeng was likely a white-quality component, a fairly standard configuration for dark energy airships of this class.
Song Chi wasn’t surprised. After all, considering the interstellar beacon component and the previous locking device, Shen Qing’s Qingfeng already had two blue-quality components, which was quite rare for a first-tier airship that had only recently been upgraded.
What surprised Shen Qing, however, was that Song Chi had managed to advance to the first tier in just three interstellar explorations. Now, the energy shield on the Azure Sky was clearly not weak, and he realized he had underestimated his childhood friend.
He could tell that the dark matter energy shield was no ordinary one, at least blue-quality.
"Xiao Chi, is that a blue-quality energy shield?"
Song Chi didn’t answer, neither confirming nor denying.
In Shen Qing’s eyes, this was a clear indication of acceptance.
For a moment, he felt a bit envious, thinking that having a second-tier father made a big difference. Although he also had support from his elders, it wasn’t nearly as substantial.
But he didn’t dwell on it for long. He knew that Shen Wenjie, his uncle, had already provided him with a lot of support and had even managed to get him a position at the Jiangyuan Torch Bureau, which was a significant favor.
After all, his father was just an ordinary person who hadn’t awakened the Torch Seed. Shen Wenjie hadn’t looked down on him because of this and had taken good care of him over the years, which was a great kindness.
Putting aside their thoughts, the two of them carefully maneuvered the dark energy airships toward the location of the ruins.
According to Shen Qing, the area where the ruins were located was densely packed with sandstorms, and sandstorms over a hundred meters in diameter were common.
That’s why he hadn’t set the beacon’s landing point there but had chosen a relatively safer location instead.
During their journey, they didn’t dare to increase the airship’s speed too much. Otherwise, they might accidentally enter the gravitational field of a hundred-meter-wide sandstorm, which would require a lot of time to break free from, making it more efficient to proceed steadily.
In the Azure Sky’s cockpit, Song Chi carefully controlled the airship’s movement while glancing at the indescribable floating land below.
Although he had learned about various floating lands in his classes, this was his first time seeing one in person.
Looking at the endless desert sea, the flying yellow sand, and the storms, he found it hard to imagine why a floating land would become like this.
If the ruins of the Blo civilization were indeed here, it strongly suggested that this floating land was not always in this state. Even if it wasn’t a life-type floating land, it was at least a resource-type floating land, otherwise, the Blo civilization wouldn’t have invested so much effort in leaving their creations here.
But then again, if this floating land was indeed a resource-type or even a life-type floating land long ago, what could have caused it to become so desolate?
A natural disaster?
Song Chi found that unlikely. Ordinary natural disasters on floating lands didn’t have such immense power.
Just as he was lost in thought, Shen Qing’s voice came through the communication projection.
"Xiao Chi, we’re almost there. Look at that boulder ahead."
Hearing this, Song Chi instinctively looked in the direction Shen Qing was pointing, and his mouth twitched.
"You call that a boulder? It’s freaking taller than a mountain..."
Despite his mental grumbling, his gaze remained fixed on the massive, square boulder at the horizon.
Yes, it was a thousand meters tall. Based on the distance, the square yellow rock at the horizon was at least a thousand meters high, which was an astonishing height.
More than astonishment, Song Chi felt puzzled. No matter how he looked at it, he couldn’t see any traces of civilization on this boulder, apart from its overly square shape.
The analysis from the Azure Sky’s semi-intelligent ship AI also indicated that it was most likely just a massive ordinary rock.
It seemed Shen Qing had guessed what was on Song Chi's mind, and he laughed heartily.
"Does it feel like just a regular rock to you?"
Seeing Song Chi nod without hesitation, Shen Qing explained, "I felt the same way the first time I came here, but the truth is far from what you think. You'll see soon enough."
Song Chi didn't press further as Shen Qing kept his small mystery. The two airships continued toward the massive stone.
Suddenly, a terrifying sandstorm with a diameter of over 700 meters was raging just a few kilometers ahead, unleashing its seemingly endless energy.
Upon seeing this, Song Chi and Shen Qing's hearts raced, and they quickly steered their airships to avoid it. The energy fluctuations at the center of this sandstorm had already reached the third stage.
Whether it was the Skydome or the Green Edge, if either airship got caught in the storm's gravitational field, they would be torn apart instantly. Their engines, being only of white quality, were not powerful enough to escape such a formidable gravitational field.
As the two airships adjusted their course, the Skydome's radar picked up a long, moving ridge of sand below, extending rapidly. At first glance, it looked like a colossal sandworm buried beneath the sand, moving at high speed. Its ten-meter diameter was enough to put the two men on high alert.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, a massive desert creature was moving rapidly beneath the sand.
Song Chi instinctively turned to the projection screen, but before Shen Qing could respond, the rapidly extending sand ridge suddenly halted. In the next second, a terrifying black shadow burst out from beneath the sand.
The shadow was massive, with a ten-meter diameter, but its most striking feature was its length, which stretched over a hundred meters.
It resembled an enormous earthworm, but with a massive, circular mouth at one end, filled with rows of sharp, jagged teeth.
As it lifted its head and roared, Song Chi and Shen Qing could clearly see the gleaming, menacing fangs inside. The energy it exuded indicated it was a second-stage creature. If it were to collide with the Skydome or the Green Edge, the damage would be at least 30% to the hull, and it might even sink the airships.
In a panic, even though they were at a safe height, Song Chi and Shen Qing instinctively increased their altitude to avoid any unnecessary accidents.
Seeing Song Chi's questioning look, Shen Qing shrank back and muttered, "I didn't encounter this thing last time..."
Song Chi didn't say anything more. The fact that Shen Qing had shared this information about the ruins was a clear sign of his trust. Their friendship was strong enough that a minor incident wouldn't cause any resentment, especially since this was an unexpected event that Shen Qing couldn't have predicted.
The two airships continued to navigate around the sandstorms, and the unknown creature followed them for a while. However, it seemed to be wary of the sandstorms as well, and they managed to shake it off by timing their movements with the storms.
An hour later, the Skydome and the Green Edge finally reached the base of the massive stone.
From a distance, it looked manageable, but up close, Song Chi was awed by its size. The stone towered over 10,000 meters, making the Skydome, which was less than 20 meters in length, seem like a tiny ant in comparison.
Song Chi couldn't help but marvel at the natural wonder, though, according to Shen Qing's earlier tone, this wasn't a natural formation but a creation of the Blo civilization.
Just as he was about to ask about the stone, Shen Qing spoke first.
"Try aiming the ship's main or secondary cannon at the side of the stone."
Following Shen Qing's advice, Song Chi activated the secondary cannon, and he instantly understood.
The attack from the secondary cannon, upon hitting the side of the stone, didn't result in the expected explosion. Instead, the energy projectile seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving no trace.
Seeing this, Song Chi blurted out, "A spatial barrier?"
On the projection screen, Shen Qing nodded with a smile.
The spatial barrier technology was familiar to any properly trained Flame Keeper captain. It was a common, low-level spatial technology used across various star sea civilizations.
The vast, fragmented star sea had given rise to countless civilizations, and most tech-focused civilizations that had ventured beyond their floating lands could master this technology.
Why was it considered a low-level spatial technology? Because, while it involved sealing off a space, it couldn't be resized, moved, or manipulated. Moreover, setting up a spatial barrier required a significant amount of valuable materials, making it rather impractical.
Generally, this technology was used to conceal special items in their early stages of development or to hide bases and laboratories. Its practicality was limited.
Song Chi's mind raced. Knowing that a spatial barrier was in place meant that the stone contained a completely sealed space. The ruins Shen Qing had mentioned were likely inside this sealed space.
"Let's go in directly!"
Song Chi, however, disagreed with Shen Qing. Even though Shen Qing had entered the sealed space before without encountering danger, that was nearly half a year ago. Who could say for sure that it was still safe today?
Opening the Skydome's hatch, Song Chi released a Hornet-class drone and activated the Brainwave Remote Control System. He sent a brainwave beacon to the drone, and his vision split into two: one from his own perspective and the other from the drone's.
Focusing on the drone, he began to remotely control it toward the side of the stone.
Pop!
The drone quickly disappeared into the spatial barrier.
Simultaneously, one of Song Chi's visual fields transformed from a sandy landscape to a vast, dark space measuring several thousand meters in length and width.
The space was large, but apart from the endless darkness, there was nothing else.
Clearly, Song Chi's concerns were unwarranted. There was no danger beyond the spatial barrier.
(End of Chapter)
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