Chapter 352: Deep Sleep, Sudden Situation, Scythe

"..."

Aida didn't bother to reply.

Indeed, she had worked with Leon, or rather, any agent who had worked with Leon would encounter varying degrees of "sudden situations".

Minor cases resulted in injury, serious cases in death, especially for male agents, and transport vehicles would also suffer varying degrees of damage, up to being written off.

However, since each "sudden situation" was accompanied by unimaginable, extreme adverse events, almost no one paid deliberate attention to them, but Aida did notice.

This is also why they gradually became a stable partnership, after all, only she seemed to be "immune" to Leon's "trait".

As for the object placed before her and Leon and others, coming from the "relics of an unknown civilization," it was actually unearthed by the Archaeology Division of the Intelligence Department on the equatorial desert of the planet named "Suoke Yang" at the edge of the Holy Temple Star Region: a super-massive three-sided, conical pyramid buried under wind and sand.

This discovery immediately attracted the high regard of the Archaeology Department head, Lao La Kelaofu, who gathered sufficient manpower and material resources to personally visit the site and begin the investigation.

Meanwhile, while the Archaeology Department was conducting excavation and investigation, the team led by Leon from the Supervision Department happened to be searching this sector for clues related to the Greek gods.

Upon learning that the Archaeology Department had discovered the pyramid-shaped ruins, Leon had the Udora rush to Suoke Yang, and then he and Aida likewise began investigating the ruins.

After over two months, aside from unearthing many artifacts or relics of research value, Leon and his team found no further valuable clues, not even the remains of the species that built the ruins.

However, Leon instead consulted with Lao La, selecting a batch of relics possibly linked to an alternate space, and then prepared to return to the Solar System to have a specialist like the Plague Doctor, an expert in alternate spaces, help analyze them.

Thus, this investigation was not entirely fruitless.

Once the workers finished moving the final batch of relics, the ship's crew immediately contacted the control tower, confirmed that the area above was clear, and then piloted the Udora upward, soon leaving the atmosphere.

When the altitude reached roughly ten thousand kilometers in near-Earth orbit, the desert-colored Suoke Yang could be seen; next, the Udora opened a blue vortex entrance, and once it fully entered the Rift Space, the vortex entrance dissipated immediately, restoring the sector to its original appearance.

And likewise, in the Rift Space constantly emitting blue ripples, the Udora was sailing "lonely" toward the Solar System, nine thousand light-years away.

Inside the ship.

The aerial corridor in the ship's hold.

Leon, Aida, and the other agents walked down the corridor lined with large sealed windows on both sides, heading toward the Udora's living quarters.

As they walked, Leon looked down through the sealed window on his right and could overlook the Supervision Department's logistics personnel using powered exoskeletons to sort the containers and crates holding the relics, making the cargo hold much neater.

At the same time, the Stalker and the Tyrant, along with several fully armed hunter soldiers, stood guard in the corner of the cargo hold.

After leaving the cargo hold, Leon redirected his gaze forward as their group passed through the training and maintenance compartments, reaching the open spacelike a steel‑city built inside the ship, where the agents dispersed: some went straight to their sleeping quarters to organize recent files, while others headed to the mess hall to eat their fill.

Now only Leon and Aida remained.

"Well…" Leon wanted to say something.

"I'm a bit tired, I'm heading off—let's talk later, Director Kennedy." Aida didn't give Leon a chance to continue, turned and left, disappearing around the corner ahead.

Not seeing Aida at all, Leon, as usual, shook his head and muttered under his breath: "Always like this… forget it, first upload the progress."

Having said that, Leon likewise turned and left, weaving between the metal corridors and the "streets," finally returning to his sleeping quarters.

The hatch sealed.

Leon then unfastened his buttons and belt, slipped on his slippers, walked straight over, and sat in the office chair beside the fixed single bed, waking the "chip" screen from sleep.

Next, Leon reported in full everything he had seen and heard on Suoke Yang.

After finishing work, he began browsing the company's internal website to see if there were any noteworthy recent news.

Upon entering, he saw the headline on the homepage: "Recently, the research team led by Dr. Wang Zhaofeng is expected to break through long‑distance transmission equipment."

"This old doctor is really dedicated…" Leon couldn't help but sigh.

Tapping the screen to enter the special feature, its main content said that Wang Zhaofeng and the research team, three days prior—that is, April 14, 2126—had completed a test transmitting from Earth to the Terra Shield.

The results were quite successful; all D‑level personnel involved survived, and there were no incidents of being "embedded" in walls or soil.

Finally, the editor who wrote the report said that if the project could proceed smoothly, human travel between colonies would be even shorter than the commute from home to the office.

Finished browsing.

As he exited the feature, Leon couldn't help but mutter to himself: "Sigh, I hope the doctors finish this research soon."

After all, humanity's currently most efficient interstellar travel method is jump travel, but for this stage it's already somewhat "slow".

For instance, the Udora, which is transporting them on jump travel, needs at least seven days to reach the Solar System nine thousand light‑years away.

To speak frankly, Leon also knows that merely seven days to cross nine thousand light‑years is a speed and efficiency that are certainly not slow; it's just that desire and ambition drive people to constantly seek more convenient means.

Next, Leon appropriately browsed other special features, and before long he felt drowsy, so he lay down on the fixed bed to rest a bit.

Soon, Leon's consciousness gradually relaxed, and the fatigue and lack of sleep from recent days quickly drove him into deep sleep.

Although relaxation and sleep are actually a major taboo for a Supervision Department agent, Leon is now on his own carrier, and moreover on the dedicated carrier where tens of thousands of colleagues and comrades live, so there's really no need to heighten vigilance.

I don't know how long he slept……

"Gurgle…" the sound of intestinal peristalsis echoed in the cramped sleeping quarters.

"Uh…"

Hunger and thirst made Leon slowly open his eyes, then he stared blankly at the metal ceiling of the sleeping quarters, his mind wandering.

After just lying there for tens of seconds, Leon finally shook off his lethargy, turned over, supported himself with his hands, moved his legs to the bed's edge to put on his slippers, then got up from the fixed bed and stretched vigorously.

Well, fatigue and drowsiness were gone; he had rarely slept so well.

Just…

Isn't it a bit too quiet?

Something feels off.

Leon lowered his hands, his expression gradually turning cold and solemn, his gaze also turning toward the porthole beside the desk.

He approached, deactivated the viewport's dimming fog effect, waited for it to return to transparent and clear, letting the purplish‑pink light spill into the sleeping quarters, and also allowed Leon to observe the outside scenery……""

All that could be seen outside the ship was no longer the rippling‑blue‑like rift tunnel, but an endless expanse filled with pink‑purple‑hued "gas clusters" or "cloud clusters" of unknown space!

If one were to go outside the ship, one could directly see the Udora with its energy shield automatically deployed, drifting aimlessly through this unknown space.

?!

What's going on?

Leon felt a bit dazed.

But as a seasoned agent, Leon immediately adjusted his mindset and, using the communications terminal nearby, tried to establish contact with the bridge.

However, the response was nothing but a continuous busy tone, accompanied by the wailing 'woo… woo…' or the whispered 'Save me… save me…', as if the ship's internal communications had failed or were being interfered with by this unknown region of space.

"This is… a different space."

Hearing the wails and whispers, Leon instantly realized that the unknown region where he and the ship Youduola were located was most likely the different space they often dealt with.

Just thinking of this possibility made Leon's heart sink to the extreme, for he knew that different spaces are the lairs of demons and evil gods; here, all common sense and rules of the real universe would no longer apply, and everything would be distorted and rewritten.

The most important thing is…

How did they get here?

How do we get out?

Where did everyone go?

And, how long can the vaccine hold out?

"Huh…"

Leon took a breath, cleared his thoughts, and promptly fastened his shirt buttons and put on the agents' exclusive leather boots.

Then he opened the wardrobe, took out the lightweight armor, utility belt, and a series of agents' exclusive simple gear made using nanotechnology.

He donned them.

He took out and steadied the laser micro-gun, along with enough battery magazines.

Finally, he drank a cup of water that had long gone cold; fully equipped as an agent, Leon then opened the sealed hatch, left the sleeping cabin, and entered the dimly lit corridor, now stained with blood and vastly changed from how it looked before sleep.

"…"

The pungent smell of iron rust made Leon frown, but it also spurred him to quicken his pace, rushing swiftly to the opposite end of the sleeping quarters area.

Along the way, he saw no substantial threat, yet he noticed many comrades' mutilated corpses and limbs scattered in the corridor corners.

His goal was a sleeping cabin at the far end with its hatch open, and on the right-hand wall of that cabin was printed 'Ada King/Deputy Director'.

"!"

Seeing blood covering the hatch, Leon had no time to think or carefully check; instinctively he charged into Ada's sleeping cabin.

But the scene inside was even more chaotic: everywhere lay drying, sticky blood and severed flesh of some creature, and the cabin walls were riddled with bullet holes from laser firearms and scorch marks from high heat.

Yet, upon seeing this scene, Leon actually breathed a sigh of relief, for as long as he hadn't found Ada's corpse, it indicated his partner might still be alive.

After temporarily setting aside that worry, Leon regained his composure, steadied his laser micro-gun, quickly withdrew from Ada's quarters, and headed toward the bridge.

To clarify the current situation and discover what had happened to the ship Youduola while he slept, only the bridge could provide the answers.

Afterward, Leon kept to the right side of the corridor, slowed his steps, and proceeded cautiously, paying extra attention at every turn.

About five or six minutes.

Leon reached the edge of the living area; one of the necessary passageways to the bridge, apparently affected by the fierce battle that damaged the terminals for opening and closing the bulkheads, thus he had to take a detour.

Using the still-operating elevator, he first made his way down to the biological and experimental area on the lower deck.

As the elevator doors opened…

"Thud!!"

A researcher, bloody and mangled, lost the bulkhead he had been leaning on, swayed forward weakly, and collapsed in front of Leon.

He wasn't startled by the sudden sight, but when he half‑crouched on the ground and reached out to feel the researcher's pulse, learning that the person had been dead for a while, he couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.

He resumed his advance.

Here the situation was far graver than above; the bulkheads and corridor decks were covered with visible scratches and palm prints, though there were far fewer corpses.

After passing a Z‑shaped turn, he arrived at the passage leading to the entrance of the 'bio‑samples, weapons, scrap cold storage' and finally found a living soldier.

But…

That soldier's training uniform and simple protective gear were in tatters, especially his missing arms, as if they had been severed by an extremely sharp bladed weapon, blood continuing to spurt out; even if nanomachines were present in his body, they could not staunch such injury.

"!"

Seeing this, Leon confirmed the surroundings were clear, then rushed to the soldier's side, slung his laser micro-gun across his chest, freed his hands, and took out the biological foam packed with numerous nanomachines, attempting to staunch the soldier's bleeding.

"Ch… chief…" sensing Leon's arrival, the soldier gasped weakly, stammering: "Please… please… don't let them take our bodies… they… they…"

"Don't speak for now, conserve your strength, soldier." Leon instructed, while also using the foam to staunch the soldier's bleeding.

But at that moment the soldier's gaze was unfocused; within seconds his head lolled to the left, his legs could no longer support him, and he lost all signs of life.

Seeing this, Leon's hands hovered in midair; then he hung the biological foam back on his waist, closed his eyes and sighed again, and immediately reached out with his left hand to close the soldier's eyes.

"Swish!"

Just as Leon had steadied himself and was ready to move on, the bulkhead leading to the forward area suddenly sensed an approaching 'crowd' and opened automatically.

In the 'crowd' he saw researchers, staff, and soldiers from the hunter unit, but their bodies had undergone severe mutation, especially their arms, which had twisted into slender, sharp sickle‑shaped bone structures.

"Rat‑tat‑tat!" gunfire erupted.

Upon seeing this group of 'sickle monsters', Leon immediately raised his laser micro‑gun and fired a dense volley of orange high‑energy beams at them.

But…

Although the beams could easily melt through their torsos, inflicting penetrating damage, they did nothing to disrupt the monsters' running rhythm, and they were rapidly closing in on the lone Leon.

(End of chapter)