Chapter 826: The Feng Qi Fleet Heads to Silent Valley (2)

Over the next few days, Dangmu noticed some subtle changes.

The number of Canaanite security personnel who usually patrolled the key nodes and rest areas of the mine had decreased significantly.

Some familiar faces were gone, leaving only relatively young or inexperienced ones to maintain order.

When Nandeng used to clean the ventilation ducts high up in the mine, he could glimpse a corner of the void outside through the narrow observation window.

He noticed that the three emerald-green "Sentinel" class Destroyers that used to cruise slowly around the periphery of the mining area appeared less frequently, and their trajectories seemed to have moved closer to the main mining planet's orbit, as if they were contracting their defensive perimeter.

The Canaanite officer with sharp eyes and a silver snake emblem on his epaulets, whom one could occasionally see in the main control platform area, had not appeared for several days.

The massive "Fortress" class landing ship had originally been docked in the orbit of the main mining planet, but in the last two days, miners working on the loading platform seemed to have seen signs of short pre-ignition warm-ups from its massive engine nozzles, though they were quickly extinguished.

The young Canaanite technical coordinator responsible for monitoring output at the sorting platform had been frowning at his Data Pad significantly more often in recent days, and his tone seemed to carry an imperceptible hint of urgency when reporting over his Communication Device.

"Dangmu, do you feel it?"

During a short break deep in the mine one day, Nandeng leaned over to Dangmu and whispered in a voice that was almost inaudible, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Those Canaanites... they seem a bit panicked?"

Dangmu scanned the distant young Canaanite guards vigilantly and nodded, a long-lost smile appearing on his wrinkled face, and responded in the same whispered tone.

"I feel it! Damn them... their good days are coming to an end! The fleet... is coming soon!"

He subconsciously touched the life-saving chip in his inner pocket.

Suddenly!

Woo—! Woo—! Woo—!

A sharp alarm broke the dullness of the mine!

The emergency lights throughout Sector C-9 instantly shifted from a constant dim glow to a flashing, blinding red, casting the shocked faces of the miners in a blood-red hue!

"What's going on?!"

"What happened?!"

The miners subconsciously stopped their work and looked at each other, their eyes filled with suspicion and a hint of... irrepressible anticipation!

"Get down! Everyone get down on the ground immediately! Find sturdy cover! This is not a drill! Repeat, this is not a drill!"

The voice of a Canaanite security officer came through the loudspeakers at the top of the mine, carrying a clear sense of urgency.

Almost at the same time the alarm sounded—

Rumble—!!!

A dull, extreme roar was transmitted deep into the mine through the rock strata.

The entire mine shook violently!

The lighting tubes hanging from the ceiling swayed wildly, emitting creaking groans!

Gravel and dust fell in rustles from the rock walls and ceiling, hitting the miners' hard hats and ore carts!

"Is it an earthquake?!"

A miner shouted in terror.

"No... it's not an earthquake!"

Nandeng suddenly looked up, a burst of ecstasy in his eyes, and pointed to the narrow ventilation observation window high in the mine.

"Look outside! Look!"

The void, which had originally been blocked by the mining planet and contained only pitch darkness and sparse starlight, was now being frantically torn apart by countless blinding rays of light!

Where the beams collided, massive fireballs brighter than stars erupted silently, instantly illuminating the entire void, even making the interior of the mine appear deathly pale!

Countless tiny points of explosion lightened and extinguished one after another—those were the wrecks of small ships being destroyed!

"It's the fleet! Our fleet! The Feng Qi fleet is here!"

Nandeng's voice changed pitch with excitement as he pointed to a massive ship silhouette outside the window, trailing a ghostly blue exhaust, speeding past and slamming hard into an emerald-green light point.

"Great! This is just great!"

Bode Star System, Fengqi Star Alliance Entertainment Plaza, Chief Ship Guanceshi.

Three years.

A full thousand-plus Standard Day cycles, that unknown static screen had been frozen on the giant main window of the observation room.

Fenisi stood in front of the window, her pale green pupils reflecting the noise.

In the corner of the office, an inconspicuous Encryption Communication Array lay silent.

But Fenisi knew that it could light up at any moment, projecting the figure of that purple-skinned brute who made her soul tremble to its core—Lord Daotaisi.

Every communication was a silent interrogation: Where is Xiuluosheng? What is that power? Why did Arena 40 go Out of Control?

The atmosphere in the observation room was oppressive.

Moruige operated the mechanical arms, processing massive amounts of data fed back from every star sector every moment, all concerning anomalous energy signals, spatial distortions, or any clues that might be related to Xiuluosheng.

"Moruige,"

Fenisi's voice was slightly hoarse, breaking the silence in the observation room.

"The latest report from the 'Majestic Light' fleet?"

The purple-skinned, one-eyed old man hurriedly spoke to answer.

"The 37th deep-space grid search is complete, Lady Fenisi.

It covered a spherical airspace of 0.5 light-years around the original coordinate point.

All known methods were used. The result... remains the same. No mass anomalies, no energy leaks, no spatial curvature distortions.

Xiuluosheng... is as if he never existed."

Fenisi's slender fingers tapped the edge of the cold tabletop unconsciously again, tap, tap, tap... the rhythm slow and heavy.

It had been three years, and she had deployed every fleet within her jurisdiction, yet the results brought back by the search fleets were disappointment after disappointment.

Over at the Gladiator Arena, despite maintaining a superficial frenzy through the "Suspense Handicap" and continuous "highlight reels," the initial explosive heat had long since faded, turning into a kind of habitual background noise.

The patience of the gamblers is limited; with their invested capital frozen for a long time, an undercurrent of dissatisfaction is brewing.

Not to mention VIP clients like Cidangli and Fenika, whose every contact increases the cost of appeasement exponentially.

Fenisi steadied herself, lifted her chin slightly, and said.

"Maintain the search intensity. Convey to the 'Majestic Light' Fleet Commander: returning empty-handed is acceptable, but slackening... is equivalent to betraying the Star Alliance. Have them expand the search radius by another 0.1 light-years, and focus on scanning for any faint, non-background gravitational wave ripples.

If they don't want to be thrown into the Western Theater, which is now a meat grinder, then search with all their might for me!"

This order was nearly harsh, but she had no other choice.

"Yes, my lady."

Moruige replied, and the directive was issued once again.