Forbidden Nightmare

Chapter 46: Falling Star...Return

In the vast and deep space, in a synchronous orbit tens of thousands of kilometers away from Gliese 798c.

The robotic arm on the outside of the large space station released, the external escape capsule detached, and the propulsion device erupted with blue flames.

There are many deformed monsters floating around the space station. Due to inertia, these deformed monsters are gradually moving away from the space station at a constant speed. Some deformed monsters are almost disappearing due to the high initial speed when they are thrown away from the space station.

The bodies of the mutants are very strong and they can survive for a short time even in outer space. Only the spitters cannot withstand the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the vacuum, causing their swollen abdomens to burst and their body fluids to boil and they die.

The escape pod quickly approached the area where the monsters were densely packed, and the hatch opened. A figure floated out, using the small propulsion device on its back to approach the monsters...

The deformed monsters waved their limbs in a threatening manner, but they were unable to move on their own and could only float away due to inertia. To Li Nanke, the monsters in this state were no different from living targets.

While Li Nanke was quickly killing the monsters, he said into the headset, "Alba, go and remove the counterweight first."

"Ah? I'm going alone?"

"Why, you can't do it without me? It's just a matter of undoing the cable fixture of the counterweight. It's nothing complicated. You can do it by following Brigitte's instructions."

It is indeed not complicated to remove the cable fixing device above the space station, but this thing is related to the life and death of the space station. If it is removed at will, it will cause the space station to fall. Therefore, in addition to the signal command issued by the main control room, it is necessary to go to the top of the space station manually to operate it again as a double insurance to prevent misoperation.

All Alba could say was, "Okay... I'll pick you up when I'm done."

As soon as the escape capsule's door was closed, the propulsion device started to work again and flew towards the top of the space station.

Connected there is a cable made of nano-carbon fiber tubes. Like the space elevator cable, it is a silver "thread" that stretches as far as the eye can see. At the end tens of thousands of kilometers away is a giant counterweight installed for counterweight.

"Biji, calculate exactly how long it will take for the space station to fall to the surface."

"Okay, Stationmaster. Based on the various parameters such as the synchronous orbit altitude, gravitational acceleration, atmospheric friction, and the drag coefficient in the atmosphere, the final result is 1 hour, 49 minutes, and 12 seconds."

"Nearly two hours..."

Li Nanke knew that the falling time of nearly two hours was still considered fast.

The synchronous orbit altitude of Gliese 798c is much lower than that of humanity's home planet, but under normal circumstances, the space station will definitely not fall in a straight line, but will move in an elliptical motion around Gliese 798c, gradually sliding into a lower orbit. If you want to fall to the surface of the planet in this way, it will take at least several times longer than it does now.

At this moment, because of the huge weight of the space elevator cable, under the influence of the planet's gravity, the space station is pulled and dragged to fall, so it can fall to the surface so quickly.

He looked down at the huge planet in the endless darkness below him. From the synchronous orbit, he saw the clouds near the equator of the snow-white planet dissipating, exposing the planet's snow-covered surface and a terrifying black spot visible to the naked eye...

That is the 'death sign' that is gathering all the deformed bodies, organic matter, and even inorganic matter, turning itself into a planetary giant!
"I hope I can make it in time..."

Not long after, Alba's excited voice came from the headset: "Michael, I got it!"

At this time, Li Nanke had almost cleared out the monster-dense areas. The remaining monsters flew too far away and were extremely sparsely distributed. It was too difficult to clear them one by one. Moreover, after repeatedly killing the same monsters many times, the source energy harvested had also decayed, and the benefits were no longer significant.

He turned his head to look at the space station, only to see the silver cable connecting it above leave the space station under the influence of strong centrifugal force and fly farther and farther into outer space.

"Stationmaster, the counterweight cable has been released, Brigitte has begun to implement the 'Black Spot Plan'."

Brigitte didn't need to say much. The moment the counterweight cable was released, the space station began to slide uncontrollably toward the surface of the planet...

Alba quickly returned in a large escape capsule. Li Nanke entered it and ordered the engine to run at full power, trying to reach the escape speed as quickly as possible to get away from Gliese 798c.

The electronic screen in the escape capsule has switched to the satellite radar image, which clearly shows the huge "death sign" floating in the stratosphere.

The original location of the Deep Pit Prison collapsed completely, and a double-helix stone tablet like a towering tree - the 'first generation structure carrier' stood in the deep pit.

The area around the structure seemed to be filled with extremely huge energy, causing the nearby crust and mountains to collapse into rubble floating in the air.

Countless deformers rushed towards the construct from all directions. Under the influence of the huge energy, they broke free from the constraints of gravity and flew upside down into the air one by one.

In an instant, the electromagnetic energy of the construct exploded, and a large amount of rubble and the flesh and blood of many deformed bodies were washed into the sky by this powerful energy and merged into the huge deformed body in the stratosphere - Death Omen.

The Death Omen also extended countless slender tentacles of flesh and blood, actively absorbing everything that could be integrated into itself.

It is growing at an alarming rate, and the price of its formation is to devour all living things on the entire planet and destroy any lower civilizations it sees.

As time passed, the escape capsule was gradually accelerating and was moving away from the gravity of Gliese 798c.

[Nightmare, you have completed the final node! You can return immediately! ]

[Final node reward: 'Nanobot repair kit' (pending)] [Since you have triggered the hidden node, you have not yet completed the node while deeply contacting the node. ]

[Therefore, you get up to two extra hours of stay. You can choose to return at any time within the time limit, but you will return immediately after the hidden node is completed! ]

Li Nanke casually grabbed a luminous suitcase under the cabin seat, put it away without looking at it carefully, and walked to the glass porthole of the escape capsule to look into the distance.

The space station's propulsion device continuously ignites to adjust its attitude and angle, gradually approaching the planet's atmosphere, and its falling speed continues to accelerate.

The moment it entered the atmosphere, the area around the space station suddenly became scorching hot, and the high temperature generated by the air friction caused the surface of the space station to begin to glow and heat.

The original outline of the space station gradually blurred. Its main structure was extremely strong and did not disintegrate, but some external components and additional cabins could not withstand the high temperature and pressure. The structure collapsed and decomposed into countless fragments, turning into a rain of fire and burning up...

The light could no longer be seen clearly with the naked eye, so Li Nanke turned to look at the satellite images on the electronic screen.

"Michael, do you think the plan will succeed?"

Alba stared at the satellite image and asked nervously, if the Sunspot plan ultimately failed and even the fall of the space station could not stop the terrifying and huge aberration, the fate of the two would be self-evident.

Li Nanke ignored him. Alba had asked him this question countless times. He just wanted to get some psychological comfort.

At this moment, the space station turned into a huge fireball, quickly cutting through the atmosphere and crashing into the Death Omen with devastating force.

The distance between the two was getting closer and closer, the space station was dragging flames and tail smoke that almost tore the sky apart, and the 'Death Omen' also stretched out countless flesh and blood tentacles, trying to withstand this horrific attack.

Suddenly, Brigitte's voice came from the headset.

"Stationmaster, goodbye..."

As the final stretch of distance shortens, the space station hits Death Omen at an alarming speed!
At the moment of impact, countless fragments and flesh tentacles were torn apart and scattered, bursting out with an extremely dazzling light. A huge energy wave spread outward from the impact point, and the shock wave spread and swept through the atmosphere like a tsunami...

With the instantaneous release of huge energy, the huge deformed body began to disintegrate, and the fragments scattered, forming a spectacular meteor shower. These fragments burned in the air, bursting with dazzling light, dyeing the entire sky red.

Immediately afterwards, the planet's surface began to shake violently, the crust broke, volcanoes erupted, and dust and debris were thrown into the air.

On the electronic screen, the originally clear image has been replaced by a strong interference wave, leaving only a few snowflakes.

Alba swallowed hard, then immediately leaned over to the glass window and looked out, a look of ecstasy appearing on his face.

A dazzling light burst out from the cold planet that was gradually moving away and getting smaller, as if the entire surface of the planet was lit up. No living creature could survive such a destructive impact.

"Michael, we did it! We will definitely be able to return to our home planet alive!"

As Alba cheered, a synchronized prompt sound rang out.

[Nightmare, you have completed the hidden node: Prevent the formation of the planetary aberration of Gliese 798c - 'Death Omen'! ]

[Hidden node rewards: main substance 'Blood Moon', unlock some special exchange permissions, improve dream settlement score! ]

【Returning...】

Li Nanke breathed a sigh of relief.

Suddenly he felt something in his heart and turned his head sharply to look into the deep space in the distance.

The space there was distorted, causing violent fluctuations, and dozens of "blood and flesh jellyfish" larger than stars jumped out.

They are the complete form of 'Death Omen', they are the real planetary aberrations!
The flesh and blood jellyfish roamed in the dark space, dragging its long flesh and blood tentacles and dancing towards them, spewing blood mist, just as Li Nanke saw in the illusion of touching the construct.

The only difference is that what spewed out with the jellyfish was not only blood mist, but also countless metal fragments.

It was a metal fragment of a space battleship, printed with the flag of the Human United Government and the logo of the most powerful space flagship of human civilization.

The cheering in the escape pod stopped and turned into dead silence.

Alba stared blankly at the huge monster that kept approaching the escape pod...

At the same time, surging darkness swept in like a rolling wave, and the deafening roar was like a tsunami, engulfing everything in sight and covering all sensory perceptions...

(End of this chapter)