Less than half an hour after the spacecraft began gliding, the coordinates of a-7 on the main screen finally became clear.
Chen Hao turned the thrusters to the lowest setting and slowly approached. The cylindrical metal pod floated silently in the star field, its surface covered with heat-insulating patterns, and the faded number Δ-9 was printed on its side.
“This is it,” he said. “Our trip wasn’t in vain.”
Nana stared at the scan results. "It is confirmed to be the outer shell of the mK-3 fusion voltage regulator unit. There are traces of high-density energy crystal reaction inside, and the material is well sealed."
"So—" Susan leaned closer to the screen, "there really is something inside?"
“Not only that.” Karl stroked his chin. “Judging from its state of preservation, it hasn’t been touched for at least three hundred years.”
"Stop talking the talk." Chen Hao slapped the control panel. "Open the box."
The spaceship hovered fifty meters from the resource compartment. The group began checking the activation procedure.
There were no external interfaces or electronic locks; the entire cabin looked as if it had been welded shut.
“The standard model should support dual-frequency resonance unlocking.” Nana flipped through the database. “Vibration at a specific frequency can trigger the internal latches to loosen.”
“Then we need to build a loudspeaker,” Chen Hao grinned.
Carl rummaged through his toolbox and pulled out a discarded communication speaker. The casing was grayish and the wires were exposed. "It still works. Just connect it to a signal generator."
“I’ll adjust the parameters.” Susan picked up the recorder. “According to the data Nana gave us, the output frequency needs to be stable at 18.6 kHz and oscillate continuously for three minutes.”
"Don't exceed the time limit," Nana warned. "Overloading could cause structural resonance and cause it to explode."
"Understood." Carl muttered as he connected the wires, "I wasn't this careful when repairing the ship, but now I'm afraid it'll explode."
"Back then it was about saving my life," Chen Hao said, leaning back in his chair. "Now it's about picking up money, so of course I can't die at the last second."
The device was quickly assembled. Carl secured the speaker to the outer wall of the spacecraft and connected it to the main control system via cables. Susan entered the command, and the device hummed to life.
Low-frequency vibrations are transmitted into space.
The three stared at the monitor screen. The surface of the resource capsule trembled slightly, and the seams at the top began to gleam.
Click.
A soft sound.
The hatch slid open a crack, and blue light spilled out, illuminating a small patch of darkness around it.
"It's open!" Susan breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't get too excited," Nana said. "We haven't confirmed the internal environment yet, so there's a risk in getting too close."
“I know.” Chen Hao stood up. “Send probes first.”
The spacecraft ejected a small probe, which slowly flew towards the resource compartment. The camera transmitted images showing that the interior was divided into two layers. The upper layer contained neatly stacked transparent containers, each containing a fist-sized blue crystal; the lower layer contained sealed bags of silver-gray powder, labeled "Nanoscale Repair Gel."
"The energy crystals are over 98% pure," Nana quickly analyzed. "The gel is also from the latest batch, unoxidized, and has extremely high usability."
"We're rich!" Chen Hao rubbed his hands together. "This stuff is enough to exchange for three lives."
"Let's move things first." Carl put on his outer cabin suit. "Take as much as you can."
The two worked together to operate the robotic arm, transferring the crystals and gels, one package at a time, into the spacecraft's storage compartment. Susan counted the quantities inside the compartment, marking each batch on a logbook.
"The first batch of ten sets of crystals and three packets of gel have been put into storage," she said.
"The second batch is ready to dock," Carl shouted from outside.
all the best.
Just as the third batch left the resource compartment, Nana suddenly spoke up: "Stop for a moment."
"What's wrong?" Chen Hao asked.
"The scan shows that several large objects are approaching from a distance."
Everyone looked up at the main screen.
Against the backdrop of a starry sky, several blurry outlines are slowly approaching from different directions. They are enormous and irregularly shaped, like floating clouds, but their edges are constantly twisting and deforming.
“That’s… a living being?” Susan’s voice lowered.
“It’s not carbon-based.” Nana quickly analyzed, “The structure is mainly composed of plasma-state colloidal material, which moves by relying on electromagnetic fields. It may be a symbiotic formed by the long-term aggregation of cosmic dust.”
"Doesn't sound like someone to mess with." Chen Hao narrowed his eyes.
The creatures drew closer. Each one was twice the size of the spaceship, translucent with dark purple filaments flowing within. They had no eyes or visible heads, only emitting low-frequency vibrations as they slowly rotated.
Then--
roar!
A piercing roar pierced the ship's hull, and the alarm system automatically lit up in red.
"They're making noise!" Susan covered her ears.
“It’s not aimed at us.” Nana stared at the waveform graph. “The sound frequency is concentrated in the direction of the resource compartment.”
"It means..." Chen Hao understood, "These bastards have made this broken box their home?"
“It’s highly likely,” Nana nodded. “They’re circling the resource pod, but they haven’t made any direct attacks; it’s more like a show of force.”
“That’s troublesome.” Karl retreated back into the cabin and closed the outer door tightly. “We took their ‘nest,’ and now they’re coming to settle accounts.”
"Calm down." Chen Hao looked outside. "They haven't made a move yet, which means there's still a chance."
"I suggest we stop the moving," Nana said. "Continuing to retrieve the items will escalate the conflict."
“But we’ve already taken out half of the items.” Chen Hao frowned. “Giving up now would be like coming all this way for nothing.”
“We can try diverting their attention,” Susan suddenly said. “They reacted most strongly to the robotic arm’s movements just now, perhaps because they thought we were digging into their ‘nest’?”
“Possibly,” Nana replied. “These kinds of organisms are usually sensitive to energy sources, especially high-frequency fluctuations.”
“Then let’s do something fake,” Chen Hao laughed. “Let’s send out a false signal to trick them into looking elsewhere.”
“There’s a risk,” Karl shook his head. “What if they take it as a provocation?”
"We'll die if we don't fight," Chen Hao shrugged. "At least we still have some leverage."
He walked to the control panel and turned on the signal simulator. "Remember that eleven-second pulse we used to clear the level before? Play it again, but lower the power and deflect it slightly off-center."
"Fire at 30 degrees to port." Nana set the angle.
"Three, two, one, send."
beep beep—
A regular signal wave spreads out.
A few seconds later, the nearest creature stopped spinning and turned toward the source of the signal.
Then, the other two also began to move slowly.
“It works!” Susan whispered.
"Quick!" Chen Hao slammed his hand on the table. "While they're distracted, collect the last packet of gel immediately!"
The robotic arm swiftly grabbed the last set of supplies and placed them inside the compartment. Susan immediately locked the storage compartment door.
“Done,” she said.
"Prepare to evacuate." Chen Hao gripped the control stick.
At that moment, all living things stopped simultaneously.
They stopped moving towards the signal and instead formed a new circle, completely surrounding the spacecraft and resource compartment.
One of them slowly raised its front end and let out a second roar at the spaceship.
The sound was sharper than before, with a distinct sense of oppression.
“They realized they’d been tricked,” Nana said.
"Then stop talking nonsense." Chen Hao putted the ball in the air. "Let's go."
The engine had just started when Nana suddenly shouted, "Wait!"
"What's wrong now?"
"They didn't chase after us, nor did they attack... but they were synchronizing with the frequency."
"What frequency?"
“Our communication channel,” she said, pulling up a waveform graph. “The roars they emit are spaced exactly eleven seconds apart.”
Chen Hao was stunned.
"The same as the clearance signal...?"
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