In a private message, Elisa complained that the meeting convened to deal with the crisis was a disaster.
When Lin Xi received Taran's urging and had no choice but to bite the bullet and step into that hellish place, he realized that Elisa's words were not credible at all—that girl was practically a saint in essence, and she had overly romanticized the place he had been in.
After several hours of fruitless cursing and arguing, all the senior members were exhausted. The air purification system was on its highest setting, and the old air components sounded like they were about to explode. The air was thick with the stench of sweat, cigarette smoke, and alcohol, but what was truly suffocating was not the foul air itself, but the tense, angry, and fearful atmosphere that permeated the air.
That's why Lin Xi's arrival went unnoticed by anyone.
"...This is the place, everyone can see it! There's no need to compare it to that damned star map anymore. Everyone knows AS192's orbit is completely unstable, its movement is completely unpredictable, comparing it to the star map is utterly meaningless! Ladies and gentlemen, open your eyes and look at those things outside the spaceship! Those disgusting things are exactly the same as those in the exploration log! Only that son of a bitch AS192 would have such things, we have to figure something out, or we'll all die here—"
As the old, faded door slowly slid open, the first thing Lin Mao heard was a high-pitched scream, rapid and hoarse.
Lin Xi looked toward the person who was speaking. It was John Brunson, who was waving his arms, gesturing wildly, and shouting at the others with spittle flying everywhere.
He was the second oldest crew member on board, and this voyage was said to be his last flight before retirement.
From this perspective, it's somewhat understandable why he reacted so emotionally.
Anyone who experiences such an accident during their last day of work before retirement would feel extremely distressed.
But AS192? John said the planet they've crash-landed on is AS192?
Lin Xi blinked.
He almost instinctively felt that John might have lost his mind—after all, the extraordinary and mysterious history of AS192 was just too famous.
It was once the dreamland of all people on Earth, and the spark that ignited the era of great exploration.
It is said to be almost Earth's twin brother in the vast universe. Its density, atmosphere, gravity, and even its orbit around the sun and on its axis are almost identical to Earth's. It is a vibrant planet, like a second home specially created by God for mankind.
Moreover, and most wonderfully, it happens to be located right next to an ancient jump point.
It was so perfect and wonderful, and perhaps for that very reason, it was ultimately proven to be nothing more than a fleeting illusion.
Three hundred years ago, the Providence, carrying 250,000 people, slowly flew towards planet AS192, and the mysteriously vanished jump point shattered this dream with unprecedented cruelty and pain. Those 250,000 people and that most expensive spaceship in human history disappeared without a trace after entering space. The once most powerful nation on Earth was utterly disintegrated because of that massive planetary migration plan, and the aftermath and war raged for decades.
Almost all history books share a common conclusion: humanity's failure on planet AS192 officially ended the once-booming era of great exploration.
Of course, three hundred years is enough time to heal all wounds. The pain brought by AS192 eventually evolved into the breathtaking mysterious background and the setting for fantasy stories in horror movies and all sorts of strange and dark novels.
At least, that's how it is for Lin Xi; it's far removed from reality.
"...John, that's absurd. We crash-landed on a planet that can't be found on any star map after our jump failed, and that planet just happens to be AS192? The possibility of that is really too small."
Another crew member spoke up.
What he said was almost exactly what Lin Xi was thinking. However, after entering the cabin, Lin Xi kept observing the tired and anxious crew members, and he did not miss their expressions.
Similarly, he wouldn't admit he was wrong—the crew didn't seem so firm in refuting John's words.
“However, the data sent back by the exploration robots we’ve sent out these past few days,” sure enough, someone stammered after a short while, “I mean, those values… after comparison, do indeed match perfectly with the data from AS192 that’s been recorded.”
All eyes turned to that person.
The young crew member's forehead was covered in cold sweat.
"Of course, there are still some details where the figures don't match up..."
He added in a low voice.
Are you kidding me...?
Lin Xi whispered in disbelief to herself.
John might ramble on because his retirement was ruined, but the data clerk who chimed in later was reliable—Lin Xi never really liked those complete nerds, but he had to admit that those dull-witted people couldn't come up with any lies.
...
"I still think it's a bit absurd, the possibility is very small, but who knows if it's just a coincidence?"
"Who knows if your robots malfunctioned? I heard they were almost all broken during the emergency landing..."
"Even if the data is similar, it doesn't prove this is that planet. It's been gone for so long, and that jump point—"
Amidst the renewed and spreading arguments, someone inadvertently mentioned the jump point.
Then, without any warning, everyone fell silent.
They looked at each other, their expressions somewhat unnatural.
Oh yes, of course, it's very unscientific, but the idea just naturally popped into everyone's mind.
Jump point.
The Apollo crash-landed on this planet because of an inexplicable jump failure. What if it was pulled there by a previously recorded jump point during a normal jump? Considering that the jump point that swallowed Providence disappeared for unknown reasons, its reappearance doesn't seem impossible.
"A layer of 'ghost dust' floats in near-Earth orbit around AS192. This dust absorbs all outgoing communication waves and interferes with the spacecraft's detection systems. The initial exploration team was equipped with a custom-designed communication system to avoid losing contact with Earth..."
Someone spoke faintly in a very uncertain voice.
"Hey, wait a minute, we have absolutely no proof that this is that damn AS192. Do we really need to start worrying about that shitty phantom dust at a time like this?"
"This is just one possibility..."
The slight commotion spread through the dilapidated cabin like dust stirred up by a tremor in a dry attic.
"Shut the fuck up—"
In the end, it was Taran's domineering roar that brought everything to an end.
Based on Lin Xi's understanding of this control freak, he should have been furious and ruthlessly suppressed the baseless speculation. However, to Lin Xi's surprise, Taran did not actually refute the statement.
"Whether this is some unknown alien planet or that damned AS192, it doesn't matter. What we should really be doing is figuring out how to repair the spaceship and take the cargo back to Earth, instead of wasting my time here."
Taran spoke in his distinctively peculiar tone, then turned his gaze to a burly, bearded man in the cabin whose demeanor was completely different from the others. On the surface, the bearded man appeared to be just an ordinary crew member on the Sun God, like everyone else.
However, Lin Xi knew that the guy was actually a professional mercenary sent by the government to protect the Sun God.
“Solian, I told you four hours ago that I need ‘humans’ to go out and thoroughly survey the area, collect all the information your instruments, your eyes, and your brains can gather, and then give me a damn professional report! Where is the team I need? What have they sent back? God, look at this bunch of people, they’re like a bunch of terrified chicks.”
Taran questioned him sternly.
Solian's expression was rather unpleasant.
"Yes, I've already made arrangements, but there's a slight problem with activities outside the ship..."
"question?"
Taran narrowed his eyes dangerously.
Sorian straightened up, and Lin Xi noticed that the man glanced at John Bronson, seemingly intentionally or unintentionally.
"It's just some strange rumors, boss. One or two of those young guys are still quite young, and this is their first time on a spaceship and they've encountered something like this, so they're a bit easily influenced."
The man's thick beard obscured his expression, yet his gaze toward John was anything but friendly.
“Your men have been muttering outside my team’s cabin, and I don’t think you want to know the details.”
He shrugged and then muttered, with the slickness typical of a professional mercenary.
Without needing to say a word, Taran immediately realized what was going on.
"Bronson?"
He looked at the agitated old man.
"What did you say?"
"Taran asked in a sinister tone, his eyes filled with terror," Taran asked.
At that moment, Lin Xi was actually a little glad that the person he was staring at wasn't himself.
"the truth."
John Bronson flinched under that gaze, but he still muttered something under his breath.
Taran's facial muscles twitched.
Lin Xi saw that Taran's hands on the table were clenching tightly, and it was clear that his anger was gradually rising.
"What truth? What do you know?" Taran's tone grew even colder. "...You're just a cook, what could you possibly know?" In the last sentence, Taran made no attempt to hide his contempt.
Yes, John Brunson, the most senior head chef, was responsible for feeding the crew members who hadn't undergone cryogenic hibernation, so they wouldn't go crazy from the terrible-tasting canned food during the two-year flight.
However, no one expected that such a rhetorical question would inexplicably touch a nerve with John.
"The truth—damn it—I'm talking about the truth—"
John Bronson suddenly stood up and yelled back at Taran.
“You think you've kept it a secret, but I know everything, Taran Ida, you damned alien bastard! You've gone mad just like those insectoid aliens! You want to sacrifice us, haven't you! You knew all along that this was AS192, the cursed land, the demon's lair! You wanted to sacrifice us to the devil, you wanted to kill us all, that's why you brought us here—”
The old man's voice was almost a roar by the end; his face was flushed, veins bulged on his forehead, and his eyes were bloodshot.
He seemed to have completely gone mad, or rather, mentally deranged.
Although everyone could tell that the words he roared out were just his delusions in his extreme fear or frustration, combined with his incredibly terrified and frantic expression, those roars carried an indescribable sense of foreboding.
But Taran seemed completely unmoved.
He stared at John with disgust, his lips curling into a disdainful sneer.
"Elisa, figure out how to deal with this guy."
He didn't even say another word to John, but turned to look at Elisa.
Alyssa's face was stiff (even desperate), but she quickly found a way to get the out-of-control old John out of the conference room.
Of course, given John's overly emotional state, the "solution" was hardly a friendly one.
"...This place will kill us, the devils will kill us, just like they killed those 250,000 people. If we don't do something, we'll die! We'll die!"
Even after being forcibly dragged out by the armed robots, Old John's desperate cries echoed for a long time in the depths of the corridor.
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