Three slicing gate spheres converged, and a muscle warrior advanced with a Light Shield, punching the safety gate away.
The cargo hold covered in pink flesh membrane caused the female newcomer behind to retch slightly.
—She had been selected for the elite team because of her high adaptability to mechanical modifications. She had already completed three years of combat training and became Griss’s subordinate after the Zubin Star battle last time.
"Rookie, be careful not to fall behind."
A hulking muscle man whispered.
Griss said, "Try to burn these damned things, move back, and observe the reaction."
The female team member made a few practiced gestures, and two silver-white spheres floated to the sides. Layers of metallic plates appeared on the surface like small whirlpools, spewing compressed oxidizers and high-temperature flames.
The cabin wall quickly became scorched, but those flesh membranes merely recoiled.
A melee team member wielded a Light Sword, slicing through two pink neuron-like structures.
"Boss, these damned things here are even tougher than those on the door earlier."
Griss frowned and nodded, his hands holding the laser rifle trembling slightly.
He suddenly thought of the battle more than two years ago.
He had seen this kind of thing on that controlled mining ship back then... but the quantity was small and didn’t attract much attention.
Griss didn’t hesitate and activated the captain’s authority to send a suggestion back to the main command.
"Command, allow us to evacuate immediately; this could be the Valkyrie’s lair. I’ve seen these things... she could very well be here."
A stern female voice came through the intercom, "Captain Griss, do not attempt to order us."
Griss immediately said, "We can cut open this ship with a cutter; there’s no living body here. I assure you that the weak signal you detected could be a trap."
"Griss, execute the order."
"Your order is to explore this ship and find any possible strange organisms."
Griss pursed his lips, "Alright ma’am, then please arrange more firepower support for us, precise firepower support."
"Understood. Why are you being so fussy? This isn’t the Griss I know."
Griss chuckled bitterly.
This wasn’t being fussy; this was intuitive instinct honed through countless life-and-death experiences.
A warrior’s instinct.
He temporarily shut off communication with the command table and turned his head, murmuring, "Everyone, slow your pace. We’re proceeding to explore the engine room next, and restore this ship’s power supply first."
The four accompanying team members, leaving one guarding the small boat, all showed a bit of a relaxed smile.
The captain was still quite reliable.
A dying scream echoed through Griss’s headset and the command table’s high-power speakers.
It was the team heading to the stern compartment!
At the command table, a group of men and women mostly stood up, incredulously watching the chaotic scene on the left screen.
They hadn’t seen what it was, but a slash of crimson shock wave swept through, and two melee team members’ bodies suddenly lifted off the ground. Struggling against the pull of semi-stabilized simulated gravity, one man’s neck visibly deformed, while another’s waist started contracting violently.
The other three team members immediately fired toward the outer area, but at the source of that crimson shock wave explosion, there were only a few empty cargo boxes.
Something was hiding in the shadows.
Screams erupted once more.
A melee team member’s neck burst open, spraying blood which ballooned his clear spacesuit.
Another melee member’s waist ruptured, with blood continually spewing from his mouth, as his strong muscles provided no defense at all now.
The remaining three turned and ran, jets of flame shooting from their flight backpacks.
But faster than them were the cells proliferating everywhere.
Those pink cellular structures grew rapidly, weaving a massive grid at the stern compartment exit.
The three surviving members were just about to attack these cellular grids when their bodies seemed hit by an unseen force.
Their eyes went blank, temporarily losing the ability to think, as they crashed into the grid.
The cellular structures rapidly differentiated into palm-sized hands, clinging through spacesuits and protective light membranes, pinning them in place.
No matter how hard the flight backpacks pushed, they couldn’t break free from the hands’ grip.
It was like insects falling into a spider’s web.
From beginning to end, the ghost releasing the crimson shock wave hid in the shadows.
A similar fate befell the other two teams.
The exploration team at the front of the ghost ship was caught entirely by the cells proliferating wildly, including two Biochemical Transformation Soldiers and three Mechanical Transformation Soldiers.
In the middle of the ghost ship.
When Captain Griss heard the screams, he immediately ordered a retreat;
But the cellular structures clinging to various parts of the hull were proliferating rapidly. The safety gate they passed earlier was now filled with those cellular structures.
Griss’s order to burn those cells earlier afforded them a little bit of time now.
Those pink cells began surging towards Griss and his team.
Two melee team members, wielding Light Swords didn’t stop slashing, while Griss and two long-range mechanics blasted away, Light Bullets punching holes in the unprotected but incredibly resilient cellular structures.
"Flame! Spray oxidizers!"
"Give us some fire support! Open the hull quickly! Are everyone out there dead?"
Griss’s heart suddenly clenched violently.
His shouting paused, looking up towards the stern compartment’s direction.
Behind the cellular structures full of tiny palms, a figure seemed to slowly approach them.
Almost forgotten memories sprang at Griss.
The mining ship massacre.
Meteorite belt battle.
The crimson shock wave, the woman who survived the gunship Main Cannon’s assault, the Valkyrie who could crush a Biochemical Soldier’s head from afar.
Griss turned and shouted, "Prepare for explosion! Blow open the hull! Quick! Evacuate immediately!"
The cellular structures at the safety gate ahead naturally constricted.
That figure in a fiery red long dress with flowing blood-red hair burst into the vision of Griss and the equipment on Griss.
Yang Ming couldn’t help but stand up.
His eyes widened, fists clenched, while an overwhelming urge for combat surged through him, yet his mind remained extraordinarily clear.
The powerful Valkyrie.
Unrestricted by the "Abyss" game stats, possessing immense combat power, the Valkyrie here clearly had undergone numerous evolutions!
Lyu’s projection appeared beside Yang Ming; she felt that perhaps she should offer Yang Ming some support now.
"Captain Griss is probably done for," Lyu said softly.
And in the scene, the Valkyrie aimed at Griss, extending her right hand.
Griss yelled and fired a string of Light Bullets with his laser rifle. Yet, the Valkyrie didn’t even deploy her iconic red light membrane; her seemingly soft skin possessed unparalleled protective strength, leaving no marks from the Light Bullets’ impacts.
Her long dress seemed part of her body, swiftly regenerating and filling in where torn.
Two screams rang out.
Griss was unscathed, but the four team members behind him slowly floated, each clutching their necks.
The Valkyrie’s voice suddenly resounded, directly entering Griss’s mind.
"Negotiate, I won’t kill you."
Griss opened his mouth, glanced at his team members, and looked down at the communication device on his shoulder, saying:
"She, she wants to negotiate... Let them go first! I’ll ensure they cease fire! We’ve crossed paths, Valkyrie; I barely consider myself your former opponent, granting you the utmost respect!"
Saying this, Griss tossed his laser rifle to the ground.
Valkyrie gazed at Griss, seemingly recollecting, then nodded slightly.
The four team members each thudded to the ground, novice or veteran, eyes filled with terror.
At this moment, Yang Ming aboard Feinan’s expression drastically changed.