Almost all starships of interstellar civilizations are equipped with a self-destruct feature, which is not about igniting their own ammunition storage but involves inserting an instability inductor within the energy module. Within an extremely short period, this turns the ship's antimatter energy core into a massive antimatter bomb.
The setting of such a feature on interstellar warships is primarily to deal a deadly blow to the enemy in a final battle, employing a strategy of mutual destruction. More importantly, any interstellar warship contains abundant technological intelligence of a civilization, from its construction to its details. Understanding and analysis of such data can lead to a profound comprehension of a civilization, and in some cases, if important technologies fall into enemy hands, they could have severe consequences for the civilization itself.
Even though a Tai'a Class Frigate is an extremely valuable asset to the Star Alliance, which is currently short on ship numbers, and constructing one takes a month in a shipyard, in this moment, Bai Zhongqi had no choice but to bite the bullet for the sake of protecting all the surviving crew members and create an opportunity for the Sacred Falcon to escape.
When Chi Jia emerged from the life pod, the first thing he saw was the image on the Sacred Falcon's hanger screen of an asteroid hundreds of kilometers in diameter smashing towards the Sacred Falcon. The Sacred Falcon was constantly receiving the life pods and was simply incapable of leaving the asteroid's range in such a short time.
At that moment, Bai Zhongqi decisively detonated the Richelieu. With the formidable power of the explosion, he was able to push the massive asteroid a short distance away, even if only delaying it for two or three seconds. After receiving the last life pod, Bai Zhongqi would be able to complete the Sacred Falcon's charge and initiate a short-range space jump to avoid the colossal asteroid.
The moment the antimatter was freed from constraint and annihilated upon contact with matter, the entire warship was swallowed by intense energy. This ship, which had contributed to the discovery of the Eden Galaxy for the Star Alliance, was disintegrated into the most primitive state of atoms.
Everything on board the ship, including Chi Jia's paper log in the captain's quarters, the celebrity posters on the crew's dorm walls, the fallen plant vase in the dining room, and the damaged Banshee Fighters on the hangar deck, were engulfed in a bright light and then ceased to exist.
As Chi Jia stared at the disappearance of the ship to which he and the crew had formed an attachment, he was momentarily stunned. The optical sensors on the Sacred Falcon adjusted the brightness, making it less glaring, but after the light dissipated, not even a trace of the Richelieu's existence could be seen in that space.
But Bai Zhongqi had succeeded.
The terrifying force of the blast, although it had not moved the incoming asteroid, had reduced its speed and caused a massive crack on its surface. Bai Zhongqi secured an additional 2.883 seconds of time, and the Sacred Falcon's short-range space jump was fully charged. Without any delay, he immediately commanded the ship to jump more than ten thousand kilometers away.
Even though, just after jumping out, several small pieces of debris struck the Sacred Falcon, making the vast spaceship shudder, the impact was well within the bearing capacity of the Sacred Falcon's energy shield.
Taschwe had just crawled out of the life pod and was knocked over by the trembling, hitting his head. However, the feeling of surviving a brush with death was incredibly uplifting; he got up with the help of a few comrades-in-arms and waved his arms wildly.
"Mother-fucker! To hell with supernova explosions, we're still alive!"
Jun Jiushao passed by him and said with a subdued expression, "We have not yet passed through this crisis, we are still within the range affected by the supernova explosion. This supernova will release even more energy, and the longer we stay here, the more danger we face."
In the bridge, Bai Zhongqi, with a somber demeanor, had not completely relaxed. It was now the stellar debris propelled by the energy wave, but soon they would face the energy released by the stellar explosion, which could potentially exhaust the energy shield of the Sacred Falcon and completely destroy the warship.
This was definitely not a place for lingering—Bai Zhongqi had no intention of staying a second longer than necessary.
Zero turned to look at him and said, "Your Majesty, according to your plan, we've jumped to this low-risk gap. In just three minutes, the warp engine can be restarted, and we will be able to jump out."
Bai Zhongqi nodded. At this point, there was no need for him to intervene any further. Zero, as the warship AI, adeptly controlled the array of weapons on this battleship cruiser, targeting and shattering the approaching stellar debris one by one. They were just awaiting the final preparations before the Sacred Falcon could leave this damned place.
At this moment, Bai Zhongqi received a message from Chi Jia, the captain of the Richelieu housed in the dock.
"Your Majesty, we have done a preliminary headcount. Three comrades sacrificed in the collision, three perished after ejecting in the lifeboats, and we've just discovered seven more who did not survive the exposure to gamma radiation in space."
Upon hearing this report, Bai Zhongqi felt extremely heavy-hearted. The sacrifice of thirteen people was somewhat fortunate given such an unfortunate situation. This was the true norm in the universe, a thoroughly merciless place, full of unforeseen circumstances. Even with the most advanced technology, pioneers in cosmic exploration continued to pay the price in blood. The situation was the same for the people of Iridium Star, with countless sacrificing themselves in space each year.
The supernova explosion's shockwave was one part, the powerful gamma-ray burst emitted by the star was another. Humans exposed to gamma rays stood no chance of survival. The protection of Iridium Star's lifeboats, coupled with the enhancement from Genetic Advantage Liberation to resist the cosmic environment, meant that most people still lived, but they may suffer many physical complications afterward, requiring a period of recuperation. Still, seven crew members couldn't withstand it and were killed directly by the gamma rays.
When the warp engine finished cooling, and the Sacred Falcon once again deployed its warp bubble, Bai Zhongqi and all the crewmembers successfully escaped the cosmic spatial surface, and the various forms of damage from the supernova explosion could no longer reach them.
Only then did Bai Zhongqi breathe a sigh of relief, feeling a sense of exhaustion wash over him.
He opened the ship-wide broadcast channel and said to the crew who had escaped death, "Everyone, we have succeeded."
In the dock, all the crewmembers cheered and leapt for joy at this moment. Facing a situation of near-certain death, the Iridium Star Chancellor, who was essentially the highest ruler of civilization, did not abandon them. Instead, he led them through the danger with the courage and will he displayed, earning their solemn respect.