"We actually have cannons on this ship," ∈ said.
Jing Huang looked completely unfazed. He repeated in a firm tone, "Ram it."
"Cannons. Large-caliber, heavy-firepower weaponry," ∈ recited in a declamatory tone. "Captain, we have Proton Cannons, Plasma Cannons, Antimatter Cannons, High-Energy Contraction Cannons, Semi-static Contamination Cannons..."
"Just ram it and get it over with," Jing Huang said impatiently.
The Void was silent, save for Yaliriga, who was leisurely eating flowers.
"No!" ∈ said stubbornly.
"Cut the crap. I told you to ram it, so ram it," Jing Huang said. "It’s not like we haven’t done this before."
"No!" ∈’s voice rose an octave.
Just then, Luo Binhan noticed the barracuda-like ship opposite them—the so-called Fishbone—was slowly turning. It aimed its sharp "fish head" right at them. Two dark maws opened up where its "gills" should be, and deep within the dark openings, a bright light, mixed with red and white, pulsed and gathered.
"Uh," Luo Binhan nudged Momo Luo beside him. "Is that thing getting ready to shoot us?"
"How could it be?" Momo Luo said cheerfully. "Don’t worry, Mr. Luo! The Silence has the best stealth system. Other ships can’t spot us even when we’re right on top of them. That’s how it earned the name Silence, after all!"
"Then why is the light it’s aiming at us getting brighter?" Luo Binhan asked.
Momo Luo didn’t seem to know the answer either. He tilted his head in confusion, just like Luo Binhan. Then they saw Yaliriga turn to face them, lazily brushing aside a stray lock of hair.
"I just turned off the stealth system," she said.
Luo Binhan and Momo Luo grabbed each other and screamed.
"Hey, why are you screaming?" Luo Binhan stopped mid-yell. "Aren’t you supposed to be able to transform? If anyone’s gonna survive this, it’s you!"
"But Mr. Luo, you’re going to die!" Momo Luo cried, agitated.
Luo Binhan tried to understand his logic, but it was too late. Two columnar beams of light shot out from the "gill" openings of the Fishbone. Within the planet’s murky atmosphere, they were a blinding white, fringed with a strange, rose-red glow. In the blink of an eye, they were right in front of him.
The beams were incredibly wide; for a moment, Luo Binhan could see nothing but white. He felt as if the light was a thick liquid, splashing and spreading before him.
A dozen seconds later, he realized it wasn’t an illusion. About half a basketball court’s length away, the beams fanned out like blooming petals, gently enveloping them.
Luo Binhan silently nudged Momo Luo.
"That’s an atmospheric prism," Momo Luo said softly, gazing at the brilliant light. "It’s a type of anti-laser Shield that works by ionizing the air to alter its refractive index, deflecting the laser beams. Since it only functions within an atmosphere, this is my first time having the honor of witnessing it in person. It’s so beautiful when it activates, isn’t it, Mr. Luo?"
"That’s not what I asked," Luo Binhan said. "You knew all along we’d be fine, so why the hell were you screaming just now? Saying I was going to die?"
Momo Luo looked at him with an expression of pure innocence. "I was just hoping to help alleviate your fear, Mr. Luo."
"Huh?"
Momo Luo placed both hands on his shoulders and said earnestly, "Mr. Luo, in order to get along with my future Human Form and become a well-rounded and excellent Light Guardian, I’ve been studying diligently about the Pan-Intelligent Species. The books say the key to building friendships with your kind is learning empathy. So, when you felt fear just now, I thought I should vent those feelings with you. Then, by clearly voicing the things we’re afraid of, we can effectively relieve that stress. Do you feel better now?"
Luo Binhan said blankly, "Much better."
"Then, would you be willing to be my—" "No men."
The ochre sky and blood-red earth vanished. They were back in the brightly lit, circular hall.
Jing Huang leaped off his chair and sauntered to the center of the hall. "Yalei," he asked coldly, "who fired the first shot?"
"They did, Captain," Yaliriga said.
"So there’s no problem now, right?"
Yaliriga gave a bewitching yet merciless smile. She asked, "Can you manage from here?"
"Should be. We’re close enough."
Without a backward glance, Jing Huang walked out of the circular hall. Momo Luo immediately released his hands from Luo Binhan’s shoulders. "Pardon me, Mr. Luo, I have to leave for a moment," he said. "I’ll definitely succeed this time! Please cheer me on!"
He ran off after Jing Huang, leaving Luo Binhan standing there, dumbfounded. ’There’s a laser-firing spaceship outside.’ The thought tumbled over and over in his mind, but he couldn’t seem to process what it meant. It was as if all his emotions had been blasted away to the Beyond the Heavens by those two laser cannons.
"Need some candy?" Yaliriga asked, teasing her hair.
Luo Binhan shook his head. Yaliriga then said, "Fire the cannons, then. ∈, sink the target now."
The floor beneath them began to vibrate, though still very slightly. Then, a gentle, soothing melody, like a slow piano piece, filled the circular hall.
"Huh?" Luo Binhan said.
"This is to mask the faint noise from the cannon room," ∈ explained, floating beside him. "As per the captain’s request, the Silence must not produce any sound that he finds unpleasant. Therefore, I will accompany every volley with a selection of mood-soothing music. You can add your favorite songs to the cannonade playlist, and I will match them to the most suitable firing frequency for playback."
"Dancing on their graves?" Luo Binhan said.
"Is that a song title?" ∈ asked, vexed. "There are too many songs with similar titles. Who is the composer?"
Luo Binhan sat down by a bookshelf and started eating the flowers. He listened as the music in the hall shifted from a slow waltz to passionate rock. Just then, Yaliriga came over and joined him in eating the flowers.
"You’re eating a real flower," she said after tasting one.
"I know," Luo Binhan replied. "Just wanted to eat some greens to calm my nerves."
The flower had a flavor reminiscent of bitter melon, but it was very juicy and had a crisp, refreshing texture.
"The petals of the Milan orchid have a hallucinogenic effect on Intelligent Species," Yaliriga said. "Your perception of color will become confused, but only for a moment."
"No wonder. I was about to ask why your face is so red."
The music stopped. Floating aimlessly around the hall, ∈ announced, "Target disabled."
Yaliriga said, "Activate environmental visualization."
The circular hall vanished once more. They were now sitting in the dim midair. Luo Binhan reached out and felt the soft cushion of his seat; apparently, the chairs had only vanished visually.
Yaliriga added, "Visualize data charts."
A holographic screen materialized before her, covered in streams of numbers and symbols that scrolled by at a dizzying speed. Yaliriga leaned back in her chair, watching with her head tilted.
Luo Binhan wasn’t a fan of foreign languages, but he didn’t have much love for math and science either. He turned his gaze to the vast world outside.
This time, he noticed a dim sun in the sky—or perhaps it couldn’t be called a sun, just whatever star belonged to this system—slowly sinking toward the horizon.
A little to the right of the sun, a pillar of black smoke drifted up toward the sky. The thick smoke roiled in a way that would be impossible on Earth—tumbling, sinking, then rising again in finer wisps before finally dispersing. Glimmering within the smoke were specks of emerald light.
"Ah," Luo Binhan said. He felt like he recognized those beautiful, Cui Star-like points of light.
Following the pillar of smoke downward, he saw a deep crater on the ground. This planet had a thinner atmosphere, allowing a large amount of smoke to settle in the crater. Firelight flickered intermittently from the crater’s center, and he could vaguely make out the wrecked Fishbone lying there.
"External power systems destroyed. All external weapon ports destroyed," ∈ reported. "Internal personnel, according to the captain’s recent feedback, have all lost their ability to resist."
Yaliriga rose from her seat. Her black hooves clopped against the floor, and the metal chains hanging from her horns jingled chaotically. Luo Binhan heard a strange rhythm in the sounds of her movements.
"Prepare for docking," she said. Then she looked at Luo Binhan. "You can stay on the ship. It’s perfectly safe here."
Luo Binhan considered for a moment before saying, "I think I’ll go take a look. It’d be a shame to miss out on the excitement."
A hint of amusement flickered in Yaliriga’s golden-brown eyes. "You want to see their ship?"
"No," Luo Binhan said. "I want to see someone who’s having a worse day than I am."