Leaving aside Ye Cang, who was a complete combat weakling, the fully armed Astral Express crew possessed enough combat power to traverse any mid-tier civilized planet without obstacle.
Although the Herta Space Station belonged to an Emanator of Erudition, according to the data recorded in the Astral Express’s database, there seemed to be no other Emanator-level combatants present besides “Madam Herta” herself.
Therefore, theoretically speaking, as long as they guarded against the memetic pollution, any other dangers they might encounter would be well within their ability to handle.
Welt had already completed a risk assessment before landing, and he now proactively walked at the very front of the group, acting as their scout.
Dan Heng followed at a measured pace, holding his Cloud-Piercer to guard the rear.
The entirety of Herta Space Station was silent and devoid of life.
True to its name, it was like a pitch-black tower floating in the deep, dark cosmos.
Ye Cang remained silent, quietly observing their surroundings while gently running his fingers over the leather cover of the *Death Diary*.
So far, he hadn’t discovered any significant information worth recording.
Himeko raised her wrist, and the mini-terminal on her watch projected a palm-sized holographic map of Herta Space Station.
The Navigator rotated the three-dimensional mini-station, her amber eyes reflecting a touch of suspicion.
After a brief moment of thought, she spoke: “It seems to have suffered from external impacts.
Several visible structures of this space station have been altered…
Everyone, stay sharp.” “We are currently at the space station’s platform, in the Support Zone,” Welt said, his sharp gaze scanning the surroundings.
“Logically speaking, if the space station were facing destruction, this would be the primary route for evacuation.
However…
look at these docked spaceships.
There are virtually no signs of them being boarded or launched.” He raised a high-power flashlight, casting a stark white light onto the nearby starships and escape pods.
His brow furrowed slightly.
“It seems our deduction was correct.
To prevent the spread of that unknown meme, the space station staff chose to make this place their grave.” “A respectable group of people,” Dan Heng remarked.
Ye Cang curled his lips, his words like a splash of cold water over everyone.
“Or perhaps they simply never had the chance to escape.” The moment those words were spoken, the Express crew fell into silence.
March 7th nudged Ye Cang with her elbow, her pretty face turning slightly pale.
“Hey, don’t go telling ghost stories all of a sudden!” Ye Cang chuckled and held up his hands.
“I was just posing a hypothesis.
None of you need to take it seriously.” Dan Heng sighed.
“But so far, every one of your hypotheses has come true.” Ye Cang blinked.
“…” Now that he thought about it, that did seem to be the case.
March 7th couldn’t help but shiver, casting a resentful glance at the black-haired youth.
“It’s all your fault, you jinx!” Ye Cang shrugged.
Just as he was about to say something, he accidentally bumped straight into Welt’s broad, solid back.
“What…” He sidestepped and peeked out from behind Welt, only to see the solemn middle-aged man staring into the darkness of the corridor ahead as if facing a formidable enemy.
His metallic cane was held horizontally in front of him, a clear stance of readiness for battle.
Welt did not speak, but Himeko behind him had already reacted, shouting in a low voice, “Everyone, brace yourselves!” Before Ye Cang could fully grasp the situation, March 7th beside him and Dan Heng behind him had already raised their weapons in perfect coordination—one drawing her bow and nocking an arrow, the other stepping forward with spear poised, both facing the distant darkness.
Only then did Ye Cang’s vision barely catch a few twisted black shadows rushing out of the thick gloom.
*Thud, thud, thud—* A sharp, cold gleam cut through the darkness.
The twisted, humanoid monsters stepped heavily onto the metal floor of the platform’s connecting bridge, their blade-like arms spinning as they slashed toward Welt, who stood at the front of the group.
“It’s the Antimatter Legion’s Voidrangers!” Welt did not deploy his strongest attack, the Synthetic Black Hole.
Instead, he calmly swung his cane, parrying the leading Voidranger: Reaver.
The monster’s body was covered in pitch-black armor, with a dim, grayish-blue flame burning atop its head.
The golden blades on its arms were incredibly sharp, looking as though they could easily slice through metal and energy shields.
Unfortunately for them, they had run into a brick wall.
With a casual sweep of Welt’s cane, the rushing monster was sent flying backward at an even faster speed.
Before it could even hit the ground, March 7th froze it with a single arrow, pinning it to the spot.
As for the other monsters that rushed forward one after another, they were easily dispatched by Himeko and Dan Heng, failing to survive even a single exchange.
Because his companions handled them with such ease, Ye Cang didn’t even get a chance to make a move.
He was happy to take it easy, quietly observing the monsters’ appearances and attack patterns.
Within a brief two minutes, a total of twenty-three similarly designed monsters poured out of the darkness.
All of them wore pitch-black armor, or rather, the dark metallic armor was their actual physical body.
“This is likely your first time seeing Voidrangers.
I’ll give you a brief breakdown,” Dan Heng said.
While clearing out the incoming Voidrangers, he still had enough breath to explain the monsters’ details to Ye Cang.
“The ones with heavy cannons are called Eliminators, the ones with twin blades are Reavers, and the ones that cast spells empty-handed are Distorters…
They are the vanguard of the Antimatter Legion.
Their individual combat power isn’t high, but they come in massive numbers.” Ye Cang instantly understood these monsters’ standing in the Antimatter Legion, summing it up: “In short, they’re mobs.” “Correct.” Dan Heng nodded.
With a sweep of his Cloud-Piercer, he sliced two Voidranger: Reavers in half.
He glanced back and added, “The Astral Express’s archives contain plenty of information on the Antimatter Legion.
You can look through them when you have time.
Walking on the Path of Trailblaze, we will inevitably clash with the lackeys of [Destruction].” “The more comprehensive your information, the more calmly you will handle them when you face them in the future.” “I will.” Ye Cang smiled.
He raised his small handgun and delivered a perfect finishing shot to a Voidranger on the ground that hadn’t fully died yet.
There was no helping it.
Before he could replicate a sufficient number of powerful skills using [Fantasy: Hand of Remembrance], his own combat power was indeed a bit lacking.
Particularly right now—to avoid causing irreversible damage to the Herta Space Station, Welt, Dan Heng, and Himeko were all holding back their ultimate moves, not giving Ye Cang any chance to replicate them.
And so, despite possessing a divine replication skill, Ye Cang could only choose to believe in science and truth for now.