Chapter 153 Cigar-Shaped Spaceship

Soon, Zhang Desen caught up with his target. However, he dared not follow too closely, for if he were to be discovered, the purpose of this tracking mission would be entirely defeated.

Naturally, in order to remain undetected, Zhang Desen had already activated the spacecraft's plasma stealth technology. Thus, he maintained a moderate and safe distance as he pursued the craft.

At this moment, Li Longfang, sitting beside him, asked:

"Captain, once we catch up and see what we came to see, should we directly destroy their spacecraft?"

Zhang Desen replied:

"No, we shouldn't alert them just yet. When they descend toward Earth again, I want to ask them personally what their true purpose is. In fact, the reason I am doing this is to see whether they implant certain unauthorized things into the humans they capture."

Shocked, Li Longfang asked:

"What kind of things would they implant? And what kind of impact would those things have on us?"

Zhang Desen answered:

"Don't be in such a rush to ask. To be honest, I don't know what will be implanted either. The exact nature of it depends on what they need us to do. Let's not dwell on that for now; just keep tracking them."

Li Longfang pressed further:

"Captain, should I go to the rear turret and get ready now? We aren't flying straight out into deep space right now; instead, we are ascending in a spiral. Although we don't know why the enemy isn't flying directly into outer space, this actually makes our current positioning much easier."

Zhang Desen said:

"No need. We have no idea what their intentions are. If they suddenly execute a vertical climb and catch us off guard, it would spell disaster. Stay in your seat, and make sure your safety belt remains fastened."

Hearing this, Li Longfang immediately responded:

"Yes, sir!"

Ahead of them, the unidentified flying object continued its spiral ascent. Yet, it had to be said that this climbing pattern was somewhat exasperating. Its ascent angle was less than fifteen degrees, and after flying for so long, it had not even broken through the troposphere.

After flying for a while longer, Li Longfang in the co-pilot's seat began to feel irritated once more. Dissatisfied, he muttered:

"What is wrong with these guys? Why are they flying at such a snail's pace? They're still inside the troposphere. Do they like it here or something?"

In truth, Li Longfang did not know that because the aliens' home planet had been destroyed, they had not seen such a beautiful natural environment in a very long time. Even at night, the scenery evoked a deep sense of nostalgia for their lost homeworld.

Therefore, lingering a bit longer during their ascent was simply their way of taking in the magnificent scenery. Perhaps it is only when things are lost that one truly learns to cherish them, and those aliens undoubtedly wished to rebuild a new home as quickly as possible.

However, Zhang Desen remarked:

"Don't be so impatient. Perhaps they feel our planet is far more beautiful than theirs, and they want to linger a bit to take in the scenery. Or perhaps they have worked in deep space for so long that they have forgotten what their own homeworld originally looked like, and they are using our planet's views to soothe their homesickness. So, for now, let's just keep following them."

Li Longfang acknowledged:

"Understood, Captain."

Barely had they finished speaking when the spacecraft ahead abruptly shifted into a vertical climb, rocketing straight toward outer space.

Zhang Desen immediately mirrored the maneuver, closely and swiftly tailing them. Propelled by this rapid ascent, they quickly passed through the stratosphere and soon breached the mesosphere.

With a smile, Zhang Desen said:

"Brother Longfang, how does it feel? The target has rapidly ascended to the mesosphere. I reckon that in a little while, we'll reach the thermosphere, and the ionosphere won't be far behind. Quite a thrilling speed, isn't it?"

Li Longfang retorted:

"I think the enemy must have suddenly swallowed some stimulants; otherwise, they wouldn't have accelerated so drastically all at once. Good thing I didn't switch positions just now, or I'd have been caught completely unprepared by this sudden vertical climb."

Seeing his reaction, Zhang Desen smiled without saying anything further. Watching the rapid ascent of the UFO ahead, he figured the adversaries might simply be in a hurry.

After another period of climbing, they finally punched through the ionosphere once more. Zhang Desen and Li Longfang felt that familiar sensation of being hurled upward—the long-absent feeling of weightlessness.

Suddenly, Li Longfang asked:

"Captain, why don't we activate the spacecraft's artificial gravity system? After all, the artificial gravity system on this vessel isn't the rotating kind; it doesn't require a specialized centrifugal ring. Instead, it uses artificial gravitational waves to give objects and people inside the ship a genuine gravitational pull, just like back on Earth!"

However, Zhang Desen replied:

"Doing that would also generate additional plasma flow turbulence. Although the degree of turbulence wouldn't be massive, one misstep, and I worry it could be detected by the enemy's spacecraft. That would render our plasma stealth completely meaningless."

Upon hearing this, Li Longfang uttered:

"Ah!"

Zhang Desen then continued piloting his spacecraft, tracking the relatively small unidentified flying object ahead, which had a diameter of about one hundred meters.

After a while longer, they reached a point in space approximately ten,000 kilometers away from Earth's surface. Soon, the radar chimed to indicate that the UFO's mothership had been detected ahead, and Zhang Desen immediately operated his craft to decelerate.

Yet, what astonished Zhang Desen was that a gigantic object was already visible ahead. Judging by the information previously transmitted by the dinosauroids' satellites, that mothership should not have been nearly this large. Why had it grown to such staggering proportions the moment they drew close?

As the distance closed further, however, Zhang Desen ceased to wonder. Looming before them was a cigar-shaped space mothership measuring a full five kilometers in length.

Sitting in the co-pilot's seat, Li Longfang was struck with utter disbelief. He asked Zhang Desen:

"Captain, how can this be? Why is there a space mothership this massive?"

Observing the reality before him, Zhang Desen said:

"It seems the enemy's space technology is exceptionally formidable. The fact that they dispatched such a colossal mothership all the way to Earth's vicinity simply to capture humans proves how much importance they attach to this mission. Now, let's record everything in full detail, capturing every single process."

Turning his head to look at Li Longfang, Zhang Desen continued:

"A little later, you will stay inside this spacecraft. Judging by previous data, when they came to Earth to capture humans, they met with very little resistance, especially once they reached outer space, where they encountered virtually no trouble at all. Therefore, their guard in space must be extremely lax. I will park our spacecraft a certain distance beneath their mothership—at a spot that happens to be a blind spot in their mothership's external surveillance."

Then, turning his gaze toward the alien mothership outside, Zhang Desen added:

"Shortly, I will perform a spacewalk to slowly approach the mothership, using the recording equipment on my spacesuit to document the entire process of my activities. I'll find the right moment to peer through one of their portholes and observe what they are doing inside. I am bound to see everything I want to see. You must make comprehensive preparations here."

However, Li Longfang voiced his objections:

"No, Captain, that place is far too dangerous. Let me go instead. A captain should never risk himself on dangerous tasks. I promised the Prime Minister that I would guarantee the Captain's safety at all costs."

Zhang Desen shook his head:

"Li Longfang, although you have accompanied me into space more than once, you have never performed a true spacewalk or received the corresponding training. If we count your spacewalk experience, it amounts only to that mission on the Moon. But back then, you still had solid ground to walk on. Can you be certain you can make it across now? I truly worry that you might accidentally end up stranded in space as a human satellite—or worse."

Hearing this, Li Longfang paused to think. Overwhelmed with frustration, he blurted out:

"Sigh, I used to think I could do anything. But now I really feel like I'm completely useless..."

Interrupting him immediately, Zhang Desen said:

"Alright, don't be too hard on yourself. No one is ever perfect; the only true path is continuous progress. Rest assured, the spacesuit we are using was custom-built for me by the Huaxia of the Prime Universe, with special consideration given to potential defense measures needed against advanced civilizations. Furthermore, I am carrying high-tech relics left behind by the ultra-ancient humans of this universe. It is impossible for them to capture me the way they captured ordinary humans. Therefore, I am completely safe. You have nothing to worry about—just hold down your post."

Li Longfang pondered this for a moment. With a heavy sigh, he said:

"Very well, Captain. You must return. If you cannot make it back, I shall take my own life to atone for my failure."

With a chuckle, Zhang Desen replied:

"Rest assured, nothing of the sort will happen. You have no idea what marvelous uses the artifacts left behind by the ancients still possess. Alright, I must get ready to go."

Just as Zhang Desen and Li Longfang were concluding their conversation, the UFO that had previously taken off from Heizhou City entered the mothership.

Having readied everything, Zhang Desen exited his spacecraft through the upper hatch. Operating his spacewalk thrusters, he began to drift slowly toward the gigantic cigar-shaped space mothership.

The entire process went remarkably smoothly. Having visited Earth multiple times without encountering significant obstacles or trouble, the colossal cigar-shaped mothership indeed maintained a lax security perimeter regarding its surroundings.

Before long, Zhang Desen finally arrived underneath the gargantuan mothership. He spotted several massive downward-facing engine nozzles, presumably used for landing on various planetary bodies.

Gripping whatever handholds he could find, Zhang Desen slowly crawled toward the port side of the immense cigar-shaped mothership, hoping to seize the opportunity to see if any captives were being unloaded from the one-hundred-meter-diameter scout ship.

Suddenly, Zhang Desen noticed a hatch flying open on his right side. Realizing that the aliens might also be conducting a spacewalk, he immediately cast about for a place to hide.