Chapter 87: The Solar Flare Erupts

However, Zhang Desen suddenly began weaving swiftly through the terrain of the lunar surface, once again shaking off Jeff Cole and his team’s pursuit. Jeff Cole’s flight squadron, lacking prior coordination, fell into disarray, costing him precious time to reorganize his formation.

Eager to recover lost ground, Jeff Cole immediately ordered the entire squadron to accelerate their pursuit. The reason was simple: he refused to let his prey slip through his fingers again.

Meanwhile, Zhang Desen also increased his speed, hoping to lose his pursuers. As he flew, he pondered what clue he might have left behind that enabled the enemy to find him.

The answer was straightforward: the enemy could not have been chasing him from the very start, otherwise, they would not have waited so long to appear and attack. Additionally, when he saw the enemy’s pursuit on the radar, they were heading collectively in one direction, not dispersing for a wide-area search. This meant they were following some sort of trail. It had to be something he had left behind. After careful consideration, only one possibility fit: the plasma trail left by his ship’s engines. That was the critical clue the enemy was using to track him, and it had to be dealt with. After thinking it through, he spoke to Li Longfang:

“Longfang, it looks like the enemy fighters are locked onto us. They’re not going to let us get away.”

Li Longfang asked, “Is there any way to hide?”

Zhang Desen replied, “That’s difficult. The enemy fighters are probably tracking our plasma trail. Even if we hide, it would take time for the plasma to dissipate on its own, and they would still find us before that happens.”

Li Longfang pressed, “Can we shut off the plasma trail?”

Zhang Desen answered, “The trail is caused by the exhaust plume from the engines. If we shut down the exhaust, we’d have to turn off the engines, and the ship would lose power.”

Li Longfang, growing anxious, asked, “Do we have any other plasma onboard? We could throw some out to divert them.”

Zhang Desen considered this before replying, “Throw out plasma? That’s it! I’m going to start weaving through the canyons. Just hold on tight.”

Li Longfang responded, “All right, don’t worry.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Desen gradually lowered their altitude, approaching the canyon below. Once they reached the ravine, Zhang Desen accelerated, darting swiftly and perilously among the craters and valleys.

His goal was to leave plasma trails in every major canyon before the pursuers arrived, hoping to confuse the enemy fighters following the plasma residue. That’s why he maneuvered through the gorges at top speed.

His efforts paid off. He finished weaving through the canyons just before Jeff Cole’s squadron arrived, then parked the ship behind a mountain peak, hovering silently to remain hidden.

Soon, Jeff Cole led his pursuers into the area, but in their haste, they couldn’t brake in time. Five space fighters crashed into the mountainside. Witnessing this, Jeff Cole cursed furiously, “Damn it! If you’ve got the guts, stop hiding! What kind of skill is it to just run and hide?”

At that moment, the leader of Squadron Two reported, “Sir, there’s a plasma trail in every single canyon here.”

Squadron One’s leader chimed in, “Same here, sir!”

The leader of Squadron Three echoed the same findings. Meanwhile, the Atlantis squadron’s formation had been thrown into disarray by the sudden entry into this chaotic terrain.

Seeing this, Jeff Cole ordered, “All combat squadrons, immediately leave low altitude and ascend to high altitude. Search from above—I don’t believe he can run that fast.”

All squadron leaders replied in unison, “Yes, sir!”

As they left the valleys and climbed higher, Jeff Cole gave another order: “The enemy must have realized we’re tracking his plasma trail and intentionally left trails everywhere. We’ll search separately. Squadron One, search left; Squadron Three, search right. The smallest Squadron Two, follow me. Since he left so many plasma trails, he can’t have gone far.”

“Yes, sir!” came the response.

The Atlantis space fighters quickly headed to their assigned areas. Squadron Two was the smallest because three of their fighters had crashed, while the other two squadrons had lost one each. Thus, the remaining seven fighters of Squadron Two, plus Jeff Cole’s own, totaled eight, and they continued their search.

Observing the enemy splitting up on radar, Li Longfang, manning the rear cannon, asked, “Desen, should we lure those eight enemy fighters over and take them out first?”

Zhang Desen replied, “Let me take the first shot. This ship’s radar can lock onto eight targets at once and fire eight missiles simultaneously. I want to try it out.”

Li Longfang, surprised, responded, “Missiles? Understood.”

Zhang Desen continued, “Just watch the screen. But if all enemy fighters return as reinforcements, we may have to use the high-powered electromagnetic pulse wave.”

Li Longfang asked, “What’s that?”

Zhang Desen explained, “It’s a powerful EMP that destroys all high-tech within a five-kilometer radius of the ship, friend or foe. At maximum power, it can annihilate everything, leaving nothing behind. But it consumes a lot of energy—this ship, even fully charged, can only use it three times before running dry. So I only use it in emergencies.”

“Oh!” Li Longfang replied.

Zhang Desen quietly locked onto the eight enemy fighters, with missiles primed for launch.

As Jeff Cole’s squad closed in during their search, Zhang Desen suddenly burst from cover, firing all eight missiles at once. Jeff Cole, momentarily caught off guard, barely managed to dodge the incoming missiles at the last second.

Seeing the outcome, Zhang Desen didn’t linger. He immediately flew back into the canyons, weaving dangerously between the mountains as he piloted the ship toward his previous destination—Tycho Crater.

After evading the missiles, Jeff Cole discovered that, apart from himself and the squadron leader, the other six ships of Squadron Two had all been destroyed.

Furious, Jeff Cole shouted, “Squadrons One and Three, return immediately! We’re going to hunt down that bastard together!”

Both squadron leaders acknowledged the order.

Meanwhile, Zhang Desen felt a pang of regret. If it had been an energy cannon or the EMP, he could have fired almost indefinitely as long as the power held out. But missiles were irreplaceable for now—each one used was one less in the arsenal. To have used eight at once, two of which missed, was a painful waste.

But there was no time to dwell on it. Li Longfang asked, “Desen, what now? The enemy will regroup and chase us together, won’t they?”

Zhang Desen replied, “Don’t worry. According to radar and intelligence from the Terran satellites, there’s a fierce dogfight between a Terran fighter squadron and an Atlantis fighter squadron near Tycho Crater. We’ll lure them into the melee, slip into Tycho Crater amidst the chaos, and hide the ship in a cave. We’ll activate the plasma stealth system. The radar won’t be able to detect us, and we won’t stand out in the battle.”

Li Longfang agreed, “Good plan. Let’s do it.”

With that, Zhang Desen continued flying through the canyons toward Tycho Crater.

As Zhang Desen piloted the ship toward Tycho Crater, Jeff Cole had regrouped his remaining fighters and was pursuing in Zhang Desen’s direction.

After weaving for some distance, Zhang Desen stopped darting between the peaks and ascended to the summit. Now that he was exposed, it was better to make a bold display of his position and speed things up.

Jeff Cole and his men, following the plasma trail, soon caught up with Zhang Desen’s ship and opened fire without hesitation.

Li Longfang, manning the rear cannon, immediately returned fire. Zhang Desen could only curse inwardly: the enemy’s speed was simply outrageous. Still, they were almost to the combat zone.

Soon, the raging battle unfolded before Zhang Desen’s eyes. He accelerated toward a cluster of Terran ships from the Ormay Empire.

Jeff Cole, hot on his heels, fired relentlessly as though possessed.

The Terrans, engaged with the Atlantis fighters, saw that Zhang Desen’s ship was different from their own, but since the Atlantis fighters were chasing him and Zhang Desen was firing back at them, they instinctively assumed he was an ally. Instantly, dozens of Terran fighters moved to cover Zhang Desen, launching a fierce assault on Jeff Cole’s squadron.

Seeing this, Jeff Cole was livid, cursing, “Damn it! That guy’s definitely with the Terrans—attack him!”

“Yes, sir!” came the response.

Li Longfang, surprised that the Terrans were helping them, remarked, “How odd—why are the Terrans helping us?”

Zhang Desen replied, “Because we’re being chased by the Atlantis forces. On the battlefield, people don’t have time to take a close look. Instinctively, they treat the enemy’s target as their own friend, so they’re helping us.”

Li Longfang nodded in sudden understanding. “So that’s it.”

Zhang Desen instructed Li Longfang to focus on attacking only the Atlantis fighters to avoid unnecessary trouble, and did the same himself. Meanwhile, he searched for a chance to slip into Tycho Crater and hide.

Just then, alarms blared—a surge of intense particle radiation was approaching. The satellite feed from the Terrans brought even more alarming news: a solar flare had erupted. The spectacular force of nature threatened to become Zhang Desen’s undoing.