Chapter 1517
Undercurrents
Chapter 1517 Undercurrents
Old Finch left dejectedly.
Although his words were not taken seriously, they were enough to alert Lin Fan.
The three of them took to the street.
Annemo remains the dreamlike city that seems like a fairy tale, and the blood of the Silvermoon people has brought no change.
"I don't know if it's just my preconceived notions," Lan Bingru leaned closer to Lin Fan and whispered, "but I always feel that there's something sinister hidden behind their smiles."
“Don’t doubt yourself,” Antonio grinned. “There are indeed many people spying on us from our blind spots. This level of attention is hardly normal.”
Lan Bingru instinctively wanted to turn around, but Lin Fan grabbed her arm.
"Don't look back!" Lin Fan gripped her wrist and continued walking forward as if nothing had happened. "Don't let them know we've already noticed."
Lan Bingru tensed up and quickly lowered her head, afraid that her uncontrollable nervousness would be seen by the person coming towards her.
"So what do we do now?"
"Let's just leave it at that." Antonio draped his hooded coat over Lan Bingru's head, the large shadow instantly covering her. "Let's go shopping, let's go shopping, we'll talk about it when we get back."
Lan Bingru had no interest in shopping anymore. Her mind was a jumbled mess, and she followed Lin Fan and the other person in a daze.
Antonio's smile didn't completely disappear until he returned to his room.
“What the old man said is true.” He sat at the table, tapping his knuckles impatiently on the surface. “The situation is indeed very unfavorable for us.”
Lin Fan had already informed Cen Fangyuan of the situation, and he immediately said he would search for life-bearing planets near Anniemo—even if there were no civilizations, there should at least be conditions for Xingchen and the others to temporarily stay.
After ending the call, Lin Fan raised his hand and patted Lan Bingru's shoulder reassuringly: "The current difficulty is Bingru and the means of transportation."
"I'm sorry..." Lan Bingru apologized subconsciously.
“I don’t mean to blame you,” Lin Fan sat down next to her. “If all else fails, let Qian Sui swallow you back in and release you when it’s safe.”
The Thousand-Year-Old has its own space inside. After swallowing Lan Bingru, it will then crawl into the bell, and Lin Fan and Antonio will be completely free of worries.
“That’s one way,” Antonio said, arms crossed, “but I can already picture the old man’s sour face. Would he agree?”
"At this critical moment of life and death, Your Majesty will not stand idly by," Lin Fan said confidently.
“Yes.” Lan Bingru nodded. “His Excellency said he would protect my safety.”
Knowing that she wouldn't be a burden, Lan Bingru instantly breathed a sigh of relief.
“Alright, then all that’s left are tools.” Antonio shrugged. “The airport is closed, and although there are many Airbuses parked there, but… stealing a spaceship and forcibly taking it out… isn’t that a bit too difficult?”
Lin Fan nodded: "Spaceship piloting is difficult. Different models require different operations, and I'm not sure if I can do it. The departure process is also risky. You know, Crystal City has long-range strike weapons. I don't think they'll be lenient with a spaceship that ignores orders. If that's the case, we might as well find a secluded place to fly out, at least we won't attract attention."
"Tsk!" Antonio raised an eyebrow. "So the only option is the old man's spaceship? It seems like this was a trap set specifically for us. Or should we just fly there?"
Cen Fangyuan brought less-than-optimistic news.
There are indeed other life-bearing planets near Anemoma, and the straight-line distance is not particularly far, just within the theoretical limits of mech flight.
However, those planets are separated from the Annemo by a belt of interstellar debris storms and a region of spatial turbulence.
That is why they were not assigned to Annie's territory, but belonged to another faction.
"Even our mechs can't defend against this?" Antonio asked.
“Uncertain, but extremely risky.” Cen Fangyuan did not give a definite answer.
"According to feedback from the research department, the debris storm is full of high-speed meteorites, rocks, ice particles and metal fragments, with speeds comparable to bullets."
"The interior is also filled with a large number of unstable spatial ripples, capable of instantly tearing nearby objects to shreds and turning them into nourishment for the storm." "The mechs are too small; once caught in them, the consequences are unpredictable. We do not want you to take such a risk. It would be best to fly a larger, high-performance spaceship with a stable protection system to detour."
"Can't we just take a detour?" Lin Fan asked.
“It’s best not to try,” Cen Fangyuan replied. “That area is very large. If you take a detour, the energy supply may not be enough to reach your destination.”
Their testing of the mechs actually had a threshold barrier.
Star and Apollo are bio-mechanical machines capable of evolution, and with the current level of technology on Oran Star, it is impossible to measure their true limits.
In other words, what they thought was an energy depletion might actually mean the mech still had some energy left.
But who dares to gamble?
What happens to a mech that loses its energy in space?
Without needing to think too much, everyone rejected that unavoidable option.
“This is going to be difficult.” Antonio braced himself with his hands behind his back and crossed one leg. “If I didn’t know you didn’t know each other, I would suspect that you were in cahoots.”
Cen Fangyuan declined to comment on Antonio's wording, but Jin Sichen scoffed without hesitation.
"Come on, stop torturing other people's ears with your pathetic vocabulary. There are so many people in the control room listening."
Antonio gritted his teeth, about to retort, when he heard him bring up the important matter.
"Don't panic, analyze the old man's motives." Jin Sichen's voice carried a calming power. "Assuming he really intends to harm you, what might you face after he tricks you onto the ship? What benefits could he possibly gain from it?"
While everyone was deep in thought, Jin Sichen continued to guide them.
"All actions need to be supported by motives and purposes. Why is he doing this? What result does he want to achieve?"
“Adrian’s plan to take advantage of the Thousand-Year-Old is to leave a Burning Beast for the Annemo,” Lin Fan said, arms crossed, deep in thought. “Old Finch, however, said it was because he knew we were powerful and would bring about the Annemo’s destruction.”
"The point of contention is why his stance differs from others," Antonio added, frowning.
“He said there were ready-made spaceships that could let us leave directly,” Lan Bingru continued, “but Anemo’s spaceports are clearly blocked, so why is he so sure we can leave?”
“Either his ship has some special right of passage,” Lin Fan tilted his head slightly, looking up at the magnificent golden ceiling, “or…”
"They're just luring us out so they can blow us up with a single shot. The sooner we die, the sooner we're free!" Antonio clapped his hands.
"Pah!" Lin Fan spat at him. "Can't you say something nice?"
"Heh, you expect him to have that lying mouth of his..." Jin Sichen laughed heartily on the other end of the call.
"So here's the question: if you ride in the old man's spaceship, the outcome is the same as stealing the ship yourself. Why doesn't he guide you to steal the ship, instead of making you provide obvious evidence and get yourself involved? That doesn't make sense."
“Indeed.” Lin Fan nodded. “Adrian and the others clearly want Chisui now, and they wouldn’t want us dead. At least before they successfully control Chisui, they shouldn’t launch a devastating attack on us.”
“A cunning person like him would probably poison our food and drinks… Good heavens!” Antonio suddenly sat up straight. “Could he have already done that?”
“I don’t think so,” Lan Bingru panicked when she heard him say that. “At least I don’t feel anything.”
"Ignore him," Lin Fan reassured. "If it were poisonous, our bodies would react, but for now, there's no problem."
“In short, they won’t use devastating attacks on you before they get the Millennium, as that would contradict their goals.” Cen Fangyuan nodded in agreement. “Moreover, given their ambitions, I think you will also be targeted. After all, you are probably the most powerful humans they have ever seen, and your genes should be on their covetous list.”
"I'd be honored to decline." Antonio crossed his arms and sat back down at the table. "So, Adrian's side probably won't be bombarding us anymore."
“You’re celebrating too soon,” Lin Fan’s words shattered his hopes. “Crystal City isn’t using destructive methods because we’re still useful. But old Finch, who has a different stance than Adrian, might not be so sure.”
Antonio choked and slammed his fist on the table.
"These orcs! None of them are good people!"