Starship Base.
In Ou Zhanpeng's eyes, the survival of Earth, the life and death of humanity, rested solely on his decision.
His tightly clenched fists turned pale at the fingertips, but he suddenly relaxed them.
He finally made up his mind, and his deep roar shook the ship's cabin: "Battle alert, order the Jupiter fleet to prepare to sortie—"
Just moments before, everyone had looked dejected, as if their souls had been ripped from their bodies.
Now, upon hearing the order, they all sprang to life, as if injected with adrenaline.
Ling Xiao punched Ou Zhanpeng's chest. Without a word, he swiftly left the bridge.
Xu Qing's heart was filled with emotion, her beautiful eyes sparkling—having known Ou Zhanpeng for so long, she had never seen him look so dashing!
The fleet was already prepared to sortie, needing no further preparation. The moment the order was received, the battle alert was sounded simultaneously, and a dark wormhole opened in front of Starship Base.
That's right, not the Starship, but Starship Base!
In Earth's orbit, the desperate human fleet suddenly saw another irregular wormhole open in front of the hexagonal one. An asteroid passed through the opening and appeared on the battlefield.
Everyone was stunned by this turn of events. The Earth and Mars fleets; the United Fleet, and all humans who were following the intense battle erupted in earth-shattering cheers.
Mi Sha, who was about to begin her return journey, quickly ordered her flagship to abort the jump and stared intently at Starship Base, her eyes filled with a dazzling light.
This was the Phantom Rainbow Nebula, the legendary super mothership!
Zhou Guangyi was filled with anguish and nearly fainted from anger: "Ou Zhanpeng, what do you think you're doing? What do you think you're doing—"
The Starship was humanity's last trump card. How could it be deployed so early? If anything were to happen to Starship Base, humanity would truly have no hope left.
"I'm doing what I must do," Ou Zhanpeng's voice was incredibly calm. With a wave of his hand, he cut off communication, and Starship Base slowly moved forward.
The base's various weapons immediately opened fire, destroying the remaining black ships one by one, and in a short while, sending all the black ships and black-clawed octopuses to their doom.
As Starship Base passed through the wormhole, an enemy ship emerged from the hexagonal wormhole. Its front half had already passed through, while its rear half was still on the other side of the wormhole.
Ou Zhanpeng recognized it as a genuine Black Horn warship just by its appearance, identical to the one destroyed by the Starship in the nameless galaxy.
"Who gave you the courage!" Ou Zhanpeng's eyes blazed with anger. Starship Base charged forward, blocking the hexagonal wormhole, and collided head-on with the enemy vessel.
The base's shield and the enemy ship's shield made contact first, causing a cascade of light and arcing electricity.
Starship Base vibrated slightly. Although its shield became intensely bright, it ultimately withstood the impact with the powerful energy supply, quickly returning to normal.
The enemy ship fared differently. First, its shield burst into bright light and then dissipated. Subsequently, its bow crashed into Starship Base's shield, shattering like waves against a reef, twisting and deforming under everyone's gaze before exploding with a roar, sending debris scattering.
The Starship remained motionless. The Jupiter fleet emerged from the base, flanking it on either side.
"Target the wormhole, fire!" Ou Zhanpeng gave the order. The Jupiter fleet, arrayed on both sides, immediately opened fire with electromagnetic cannons, laser cannons, particle cannons, and various missiles.
All available firepower was unleashed into the wormhole.
The Starship did the same, its powerful firepower piercing through the wormhole to the other side. The Black Horn warships attempting to pass through the wormhole were subjected to devastating strikes, exploding one after another in the barrage.
The remaining Black Horn warships desperately fired at the wormhole, but all their cannon fire was absorbed by the Starship. The shield facing the wormhole shimmered brightly.
To prevent overload and failure, Ou Zhanpeng maneuvered the base to rotate slowly, using shields facing different directions to absorb the enemy's fire in rotation.
The base spun faster and faster. If not for the artificial gravity adjusting in time to counteract the centrifugal force, at least half of the experiments on the base would have been halted.
That's right, even as the base was locked in a life-or-death struggle with the enemy, the experiments continued unabated.
Ou Zhanpeng suddenly noticed that the enemy's firepower had significantly weakened. He immediately signaled the fleet to move away from the wormhole, and the Starship also slowly retreated, no longer blocking the exit.
This round of engagement was brief but intensely fierce. The intensity of the cannon fire emerging from the wormhole alone indicated the strength of the fleet gathered on the other side.
This was a force that humanity, in its current state, could not possibly resist.
As soon as the Starship retreated, unprecedentedly powerful firepower poured through the wormhole. The void erupted in a dazzling display of light, with beams of energy flying in all directions, as if the wormhole itself was exploding under the immense energy impact.
However, this wormhole, for reasons unknown, remained intact, standing firm within the hexagonal luminescence.
"This is truly damn strange!" Ou Zhanpeng remarked.
Fortunately, he had adjusted in time, allowing the fleet to evade most of the enemy's fire. Only a small portion landed on the Starship, where it was easily deflected by the shields.
The onlookers erupted in a wave of gasps, praising the commander's judgment.
Even the Starship, it seemed, couldn't withstand such a ferocious barrage. They were incredibly lucky.
Mi Sha's heart leaped erratically, followed by a gritting of her teeth: Damn humans, ignorant humans, piloting the Phantom Rainbow Nebula to face the enemy head-on! What if the Phantom Rainbow Nebula was damaged?
Zhou Guangyi's emotions were incredibly complex. He constantly questioned whether his orders had been wrong. If he had brought the Starship to the battlefield earlier, the enemy would have been dealt with long ago, and the fleet would not have suffered such heavy losses.
Captain Ou reorganized the fleet to retaliate. The Earth and Mars fleets also joined in. The three fleets merged, forming the Starship Base and seventeen warships, unleashing humanity's strongest space firepower ever. The dense barrage of fire poured into the wormhole like a cascading celestial river.
Even with the wormhole's strong interference with firepower, such concentrated cannon fire was bound to hit a few enemy ships by sheer luck.
This scene was faithfully recorded by numerous cameras, becoming extremely precious historical data. Even many years later, it was still a topic of fond remembrance for all who experienced it.
It was the most remarkable experience of their lives, one that deserved to be written and remembered above all others.
Ou Zhanpeng halted the sharp retaliatory cannon fire after a few minutes because no more counter-fire was emerging from the wormhole.
A drone flew out of the base and plunged into the wormhole, soon returning.
On the other side of the wormhole, floating ship wreckage was everywhere. The remaining enemy ships kept their distance, loosely surrounding the wormhole.
In the distance, a blue habitable planet hung high in the sky, radiating a captivating glow.
Ou Zhanpeng became conflicted.
This wormhole connected two star systems, representing the best opportunity for retaliation and the only chance to seize strategic initiative.
There are a thousand days to be a thief, but not a thousand days to guard against one.
The solar system had been exposed. Missing this opportunity meant continuing to face the endless harassment of the Black Horn people.
There was no time for further hesitation. Ou Zhanpeng made up his mind and roared, "Jupiter fleet, follow me!"