The sudden explosion stunned Ou Zhanpeng into silence, and Ling Xiao was dumbfounded.
The two watched as two cleanup ships retreated uncontrollably in the explosion, while another was destroyed on the spot.
Ou Zhanpeng's first reaction was not to rescue, but to wonder what the "Mili" people were up to, and if they had intentionally set a trap to extort them.
Otherwise, why would the accident happen now, so close to the Yun Gong Hao?
The base also detected the anomaly, and the voices on the radio were anxious: "019, 019, do you copy? What happened over there... 024, 024, please respond!"
The public channel was also in chaos: "Help, help—"
In the darkness, the debris scattered with the explosion, and the flying fragments battered the track cleanup ships.
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't afford to worry about that. He immediately replayed the video from the recorder and found that before the explosion, the mechanical arm of the Green Lake Hao had swung towards a larger piece of debris.
Due to light and angle issues, it was impossible to tell what the fragment was, but a vague outline was visible.
However, that was enough. Ou Zhanpeng was certain that it was not from an alien spacecraft, nor was it any common explosive.
So, it was just an accident.
He immediately sent the video back: "Base, it should just be an accident!"
"Received, 024, be careful!"
"Don't worry!"
Ling Xiao's voice suddenly cut in: "Hey, guess what I caught over here?"
A video was sent over. Ou Zhanpeng immediately opened it. The screen showed the mechanical arm of 019, and a person clinging to it like a koala, refusing to let go.
Ou Zhanpeng was equally astonished. Just as he was about to speak, he suddenly heard a bang.
Wrong!
His alertness instantly heightened: "Evasive, emergency evasive—"
Ling Xiao happened to see the flash on the surface of 024. Without bothering to bring the luckless survivor into the cabin, he immediately piloted his airship away from the incident.
They hadn't flown far when a more violent explosion occurred behind them, followed by a series of sympathetic explosions of varying sizes, leaving everyone speechless.
They were fast, and the surviving "Mili" American ships were not slow either, quickly disengaging from the scene.
"Damn, did the 'Mili' people hit an ammo depot?" Ling Xiao said.
Ou Zhanpeng couldn't recall the outline resembling an ammo depot: "I'm not sure, but it's best to stay away."
"Don't the 'Mili' people check for danger before they act?"
Ou Zhanpeng recalled carefully: "I didn't find anything. It seems they didn't check!"
"I knew those 'Mili' guys were unreliable!"
Despite the complaints, the "Mili" man couldn't stay hanging on the mechanical arm forever. Ling Xiao sent him into the cabin, and the man expressed his profuse thanks.
He had heard similar stories before, but never expected to encounter one. Fortunately, the "Mili" man had triggered the trap first, otherwise, who knew what would have happened.
Just as they escaped the danger zone, the base sounded a collision alarm.
Ou Zhanpeng and Ling Xiao were completely bewildered. It wasn't until the base sent warning data that they realized the debris, which had posed no threat to the Yun Gong Hao, had changed direction due to the explosion and was heading directly towards the space station.
Some of it was even half of the Green Lake Hao's wreckage!
What was even more infuriating was that the accident site was not far from the Yun Gong Hao, leaving the base with little time.
Ling Xiao wished he could smash that "Mili" man to death. If they couldn't clean up orbital debris, they shouldn't have acted and caused trouble!
Ou Zhanpeng, thinking quickly, suddenly shouted over the radio: "Ling Xiao, fire at me and blow off the fairing!"
Ling Xiao's head spun: "What are you doing?"
"Don't ask so many questions, hurry!"
Ling Xiao gritted his teeth, circled behind 024, and fired fiercely at the fairing at the tail.
The fairing was part of the smoke release system, used to contain the mixed raw materials and shape the solid smoke ejected outside the cabin. Without it, the solid smoke would not be a straight cylinder and would not be able to resist the impact of reverse fragments.
Ling Xiao fired all his ammunition, his voice laced with unconcealed anxiety: "No, it's still a little short!"
"What did it turn into? Send it to me!"
Ling Xiao complied. Ou Zhanpeng looked at the photo and immediately responded: "It's good enough!"
With that, he piloted his track cleanup ship to block Yun Gong Hao No. 2. The small airship stood in front of the massive space station, a scene as ridiculous as it was absurd.
However, in the next second, a large amount of unknown liquid suddenly sprayed from the rear of the 024 track cleanup ship. It spread irregularly in all directions at high speed, quickly turning into a splattered solid smoke with a diameter of tens of meters.
Ling Xiao, who witnessed the entire scene, was stunned again. Then, he saw a section of the solid smoke sphere change color, then another, and then another. In an instant, the translucent sphere was bombarded by flying debris, becoming a mess.
Small fragments were manageable, but the large fragments, though fewer in number, had significant impact. Even the attitude of 024 was greatly affected when they hit.
Ou Zhanpeng gritted his teeth, doing his best to stabilize the attitude, but it was useless.
Just then, small bursts of fire erupted on the surface of Yun Gong Hao No. 2. Ou Zhanpeng glanced over distractedly and immediately zoomed in his vision—it was two assault boats firing at the reaction pods behind the track cleanup ships.
These were not fixed to the stern of the ships but were temporarily attached.
Although the base acted quickly, the debris was also fast. Just as the first wave of fragments was about to hit the Yun Gong Hao, a track cleanup ship suddenly ejected a shaped bloom.
Then, half of it expanded outward, while the other half sprayed backward, a strangely shaped mass of solid smoke.
The other two track cleanup ships were more successful. Although the solid smoke they ejected was not a standard bell shape, it dispersed successfully. The four track cleanup ships were staggered in position, forming the first line of defense for Yun Gong Hao.
As soon as the smoke wall formed, the incoming debris slammed into it. The track cleanup ships were like small sampans in a hurricane, tossed about by the wind and rain.
Combined with Ou Zhanpeng's ship, the five track cleanup ships formed another unconventional defensive line to guard the space station.
The two assault boats were also busy. They braved the risk of being hit by debris, crossed the defensive line, and attacked the larger fragments, including the wreckage of the Green Lake Hao.
After a series of explosions, the large fragments shattered one after another, but one assault boat was hit on its flank by debris and had to withdraw from the battle.
Fortunately, most of it had already been blown to pieces, minimizing the threat.
Just a few dozen seconds later, all the solid smoke walls were riddled with holes. If the solid smoke itself didn't have the property of being difficult to break, it would have shattered long ago and hit the Yun Gong Hao.
Even with the full obstruction of the track cleanup ships, some fragments still broke through the defense and hit the space station.
Fortunately, there were not many of them, and their size was not large, so they were blocked by the outer walls of the space station.
Especially the fragment cabins hanging on the outer wall of Yun Gong Hao, which helped the space station block many fragments.
Regardless, they had managed to avoid disaster.