Chapter 2412 The Eve of the Storm (3)

The spaceship's engines roared, and its metal hull gleamed coldly in the frigid moon wind.

It was a Cangyuan Clan spaceship that Lu Keran had personally modified. The ship had smooth lines and its surface was covered with energy runes and shield nodes.

At this moment, it hovered steadily at the edge of the Dark Sun Forest, and the hatch slowly opened to welcome Zhang Yi and his team.

Burning Bones stared intently at the spaceship, his eyes filled with struggle and complexity.

His ugly face was slightly contorted with pain, and his cloak fluttered in the wind.

Shunliuxing stood quietly beside him, gently holding his hands with both of hers, her gaze tender yet firm.

"Are you really going to send me to the Radiant Moon Empire?" The girl's voice was soft, yet it was like a clear spring piercing through the dead silence of the night.

Burning Bone paused, gritted his teeth, and slowly nodded: "I don't want to go back to the Dark Sun Forest. There... is only despair and escape. Even if I know the end is death, I will stay with you until the very end."

Shunliuxing's eyes were slightly moist, but she still managed a smile.

Zhang Yi watched them quietly, his gaze cold yet gentle.

He slowly said, "Alright, then you can come with me. As long as you don't hinder me from completing my mission, I won't stop you."

After saying that, he was the first to board the spaceship.

The moment the hatch closed, a deafening hum echoed out.

The spaceship accelerated sharply, breaking through the low-gravity dust and fog layer of the moon, and sped towards the Moon Empire.

……

The cabin was brightly lit, and the neat metal floor reflected a faint blue sheen.

The meteor sat quietly by the porthole, its eyes fixed on the passing lunar sea and mountains.

Her eyes sparkled; it was the first time she had seen the planet clearly with her own eyes.

Fen Gu knelt beside her, his face always lowered, as if unwilling to let others see his appearance.

But every now and then, Meteor would turn back, tug at his hand, and make him look up and gaze out the window with her.

"Tsk tsk..."

Brian wagged his tail and lay lazily on the seat, letting out an inappropriate grumbling from his dog mouth.

"This atmosphere... it's like the set of some cheap romantic comedy. Chaos, are you sure we're on a mission to save the moon, and not watching some 'post-apocalyptic romance'?"

Upon hearing this, Shunliuxing paused slightly, a blush creeping onto her face.

Burning Bones glared fiercely at Brian, his eyes blazing with fury.

Brian didn't care at all. Instead, he shrugged his hairy shoulders, licked his nose, and lazily added, "Don't glare at me, man. If it weren't for Chaos's mercy, you'd be two meters tall on your grave by now."

Burning Bone's finger joints made a cracking sound, as if he was about to go berserk at any moment.

Fatty Xu immediately pounced on him, grabbing the dead dog's thick neck while yelling at Fen Gu:

"Calm down! Calm down, brothers! If we start fighting on the spaceship, the air pressure will explode, and we'll all turn into frozen corpses in a vacuum!"

This was obviously just a joke, but it did dissipate a lot of Burning Bones' anger.

Professor Da Vinci stared at the scene with half-open eyes, his expression like a dead fish, and snorted, "If this guy can't resist chopping up Brian, we can save some dog food."

"Hey, you old idiot!"

Fatty Xu immediately jumped up and down, "How can you say that? Brian is our nose radar; we can only track Burning Bone and Meteor without him! Where are we going to find a replacement if we lose him?"

Brian snorted smugly, his tail wagging high: "Did you hear that? I'm irreplaceable!"

Professor Leonardo da Vinci rolled his eyes, reached out and pulled out a strange mechanical sphere, placing it on the table with a thud.

“I built a ‘super electronic sniffer’ three days ago, which is a hundred times more accurate than yours. If it weren’t for the fact that you can make sarcastic remarks to relieve boredom, I would have thrown you out of the hatch long ago.”

Brian was stunned for a moment, then immediately bristled: "You're talking nonsense! Even a machine can't compare to my keen sense of smell! Chaos! You be the judge!"

Zhang Yi was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, resting. Hearing the voice, he merely opened his eyes slightly and lazily replied, "Why don't you two find a place to have a solo match? I'll be the referee."

The cabin fell silent instantly.

Fatty Xu seized the opportunity to burst into laughter, clutching his stomach and nearly rolling off his chair: "Hahahaha! Serves them right! A dog and an old man, both were completely subdued by the prison warden! Oh my, I'm dying of laughter!"

Professor Da Vinci's deadpan eyes rolled, and he suddenly blurted out, "Fatty, if you laugh again, I'll give you a gastrectomy. I guarantee you'll lose twenty pounds in a month."

Fatty Xu immediately wilted, clutching his stomach and waving his hands repeatedly: "No, no, no! Professor, I was wrong, okay? This fat body of mine is the last barrier against the cold of the moon!"

The cabin erupted in laughter.

Shunliuxing covered her mouth and couldn't help but laugh, tears welling in her eyes.

That smile wasn't from finding joy in hardship, but because for the first time, she felt "human warmth" outside of despair and fate.

Actually, both Fatty Xu and Brian were just trying to liven things up.

After all, it is hard to feel happy about sending an innocent girl to her death out of helplessness.

Even Zhang Yi couldn't handle this matter with a smile.

Fen Gu stared at her blankly, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

The girl he was desperately trying to protect was now genuinely smiling because of these people from Earth.

……

The spaceship traversed the desolate lunar sea, gradually approaching the borders of the Radiant Moon Empire.

Through the porthole, one can see towering white city walls and a massive energy dome in the distance—the defensive system of the capital of the Radiant Moon Empire.

The laughter and chatter in the cabin gradually subsided, replaced by a somber atmosphere.

Zhang Yi slowly opened his eyes, his gaze calm: "We've arrived at the Radiant Moon Empire. I will now hand you over to the Silver Moon Guards of the Radiant Moon Empire, but Miss Meteor, you should be more familiar with this place than I am."

Burning Bones suddenly looked up, his fists clenched tightly.

Shunliuxing reached out and grabbed him, her gaze gentle yet firm: "No matter the outcome, I want to see it with my own eyes. Even if it's just for this moment, it will be worth it in this life."

"Come to think of it, I've grown up in the Radiant Moon Empire and I've never really seen this place properly before!"

She went to the porthole and looked at the image of the enormous, technologically created silver moon floating in the sky.

And that enormous, radiant kingdom, a hint of moist ecstasy flickered in his eyes.

"I only realized today how beautiful the place where I grew up is!"

A brief silence fell over the cabin.

Brian clicked his tongue, suddenly breaking the deadlock: "I really can't stand this atmosphere anymore, it's like some kind of doomsday declaration. Chaos, can't I get off the ship and find some bones to gnaw on? I don't want to starve to death at the gates of the Radiant Moon Empire!"

Its paw rubbed its eyes; hmm, there was a stone in its eye.