A few minutes later.
The two academies' teachers and students all gazed in awe at the figure before them.
Around his feet was strewn the wreckage of bugs; and the special metal steel pipe in his hand, the kind used to build starships, had bent out of shape after hundreds of swings and heavy blows.
A bug's corpse still dangled from it at this moment.
It was hard to believe what they'd just seen.
That one man, facing dozens of bugs, relying on the single steel pipe in his hands, like a human mecha, had beaten those bugs to death one by one, each stroke pulping a bug's body.
As though what he killed were not bugs, but poultry!
Teacher Qin gulped; she'd noticed just now that this man, at his most, had faced near 30 bugs' pouncing bites at once — with even a few T2 Bug-Spiders among them!
And the result was that they'd all become corpses beneath his feet.
Too terrifying!
"Could this be the fabled gene-soldier? Surely he hasn't undergone the empire's gene-modification?" a student said, gingerly.
A professor wore a complicated look. "The gene-soldiers the empire is researching are still at the T2 stage; they can fight bugs single-handed, true. But… even that's only under a certain quantity. This man's combat power… already far surpasses the level of the empire's gene-soldier research!"
"Then why is he so strong?" someone asked, puzzled.
A professor who studied interstellar civilizations muttered, "The only possibility is that he's a hybrid — that he carries the genes of some interstellar race with very high individual combat power among the interstellar civilizations. Take the beast-folk's interstellar warriors, for instance: their physical qualities far outstrip us of the human race — there's even a rumor that some of them can shatter a T1 warship's hull armor with one punch!"
Whatever their many guesses now, at this moment there was only shock in their eyes.
Zhao Chen shook the flesh-scraps off the steel pipe and glanced at the exoskeleton armor on his left hand — cracks had already appeared on it.
Just now, in the fighting, the steel pipe alone hadn't been enough, so at times he'd swung his left fist outright.
By the look of it, under his fist even the exoskeleton armor could scarcely bear the punishment!
Ding — task updated. You have successfully met the task requirement of killing one thousand bugs
Task time is up; please claim the task reward
And that task requirement was, at last, completed to 1,000.
As for the 10,000 tier… Zhao Chen didn't dare so much as think of it — not that he couldn't kill that many.
But by the time he'd killed that many, he himself would likely be worn to collapse.
For now Zhao Chen had no leisure to claim the task reward either; he could only set it aside for the time being.
"Commander — the third batch of shuttles has arrived; withdraw at once, please!"
Over the comm channel came Lilith's voice.
Zhao Chen let out a breath; they'd come at last, smoothly, to this step. He looked at the six shuttles landing for the third time.
He at once hailed the two academies' teachers and students behind him — dazed as wooden chickens, some not even noticing the shuttles had landed.
"Board and withdraw, quick."
At Zhao Chen's hail the two academies' teachers and students came to themselves, and set about boarding to withdraw without a moment's pause.
Zhao Chen too, together with Su Lan, Chu Xuan, and the others, boarded one of the shuttles.
Once the people were loaded, the shuttle lifted off at once, returning to the warship's hangar in the sky.
On the ground, the 14 T2 Black-Knight-class Light Interstellar Combat-Mecha received the withdrawal order too; they engaged the rocket-thrusters on their backs and feet and leapt into the air.
Following the shuttles, they returned together to the T3 Blizzard-class Light Interstellar Battlecruiser.
And with these T2 Black-Knights' withdrawal, the wrecked ship on the ground was soon covered by a pitch-black sea of bugs.
Through the window, Su Lan watched the scene of the sea of bugs below, and couldn't help feeling a chill down her back; had it not been for Zhao Chen's support, descending like a heaven-sent soldier, perhaps by now they'd have fallen utterly, become food for those bugs.
"You're Cadet Zhao Chen, aren't you? Thank you so much for coming to rescue us this time!" Teacher Qin looked at Zhao Chen gratefully and opened the conversation of her own accord.
Zhao Chen looked at Teacher Qin before him — didn't know her.
"This is the Northstar Academy's leading teacher for our two-academy interstellar task this time; had Teacher Qin not organized us these past days in a fight to the death— —perhaps we'd never have held out for your rescue." Su Lan introduced her at his side.
Hearing that this woman teacher had organized the teachers and students in defense, Zhao Chen nodded to her in respect; to have the courage to strive and fight on in such circumstances, this teacher was worthy of respect.
"How many ships did our academy send? Are they all outside the planet?" an old professor beside them asked.
"The academy? No — the only support that came is this one ship of mine," Zhao Chen said outright.
At these words, everyone in the cabin gaped, thunderstruck.
"Just one ship? How could that be — outside now it's all bug-swarms and hive ships; with one ship of yours alone, how could you possibly have gotten in!" the old professor challenged.
"But I did get in." Zhao Chen couldn't be bothered to explain.
Chu Xuan said at his side, "It really was just Zhao Chen's one ship… The academy did consider coming to rescue you… only… it would have taken a bit of time."
Hearing Chu Xuan's words, everyone present caught the meaning in them.
The truth was they'd long since been given up on by the academy.
A crestfallen look came into everyone's eyes.
"Cadet Zhao Chen, truly, thank you so much." Teacher Qin thanked Zhao Chen again, her tone more sincere this time.
Though she didn't know how Zhao Chen had done it — braving the bug-swarm alone with one ship to rescue them—
—at the least, he had done it!
Zhao Chen said nothing; in truth, were it not for his own sister, and the System task, he'd not have cared whether these two academies' teachers and students lived or died.
If thanks were owed, they ought to thank the System for its "life-saving grace."
Soon the shuttle drove into the hangar, and the shuttle hatch opened.
Outside were the two batches of the two academies' teachers and students who'd arrived earlier, all standing or sitting in the corners, every face wearing the look of those come through a brush with death.
When Zhao Wan'er saw the shuttles return, she fixed her eyes on the hatch of every shuttle, searching for that figure.
At last, when she caught sight of that figure, she waved her arms in delight.
"Brother!"
Zhao Chen waved back at Zhao Wan'er; just as he was about to go over, a message from the bridge came over the comm channel.
"Commander — please come to the bridge at once! There's an extremely important piece of news to report to you!" Over the comm channel Zhao Chen heard Charlotte's voice, very grave.
Without a word Zhao Chen briskly stripped off the personal exoskeleton combat armor from his body — in truth this combat armor was near enough scrap already.
Zhao Chen walked off outside with quick strides.
"Cadet Zhao Chen…" Teacher Qin had meant to discuss the matter of withdrawal with Cadet Zhao Chen.
After all, on learning that only one ship had come to the rescue this time, the withdrawal to come was a great problem too.
But just as she walked to the doorway of this compartment, two crewwomen with laser rifles barred her way.
"Sorry — your range of movement is for now limited to this compartment!" the crewwomen said gravely.
Teacher Qin wore a somewhat awkward look and walked back.
After all, this was another's ship, and here their word was law.
Luckily this compartment was the hangar, where the shuttles were parked, and the space was large.
More than enough to hold the two academies' teachers and students.
"Look, quick! What's that outside!" A student at the edge of the compartment, pressed to a small porthole of a few square meters, who'd meant to look at the planet they'd just been on, suddenly cried out.
Teacher Qin and the others at once walked over.
At this moment the ship they were aboard had already begun to drive away from the planet, leaving the atmosphere.
And the sight outside — apart from the familiar interstellar cosmos—
—far off there were some black, murky things besides.
"They're… T3 hive mother-ships! And three of them!" a sharp-eyed teacher cried out.
Three T3 hive mother-ships!
Hearing this news, the two academies' teachers and students sank into panic once more.
Was this out of the wolf's den only to enter the tiger's mouth?
Were they doomed to die in this Water-Lily Star System after all?
The terror of the T3 hive mother-ship they'd witnessed before; their own two academies' fleet had been ambushed by a bug-race fleet led by a T3 hive mother-ship, and suffered grievous losses!