Top-Tier Omega: Chasing Alpha to the Crematorium – Chapter 88
by Little PandaWu Lan, You Can’t Escape!
After the three of them set out, because they were worried about Murong Xia’s condition, they had Murong Ruixue head back. That left only Song Qingpei and Wu Lan to continue the journey to Planet Blue Tree.
The two of them endured a long, grueling voyage.
As the ship broke through the final layer of the ion storm, the protective shields blared with a harsh, screeching alarm.
“Hold on tight!” Wu Lan’s fingers flew across the control console as fine beads of sweat broke out on her temples. “This godforsaken place is even more dangerous than the intel reports said!”
After a violent shudder, the ship finally broke through the clouds.
Suddenly, the view beyond the viewport opened up.
A planet enveloped in a soft, pale blue glow lay stretched out before them. Across its surface, colossal blue trees branched out like a network of veins, with a bioluminescent substance flowing fluidly between their canopies.
Song Qingpei’s breath caught.
The sight seemed to align slowly with the hazy fragments of memory floating in her mind—the star map on the laboratory wall, the glowing trees. They were scenes she had always assumed were nothing more than dreams.
“Coordinates confirmed,” Wu Lan’s voice pulled her back to reality. “The Fourth Planet’s Satellite in the Nebula-7 System. This is it.”
The spaceship touched down on an open expanse of the planet’s surface.
The moment the hatch opened, a strange fragrance washed over them. It smelled of a forest after rain, yet carried a metallic undertone she’d never encountered before.
“The atmosphere’s safe,” Wu Lan said, checking her handheld detector. “But radiation levels are on the high side. We’d better move fast.”
Song Qingpei nodded, tucking her ion gun into her waistband.
They made their way along a path that had clearly been carved out by hand.
Up close, the surrounding blue trees were even more spectacular than they had appeared from a distance. The bioluminescent substance flowing down their trunks pulsed like a living thing in the dim light. She couldn’t help but reach out to touch one. A faint prickling sensation stung her fingertips, followed immediately by a strange, soothing warmth that spread from her hand throughout her entire body.
“Careful!” Wu Lan yanked her hand back. “The sap these trees secrete might be toxic.”
But Song Qingpei felt a strange, inexplicable sense of familiarity.
“No… I feel like they know me,” she whispered. When she looked at the trees again, she seemed to hear a faint, heartbeat-like rhythm.
Wu Lan gave her a peculiar look but said nothing more.
The two of them pressed on. Before long, a metal structure, half-buried under dense foliage, came into view.
It was a Hemispherical Laboratory. Its exterior was coated in some light-absorbing material, making it look exceptionally dim even under the bioluminescent glow of the blue trees.
“This has to be it,” Song Qingpei murmured. Her heart hammered, her throat tightening.
The laboratory’s security system was still functional; a holographically projected scanner popped out from the doorframe. Wu Lan instantly went on high alert, but as if driven by some uncanny instinct1, Song Qingpei stepped forward and looked up at the scanner.
“Verification successful. Welcome back, Doctor Song.” A synthetic female voice spoke, and the door slid open without a sound.
Wu Lan raised her eyebrows in surprise. “Qingpei, you knew all along?”
“No… it was just instinct.” Song Qingpei was equally shocked. It felt as though something were guiding her steps.
The interior of the laboratory was surprisingly pristine, as though time had stood still here. Scientific instruments were arranged in perfect order, and several holographic projections hovered over the central console, displaying complex streams of data. The most striking sight was a row of cultivation pods lining the right wall, within which floated a glowing blue liquid.
“The Blue Tree extract…” Wu Lan gasped, quickly walking over to the cultivation pods.
Just then, the main console suddenly lit up, and a holographic projection began to take shape.
It was a woman in a white lab coat, her dark hair pulled up into a simple bun, her face gentle yet resolute. Song Qingpei had seen this person before, in the Song family portrait.
Song Qingpei’s blood ran cold. It was her mother—Song Taoyao.
“If you’re seeing this recording, it means my daughter has already grown up.” In the hologram, Song Taoyao smiled, her eyes filled with tenderness. “My dear child, please forgive Mama for not being able to stay by your side.”
Song Qingpei reached out a trembling hand, only for it to pass through empty light and shadow.
“The Blue Tree extract is the culmination of my life’s work,” Song Taoyao’s image continued. “Your mother spent her life working to develop an affordable version of the extract to suppress the influence of pheromones on people, but this threatened the interests of the nobility.” Her expression turned solemn. “Zhan Li stopped at nothing to seize this research. He betrayed our friendship, and he betrayed the entire Federation…”
The projection suddenly flickered, and Song Taoyao’s figure became unstable. “There’s not much time left… The extract samples and all the research data are stored here…”
The hologram cut off abruptly, plunging the laboratory back into silence.
Song Qingpei stood frozen in place, a storm of conflicting emotions2 churning within her. Wu Lan gently pressed a hand to her shoulder, offering silent comfort.
“We have to hurry,” Song Qingpei said after a moment, wiping away her tears as her voice regained its resolve. “We must take everything my mother left behind.”
The two of them immediately set to work.
Wu Lan took charge of downloading the laboratory’s master database, while Song Qingpei carefully packed the Blue Tree extract samples into a specialized storage case. While sorting through the documents, she discovered some personal items in a hidden drawer: a diary, a few family photos, and a letter addressed to her.
With trembling hands, Song Qingpei opened the envelope. Elegant, graceful handwriting leaped out at her:
「My dearest daughter:
When you read this letter, Mama may already be gone from this world. But please remember, no matter what happens, I will always love you. You are the most beautiful miracle of my life, the source of all my courage and hope…」
Tears stained the paper as Song Qingpei carefully held it tight against her chest.
At that moment, she felt a strange surge of strength, giving her the courage to keep moving forward.
“Done,” Wu Lan’s voice came from the console. “All the data’s been encrypted and transmitted to our ship. How are things on your end?”
Song Qingpei nodded, tucking away the letter and the photos. “The samples are safely sealed. Let’s go.”
On the way back to the spaceship, both of them maintained a vigilant silence.
The sky above Planet Blue Tree was beginning to shift. The originally soft blue light gradually turned into a deep violet, and a tense atmosphere saturated the air.
“A storm is coming,” Wu Lan said, quickening her pace. “We’ve got to leave immediately.”
Just as they were about to reach the ship, a shrill alarm blared from Wu Lan’s communicator. She checked it quickly, and her face went instantly pale.
“Something has happened!” She turned the screen toward Song Qingpei. “The Black Kite base has been surrounded!”
The screen displayed an emergency distress signal from Murong Ruixue, followed by a blurry surveillance feed. Dozens of warships bearing the Federation insignia had completely encircled the Black Kite base. And standing at the absolute forefront as the commanding officer was none other than Zhan Nansheng.
Clad in a Federation military uniform, her gaze was like ice, making her look like a completely different person from the proud, vibrant woman she had once been.
“Zhan Nansheng?” Song Qingpei looked at Wu Lan in shock. “How could she…”
Wu Lan’s expression was unreadable as her fingers mindlessly stroked the weapon at her waist. “Zhan Li sent her. Zhan Nansheng… She hates me. She hates anyone connected to the Black Kite. If things go sideways, you must take the samples and leave first. Do you understand?”
“Alright.” Song Qingpei nodded and turned toward the cockpit. “Set the course. Auntie Murong and the others can’t wait much longer.”
Around the perimeter of the Black Kite base, the Federation warships formed an iron curtain, blockading every single flight path.
Zhan Nansheng stood inside the command deck of the flagship, “Retribution”, the cold blue light reflecting off her pale face.
“Report, Commander: all exits are sealed, but they’re still resisting inside the base,” the adjutant’s voice came through the communicator.
“Deploy the electromagnetic pulse bombs,” she ordered, her voice cold as ice.
“But Commander, the pulse bombs will harm—”
“Execute the order,” Zhan Nansheng interrupted him, her eyes sharp as daggers.
Just then, the radar operator shouted, “Unidentified vessel detected! It’s trying to break through the blockade!”
Zhan Nansheng whipped around to face the main screen. A familiar black starship was tearing through their defensive line at an astonishing speed. Those sleek, fluid lines, that distinct thruster exhaust—
It was Wu Lan’s “Nightingale”.
Her heart squeezed violently, her fingernails digging deep into her palms.
“Lock onto it,” she heard her own voice tremble. “Do not shoot it down. I’ll handle this myself.”
Inside the targeted “Nightingale”, the alarms shrieked deafeningly.
Wu Lan’s fingers danced across the control panel. The starship wove through the dense net of artillery fire, every evasive maneuver hair-raisingly close.
“Wu Lan! The right-wing shields are down to thirty percent!” Song Qingpei clutched her seat, her face pale.
“Hold on tight!” Wu Lan slammed the thruster lever forward. The ship climbed at a near-vertical angle. Three homing missiles grazed the bottom of the hull, exploding into a blinding burst of fire in the distance.
Through the viewport, Song Qingpei could see at least twenty warships adjusting their formations, preparing for a second round of interception. “We can’t break through…”
“Who said we’re trying to break through?” Wu Lan smirked, a cynical smile playing on her lips. “We only need to buy ourselves ten minutes.”
She pressed a concealed button. The ship suddenly deployed dozens of decoy flares while the rear cargo bay ejected a small escape pod. Inside were the Blue Tree extract samples and Song Taoyao’s research data.
“Are you crazy?” Song Qingpei’s eyes widened. “That’s our only—”
“Decoy,” Wu Lan cut her off, her eyes fixed on the radar. “Look, they’ve taken the bait.”
Sure enough, most of the warships turned to pursue the escape pod. Only a single, pitch-black mech remained hot on their heels—Zhan Nansheng was coming for them.
“Change of plans,” Wu Lan’s expression suddenly turned grave. “I’ll lead her away. You take the opportunity to find Murong Xia at the base.”
“What are you going to do?” Song Qingpei asked warily.
Wu Lan didn’t answer. She simply veered the ship sharply, charging straight toward a nearby asteroid belt.
“Trust me,” she said at last, her voice so quiet it was barely audible.
Inside the asteroid belt, the two vessels darted like ghosts among the rocks.
Wu Lan’s “Nightingale” nimbly threaded past every meteor, while Zhan Nansheng’s “Jackdaw” was far more brute-force, clearing obstacles out of the way with direct blasts from its ion cannons.
“Wu Lan!” Zhan Nansheng’s voice suddenly crackled through the communicator. “Do you really think you can escape?”
Wu Lan’s fingers paused for a fraction of a second before she tapped the transmission key. “Long time no see, Eldest Miss.” Her tone was as relaxed as if she were catching up with an old friend. “Nice new mech. Though the paint job’s a bit too grim.”
“Shut up!” Zhan Nansheng’s voice carried a suppressed fury. “Surrender immediately, or I’ll shoot you down!”
“Would you really have the heart to?” Wu Lan gave a low chuckle. Simultaneously, she pulled the starship sharply upward, evading a precise beam of ion fire.
Zhan Nansheng didn’t answer, but the “Jackdaw’s” attacks grew even more ferocious. The two vessels engaged in a deadly dance through the asteroid belt, each clash fraught with extreme danger.
Suddenly, a massive meteor tumbled in from the side. Wu Lan pulled into an emergency evasive maneuver, but the rock still clipped her left wing. The “Nightingale” shuddered violently as sirens wailed throughout the cabin.
“Warning! Left thruster damaged! Shield energy under ten percent!”
Wu Lan swore and quickly adjusted her course.
Right then, the “Jackdaw” appeared directly ahead of her, its cannon barrels glowing with a lethal charge.
“It’s over, Wu Lan,” Zhan Nansheng said, her voice icy and absolute.
Looking at the familiar figure on her screen, Wu Lan suddenly smiled. “Yes, it’s over.”
She slammed her hand down on the self-destruct sequence and simultaneously ejected her escape pod.
The “Nightingale” erupted into a magnificent fireball in the vacuum of space, while Wu Lan’s escape pod, propelled by the shockwave of the explosion, hurtled toward a nearby Abandoned Space Station.
She had made it.
Inside the Abandoned Space Station, Wu Lan stumbled out of the escape pod.
Her left arm had been sliced open by shrapnel, and blood dripped down her hand, leaving dark red stains on the cold metal floor.
Her communicator suddenly buzzed; it was an encrypted channel from Ming Yu.
“Wu Lan! Where are you? Where’s Qingpei?” Ming Yu’s voice was tight with anxiety.
“Change of plans,” Wu Lan gasped, catching her breath. “Qingpei is at the Black Kite base… You must… you must go reinforce them immediately…”
“I’ve already mobilized the Third Fleet,” Ming Yu said firmly. “But I’m afraid we might not make it in time.”
“Go to Qin Mian…” Wu Lan slid down the wall to the floor. “Tell him… we have Zhan Li’s experimental data. He’ll be interested…”
Silence hung over the line for a moment. “Are you sure about this? Qin Mian can’t be trusted.”
Wu Lan’s vision began to blur. “There’s… no other choice…”
The connection went dead.
Wu Lan looked up at the dilapidated ceiling of the space station, a bitter smile touching the corner of her lips.
She recalled the way Zhan Nansheng had looked at her in the end. Beneath the hatred, there had been something much deeper.
Footnotes
- guǐshǐshénchāi (鬼使神差) is a Chinese idiom literally meaning 'demons and gods at work.' It refers to doing something on an inexplicable whim, as if guided by an unseen force.
- wǔwèizáchén (五味杂陈) is a Chinese idiom literally translating to 'the five flavors are mixed together.' It is commonly used to describe an overwhelming mixture of conflicting emotions.
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