I Am a Salted Fish in the Interstellar Era - Chapter 8

“What are you doing here?” Shi Yu asked, hugging the energy gun, cautiously looking around while following behind Xie Yuyan.

“Checking some things.” Xie Yuyan responded straightforwardly.

Shi Yu obediently acknowledged with an “Oh,” not asking further.

Knowing enough about the situation was sufficient. Delving deeper into matters, the more one knew, the worse one’s fate could be.

The Sea Blue Express building was towering and vast. It seemed yet to be invaded by unknown species. The surroundings were eerily quiet, with all the robots responsible for receiving and dispatching parcels frozen as if their tasks were abruptly interrupted. It was unclear if the central system of Sea Blue Express had been shut down.

Xie Yuyan seemed very familiar with the place, navigating through corridors without any hesitation. However, Shi Yu could sense his energy waning, his steps growing heavier.

Soon, the two arrived outside a remarkably spacious corridor. Its vastness was notable, being dozens of meters high, with its width nearly matching its height, its purpose unclear.

Shi Yu followed Xie Yuyan to a large door at the end of the corridor, watching him unfold a smart virtual screen. Then, a virtual tentacle from his brain-computer interface gently touched the wall, and shortly after, a virtual screen unfolded on the wall as well.

Xie Yuyan’s fair and slender fingers danced on the virtual screen, and in less than a minute, the tightly shut doors suddenly opened.

Standing in front of the doors, Shi Yu felt the change in air flow, fluttering her clothes.

Xie Yuyan retracted his brain-computer interface, leading the way inside. It was even more spacious than outside, resembling a massive square, with countless virtual screens floating in the air, all displaying static data.

Shi Yu was astounded by the sight, but Xie Yuyan had already reached the central control console.

A virtual screen unfolded in front of his right eye, and the virtual tentacle from his brain-computer interface connected to the central console. His fingers swiftly moved, reading and altering data continuously.

Shi Yu, who had always been a code novice, barely grasping C++, admired those who could skillfully manipulate data.

Unable to understand what Xie Yuyan was doing, she simply sat on the steps of the central console, taking out a small pudding and happily munching away.

But she had only eaten half of her pudding when she suddenly heard a soft crackling noise, strikingly odd in the quiet space and gradually blending with the sound of spiders gnawing on glass heard earlier.

Shi Yu quickly swallowed her pudding whole, stood up in a hurry, and asked, “Are you done? I’m not sure if those monsters have followed us here.”

Xie Yuyan’s brows furrowed slightly, his fingers moving even faster: “Almost there.”

After saying that, he swiftly pushed a virtual screen towards Shi Yu: “The same spiders as before. Try to stall them for five minutes, and we’ll leave immediately after.”

“Five minutes! You think too highly of me!”

Shi Yu, looking at the densely packed spiders on the virtual screen, felt a chill run down her spine. It had been easy to escape with Xie Yuyan’s bodyguards around, but now, just the two of them, blocking those spiders seemed like an impossible task.

Xie Yuyan seemed confident in her abilities, not responding to her concerns.

Gritting her teeth, Shi Yu glanced at the virtual screen again. Suddenly, a circle of sharp teeth approached, and with a snap, the virtual screen blurred and then disappeared.

Subsequently, more and more of the virtual screens monitoring the entire Sea Blue Express building from the central console vanished.

Listening to the direction of the sound, Shi Yu tightened her grip on the energy gun, her mind on high alert.

She did not regret coming here with Xie Yuyan, knowing that if she did not take this opportunity to escape, the old hen by his side would never let her off.

Shi Yu had emerged from a sea of corpses and blood, her sensitivity to the murderous intent of others almost instinctual.

She had inadvertently stumbled upon several people with ulterior motives remaining in the city. Their goals were unspeakable, and she had no chance of keeping her life safe.

Hearing the crackling sound becoming clearer, Shi Yu impatiently urged, “Hurry up, or I’ll have to escape alone.”

Almost the moment her words fell, a crack appeared on the originally smooth and seamless wall, and then the crack spread across the entire wall like a spider web.

With a loud crash, the tall wall collapsed, Shi Yu swallowed nervously as the broken building materials fell, nearly hitting her.

At the same time, one after another, black spiders crawled out from the collapsed wall, their abdomens ringed with sharp teeth, and their furry spider legs flailing as if taunting and provoking.

Energy bullets continuously shot out from the gun barrel, but Shi Yu’s firing rate was far less than the number of spiders. Even though her accuracy was high and sometimes she could take down several spiders at once, she still couldn’t prevent the spiders from getting close.

At this rate, both she and Xie Yuyan would be devoured as food by the spiders.

As she fired, she retreated, until finally, Xie Yuyan stopped what he was doing and said in a low voice, “Let’s go!”

Without hesitation, Shi Yu grabbed his wrist and ran out. Xie Yuyan was a genuine weakling, clearly struggling to keep up with her pace, but only a short distance later, his lips turned pale.

Enduring physical discomfort, he ran while controlling his brain-computer interface.

At the same moment, the large doors ahead began to close.

Shi Yu instantly understood his intention. In just a moment, the spiders had all poured in. With their current speed, they would be completely devoured by the spiders before they could get out.

Shi Yu bit her lip and forcefully pulled Xie Yuyan forward: “You go first!”

She did not have the spirit of sacrificing herself for others. She intended to run and run without leaving any trouble behind. Now was the best opportunity.

Guessing he was a burden, Xie Yuyan ran forward with her push, but in a moment, his lips turned even paler.

As Shi Yu retreated and fired, her blocking slowed the spiders’ advance slightly, but only by a little.

Xie Yuyan reached the door, turned back to look at the girl behind him, and realized she hadn’t followed at all, moving in the complete opposite direction of the door.

He frowned, the door already two-thirds closed. He stopped, only to hear Shi Yu disdainfully say, “Hurry up and get out, don’t get in the way here.”

This genuine disdain made Xie Yuyan’s face darken, and he quickened his pace, stepping out of the central control room.

Shi Yu saw the door about to close and then pushed off the ground, running towards the other side of the central control room.

Xie Yuyan turned back, only to see her gracefully leaping, taking down several spiders with one shot, even managing to turn to him and wink, mouthing: “Goodbye, pretty boy…”

Understanding her lip movements, Xie Yuyan narrowed his eyes, a chill emanating from him, but the central control room’s door slammed shut, completely isolating him on the outside.