"Natarle! Are you still on the spaceship?"
Williams' steady voice came through the phone.
But the sharp-eared Zhou Tianming detected something amiss in his tone, along with chaotic shouting in the background.
Something's wrong!
Straightening up and ignoring Natarle's cold fingers still pinching his ear, Tianming moved closer with a stern expression.
Natarle blinked in surprise before frowning and releasing her grip. "I'm still aboard. What's happening?"
"Don't disembark yet." Williams spoke rapidly. "The situation's unclear, but chaos has broken out at the exhibition hall."
Tianming's heart skipped a beat. Reaching out with his Mindpower, he sensed Zhou Hanxiang was unharmed.
Though relieved, he immediately flew aside to call Hanxiang. His brow furrowed—the call wouldn't connect.
Returning to Natarle's side, he kept redialing while listening to the ongoing conversation.
"A massive tremor just hit the exhibition hall. Lunar dust outside has obscured visibility. Have the crew investigate."
Natarle froze, her gaze shifting uncomfortably before admitting sheepishly, "We're not near the exhibition hall..."
"..." The line went silent.
Glancing at Tianming, Natarle hurriedly explained, "The crew here were accommodating, so they took us for a short flight. We're heading back now."
On the other end, Williams and Olivia exchanged exasperated looks.
"Natarle..." Williams spoke with paternal disappointment, "You're a young woman. Boarding a strange spaceship without caution... Clearly, we need to establish some ground rules!"
Natarle grimaced, rendered speechless.
Tianming also broke into a cold sweat, his expression turning awkward. In their excitement, they'd overlooked proper protocol.
"Sigh—Never mind. With the current uncertainty, your distance might be fortuitous. Have the crew investigate immediately."
"Understood."
"Keep your line open. Maintain contact."
"Will do."
As Natarle ended the call, Tianming said, "Let's return and assess the situation."
Pushing off a nearby handle, he propelled himself toward the cockpit, analyzing the crisis.
Massive tremor—
Moonquake? Do those happen on the Moon?
Meteor impact? More plausible.
Judging by the background noise, the scale was catastrophic, with the epicenter near the exhibition hall.
The realization darkened his expression.
After returning to the captain's seat, Natarle frowned silently before finally speaking, "I know you're worried about your family, but I still think charging back blindly isn't wise given the unclear situation."
The chair rotated fully as Zhou Tianming looked up at Natarle. Her face was pale, yet her eyes remained remarkably calm.
After a moment's thought, he asked, "You think the massive tremor was caused deliberately?"
"Based on Dad's description, I believe the object causing the tremor had significant mass but wasn't moving particularly fast," Natarle said gravely, enunciating each word. "Moreover, with at least 200 spaceships surrounding the exhibition hall, it's impossible for a meteor to land nearby. The only thing that fits..."
Clenching his teeth, Tianming realized, "You think a spaceship crashed?"
She nodded.
Tianming's mind raced as he quickly ran simulations—recalling the exhibition hall's size, the positions of spaceships he'd glimpsed when leaving, and Williams' account.
If the meteor were too large, the surrounding ships would easily detect and either destroy or fragment it, with small fragments incapable of causing such tremors.
If too small, it wouldn't pose any threat.
He exhaled sharply.
"You're right—it's likely a spaceship," Tianming acknowledged Natarle's deduction. "What are the odds it was mechanical failure causing the crash?"
Natarle momentarily lost focus as she watched Tianming seriously pose the question, but quickly regained composure.
After lowering her head in thought, she answered, "Slim."
"Understood." Swiveling his chair back, Tianming typed commands. "White Rabbit, send the Yin-Yang data to Badgiruel."
"Roger."
A screen unfolded before Natarle, displaying the Yin-Yang's detailed functions.
Her eyes rapidly scanned the information before widening in shock as she stared speechlessly at Tianming's back.
Just then, Tianming's phone rang.
An unknown number.
He answered: "Tianming, where are you?"
...
Inside the exhibition hall, after finishing his call with Natarle, Williams handed his phone to Zhou Hanxiang.
Nodding in thanks, Hanxiang took it.
As she was about to dial, another tremor struck.
The three quickly crouched to maintain balance.
At the exits, the crowd swayed violently before collapsing into a chaotic pile of bodies.
This tremor wasn't severe, but came in continuous waves of varying intensity.
When it subsided, they stood.
Williams, as an active-duty soldier, looked grim. "These are explosion-induced tremors."
"No sound reached us—the explosion happened in cosmic space." He clenched his fists. "It's a spaceship."
Hearing this, Olivia and Hanxiang paled.
Hanxiang urgently dialed, relieved when answered: "Tianming! Where are you?"
Williams and Olivia froze.
A familiar voice replied, "Mom, I went out to buy food—I'm not at the exhibition hall. I saw huge clouds of lunar dust rising near you. Are you okay?"
"We're fine. Don't come back—wait for me to come to you."
"Okay."
Seizing the moment, Olivia—already forming suspicions—called out loudly, "Tianming, is Natarle with you?"
Hanxiang looked at Olivia in confusion.
...
Aboard the Black Tortoise—
Cold sweat broke out on Tianming's forehead.
Before he could react, Natarle—hearing Olivia's voice—asked in confusion, "Mom? How do you have Tianming's number?"
"..."
A moment later, Zhou Hanxiang said coldly, "Zhou Tianming! What did I tell you!"
"Spaceship exhibition—are you on the Black Tortoise? White Rabbit!"
Tianming frantically typed on the keyboard, trying to disable White Rabbit's voice function, but it was too late.
"Yes, Master is currently on the bridge of the Black Tortoise."
"..."
Damn it!
Just as Tianming thought he was doomed when he got back, Hanxiang unexpectedly let him off lightly:
"Let it slide this time. The situation is special, and I'm actually relieved you're on the Black Tortoise."
Tianming exhaled deeply and patted his chest.
The two families then exchanged information, and after learning the truth, they all relaxed slightly.
But when they began discussing their respective speculations, the mood grew heavy again.
Williams said, "Natarle, you and Tianming should stay put for now. Something might have happened to the ships outside. I'll contact the Ptolemy Base to check."
Tianming and Natarle exchanged glances, both seeing the same answer in each other's eyes.
They replied in unison, "Understood."
Hanxiang added, "Tianming, take care of Badgiruel. Don't let her get hurt."
"Got it, I'll look after her."
Natarle frowned, clenching her fist and raising it at Tianming.
Tianming waved her off dismissively and said into the comms, "Uncle Williams, please take care of my mom."
"That's my duty as a soldier. Don't worry."
As the call ended, their expressions shifted, turning serious.
Natarle commanded, "[Yin-Yang] activate. Repulsion Field at maximum output. Clear the surrounding metal debris, then full speed ahead out of the debris belt."
On the Black Tortoise's back, the slowly rotating black-and-white fish emblem sped up. The Repulsion Field, which had been keeping the surrounding debris from touching the hull, began expanding.
The sphere enveloping the ship swelled like a stone, growing larger, cracking, and then reaching a critical point before bursting violently.
Meteors and metal debris scattered in all directions, clearing the area. The Black Tortoise's thrusters flared as it swiftly surged out of the debris belt.
The moment they emerged, on the bridge—
"Engage electromagnetic Overdrive at full speed toward Copernicus City on the Moon," Natarle ordered. Then she added, "At 5,000 units from Copernicus, cut the Overdrive engines. [Yin-Yang], activate electromagnetic interference. The Black Tortoise will approach on inertia."
Wrapped in crackling electricity, the Black Tortoise raced away.