Chapter 152: Space Bermuda

Although the starship "Viper" was heading towards Triton by following the direction from which Karl Wade and Dal Kinder's distress signal originated, they were completely unaware that such danger was closing in on them.

After transmitting their distress signal and waiting for a period of time, believing that all preparations were complete, they decided to set a course for the asteroid belt, which they considered to be a safe zone.

At this moment, Karl Wade issued the command. Over the communicator, Karl Wade said to Dal Kinder:

"Wingman, wingman! Listen up. The countdown begins: four, three, two, one, launch!"

Following this, both of them activated the engines of their space fighters and slowly flew out from beneath the surface of Triton. However, the moment they emerged, they were stunned by the scene before them. The Gomarn space warship "Viper" had appeared right in front of them.

Karl Wade was dumbfounded for a moment, and he urgently called out to his wingman, Dal Kinder:

"Wingman, wingman! What is going on here? Why does the enemy target still exist? Why does the enemy target still exist? How is this possible?"

However, Dal Kinder remained relatively calm. Looking at the vessel before them, he said:

"Leader, leader. I don't think it's very strange that the 'Viper' managed to pull through. They probably possess extremely powerful monitoring capabilities. After detecting the locations of all the space mines, they simply used their firepower to blast a path through them."

Karl Wade said:

"Then we must escape quickly, and rendezvous with our supporting forces as soon as possible."

Dal Kinder said:

"Leader, leader! You go first, and I will stay behind to cover our retreat. Please do not hesitate at all, or none of us will make it out. I have my own way of getting away. Hurry up and go, leader."

Before either of them could take any further action, the Gomarn spacecraft—the starship "Python"—suddenly shot out two beams of light that enveloped both space fighters.

Immediately afterward, a voice came through the comms channel from the Gomarn warship "Viper":

"You two, there is no escape for you now. Surrender obediently, and we will spare your lives."

Simultaneously with this transmission, the power systems of Karl Wade's and Dal Kinder's craft rapidly failed and died.

Seeing this, Karl Wade was suddenly seized with panic, and he shouted:

"What did they use to render our propulsion systems inoperable? No, wait—they have a gravity device! These two beams of light are generated by a tractor beam, and this gravity device is pulling our ships toward them!"

As Karl Wade spoke, he and his wingman were indeed being dragged by some sort of gravitational force toward the Gomarn ship "Viper."

However, Dal Kinder remained relatively cool-headed. He immediately called out:

"My leader, please do not panic just yet. We just need to activate our counter-gravitational devices immediately, the same principle as like poles of magnets repelling each other. Although our power systems are disabled, we can actually use their tractor beam to escape their clutches. Please act immediately!"

Upon hearing this, Karl Wade excitedly shouted back:

"Understood!"

With the activation of the counter-gravitational devices, the two space fighters—which had been on the verge of capture by the gravity beam of the Gomarn "Viper"—once again slowly began to break free from the enemy warship's grasp.

On the Gomarn side, however, they were far from pleased. The executive officer aboard the starship "Viper" reported to their captain:

"Reporting to Your Excellency the Captain, the enemy has activated their counter-gravitational devices. Requesting instructions, requesting instructions."

***

Upon hearing this report and witnessing the scene, the captain of the starship "Viper" flew into a rage and declared:

"Hmph, they actually found a way out. They truly live up to the name of elite warriors. But all the better—the more elite the warriors, the more intelligence they are bound to possess. Isn't this getting interesting!"

Then, the captain issued an order to his executive officer:

"Continue pursuing them according to the original plan, so they won't expect us to suddenly change tactics. At the same time, ten seconds from now, suddenly shut down our tractor beam. This will throw them into chaos as they are abruptly affected by their own momentum, and do not let up on the suppression of their power systems. Five seconds after they fall into confusion, we will reactivate our tractor beam and capture them."

Upon hearing this, the executive officer immediately replied:

"Yes, sir!"

However, Karl Wade and Dal Kinder were unaware that the enemy's plan was shifting, and they believed they were successfully shaking off the crisis step by step.

At that moment, Karl Wade said to Dal Kinder:

"Wingman, wingman! Your plan really works! Your plan really works! Now we are using the enemy's own tractor beam to break away from their pursuit step by step, giving them a taste of their own medicine! Hahaha!!!"

However, Dal Kinder replied:

"Leader, we are still not completely out of danger. I am worried that the enemy might use new methods against us at any moment. We had better leave as quickly as possible."

Hearing this, Karl Wade said:

"Copy that, copy that, thanks for the reminder! This time we'll let the Gomarns win one round, but next time I'll make sure they don't return alive. Just you wait, damn Gomarns."

However, before they could make their next move, the Gomarn starship "Python" suddenly cut off its tractor beam. This abrupt action once again plunged the ships of Karl Wade and Dal Kinder into chaos. Karl Wade cried out in dismay:

"What are these damn bastards playing at—are they playing in a space Bermuda?"

Dal Kinder immediately called out:

"Leader, leader! They are indeed playing space Bermuda! Please shut down your anti-magnetic resistance device immediately, and I will execute the command at the same time. Fast!"

Karl Wade cursed furiously:

"Received! I am going to annihilate these bastards!!!"

Following that, they deactivated their respective magnetic devices.

It is worth mentioning here that there is a "Bermuda Triangle" in the Atlantic Ocean, where aircraft and ships are legendary for mysteriously disappearing.

However, several hundred kilometers above the Atlantic, southeast of the "Bermuda Triangle" and off the coast of Brazil, there exists a similarly strange region.

When many artificial satellites pass through this area, their onboard instruments frequently fall into chaos. Either their photoelectric "eyes" become blurred, or their computers issue erroneous commands, and some space telescopes even end up tumbling head over heels. Are aliens toying with human satellites? No, this is merely the Earth's magnetic field playing tricks.

As early as 1958, scientists detected an inner radiation belt located several hundred kilometers above the Earth, composed of high-energy particles trapped in outer space by the Earth's magnetic field.

Because the Earth's rotational axis and magnetic axis are not perfectly aligned and are slightly offset, the inner radiation belt above the South Atlantic dips very close to the Earth, "invading" down to an altitude of about 200 kilometers.

When so many low-orbit satellites travel into this radiation belt, it is as if they have stumbled into an electronic "trap." The photoelectric sensors on the satellites will "see" non-existent light fog due to particle bombardment; if a high-energy particle happens to strike a delicate trace on a large-scale integrated circuit, the computer will "babble" and malfunction due to short circuits.

Some satellites are equipped with electromagnets, which use the interaction between the electromagnet and the Earth's geomagnetic field to control their flight posture. However, the magnetic field in the "Space Bermuda Triangle" occasionally becomes so weak that the satellites lose control, much like an unskilful skater on a slick ice rink who cannot grab anything to steady themselves.

Fortunately, aerospace experts are already well-acquainted with the "Space Bermuda Triangle" and are able to prevent most of the interference experienced by satellites.

Just at this moment, although Karl Wade and Dal Kinder had hurriedly deactivated their counter-gravitational devices, before they even had time to restabilize their spacecraft, the Gomarn starship "Viper" suddenly re-engaged its tractor beam at an even higher power setting.

This caught the already disoriented Karl Wade and Dal Kinder completely off guard. Furthermore, because the Gomarns employed a much greater power output this time, the speed at which they were being re-captured by the "Viper" was far faster.

At this point, Karl Wade said with a hint of despair:

"Wingman, wingman. It looks like we won't be making it back this time. What should we do?"

Dal Kinder said:

"Leader, leader! Let's not talk about that now. Use the gas steering thrusters to steady the spacecraft as much as possible. That way we still have a chance to reactivate the counter-gravitational device. If all else fails, let's infiltrate their 'Python' and turn the place upside down! The backup forces are already on their way anyway; once we destroy them from within, we can have the rescue fleet pull us out."

Upon hearing this, Karl Wade replied:

"Alright!!!"

Yet in the end, they were ultimately unable to break free from the influence of the tractor beam, and were sucked straight into the interior of the Gomarn starship "Viper."

...

Meanwhile, at the airfield of the Liu Family Mercantile's suburban cargo storage point outside Heizhou City in the Great Dashing State on Earth, the "Crater" remained parked in its place.

Through one of its open launch windows, Zhang Desen's "Lifesaver" No. 1 was docked, fully prepared for departure at a moment's notice.

At that moment, the voice of Zhou Yongli finally came through the communicator:

"Dragon Head, Dragon Head, this is White Dragon! Dragon Head, Dragon Head, this is White Dragon!"

Zhang Desen immediately responded:

"This is Dragon Head, go ahead!"

Zhou Yongli replied instantly:

"That unidentified flying object has launched!"

Zhang Desen immediately answered:

"Understood, I'm right on its tail!"

Following that, Zhang Desen immediately ignited his spacecraft's plasma engines and pursued the unidentified flying object he was tracking.