Interstellar Survival: Invasion
Chapter 301: Fiend of Pluto

After everyone received their share of the Isi virus, Zhang Xingxing gave the order to withdraw. Markus was only 10 meters away from us. Before we withdrew, Bob released a bait, attracting the cloud germs to the back of Outpost Koala. Then, we turned off all the lights and rushed out of the door.

We ran toward Markus, but the cloud germs noticed us immediately. They instantly swarmed us from everywhere. Unlike our previous encounter with the cloud germs, they stayed a meter away from us this time. That was far enough that they couldn't affect our senses.

"Looks like the Isi virus is working," said Domo as he clicked his tongue.

With the effect of the Isi virus, we were able to return to Markus without much issue. Triggered by our escape, the cloud germs raged. More and more of them crawled out of the ice volcano, looking like they were going to completely surround Markus. We gathered in Markus's command center. There, Zhang Xingxing ordered Temo to take off immediately. But then, the eerie laughter returned.

"Impossible! How can the fiend return so quickly?" exclaimed Bob in shock.

The laughter started approaching us. All our hair stood on end because we could hear the approach clearly.

"Do we take off immediately or temporarily shut down all power?" asked Temo calmly, showcasing the mental strength of a star-level individual.

"Turn off all light sources temporarily. We'll wait," said Zhang Xingxing, maintaining calm despite the incoming danger.

Following Zhang Xingxing's order, Temo shut off all light sources. We all waited silently, not daring to make any sound. The eerie laughter approached rapidly. Before long, it was right outside the ship. I could still hear Bob complaining in whispers that the monster was not following its usual pattern.

A series of thuds resounded. Unsurprisingly, the monster had landed on the outpost's roof again. Due to the intense storm and the large number of cloud germs outside, visibility was low. Without our light sources, I couldn't get a clear look at the monster through the window despite trying very hard.

Even with all our powerful weapons, we had all been contained by a monster we couldn't see. The eerie laughter released by the monster was akin to a blade hanging right atop my heart. Prolonged exposure to this laughter would cause one to suffer from a nervous breakdown, giving one the urge to rush out and fight it to the death. Suddenly, I vaguely saw two bright dots of light amid the darkness.

'Are those the monster's eyes?' I wondered inwardly.

The moment I saw the eyes, the fiend hissed loudly and jumped off the outpost's roof, landing atop Markus. Its landing was shockingly accurate.

"Don't look out the window. Lower your heads. Your eyes will reflect light," Bob hurriedly said.

Only then did I notice that apart from Bob and Dondon, everyone else was looking out the window. With Bob's reminder, we hurriedly lowered our heads. Alas, it was too late. Fierce knocking sounds rang out above us. The impact was strong, giving us a feeling that the roof was going to collapse on us soon.

"We can't just sit here doing nothing. Temo, is your ship not equipped with an automatic defense system?" asked Zhang Bao'er, who was starting to lose his cool.

"Calm down. It won't be so easy for it to break through Markus's alloy hull," said Temo calmly.

"We were definitely discovered. We might really need to hit back," said Bob nervously.

"Calm down, everyone. Keep waiting. Don't move. We don't want to let it sense any movements," said Zhang Xingxing.

Since Bob had mentioned that the fiend of Pluto was deaf, we started discussing fearlessly. Suddenly, the knocking sounds stopped. It sounded like the fiend had left the roof. I was about to look up instinctively when Zhang Xingxing stopped me.

"Everyone, keep your heads down. Do not look out the window," ordered Zhang Xingxing calmly.

Everyone had no idea where the fiend was, so everyone was still extremely restless. This sensation of waiting helplessly in the dark was something I hated most. The fiend caused me extreme discomfort, and I secretly swore to have a proper fight with the fiend when I had the chance.

Just as my thoughts were running wild, a fierce thud sounded by the side of the ship. The sound was loud, and the impact was powerful enough to cause all of us who were crouched on the floor to lose balance and fall down.

"Shut your eyes! Do not open them! I'll be in charge of observation. Hang on!" Bob quickly said.

"This fellow is changing its attacking direction. Just what monster is this? Why is it so strong?" complained Domo as he panted nervously.

The fiend kept pounding on the ship, each hit stronger than the previous. It felt as though the sturdy Markus was about to be knocked over.

"Temo, can Markus resist such force? You should know your ship well," asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I think so?" answered Temo. His signature calm was nowhere to be seen.

"Bang!" The ship was lifted about 40 degrees to one side before dropping heavily onto the ground again. Fortunately, Markus's automatic shock absorber system worked and allowed the ship to drop safely.

"Looks like the ship will be fine. We'll let the monster continue its attacks. I want to see how long it can persevere. I refuse to believe it can last forever," said Zhang Bao'er. He seemed rather confident in Markus.

Those words slightly relieved our nerves. As the fierce pounding continued, we slowly adapted ourselves to the tense situation. After over 10 minutes of intense pounding, the fiend suddenly stopped.

"Looks like that fellow is really tired. Did it give up due to exhaustion?" asked Domo, thinking that Zhang Bao'er's prediction had been proven right.

We waited patiently for the third wave of attacks to begin, but oddly, the laughter and the pounding had all stopped. It was so silent that it felt eerie.

"Did the fiend leave?" asked Zhang Xingxing doubtfully.

"I don't think so. This monster will make a lot of noise when coming and going. It rarely moves so silently," replied Bob.

"Maybe the fiend has changed its habit to leaving silently to save itself from the embarrassment of failure? After all, the eight-hour attacking interval you mentioned had changed," said Zhang Bao'er.

"I don't think it's so simple. This feels too wrong," said Baron Sisse.

"Bob, have you discovered anything?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"I'm using the sound scanner on the monster. It has not left. It's right beside our ship," answered Bob.

"What? It's right beside the ship? What is it doing there?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"It's staring at us without moving. I don't know why," said Bob. We felt even more doubtful.

After looking down for so long, Zhang Bao'er decided to just lie down and rest on the floor. When the others saw, they all lay down as well. Since we couldn't escape, we might as well rest. An odd atmosphere descended. The fiend of Pluto was not attacking, merely standing silently, gazing at its prey while all of us went to sleep on the floor.

It did not take long for the exhaustion and silence to send me into a deep sleep. After an unknown amount of time, I opened my eyes. Sunlight was shining through Markus's windows, and the storm outside seemed to have receded. There was finally some light in the ship. I looked around and saw that the others were still asleep. I was actually the first to wake up. To the side, Dodo was bringing Bob up to date on the events that had transpired over the past year.

"Bob, has the fiend left?" I asked.

"Still there. I don't know why. This is the first time I see it acting like this," said Bob helplessly.

"Maybe Markus's hull is too sturdy. Since it can't break this star-level shell, it decided to compete in endurance instead," said Dodo.

While talking, I accidentally looked outside. Finally, I got a clear look at the fiend. Thanks to the sunshine, the light sources from our bodies were no longer so glaringly obvious. I could see that the monster was akin to a blooming flower standing beside Markus. Its body looked transparent, and its organs could be clearly seen in the center of its body.

Surprisingly, the organs looked like numerous separate life forms that were freely swimming within its body. They were even devouring each other, and the entire process appeared completely random with no pattern to it.

The fiend was most likely unable to see us anymore since its senses had been overwhelmed by the sunlight. Its unique composition was something I had never seen before. I was even more surprised to replace that the fiend had no legs. In that case, how did it make the knocking sound when it landed on the roof?

"Is that fellow also asleep?" came a voice beside me. I looked back and saw that Zhang Bao'er had also awakened and was looking at the fiend after seeing that I was looking at it.

After a while, everyone else woke up from the noise we made. Everyone decided to start observing the terrifying monster.