Chapter 937: Nowhere To Be Found
937 - Nowhere To Be Found
TL: GoldenLung
PR: DreamerChrysalis
While maintaining an altitude of 5,000 meters and looking through the soul screen, the surface of the star was clearly visible, and various details on the surface could be seen clearly thanks to the sensor's magnifying capabilities.
Lan Xuanyu and Tang Le were standing in front of the screen, focusing on the output.
Tang Le placed his hands on Lan Xuanyu's shoulders, and Bai Xiuxiu handed the Silver Dragon Spear to Lan Xuanyu. Then, she took off the dragon scale necklace from her neck and put it around Lan Xuanyu's neck.
The real search had now begun.
Lan Xuanyu closed his eyes, held the Silver Dragon Spear in his hand, steadied his body, and silently felt the aura belonging to Nana on the Silver Dragon Spear. The dragon scale on his neck emitted a faint coolness, and that familiar feeling made his breathing a little hurried.
There was no doubt that both items carried Nana's aura!
A gentle spiritual force surged into Lan Xuanyu's spiritual sea. Suddenly, he felt his senses expand rapidly, and the layers of protection covering the star detector seemed to disappear from his perception.
The first thing he felt was the scorching, boundless fire element. If a mote of fire element on the mother planet was only the size of a grain of dust, then a mote here was the size of a lychee fruit, and the rich fire element naturally released a sense of intimacy upon sensing Lan Xuanyu's aura. However, the fire element here was obviously much wilder and did not dare approach him because his spiritual power was bolstered by Tang Le's own.
His senses continued to extend downward.
The scorching high temperature distorted everything in his perception slightly. With the range of his spiritual power, he could only sense the aura inside a small area. It was even less clear than what he could see on the big screen.
"Focus and guard yourself, don't 'look', but feel the existence of her aura," Tang Le's voice sounded in his ear.
Lan Xuanyu immediately became more alert. His originally outwardly projected spiritual power slowly condensed into a sphere, suspended outside the star probe. He silently felt the aura of the fire element from his surroundings and focused on detecting the possible emergence of anomalous auras in the air. Even if it was a slight fluctuation, as long as it was similar to teacher Nana's, he would feel it.
The search began in this way.
Under the pull of the mothership, the probe began to explore around the surface of the star. Lan Xuanyu observed on the screen while also sensing with his spiritual perception.
All the while, and as time ticked away, the guardianship of the three god-rank protectors remained quite stable, which also made the two military powerhouses responsible for the operation feel at ease. This was the first time they had participated in such a high-level exploration.
The volume of this star was relatively small to average for its kind, which was a very favourable situation. Even so, the surface area to explore was still very large.
The range that the star explorer could detect was ultimately limited. Based on previous calculations, even with three explorations, each lasting three hours, it was doubtful that the entire surface of the star could be scanned.
But this was an unfortunately inevitable situation, as the Seventh Fleet could not stay here for a long time. It would be pointless to continue doing something that was likely to bear no result.
From the moment of the fall until now, it had been almost ten days. Could a person, even a true god-rank powerhouse, survive for ten days on a star? This was unclear for everyone. Hope was slim, at least in the eyes of most people.
The reason the Federation had acted on this matter was mainly to provide gesture of good will for the Sky Fighter Department, and it was also an occasion for the Federation and the Sky Fighter Department to get closer. The military had acted because in the event such a woman truly existed, the possibility of her being recruited by the military was high. After all, she had been under the control of the War God Palace before. There was also a sense of responsibility among military personnel towards the badge and the prestige it represented, as the War God Palace ultimately belonged to the military.
Three hours was not a long time. When Lan Xuanyu had already started to feel dizzy, the first probing time was up. The gravitational chain began to retract the star probe, and his spiritual senses returned to him.
His face was noticeably pale, and he stumbled back a step before being supported by Tang Le to prevent him from falling.
Even with Tang Le's psychic assistance, his mental energy was still greatly consumed. He quickly sat cross-legged in place and meditated silently.
They found nothing except for the fire element on the star. "The scanned locations have been recorded, and they will be excluded in the next attempt," said Zhang Zekai, the young general, with a slightly relieved tone as they gradually left the gravity of the star. He was not a god-rank powerhouse, nor did he have the ability to survive on the surface of a star. Exploring at a depth of five thousand meters was still a very dangerous thing.
Under the traction of the mother ship, their flight speed was very fast. They had completed a week's worth of exploration in just three hours, orbiting the star. The exploration focused mainly on the middle section of the star.
When exploring at a depth of 5,000 meters, the main benefit was that they could get clearer readings, but the downside was that the range they could cover was much smaller than at an altitude of 10,000 meters.
But it couldn't be helped. Searching for people on the surface of a star was like looking for a needle in a haystack. If they were at an altitude of 10,000 meters, it was very likely that they wouldn't even be able to spot them from above. However, with their current exploration methods, they couldn't possibly cover the entire range of the star in three missions.
When Lan Xuanyu's spirits had recovered somewhat and he regained consciousness, the probe had already returned to the mother ship. His mood was noticeably low.
It wasn't until they began exploring in earnest that he truly understood how difficult it was to rescue someone on a star. Teacher Nana...
An anxious feeling began to grow in Lan Xuanyu's heart.
The others had all gone to rest, leaving only Tang Le and Bai Xiuxiu by his side.
"Don't worry, this is only the first time. We still have two more chances. We will definitely be able to find Teacher Nana," whispered Bai Xiuxiu.
"Okay," nodded Lan Xuanyu, holding her hand. It wasn't just him who was anxious; It was the same for Bai Xiuxiu, but she had been comforting herself all along.
Resting and waiting are often the most agonizing processes, especially in a situation such as this. The next attempt was to take place in the northern hemisphere of the star. Although it was impossible to explore every nook and cranny, the three scans would definitely cover as much area as possible.
After four hours of rest, the star probe was adjusted, and the second scan began.
The exploration process was the same as last time, with the mother ship's gravitational chain lowering the probe down to a height of five thousand meters to begin the exploration. This time, at Lan Xuanyu's suggestion, the speed of the star probe was increased. With the experience gained from the previous expedition and Tang Le's help, he should be able to detect Nana as long as there was even a slight change in the air at the height of five thousand meters. The acceleration was aimed at covering more ground within the three hours limit.
The circumference at the planet's equator was the largest, and any parallel trajectory in the northern hemisphere was naturally smaller. With time-saving measures and increased speed, the probe could make two round trips within three hours.
Yu Muchen helped Lan Xuanyu to convince everyone to try for the completion of two passes in the second attempt, which would then cover a much larger area.
General Bai Ling agreed to the proposal, and with the protection of the several god-rank powerhouses, the star probe would not have any safety issues, and the additional time required would be minimal.
Unfortunately, after those two rounds of exploration, there was still no nothing detected aside from the fire element, and these repeated failures weighed heavily on everyone's hearts.
Lan Xuanyu's face became even paler. There was only one chance left. If they still couldn't find Nana's whereabouts, it basically meant Nana's death. This was something he couldn't accept in his heart no matter what!