Interstellar Survival: Invasion

The moment Dondon stepped into the airlock, the door behind him shut tight.
Before he left, we had prepared a tool bag for him.
Inside, Dondon opened the bag to perform a final check on the tools.
After confirming that nothing was missing, he opened the door leading into the reactor.

The recorder he had on him was streaming his point of view, allowing everyone to see what he was facing through our visors.
The same scene was also being played on Spacetime.
Through the stream, we saw that it was dry inside the nuclear reactor.
The reactor had stopped operating a long time ago, and the heavy water had dried up, leaving the radiation the only trace of what this place used to be.

”Looks like this reactor had stopped completely.
Oddly, the life-support equipment is still running.
What energy source is it relying on? ” asked Zhang Bao ’er doubtfully.

”I suspect it is relying on the backup electrical power, ” said Old Du.

”What kind of backup power can last 20 years? ” asked Baron Sisse.

We all sank into silence.
That was beyond our area of expertise.
From the stream, Dondon was walking through a spacious and empty area.
The nuclear reactor was much larger than we had imagined, and although the reactor had been discarded for decades, its interior had remained in a remarkably well-preserved state.

Dondon continued moving through the reactor.
From the stream, we saw he had arrived before the reactor ’s central equipment.
Numerous tubes extended out of the equipment, each heading in a different direction.

”Dodo, I have reached the marked spot on the map.
Which tube leads to the cockpit? ” asked Dondon.

”On the underlay, look for a tube with a πR sign on it.
That is the one leading to the cockpit, ” said Dodo.

Shortly after, Dondon found the corresponding tube.
On it was a small entrance for maintenance purposes.
After confirming that it was the right tube, the little fellow entered.
It was extremely narrow inside, barely big enough for Dondon to enter.
If it was Zhang Bao ’er or someone else, there would be no way they would be able to get inside.

The tube was perpendicular to the ground and was leading straight upward.
Although the wall of the tube was glossy and sleek, it was narrow enough that Dondon could squeeze his way upward while pushing with his legs.

”I wonder if the space at the upper end of the tube will be too narrow.
It will be troublesome if the little fellow got himself stuck in there, ” said Zhang Bao ’er in a concerned manner.

”Stop being so ominous! ” I said.

Everyone was still focused on the climb in the tube.
We could hear the little fellow panting for breath.
Due to how tight the tube was, Dondon needed to exhaust a lot of his stamina to keep climbing.

After more than ten minutes, Dondon finally reached the top of the tube.
From the stream, we could see a 90-degree turn in front of him.
And when he made the turn, the scene none of us wanted to see appeared.

About five meters ahead, an exit could be seen.
However, the exit was covered by a railing.
Additionally, the part of the tube after the turn was also smaller, at a size of about two-thirds of the perpendicular part of the tube.

That stunned all of us.
The size of the tube in front of Dondon was far smaller than Dondon ’s body.
It did not seem likely that he would be able to get through.
We were five meters away from success, but we were stopped.

”Dondon, pull back.
It is too small.
You can ’t get through, ” I said.

Everyone else also started calling for Dondon to pull back.
However, the little fellow remained still, as though he was in deep thought.
Suddenly, he took out a small electronic jack from his tool bag.
With the jack, he forcefully widened the tube in front of him.

”Is this fellow trying to enlarge the tube with the jack before squeezing through? That is genius! ” exclaimed Zhang Bao ’er.

But something unexpected happened.
When Dondon withdrew the jack in preparation to install it further ahead, the previous position shrunk back to its initial size.

”Shit! Looks like this tunnel is made of some material that can forcefully snap back into its original shape, ” said Old Du.

The newly ignited hope was extinguished yet again.
Not even the electronic jack would work.

Even Wind Spirit started urging Dondon to return, ”Little fool, return first.
We can think of a different way. ” 

Perhaps it was Wind Spirit ’s voice, but Dondon was momentarily stunned.
After a short while, he placed the jack ahead of him and once again enlarged the tube.
Dondon also adjusted the top part of the jack into some sort of curve, trying his best to expand as much of the exit as possible.

”What is this little fellow trying to do? ” I asked Old Du in astonishment.

”Looks like he intends to force himself through, ” said Old Du.

”What? No! He will only kill himself! Little fool, have you gone crazy? Come back immediately! ” Wind Spirit lost her cool upon hearing our words.

However, Dondon showed no sign that he was going to retreat.
Instead, he said, ”Commander, I wish to try forcing my way through. ”

The little fellow gave nobody the chance to respond as he immediately climbed forward into the enlarged part of the tube.
The tight squeeze immediately pushed the morph-capable shield to its limits, causing even Dondon ’s suit to be deformed.

The pressure triggered the automatic camera on Dondon ’s back.
We could see the little fellow trying his very best to crawl forward in the tight tube.
Beside me, Zhang Bao ’er opened his mouth in agitation, but Old Du hurriedly covered his mouth so that he wouldn ’t distract Dondon with words.

From the stream, we could see that Dondon had forcefully squeezed his entire body into the tunnel.
At that point, his only option was to keep going forward.
The narrow tube was pushing back with so much force that we could even hear cracking sounds from Dondon ’s body.
Cracking sounds of bones being broken rang out again and again, tormenting all who were watching the process.

Fortunately, from the rear camera, we saw that Dondon ’s legs were still pushing forcefully, indicating that he was still alive.
I covered Wind Spirit ’s eyes with my hand as I couldn ’t bear to let her continue watching.
I could feel her tears drenching my palm as I did so.

Dondon continued working hard, and from the stream, we could see that he was only three meters away from the exit.
I knew very well how narrow the remaining part of the tube was.
I couldn ’t even imagine how deformed Dondon ’s body was at the moment.
I did not understand what he was relying on to keep struggling.

Seconds passed as everyone watched and mourned in silence.
We could only pray for Dondon ’s success.
I was also starting to regret agreeing to this mission.
Perhaps my insistence to be careful and remain undetected was the real reason Dondon had been placed in such a dangerous situation.
If anything were to happen to Dondon due to this, I would never be able to forgive myself.

I could see Dondon continuing the crawl toward the exit.
From the stream, the little fellow was now less than a meter away from the exit.
We could clearly hear Dondon ’s heartbeats from the stream, and the heartbeats were weakening.
Even the force behind his legs seemed to be growing weaker at every moment.

I felt Wind Spirit remove my hand from her eyes.
She was also watching anxiously.
Things were critical.
When Dondon was half a meter away from the exit, he stopped moving.
We could see that his tiny hand had reached the switch at the exit.

From the stream, Dondon ’s legs were no longer moving.
The massive pain seemed to have overwhelmed him.
Only the sounds of his weak heartbeats could be heard.
We could clearly hear his heartbeats slowing down.

”Dondon, wake up! You only need to reach out before succeeding! You ’re one of the Storm race! Before completing the mission, I will not let you leave! ” Master Crystal ’s anxious voice rang out in the communicator.

”Wake up! Wake up! Wake up! ” Zhang Bao ’er started chanting.

That infected everyone as we all started chanting the same words: ”Wake up! ” 

As everyone called out in an orderly manner, I saw a slight movement from Dondon ’s hand.
The shouting grew louder when we noticed, and our voices reverberated in the room.
The only thing we wanted for Dondon was for him to wake up.

As everyone shouted, Dondon ’s tiny hand started twitching.
The shouting seemed to work as the little fellow pushed again with his legs while his white front paw finally reached the power switch at the exit.

Perhaps everyone ’s prayers had touched the heavens, but the moment Dondon touched the switch, the cover of the exit opened.
Then, Dondon grabbed the edge of the exit, successfully finding a focus point where he could use his strength.

With a pull, his body slid forth and his head poked out of the exit.
Perhaps Dondon had regained some of his mental faculties after his head was free.
His other hand shot out of the tube as well.
With both hands out, he could pull himself out much better.

We could see Dondon holding onto the outside of the exit with both hands.
With a pull, his body shot out of the terrible tube, leaving it.
Once again, all of us sank into silence.

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From the two streams playing in our visors, we could see that Dondon had landed on the floor of the cockpit.
However, his body remained completely motionless.
Although his heart was still beating, we couldn ’t get a clear look to see how his status was.
That remained for five minutes until a voice finally rang out in my communicator.

”Canyue, it is so hard to get in here.
I feel like I need to start losing weight, ” said Dondon.

Cheers broke out in the communication channel.
None of us could control our emotions.
Even someone as calm as Old Du was wiping the tears off the corner of his eyes.
Meanwhile, Wind Spirit started crying madly.

”Dondon, take the time to rest.
There is no rush.
We will be waiting outside the cockpit.
Take however long you need, ” I said.

Everyone was still busy cheering.
From the stream, I saw that Dondon was slowly regaining his ability to move.
Clearly, his body was recovering.

”Looks like cat bones are really flexible.
Did you know that when I was a kid, my pet cat could jump off a six-story building and then strut away as if nothing happened? ” said Zhang Bao ’er.

”Fatty, you should have instead entered the tube to lose some weight, ” scolded Wind Spirit.

This time, I did not stop their bickering.
It had been too stressful earlier, and they needed an avenue to vent.
And with the boisterous atmosphere, we returned to the entrance of the cockpit.