Ascending to Immortality on the Imperial Warship: I Repair Ships in the Fantasy World - Chapter 1

“Captain, would you like to hear a joke?”

The voice of the ship’s AI resonated in the bridge of the Xi He.

“Go ahead, Wang Shu,” Zhao Chang’an smiled slightly, sitting in the chair of the control room. “Although I doubt you understand what humor really is.”

“Once upon a time, there were two civilizations: one had swords, the other also had ships. But the former couldn’t defeat the latter. Why is that?”

“One had bronze swords and the other alloy swords?”

“No, no, no. One had alloy swords, and the other had a planet-destroying warship.”

“Uh…” Zhao Chang’an’s lips twitched.

“Captain, wasn’t that funny? I have an even funnier one.”

“A man only had one tooth left, yet he still got food stuck between his teeth. Do you know why?”

“Why?”

“Because he was eating lotus root~”

Zhao Chang’an glanced at the bizarre, tide-like creatures outside the window and shrugged helplessly. “If you had even a bit of humor, you wouldn’t be this unfunny.”

As the saying goes, extremes often breed their opposites. And that was exactly the case here.

Just as the Galactic Federation’s fleet was dominating the universe, facing no worthy foes, these strange creatures appeared out of nowhere.

It was a galactic-scale tide, spanning billions of star systems, devouring all life in its path.

Even the mighty Federation lost one-third of its territory in the sudden onslaught.

Unfortunately, the Federation’s home planet was positioned right on the edge of that one-third.

Now, the Federation had mobilized half of its fleet, trying its best to cover the home planet’s warp evacuation.

A sub-universe, independent of the main universe, had already been established. As the spiritual symbol of the Federation, the home planet could not be allowed to fall. It would remain in the sub-universe until the war ended.

In the command center on the home planet, the voices of AI reports and busy officers intertwined.

“Military Department, report the battle status!”

“Reporting to the Speaker, the Xi He and Huan Yu are two star-class warships maintaining the defensive line. In addition, there are fifty-three large fleets and seven hundred sixty-two regular fleets. They can hold the line until the warp is complete!”

“Good. What about the Minister of Technology? On behalf of the Supreme Council, I grant you the highest federal authority. Organize the planetary warp immediately!”

On the home planet’s defensive line, stretching across thousands of star systems, the Xi He warship hovered at the center of the fleet. Its massive hull, spanning tens of thousands of kilometers, stood like an unyielding fortress in space, working with nearby warships to form the Federation’s ‘Wall of Sighs.’

Eight Azure Dragon core battlecruisers orbited the Xi He like satellites. Streams of energy, particle beams, and all sorts of assault craft launched from these steel behemoths, carving out death zones in the chaotic, surging tide of creatures.

“The Xuanyuan planet-destroying cannon is charged, requesting permission to fire.”

Watching the energy gauge of the Xuanyuan cannon approach 100% on the holographic screen, with a black hole collapse cannon also being prepared, Zhao Chang’an granted the fire authorization.

On the dark hull of the ship, a menacing turret slowly rotated its barrel, locking onto a massive creature in the horde.

This large creature was comparable in size to a medium-sized star, and ordinary planet-destroying weapons couldn’t even break through its defense.

However, the Xuanyuan cannon mounted on the Xi He was no ordinary weapon.

As white concentric rings illuminated along the barrel, a brilliant beam of light tore through space, piercing through the chaotic tide and annihilating all the creatures in its path, opening up a straight vacuum corridor amidst the swarm.

Then, a black hole collapse cannon blossomed within the dense mass of creatures. A pitch-black sphere rapidly expanded, leaving behind a dead zone with a diameter of several billion kilometers.

Despite the intensity of the assault, the swarm of strange creatures could not breach the defensive line under the protection of the elite Federation fleet.

Finally, after a massive temporal-spatial vibration, the Federation home planet began its warp process. The warp permissions for all Federation warships were unlocked, allowing them to evacuate with the home planet to the safety of the sub-universe.

Once the home planet completed its evacuation, the swarm would continue to push across thousands of star systems, only to crash headlong into the Star Defense Belt formed by nine star-class warships. Afterward, the fleet from the sub-universe would warp behind the swarm, encircling them.

However, battles rarely unfold according to plan, and surprises are always lurking.

Just as the Xi He began its warp sequence, a terrifying spatial fluctuation emanated from the direction of the swarm.

The relieved Minister of Technology’s face darkened. “How could these creatures… know how to create a spatial rift?”

The Speaker asked, “What effect will this have on the home planet?”

“Severe. There’s a 99.997% probability that it will interfere with the warp, and it could deal significant damage to the planet.”

“Is there any solution?”

“The rift is currently in a stable phase but is evolving into an unstable one, meaning it’s growing. If we act within five minutes, a single star-class warship can seal it.”

The generals of the military department fell silent. This was essentially a suicide mission for the warship.

“For the home planet, stop the warp and charge into the spatial rift!”

Despite receiving a near-suicidal order, many warships that had already begun warping stopped their sequence.

“Wang Shu, how many fleets do we need to sacrifice to seal this rift?”

“Captain, while the rift is still growing, if we act within five minutes, one star-class warship is enough.”

“Wang Shu, eject the entire crew, except the captain, and notify nearby warships to receive them.”

At that moment, hundreds of crew members working throughout the ship were forcibly stuffed into escape pods, which ejected toward the nearby warships.

The surrounding warships quickly noticed something was wrong.

“Report! Report! The Xi He is launching escape pods! The Xi He is launching escape pods!”

“Xi He, this is Huan Yu. What are you doing?! The Xi He is the spiritual leader of the Federation Fleet! You can’t go!”

Zhao Chang’an replied without hesitation, “Xi He acknowledges. Huan Yu, stop barking. We’re the latest generation of smart warships. We only need to evacuate a hundred crew members. How many lives would it cost if it were you or another fleet?”

“The Federation builds warships far faster than it trains crew. Compared to the Xi He, it’s the other warships and their crews that are the backbone of the Federation’s air force!”

“Xi He, engage the curvature engine at full power. Target: the center of the spatial rift.”

Wang Shu’s voice echoed through the bridge, “Captain, please evacuate. With full permissions, I can pilot the Xi He alone.”

Zhao Chang’an smiled faintly, detecting the hint of sadness in Wang Shu’s words.

The ship’s crew could escape, but the core AI of the warships, despite their intelligence and near-human emotions, were destined to perish alongside their vessels.

“Wang Shu, I’m not going anywhere,” Zhao Chang’an smiled. “I chose for the Xi He to die, so how could I survive alone?”

The curvature engine at the rear of the Xi He began to glow softly.

“Captain, do you think that dying together like this counts as a happy ending or a sad one?”

“Uh… Well, if you call it happy, it’s quite sad… But if you call it sad, it’s also kind of beautiful.” Zhao Chang’an frowned, scratching his head. “If you were just a bit smarter, you wouldn’t be asking such a dumb question.”

As the two of them exchanged banter, the Xi He plunged headlong into the surging tide of strange creatures, charging toward the spatial rift.

“Captain, do you want to watch some fireworks?”

“Yes, very much!” Zhao Chang’an leaned back in his command chair, unlocking all permissions.

In the next moment, all the Xi He’s cannons deployed, and the surrounding Azure Dragon core battlecruisers powered up to maximum.

Meanwhile, the remaining warships behind fired at full capacity, clearing a path for the lone Xi He.

A dazzling display of firepower carved a direct route to the spatial rift.

For a ship traveling at curvature, what seemed like a vast distance passed in an instant.

Zhao Chang’an sat there, watching the ever-deepening darkness outside the window. “Wang Shu, you’re in charge of timing the meltdown of the energy core.”

In the next instant, Zhao Chang’an felt as if the space around him had turned into pliable dough, accompanied by intense nausea and dizziness before passing out.

The Xi He reached the center of the rift.

“Understood, Captain.” Even though Zhao Chang’an had already fainted, Wang Shu still responded one last time.

The midsection of the Xi He blossomed with a radiant blue light, resembling the eruption of a supernova.

The glow of the neutron star energy core’s meltdown, pure and sacred, eclipsed the universe’s darkness and vastness in a single moment.