Star Rank Hunter

Chapter 208: The Underground Base That Saw Daylight Once More [Part 2]

‘Shortcut’!

Aurelio’s Cage, the ‘Shortcut’ that represented rebirth! It was the two starmap pieces that Cillin possessed right now.

As expected, Sigma’s master was the person who left behind the Aurelio.

Sigma was like a defenseless child who answered every question that Cillin had thrown at it. The main reason though was because it had categorised Cillin, the gray cat and Czedow as one of its kind. That was why it had nearly answered everything that Cillin asked it.

It didn’t take long before Cillin had figured out nearly all the information he wanted to know.

“Cillin, Sigma said that we can use this base!” The gray cat proudly jumped on top of Cillin’s shoulders and said.

“Really?” Cillin looked at Sigma.

“Yeah, Master said that anyone that I acknowledge is allowed to use this base, and I’ve acknowledged you!”

Sigma’s tone sounded more like excitement for having found a playmate.

“Won’t your master come back later?”

“They won’t, and even if they did they won’t be using this base. This used to be my master’s old base. They’ve relocated later on.”

Apparently, the new base Sigma’s master had relocated to was situated at the main planet the military was guarding right now.

“So do you want the base? Do you?”

The blue strip on Sigma’s face turned into two big circles immediately as it stared expectantly at Cillin.

Of course he wanted it! This base would save the Sixth B Squadron countless energy and money! Plus, the way Sigma described it this base had been in a halt since the departure of its original master.

“Unfortunately, this planet’s environment is unsuitable for humans. We can’t just stay underground all the time, can we?” Cillin said a little regretfully after a moment’s consideration.

“This is nothing!” Sigma circled around Cillin ones and showed him a finger, “First, this base is originally established on the surface. I’ve only made the base go underground because I was going to sleep later on.”

“You mean your master had built the base on the surface at the beginning, and you singlehandedly cause the entire base to ‘sink’ underground? How on earth did you manage to complete such a big project yourself?”

“I was bored. There was nothing to do anyway,” Sigma said.

To Cillin, Sigma’s simple words were the summary of a long, long journey of hardships. A lonely robot left behind, and an old base. It was a very inspiring story.

The blue strip on Sigma’s face turned wavy again as it continued with a cheery tone and extended another finger, “Second, this planet had undergone a very, very long period of transformation, and now its environment can be adjusted. One of the reason this base was so big was because it could affect the entire planet’s environment and air composition.”

“It can be changed?” Cillin asked in surprise.

“Of course. The atmosphere, the air composition and the air pressure can all be transformed in just an hour’s time. That is how it used to be in the past. Everyone used to run around however they liked before master had left this place,” The blue strip on Sigma’s face moved upwards, seemingly recalling the past.

Cillin rubbed his chin and beckoned Sigma to come closer with a finger.

“What is it? Have you come to a decision?” Sigma immediately went closer.

Cillin discussed a few things with Sigma and told him not to reveal the ‘Shortcut’ for now. Once they were done matching their lies and everything, Cillin finally let Sigma adjust the base.

Outside the planet, Shawton was staring at the monitoring displaying the planet’s surface inside a spaceplane.

This planet was desolate and completely void of human contact. There was water and some low level plants on the planet, but they did little to add to the liveliness of this entire planet. Moreover, their numbers were so sparse that they looked more pitiful than anything else.

Cillin radioed in while Shawton was thinking about something in his mind.

“How did it go?” Shawton asked.

“Everyone will know very soon, commander. Please tell everyone to get away from the ground and stay at a higher altitude for now. You’ll see what we’ve obtained from this trip in two minutes time.”

Cillin’s words were very decisive, and although Shawton had his own doubts he temporarily suppressed them and told everyone to get up to the air. Once everything was ready, everyone including those aboard the starships outside the planet all stared at the monitor without blinking an eye.

The little hills on the planet’s surface grew brighter and brighter, and suddenly the earth began to shake a lot harder than the first time. The rocks, sand and soil on its surface were all shaken off.

Then, the base that was hidden underground and had been left behind for more than a thousand years finally saw daylight once more.

Every Sixth B Squadron member were dumbstruck as they saw the grandiose construction that just stretched on and on climbing up to the surface.

As the base slowly climbed to surface level, the surrounding areas became enshrouded by sand and soil. However, at a height where the sand and soil couldn’t reach, the taller buildings of the base looked like a leader that was guiding the rest of its parts to the surface.

An hour later, when the sand clouds had gradually faded and the lights of the little hills illuminated the entire area, everyone finally saw the full appearance of this gigantic underground object. It looked like an earth dragon that had just emerged from the ground, and a fort that was as stately as a military base.

“Ci… Cillin…” Shawton’s voice sounded a little raw. He seemed to understand what was going to happen next even as his heartbeat quickened without him knowing it. For a time, he wasn’t able to control himself.

“Wait, commander. Wait just a little while longer.”

Is there something else?!

Almost everyone was staring at the planet’s surface while holding their breaths.

A minute passed by, and nothing happened.

Five minutes passed by, but still nothing happened.

Ten minutes passed by, twenty minutes passed by…

“Cillin, what is it? We’re not see anything from up here,” Shawton finally couldn’t hold himself from asking. It was rare to see this Sixth B Squadron commander this impatient.

Before Cillin could answer, some of the technicians on the starship told Shawton the truth in extreme excitement, “Commander, the planet’s atmosphere had become thicker! According to the observation data we’ve collected from the returning probes, the planet is transforming from a Rank C planet to a Rank B planet!”

It meant that this giant that had emerged from the ground could transform the planet itself into Rank B planetary habitability or Rank C planetary habitability anytime it wanted.

Who on earth had left behind such a massive stroke of work on this planet?

Ba-thump, ba-thump…

Shawton could hear the sound of his own heartbeat and his blood flowing.

Finally, Cillin’s voice came in once more.

“Commander, the transformation is complete. There’s no need to wear a protective suit now,” As Cillin said this, a flat landing field appeared on the base. It literally was a temporary airport.

“Okay… okay!”

Shawton ordered the spaceplane to descend on the landing field and walked out of the vehicle first. He did not wear a protective suit.

The purification commenced by the base had basically caused all those sandstorms to subside. The air had already been adjusted to meet the standard ratio, and the only ‘flaw’ they could think of was that the air temperature was a little low. It literally couldn’t be any more insignificant to Hunters like them.

Cillin was already standing by at an entrance on the landing field. When he met Shawton, he briefly talked about the base before introducing Sigma solemnly.

The first thing Shawton said to Sigma after Cillin was done explaining was, “Would you like to join the Sixth B Squadron?”

What followed afterwards was a string of persuasions that one normally heard from a child kidnapper. The blue strip on Sigma’s face quickly turned into dizzying circles.

Sigma wasn’t sure what the best decision might be, so it asked the gray cat it trusted the most, “Whebeze, are you a member of the Sixth B Squadron too?”

“Of course! I’m also an core combat strength in the squad!” The gray cat said while lifting its head high on top of Cillin’s shoulders.

Like hell you are! Close by, Cary’s mouth twitched at the gray cat’s claim.

Cary’s reaction were obviously not in Sigma’s area of consideration, however. It would only listen to ‘its own kind’. Unfortunately for it, it had no idea that the gray cat itself had been swindled into the squad by Cillin.

Everyone in the Sixth B Squadron went wild when they saw the fort that took up one fifth of the planet’s surface.

What a blessing in disguise!

The A Squadrons had told the B Squadrons to act, choose and work as they liked. The construction of a temporary base was also test of the B Squadrons’ abilities, so the A Squadron would send someone over from time to time to inspect their work.

Shawton was already looking forward to the A Squadron envoy’s arrival. He wondered how they would look when they saw this grandiose scenery.

Sigma had no qualms about the Sixth B Squadron settling into the base whatsoever. However, the first problem they needed to solve was an issue of cohabitation.

The Lovage was a species of guardian beasts with chips installed inside their body. That was why Sigma needed to tweak the chip a little so that both sides could associate with each other in harmony.

Back when the base was still hidden underground, the Lovages had survived on the base’s stockpiled nutrient fluids. Since there was a finite amount of nutrient fluids, the Lovages would go underground and enter hibernation whenever the planet was void of human life. Now that they had shown up, the Sixth B Squadron was very willing to use up large quantities of food to get along with these guardian beasts.

Since they had decided to establish a temporary base on the planet, the first and most important priority to settle was the construction of the satellite array defense network.

But those things had nothing to do with the gray cat whatsoever, for it was currently embroiled in a great internal conflict. It noticed something: Cillin, Czedow, Sigma. Their names had all verbally started with a ‘C’. Did this mean that it had been pushed out of the ‘circle’? That can’t be! I mustn’t stand out too much. But do I really have to change my name to ‘Cibeze’? That sounds terrible!