Life pod activated

He became somewhat nervous. "This might take a while because the Blue Crystal Energy is a highly dangerous energy source. If not handled carefully, it can explode!"

"Explode!" I became nervous, grabbing Second Sister's hand. "Maybe we shouldn't stay here."

Second Sister remained still, apparently not wanting to leave the coil circle.

"Don't worry; I'll be careful," Edmund blinked, uncertainty also evident in his gray-blue eyes. Turning his face aside, he mumbled, "It probably won't explode."

His words sent shivers down my spine. Suddenly, I felt Edmund was not as reliable as he seemed to be.

Edmund finished mumbling and focused his attention on the disassembled life pod.

The pod's outer shell had been removed entirely, revealing complex circuits and circuit boards inside.

A small cart filled with tools was beside him. He picked up a small screwdriver from the tool cart, inserting it into the bottom of the life pod. Creaking sounds began as he started fiddling.

I wanted to do something for him. Right now, I felt the need to be useful, partly because I couldn't accept living off others without contributing, and partly because if I had nothing to do, I'd start missing home, my parents, and friends, and eventually, I feared I might break down.

I immediately jumped out of the coil circle and approached him. "Is there anything I can do?"

"Do you recognize the circuit board?" he asked from below.

"Yes."Hand it to me."I handed him the circuit board, and he started explaining from below, "The life pods from Silvermoon City are very advanced; they can function as small flying vessels..."

He was right. When I was ejected, the life pod was talking about activating the thrusters, and later, the wings popped out. It only crashed because of the impact.

Edmund peered out from below, looking at me. "So, it must contain Blue Crystal Energy because it needs to return to Silvermoon City..."

"What did you say? Silvermoon City is in space?!" Isn't that like a space station?

"Yes, but not very far from the Earth..." He emerged from underneath, gazing up at the sky with admiration, as if he could see through the layers and glimpse the distant space. "I really want to stand on Silvermoon City and see this planet...""S-so, Silvermoon City looks enormous!" you can't see it. It's like launching numerous satellites; who can see them with the naked eye?

"Of course," Edmund withdrew his stargazing eyes and returned his focus to the bottom of the life pod. Ding ding clatter, he continued, "Otherwise, how would we be able to see it? That's a huge space city. When the apocalypse struck, many dignitaries and elites of this world managed to escape to that space city, avoiding the Earth..."

How cruel. The elites and politicians got rescued, while ordinary people were left on the radiation-infested surface to fend for themselves. In the face of the apocalypse, you can't judge the right or wrong of such actions. It's like the lifeboat that can only save one person. Do you save the scientist or the common man?

"Found it!" Edmund's excited shout echoed from below. Slowly, he emerged, holding a crystal ball about ten centimeters in diameter. The transparent crystal ball contained a small blue core visible inside.

Edmund cradled the ball carefully and placed it in front of me, excited and almost speechless. "Look, this is the Blue Crystal Energy..." He treated it as if it were a delicate baby, thrilled.

I gently took the ball, and he nervously reminded me, "Be careful. The outer crystal is specially made to conduct and protect, but if it falls, it can still be dangerous."

I held the crystal ball cautiously. The ball felt warm, and the Blue Crystal Energy inside didn't appear large, resembling a peach pit at most. It was hard to imagine that such a tiny energy source could allow the life pod to escape Earth's gravity and return to Silvermoon City like a spacecraft.

The small Blue Crystal Energy sparkled inside the specially made crystal ball. It looked a bit like an infinitely magnified cell. If you looked closely, you could see it emitting a scattered pattern around it, resembling tiny tendrils, like mutated cancer cells. It made it look like... a liquid energy source.

"Shh!" It sounded like the door opening.

"Wife!" Suddenly, Emery's voice rang out, and I was abruptly patted on the arm. "Come with me to collect things!"

As he patted me, the crystal ball slipped from my hand. Edmund was instantly terrified, wide-eyed, shouting, "Ah! The Blue Crystal Ball! It'll explode!"

I hurriedly tried to catch it, but I stumbled over the electrical wires under my feet, tumbling toward the life pod. I was more of a hindrance than help!

At the same time, I saw Emery lifting his foot, extending it in front of me. Is he going to use his foot to catch it? Indeed, he did! He lightly kicked the Blue Crystal Ball with his toe, then bent over and reached out, catching the ball. His face was also tense!

"Phew! Caught it." Emery's face was unusually pale.

"Ah!" I also fell onto the life pod in front of me. Everything happened in an instant. My hands pressed against the tangle of wires on the life pod, and my heart raced due to panic and nervousness. Suddenly, my palms felt a tingling sensation, numb but not painful. However, right after, something strange happened! The entire life pod powered up! All the wires lit up like blue blood flowing through them!

"Woo~~~" It started up, and I hastily withdrew my hands, fearing getting electrocuted.

Edmund and Emery also stood in amazement in front of the life pod.

"Life pod activated." It was the artificial intelligence inside the life pod.

"What's going on? Didn't you dismantle her?" Emery stared blankly at the Blue Crystal Ball in his hands. "The batteries were unplugged!"

"No, I don't know." Edmund was also stunned, his dumbfounded face resembling a guinea pig that had "confused" written all over it.

"Is there a backup power source?" Emery looked surprised.

"Initiating diagnostics." The female voice from inside the life pod spoke again. "Propeller damaged, wings damaged, hull damaged, damn it, so many damages!"

The three of us instantly stiffened. This artificial intelligence was quite intelligent! It even knew how to swear. It suddenly felt like we had disassembled a living being, and a strange sense of guilt emerged in my heart.

"Alert! Alert! Blue Crystal Energy lost! Alert! Connect to the mainframe!"

"She's connecting to the mainframe!" I shouted, "If she connects, we'll be exposed!"

"Ah! Right, right!" Edmund, holding the circuit board, panicked. We all became a mess in an instant.

"Emery! Find a solution quickly!"

"If you can't, how am I supposed to have a solution?!"Emery!"

"Clear out of the way!" Emery shouted loudly, pulling out his gun!

Edmund and I immediately leaped aside, falling to the ground!

"Bang!"

"Boom!"

The blue light on the life pod's circuitry flickered and slowly dimmed. There came a "Hmm~ hmm~ hmm..." sound, like the gradually dying hum of an engine.

Edmund and I stood up slowly, only to see a large, smoking hole in the circuitry of the life pod. The wires and circuit boards inside were completely destroyed!

"Phew." Emery blew on the gun barrel, holstered it, and raised his eyebrows triumphantly. His amber eyes sparkled like cat's-eye stones.