Interstellar Legend

004 Investigation (Part Two)

A strange silence fell over the atmosphere.

Reno didn't speak.

Nor did Hill.

They just stared at each other in silence.

After a while, Reno spoke, "Do you know, Mr. Hill, your statements amount to an accusation."

"In my view, I'm just stating a fact," Hill replied with a smile. "Before coming here, I looked into the personnel configuration on the Abrode. Captain Reno, there were a total of forty-six personnel onboard with ranks above yours. This includes four Colonels, twelve Lieutenant Colonels, and thirty Majors. They were distributed in various positions on the ship, executing their respective missions. Except for the commander of the mech battalion, most of them were working inside the ship. Yet they all died."

Reno replied, "In my report, I stated that at the time, we were holding an emergency meeting to discuss how to deal with the pursuit of the Divine race. At that moment, a Divine energy cannon hit the conference room, killing everyone. I survived because my rank wasn't high enough to attend the meeting."

"Yes. I even went to the Abrode, and the conference room was indeed destroyed."

"It hasn't been more than 24 hours since the Abrode came to Earth, and you've done so much already. You're quite efficient," Hill remarked.

"I'll take that as praise and request promotion from my superiors, although they probably won't care," Hill replied. "But let's get back to the point. Even though the conference room has been completely disintegrated, I noticed that its location isn't at the edge of the starship; it's in the belly of the ship, with at least twelve separation chambers between it and the ship's hull. In fact, the starship was designed to protect the conference room from being hit by a single shot and resulting in total destruction. So, how did the Divine manage to hit the energy cannon right into the conference room?"

"I admire your thoroughness, but what you're saying is based on paper data. In reality, the Abrode still has some flaws in its design," Reno continued.

"Oh?" Russell Hill became interested.

Reno continued, "These flaws mainly exist in the life support system. Since the life support system is crucial for ensuring the survival of the personnel on board, it must be present in every corner of the ship. Although there are many separation chambers between the conference room and the ship's hull, the life support system penetrates all these barriers, resulting in a direct line between the conference room and the ship's hull. If the Divine's energy cannon attacks here, and the energy shield's defense capability is insufficient, the overflow of energy will directly enter the conference room, killing everyone inside."

Hill squinted, "That means they had to be very precise with their shots."

"Yes."

"Do you think the probability of such an event is high?"

Reno shrugged, "Probably one in a hundred million."

Hill chuckled, "It seems their luck isn't too good, but yours obviously is."

"Whether you believe it or not, Investigator Hill, I've never seen this as luck. Captain Jelam was an outstanding captain, and his departure left me grieving."

"Perhaps, who knows," Hill mused. "Every villain seems like a good person before they're exposed, don't you think?"

Reno didn't say anything.

The questioning continued for a while.

Hill kept asking questions.

His questions were sharp and incisive, as if he were interrogating a criminal rather than a mech commander, the interim captain of the Abrode.