Hunting the Stars

Danger in the Dark

"Is this the video surveillance room?" Elian Hawk searched through the basement, familiarizing himself with all the rooms there. He then sat down in front of the instruments covered in video feeds, watching the screens thoughtfully. Elian Hawk’s guess was actually correct—it was indeed a video surveillance room. However, he couldn’t quite understand why it had been built underground. On the screen, the bodies were continuously lifted by the strong wind and tossed far away. Inside the military station, due to the storm, everything was cleaned up. Elian Hawk, who had been wondering how to deal with the bodies, couldn’t help but feel a little relieved.

But his relief didn’t last long. Elian Hawk's face tightened. "What am I so happy about? The bodies are gone, but what about all this yellow sand? I can’t clean up all this sand by myself!"

It turned out that while the storm had blown the bodies away, it also brought in a thick layer of yellow sand. Although the sand had not yet settled due to the storm, Elian Hawk knew that once the wind stopped, the sand would accumulate in large amounts.

"Whatever! I wasn’t planning on staying here long anyway. Once the wind stops, I’ll find a way out. I can’t stay here and wait to die. If those 'monsters' attack again, I won’t be able to handle it," Elian Hawk thought to himself.

He reached behind him to grab his backpack, pulling out a bottle filled with a blue liquid. He took a few gulps, drinking the liquid down. "Ah..." Elian Hawk sighed as he put the bottle down. "If this place weren’t so dangerous, I could actually stay here for a few days."

Elian Hawk reflected on the taste. "This drink is sweet, though. Do they drink stuff like this in the military here?" he muttered, looking at the blue liquid in his hand. "It tastes good, and after drinking it, I actually feel pretty good."

Elian closed his eyes for a moment. After the shock and fear he’d experienced earlier, along with the rain that had soaked him through, his face had been pale. But after drinking the liquid, a flush of color appeared on his face, and he felt more energetic.

What Elian Hawk didn’t know was that the liquid he drank was actually a combat enhancement serum designed for soldiers, not a regular drink. Now, feeling unexpectedly energetic and without the fatigue he had earlier, Elian felt as though he could do anything. It was as though he had endless strength, enough to drag a cow across the ground. Excited, he stood up and started pacing around.

Though Elian didn’t realize it, he had consumed something that wasn’t meant for regular consumption. But in his excited state, his mind was clear and sharp. "There’s plenty of food! I don’t have to worry about that for now, and it’s safe in the tunnel. For now, I don’t have to worry about those monsters attacking either. The biggest concern for me is my identity—this is something I can’t figure out."

As he paced, Elian kept turning over the identity issue in his mind. "There are no other living people here except me. It seems like they’ll be sending reinforcements soon, and when they arrive, I’m definitely going to have trouble explaining myself. After all, if a species capable of space travel investigates, they could easily uncover my identity."

"When my identity is exposed, it’s going to cause trouble for me," Elian Hawk continued to think, hands clasped behind his back.

He thought of many solutions, but none of them seemed useful. As long as they investigated, they’d be able to find out everything about him. There was no way to hide anything. But in his current state, Elian Hawk couldn’t calm down. His body was in an incredibly hyperactive state after drinking something that wasn’t intended for humans.

"Damn it!" Elian Hawk finally realized something was wrong. He’d been pacing around the basement for hours, and the excitement wouldn’t die down. "Could it be the blue liquid?" he suddenly thought, remembering what he had drunk earlier.

He rushed to the sofa, grabbed his backpack, and pulled out the bottle of blue liquid. This liquid was something Elian had found in the supply warehouse, stored in several metal barrels. After a long search in the warehouse, he hadn’t found any drinkable water, so he assumed this sweet, sports-drink-like liquid was the water used by the people here.

What Elian didn’t know was that this planet didn’t have any drinkable water. Although it occasionally rained, the rainwater contained harmful substances that made it undrinkable. The military station had originally planned to dismantle the base, so no water facilities were built. The water used by the troops was strictly rationed.

The storm outside gradually began to subside. The planet had rotated to the other side of the massive planet it orbited, and darkness descended.

"Vroom~~" As darkness settled, the station’s sensor system activated, turning on the lights. Through the video feeds, Elian could clearly see that dozens of powerful lights on the metal walls illuminated the area around the station, making it as bright as day.

When the lights came on, Elian was startled. "What the hell was that noise?" he shouted, running to the wall and grabbing his laser gun. After realizing it was just the lights coming on, he sighed in relief.

Excited and still in an overly heightened state, Elian decided to go outside and breathe in some fresh air. He grabbed his laser gun, fiddled with it for a moment, and climbed the ladder leading to the exit. The exit was sealed, but he noticed a button on the wall and pressed it.

"Whoosh~~" There was a sound like gas escaping, and the exit opened. Elian stepped outside, holding his gun and stepping cautiously.

When Elian stepped out of the command room, he noticed that all the severed limbs and organs that had been scattered around were now gone, swept away by the storm. The air was now fresh, free of the stench that had plagued the station earlier. The planet had fallen into total darkness, and in the distance, Elian could see the massive planet casting its silhouette across the sky. It was an awe-inspiring sight, something that would be impossible to see on Earth. If this place weren’t so dangerous, Elian thought he’d stop to admire the view.

Elian hurried to the metal platform, the same spot where the "monsters" had breached the station’s defenses and massacred everyone. He was particularly focused on this location because it was the weakest point in the station’s defenses.

Out of breath, Elian approached, pausing to listen for any strange sounds. If he heard anything, he was ready to turn and run. After listening for a while, everything remained silent.

When darkness fell, the planet seemed to be devoid of any life, and Elian was reassured that there was no immediate danger. He cautiously peered around the corner of the platform and saw that the small ramp, which had been formed by the bodies of monsters, was now gone, swept away by the storm.

"Finally," Elian sighed, his heart relaxing a little.

He crouched behind the protective railing, carefully scanning the area. He knew that the monsters wouldn’t be able to jump over the twenty-meter-high metal walls.

Elian walked up to the observation tower, where the view was much better. He held his laser gun and started thinking again.

"I’m already here. This place looks like a military station. The people here look like me, they speak the same language, but I can’t understand their writing. This is a bit tricky."

Elian gazed at the golden-ringed planet in the distance. "Everyone here is dead now. I don’t know if they’ll send reinforcements. If there’s no human settlement on this planet, this really will be a tragedy."

Just as he was thinking about the worst-case scenario, a rustling sound came from the distance. Elian immediately tensed up, ducking behind the observation tower and gripping his laser gun tightly.

"Could it be the monsters again? With such a big storm, how are they still around?" Elian thought, sweat forming on his palms as he prepared for whatever came next.