Hogwarts: From Selling White Peppers to Becoming a God

Chapter 397 Pursuit

Almost immediately, Murphy realized something was wrong.

He looked at the chief commander beside him, Shakhrin Popolov, and asked, "Does the lunar orbiter module still have fuel?"

"Yes, we reserved some. There should be about one-third of the fuel left in the work module."

The Seamless Stretch spell provides a huge margin in both space and mass for the spacecraft. The rocket used in this launch was designed to carry at least three people in a manned lunar lander. In contrast, the current unmanned probe lander uses less than one-fifth of the target payload. So much extra mass would be wasted if not used. Therefore, more fuel was reserved in the work module.

"Detonate it," Murphy said.

"What?" Popolov exclaimed in surprise.

The lunar exploration mission hasn't even started yet, and the landing module seems to have encountered a problem. At least the working module can still observe some data in lunar orbit, so it's a real shame that it exploded like this.

"Is there a problem?" Murphy asked.

"Technically, it's not difficult..."

Getting a spacecraft to launch smoothly into space is quite difficult, but making it explode is not so hard at all. Just a slight adjustment to the engine parameters is enough to cause an explosion.

"Then send the command, immediately! That's an order!" Murphy said.

As Murphy watched a green dot rapidly approach the rendezvous trajectory of the work module on the large screen, he felt a strong sense of unease.

There is definitely something on the far side of the moon!

Without guidance or fuel, the lander somehow managed to break free from the moon's gravity and prepare to rendezvous with the work module? Will it return to Earth? And what will it bring back?

Whatever it is, Murphy's instinct is to blow it up first.

However, the green dot suddenly disappeared from the screen the instant the command was issued.

Meanwhile, "The landing module and the work module have rendezvoused! The work module's engines have ignited, and it... is de-orbiting the moon; it's preparing to return to Earth!"

"How is this possible!?" Shahlin was shocked. Just now, the landing module was at least 12,000 kilometers away from the working module, which was still in lunar orbit. How could they have met up directly?

This distance is equivalent to traveling directly from Beijing to New York, and the work capsule is only an object less than ten meters long. Such precise transmission over such a large distance, especially in space, is beyond his comprehension.

With this technology, what's there to fear about rendezvous in space?!

The work capsule appeared to be brought under control in an instant, and an explosion did not occur.

Murphy connected with the Pioneers through the mind network and then sent out several coordinates. Several missile bases in Irkutsk, Soviet Union, received orders to enter combat readiness, and ten R-36M ballistic missile silos were ready to be launched at any time.

At the same time, Murphy's Starlink system was also activated, ready to use magical power to detect the other party's presence at any time.

The other party is too fast. Even though there is a distance of 380,000 kilometers between the Earth and the Moon, if it can jump more than 10,000 kilometers each time, it will only take about 30 jumps. Under extreme conditions, it may reach Earth's orbit in two or three minutes.

Given the speed of the target, missiles alone are unlikely to hit it at all. And considering that it might be some kind of "deity," the spells activated by the Starlink satellites might not be enough to cause effective damage.

Therefore, Murphy prepared on two fronts: relying on Starlink satellites for wide-range enemy detection, using magic to restrain them, and then using strategic nuclear weapons to deliver a fatal blow.

However, just as Murphy finished making the arrangements, the signal from the work pod suddenly disappeared.

Both laser communications and radio signals have disappeared.

In the vast expanse of space, at such a great distance, without a signal connection, the ground control station completely disappeared.

Murphy clicked his tongue and immediately notified the Soviet Union's defense department, instructing them to use all means to monitor extraterrestrial objects along possible paths.

But this is just a matter of luck. Given the other party's methods, it's highly likely that they will be difficult to detect before they actively expose themselves.

……

Two days later, the Atlantic Ocean.

"Bang!" Like a bomb exploding on the water, the spray rose more than ten meters high.

The violent impact rendered the concealment magic on the landing pod ineffective, and the entire landing device also fell apart during the impact.

A bright red worm emerged from the ruptured hatch, its size reduced by five or six times compared to when it first leaped into the landing module, resembling a tiny earthworm.

The earthworm then fell into the sea and floated with the tide, just as if it were dead, without making a sound.

A sea fish swam over and swallowed the "earthworm" whole. Its body trembled violently, and then a strange light flashed in its eyes. It turned its head and swam rapidly in one direction.

……

In a dark room, Murphy suddenly opened his eyes.

"Found you!"

In Siberia, the Eye of Odin's magic-sensing radar matrix has just detected a unique change in the magic background radiation. Its magic frequency is extremely high, exceeding the frequency of the Virgin Mary's magic by an entire order of magnitude.

In an instant, the precise coordinates appeared in Murphy's mind. The next moment, the three Starlink satellites that were flying over the Pacific Ocean received the command, adjusted their frequencies, emitted detection magic vibrations, and locked onto the target.

However, the moment it was locked onto by the satellite radar, the other party seemed to sense it and disappeared again.

……

"Bang!" The fish's body exploded due to the spatial pressure of long-distance teleportation, but the "earthworm" immediately found another new host, a sea snake that was nearly two meters long.

This time, it didn't wait for the sea serpent to get close. Instead, it transformed into a sharp arrow and suddenly shot into the sea serpent's eye, then controlled it to move forward at a super-high speed of hundreds of meters per second beneath the sea surface.

However, another wave of magical energy swept across its body immediately, and a few seconds later, it once again felt that terrifying sensation as if a sharp sword was hanging over its head.

Without hesitation, it teleported again, traversing a distance of over a thousand kilometers, and burrowed into the body of a shark.

The magical fluctuations swept over again, and this time it didn't dodge. The opponent's methods were too strange. It seemed that no matter how far it moved, it would be detected. In that case, it might as well create a useful body for itself first.

It was as if a black hole had appeared inside the poor shark's belly. Its massive body collapsed rapidly inward with a terrifying cracking sound, and in the blink of an eye, it was compressed into a ball covered with bone spurs and muscles.

The viscous blood flowed across the surface of the sphere, even causing the surrounding seawater to swirl. A whirlpool began to form beneath the surface, drawing in countless fish and shrimp, which were then crushed and incorporated into the sphere.

"Pfft!" With a sound as if a thin membrane had been pierced, a blood-soaked hand emerged from the sphere.

Immediately, an extremely strong man crawled out of the blood sphere. He stood on the water, his right arm missing, and his only remaining hand, his left hand, held a giant sword formed of congealed blood.

"I have returned once again!"

The man's voice, like a giant bell, carried for hundreds of miles. He raised his greatsword high and roared once more, "I! Tyr! Once again..."

However, before he could finish speaking, a huge green beam of light descended from the sky, smashing down on his head like a giant hammer and shoving him back into the sea.

In the dark room, Murphy's gaze traveled thousands of kilometers through the magical satellite, overlooking the sea surface that had been evaporated by the Avada Kedavra cannon.

"Since you like hiding so much, you might as well never show your face again."

(End of this chapter)