The Xinglong—a legendary warship of unfathomable power—had accepted him as its commander.
But why him?
Why now?
The silence in the control chamber was heavy, broken only by the faint hum of the ship’s systems. Slowly, Li Wei steadied himself, his fingers curling into fists.
"No sense standing here like a fool. If I’m really in charge now, I need to figure out what to do next."
A soft chime rang through the chamber, and suddenly, golden lines of text shimmered into existence before him. The elegant calligraphy of the ancient script pulsed with energy.
COMMAND ACCESS CONFIRMED.
AWAKENING PROTOCOL INITIATED.
RELEASING PRIMARY SYSTEMS LOCK.
Li Wei barely had time to process the message before the entire ship began to tremble. The jade-inlaid panels flickered to life, intricate arrays of symbols flowing across their surfaces. Somewhere deep within the Xinglong, the sound of shifting metal and awakening power rumbled like a sleeping beast stretching its limbs.
He braced himself against the control panel as the ship surged with energy. It was as if something ancient and powerful had finally woken from a deep slumber.
Before he could fully comprehend what was happening, the same calm voice from before resonated throughout the chamber. “Primary systems online. Core power restored to twenty percent. Awaiting command.”
Twenty percent? If that was all the power available, then what had happened to the ship? Had it sustained damage? Or had it been asleep for so long that it needed time to reactivate?
Li Wei took a deep breath. He had no idea what he was doing, but standing around in shock wasn’t going to help. His hands hovered over the controls. Instinctively, his fingers moved, tracing over the glowing symbols. The moment he touched them, information flooded his mind—schematics, power distribution charts, combat capabilities. It was overwhelming, but something about it also felt… natural.
“This shouldn’t be possible,” he muttered. “I’ve never piloted anything in my life, and now—”
The ship responded to his thoughts before he could finish the sentence.
INITIALIZING SHIP STATUS REPORT.
A new projection appeared in front of him. The Xinglong was massive, its shape resembling the form of a celestial dragon. Intricate patterns of interlocking armor plates covered its hull, and along its spine, there were arrays of weapons powerful enough to level entire fleets. But large sections of the ship were dark, unresponsive.
This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it
STATUS REPORT:
-
Power Core: 20% operational.
-
Weapons Systems: Offline.
-
Shielding: Critically low.
-
Navigation Systems: Partially active.
-
Crew Status: …UNKNOWN.
Li Wei’s stomach tightened. He wasn’t alone on this ship… or at least, he shouldn’t be. There had to be crew members somewhere, right? He couldn’t be the only one here. He scanned the interface, trying to find more details. The ship had dormitories, training halls, even a command center, but every location registered as inactive.
No. Not inactive.
Dormant.
The Xinglong hadn’t just been floating in space. It had been in a deep hibernation. Whatever power had been keeping it alive had been dwindling, and only now, with his arrival, was it beginning to stir again.
Li Wei exhaled slowly. “Alright,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair. “Let’s take this one step at a time.”
First priority: restore more power. If he wanted to figure out what had happened here—and more importantly, what he was supposed to do next—he needed this ship fully operational.
His hands hovered over the console again. There were no clear labels, but somehow, he understood what each symbol represented. He navigated through the systems, searching for anything that would help him restore power.
Finally, he found it: Secondary Energy Nodes.
A diagram of the ship appeared, highlighting several locations. Each one contained a backup energy source that could be manually reactivated.
“Great,” he said to himself. “So I have to go there in person.”
The idea of wandering through the dark, ancient corridors of an enormous warship wasn’t exactly comforting, but there was no other choice. He could sit here and wait, or he could take action.
With a deep breath, Li Wei stood up. The seat adjusted itself automatically as he moved, almost as if the ship was responding to his resolve. He glanced at the holographic map one last time, memorizing the route to the closest energy node.
Then, with hesitant but determined steps, he exited the command chamber.
The hallways of the Xinglong were silent, save for the faint hum of active systems. Glowing lines of golden energy traced along the walls, illuminating his path like ancient calligraphy given life.
The air was cold, carrying the scent of metal and something else—something old and forgotten.
Li Wei’s footsteps echoed as he walked. Every so often, the ship would flicker with pulses of energy, as if responding to his presence. He wasn’t sure if it was comforting or unnerving. Maybe both.
He reached the first power node without incident. The room was smaller than he expected, a circular chamber with a large crystalline structure at its center. Strange conduits wrapped around it like veins, but they were dark, inactive.
Li Wei approached the control panel. It was similar to the ones in the command chamber, but instead of waiting for him to input a command, it displayed a single phrase:
AWAITING RECOGNITION.
He hesitated, then placed his hand on the panel.
The response was immediate. Symbols flared to life, and the crystal pulsed once before a surge of energy rushed through the conduits. The hum of machinery grew louder, the lights brighter.
SECONDARY ENERGY NODE ACTIVATED.
Li Wei exhaled, feeling a strange sense of relief. That was one down. If he could activate more, maybe he could bring the ship to full power.
But before he could take another step, the chamber trembled. A deep, mechanical groan echoed through the halls, followed by something else—something more unsettling.
A distant sound. One he hadn’t heard since waking up.
A voice.
He wasn’t alone on this ship after all.