The three decided to begin their search at the nearest crash site.
The first crash site was located in a nearby primeval jungle, making the data terminal a good landing spot. After roughly packing up their camp, leaving any unwieldy luggage beneath the massive rock, each person, armed with necessary food and water, entered the alien jungle, which held an unknown number of secrets. They didn't need to bring any tools for clearing the way; these three superhumans were well-equipped to handle even the most challenging terrain.
The vegetation on this planet was vastly larger and more impressive than anything Kevin had seen on Earth, from trees to shrubs to grass. The most common type of tree in the jungle is a massive, uniformly thick tree. Its trunk is often at least as thick as two or three people can wrap their arms around. From the ground up to a height of ten meters, it's branchless. Above that, distinct, symmetrically distributed, robust branches begin to appear. Its leaves are broad and dense, so large that a single tree can practically cover the sky, covering a diameter of more than ten meters. Dark green vines can be seen entwined around its dark brown trunk. Every single one of these giant trees is covered with vines, a truly astonishing sight. They must have achieved some kind of close symbiotic relationship, so complete that any individuals unable to maintain it have naturally been eliminated.
The air in the jungle seems to have a higher oxygen content. The towering trees around us, as well as the large shrubs we encountered along the way, seem to be producing oxygen at an efficiency far exceeding that of Earth's plants. Their physiological structures must be vastly different from those of Earth's plants. Perhaps this explains why this planet, with only twenty percent land, has a higher oxygen concentration than Earth. Of course, these are just Kevin's wild guesses; his expertise in this area is pitiful, perhaps even less than that of his own dog. The forest wasn't easy to navigate. There were no paths at all. The ground was uneven and covered in thick, fallen leaves, concealing invisible caves and treacherous aerial roots. Kevin and the other two struggled mightily, stepping back and forth. Kevin felt a surge of envy for Vivian: the vampire girl must be perfectly at home here, with the wide-open spaces between the giant trees. She could fly around like a frisky bat spirit...
Occasionally, bizarre beasts or enormous birds could be seen fleeting through the nearby trees. These primitive creatures were incredibly agile, and facing strangers, the timid animals would flee like phantoms in the forest. Of course, the three also encountered some seemingly formidable carnivorous beasts, but they posed no threat at all. They fled in a flash of lightning at the sight of Y'zaks: the noise of the great demon clearing the way was simply too loud. "BOOM!" A roar echoed through the forest. Y'zaks waved his hand and unleashed a blast of searing compressed air, reducing the vines and fallen branches blocking his path to ash. Thanks to the Archdemon's endless stream of spells and his tank-like propulsion, Kevin and Nangong Wuyue had a relatively easy time following behind. Nangong Wuyue observed the scorching air swirling around Y'zaks and his relentless volleying of compressed air cannons, sticking out her tongue slightly in fear. "Super-violent wizard! I'm most afraid of hot air... I get dehydrated easily."
A fire-focused Archdemon and a water-focused Siren—it's no small feat for them to be on the same team. "Be careful, don't start a forest fire!" Kevin called out to Y'zaks from behind. "The oxygen content here is high, and there's only so much land in the world. You could be in big trouble if you're not careful!"
Y'zaks grinned as he cleared the way. "Don't worry, I'm using magic. Even if these air masses start a fire, it won't spread. So, how long will it take us to get there?"
"Almost there, almost there," the data terminal floated leisurely in mid-air. A holographic image of the forest was displayed ahead, and the red dot marking the destination was already just inches ahead of them. "We'll be there in ten minutes."
"This is the third ten minutes already. I can't walk anymore," Nangong Wuyue muttered. As a siren, she didn't have the stamina to handle these conditions. She was also a little worried. "By the way, is that new tenant... okay? The container has been here for days, and it was forced to land..."
"No problem," the data terminal bobbed up and down as a nod. "This machine checked the model of the container hold. It's a brand-name product manufactured by the New Eden Federation. It has strict internal protection devices. Even if the outer layer burns completely, the interior can maintain a stable environment for a month. Furthermore, the 'Cargo Description' states, 'Transported Goods in Dormant Storage.' This machine is probably hibernating."
"You don't know the new tenant's situation?" Kevin glanced at the data terminal in surprise. "I thought you knew the inside story."
"Don't you think of Raven Commander's style? She's already a good thing she remembered to tell this machine about the original shipping company."
Kevin thought about it and decided not to pursue the issue. Everything would become clear once he found the container hold. Nangong Wuyue muttered to herself with a strange expression, "Why does this feel weird to me... We're supposed to be sending someone over, yet they keep mentioning 'container hold'?"
Before the data terminal could even explain the numerous technical terms, Y'zaks's voice boomed from the front: "Hey, I see smoke! That should be it up ahead!"
Nangong Wuyue, who had been about to throw a tantrum and refuse to move, perked up. She and Kevin looked up and, sure enough, they could see a faint column of smoke rising lopsidedly from the depths of the dense forest ahead. However, there seemed to be no signs of a fire. The three of them quickened their pace. After a quick march through the forest, the situation at the first crash site unfolded before them:
The violent collision and explosion cleared a large clearing in the jungle. Within a circular area with a radius of over a hundred meters, a large, radial crater formed. Trees lay scattered along the rim, many trunks scorched. Inside the crater, dark brown soil was rolled up, and steaming embers could be seen in several pits. At the bottom of the crater, the remains of the object could be seen: a mass of unrecognizable metal scraps, one could only roughly determine what had once been an oval, egg-shaped object more than ten meters long. Sparks still flew from the broken metal edges, and the air around it was filled with a pungent smell. Kevin saw numerous scorch marks and signs of small fires near the crash site. Clearly, there had been a brief fire at the time of the crash. However, perhaps the forest's vegetation was inherently fire-resistant (with its high-water content fiber tubes, closed, flame-retardant bark, and leaves covered in a protective cuticle layer), so the brief fire didn't ignite into a major forest fire. Otherwise, one could only imagine the devastation such a large area would have suffered.
"Could this be a cargo hold..." Kevin had never seen a cargo hold used for interstellar transport, but the large crater didn't look like a successful forced landing, so he was a little puzzled. "It should be the carrier's propulsion and control systems," the data terminal flew over the wreckage, slowly sweeping a blue light across the hull. "Most of the components are burned, including the recorder. Looks like a wasted trip."
Kevin watched the aftermath of the alien spacecraft's crash and suddenly realized something serious: "Wait, Raven 12345 originally planned to have those idiots called goblins deliver the cargo hold directly to Earth, right?"
"Right."
Kevin jumped up half a meter. "Right? You're saying she planned to have this thing crash directly to Earth?!"
"How could I have known the carrier would crash?" The data terminal dodged Kevin's saliva. "Goblin technology doesn't always explode. Occasionally, it lands successfully... And honestly, if it did re-enter Earth's atmosphere, Commander Raven would be personally monitoring it. He definitely wouldn't have it crash-land like it did here..." Kevin doubted that the goddess could pull it off. He was genuinely thankful for one thing: It was a good thing this thing had strayed over 800 light-years away! Otherwise, if it had landed in a busy human city, he wouldn't have been able to watch any other news on TV for the next six months!
"Forget it! It was a wasted trip. Let's go somewhere else," Nangong Wuyue crouched dejectedly. "That other place is in the mountains... and we have to climb mountains?"
Just as Kevin and Nangong Wuyue were about to leave, Y'zaks suddenly noticed something: "Wait a minute, I feel something here!"