It was only the lightest of kisses at the corner of his lips, so shallow that it was almost nothing yet it made Lu Fenghan feel as though he had completely broken free from the pull of gravity, even his soul seeming to float weightlessly.
But once his reason returned, Lu Fenghan found himself regretting the impulse that had taken hold of him barely half a minute ago.
He leaned back slightly and opened his eyes.
Qi Yan was nestled into the pillow, the hazy drowsiness still heavy in his eyes. It was obvious that the kiss just now had not affected him in the slightest.
At the same time as he breathed a quiet sigh of relief, a sharp ache passed through Lu Fenghan’s chest once again.
He slowly gathered Qi Yan’s hand into his palm. His callused fingertips brushed lightly over Qi Yan’s wrist as he tried to steady and regulate his own emotions.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Because I can’t understand what kissing means?” Qi Yan’s voice was naturally somewhat cool but his sleepiness softened it by several degrees.
He tilted his head up slightly, the lines of his neck clearly defined and looked at Lu Fenghan from beneath his lashes with complete seriousness. “You can kiss me. You’ve kissed me before, in my memories.”
Lu Fenghan understood clearly enough. Because Qi Yan was missing his emotions, he had also lost some of the criteria by which he normally judged things. As a result, he could only use his memories as a point of reference when deciding whether something was “yes” or “no,” whether it was “allowed” or “refused.”
Still holding Qi Yan’s hand, Lu Fenghan squeezed his knuckles twice. His voice returned to its usual lazy, faintly amused tone.
“Not now. You can let me do it after you’ve found the emotions you lost. Otherwise, I’d be taking advantage of you.”
Qi Yan could not quite understand but he chose to believe Lu Fenghan.
His eyes were half closed and the sleepiness made his voice even more indistinct. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said something that seemed to have no connection to what they had been discussing.
“I only allow you to kiss me.”
After saying that, he could no longer keep his eyes open. His eyelids finally closed completely and he fell asleep.
Lu Fenghan quietly watched the person sleeping soundly in front of him. Only after a long while did he carefully and silently lie down on the bed.
The lights went out, while the white noise produced by the starship’s operation continued without end.
Following his usual habit, he mentally went through everything from beginning to end, sorting through the matters that needed to be handled and making sure that nothing had been overlooked. Only then did he prepare to sleep for a while, restore his energy and wake up ready to storm Donald’s stronghold.
After nearly ten years on the front lines, Lu Fenghan had long since developed the ability to fall asleep quickly whenever and wherever necessary.
However, before he could actually fall asleep, he noticed Qi Yan turning over and burrowing into his arms.
For a moment, the scene overlapped with one from his memories.
Lu Fenghan reached out, scooped the person into his arms, settled him comfortably against himself and went to sleep with him.
Just as expected.
He really was a little clingy.
…….
After making up for five hours of sleep, Lu Fenghan brought Qi Yan, who was still somewhat dazed with sleep, to the command room.
Only three people were sitting around the conference table. Several minutes later, Mejielin and Wayne finally opened the door and came in, yawning as they entered.
Seeing that Mejielin had been yawning continuously ever since she sat down, Duchamp asked, “What have you been busy with? You look completely drained, like someone has emptied you out.”
Magelyn looked listless.
“Don’t throw baseless accusations around. I’m a good rabbit. I never eat the grass growing beside my own nest.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she happened to see Lu Fenghan tear open a packet of nutritional supplement and bring it to Qi Yan’s lips.
Qi Yan had not completely woken up from his drowsiness yet. His head rested against Lu Fenghan’s shoulder and he obediently opened his mouth to bite onto the opening, taking tiny sips one after another.
The moment Magelyn saw this scene, she instantly became wide awake from sheer indignation.
Why don’t I have such good fortune?
It’s all the rebel army’s fault!
After Qi Yan finished drinking, he got up and went to sit on the sofa.
Lu Fenghan curled one finger and tapped it against the tabletop, drawing everyone’s attention.
“All right. Let’s begin the meeting.”
“For this operation, Duchamp will lead the assault team, with the Jiangling serving as the vanguard. Long Xiyun will take the Feilian and defend both flanks. Magelyn and Wayne will form the center with the Chanyuan and Pingning. I’ll take the Dingyuan as the rear guard, while Erich remains behind on the command ship.”
As Lu Fenghan finished speaking, Pojun projected a phantom image of the fleet above the conference table.
Within the miniature star map, the fleet formations, reduced to model like proportions, were arranged in neat and orderly ranks. Different colors were also used to mark the positions of the accompanying vessels, such as supply ships and escort ships.
His gaze swept across each of the people seated around the table.
“Any objections?”
Magelyn spoke up.
“No objections. However, I request that the Chanyuan take the lead and the Pingning stay behind. The designer of the Pingning has a strange obsession. It’s a perfectly good starship yet they designed it in the shape of a trapezoid. Its rear end is ridiculously huge. Following behind it completely obstructs my view.”
Wayne’s eyes widened.
“How exactly does it obstruct your view? Is the Pingning blocking your radar detection? Or are you planning to admire the scenery around you while traveling at full speed through all this pitch black emptiness?”
The people around the table began drinking water, picking at their fingernails and otherwise finding things to occupy themselves with, deliberately giving the two of them a full minute to argue.
But, as usual, their argument ended after about forty seconds and the final result was still Wayne reluctantly admitting defeat.
“All right. The Chanyuan goes in front.”
Lu Fenghan’s regulation shirt sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and he rested one elbow against the table.
“Five main warships escorting Donald to the afterlife. That’s enough respect for him.”
Magelyn said, “Once he reaches the afterlife with a smile, he can brag to all those brothers of his who died before him!”
Her smile gradually faded.
“Lin Dun should be in a pretty good mood too. At least he’ll finally get to beat someone up and vent some of that anger.”
The Lin Dun she referred to was the captain of the Eros. He had been ambushed during the great rout and had never returned.
In a space war, there was even less possibility of speaking about recovering a corpse or leaving behind remains.
Lu Fenghan projected another list.
“The people on this list are coming out with us this time. Don’t let them come back.”
Everyone present understood that the final list had been determined by Long Xiyun.
To varying degrees, every person whose name appeared on it had betrayed the Alliance at some point. Not a single one of them was clean.
However, they were all marginal figures and there was no need to deal with them in front of the troops.
Once this battle was over, a report of “missing” would be filed.
It was, in a sense, an established practice within the Expeditionary Army.
After making sure everyone had memorized the names, Lu Fenghan continued,
“If we win this battle, we’ll give the brothers who are gone an answer, right there on Donald’s territory.”
The expressions of everyone around the table grew somewhat solemn.
At that moment, the door of the command room opened from outside, breaking the atmosphere that had settled over the room.
Lorenz, the head of the Technical Department, was the last to arrive. He had no intention of sitting down to participate in the meeting. With nothing but a pair of dark circles beneath his eyes, he stood at the doorway holding a steaming cup of espresso and said,
“Don’t charge forward recklessly like you’ve all developed manic disorders. Keep an eye on the propulsion systems. If one breaks down after another and everyone in the Technical Department throws down their tools and refuses to work anymore, you’ll figure out what to do yourselves.”
After delivering his threat, Lorenz turned around and left, the hem of his white lab coat sweeping through the air in a graceful arc.
Once they were certain he had left, Magelyn exchanged a glance with Duchamp and muttered,
“Why do I suddenly feel like I can’t breathe properly? Lorenz is terrifying!”
Wayne ruthlessly struck where it hurt.
“Because you two are always the ones charging ahead the most recklessly and your post battle repair applications are always the thickest!”
Magelyn and Duchamp simultaneously touched their noses, both falling silent without saying another word.
…..
4:00 p.m., July 10. Rebel Army Eleventh Legion Garrison.
Inside the monitoring room, the two personnel on duty were speaking in low voices.
“How many times have the higher ups argued over the strange new methods the Expeditionary Army has come up with?”
“Who can keep count? All I know is that the legion commander has lost his temper several times. Why can the Expeditionary Army predict when we’re going to emerge from the transition channel? We can’t figure it out and the probe we planted on the other side has been out of contact for a long time. Not a single piece of information has come through.
“I think maybe someone really is leaking information to the outside but that’s just a thought. Right now, unless the opposing commander in chief announces it personally, no one knows what’s actually going on.”
“If we don’t even know what’s happening, how are we supposed to fight?” The speaker glanced at the monitoring screens and, after making sure there was no one else nearby, lowered his voice even further. “We’re going to lose anyway, so we might as well figure that thing out first. I don’t want to go out there and throw my life away.”
The person on duty beside him patted him on the shoulder.
“We’ve just fought two battles. The Expeditionary Army needs to rest too, so there probably won’t be anything happening during our shift today. The Wise One is that powerful and the ‘messengers’ sent down by the Wise One are powerful too. They’ll definitely be able to figure it out.”
With nothing else to do, the two of them spent some time using their imaginations to speculate about the Expeditionary Army’s new methods.
Just then, the monitoring equipment suddenly emitted a sharp beep, indicating an abnormal situation.
The two men instantly came back to their senses and lunged toward the monitoring equipment.
On the screen, a red dot representing a high speed energy body had appeared within the monitoring range.
“Is that the Expeditionary Army atta, ”
Before he could finish speaking, large and small red dots had already spread across the fluorescent green background, forming a dense mass as they rapidly approached at astonishing speed.
The alarm grew more piercing with every successive burst, while blood red warning indicators popped up one after another, filling more than half of the monitoring screen.
There was nothing before their eyes except red.
It took nearly ten seconds for the two men to recover from their stunned silence. Only then did the person on duty slam down the red button and shout into the communications system,
“Enemy attack! An unidentified fleet is rapidly approaching!”
Beneath the pitch black curtain of space, the Jiangling was at the very front.
The enormous fleet surged forward like shadows moving stealthily through the night, its formation sweeping across the darkness as it stabbed toward the distant enemy like a dagger.
In the communications channel, Duchamp spoke from aboard the Jiangling.
“They’ve deployed ‘Thousand Mile Eyes’ to monitor our movements. Looks like after all this time, they’ve finally realized what’s happening.”
Lu Fenghan gave a quiet “Mm” and had Pojun locate the positions of the Thousand Mile Eyes, then transmit their coordinates to the fighter ships near the Jiangling.
One shot per target.
The “Thousand Mile Eye” was a commonly used long range surveillance device on space battlefields. It could transmit images in real time across enormous distances.
They had never intended to conceal their movements in the first place, so Lu Fenghan did not particularly care about this level of surveillance. Even so, he still ordered the devices to be shot down one after another as though they were birds.
It was purely psychological pressure.
At the same time, he issued another order.
“Check again whether the internal communications are functioning normally.”
As his voice fell, an image of the fleet appeared on the virtual screen that stood as tall as the wall.
Countless green points of light gradually illuminated the display.
Green meant the communications connection was functioning normally; red indicated that the vessel had not been connected to the communications network.
Lu Fenghan said, “Confirm the status of every starship. Run a self check on the central control system. Preheat the remote missile propulsion systems. Everyone to your stations. Prepare for battle!”
The instant the order was issued, every member of the Expeditionary Army was already standing at their assigned positions.
The missile propulsion systems mounted on the starships rose into position in perfect unison, silent and imposing, their dark cannon mouths pointing directly toward the enemy.
Once the leading Jiangling entered firing range, Lu Fenghan gave the order to fire.
“Launch the first wave of missiles.”
Before the final syllable had even faded, missiles could already be seen beyond the portholes. Propelled forward by their boosters, they streaked outward in lines that rapidly multiplied into a dense barrage, crashing toward the rebel army.
Explosions erupted in the distance, flames blooming through the darkness of space.
Soon, Pojun reported,
“After the trajectories were corrected by the central control system, the hit rate is 79%.”
Before the central control system was developed for starships, long range missiles had always relied on overwhelming numbers to compensate for their poor accuracy. Their precision had been, to put it mildly, nothing worth boasting about.
Part of the problem lay in the complexity of the space environment and the numerous factors capable of affecting a missile’s trajectory. Another reason was that an enemy starship was not some powerless piece of scrap metal that simply sat motionless in space.
Only after the emergence of the central control system had the goal of “precision guidance” begun to become a reality.
The central control system could instantly capture environmental data from space and predict the movements of enemy targets. Just 0.1 seconds before a missile separated from its booster, it would correct the trajectory, reducing the circular error probable to within a range of one meter and raising the probability of a direct hit to around 80 percent.
This was also why, for such a long period of time, the rebel army had been suppressed by the Expeditionary Army, while Y had shot straight to the top of the Black List.
At the time, both sides had long range missile hit rates of only around 50 percent. Overnight, out of every ten missiles launched by the Alliance, three additional missiles could now hit their targets.
It was a simple figure but on a battlefield, the implications were terrifying.
Even today, despite updating their systems repeatedly, the rebel army had still failed to catch up with that figure. That was why they had become so determined to seize the source architecture of the central control system.
Duchamp’s voice sounded in the communications channel again.
“They’re starting to fire back!”
Magelyn, following behind the Jiangling, spoke excitedly.
“Good! Let’s fight! Everyone, let’s beat them up together!”
She sounded exactly like the leader of a group of female delinquents getting ready to go outside their school and start a brawl as soon as class ended.
Lu Fenghan’s gaze remained fixed on the multidimensional star map.
“Switch to a cone formation. The Jiangling will form the tip of the blade. Raise anti missile interception systems on both wings. Attack and break through the enemy fleet formation.”
The first response to come through the communications channel was Long Xiyun’s.
“Yes!”
Duchamp, however, had already taken the lead.
The Jiangling and the fleet surrounding it surged forward like the point of a blade, stabbing directly into the rebel fleet rushing toward them.
Lu Fenghan surveyed the entire battlefield and quickly gained a clear understanding of the situation. He spared a moment to glance at Qi Yan.
Qi Yan was carefully studying the multidimensional star map.
The fluorescent blue light reflected across his features, giving his face the appearance of porcelain coated with a thin layer of translucent glaze.
“What are you looking at?”
Unlike the commanding tone Lu Fenghan had used moments earlier when issuing orders, his voice was very soft now, as though he were worried about startling Qi Yan.
“General, are we using Thousand Mile Eyes too?”
Lu Fenghan nodded.
“That’s right.”
Qi Yan moved his gaze away from the multidimensional star map.
“I have an idea. Suppose I could create a frequency capable of interfering with the images transmitted by the Thousand Mile Eyes back to the main ship. For example, if the Chanyuan, the Dingyuan and the Jiangling were to enter the battle at the same time, this frequency could alter the images being transmitted back into images showing the Chanyuan, the Dingyuan and a medium sized ship.”
Lu Fenghan understood immediately.
If there truly was such a frequency capable of affecting the images transmitted by the Thousand Mile Eyes, then it could be used to completely mislead the enemy. The deception would be discovered very quickly and would not last for long but under certain circumstances, it could prove extremely useful.
However, before Lu Fenghan could answer, several voices suddenly burst through the communications channel. Mejielin’s was the loudest of them all.
“Commander, where did you find such a treasure!”
Lu Fenghan’s tone turned dangerous.
“Who gave you permission to call him that?”
Magelyn was quick to read the situation and immediately corrected herself.
“Commander, where did you find such a little genius like Qi Yan!”
Leaning back against his chair, Lu Fenghan raised the corners of his lips.
“Even if you knew, would it be of any use to you?”
Provoked by him, Magelyn raised one middle finger viciously toward the camera in her video communication window.
Just then, a red warning flashed across the virtual screen, followed immediately by Long Xiyun’s voice.
“The rebel army has used self detonating starships to force their way through the right wing defenses!”
Magelyn swore.
“Those idiots who are willing to sacrifice themselves for God really are a specialty of the rebel army!”
“Send personnel from the Pingning to reinforce the area and close the gap. Pojun, analyze the enemy starships with unusual trajectories. I’m transferring control of the artillery turrets on both wings to you. The moment you identify one, use the laser cannons to blast it apart and prevent any further self detonation attacks.”
Pojun replied, “Understood, General.”
Donald, however, was in anything but a pleasant mood as his plans were intercepted again and again.
First, the Expeditionary Army had somehow developed a strange method that allowed them to precisely intercept the rebel fleet at the exit of a transition channel.
Now, even more unbelievably, they could pick out the self detonating starships he was using to break through their formation from among a chaotic mass of warships and destroy every single one with a single strike.
On top of that, the military factory had been seized, depriving them of their new weapons, while ammunition supplies had become restricted.
All of this left Donald with the suffocating feeling that he was being held beneath the five fingers of his opponent and the frustration made him increasingly irritable.
What troubled him even more was the position of the Eleventh Legion.
As the rebel army legion whose garrison was closest to the Expeditionary Army, they had always served as a barrier and defensive line. If that line were breached, the Expeditionary Army would be able to drive straight into their territory and Donald would undoubtedly receive severe punishment from the Wise One.
There was already an example.
The previous commander of the Eleventh Legion had not died at Lu Fenghan’s hands. After his defeat, he had managed to escape and gone before the Wise One to confess his crimes.
The manner of his death had not been particularly dignified.
Someone reported, “Another three small vessels detached from the fleet and headed toward the Expeditionary Army’s flank. They were precisely bombarded and destroyed. The entire process took thirty three seconds.”
Anxiety churned inside Donald.
He rolled two metal balls between his fingers, increasingly convinced that Lu Fenghan had become even more difficult to deal with.
He was missing far too much information about the Expeditionary Army’s new methods. Even Lu Fenghan’s strategic approach had clearly changed compared with before.
An opponent whose depths could not be seen was always unsettling and inevitably inspired caution and apprehension.
Long Xiyun had noticed this as well.
He mentioned it through the communications channel.
“Commander, your fighting style has changed quite a lot.”
Lu Fenghan had never told anyone about what he had experienced on Chenxi Star. He brushed the matter aside with only two sentences.
“That’s because I played more than a thousand rounds of strategy games with Pojun. If you have the time, you can try it too.”
Pojun possessed an incomparably vast database capable of simulating the individual styles and strategies of famous commanders throughout history.
Lu Fenghan had not wasted those thousands of games but as for exactly how much he had absorbed and learned from each successive battle, even he himself could not say.
Perhaps only the enemies who would eventually fall beneath his command would know.
Qi Yan heard those words and stepped over to stand beside Lu Fenghan.
Under the table, his little finger gently hooked around Lu Fenghan’s.
As though simply hooking their fingers together were not enough, he gave it a small, playful sway.
It was an extremely subtle little movement.
The communications channel was still open and several video communication windows remained active. Besides Mejielin and the others, supply ships as well as several reconnaissance ships, escort ships and fighter ships were also connected.
Lu Fenghan felt that Qi Yan’s tiny gesture was like a soft, delicate feather brushing across his palm.
The sensation left half of his arm tingling.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
We have reached the inevitable coffee solicitation.
☕ BUY THEM A COFFEE →
✧ (づ｡•ㅅ•｡)づ ☕ ✧
✦ thank you for reading ✦
← PreviousNext →
ChaptersChapter 50 · I am Pojun.Chapter 51 · Unable to deceive oneselfChapter 52 · Resurrected from the deadChapter 53 · Hello, General!Chapter 54 · My hand is injured.Chapter 55 · Come to my place.Chapter 56 · First VictoryChapter 57 · Self-introductionChapter 58 · Never changedChapter 59 · One reasonChapter 60 · Gentle and restrainedChapter 61 · Only you are allowed.Chapter 62 · To the Souls of the FallenChapter 63 · His reliefChapter 64 · His ambitionChapter 65 · Date TimeChapter 66 Part 1 · Abducting PlanetsChapter 66 Part 2 · Abducting PlanetsChapter 67 · Did not leaveChapter 68 · Perceiving EmotionsChapter 69 · My own effortsChapter 70 · Bright FlameChapter 71 · Dress codeChapter 72 · Take me with you!Chapter 73 · MirageChapter 74 · I’m used to it.