Eighteen minutes earlier.
Stellar Grade Missile Storage Site.
Calvin held a light particle gun in his hand. The metal body of the weapon was somewhat painfully cold against his fingers in the autumn night.
He hid behind a defensive barrier and lowered his voice as he discussed the situation with the person beside him. “Are there any technical soldiers in our squad? If something happens later, will we be able to get through that door?”
As he spoke, he pointed toward it.
The storage site was located underground. Above ground, there was only a roughly pyramidal structure that had been built there, standing two meters high and wide enough for two people to pass through side by side.
From the outside, it looked extremely run down and dilapidated, covered in a layer of dull gray. It resembled an abandoned, unfinished building that had long since been left to decay.
The black haired, baby faced man beside him answered in a low voice, “I’m from the technical department but that door isn’t something we can open easily. Under standard procedures, we need the commander’s authorization to get through it.”
“You’re from the technical department?” Calvin was stunned for a second. “I’m active duty aboard the Jiangling. Once the fighting starts, stick close to me.”
Technical soldiers had always been something of a rare species. Their combat capabilities were not particularly strong but they were intelligent and considering that their own captain was constantly submitting thick stacks of repair requests, forcing the people in the technical department to stay up late far more often than they should, Calvin felt a little guilty.
“According to the orders issued by the commander, we’ll be engaging the enemy in another two minutes. We absolutely cannot let them get underground.” Calvin suddenly remembered the drink he had never gotten around to finishing. “The alcohol on Mykono Star is really good. It’s such a shame to see an entire supply of it blown up just like that.”
The technician nodded. “We were actually discussing it before. The Eleventh Legion suffered such a disastrous defeat, so the rebels might pull some little stunt just to get under everyone’s skin. We didn’t expect our guess to actually come true.”
Calvin felt a surge of anger. “Fighting a war is one thing but every civilian on an entire planet is innocent. The rebels and those interstellar pirates are absolutely insane.”
At that moment, a voice sounded through the communicator built into their personal terminals.
“In eighty seconds, one hundred and sixty enemy personnel will successively enter firing range. Prepare yourselves!”
Calvin fell silent. He even softened his breathing, while his mind wandered briefly as he recalled that it seemed he had not participated in a ground operation for almost a year.
He calculated the numbers again. They had one hundred regular troops on their side and the advantage of having prepared an ambush. There should be no problem stopping the one hundred and sixty people on the other side.
The night was thick and heavy.
Inside the built in communicator, the thirty second countdown had already begun.
Calvin’s hearing was quite sharp. He faintly caught the rustling sound of footsteps coming from somewhere in the distance.
The light particle guns began to warm up, their muzzles aimed toward the direction from which the enemy was approaching.
Although Calvin was also dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, he was already completely different from the young man who had been casually chatting with the bartender in the bar.
Ten seconds remaining.
The temporary squad leader issued the command: “First group, prepare-”
Calvin raised the weapon steadily with both hands, his gaze as sharp as an eagle’s.
“Fire!”
A violent storm of gunfire erupted.
Bullets shot forward in a furious barrage and the first wave of attacks caught the enemy completely off guard, even throwing their ranks into a brief state of chaos.
The temporary force made up of rebels and interstellar pirates had never expected that, after coming all the way here, they would still encounter an ambush!
Since they were carrying out a kidnapping, naturally they had intended to do it without making a sound. Their goal was to seize control of the launch authority for the stellar grade missiles, announce that the kidnapping had succeeded and then sit back and watch the Alliance panic in utter disarray.
The plan had been foolproof.
They would send their people into the storage site while an envoy hidden in a concealed location cracked the security key. Once the key verification succeeded and they themselves touched the launch button, the launch sequence could be activated immediately.
Furthermore, they had already prepared escape routes near all seven storage sites. Before detonating all the missiles, they would withdraw from Mykono Star at the fastest possible speed.
But reality had proven that their plan had already been exposed!
The Expeditionary Army showed no mercy. Instead, they seized the opportunity while the enemy was still caught off guard and immediately followed up with another wave of attacks.
Amid the deafening bursts of gunfire, Calvin noticed that the technician beside him was clearly not very skilled with a gun. The muzzle was trembling badly in his hands.
Calvin offered some words of reassurance. “Don’t be afraid. Just close your eyes and fire. As long as you don’t shoot in our direction, you’ll be fine!”
The technician kept taking deep breaths. “My hands have gone numb from the recoil. I can barely hold the gun anymore!”
Calvin continued firing as he asked, “Do you remember that line? Pick up your weapon and protect the stars behind you?”
Perhaps there truly were moments when words possessed a certain kind of power.
The technician repeated those words over and over in his mouth three or four times. Then he tightened his grip around the weapon, following Calvin’s instructions as he closed his eyes and fired toward the enemy.
Even though his arms were still weak.
They gradually tightened the encirclement and eventually wiped out the entire enemy force.
Following his usual caution, Calvin went around with the temporary squad leader and carefully searched the area once more, confirming that there were no survivors.
After receiving the order to remain on standby at their current location, Calvin found someone and asked for some healing gel. He casually treated the wounds on his arm and thigh where bullets had grazed him.
Seeing the technician sitting on the ground, his emptied light particle gun casually tossed aside, Calvin smiled and said, “Once this temporary operation is over and we get back to the ship, you’d better practice more.”
The technician squeezed his eyes tightly shut and gritted his teeth. “When I get back, I’m definitely getting a B in shooting!” He then asked, “Has the mission already been completed?”
Calvin sat down on the ground beside him and looked toward the distant darkness of the night. “Our mission here is finished. We don’t know about the other storage sites yet and we don’t know whether the key has been cracked but those aren’t things we need to worry about. The commander is handling it, isn’t he?”
Inside the hotel room.
On the expanded virtual map, five storage sites had already finished their battles.
The pale blue light from the map cast Lu Fenghan’s profile in an even colder, harder light. He issued his orders. “Withdraw forty people from the fourth storage site and send them to reinforce the seventh storage site. Withdraw sixty people from the second storage site to reinforce the fifth storage site. Everyone else remains at their current locations.”
Pojun replied, “The orders have been transmitted, General.”
The points of light on the map began moving accordingly.
As time passed, more than half of the red points of light on the map had already gone dark.
Lu Fenghan checked the time. “Check whether external communications have been restored.”
Pojun answered, “Restoration is in progress.”
“Put me through to General Nie.”
A few seconds later, a video call window appeared on the right side of the map.
Judging from the background, Nie Huaiting was either in a conference room or in his study.
Because the signal was poor, the image was somewhat blurry and there was also a slight delay in the audio.
Lu Fenghan did not waste the slightest bit of time. He briefly explained the general situation in just a few sentences before stating what he needed.
“The commotion from the fighting can’t be concealed. The troops stationed on Mykono Star must have been alerted by now. The rebels’ method of cutting off communications is beginning to fail and external communications are gradually being restored. The Southern Cross Region may have found out as well. I need you to issue me a military order. Otherwise, what I’m doing this time will be considered an act beyond my authority. Without an official order, I have neither legitimate authority nor justification.”
Nie Huaiting showed no surprise.
“You and your subordinates have done very well. I will issue a military order authorizing you to exercise emergency command authority on my behalf.”
After saying that, his tone noticeably softened. “It’s always like this. You charge ahead without thinking and after you’ve finished charging ahead, you come looking for me to clean up the aftermath.”
Lu Fenghan showed not the slightest trace of guilt. “If I can come to you, why wouldn’t I?”
Taking his words as a given, Nie Huaiting asked again, “Why didn’t you mobilize the troops stationed on Mykono Star?”
Lu Fenghan answered frankly, “I don’t trust them. I only trust the people under my command.”
Nie Huaiting said, “I’ll start investigating the troops stationed on Mykono Star. All right, I’ve signed the military order and sent it to you.”
Lu Fenghan suddenly remembered something else. “There’s one more thing. Using the same method as on Founding Day, the rebels have once again sealed off the entire planet’s external communications. Although they couldn’t maintain it for very long, this method is extremely difficult to guard against. I think we should investigate it as soon as possible and come up with a countermeasure. Otherwise, tomorrow, the rebels and interstellar pirates could simply replicate this planetary kidnapping incident all over again.”
“We’re already researching it but the rebels have kept this technology extremely well concealed. The people at the White Tower are doing everything they can to crack it and there will be results soon.” General Nie waved a hand. “I still have a meeting to attend.”
Lu Fenghan said nothing more. He gave a military salute before ending the video call.
On the map, the last few clusters of red points also went out one after another.
Lu Fenghan issued a brief command. “Thank you for your hard work. All temporary squad leaders, report your casualties.”
At that moment, the red triangle marking on the map turned gray.
Lu Fenghan’s gaze sharpened and he raised his voice. “The codebreaker has been killed!”
The uninterrupted sound of Qi Yan’s fingers striking the keys suddenly stopped.
Soon afterward, the casualty reports were also gradually compiled and delivered to Lu Fenghan.
In less than an hour from beginning to end, an immense crisis had quietly dissolved into the night.
Ye Pei’s legs went weak. She leaned against the wall and slowly crouched down, her blood racing through her veins and her heartbeat growing faster and faster, as though it were about to leap straight out of her chest.
Only now, with her fingertips trembling, did she finally understand what it meant to be overwhelmed by the fear that came afterward.
Lu Fenghan walked over in a few steps, crouched down and took Qi Yan’s hand, massaging his stiff and aching knuckles.
The people from the technical department exchanged glances, all of them wearing expressions of complete disbelief.
What was going on here?
When Lu Fenghan finally straightened up, Qi Yan closed his eyes and leaned against him as though all his strength had been drained away, with only the crown of his head visible.
Lu Fenghan’s five fingers, carrying a thin layer of calluses, moved like a comb against Qi Yan’s scalp, gently threading through his fine, soft hair.
It was somewhat like easing away his exhaustion, somewhat like stroking the fur of a small animal and somewhat like offering quiet reassurance.
The people from the technical department collectively sucked in a breath, their heels practically tensing straight as they exchanged glances. Then, all of them turned their burning gazes toward Ye Pei, silently questioning her with their eyes.
Ye Pei understood what the seniors were asking.
But precisely because she understood, she was confused.
Wasn’t this perfectly normal?
Back at Turan Academy, the commander had given water to Qi Yan when he had just woken up, let Qi Yan use his own coat as a pillow, let Qi Yan sleep on his lap and even crouched down to tie Qi Yan’s shoelaces,
Now he was merely massaging his hand, letting him lean against him and stroking his hair.
What was there to make such a fuss about?
It was only when the administrative officer of Mykono Star sent a communication request that Lu Fenghan pinched Qi Yan’s cheek before returning to stand in front of the virtual map.
Seeing that some color had finally returned to Qi Yan’s face, Ye Pei asked worriedly, “Are you still feeling unwell? Should we get you some nutritional supplements or something to replenish your energy?”
Qi Yan shook his head. “I’m feeling better. Don’t worry.” He could not help stealing another glance from the corner of his eye at Lu Fenghan, who was currently speaking with the administrative officer, before continuing to answer Ye Pei, “I’ll be fine after getting some sleep tonight.”
Reminded by the two words “tomorrow,” Ye Pei slapped her forehead. “I almost forgot. I need to get back to the command ship. I only have one day of leave! I don’t know if I’ve already missed the time to return to the ship!”
Lu Fenghan heard her and replied, “Mykono Star will be responsible for sending you back.”
Realizing that Lu Fenghan was speaking to her, Ye Pei took a beat longer than usual to respond before agreeing. After a while, she lowered her voice and asked Qi Yan, “Are you going back with the commander?”
Qi Yan answered, “I originally planned to return to the ship tomorrow night but after what happened, I may have to go back earlier.”
The technical department member standing nearby sucked in another breath,
The commander was actually going on leave for once. Not only that but he was taking two whole days off?
If those words were spread throughout the Expeditionary Army, there definitely would not be more than ten people who believed them!
Near midnight, the several people from the technical department in the room all headed toward the spaceport according to Lu Fenghan’s arrangements.
After Lu Fenghan finished handling the aftermath of the operation, Qi Yan’s personal terminal also received a breaking news notification from the Leto Daily concerning the rebels and interstellar pirates’ attempt to kidnap Mykono Star.
Seeing Qi Yan sitting on the windowsill, apparently lost in thought, Lu Fenghan walked over, lifted him horizontally from the windowsill and carried him to the bed.
“What are you thinking about so intently?”
Qi Yan leaned against the pillow. “General.”
“Hmm?”
Lu Fenghan had already grown accustomed to being addressed that way.
Qi Yan said, “This time, you didn’t make me leave.”
Lu Fenghan’s breathing stopped for a moment.
He naturally understood what Qi Yan meant.
Had he never considered what consequences Mykono Star would face if the operation failed?
Of course he had.
He believed that the scales of victory were tilted toward his side because he possessed enough bargaining chips.
But he also knew perfectly well that there was always a possibility of an accident.
Had he never planned to send Qi Yan away for the sake of his safety?
He had considered it too. Even if external communications were cut off, he could still accomplish it,
He could safely send Qi Yan back to the command ship.
But he had not done so.
Lu Fenghan had always been the person who issued the orders. As the commander directing the course of a battle, all he needed to do was calculate the gains and losses and win the greatest possible victory at the smallest possible cost. He did not need to take into consideration the subtle feelings of any individual.
Because of this, he had always been able to make the decision with the smallest cost and the greatest correctness amid chaos and extreme danger.
Just as he had on Founding Day.
But now he realized that what he considered the most correct decision was not necessarily what Qi Yan wanted.
He had no right to arrogantly and presumptuously make decisions on Qi Yan’s behalf.
Regardless of whether those decisions concerned life or death.
Moreover, Qi Yan was not a weak person.
He was Y, the person countless people admired and revered; the chief of the White Tower; a genius who, while still in his teens, had been capable of creating the central control system and Pojun.
Now, Lu Fenghan understood clearly what Qi Yan wanted.
He tucked Qi Yan’s cold feet beneath the covers before answering, “If we encounter a situation like this again in the future, we won’t separate.”
He did not specify what kind of situation he meant but both of them understood.
Qi Yan quietly gazed at the man in front of him.
The warm colored light softened the sharpness between Lu Fenghan’s brows, making his eyes appear gentler.
Qi Yan suddenly sat up, kneeling on the bed as he wrapped his arms around Lu Fenghan’s body, the side of his neck pressed against Lu Fenghan’s.
He was very cold.
For a moment, it felt as though the warmth of the other man’s body had burned him.
The complicated emotions that had remained suppressed beneath layer upon layer of solid ice in his memories suddenly melted away at this moment, like the thaw of a spring tide, rushing through his nerves.
He remembered the period of time after Lu Fenghan’s “death.”
It had not been merely sadness, hopelessness and pain.
Or rather, why had it hurt so much?
Because,
If only one of us can survive, I would rather that person be you.
And if that cannot happen,
Then.
You will take me with you into life and you will take me with you into death.
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(￣ω￣;) the translator is staring at the coffee button
☕ 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.