The battered starship, whose gaudy exterior was almost painful to look at, was successfully captured and brought aboard by the Expeditionary Force’s main fleet.
Feeling the starship beneath him make a metallic “clang” as it was secured in place, Lu Fenghan leaned back against the chair, his long legs spread apart, his thoughts still somewhat complicated.
His luck had been fairly good. After emerging from the wormhole, Pojun immediately reminded him that nothing had gone wrong with the small wormhole and that its connection point was indeed the Southern Cross Major District.
The moment he connected to the Star Network, he sent a message to Qi Yan.
He wrote several lines, deleted them, rewrote them, deleted them again, then rewrote them once more. It was almost as though being trapped for half a year had caused his language abilities to deteriorate. After going back and forth countless times, he ultimately sent the simplest sentence of all:
“I’ve come back.”
After sending it, he felt that there were still so many things he wanted to say.
Yet when he actually tried to put them into words, he couldn’t express even a single one.
Lu Fenghan was being greedy.
He couldn’t help thinking that if the exit of this wormhole had been connected to the Reef Nebula, or even better, if it had opened directly in front of Qi Yan, how wonderful that would have been.
The crushing sensation caused by the jump had not even completely faded when, in the blink of an eye, Lu Fenghan realized that his luck wasn’t exactly bad but it couldn’t really be called good either.
He had somehow happened to run straight into a confrontation between two armies,
On one side, it was obvious that Erich was leading a mission.
On the other was an old acquaintance with whom he had clashed countless times before: Donald.
Although he had never expected to encounter them like this, Lu Fenghan did not hesitate for long.
Piloting his battered little starship, he simply charged straight into the front lines with a clattering, rattling noise.
Now that he thought about it, the effect had been quite good.
Before opening the hatch, Lu Fenghan asked Pojun for what must have been the umpteenth time, “Any reply?”
Pojun said, “No.”
The fingers resting against the control console paused.
Lu Fenghan stood up and walked outside, giving an instruction as he went. “The moment there’s a reply, tell me. Immediately.”
The starship’s hatch, painted in a garish assortment of bright colors, slid open toward both sides. It gave the strange impression that if someone applied just a little more force, the entire door might simply come loose and fall off.
Lu Fenghan stepped onto the boarding ramp.
Almost simultaneously, the people waiting outside brought their heels together. Their military boots struck against each other with a low, crisp “clack,” and every one of them raised an Alliance military salute toward him.
Erich stood at the very front of the formation.
He watched Lu Fenghan descend the ramp step by step, his cheeks drawn so tightly that only sheer effort kept his emotions under control. Even so, his eyes were already red and his voice was hoarse, every word delivered with crisp precision.
“Deputy Commander in Chief of the Expeditionary Force, Erich Planck, reporting back to you!”
He drew in a deep breath. His gray eyes seemed to hold within them all the blood and fire of the past year.
“Until one second ago, every member of the Expeditionary Force, from top to bottom, had never once put down their weapons. We have remained ready for orders at all times!”
Lu Fenghan looked at the familiar faces before him, one after another and his throat tightened.
It had only been a year since they had last seen one another yet within that year, they had already crossed the boundary between life and death twice.
He had never been one to reveal even a fraction of his emotions.
He raised his hand and solemnly returned the military salute. Then, as though nothing had happened, his familiar languid tone returned.
“Everyone, it’s been a long time.”
Lu Fenghan, no, the entire Expeditionary Force, for that matter, was simply not good at reminiscing.
With a single sentence, Lu Fenghan dismissed everyone and ordered them to return to their respective posts. Erich and Vincent naturally followed him.
Vincent had changed back into the Expeditionary Force uniform. The relaxed air he had carried around Leto was gone and even his back seemed a little straighter now.
His mouth, however, had not become any quieter.
The moment they were away from everyone else, he immediately said, “Commander, I never thought you’d manage to survive dying once and then somehow survive dying a second time too!”
Lu Fenghan gave him a cool glance. “What? Disappointed?”
“How could I be?” Vincent deliberately put on an expression of shock before continuing. “Commander, thank goodness you showed up in time and managed to intimidate Donald into handing Weiss over without a fuss. Otherwise, if we’d really started fighting, all that ammunition would have been fired just for one Weiss. Are shells free? Isn’t it better to be economical and practice thrift? And Donald too, after all these years, who knows how many times he’s suffered for it yet he still can’t shake that suspicious habit of his, always imagining all sorts of things!”
Too lazy to listen to Vincent’s rambling, Lu Fenghan called out, “Erich, you tell me.”
Erich had the pale complexion characteristic of a soldier who spent long periods in space. He walked on Lu Fenghan’s right side and after receiving the order, began recounting everything from the very beginning.
“Last July, after you took people to provide support and were ambushed, Weiss became acting commander in chief with the backing of several different factions. I realized that something was wrong, so I chose to lie low temporarily, follow his orders, abandon the front line and retreat to Turin.”
Erich’s narration was calm and matter of fact.
“On October 3 last year, in the middle of the night, the rebel army launched a surprise attack on the garrison. Weiss pretended to fight for two battles, then directly abandoned Turin and retreated to York.”
Although Lu Fenghan had already reconstructed the battle in the equipment room at ISCO and knew that Weiss had essentially led his people straight into the enemy’s hands, his gaze still sharpened uncontrollably.
Erich also felt that losing that battle had been particularly infuriating.
“That night, the defensive alarm system was undergoing maintenance. It gave no response when the enemy attacked. The patrol teams were also changing shifts and none of them noticed the rebels approaching.”
Lu Fenghan said, “You can leave out that kind of bullshit.”
Erich nodded.
He also had to admit that what Weiss had done really was bullshit.
He continued, “During that period, all of Weiss’s various little moves were blocked. Then I learned from Vincent that you hadn’t died.”
Vincent immediately protested, “I didn’t tell him! I really didn’t! Erich has a dog’s nose. The moment he noticed I was in a good mood, he’d keep poking at me for no reason. Even the tightest secret has a weak point somewhere. I accidentally let half a sentence slip! Who knew he’d somehow deduce from that half sentence that you weren’t dead?”
Lu Fenghan didn’t pursue the matter.
“Tell me about Founding Day.”
“There isn’t much to say. Weiss revealed signs that he was colluding with the enemy, so I ordered his arrest. He had already planned his escape in advance and hid himself extremely well. Before that, General Nie Huaiting had ordered that no matter what happened, the Expeditionary Force was to guard the Alliance’s defensive line and absolutely not move. At the same time, we were too far away. I didn’t know the specific situation on Leto, nor could I distinguish which of the orders coming through were genuine. So I simply cut off communications with Leto.”
Erich spoke with absolute certainty.
“You taught us that the general in the field may disregard military orders when necessary.”
Lu Fenghan didn’t think there was anything wrong with that.
“What about Leto?”
“Leto has now become territory controlled by the rebel army. The rebels follow that strange, superstitious doctrine of theirs, using the Great Technological Destruction as their ideological foundation and focusing on brainwashing the people of Leto. They’ve even recruited a large number of wandering bards and sent them throughout Alliance territory to ‘preach.’ Their methods aren’t particularly forceful. Apart from keeping extremely strict control over public opinion and prohibiting people from entering or leaving, the ordinary people of Leto are basically not in any danger of losing their lives. It’s just impossible to know how many people they’re going to fool into believing all that nonsense. General Nie Huaiting is currently in Odin, in the Kepler Major District. His injuries have completely healed and he spoke with us nineteen days ago.”
Erich brought up another matter.
“After the rebel army and the interstellar pirates captured Leto, they fell out over how to divide the spoils but we’re not certain whether they’ve genuinely fallen out or whether they’re merely putting on a show for us.”
Lu Fenghan discovered that there really wasn’t much else to say.
Even if he asked Erich to continue, there wouldn’t be many more words to add.
After spending so long on the front lines, he had already grown accustomed to discarding all those insignificant details and looking only at the result.
Because when it came to the future, the past could no longer be changed.
Looking forward was the only correct choice.
At this point, Lu Fenghan stopped asking questions.
Nor did he intend to explain the six months of hardship he had endured on Dawn.
Instead, he called out, “Pojun, come out and meet everyone.”
Vincent and Erich were both confused about whom Lu Fenghan was calling.
Then, from the starship’s broadcast system, an unfamiliar male voice sounded.
The voice was pleasant to hear, its pace unhurried and it carried an almost steady composure.
“Hello. I’m Pojun. According to the human method of calculating age, I’m half a year old this year.”
Vincent pointed toward the source of the voice.
“A… artificial intelligence?”
Pojun replied very politely, “I am the most advanced artificial intelligence currently available in the Alliance. I look forward to working with you in the future.”
Lu Fenghan nodded without offering any further explanation.
“Mm. He’ll be staying aboard the ship from now on. If Pojun suddenly speaks up, don’t be startled.”
Vincent’s face immediately filled with accusation.
“He’ll be on the ship from now on? He’s only half a year old! Commander, you’re employing child labor!”
Lu Fenghan said, “Get lost.”
After the fleet withdrew to its base, Lu Fenghan returned to the command ship.
His room had remained exactly as it had been a year ago.
Even the reader lying upside down at an angle on the desk had not been moved from its original position.
He took off the clothes he had washed so many times over the past six months that they had faded almost white, took a shower and changed into the Expeditionary Force uniform. Only after making all the mental preparations he could did Lu Fenghan finally dare to ask, “Any reply?”
Pojun answered, “No reply has been received.”
Lu Fenghan felt restless. With one hand, he loosened the button at his collar.
If his little spoiled one didn’t want to talk to him anymore, how was he supposed to coax him back?
Lu Fenghan asked again, “What is the probability of your system malfunctioning?”
Pojun replied, “The probability is below 0.1%. Please rest assured. I can repair ordinary malfunctions on my own.”
It seemed that the excuse of, “Pojun has malfunctioned, why don’t you come and take a look?” wouldn’t work.
Lu Fenghan was disappointed.
Just as he was wondering whether he should send Qi Yan another message, a reply finally arrived.
“I am very glad to know that you are safe.”
Lu Fenghan read the reply over and over again.
Something felt wrong.
No.
It should be… strange.
“Pojun, did your designer create a second artificial intelligence? Could this be an artificial intelligence on his side replying on his behalf?”
Pojun answered, “No. According to the human way of putting it, I am an only child.”
“Are you certain this reply was sent by Qi Yan?”
“Yes. The message definitely came from his personal terminal.”
…..
After replying to the message, Qi Yan did not look at his personal terminal again.
He opened the White Tower’s internal network and updated the latest research progress there to read: “Completed.”
He had stayed awake for three consecutive nights. Perhaps because he was excessively exhausted, he wasn’t particularly sleepy anymore. However, when he stood up, his body swayed slightly and it took several seconds before he managed to steady himself.
Hurried footsteps approached from a distance.
Qi Yan turned his head and met Elisa’s eyes. She was breathing rapidly and stopped at the doorway, her expression looking as though she was both crying and laughing at the same time.
“Lu Fenghan is back! The news from the front line says that Lu Fenghan is still alive. He’s alive and he’s come back!”
Qi Yan stood beneath the early summer sunlight, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, his skin as pale as cold porcelain.
He nodded, his tone calm and even.
“I know. I received the message he sent me.”
He looked at Elisa with some confusion and asked, “I replied to him. I think there was nothing wrong with the way I worded it but should my tone have been a little more… happy?”
For a moment, Elisa didn’t know how she was supposed to answer.
Before she could respond, Qi Yan had already torn open a packet of nutritional supplement and swallowed it in two mouthfuls. Then he walked outside.
“The upgrade of the space radar detection system has been completed. I chose a name from the naming register that I’ve never used before and called it ‘Chasing the Wind.’ However, this detection system needs to be used together with the starship’s central control system. I need to go to the front line and see how it performs.”
Elisa followed behind him.
“If you’re going there, you can apply to use a starship now. You should be able to leave very soon.”
Qi Yan stopped abruptly.
After carefully recalling something, he asked Elisa, “I used to love him very much, didn’t I?”
Elisa gave him an affirmative answer.
“Yes.”
“So that’s how it was.”
Qi Yan lowered his thin eyelids, almost as though he were speaking to himself.
“Although when I try to recall my memories from before, everything seems to be separated from me by a layer of fog, when I received the message he sent me, here…” He placed his hand over his heart, a few traces of confusion appearing in his eyes. “It hurt here for a moment.”
An hour later, the starship was parked outside the starport, its energy reserves fully replenished.
August and Elisa had come together to see Qi Yan off.
Before boarding the starship, Qi Yan stood in front of the two of them.
“You don’t need to feel regret or guilt. If I hadn’t taken the medication, there is a very high probability that I would already be dead. Losing negative emotions such as sadness and despair, while also no longer being able to feel happiness or excitement, is simply the price that had to be paid.”
He tried to soften his voice as he offered them comfort.
“Besides, Elisa, didn’t you say it yourself? I’ll gradually get better in the future. The emotions that were separated from me will slowly come back.”
Qi Yan didn’t understand why Elisa was crying again.
He didn’t know what he was supposed to say, or what he should do that would be appropriate in this situation. In the end, he could only remain silent, nod once toward August, turn around and board the starship.
In truth, he also didn’t understand why August and Elisa continued to feel guilty.
He felt that the way he was now wasn’t all that different from how he had been before.
The only obvious difference should be that he had become more rational.
Although his memories were still sometimes confused, he would usually regard it as a disorder in his mental processes. As for that disorder, he didn’t really feel anything about it.
No.
It should be said that he had lost the ability to “feel.”
When an experiment repeatedly failed, he no longer felt frustrated.
When he was hungry and ate food, he no longer felt satisfied.
When the upgrade of the detection system was successfully completed, he felt no joy.
Even on a night of thunder and rain, when he once again remembered Lin Zhi’s death, he could no longer feel any sadness at all.
He was like a machine from which a certain function had been removed.
At least for now, he didn’t feel that it had affected him in any significant way.
Aboard the Expeditionary Force’s command ship.
Lu Fenghan had already sorted through all the major and minor matters that had occurred within the Expeditionary Force over the past year. He had held three meetings, gone through all kinds of current affairs and news from the Alliance over the past six months, reviewed reports sent in from every location and answered an unknown number of communications from people who had heard that he had returned from the dead and deliberately contacted him to offer their greetings.
By the time he had finished dealing with everything, an entire day had already passed.
Lu Fenghan’s long legs, wrapped in his military trousers, were casually propped up. He rubbed the space between his eyebrows, his eyes slightly dry and sore.
He read Qi Yan’s reply once again.
He couldn’t help making wild guesses.
Could it be that when he kissed Qi Yan before closing the escape pod’s protective shield, he had bitten him and hurt him?
Or had something happened?
After taking a deep breath, Lu Fenghan admitted it.
He was afraid.
He had never been afraid that the Expeditionary Force would have changed beyond recognition. He had never been afraid that they might not be able to defeat the rebel army.
Whether it was six months, a year, or even ten years before he returned, he wouldn’t have been afraid in the slightest.
But Qi Yan was different.
Qi Yan was the person he would have to see one more time before his death, even if he were trapped somewhere for a hundred years.
He was the wildfire burning endlessly across the barren wilderness of Lu Fenghan’s heart.
Just then, Pojun spoke.
“Vincent is currently on the bridge. He is asking whether you have time. There is something important that requires you to go there personally.”
Lu Fenghan grabbed his military jacket and stood up.
The silver stars on his shoulder insignia flickered faintly.
“Tell them to wait.”
When Lu Fenghan strode into the bridge, he immediately saw that Erich was there as well. He gave Vincent a questioning look.
Vincent had done his best to suppress his excitement but he still couldn’t hide it. “Someone from the White Tower came here secretly. They said they’ve brought us some seriously impressive equipment! In theory, it can detect the energy sources inside a jump channel. In other words, next time the rebel army hasn’t even come out of the jump channel, we’ll be able to prepare a hundred meter thick layer of explosives at the exit ahead of time and use it as a welcome red carpet!”
The White Tower.
Qi Yan was at the White Tower right now.
Lu Fenghan turned those two words over in his mind, experiencing, for perhaps the first time, the peculiar feeling of simultaneously hoping and fearing.
Just then, the announcement came through: “Successful docking with the command ship.”
Vincent and Erich both turned around, facing the door at the far end of the bridge, the one connecting to visiting starships.
The people of the White Tower had always been mysterious. They rarely appeared in public. More often than not, people knew their names without ever seeing their faces and sometimes even the names they gave were false.
Vincent and Erich exchanged a glance. They could both see the curiosity in each other’s eyes. Almost simultaneously, they straightened their collars, making sure their uniforms were perfectly in order so that they wouldn’t embarrass the Expeditionary Force.
Lu Fenghan barely managed to suppress the restless emotion surging against his chest. He, too, turned his gaze toward the far end of the bridge.
Two minutes later, the silver metal doors at the end of the bridge slid apart to both sides and a group of people walked in.
The person standing at the very center wore a silk shirt. He looked somewhat slender, his expression cold and indifferent yet his features were extraordinarily beautiful.
Vincent’s eyes widened slightly. He stared at the person approaching in shock, his lips moving as though he wanted to call out the other’s name yet he didn’t dare believe what he was seeing.
After struggling with himself several times, he suddenly remembered something and hurriedly looked toward Lu Fenghan.
He saw that Lu Fenghan’s lips were tightly pressed together, his gaze fixed unwaveringly on the person walking closer and closer.
Not even half an inch did his eyes move.
His expression was impossible to read.
At that moment, beyond the observation windows was the boundless universe, filled with brilliant stars that seemed impossibly distant.
Qi Yan stopped one step away and politely extended his hand toward Lu Fenghan.
Since he wasn’t a member of the Expeditionary Force, calling him “Commander” would not have been appropriate, so he addressed him by his military rank.
“Hello, General. I’m Y, Chief of the White Tower.”
✦ ✧ ✦
Vynellia
[Translator]
☕ A LITTLE SOMETHING FOR THE TRANSLATOR
(╯°□°）╯︵ ☕ — deploy caffeine!
☕ 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.