The main lights in the command ship’s conference room were switched off. At the center of the long oval conference table, a three dimensional star map glowed brightly, its fluorescent blue light falling across Lu Fenghan’s face and outlining the sharpness of his features with exceptional clarity.
An ashtray spun once around the conference table. Inside it lay four or five crushed cigarette butts, with several tiny embers still quietly glowing.
Lu Fenghan had a cigarette between his teeth as well, though he had not lit it. He was leaning against the back of his chair, his military jacket casually draped over the armrest as he listened to Erich explain the preliminary battle plan for the next stage.
Although Erich had spent seven or eight years on the front lines, half of that time as Lu Fenghan’s deputy, he had never allowed his surroundings to affect him in the slightest. His collar button was always fastened properly, his cuffs and collar immaculate. He could practically be considered the public face of the Expeditionary Army,
Which was precisely why, whenever people from the Capital Star came for inspections in the past, it was always Erich who stepped forward to receive them.
“…There’s a rare mineral planet here. Donald has stationed quite a few people to guard it, so we’ll take the mineral planet back first when the time comes.” Erich tapped the star map. “There’s a backup supply station beside it as well. We can destroy that while we’re at it. Once the small and miniature ships lose their energy supply, they’ll be sitting ducks. One blast and they’re guaranteed to go down.”
Lu Fenghan picked up where Erich left off. “The objective of this operation is to move our current base directly onto Turin Star. How long has it been since the second collapse? More than half a year, right? It’s time we took our territory back.”
Half an hour ago, Lu Fenghan had spoken with General Nie Huaiting.
The conversation had not lasted long, no more than a minute from beginning to end. The central point had simply been that, on the front lines, they could now go all out against the rebels.
There was no longer any need to show them mercy.
Ever since Founding Day, the Alliance had indeed been thrown into chaos for a period of time. The rebels had occupied Leto, while Nie Huaiting had led his forces in retreat to Odin. At first glance, the Alliance appeared to have suffered a complete and utter defeat but if one looked at the actual situation, only the Central Administrative District among the four major administrative districts had been occupied.
It was only because Leto held such enormous significance for the Alliance that its fall carried so much greater weight, giving the bards recruited by the rebels a dramatic focal point from which they could spin their grand tales of victory.
This was also exactly what Lu Fenghan had previously predicted. If the rebels truly wanted to replace the Alliance, they would never follow the star map and waste time and manpower fighting their way from the front lines of the Southern Cross Administrative District all the way to the Central District.
Instead, they would first seize Leto, then secure control over the Central District. The military forces stationed in the other three administrative districts were relatively scattered and if the rebels genuinely wanted to eliminate them, it would not take much effort.
During the six months before Lu Fenghan’s return, the two sides had remained locked in confrontation, barely maintaining a state that could be considered peaceful coexistence.
The Alliance itself needed a thorough purge and reorganization from top to bottom, while part of the rebel forces was tied down in Leto. Those who remained on the front lines also did not dare to engage the Expeditionary Army in large scale clashes without careful consideration.
Now, however, Nie Huaiting had gradually taken back into his hands everything that needed to be secured, while the rebels had temporarily stabilized the situation in Leto.
For a time, the focus of the war once again converged on the front lines of the Southern Cross Administrative District.
Lu Fenghan had never possessed the mentality of simply accepting it when his territory was taken from him.
On the contrary, he believed that whatever had been taken from them should be taken back in exactly the same manner.
And so, he directly planted the small flag bearing the shield and sword insignia on Turin Star.
When the meeting ended and everyone else had left, Lu Fenghan remained seated in his original position, staring at the location of Turin Star.
As Lu Fenghan’s adjutant, Vincent finished organizing his personal notes. When he saw that Lu Fenghan still had no intention of leaving, he called out, “Commander?”
“Nothing.” Lu Fenghan came back to himself. As he stood, he picked up the military jacket that had been draped to one side, several unmistakable traces of murderous intent still lingering around his brows.
Vincent guessed that Lu Fenghan had been reminded of the first great defeat. His own heart grew heavy as well.
Although they had spent so long on the front lines that they had become accustomed to sacrifice, there was still something painful about looking down the rows of empty rooms aboard the starship, or seeing names on the roster that had already been turned black and white.
Walking out of the conference room behind Lu Fenghan, Vincent deliberately changed the subject.
“Commander, where are you going next?”
“It’s almost eleven. I’m going to pick Qi Yan up from work.”
Lu Fenghan had made an agreement with Qi Yan that from now on, he would come to pick him up every day.
“So during the meeting just now, you kept checking the time?” The moment Lu Fenghan mentioned Qi Yan, the question that had been turning over and over in Vincent’s mind resurfaced. Seeing that there was no one around, he lowered his voice and asked, “Commander, Qi Yan… how did he suddenly become Y?”
Back when they had been on Leto, they had followed the clues they knew at the time to speculate about Qi Yan’s identity. In the end, they had concluded that Qi Yan was probably a direct relative of a core member of the White Tower and had therefore been placed on the White Tower’s protection list, which was why his identity information had been classified.
They had never expected that Qi Yan was not merely a member of the White Tower but the White Tower’s chief scientist, the legendary Y.
When Vincent had dragged Erich into reminiscing about what had happened on Leto, he had repeatedly exclaimed in disbelief, “He’s actually Y! Y God is only nineteen years old, can you believe it? A second year student at Turan Academy is actually Y God!”
But what he really wanted to ask was why Qi Yan seemed somewhat different from before.
However, his instinct for self preservation told him that this was a question that absolutely should not be asked. If he asked it, something would definitely happen.
So he could only keep it to himself.
“He’s an ordinary second year student at Turan Academy. He’s Y. He’s the White Tower’s chief scientist. What difference does it make?” Lu Fenghan’s question was an entirely genuine reflection of what he thought.
To Lu Fenghan, no matter what identity Qi Yan possessed, he was simply Qi Yan.
There was no difference.
No matter which label was attached to him, he was still that same pampered little thing, that absent minded little clingy one who had always liked to stay close to him.
Vincent followed beside Lu Fenghan, opening his mouth as though he wanted to argue but after thinking about it, he felt that Lu Fenghan’s words seemed to make some sense.
Then, on the subject of Qi Yan, he suddenly remembered something.
“As for the White Tower bringing over the new detection system, apart from you, Commander, Erich, me and Pojun, no one else knows about it. Qi Yan’s identity is also a secret.”
Lu Fenghan understood what Vincent meant.
During these six months, it was not only Nie Huaiting who had been reorganizing the military from within. Erich and Vincent had not been idle either. The two of them had conducted an extremely thorough screening of the Expeditionary Army, from top to bottom and inside and out.
The exact coordinates of their exposed jump point had been leaked and they had been ambushed by the enemy the moment they emerged from the jump channel, resulting in the annihilation of the entire fleet.
Something like that could never be allowed to happen a second time.
But even after such a thorough screening, there was no way to guarantee that they had truly eliminated every possible leak.
That was also one of the reasons they absolutely had to capture Weiss and interrogate him.
“The new detection system will be announced in a couple of days. We can take the opportunity to test it in the next battle. Qi Yan’s safety comes first in everything. He, ” Lu Fenghan remembered the contract the two of them had signed when they first met and his expression softened slightly. “He’s my employer.”
Vincent understood.
He already knew how they should phrase things when explaining the matter externally. When they were approaching the equipment room, he did not continue following Lu Fenghan. Instead, he raised a hand in salute and turned around to go find Erich.
Lu Fenghan stood before the metal door of the equipment room.
Before he could even scan his personal terminal, the door slid open on its own.
When it came to opening and closing doors, Pojun always seemed to enjoy brushing up its presence.
…….
The silver metal door closed again behind him. Lu Fenghan remained standing by the entrance, his back against the wall. He did not rashly approach, nor did he make the slightest sound.
From a distance of a dozen or so steps, he simply watched Qi Yan in silence.
At this moment, all the fluctuations of emotion caused by the countless messy and trivial matters that had occupied his mind gradually settled into complete stillness.
The scene inevitably reminded him of the library at Turan Academy.
Back then, Qi Yan had gone into the principal’s private collection room to look through the physical books, while Lu Fenghan had waited for him outside, separated from him by a pane of glass.
He did not know how much time had passed when Pojun’s voice sounded inside the equipment room.
“It’s eleven.”
Qi Yan returned to himself from the vast stream of data. His eyes felt slightly dry and he instinctively turned his head toward the doorway.
Lu Fenghan was standing there.
At the same time that Qi Yan was momentarily stunned, something inside his heart felt as though a feather that had been drifting weightlessly in midair had finally begun to descend, slowly and gently settling back into place.
He stood up.
He wanted to ask, Are you here to pick me up?
But the answer seemed so obvious that he felt there was really no need to ask.
In the end, he simply chose not to say anything, lowered his head and began gathering up the writing boards he had been using as makeshift sheets of draft paper.
Lu Fenghan did not mind Qi Yan’s silence. He stepped closer and naturally took hold of one of Qi Yan’s wrists.
“Does your hand hurt?”
Qi Yan took a few seconds before answering.
“…It’s a little sore and it hurts a little.”
He had spent the entire day busy in the equipment room. After connecting “Chasing Wind” to the central control system, he had also taken the opportunity to access the central control system’s database and, according to the data records contained within it, optimized some of the finer details.
The workload had been enormous.
But whether it had been back at the White Tower or now, Qi Yan had never paid attention to whether his hands would hurt after working for so long.
Not until Lu Fenghan controlled his strength and gently kneaded his knuckles and wrist.
When Lu Fenghan worked his way toward the base of his fingers, Qi Yan spoke in a small voice.
“Be a little gentler. It hurts.”
After saying that, Qi Yan fell silent again.
Because he was particularly sensitive to pain, he had long since become accustomed to all kinds of pain at varying degrees. He rarely showed it and even more rarely spoke about it aloud.
“Did I hurt you?” Lu Fenghan immediately eased his strength as Qi Yan had asked. He looked up, the corners of his lips carrying a faint smile. “My fault.”
Qi Yan wanted to explain that he simply had a low tolerance for pain but when the words reached the tip of his tongue, he did not know why yet once again he failed to say them.
Lu Fenghan, however, seemed to have noticed something.
“If your hand hurts, tell me. If you have a nightmare, if you’re feeling lazy, if somewhere feels uncomfortable, you can come to me for anything.”
After a moment of silence, Qi Yan slowly answered, “Okay.”
Once he had finished relaxing both of Qi Yan’s hands, Lu Fenghan did as he had the previous night and escorted Qi Yan back to his room to rest. As they walked, they casually discussed a couple of issues concerning the central control system.
When they reached the door, Lu Fenghan saw Qi Yan activate his personal terminal and prepare to scan it to open the door. He then suggested, “Your nails have grown out. Come to my room and let me trim them for you?”
After saying it, Lu Fenghan actually had little confidence that Qi Yan would agree.
Trimming someone’s nails was such a trivial thing that it could hardly even serve as a reason to invite someone over but the wounds on Lu Fenghan’s hand had already healed completely after he applied the healing gel, so he no longer had an excuse to ask Qi Yan to bandage them again.
He knew very well that what he was relying on now was nothing more than that subtle sense of “difference” Qi Yan seemed to have toward him.
Qi Yan agreed.
The reason he gave himself for making that decision was simple,
Back when they had been on Leto, Lu Fenghan had also been the one who trimmed his nails.
The two of them went to Lu Fenghan’s private quarters.
Before entering, Lu Fenghan deliberately added Qi Yan’s authorization to the system.
“From now on, even when I’m not here, you’ll be able to enter my room directly.”
The lights in the quarters came on. Lu Fenghan went to pour Qi Yan some water and told him to sit wherever he liked.
Qi Yan did not sit down immediately. Instead, he looked around the room with some curiosity, quietly taking in the furnishings.
Lu Fenghan’s quarters were not merely a bedroom. There was also a desk inside. A virtual screen was suspended above it, glowing brightly, with several documents still displayed on the screen, clearly things he had not finished reading earlier.
There were not many things in the room. Apart from the bed and the necessary furniture, there were only two metal pens and several bags of nutritional supplements casually left lying around.
For some reason, Qi Yan wanted to remember every single detail.
After handing the glass of water to Qi Yan, Lu Fenghan sat down in the only chair in the room. Qi Yan had no choice but to sit down on the edge of the bed.
The sheets were gray, without even the slightest pattern and the mattress was hard.
Qi Yan drank the water. Although the surroundings were completely unfamiliar, the room was permeated with Lu Fenghan’s presence and that made him instinctively feel comfortable and relaxed.
Lu Fenghan waited until he had set down the empty glass before taking Qi Yan’s fingers into his hand and carefully trimming his nails. The level of concentration he showed was no less than when he manually aimed at a target before firing a particle cannon.
“When you lost your emotions, did it make you feel uncomfortable?”
This was the first time Lu Fenghan had brought up the subject. His tone was casual, as though they were merely making conversation.
That tone made Qi Yan feel as though losing his emotions was perhaps not such a frightening thing after all.
Qi Yan shook his head.
“No. At first, I felt a little… empty but gradually, I stopped feeling anything.” He thought carefully for a moment. “It’s just that whenever I remember things, it feels very strange.”
“It’s like when I remember the first time I went with you to Sky Dome’s Diamond Plaza to watch the fountain show. I know that I was happy but I don’t know what being happy actually felt like. Even though it’s my own memory, it feels as though someone is telling me that I was happy but I can’t understand it.”
“There are many other things, too and… when I received that message from you saying that you had come back…” Confusion appeared in his eyes as he sought confirmation from Lu Fenghan. “Lu Fenghan, was I supposed to be very happy?”
As he asked this, Qi Yan’s fingers lightly touched the side of Lu Fenghan’s neck.
Then he felt the pulse beneath his fingertips.
Warm.
Clear.
The person in front of him was real.
He was still alive.
It was only when Lu Fenghan wiped away his tears one by one and Qi Yan felt the faint coolness against his skin, that he realized he was crying.
Yet even then, he remained bewildered, unable to understand why tears were falling from his eyes.
To Lu Fenghan, the fingertips stained with Qi Yan’s tears felt as though they had been struck by sparks from a fire. The burning pain traveled all the way into his heart.
He enclosed Qi Yan’s cold fingertips in his hand, his voice low and hoarse.
“Don’t cry. Be good. I’ll stay with you and we’ll find it all again together.”
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Vynellia
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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.