Chapter 43

The Federation fleet's encirclement was tightening. Dozens of warships formed a crescent formation against the starry sky. The dim light from their main guns' charging batteries flickered outside the portholes, illuminating the interior of the temporary base with a flickering glow. Amidst the piercing alarms, everyone held their breath, their gaze fixed on Miao Weizhen, who stood at the main console.

He stood tall and straight, his dark uniform impeccably dressed, his lips slightly pursed, betraying only his solemnity. His slender fingers slid swiftly across the console, bringing up a dense stream of data.

"Luo Yan, activate the 'Mirror Flower Water Moon' protocol and raise the interference level to the highest level." His voice was calm, almost cruel, but it strangely calmed people's hearts amid the noisy alarms.

"I understand." Luo Yan's mechanical prosthetic eye flashed rapidly, and his fingertips turned into afterimages on the virtual keyboard.

Wen Ling, standing beside Miao Weizhen, could clearly sense the tension in the air. He saw Lao Lin's calloused hands tightly gripping a multi-purpose wrench. Ah Yuan, looking pale, persisted in directing the call at the communications desk. Dr. Keith had already activated the medical cabin's standby mode. Everyone was at their posts, fully prepared.

On the holographic screen, dozens of phantom signals suddenly exploded around the dot representing the Federation fleet, like a stone dropped into still water, creating ripples. The previously tight encirclement suddenly became turbulent, and several warships clearly hesitated in their course.

"The interference is effective, but it can only last for twelve minutes at most," Luo Yan's voice was tense. "They are quickly adapting to our interference pattern."

"That's enough," Miao Weizhen pulled up the star map, his fingertips tracing a winding path through the densely packed star debris. "Lao Lin, calculate the jump parameters for this route."

Wen Ling stared at the route that practically passed through the cracks in the star debris and suddenly understood Miao Weizhen's intention: "You want to use the unstable gravitational field of the star debris to perform a short-distance jump?"

"This is our only chance," Miao Weizhen finally turned to look at him, the blue light of the screen reflected in his deep eyes. "The gravitational turbulence of the star debris will interfere with the Federation's tracking system, but it will also make the jump extremely dangerous."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone present. "We need a decoy to draw the main fleet's attention."

"I'll go." Wen Ling took a step forward without hesitation.

A sudden silence fell in the command center. The wrench in Lao Lin's hand dropped to the ground with a clang. Luo Yan's prosthetic eye stopped blinking, and even the usually composed Dr. Case gasped.

Miao Weizhen slowly turned around and, for the first time in front of everyone, looked Wen Ling squarely in the eye. His gaze was as sharp as a knife, as if he wanted to cut through every inch of Wen Ling's disguise: "Do you know what this means?"

"I know." Wen Ling met his gaze, her emerald eyes unwavering. "But this is the best solution. My identity is special and can attract the Federation's attention to the greatest extent. And..."

He paused briefly, his voice soft but firm. "I trust you can calculate the odds of my survival."

These words were like a stone dropped into Miao Weizhen's bottomless eyes, stirring up tiny ripples. Wen Ling clearly saw that for the first time, a struggle appeared in those eyes that were always calm.

"No." Miao Weizhen's voice was low and hoarse, with an unquestionable rejection.

"Weizhen," Wen Ling wanted to say something, but Miao Weizhen raised his hand to stop her.

"I said, no," he repeated, each word coming out through gritted teeth. Wen Ling was shocked to find that Miao Weizhen's hands, hanging by his side, were trembling slightly—a loss of composure he had never seen in this always calm and composed man.

At this moment, the base suddenly shook violently and the lighting equipment on the top flickered.

"The Federation has begun its assault!" Luo Yan's voice came from the communicator. "The shield's energy level is only 37%!"

Wen Ling took a step forward, almost touching Miao Weizhen's nose: "There is no time to hesitate, let me go."

The two men faced each other in silence amid the deafening sirens. Wen Ling could see the complex emotions swirling in Miao Weizhen's eyes, the struggle between reason and emotion, the battle between duty and selfishness. Deep within those deep brown eyes, something was shattering.

Suddenly, Miao Weizhen grabbed Wen Ling's wrist with such force that it almost broke his bones. He leaned over, his hot breath brushing against Wen Ling's ear, and his voice was so low that only the two of them could hear:

"If you dare die out there," he said, his voice filled with a gentleness that bordered on ferocious, "I'll chase you to hell and bring you back."

This sentence didn't sound like a love word, but more like a curse, a promise expressed in the most intense way. Wen Ling felt his heart skip a beat, and he took Miao Weizhen's hand with his backhand, his fingertips sinking deeply into the other's palm.

"I won't die," he whispered back. "I haven't heard you say it yourself yet..."

The unfinished words dissipated in the air, but Miao Weizhen clearly understood what he meant. The man closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only a resolute clarity remained in them.

"Lao Lin, give him the best assault boat." Miao Weizhen released his hand and turned to face the control console, his back as straight as a pine tree. "Luo Yan, prepare to release the jamming barrage. A Yuan, check the escape pod's backup energy source."

Orders were given one after another in an orderly manner, but Wen Ling could feel that Miao Weizhen's voice was more tense than usual, like a fully drawn bowstring.

When Wen Ling arrived at the hangar, he found Miao Weizhen already waiting beside his assault boat. With his back to him, the man was personally inspecting the boat's protective armor, his movements meticulous and almost paranoid.

"Weizhen." Wen Ling called softly.

Miao Weizhen didn't turn around, but paused slightly. Wen Ling walked over to him and saw the fine beads of sweat on his forehead, gleaming faintly under the hangar lights.

"I've calculated it," Miao Weizhen suddenly said in a low voice, "the chance of survival is 37.4%."

"Higher than I thought." Wen Ling tried to make her tone lighter.

Miao Weizhen finally turned around and looked at him deeply. At that moment, Wen Ling saw too much in his eyes—unspoken worry, unspoken concern, and the emotion that could no longer be concealed at the critical moment of life and death.

"Remember these coordinates." Miao Weizhen quickly entered a string of numbers into Wen Ling's navigation system. "If...if something unexpected happens, jump here."

Wen Ling noticed that the coordinates were far from the established evacuation route, clearly a backup plan that Miao Weizhen had secretly calculated. This discovery made his heart warm slightly. This man, in his own way, had left him a glimmer of hope in the gap between reason and rules.

"I will come back." Wen Ling said softly, "For you, for us."

Miao Weizhen's Adam's apple rolled slightly, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just raised his hand and gently brushed Wen Ling's cheek. This action was so brief that it seemed like an illusion, but it was more intimate than any hug.

At this moment, the base shook violently again, and the lights in the hangar suddenly dimmed by half.

"The protective shield is about to collapse!" Luo Yan's emergency communication came.

Miao Weizhen gave Wen Ling one last, deep look before turning and striding towards the command center. His back stretched out long beneath the flashing alarm lights, and each step was unusually heavy.

Wen Ling boarded the assault boat and, as she sat down in the cockpit, she saw Miao Weizhen standing in front of the observation window in the command center through the porthole. The two looked at each other from a distance, and Miao Weizhen raised his hand and gently pressed it against the glass of the observation window.

This silent action is more touching than thousands of words.

"Wen Ling, follow my instructions." Miao Weizhen's voice came over the communication channel. His usual composure had returned, but Wen Ling could hear a slight tremor in it. "Open the third exit in three seconds and rush to area B7 at full speed."

"clear."

The countdown ended, and the assault craft shot out of the base like an arrow, instantly attracting the attention of the Federation fleet. Dense energy beams woven into a web of death across the starry sky, and Wen Ling nimbly navigated the craft through it.

"Turn right 15 degrees to avoid gravitational turbulence." Miao Weizhen's instructions came through the encrypted channel, clear and accurate.

Wen Ling followed the instructions, narrowly avoiding a sudden spatial rift. He could hear the rapid tapping of keyboards on the other end of the communication channel and imagined Miao Weizhen's focused expression at the console.

Just as he was about to reach the designated jump point, the alarm suddenly sounded - a federal stealth ship had locked onto his position at some point.

"Wen Ling, eject immediately!" Miao Weizhen's voice was filled with rare urgency.

But it was too late. A precise energy beam struck the thruster, and the violent explosion shook the entire cockpit violently.

Wen Ling activated the escape pod at the last moment, but the strong impact caused him to lose consciousness instantly.

In a trance, he seemed to hear Miao Weizhen's voice ringing in his ears, so close, yet so far away:

"Hold on."

Darkness swallowed his consciousness, and only the fleeting touch on his cheek was still imprinted in the depths of his memory, like the dimmest yet most persistent star in the night sky.