Chapter 104 The Sun That Was Destined. "How are you so amazing?"
The Alpha Legion grew tired of shouting and eventually stopped expecting Lin Nan to appear. The legion split into two factions: one advocating for fighting and the other for retreating. The latter had quite a few members. These soldiers, who still held onto a lot of integrity, were unwilling to associate with their blood-stained superiors. In their eyes, the two sides were no different in their ugly struggle for consciousness technology.
They were arguing so loudly that they didn't even notice when Lin Nan appeared. Later, everyone gradually quieted down, and someone called out, "Commander Lin."
Lin Nan looked up: "So polite?"
Immediately, someone spat at her: "Pah, traitor!"
Lin Nan remained noncommittal: "You've split into two factions, are you planning to fight?"
Just as everyone was about to speak, they all suddenly looked behind her. Lin Nan turned around and saw You Long walking towards her carrying a cannon barrel, his steps menacing.
Lin Nan was stunned for a moment: "What is this...?"
You Long stopped, sat down, and started cleaning the firecrackers: "It's okay, you guys chat, I'm listening."
A soldier shouted, "I'd like to ask you, Mr. Lin, what's your stance?"
With a click, Youlong inserted a shell into the cannon barrel.
Lin Nan waved his hand: "I'm just here to hear what you all think. After all, you're a group of dangerous elements who could riot at any time... Alright, you can continue your conversation."
Yan shouted, "Sir, we only listen to you! Did you already know that the Federation and the Light Wheel were colluding, which is why you left the military?"
Lin Nan said "Oh": "Are you still you? How many people believe in me like you do? Most people probably wish I were dead."
Yan said anxiously, "It's true, sir! Many people believe you!"
Lin Nan remained unconcerned: "Don't worry about what the traitors think, you can chat as you please."
She said she was just chatting casually, but Yu Long was wiping the cannon barrel so hard it made a crackling sound.
The chief of staff broke the silence: "Let me share my thoughts. I believe we are first and foremost soldiers of the people, and only secondly soldiers of the Federation. We can no longer stand idly by in this war. Even if not for the Federation, we must fight for the people and for the beliefs of the Space Force."
"Well said!" Her remarks drew a chorus of agreement.
But another group of people disagreed: "You've seen it yourselves, what are our comrades fighting alongside now! The Federation has been researching zombie soldiers for a long time, and we'll be the ones replaced after this war is over!"
"Where is the light? Where is justice? Even our home planet, which we believed in so deeply, is doing such things..."
Captain Chen of the Executor clenched his fist and clutched his chest, declaring, "The light resides in our hearts! As long as I have a breath left, there will still be justice in this world!"
Opponents raised a more pointed question: "What about our loved ones? Will they also have their consciousness stripped away and turn into zombies?"
Silence reigned on the Executor, while the other warships simultaneously projected images from the main ship, and the officers remained silent as well.
Where these zombie soldiers came from remains a mystery. Were they death row inmates, homeless people, or even missing persons?
"My brother disappeared two years ago while traveling," an officer said somberly. "Now that I think about it, he's probably a zombie by now."
"We can't think like that. If everyone is pessimistic, won't the universe be doomed?" The hawks tried to lighten the mood: "Our job now is to stop all of this."
"How can we stop it? Not a single high-ranking official has stood up. They might all be controlled by the head of government. If you dare to utter a single word of dissent, you can just wait to be turned into a zombie..."
"Are we just going to give up because of all these difficulties? Is this universe going to end like this? We, as soldiers, didn't even do anything at this crucial moment?"
"Doing it now would make you an accomplice!"
"I believe Commander A isn't that kind of person. The Commander must have a way to solve this problem! Let's go back to the Commander!"
"It's not that I don't trust the Commander's character, but what can the Commander do alone? And to be honest, if he could do something, he would have done it already, but the Commander hasn't stepped forward yet..."
They started arguing again, neither able to convince the other. During this time, a third faction even emerged, advocating for wandering like interstellar travelers to preserve their strength and thereby shed their no longer righteous military uniforms.
After they had argued until their throats were dry, Lin Nan took out a basin and said, "I've come up with a solution for you: a secret ballot. Write 'Fight' if you support the counterattack, and 'No' for the rest. It's fair, just, and prevents cheating. If there are no objections, we can begin."
After looking at each other for a while, they began to gather paper and write.
Paper was scarce in this era, so they gathered a pile of tattered sticky notes, notebooks, and even napkins. An officer finished writing and walked straight towards Lin Nan, staring at her provocatively as he tossed a piece of paper with the word "war" written on it into the basin.
Lin Nan glanced at him: "Half price."
The man glared at him: "I've always lived an upright and honest life, and I've never hidden anything!"
Lin Nan reiterated her stance: "Half price."
The man roared, "You traitor..."
Yutaki raised the cannon barrel.
The man's temper flared up: "Come on, you spy, if you've got the guts, kill me!"
Lin Nan: "Either you vote at half the original rate, or you are disqualified from voting. The pro-war faction will lose one vote."
Everyone obediently cast their votes.
The remaining warships also publicly voted. Of the 1,077 people in the entire group, 760 were in favor of the war, 311 were against it, and 6 abstained.
Colonel: "There is no option to abstain."
Everyone: "Why??"
Yutaki raised the cannon barrel.
Lin Nan looked at the six people, who were indeed all on the Executor: "What do you mean by this?"
Yan was among them: "I'll go with the officer; the officer hasn't voted yet!"
Lin Nan: "I'm not a member of the Alpha Legion, why should I vote?"
Yan remained resolute: "I believe in my superior!"
Lin Nan: "Oh, well, let me share my thoughts. I choose to become an interstellar traveler. After all, I'm currently wanted by the entire universe, and I was enjoying my honeymoon... Your votes won't change my mind. I'll use surveillance to find all the pro-war faction and eliminate them."
Yan was shocked: "Sir, you..."
The crowd erupted in uproar and rushed forward, but Lin Nan simply raised his hand, and the AI of the Executor locked onto the electronic handcuffs on the right wrists of each person. The release of electricity knocked them down, but Lin Nan remained calm.
“You are a disgrace to the Alpha Legion,” the chief of staff said, foaming at the mouth, each word uttered with difficulty.
"You flatter me," Lin Nan said calmly. "Anyone willing to join me? The pirates are short of help. Life on the journey will mainly consist of maintaining the spaceship, developing resources after finding a habitable planet, replenishing the spaceship's supplies, and then continuing our journey..."
She suddenly became quite animated and talked a lot. But no one could hear her anymore; even the anti-war faction was shouting that they wanted to eat her flesh and drink her blood. Yan stood blankly in the crowd, only later remembering to maintain order: "Listen to me, everyone! Listen to me! The colonel must be joking. Let's go on this trip with her first and see what her plans are. Let's preserve our strength; we can't die here..."
"Pah! You're a disgusting traitor just like them!" The crowd spit at him, each one spewing saliva. "You make living a cowardly life sound so nice! We'd rather die than associate with people like you!"
Lin Nan stunned everyone with electric shocks again, and after everyone quieted down, he asked, "Besides those six people from before, is there anyone else who has changed their mind? Just come to my side, I'll give you five minutes to decide..."
Five minutes were up, and Lin Nan raised his hand to stop the cursing. Yan was the first to speak: "Sir."
Lin Nan nodded to her, and the few people who had initially given up also came over.
Lin Nan asked, "That's all?"
Several people struggled to their feet, but not because they wanted to die on their knees: "Hurry up and do it!"
Lin Nan turned her head to look at You Long: "I'm urging you."
You Long pulled out his pistol and fired five shots at the five people around Yan.
Everyone was stunned. In the ensuing silence, Yan's expression changed drastically. When she looked up and met Lin Nan's gaze, she understood everything: "You..."
Lin Nan: "What else did the Speaker say to you?"
Yan's lips trembled this time: "You even know about the Speaker..."
Lin Nan smiled and said, "It was confirmed a second ago."
Yan looked like she was kicking herself.
Everyone was completely baffled: "What's going on here?"
"I don't know, what are they talking about?"
The chief of staff slowly realized: "You mean, these people were... sent by the Speaker? What is the Speaker's purpose? To prevent us from returning to the war?"
With a gunshot, You Long finished off Yan and looked at Lin Nan: "I also want to know the answer to this question. What was her purpose in going to such lengths to have her once loyal subordinates infiltrate and monitor you, and instigating everyone to go on the run?"
"Project Dragon Lion Falcon." Lin Nan glanced at her calmly and walked out of the hall: "I am Lion, codename Leo."
She went to the control panel, unlocked everyone's handcuffs, and turned to find Captain Chen of the Executor in the crowd: "Although we are of equal rank, I have a command authorization order here, and I will temporarily assume the position of commander when necessary. Therefore, I will still serve as the commander of the Alpha Legion, and Captain Chen will assist me as my deputy."
Everyone except Lin Nan was shocked, especially You Long, who had a completely clueless and idiotic expression on his face.
A group of people crowded around, chattering and asking the colonel questions, eager to see Commander A's authorization order and repeatedly verifying its authenticity. Captain Chen also walked over with an embarrassed look, and Lin Nan began the handover in a businesslike manner.
Everyone was terrified by the series of "betrayals," and even at mealtime, people kept gathering around to "observe" Colonel Lin. The chief of staff placed his tray opposite her and first saluted her.
Lin Nan put down her chopsticks and stood up to return the greeting.
"I'm sorry, sir, I insulted you before." The chief of staff sat down and readily apologized.
"I'm sorry, sir, I've also cursed at you."
"And me... I'm sorry, sir, I wronged you." A group of people gathered around and sat down next to her, crowding together.
"I'd rather you guys curse me." Lin Nan swallowed the meat in his mouth: "Those who haven't cursed me are already dead."
Captain Chen pushed through the crowd, and someone made room for him. Chen sat down next to Lin Nan and asked, "Colonel Lin, what is the Commander-in-Chief's plan?"
Lin Nan continued eating: "The commander-in-chief will not tell anyone the complete plan; I only know my mission."
"So, sir, what is your mission? And what is the Dragon Lion Falcon Project?" the soldiers asked curiously.
Lin Nan glanced at You Long, who was still leaning against the wall with his arms crossed outside the crowd: "It was a plan made by the Commander to deal with the consciousness stripping technology. Initially, the consciousness technology did not develop so quickly, and it was indeed aimed at the medical field... Later, the research began to get out of control, and the leaders of the Federation noticed it, so some people also wanted to get a share of the pie."
The activities of Ryushi and Falcon were arranged chronologically and in a tightly linked sequence. Yutaki was the first to appear, tasked with stealing advancements in consciousness technology, but her mission failed miserably; she was arrested by the Light Wheel at the juncture of the transition between the first and second generation technologies. The Chairman was instrumental in exposing her identity.
Because there is no such thing as a "righteous side" or an "evil side" in the universe, there is no such thing as a traitor. Whoever has the last laugh can naturally claim to be righteous. Commander A certainly tried to curb evil, but that was only because she was a soldier and her soul was relatively pure.
You Long's arrest disrupted A's plans. After much deliberation, she decided to take a huge risk to get You Long out. However, Lin Nan's inexplicable ordeal of being sent to the edge of a black hole and nearly dying further disrupted her plans. Commander A had to start preparing again, including providing You Long with escape tools and creating chaos in the prison area. Unexpectedly, Lin Nan's first act after escaping was to attempt a prison break. Through a series of coincidences, the two finally reunited and began their life in exile.
You Long reported on the situation and proposed the idea of trying to modify the signal transmitter. Although it was far from A's original plan, the die was cast. Lin Nan continued to demonstrate her strong coordination skills, not only extorting Bai Yinhe from the Star Organization but also gaining the help of a group of pirates, successfully "turning" her former subordinates to the enemy.
Falcon's mission was changed again and again. Every time he contacted his superiors, he was told that "the situation has changed and you should continue to lie low." So he continued to work as a slave for the Light Wheel. Finally, he successfully installed the signal transmitter that Yutaka had modified on the Light Wheel Space Force Commander S.
However, Lin Nan did not mention these details; her goal was simply to regain the trust of her former subordinates.
"It's well hidden." Yu Long commented after returning to the Star River.
"It's my duty." Lin Nan loosened his collar. "You're far more professional than I am when it comes to espionage, I'm sure you understand."
"Then everything else is fake too." You Long didn't know why he was testing him with this question: "Like what you said to me."
"I have nothing to lie to you about except for the mission." Lin Nan didn't look at her.
You Long's heart sank back down. This was terrible; she felt guilty because Lin Nan had given her heart, something she couldn't reciprocate.
"Don't feel burdened," Lin Nan added. "The primary task right now is the war."
Yu Long hesitated for a moment. "What will you do after the war ends?"
"Are you talking about our relationship?" Lin Nan finally stopped what he was doing and looked at her. "It mainly depends on you. I'm open to anything."
＊
“I don’t really like tragic stories, especially not stories that happen to me,” Jiang Yan said honestly. “But if the emotional tone of the story keeps moving towards tragedy, then I would prefer it to follow the original ending rather than be forcibly changed to a happy ending for the sake of a happy ending.”
Qin Lan felt a sense of satisfaction because Jiang Yan resonated with her. "The ancient Greeks valued tragedy, believing it had a purifying effect on the soul. Sometimes, our primitive ancestors had a much deeper understanding of things than we do."
"Because we have a more direct experience of beauty and nature?" Jiang Yan thought for a moment: "We live in the city all day long now, which limits the development of the humanities..."
“But didn’t you live in the countryside when you were a child?” Qin Lan suddenly leaned closer, her bright smile magnifying in front of Jiang Yan: “No wonder Teacher Jiang’s acting is so inspired, it turns out it stems from her childhood experiences.”
Jiang Yan paused for a moment: "...Really? I've never thought about it that way."
"Yes." Qin Lan smiled, resting her chin on her hand. "Look, by some twist of fate, you gained the best grandparents in the world and avoided your unpredictable father. Because of your pure childhood environment, you have a unique understanding of art. In fact, it can be considered a blessing in disguise."
Jiang Yan remained silent for a long time, but a small glimmer of light flickered in her eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Qin Lan saw that she was not speaking and thought that she was thinking about something sad, so she was a little worried.
"It's nothing." Jiang Yan breathed a sigh of relief. Qin Lan's words had a strange effect. She felt that those unpleasant memories of the past had been opened up and unfolded in Qin Lan's words, producing a different flavor.
Her world had long been shrouded in the gloom brought by Liang Jin, to the point that the bright and cheerful child raised by her grandparents seemed to have died, and her wild and untamed nature had gradually transformed into worldly sophistication. But thinking about it from another perspective, wasn't her life now far better than if she had stayed with Liang Jin since childhood, or with her maternal grandparents who didn't even love her?
"Teacher Qin, you really are... my destined sun." She smiled at Qin Lan with her eyes crinkling, "How are you so amazing?"
"I've always been the best." Qin Lan confidently raised her chin, though she couldn't quite understand how saying a few casual words made her so great.
＊
The back-and-forth fighting left both sides exhausted. The scale of interstellar warfare was too vast, and neither side dared to go all out, engaging in attacks and defenses only on individual planets.
After several rounds of battles, both sides set their sights on the important spaceport "Light".
"What kind of ideas do you think I should add to Commander Guanglun's mind?" You Long asked Lin Nan for his opinion while studying the signal transmitter.
Lin Nan didn't even think about it: "Can you let him go and kill Prime Minister Guanglun and his followers? That would solve most of the problem."
"What a joke." You Long rolled his eyes: "The commander of the space force is making such an abnormal move. He'd probably be hacked to death before he even got his gun out."
Lin Nan said awkwardly, "I was telling a lame joke."
Yu Long: "..."
"You'd better not say it, it's not suitable for you."
Lin Nan: "".
Lin Nan: "Inject some vague impulses, make him feel... well, that we must get things done quickly, make him act rashly and make some arbitrary decisions."
According to the message relayed by the Falcon, the second-generation consciousness stripping experiment of the Light Wheel has passed testing and is ready to be deployed in this battle. The specific effects are still unclear, but the fact that the Light Wheel dares to initiate interstellar warfare demonstrates their extreme confidence in their second-generation consciousness weapon. Under these circumstances, the longer the war drags on, the more disadvantageous it will be for the Federation.
The person who truly needs to end the war quickly is Lin Nan. She needs Commander S of the Light Wheel to lead his core power and that consciousness weapon deep into the battlefield.
In the early hours of the 24th, the Light Wheel Space Force—the Flying Wing Fleet—launched a blitzkrieg, quickly clearing out the space station surrounding Light Harbor. One team was deployed to guard between satellites and planets, while the main fleet landed on the satellite and wiped out the satellite base.
After completely isolating Lightport, the Flying Wing Fleet immediately prepared to attack the main star.
Lightport reacted swiftly, with the main star drawing fire while the stealth fleet hidden on the outer edge of the star system quietly launched a decapitation strike, cutting the flying wing fleet in two.
Countless aircraft took off from the port, flexibly disrupting the flying wing fleet. Airships sliced through the battlefield, eliminating enemy forces piece by piece.
As time went on, the Flying Wing Fleet began to fall into a disadvantageous position. Despite the Federation not using any dazzling weapons or strategies, they were trapped in an invisible iron barrel and were being devoured bit by bit.
"This tactic... it's probably Commander A's doing!" The Flying Wing Fleet commander shuddered. "Report to your superiors immediately!"
The superior's reply was to have him fight with all his might and transmit the battle situation. After struggling for four hours, the flying wing fleet was almost reduced to a flying wing squadron, but finally the superior's instructions arrived: "Commander S's fleet has completed its jump and is approaching your unit. Please cooperate in the breakout."
The Wing Commander was shocked: "Why did the Commander-in-Chief come in person! What if something goes wrong—"
The superior coldly replied, "Your department only needs to cooperate fully."
The Wing Commander wiped the sweat from his brow: "So, what is our objective?"
"Decapitate Commander A."
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