Chapter 77 77 For the Federation, it was like a horror story...
A new advertisement was playing on the huge screen in the square. Liang Guanyue saw off the visiting customer, who smiled and told him that the next bidding would be around March or April, and he hoped to see their company's bid by then.
In the commercial, a beautiful young Omega smiles brightly at the crowd outside the screen. Standing by the beach, holding a bottle of nutrient solution, the moment she unscrews the cap, the screen suddenly distorts. A flash of white light follows, followed by an urgent news broadcast. A robotic female voice announces word by word:
'Now inserting a federal emergency notice'
The Interstellar Defense Monitoring Agency has confirmed that the 100th Administrative District of Ninobea suffered an unknown internal attack today, completely paralyzing its protective barrier system. A large-scale Zerg incursion has been detected within the district's boundaries. The federal government has urgently dispatched the Third Division of the Federation Interstellar Fleet for strategic support.
According to calculations by the Research Institute and the Zerg Pollution Assessment Center, the probability of Zerg contamination in this administrative district is 93.7%. In order to prevent the expansion of the pollution scope, a full blockade is now implemented in the 100th administrative district.
Special warning: All civilian ships please correct their routes immediately and stay away from the blockade area. Violators will bear the corresponding legal responsibilities.
As soon as he finished speaking, the nutrient solution advertisement continued to play. Liang Guanyue's high level of mental power could clearly hear the whispers around him, but no one commented on this urgent news interruption, of course including Liang Guanyue.
On a bright sunny day, people were walking back and forth, tall buildings were rising, and spaceships were speeding overhead.
He stood there silently for a while, then returned to the company.
"You're back?" Vanna stood by the coffee machine, opening the bag of coffee beans. "Are you going to win the next bidding?"
"Um."
"Hey, just now outside, did you see the news?"
"The news from District 100?"
Vanna nodded: "Yes, these garbage planets... uh, these remote planets are so unlucky."
Liang Guanyue asked, "What will happen after a complete blockade?"
Fana pondered, "Hmm...it'll become a deserted planet, right? But in two or three hundred years, when the Zerg pollution is cleansed by the planet itself, it might be used to house some death row prisoners, becoming a prison planet. Or, perhaps, it could actually be used to store the unmanageable garbage generated by various administrative districts."
"Really?" Liang Guanyue suddenly asked, "You, won't you pity them?"
"Ah? Pity who?"
"Those residents of District 100."
Fanna said helplessly, "There's nothing we can do about it. There's no point in being pitiful. Who knew the shield would fail?" She paused, "What about you? Guan Yue, would you have such an emotion?"
Liang Guanyue smiled and said, "No."
Fana muttered, "...then why are you asking?"
"I just thought that you normal people would probably have some," he said. "After all, once the lockdown is over, except for the rich and powerful who can use connections to escape, everyone else will just wait to die, right?"
Fana was speechless for a long moment before she said, "...but the Federation has also sent a third fleet to carry out the rescue. The leader of the third fleet is Admiral Gao. You may not be familiar with her—let me put it this way, many families in the Federation have produced admirals, but Admiral Gao's family, in terms of merit, has always had an unshakable position in the Federation army."
She said, "If even General Gao couldn't save District 100, then its fate cannot be influenced by the pity of us."
After saying that, Fan Na suddenly said, "Guan Yue, I think you have changed a lot."
Liang Guanyue frowned as if she had heard some horror story: "What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I mean..." Fanna hesitated, "You seem to have some... implicit sympathy?" She was afraid that Liang Guanyue would be angry, so she quickly added, "But at least for you now, it's not a bad thing."
Liang Guanyue thought her words were unreasonable: "How can you tell that I have sympathy? Who do I sympathize with?"
Vanna said innocently but honestly, "People from District 100."
"..." Liang Guanyue felt a little nauseous, "Are you and Fu Yunlu both sick?"
"Why are you dragging me and Fu Yunlu together?" Fanna scratched her head. "Did he provoke you again?"
Liang Guanyue sneered, but answered the question irrelevantly: "You know you have offended me."
Fana stuck out her tongue: "I just like to tell the truth."
Liang Guanyue sneered, snatched the coffee beans from her hand, glanced at them with disdain and said, "Didn't I tell you not to buy lightly roasted coffee beans and store them in the company? They're so sour."
Fanna was completely furious now. "Hey, you can't just take it out on my beans because you can't argue with me. Do you know how expensive and hard to buy these beans are?" She snatched them back like a treasure. "Your mouth can only taste the difference between sour and bitter. I'm not happy with you wanting to drink it."
Before Liang Guanyue left, she muttered, "It tastes bad, it tastes bad."
Fanna was so angry that she chased after him and said, "Do you know what it means to retain the most original flavor? Do you think everyone likes to drink that ordinary—"
Liang Guanyue opened the office door and commented with a smile before closing it completely: "You are the only one who likes to show off."
"...Hey! Liang Guanyue! It's just a different taste!"
After he finished mocking her, Vanna seemed to regain her composure. She stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window and looked out at the blue sky in the distance. In fact, there was no blue sky in the Federation. It was just the illusion of home that humans who had escaped from their home planet had spent their entire lives sketching out in the vast interstellar space. For example, there was a cloudless sky, a rainy season with lightning and thunder, red suns rising and setting one after another, and a bright moon hanging in the lonely and cold night.
The environment in which humans live will be forced to change according to human needs, but the laws of nature override humans. One day, a train that has derailed will abandon the lives of its passengers and return to its proper direction.
So they had no choice but to abandon their car and flee, fleeing beyond the endless Milky Way.
The official news released by the Federation was too vague. It was due to an unknown internal attack. Internal? Liang Guanyue closed his eyes and thought, internal? Could it be the same situation as Fu Yunlu's? However, the 100th Administrative District was not aware of it in advance, so the extent of the losses was probably difficult to estimate.
Could it be District 53... Liang Guanyue's thoughts were interrupted by a message prompt. Fu Yunlu sent him a message: "The main city area is very safe. Guanyue, until the matter is clarified, do not go to administrative districts outside District 20 during this period."
This was probably the umpteenth message Fu Yunlu had sent unilaterally. After their last video call ended in a bad mood, Liang Guanyue never replied to his message again.
Liang Guanyue stared at the terminal for a while, but still ignored him.
On the tenth day after the incident in the 100th Administrative District, a member of the Third Fleet sent to support attacked Admiral Gao. Although he was subdued, this member was obviously unconscious, his pheromones were disordered, and he had a strong tendency to attack.
It is reported that this person has been taken to the research institute for detailed investigation.
Compared to the news that District 100 was blocked, this incident obviously shocked the people in the main city area more. Admiral Gao is an Alpha with S-level mental power and has made great military achievements. The members of the Third Fleet were almost all promoted by her. How could the members attack her?
There were many different opinions at the time, and the military's explanation was that the excessive mental pressure on the battlefield caused his mental power to lose control, but he is now fine.
"Do you believe it?" Fana asked, pointing at the line of words.
Liang Guanyue said: "Believe it or not, it doesn't matter."
"No, Guan Yue, you're so smart, I just want to hear your guess."
Liang Guanyue said: "In that case, I would like to ask for leave to go to District 53."
"What?!" Fana's eyes widened. "Why did you go to District 53? It's such a remote place - no, I mean, it's too far away and unsafe!" She said frantically, "It's really too unsafe! The attack hasn't been clarified yet, and you have no motive to go to District 53, except that the Fourth Prince is there..." She couldn't believe it. "No, are you going to look for the Fourth Prince?"
"No." Liang Guanyue rejected it quickly.
"Then why are you going there?"
"intuition."
"You believe in that stuff?"
"I never believed it." Liang Guanyue said, "But this time I seem to need to believe it." He exhaled irritably, "Yesterday, I had a dream."
Fana asked curiously, "What kind of dream is it? It's worth your concern."
"A dream that is too unreal, there is nothing much to say."
He dreamed that his mother was not dead, and she brought him to live in the main city. He met an Alpha who was very kind to his mother, and they formed a warm family. His new "family" was also very kind to him.
With a harmonious and happy family, excellent grades, and a bright future, he was recognized by everyone and differentiated into an Alpha, and even an excellent Alpha with an S-level spiritual level. The federal military came specially to test whether he had any intention of becoming a military academy student. When Liang Guanyue was in a dilemma, his two mothers gently told him: No matter what choice you make, we support you.
Liang Guanyue, who is immersed in love, can feel love, accept love, and learn to give love better than his real self.
The perfect and happy Liang Guanyue made him feel unfamiliar.
The light curtain in the square still showed the youthful and beautiful Omega. In the advertisement with an overall blue hue, she smiled brightly at the people passing by outside the screen, holding a bottle of nutrient solution in her hand and was about to unscrew the cap.
The screen distorted, and after a flash of white light, an urgent news broadcast broke out. A robotic female voice stated word by word:
'This is a federal emergency announcement.'
"...The 53rd District suffered an unknown attack... Protective shield... Complete blockade... Leading the people... Speaker Fu Yunlu died in the line of duty... Now confirmed dead."
Liang Guanyue was sitting in a cafe, his friend whispering about how his family wouldn't allow him to live off his wife and forced him to find work. He was stunned by the news and said, "The prince is dead? The Zerg must be crazy."
Liang Guanyue stirred the coffee in the cup.
"Who died?"
"Fu Yunlu is dead."
"Who is that?"
"A person who is not important to us, but of noble status."
"It has nothing to do with us."
"Yes, it has nothing to do with us."
He raised his head and looked out the glass window. The huge screen was playing advertisements again - colorful, dazzling, and extravagant. Those advertisements outlined the prosperous main city. Could he have lived in such an environment since childhood?
Then, the name Liang Guanyue should not belong to him. He should be called Liang Guanyue, Liang Shangyue, Liang Manyue - in short, he should not be trying to imprison the distant, beautiful but untouchable moon.
Because happiness will not be held by him anymore, that door should be closed forever to avoid unnecessary delusions.
The suffering that is not worth singing about has actually set the tone for the life of Liang Guanyue.
"It's like admitting that I probably will lose some of my armor and gain some weaknesses that are not like myself because of being loved."
"It's like admitting that I love myself the most, but Fu Yunlu is gradually changing me."
“It annoys me, but it’s real.”
In his dream, Liang Guanyue walked towards a home that seemed too happy to be real. He pushed open the door and just as he reached the entrance, he smelled the fragrance of food. His mother happily leaned out of the kitchen and said, "Oh, our Guanyue is back?"
Liang Guanyue tried to smile, walked to his mother, and tried to show a sad look. That was his mother's wish before she died, she wanted to see her child show some reluctance to leave her, as if as long as there was that reluctance, she could become a great warrior and fight for it, even if it was the disease that was about to take her life.
"What's wrong, Guan Yue? Don't be sad. Mom will be sad too if she sees you."
Liang Guanyue opened his mouth, but his throat seemed to be strangled and he couldn't utter a word. Sadness was like wet rain, soaking his clothes bit by bit. The water flooded his nasal cavity and squeezed the air out of his body.
“When you are sick, is it painful?”
"You don't eat and you say you're not hungry at all."
“Then, you gave me all of that.”
"Once, someone snatched me from your hands when you weren't paying attention. You chased after him like crazy, grabbed my hand tightly, and yelled, 'Let go, this is my child.'"
"I owe you an apology, Liang Mengwei. I've been a burden to you."
"If I were a normal child, no matter what, I would at least reveal some sadness to you before you left, giving you some... the comfort of family love." Liang Guanyue touched her eyes. "I hate my eyes too. They look too much like that Alpha, Theo. I feel sick about them."
"The stronger the Alpha's mental strength, the harder it is to dream." Liang Guanyue looked down at Liang Mengwei and said softly, "Therefore, the dreams presented must have a direction. Perhaps it is my deepest consciousness, or perhaps it is something that happened in another time and space."
"I accept my past and never imagined that the pain and filth could be erased," Liang Guanyue said. "Thinking about it this way, this is probably the story of another Liang Guanyue."
"Anyway, seeing you happy is good." Liang Guanyue opened his arms and hugged her, "I haven't called you this name for a long time-"
"Mom, if you are happy, no matter who I am, I will be happy too."
When Liang Guanyue said these words in his dream, under the gaze of Liang Mengwei, he actually felt a sense of relief.
Not long ago, Fan Na commented to me, "You have changed a lot," but at that time I was just angrily calling her and Fu Yunlu idiots.
Now that I think about it, Fana was right. I did in part wrongly accuse her of that. She's not stupid; she's very sharp and smart.
As for the other part, Liang Guanyue thought that what he said was correct.
——
After landing in the 53rd Administrative District, Liang Guanyue contacted Fu Yunlu, saying that he was unfamiliar with the place and decided not to waste time running around.
Unexpectedly, when Fu Yunlu heard that he had arrived at District 53, Liang Guanyue did not hear his shock at first, but the chaotic voice from his side:
"speaker!"
"Chairman Fu! Watch out for the steps!"
"Are you okay, Speaker?!"
Liang Guanyue: “…” Are you so excited?
Fu Yunlu politely declined the hand that wanted to help him up, patted the dust off his knees, and apologized, "Sorry, I have an emergency here, I have to excuse myself for a few minutes."
Perhaps because his expression was too grim, the people around him didn't dare to ask any more questions. After Fu Yunlu found a secluded place, he said to Liang Guanyue, "Guanyue, didn't I tell you not to go to administrative districts outside of District 20 recently?!"
"When did you say that?"
"Didn't I send you a message?"
"Did I reply to you?"
“…”
"By not replying to you, are you assuming that I've read it but won't reply?"
Fu Yunlu covered her forehead with a headache. "Do you really have to argue with me about this? District 53 now... Guan Yue, I'll book a ticket for you right now. Can you please hurry back to the main city?"
Liang Guanyue replied calmly, "Fu Yunlu, this is the only time in my life that I've taken the initiative. You should think carefully about this."
Fu Yunlu almost wanted to surrender to him: "Guan Yue, if I could receive such treatment in the main city, I would be so happy that I forget everything, but the situation in District 53 is different now. It's very dangerous here. I don't want you to..."
Liang Guanyue deliberately asked, "You mean, you want to drive me away?"
"No..."
"This is a decision I made after thinking about it many times. Are you sure you want to reject it?"
"But Guan Yue, it's very dangerous here." Fu Yunlu softened his voice, even though he was burning with anxiety. "I beg you, if anything happens to you, I..."
"You don't believe in yourself, or you don't believe in me." Liang Guanyue said, "Tell me your plan honestly, and I will help you."
"You are still young, this kind of thing is not something—"
Liang Guanyue interrupted, "Fu Yunlu, I think I need to remind you that you are an Alpha who has been completely marked by me. If you continue to look down on the Alpha who marked you and display your Alpha-ism in front of me, then there's no point in talking about our future."
"..." Fu Yunlu sighed helplessly, and after a long while, she said, "Where are you? I'll send someone later..." At this point, she seemed a little worried, "I'll pick you up in person later."
"Give me your home address and I'll call a taxi to go to your house."
"I'll pick you up."
Liang Guanyue said, "Brother, do you really treat me like a child?"
"..." Fu Yunlu took a deep breath and then said softly, "I don't treat you as a child. I know that you are an Alpha who stands tall and proud."
Liang Guanyue smiled and said, "It's an Alpha, but not to the point of being the most powerful."
Fu Yunlu also smiled. "Then how should I describe it?" He pondered, "Hmm...Okay, you're right, you're my...Alpha. I shouldn't have looked down on you, but my concern can lead to confusion. When it comes to things related to you, I lose my composure. Guan Yue, can you be a little understanding?"
Liang Guanyue just snorted and laughed.
"Does that mean you're not angry anymore?"
"Come and pick them up, stop talking nonsense."
"Send me your location, I'll rush over right away."
After Liang Guanyue hung up the phone, Fu Yunlu had already made up an excuse in his mind to leave for an hour. As soon as he turned around, he saw his assistant standing about fifty meters away from him. Fu Yunlu was surprised that he had not noticed someone standing behind him. He walked towards him with a smile and asked, "Assistant Ai Wen, is there anything wrong?"
Aiwen said: "I saw that His Highness had not come yet, so I came to confirm whether His Highness was safe."
"I'm safe." He patted Ivan's shoulder and teased, "Have you been practicing some mysterious kung fu recently? You walked so silently that I didn't even notice you were behind me."
Aiwen scratched his head shyly: "I have been working out recently, maybe it has something to do with this."
"It's a good thing you found my terminal in the cafe last time, otherwise if someone else took it, it would have been a disaster." Fu Yunlu smiled, "It seems that hiring me as an assistant is really worth it."
"This is my duty, Your Highness."
Fu Yunlu said, "I have something to do and will be out for about an hour. Please help me record what they discussed."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Fu Yunlu narrowed his eyes. Aiwen followed his gaze and found a faint drop of blood on the inside of his shirt cuff. He was shocked and said palely, "What is this? Oh my God, this is so rude! I'm so sorry, Your Highness! I'll go clean this stain right away."
"Didn't you say you haven't been sleeping well lately and are always tired?" Fu Yunlu shook her head and said soothingly, "You're too nervous. Take a rest tomorrow."
"Your Highness!" The district chief, his portly frame stretched out, trotted along, wiping the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. "We're all here. Shall we begin the internal investigation meeting now?"
Fu Yunlu said, "The President wants to discuss something with me. I need to leave for an hour. The meeting will proceed as normal. You will preside over it. Aiwen will take notes. If I have any objections, I will submit them in writing."
The district chief said in embarrassment: "Such an important meeting, won't you attend in person?"
Twenty minutes later, Liang Guanyue boarded Fu Yunlu's spaceship. After learning that Fu Yunlu was not attending the meeting, she asked the same question as the district chief: "...Are you okay? You came to pick me up for such an important meeting? I told you to give me the address and I'll call a taxi myself."
Fu Yunlu leaned back in her chair and said, "It's too far. I'm worried. Besides, this meeting is not important to me."
"What's the meaning?"
"Do you know what happened to the 100th Administrative District's protective shield?"
Liang Guanyue said: "I don't know, but I guess if the true situation is made public, it will probably cause great public panic, so the head of state chose to conceal it for the time being."
Fu Yunlu suddenly held Liang Guanyue's hand and was silent for a while before saying, "Guanyue, sometimes I don't want you to know too much. It's too dangerous, but you are too smart. As long as there is a little clue, you will find the right direction."
He pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "The one who destroyed the shield was just a maintenance worker who came to check it as usual."
Liang Guanyue frowned and said, "Maintenance worker?"
"Yes, every part of the shield operates with extreme precision, so even a single error would have a significant impact. Furthermore, the shield in the 100th Administrative District was... By the time the red alert sounded, it was already too late," Fu Yunlu recalled the report. "And that maintenance worker, after being apprehended by the military, actually claimed he didn't know what he had done."
"..." Liang Guanyue frowned, "The central nervous system has been controlled?"
"That's what the research institute speculated. This maintenance worker caused irreparable damage to the 100th Administrative District. Even though he vehemently denied it, the fact remains... Unfortunately, he was sent to the research institute."
"Later, the research institute discovered in his brain and spine—"
Liang Guanyue continued, "I found a bug."
Fu Yunlu sighed. "Yes, we discovered an extremely tiny Zerg species, a species we've never seen before." He said, "Not only that, but there are also densely packed Zerg eggs."
"...They've truly evolved." Liang Guanyue stroked his chin, pondering, "Not in terms of size, nor in terms of combat effectiveness, but in terms of controlling human nerves. They know how to hide in a crowd without being detected, and they know how to truly destroy a large administrative district with a single strike."
After saying this, Liang Guanyue smiled instead: "For the Federation, it's like a horror story."
Fu Yunlu nodded: "As for more in-depth intelligence, we need some time to let the research institute analyze this Zerg."
"What about District 53?"
"What?"
"I say, what are you going to do?" Liang Guanyue crossed her legs, tilted her head and looked at him with squinted eyes. "Since today's meeting is not important to you, you probably already know that some of the members who attended today may have been infected."
He said, "Even more than one."
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The author has something to say: How the hell is it already 250,000 words... No... This is impossible...
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