On the ice field, the huge starship was being warmed up. Lin Zhu, Chen Yuqin and a group of soldiers were crowded at the hatch, looking anxiously in the direction of the canyon.
The canyon was completely enveloped by a hurricane, and the world was in chaos. The huge wind column in the distance, with the momentum sweeping across the heavens and the earth, was moving rapidly towards the starship.
"There are three minutes left before the hurricane arrives. The starship must set sail immediately. Everyone must leave the hatch immediately and do not interfere with the automatic hatch closing."
The captain's voice kept repeating on the intercom.
"Captain, please wait two more minutes. Colonel K and Colonel Lu haven't come back yet." A soldier begged.
No one moved, still blocking the automatic hatch closing system, looking eagerly at the hurricane.
"There are two minutes left before the hurricane arrives. The starship must set sail. Everyone leave the hatch immediately." The captain's cold voice came out of the intercom without any doubt.
Chen Yuqin and Lin Zhu looked at each other. Chen Yuqin slowly shook his head. Lin Zhu took a step back with red eyes. "Everyone leave the hatch. Don't block the automatic hatch closing system."
"Captain Lin, please wait one more minute."
"Leave the cabin immediately, otherwise you will be punished by military law." This was the first time that Lin Zhu was so stern. Although he still had a baby face, people did not dare to disobey his orders.
A group of soldiers slowly retreated, their faces filled with reluctance and sadness. When the last person turned around and left, he turned his head to look into the distance. His eyes widened in astonishment, his steps paused, and then he jumped up excitedly, shouting wildly: "They are coming, they are coming."
"Who? Two colonels?" The soldiers rushed to the hatch again.
At the mouth of the canyon, a black dot rushed out rapidly, with a rolling hurricane chasing behind it. The black spot was getting closer and closer, and it could be seen that it was a mecha, flying towards the starship at full speed.
"Sure enough, it's the two colonels. They are here."
"It's finally here, hurry up, hurry up..."
The soldiers jumped up and down and cheered loudly.
Lan Yu held Lu Rankong to her chest and flew close to the ground on the ice. He crossed the long canyon, and when he was still a few hundred meters away from the starship, the mecha finally made a sound of running out of energy and suddenly retracted into a mecha ring. The two of them spun in the low air and landed steadily on the ground.
Not far away was the starship parked on the ice, which had already started preheating and was waiting for them. They could also see a group of people at the hatch, jumping and shouting there.
"Run, run, run faster..."
The captain's voice sounded again in the ship: "In 30 seconds, the starship will be forced to close the hatch and set sail."
"25 seconds."
"Twenty seconds."
The soldiers were shouting like crazy: "Run! Run!"
Lu Rankong pulled Lan Yu and ran forward. Lan Yu looked back while running and saw that the wind column had spread to the entire sky and earth behind them, boundless.
"15 seconds."
"Ten seconds."
"Five seconds."
The two of them didn't think about anything, they just ran as fast as they could, like bullets from a gun. Lan Yu was almost pulled off the ground by Lu Rankong. The only sound was the whistling wind in her ears. Her lungs felt like they were about to explode, and her mouth tasted of iron.
Finally rushing to the cabin door, they grabbed the hands that were stretched out and were dragged up.
The moment Chen Yuqin closed the cabin door, he shouted into the intercom: "Close the cabin and set sail!"
The preheated starship rose into the air without delay. The wind column arrived while it was still climbing, instantly engulfing the entire starship.
The hurricane pulled at the starship, roaring angrily, as if trying to tear the steel machine into pieces.
The huge starship seemed so tiny in the hurricane, like a small boat in the stormy sea, trying hard to maintain its balance and not drift away with the waves, struggling to break free by swaying upwards.
The ship's hull was hit by the huge ice rocks that were rolled up, making a crackling sound. The small space in front of the cabin door was packed with people. Everyone held their breath and looked out the porthole at the dim outside.
In the fight against the hurricane, the starship finally climbed tenaciously to a height where it could accelerate. After a brief pause, it accelerated instantly and rushed out of the star Weiya at an incredible speed.
The entire cabin was filled with cheers, and everyone took off their cold-proof hoods and high-fived and hugged each other.
After they calmed down a bit, the soldiers began to ask Lu Rankong and the other man about what had happened just now, and talked about how anxious they had been waiting for so long.
"Colonel Lu, Colonel K, we want to look for you, but our mechas are out of energy. It's so frustrating."
"It was so handsome. He just rushed out from the eye of the storm. I was stunned."
"Yeah, the moment I saw the mecha, I felt—"
The person who was speaking suddenly stopped talking, and the rest of the people were all shocked and shut their mouths.
As soon as Lan Yu took off her cold-proof headgear, Lu Rankong pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Then she held his face and began to kiss his lips in public.
There was a dead silence in the starship. The air seemed to have frozen. Everyone stood still, turning into a pile of statues.
It was not until Chen Yuqin, who was the first to react, coughed and pushed Lin Zhu, who was stunned beside him, with his arm, that the two began to call the soldiers.
"He's in, he's in. What's there to see? Colonel K ran too fast. Colonel Lu is giving him artificial respiration..."
Lan Yu struggled at first, but Lu Rankong held him so tightly that he couldn't get away no matter what. However, when he noticed that everyone else was starting to leave, he stopped struggling, and unconsciously hooked his arms around Lu Rankong's neck, allowing him to kiss him passionately.
This kiss was not as gentle and lingering as usual, but rather rough and eager. Lan Yu listened to Lu Rankong's intense heartbeat, felt his ecstasy and love that had been lost and regained, and responded meekly.
When Lu Rankong raised his head, Lan Yu was already leaning limply in his arms, gasping for breath.
The two of them pressed their foreheads together for a while, then looked at each other and laughed.
Lu Rankong reached out to wipe the water stains off his bright red lips and said in a hoarse voice, "Let's go back to the cabin."
She took two steps and then stopped, kissing him on the lips again.
Lan Yu still felt a little dizzy, but she smiled and was led into the cabin by him in a daze.
It was not until he passed by the soldiers' cabin and was stared at by everyone that he reacted and quickly and quietly broke free from his hand.
"Is there something dirty on Dad's face? Why are you all staring at me?" Lu Rankong touched his chin.
All the soldiers turned their heads around without saying a word, staring straight ahead with dazed expressions on their faces. However, when the two people passed by the passage beside them, they would roll their eyes to look over there, and then quickly look away.
Only the team leader who was competing with Lu Rankong to carry Lan Yu in the canyon snorted and said in a low voice with pride: "When I first told you that Colonel K and Colonel Lu were together, you laughed at me. Now you have nothing to say, right? Tsk..."
The two men returned to the officers' cabin and closed the door.
Lu Rankong sat back in his seat, pulled Lan Yu into his arms, and without saying a word, just looked at his face intently, carefully combing the hair on his forehead with his fingers.
After a while, she buried her face in his neck and let out a long sigh.
Lan Yu curled up in his arms without moving, and they hugged each other quietly, feeling how much they cherished each other.
It was not until the starship passed the first jump point that Lu Rankong calmed down and began to talk in a low voice with Lan Yu.
"When did you say this jump point was opened?" Lan Yu couldn't help but wonder in her heart, and asked while playing with Lu Rankong's fingers around her waist.
Lu Rankong answered irrelevantly: "Although the ice thorn insects are just beginning to wake up, perhaps they have sensed the existence of special substances before, and there is a process of slow awakening."
Lan Yu knew that he understood what she meant, so she didn't say anything else. She just lowered her head and continued to play with his fingers, bending them one by one and then straightening them one by one.
Lu Rankong was silent for a while and then continued: "These soldiers have been together for two years. I don't want to doubt them."
Lan Yu did not continue the topic and asked, "By opening this jump point, does anyone want to go to Qichu Star?"
"right……"
"Will it be related to the planet Longte?"
"It should be..." Lu Rankong replied.
He also understood what Lan Yu meant. She was reminding himself of the importance of this matter and not to evade it or make excuses.
After a few seconds of silence, he sighed and said, "If one of us were to open the jump point, it wouldn't be impossible."
A small meteorite flew past the porthole. Lan Yu squinted and said, "Let me imagine, if it was one of the soldiers, then when would he sneak into the control room? You went into the main control room when we just arrived at the jump station. Could it be the engineers who followed you?"
"No, they have been following me all the time." Lu Rankong shook his head and said, "The lock of the gate is easy to open, but the energy supply system is an information lock with a medium confidentiality level. I need the engineers to work with me to adjust the program and lower the confidentiality level."
"What will you do after you get out?" Lan Yu asked.
Lu Rankong said: "We turned on the energy supply system and left, leaving two soldiers on duty outside the control area."
Lan Yu also knew about this. Not only in the main control area, but also in the dormitory area and outside the jump station, there were soldiers on duty in every direction. There were no blind spots at all.
"When on a mission, no matter what happens, the guards must never leave their posts. Even if they have to leave for a short while due to special circumstances, they must report to the captain and wait until the replacement arrives before leaving. Moreover, they are in groups of two, and there is no way to avoid the other person to do something." Lu Rankong helped him rule out the possibility of the soldier on duty.
"That is to say, there are always soldiers guarding the main control room, and no one can go in." Lan Yu stopped pinching Lu Rankong's fingers and looked at him, saying softly: "Only during the battle with the thorn beast, there was no one guarding the main control room, and all the soldiers were participating in the battle."
Lu Rankong remained silent. Lan Yu lowered her head and continued fiddling with her fingers, saying, "During that time, the sky was filled with dark wings, and it was impossible to notice who was absent. He could have easily sneaked away during this time and sneaked into the main control room to activate the jump point."
Lu Rankong murmured, "Could it be one of us? If so, who would it be?"
"Do you think that person could be from Longte?" Lan Yu looked up at him. "First, open the jump point without anyone noticing. When the time is right, we can reach Qichu Star."
Lu Rankong frowned, and after a moment of silence, he spoke with some difficulty: "No matter if it is true or not, if it involves Qichuxing, we must be highly vigilant. Anyway, we must be wary of everyone as a suspect."
The starship finally returned to the planet Zatar and landed smoothly on the pad. As soon as the hatch opened, all the people preparing to disembark were stunned.
There were dozens of military vehicles waiting outside, with fully armed soldiers standing next to them.
"Thank you for your hard work. We just received an emergency notice that an unknown pathogen has appeared on the planet Weiya. We are afraid that you will bring the pathogen back, so please disinfect your whole body first." A senior officer shouted to the starship holding a megaphone, "It's just a procedure. Don't be nervous. Now, take turns to board the military vehicle in groups of three. There are staff on board to disinfect you."
Lan Yu understood instantly that Liu Deng might also suspect that there were some Longte people mixed in with the soldiers, and used this excuse to check everyone.
"Unknown germs? What are those? Are they harmful to the human body?"
"I don't know. No one told us this before we set out."
"Oh my god, could it be some poisonous substance?"
The soldiers all started talking in low voices and turned to look at Lan Yu and his companions. When they encounter this situation, they naturally go to their boss.
"I've heard of this kind of bacteria on Weiya Star. If we bring it back, it may have an impact on the ecological environment of Zata Star." Lu Rankong clapped his hands and said loudly after attracting everyone's attention.
"Dad, what is the impact?" asked the soldier from the third battalion.
Lu Rankong said: "It is said that many trees can be infected with viruses, turn yellow and wither, and bees will no longer pollinate them."
His expression was very serious. If Lan Yu didn't know what was going on, she might be scared by him.
The soldiers all believed him and immediately felt relieved. "So that's how it is. That's fine. Let's work together to disinfect the area so that the bees don't stop working."
Everyone stepped down from the cabin and took turns boarding the arranged military vehicles in groups of three. Lan Yu and Lu Rankong were walking behind and were stopped by a soldier, "Colonel K, Colonel Lu, Major General Liu is waiting for you two."
After he finished speaking, he led the way, and the two followed him towards a military vehicle in front. The military vehicle started and stopped in front of the command post building half an hour later.
After passing through the long corridor and security door, Lan Yu and Lu Rankong stood together at the door of the general command room.
Lu Rankong raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Come in..." Liu Deng's voice came from inside.
The two pushed the door open and went in.
Liu Deng sat behind the large desk. After Lan Yu and the other person finished their greetings, he raised his hand and pointed at the sofa opposite him, saying, "Sit down..."
Lan Yu caught a glimpse of Lu Rankong sitting down, so she sat down next to him, resting her hands on her knees and standing straight.
There were two cups of tea on the coffee table, still steaming, obviously brewed in advance for the two of them. Lu Rankong picked up one of the cups and took a sip, frowned slightly and said, "This is last year's flute red, it's a bit damp."
Liu Denggang picked up the teacup in front of him, and frowned when he heard that. He said, "I've kept it for a year and I can't bear to drink it myself, so I brewed it for you two, and you're still nitpicking and complaining."
Lu Rankong smiled and leaned back in his chair, saying, "Next time Jiang Zhi comes to you to ask about me, you can bargain and ask her for some good tea. She has a lot of good things. She has any tea you want."
Liu Deng looked up at him from his teacup, "You said that yourself?"
"Of course..." Lu Rankong put one hand on the back of the chair behind Lan Yu and crossed his legs.
"What do you look like? Sit still..." Liu Deng couldn't stand it anymore when he saw him like this. He scolded him.
After Lu Rankong slowly put down his legs, he said seriously: "Colonel K, Colonel Lu, thank you for your hard work this time."
Hearing that the conversation was about business, Lu Rankong sat up straight.
Liu Deng then asked: "Do you two know when the jump station was opened?"
"The exact time is unclear. Maybe it was opened before. But judging from the awakened ice thorn insects, it is very likely that it was opened by someone when we went to carry out the mission." Lu Rankong said calmly.
Liu Deng didn't react when he heard this, he just stared at the empty table in front of him thoughtfully.
"General Liu, what is that disinfection and sterilization? Can it detect whether there are any problems with those soldiers?" Lu Rankong asked with a smile.
Liu Deng sighed and said, "There is no feasible way to catch the Longte people now. Besides, we are just suspicious of these soldiers and we are not sure if they are among them. We can only call them to the car to question them one by one and ask about their previous experiences. It is better than doing nothing. But even if we can't get anything out of them, we will closely monitor the participants of this mission. Before the investigation is clear, they will not be allowed to leave the barracks or have any contact with the outside world."
Lan Yu and Lu Rankong felt a little relieved when they heard him say this.
Under uncertain circumstances, this group of people could only be temporarily confined in the military camp.
"What about sterilization? We have to sterilize it." Lu Rankong said, "I explained to you that we carry germs that prevent bees from pollinating. You have to do something about it."
"Kill them, why not? Spray some disinfectant on everyone." Liu Deng said, "I've smelled it, it smells like lemon."
Liu Deng began to inquire about the situation of this mission. Lu Rankong did not talk about the part when he and Lan Yu encountered the storm when they returned, but only talked about the process of fighting with the thorn beast.
"You just came back from prison and haven't had two days of rest yet, and you're out on a mission right away. It's really hard." After listening to this, Liu Deng turned the teacup on the table, but didn't continue speaking.
Lan Yu and Lu Rankong both knew that he had something else to say next, so they just sat there quietly.
Liu Deng suddenly turned to look at Lan Yu and asked, "Colonel K, I heard that you want to retire?"
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