Chapter 5
The voice on the communicator was a little distorted, but Xiyue recognized it as Shi Liheng.
She narrowed her eyes, but before she could figure out how to respond, another voice rang out.
"Report to the Admiral, the polluted gas has begun to settle, the concentration is soaring, and the pollutants are about to enter a violent mode. Requesting support, requesting support!"
"Support is on the way and will be here soon. Where are those people from the Xi family?"
"Report to the Admiral, we haven't found them. They may have been infected and mutated. The Gray Hole broke out right among us. It was too sudden..."
The gray hole is the state of the contaminated area before it is detonated. Xiyue saw clearly that after the remote control on his chest disappeared, a ball of gray light appeared above Hubie's head, and the ferns nearby immediately began to grow wildly.
It seems that he escaped by accident by using the contaminated area, but Shi Liheng thought he was dead.
It's a good thing.
Xiyue thought for a moment, took out the long skirt from her bag, and after walking some distance away from the cabin, she tore it open and threw it on the ground.
I had originally held onto a glimmer of hope, planning to return with Xipo to move supplies. But since Shi Liheng said support would be arriving soon, I gave up.
She has a good sense of direction and can clearly remember the way she came even in the thick fog.
After Xiyue escaped from the gray fog and returned to the underground, she saw a few starships passing through a line of sky above her head, bringing with them the faint roar of their engines.
Legion support has arrived.
Shi Liheng came with General Zhai. Before he even stepped out of the cabin, he pressed the switch on his chest and put on the mecha.
General Zhai was quite surprised: "General Shi wants to go in too?"
Even he was only in command outside the contaminated area. Besides, two star teams were enough for a level 4 contamination.
Shi Liheng didn't feel shameless at all and said with a smile: "This is a rare opportunity to witness the combat strength of the elite troops of the 33rd Legion."
General Zhai did not comment, ignored him and began to command the battle.
Shi Liheng entered the contaminated area, not following the team. Instead, he followed the starship's location sent by his subordinates and reached the starship's location as quickly as possible. His mental power was close to S-level, and the mecha he used was also the most advanced. He cut through the contaminated area without paying any attention to the pollutants.
A mecha soldier stood on the top of the starship, dealing with the mutated plants spreading around.
Shi Liheng fired a sonic cannon, clearing the vines in one fell swoop.
"Have you found the body?"
The mech soldier was visibly relieved and jumped off the starship: "I couldn't find it all the way here, but Admiral, I found this."
"clothing?"
"It's a skirt. Although it's contaminated, I'm sure it's the one Xiyue was wearing." Seeing Shi Liheng remained silent, the mecha added, "Admiral, their mental strength is very weak. Exposed to the polluted air, they wouldn't survive more than three minutes. Because of the mutation, even if we found the bodies, we wouldn't be able to recognize them."
He is right.
If it were the old Xipo, with his A-level mental power, which was very resistant to infection, he might have been able to hold on until now. But he had fallen to E-level and was still injured, making him most susceptible to infection.
As for Xiyue and Xiyao...they both have the worst mental values and are not worth mentioning.
Shi Liheng's suppressed anger finally subsided and he said "hmm".
-
Xiyao wrapped herself in a cold-weather blanket. The rising temperature made her feel like a thousand little bugs were crawling all over her. It was uncomfortable, but it was better than freezing. She was starving, so she ate a big bite of compressed vegetables, her cheeks puffing up like a squirrel's.
"Big sister, these are the military supplies for the starship, right?" No matter how dumb she was, she figured it out and smiled sweetly at Xiyue, "Big sister is really amazing!"
Xiyue just smiled it off.
Some people don't think it's amazing.
Xiyao picked up a bag of nutrients and handed it to Xipo: "Brother, your injury hasn't healed yet, drink some nutrients quickly."
Nutrients are unique to interstellar medicines, relieving fatigue and promoting wound healing. They're essential for the military, yet affordable for ordinary people.
Xiyue had a rough impression, so she took back all the nutrients in the storage box, a total of 20 bags.
Xipo shook her head slowly: "I'm not hungry."
"This is medicine. You have to drink it even if you're not hungry!"
However, Xipo, who always loved her sister very much, was very stubborn this time and refused to open her mouth. She even scolded her angrily, "Stop it!"
Xiyao pursed her lips and asked Xiyue for help: "Big sister..."
Xiyue waved: "Give it to me."
After taking the nutrient solution, she drank it all in one gulp, leaving Xiyao dumbfounded.
"Well, it tastes good." Xiyue said, and she immediately felt better after drinking it. After all, she had stayed up all night.
"No food or drink. Who's causing all this trouble? If you want to die so badly, you should have stayed in Sector 33 this morning. Why are you following me?"
Xipo looked at her and said nothing.
Xi Yue suppressed her smile. "I heard you were a top student at the Mecha Academy. You must be smart, right? Even now, you still can't see that this is a setup. Someone deliberately wants... my father to die?"
This name is a bit difficult to pronounce, but since I'm pretending, I'll just keep pretending.
Xi Yue: "Don't you want to know how your father died? Don't you want to avenge him?"
Xipo's heart trembled. Revenge...
These two words had never appeared in his life. Ever since he was old enough to understand, his life goal had been to become a mecha warrior, eliminate the contaminated area, and become a super S-class hero like his father.
Therefore, even though he realized his father's death was not simple, he never considered it that way. Moreover, he had now fallen to E-rank. As everyone knew, the mental damage caused by the infection was irreversible, and he had become a useless person who could not even use mental weapons.
Not to mention controlling the mecha.
"What...a joke..." Xipo uttered a few words and was stunned.
Xipo stared at Xiyue, the god of pollution.
If he really made eliminating the contaminated area his life goal, he should have killed her now, killed his own sister.
But... not only did I not have this thought, but now that I realized it, I was scared because of it.
He couldn't do it, even if Xiyue gave him the chance to run to the surface and inform the legion, "The God of Pollution is down there," he still couldn't do it. On the contrary, if Shi Liheng was standing in front of him, he would not hesitate to put a bullet into his head.
Xiyue asked again: "Do you want to avenge your father?"
Xipo's Adam's apple slid: "...I want to."
Xi Yue took out a bag of nutritional supplements and handed it over: "Then let's talk about the 4 trillion yuan debt first."
Xipo took it but didn't open it. She clutched the bag tightly, recalling her recent conversation with her father.
"It's true. Ever since my father became the commander of the No. 33 Legion, he's been borrowing money. If you've memorized Manifesto No. 33, you should understand why."
The Xiyue in the past might have carried it on her back, but the Xiyue now didn’t.
Xi Yao, however, was able to read the other's expressions and sympathetically recited, "I, Xi Hai, Commander of the 33rd Legion, publicly declare today: Within my jurisdiction, all citizens are equal, regardless of their spiritual power level. I will dedicate my life to eliminating class barriers..."
The declaration wasn't long, but every word contradicted the Interstellar Codex and was powerful.
"When my father was an admiral, his first jurisdiction was only Star Sector 33, a small city with a population of less than 200,000. Under my father's management, within five years, it became one of the largest star cities in the entire galaxy, with a population of over one million.
"Then, my father began expanding his jurisdiction, building the garbage star zone around No. 33. His actions naturally caused dissatisfaction among many people, and even the Central Star District deliberately made things difficult for them. The price of the garbage star zone, which originally only required 1,000 star reputation points, rose all the way to 100,000, 1 million, and even 10 million.
"Father led the team day and night to eliminate pollution. His military achievements were naturally sufficient, but purchasing the garbage star zone was only the most basic expense. The subsequent star zone construction was where the money was spent like water. So he began to borrow money from other star zones, and the debt he was carrying grew."
1 point of star reputation is worth 10,000 star coins. Xiyue silently calculated the money Xihai spent on purchasing the star zone. Compared with the total remaining debt, it was indeed only a small part.
"They were able to borrow 4 trillion... The key is, are those people willing to lend it?"
She recalled the long list of creditors, each of which was a significant sum, ranging from a minimum of 100 million to as much as 100 billion.
"My father is a Super S-class War God, and his Star Reputation is still high. He has paid off all previous debts on time... Eliminating a polluted area will earn you at least tens of thousands of Star Reputation points. If it's a level one polluted area, it can even reach millions."
At this point, Xipo gritted his teeth and said, "Father couldn't have died in battle. He's eliminated hundreds of Level 1 contaminated areas, some of which he accomplished single-handedly!"
However, Xi Yue on the opposite side was shaking her head.
Xipo: "You don't believe in your father's ability?"
"I'm just denying the reason you gave," Xiyue said. "Xipo, they didn't expect my father to pay back the money. It has nothing to do with his ability."
Xipo was speechless.
Xiyao didn't understand: "Why?"
"Because the code stipulates that property cannot be inherited. The more star regions my father governs, the more assets he creates. When he dies, the more property he can hand over to the central star region. All of them just treat my father as an old ox that is working to open up new land."
After Xi Yue finished speaking, Xi Po murmured, "Everything is handed over to the central government, and everyone else can exchange it with Star Reputation. That's why... they are so eager to lend money to my father..."
It seems that you understood.
Xiyue was a little curious. Xihai should also know such a simple truth. He went to the tiger mountain knowing there was a tiger there. Did he have to go to the dead end?
"But..." Xipo raised his eyes suddenly, "Why did they want to kill my father? If he were alive, he could build more star regions and create more assets for them!"
This question seemed a bit stupid to Xiyue.
Maybe the Mecha Academy doesn’t have cultural courses and doesn’t teach political science?
"Because enough is enough. If Xihai continues like this, it will either buy up all the garbage star regions and overthrow the central government's rule. Or it will achieve a huge productivity explosion and let everyone live a good life. If first-class citizens and garbage citizens eat the same food, wear the same clothes, and enjoy the same treatment, what will be the result? It will still overthrow the central government's rule."
"You mean the mastermind behind my father's murder is the commander...of the Central Star Region?" Xipo couldn't believe it.
Revenge... Does that mean killing all the rulers of the star zones, including the commander?
The three of them, two E-rank and one D-rank, could they do it? Even if the eldest sister is the god of the polluted area, pollution hasn't wiped out humanity in thousands of years.
Xi Yue clapped her hands. "I haven't figured out what to do yet, but one thing is certain: when your own strength isn't strong enough, you can only use the other party's rules to break them. Do you understand?"
Xipo was confused and Xiyao didn't understand anything at all.
The topic inexplicably stopped here and the atmosphere fell silent.
It took Xiyao a while to remember the food in her hand, and she picked out a bag of compressed chicken from her bag.
"Brother, no matter what you do, just listen to me. Take your medicine and eat something to heal your wound first..."
As soon as her hand touched Xipo, Xipo fell headfirst.
"Big sister!" Xi Yao panicked, "Brother has a fever!"
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