Limited Ambiguity Chapter 35

Chapter 35

In the laboratory, Ye Pei and Mondrian were discussing something. When Qi Yan entered, Ye Pei waved him over. “Qi Yan, come here quickly!”

It was obvious that after a good sleep, both of them no longer looked like they were on the brink of death at any moment.

Qi Yan approached and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Mondrian: “Do you want to celebrate tonight?”

Ye Pei: “A celebration party for future researchers after successfully thwarting the enemy’s plot! There’s me, Mondrian, and the second prize awardees—one from Bergson Academy and one from the First Military Academy. If you want to go, there will be six of us!”

Qi Yan looked at Lu Fenghan first.

Ye Pei and Mondrian were both puzzled by Qi Yan’s reaction. Lu Fenghan, however, had a partial understanding. He guessed Qi Yan might be asking his opinion because someone from the First Military Academy was involved.

Lu Fenghan didn’t think that he was reading too much into it. In fact, he found it intriguing. It seemed Little Scatterbrain knew quite a bit.

Meeting Qi Yan’s gaze, Lu Fenghan raised an eyebrow. “Wherever you want to go, I’ll follow.”

He thought Qi Yan could really benefit from spending more time with friends. He didn’t want Qi Yan to be constantly cooped up at school or home, feeling down in the dumps.

Ye Pei, who was standing by the side, suddenly understood. Qi Yan was actually asking the bodyguard’s opinion on whether it was safe to go or not.

After making up numerous thrilling scenarios in her mind, Ye Pei began to question the recklessness of her invitation.

Upon hearing Lu Fenghan’s words, Qi Yan nodded. “I’ll come too.”

The gathering was set at a restaurant near the Diamond Sky Plaza, where they reserved a private room. Sitting in their chairs, they could gaze upward and watch the entire expanse of a dazzling starry sky projected by holographic projection onto the dome.

The girl from Bergson Academy, named Blaine, the one who led her team on stage to return their trophies, was now sharing her thoughts:

“It’s no wonder Diamond Sky Plaza ranks in the top three of the ‘Must-visit places in Leto list’! The fountain show is breathtaking, and I’ve heard the performances change every day. I’ll definitely come back for another visit before I leave Leto! There are just too many bards. I met five or six bards giving speeches on my way from the fountain to here.”

Ye Pei, still sporting her high ponytail, laughed. “The number of wandering bards at Diamond Sky Plaza exceeds the norm! It often makes me worry that their speeches might animate the sculptures nearby. For example, a bard might stand next to the sculpture of General Lu Jun and advocate giving up war and shaking hands with the rebels.”

Lu Fenghan was pouring water for Qi Yan, pausing for half a second upon hearing the name “Lu Jun.”

He lowered his gaze, his thoughts drifting. Lu Jun should feel gratified. It had been almost twenty years since his passing, yet people still remembered him.

He didn’t die in vain.

After two rounds of topic changes, Blaine started discussing her team’s entry for the competition, “Our academy has never participated in the Roentgen Award before. When my teammates and I were preparing for the later stages, we realized that no matter how we calculated the time, we just couldn’t catch up. At that moment, we thought about giving up.”

Ye Pei listened intently. “And then?”

“Later, I happened to discover that Y had previously open-sourced a model, which we used to replace our original basic model. The time needed for that part immediately decreased from six days to two days! That’s how we narrowly made it, submitting our entry on the day before the deadline!”

Lu Fenghan didn’t quite understand what Blaine meant by the basic model, but he knew what “open-source” meant.

He simply remembered that when deciding to open-source PVC93, Qi Yan had shared his thoughts—he hoped that after open-sourcing it, anyone in need could use it, saving time for a few individuals.

Lu Fenghan had heard Y’s name countless times, but had never seen Y in person, nor did he know Y’s age, appearance, or background.

But he thought, perhaps people like Y and Qi Yan had similar intentions.

Benefiting the world together.

Blaine: “I heard your team managed to structure your entry in just five days with three people? How did you manage to do that?”

Ye Pei recalled those days with lingering fear. “Almost, we decided to participate last minute. I was practically on the verge of collapse from staying up all night!”

Mondrian gestured to the dark circles under his eyes. “Who knows how long they’ll last.”

The person from the First Military Academy was named Xavier. He had a lean physique, not particularly bulky, yet his exposed forearm muscles were tight and evenly toned. Currently engrossed in nibbling on some appetizers, he looked up upon hearing the comment and remarked, “Seriously, just five days? You folks across the river are some kind of monsters!”

Ye Pei seized the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. “What’s the deal with you guys? You have never participated in the Roentgen Award before, right? Why the sudden change this year?”

In the past, everyone was busy with training. Who knew the prize money for the Roentgen Award was so high? Five hundred thousand star coins for first prize! Five hundred thousand! If they had known earlier, they wouldn’t have let the Alliance’s Strongest Spendthrifts swagger around for several years.

Xavier sighed wistfully. The prize money from previous years was like the water poured into the river by the school gate—gone in the blink of an eye!

His heart ached!

But he couldn’t possibly say such things, especially not to those across the river. Where would he put his face then? So he replied half-heartedly, “I’m in my fourth year, about to graduate. I’ve aced all my tactical simulation classes and had nothing to do at school, so I decided to give it a try.”

Lu Fenghan raised an eyebrow, assessing Xavier.

Aced all tactical simulation classes in the first half of the fourth year? Not bad. His physical condition seemed decent, and he appeared clear-headed—

Lu Fenghan’s train of thought halted, self-mockingly musing. He was acting as if he was still the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force.

On the other hand, Xavier keenly sensed a sharp gaze and quickly glanced around, but found no one looking at him.

Was it just his imagination?

However, he couldn’t help but take another look at the man sitting next to Qi Yan.

The moment this man entered the room, Xavier instinctively went on guard, completely reacting on impulse. Yet, the man’s gaze merely glanced past him—showing no interest whatsoever.

Xavier breathed a sigh of relief, yet oddly felt a twinge of disappointment, the source of which he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Perhaps it was because this man seemed so much like his own kind, maybe even more formidable.

But the man paid him no mind.

As Xavier observed the man across from him, a light bulb went off in his head — he knew who the man resembled!

Xavier’s spoon clattered onto the tabletop. The others looked over, puzzled. “What’s wrong with you?” Blaine asked.

They watched as Xavier pointed shakily at Lu Fenghan, his eyes widening. “You—you—”

Leaning back in his chair, Lu Fenghan appeared intrigued. “Me? What about me?”

Xavier finally blurted out, “Why do you look so much like Commander Lu!” Once he started, the words flowed more smoothly, “I saw Commander Lu’s photo in the school’s historical records! You look just like him!”

Lu Fenghan tapped his fingers lightly on the table. I’ve only been out of school for less than ten years. I’m not even thirty, yet I’m already in the school’s historical records? Am I really that old?

Ye Pei and the others were curious. “Like who? Commander Lu?”

“Our First Military Academy’s distinguished graduate, currently serving as the Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Cross Region’s Expeditionary Force!” Xavier stared at Lu Fenghan, then became a little uncertain. “But the current images of the frontline senior officers are classified and are rarely made public for safety reasons. I only saw a photo in the school’s historical records. At that time, Commander Lu had just come of age. It’s been many years since then. His appearance must have changed.”

Moreover, this man was Qi Yan’s bodyguard. He had no connection whatsoever to the Expeditionary Force, let alone the Southern Cross Region.

He sighed again. “It’s been so long, and Commander Lu still hasn’t been found. His chances of survival are slim, I’m afraid.”

Mondrian and the others also understood who Xavier was referring to. Though they shared the same surname, could a one-star general of the Alliance and the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force really serve as someone’s bodyguard?

Impossible, not even in their dreams.

He just happened to resemble him, that’s all.

After a brief silence, Blaine suggested, “Shall we make a toast?”

The group all instinctively raised their glasses.

As the glasses clinked together, amidst the crisp sound, Xavier spoke up, “Here’s to hoping Commander Lu is safe and alive!”

Lu Fenghan, lifting his glass alongside theirs, felt a surge of complex emotions.

After finishing the contents of his glass, Xavier couldn’t contain himself any longer. “Until the military announces Commander Lu’s obituary, in my heart, he’s still alive!”

His eyes sparkled with fervor. “You guys don’t know, Commander Lu was a legend at the First Military Academy! He was accepted at the age of fifteen, fifteen years old! Shortly after entering the academy, he began his path to becoming a god among men!

“Do you know who holds the highest score in the tactical simulation class at the First Military Academy? After all these years, countless people have tried to surpass it, but no one can break it! And in courses like Weapons Doctrine, Operational Command, Starship Operations, Individual Combat, and so many more, the highest scores in history are all recorded by the system for everyone to see. And in the top spot of these records, all neatly arranged, there’s just one surname—’Lu’!”

Lu Fenghan rarely reminisced about his days at the First Military Academy.

Back then, it was all about competitiveness, never hiding one’s skills, eager to tell everyone, ‘I’m the best.’ How arrogant was he? Arrogant enough that when inputting records, he couldn’t be bothered to write his full name, just ‘Lu’. He wasn’t afraid that no one would know who he was.

As for those with the same surname as him, they all dutifully entered their full names.

Now, looking back, it seemed like each generation at the First Military Academy was inferior to the last. His records had been there for so many years, yet no one had managed to surpass them.

Xavier exclaimed excitedly, “When I first started the tactical simulation class, I was eager to challenge the Commander’s records.”

Ye Pei listened with keen interest. “And then?”

“What else is there? Just think about it, it ended, there’s nothing more. It was a complete thrashing!” Xavier spoke with a mixture of frustration and admiration. “I spent a week in the simulation cabin and still couldn’t figure it out. Commander Lu wasn’t even an adult yet, only seventeen? How did he manage to fend off a lightning raid by the rebels, encircle the enemy’s rear, infiltrate their temporary base, and destroy seventy-two enemy starships in just three hours, all while facing overwhelming odds? The casualties were less than three digits!”

Mondrian and Blaine couldn’t help but express their amazement, “That sounds incredibly impressive!”

Whether due to seeing someone with a striking resemblance to Lu Fenghan or perhaps due to the alcohol, Xavier’s fist clenched on the table, his eyes suddenly welling up.

“You guys don’t know, when news of the major defeat on the front line reached us, we couldn’t believe it. Commander Lu was like an impregnable fortress on the front line. We never imagined that one day, he would fall. We didn’t believe it! He rarely ever lost a battle, but this time, the entire army was wiped out! Not a single person survived!”

His voice filled with both anger and confusion. “The professors at the academy say it’s not just war, it’s politics too. Fine, I don’t understand. Why should soldiers on the battlefield be held accountable for politics with their lives?”

Lu Fenghan’s fingers tightened around the glass, his eyes deep with emotion.

Yes, why should soldiers on the battlefield be held accountable for politics with their lives?

He had led his brothers into battle, and apart from himself, none of them had made it out alive.

They had all become wandering souls in the vastness of space.

And they couldn’t be brought back.

The wine, even with low alcohol content, scorched his throat.

Lu Fenghan leaned towards Qi Yan and whispered softly, “I’ll be back in a moment.”

Qi Yan glanced at him for a few seconds before nodding. “Okay.”

At the end of the corridor was an extended platform, offering a view of the dazzling city lights. In the cold wind, Lu Fenghan’s emotions surged. He felt like smoking, then remembered he didn’t have any cigarettes, so he gave up the idea.

Just then, Vincent called.

Lu Fenghan hesitated for a few seconds before answering, “Speak.”

Vincent, as perceptive as ever, immediately caught on. “Commander, who has upset you?”

“No one.”

“Do you think I’ve been your adjutant for three years for nothing? I can tell from a single grunt whether you’re angry or being sarcastic.” Vincent didn’t take kindly to Lu Fenghan’s belittling of his professional skills.

Leaning against the cold, hard wall, Lu Fenghan gazed into the distance. The city lights reflected in his eyes, but they failed to soften the icy demeanor. “What’s the matter?”

Vincent didn’t dare to beat around the bush, fearing he might irritate Lu Fenghan. “Have you seen the front page headline of the Leto Daily?”

Lu Fenghan recalled Klimo’s words about “warmongering”, fueling his anger even more. “I have.”

“After the first major defeat on the front line and your ‘death,’ there were many voices within the military suggesting that General Nie was too aggressive in his tactics, too eager for success. But at that time, the Expeditionary Force’s prestige was still high, so these voices were there but not prominent.”

Lu Fenghan’s voice turned cold as he responded, “And now that we’ve suffered a second major defeat, have those people emerged again?”

“That’s right. This time the Expeditionary Force retreated to York Star, while the rebels advanced significantly, wrecking heavy losses. You know, it’s not just about the planets and a few mining stars we’ve given up, but also about the destroyed starships, the used-up bombs and cannons– when you add it all up, it amounts to a considerable sum of star coins. The Alliance hasn’t burned this much money in many years.

“The Ministry of Finance shirked its responsibilities, claiming the military expenses were too burdensome. Klimo’s lackeys were quick to blame General Nie for being too arrogant and underestimating the enemy’s strength. The two consecutive defeats, along with the sacrifice of the Commander-in-Chief, are all attributed to General Nie’s own actions.”

“So, they’ve resurrected Klimo’s rhetoric? Gradually setting the stage?” Lu Fenghan lowered his eyes, a cold smile playing on his lips. “Do they really think the rebels are our brothers? When the rebels were firing at us, why didn’t they show any consideration for their brothers?”

He paused for two seconds before abruptly speaking again, “We cannot afford to lose a third time.”

Losing three times in a row would not only lead the ordinary people to view the rebels as unbeatable enemies, but also cause doubt among the frontline soldiers about victory.

“Yes, after two defeats, people from General Nie’s faction have been continuously removed, while those from the pro-peace faction have been promoted. The military is almost completely one-sided. As for the other four-star general, you know, he insists on neutrality and never wavers. He doesn’t say anything at every meeting, as if he is asleep.”

Vincent pondered Lu Fenghan’s words for a moment, then suddenly exclaimed in alarm, “Commander, you’re not thinking of revealing yourself, are you? Hold yourself back, now is not the time to show up! The moment you do, you’ll be a clear target. You can’t be as lucky as last time!”

Vincent’s tone grew more urgent as he continued, “Believe me, once you say Lu Fenghan isn’t dead, within 72 hours, you’ll be dead!”

How could Lu Fenghan not be aware?

The conflict between the hawks and doves was well-known. Nie Huaiting was once a comrade-in-arms of Lu Jun, while Lu Fenghan was Nie Huaiting’s key piece on the front line, a lethal move against the rebels.

If he were to reveal himself, he wondered how many people’s interests would be instantly affected.

He only had one life, not enough to die.

But… he couldn’t accept it.

He couldn’t accept that a single explosion on the front line could silently claim countless lives, while he could only raise a toast from Leto, separated by countless light-years.

Vincent grew more anxious as he thought about it, fearing that Lu Fenghan might not be able to resist the impulse. “Stay calm, think twice before acting, that’s what you taught me, Commander!”

At that moment, the glass door behind Lu Fenghan opened. Hearing the movement, he turned around to see Qi Yan approaching.

Qi Yan offered a cigarette to Lu Fenghan’s lips. As the tip was bitten, Qi Yan picked up a metal lighter. With a crisp click, a flame briefly illuminated the darkness before fading away.

The light reflected off Lu Fenghan’s tense jawline.

The faint smoke began to drift.

Lu Fenghan looked at Qi Yan in front of him, and for a moment, he couldn’t discern the taste of the cigarette.

After ending the call with Vincent, Lu Fenghan’s eyes remained sharp. His face was set in a deep scowl, and his aura was cold and forbidding.

Lu Fenghan reached out and pinched Qi Yan’s chin. His voice was rough and husky from smoking. “Did you buy this cigarette for me?”

His actions were less casual than usual, more assertive, yet still delicately controlled.

Qi Yan didn’t resist. He simply nodded and said, “Yes. You said that smoking helps you calm down.”

Their eyes met. Lu Fenghan felt that what he was pinching between his fingers was like the frost and snow that had accumulated on plum branches on a winter morning.

For a moment, the molten restlessness was suppressed back under the depths of rock formation.

The corners of his lips curled up into a faint smile.

He couldn’t tell if it was because of the cigarette or because of this person.

In the silence, he heard Qi Yan say softly, “I feel like you’re very sad, so I just want to comfort you.”

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