Chapter 39
While Qi Yan slept, Lu Fenghan stood by the bedroom window and contacted Vincent, only to find out that the situation was not as simple as the rescuer had described.
“Commander, you disappeared for so long that I thought you hadn’t died under the rebels’ cannon but instead achieved the glorious pinnacle of a life as a space pirate and got yourself killed!”
Vincent wailed a few more words, but without further ado, he got to the point.
“The incident of the civilian starship being hijacked by space pirates and exploding in the wormhole served as the catalyst. To put it bluntly, it was simply that those half-literate space pirates lacked the necessary skills and didn’t know that they shouldn’t open fire indiscriminately during wormhole jumps. But this has become a key point for the pro-peace faction to attack the pro-war faction.”
Lu Fenghan looked at the night outside the window. “Blurring the strength of the space pirates and planting seeds of fear in the hearts of the Alliance citizens?”
“That’s about it. The information flow about the strength of the space pirates is everywhere on the Starnet. The attack on Fontaine-1 is being brought up again, along with various old videos. In short, the space pirates are like a guillotine hanging over everyone’s heads, ready to fall at any moment.”
Vincent’s tone grew complex. “You see, everyone is like sheep, happily grazing on the grassland, when suddenly a leopard jumps out and kills a few sheep. The remaining sheep are bewildered and afraid. Wasn’t it said that there were no leopards twenty years ago? But here comes the problem again. How many leopards are there now, how powerful are they, have they evolved? The more unknown, the more fear.”
Lu Fenghan: “Has anyone proposed to have the Expeditionary Force cease fire first, redeploy forces, and return to defend Leto?”
“Of course there are! And it’s not just a small group of people who are suggesting this. Many people think that since the rebels are so powerful that we haven’t been able to achieve a decisive victory after so many years of fighting, it’s better to come back first and fight the space pirates, and then continue to fight the rebels. The Central Region or Leto cannot afford to lose.”
Vincent’s words rolled around his tongue for a moment before he continued, “Many have also proposed investigating the relevant reports submitted by General Lu Jun years ago, re-evaluate his war merits, and give the public an explanation for the resurgence of space pirates.”
Lu Fenghan: “Has General Lu Jun’s statue at the Diamond Sky Plaza been toppled?”
“No, no, not to that extent yet.”
“Not yet, but soon?” Lu Fenghan narrowed his eyes. “What’s the likelihood of the pro-peace faction orchestrating the hijacking of the starship by space pirates?”
A few seconds later, Vincent replied, “Eighty-eight percent. I stand by my estimation.”
Though Vincent stated eighty percent and took responsibility for his inference, Lu Fenghan understood the implication— it was a hundred percent.
Lu Fenghan chuckled instead of getting angry. “What a masterstroke! With continual defeats on the front lines and Leto encountering space pirates, the once tranquil Alliance populace must be losing sleep. Coupled with media manipulation, everyone will become jittery. When the final straw falls, Klimo will be able to follow public opinion and easily kick Nie Huaiting out.”
“This is the downside of the high-intensity information flow nowadays. The Alliance territory is too vast, and no one will actually go to the front lines to conduct field investigations. Say it enough times, and the falsehoods become truth.” Vincent sounded a bit irritable. “In just one month, more than 30 important positions held by General Nie’s faction have been replaced, one almost every day. Once a position is captured, it becomes impossible to defend. I can imagine that Klimo must be laughing in his sleep right now!”
Lu Fenghan borrowed Vincent’s analogy, “Do you think a leopard, deliberately placed among a flock of sheep and allowed to roam free, would ever want to be driven back?”
“Of course, it wouldn’t want to!”
Lu Fenghan sneered, “This is a principle that everyone understands.”
After a few more exchanges, Vincent asked, “Commander, what about your employer when you return to the front line? By then, Leto will surely be in a state of turmoil, with the safety index plummeting.”
Lu Fenghan turned towards the bedroom door, remaining silent for a while.
After a long pause, he answered, “He won’t stay in Leto. Someone will pick him up and take him away.”
Vincent, seated in the intelligence department, was not fully aware of the Qi family’s incident but had a general understanding. “Who’s picking him up? The Qi family can’t be relied on. Are there any relatives on his mother’s side? If not, can we take care of him?”
Lu Fenghan: “No need. He should be someone from ‘the other side.'”
Vincent was startled, and there was even the sound of something falling to the ground. “Impossible! How old is he? Nineteen? Just come of age!”
But soon, Vincent realized, “His mother is a researcher? A core member of ‘the other side’? If that’s the case, it makes sense. If he’s listed in ‘the other side’s’ protection list as a direct relative of a core member, his real personal information would be classified and difficult to access.”
“This is just my personal guess,” Lu Fenghan said. “By the way, where in Leto is it convenient to have an ore tested?”
“Did you bring back ore from the barren planet? Of course, the ore should be tested at Turan! The reputation of being the Alliance’s Strongest Spendthrift isn’t unfounded. Their ore testing equipment is probably the ninth generation, right? Our school’s seems to be still the sixth generation. It’s old and decrepit. Every time I turn it on, it shakes loose three screws.”
Lu Fenghan: “Three generations behind?”
Vincent struggled to uphold the dignity of his alma mater, “Commander, don’t underestimate these three generations. One generation is eight million star coins, so three generations would be twenty-four million star coins! Our First Military Academy is frugal, saving twenty million star coins!”
Lu Fenghan: “Even when poor, one must face reality.”
Vincent sighed heavily, then asked with anticipation, “Commander, how about the ore? Does it have prospects for making a fortune?”
“It wasn’t me who brought it back, it was Qi Yan,” Lu Fenghan paused deliberately before continuing, “He said if we could get sixteen million star coins, he’d give me fifteen million.”
There was a moment of silence before Vincent whispered, “Is it great to have someone supporting you? Is it great to have money? Is it great to struck it rich overnight?”
It was indeed great.
Lu Fenghan’s mood improved considerably as he concluded the conversation, “I’ll go check if Qi Yan is asleep, see if he kicked off the covers. The pro-peace faction’s progress has been too smooth, keep an eye out for any other forces stirring the pot.”
“Yes!” After agreeing, Vincent pondered for a moment, feeling something wasn’t right. “Wait, Commander, the bedroom is temperature-controlled, so what’s the point of kicking off the covers—”
The communication was abruptly cut off.
Lu Fenghan justified his actions to himself: Vincent was too noisy.
He crossed over to the opposite side and gently opened Qi Yan’s bedroom door. The lights were off inside, and he could hear the steady sound of breathing.
It was evident that he had fallen asleep.
Unexplainably, Lu Fenghan found himself reminiscing about their time on the barren planet, with Qi Yan wrapped in his coat, nestled against his thigh, as if his presence could dispel all fear.
Little Spoiled Brat.
Standing in the darkness, leaning against the wall, Lu Fenghan gazed towards the bed for a long while in silence.
On the day Qi Yan returned to school, he was scrutinized up and down by Xia Zhiyang four or five times to ensure he was unharmed, with a side compliment to Lu Fenghan, acknowledging his competent role as a bodyguard.
When Ye Pei and Mondrian arrived, Qi Yan looked at the tearful Ye Pei helplessly and turned to Lu Fenghan for help.
Lu Fenghan thought to himself, just watch her cry until she was done.
Fortunately, Ye Pei wasn’t prone to excessive tears. After crying for two minutes, she stopped and, upon hearing Qi Yan and Lu Fenghan’s experiences, she thanked Lu Fenghan. “If you hadn’t reminded us to activate the escape pods before the explosion, we might have all perished in the wormhole.”
Lu Fenghan: “It was nothing.”
Ye Pei sighed again. “Last time, Fontaine-1 said that the space pirates accidentally entered the deactivated jump point. They were quickly annihilated, so it was fine. But this time, a starship was hijacked right at Leto’s doorstep! My parents are getting nervous. They keep saying that space pirates are everywhere and have told me to avoid long-distance travel recently. I planned to visit Blaine on Woz Star in a few days.”
Lu Fenghan: “It’s indeed not a good time to travel far. Just think of this period as a peak activity of pirates.”
Ye Pei always found herself involuntarily trusting Lu Fenghan’s words. “Alright, then I won’t wander around for now. I’ll reschedule with Blaine.”
Mondrian was the first to notice the ore Lu Fenghan brought to school. “What’s this?”
Qi Yan: “It’s from the barren planet we landed on. I think it could be very useful.”
Ye Pei exclaimed excitedly, “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s get it appraised!”
In no time, the number of people heading to the ore appraisal center went from two to five.
This matter spread to Turan’s forum, where some poured cold water on it.
“—Do you really think everyone can strike it rich overnight? Every year, countless people in the Alliance apply for ore appraisals, but few ever earn back the appraisal fees.”
“—Isn’t Qi Yan from the Qi family? And yet he’s short of money? Is he daydreaming like those interstellar drifters picking up rocks? Oh, right, his family doesn’t seem to like him, and his dad prefers that stepson, doesn’t he?”
“—Based on what’s been said earlier, there’s a story behind it, isn’t there?”
When they arrived at the appraisal center, Qi Yan handed the ore to the teacher in charge of appraisal and waited for the results.
Fueled by Ye Pei’s legendary tales of mining and unearthly treasures, Xia Zhiyang had already begun to fantasize before the appraisal results were even out, “Qi Yan, if this ore turns out to be very rare and the Alliance will reward you with a million star coins, how would you spend it?”
Without hesitation, Qi Yan replied, “I’d give nine hundred thousand to Lu Fenghan.”
Xia Zhiyang was taken aback. “What if they reward you with ten million star coins?”
Qi Yan answered without hesitation, “Then I’d give nine million to Lu Fenghan.”
Xia Zhiyang glanced at Qi Yan, then at Lu Fenghan, unable to resist leaning closer to Qi Yan and whispering, “Qi Yan, if you’re being threatened, just blink your left eye!”
After speaking, he looked quite nervous.
Lu Fenghan, listening to the whole sentence, thought, Am I deaf?
But he couldn’t help but lower his head and smile.
It was not surprising that others suspected Qi Yan of being threatened.
At that moment, the teacher who conducted the appraisal came out, “The comparative results are out. This type of ore belongs to a category not yet discovered by the Alliance. Its internal structure is quite intriguing.”
Ye Pei: “Teacher, what aspect of it is intriguing?”
She knew the common trait of these professional teachers.
Teachers dealing with ores would find anything with an unusual color “intriguing,” just like botany teachers find any flower or plant “intriguing.”
The appraisal teacher elaborated, “Based on my initial assessment, the internal structure should point in the direction of energy. Do you know the specific location of the planet where you found this ore?”
Lu Fenghan glanced at Qi Yan. Sure enough, Qi Yan nodded.
Not receiving immediate results didn’t dampen their spirits. They made arrangements with the appraisal teacher for another visit next time.
By the time Qi Yan finished his work in the lab, it was already past nine in the evening. Near the school gate, Lu Fenghan suddenly stopped, placing himself in front of Qi Yan with a sharp gaze. “Who’s there?”
They didn’t expect it to be Jiang Qi who walked out.
Compared to how he looked a month or two ago, he had lost a significant amount of weight, and his hair was slightly disheveled, giving him an air of gloom.
Lu Fenghan remained still, still shielding Qi Yan behind him. “What is it?”
“Nothing much, just heard you were back, so I came to see you, say hello,” Jiang Qi’s expression was regretful, “Why didn’t you die in the starship explosion?”
Lu Fenghan frowned.
Jiang Qi laughed. “Oops, I misspoke, brother. Don’t be mad at me.”
“You’re nineteen now. At this age, you still haven’t learned to speak like a human being. It seems that the basic education of the Alliance over the years has failed to teach you the essential skills to be a person,” Lu Fenghan lifted his chin slightly, offering a friendly reminder, “But if you really can’t learn, don’t force yourself.”
The smile slowly vanished from Jiang Qi’s face as he glared at the two of them with resentment.
Lu Fenghan couldn’t be bothered to deal with him any longer and walked away with Qi Yan.
Once they got into the car, Lu Fenghan noticed Qi Yan staring at him without blinking. “What? What are you looking at?”
Qi Yan: “You are very capable.”
Lu Fenghan thought those four words did sound nice.
“Capable? In what way?”
“You’re very capable at cursing.” Recalling Lu Fenghan’s curses from the previous encounters, Qi Yan concluded, “You’re very skilled at it.”
Lu Fenghan sighed in resignation. “Who am I doing it for, hmm?”
Qi Yan had a clear answer to this question. He thought for a moment, then reached out to grab Lu Fenghan’s hand.
Lu Fenghan was caught off guard.
Even though Qi Yan didn’t exert much force, Lu Fenghan strangely couldn’t break free at all.
The nerves in his entire arm seemed to go on strike collectively, rendering him numb and unresponsive.
Soon, he was guided, and his fingertips touched Qi Yan’s cheek.
Under the soft glow of the lights, Qi Yan, perplexed by Lu Fenghan’s stillness, gently reminded him, “I’m giving you a massage.”
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