Chapter 5.2
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A sense of foreboding descended upon Jiang Qi, his own heartbeat suddenly losing its rhythm.
His hand, hanging limply at his side, was suddenly gripped tightly by his mother, her nails even digging into his flesh.
Ignoring the pain, he glanced at his mother’s forced smile, then towards the doorway. An incredible thought crazily emerged in his mind!
It couldn’t be—
Whispering behind Qi Yan, Xia Zhiyang remarked, “Why are these people staring as if they’ve never seen the world?”
Chen Mingxuan, hands in pockets, retorted, “Someone couldn’t even close his mouth when Qi Yan came out in his new clothes. His eyes almost popped out onto the carpet.”
“I was amazed! Do you understand what amazement is? Who knew that after Qi Yan changed his clothes, his aura and temperament would have risen so much?” Xia Zhiyang sighed deliberately again. “Although I knew beforehand that no one would notice me when entering the door with Qi Yan, it’s still quite disheartening!”
Chen Mingxuan laughed. “Just look at Jiang Qi’s expression, it’s quite amusing.”
All attention was on Qi Yan, and no one noticed that Meng Ge was staring at the person who entered behind Qi Yan. His pupils dilated, his jaw muscles tensing instantly.
Despite being the center of everyone’s attention, Qi Yan remained completely oblivious.
The moment he pushed open the door, the thick fragrance made the air feel stifling. He raised his hand, curled his fingers, and loosened the black bow tie at the collar of his white shirt.
He didn’t pay attention to Qi Wenshao’s gaze, and Jiang Yunyue and Jiang Qi were further classified as strangers and directly ignored. Qi Yan led Lu Fenghan, as well as Xia Zhiyang and Chen Mingxuan, to a corner and sat down.
Meng Ge’s gums felt sour, but he barely restrained himself from losing his composure. For the first time, he took the initiative to ask the host of the banquet the question that everyone around him wanted to ask, “Who just came in?”
Qi Wenshao was slightly surprised before replying, “That’s my eldest son.”
Not even mentioning the name, clearly indicating he didn’t want to say more.
However, those around more or less understood.
In an instant, the gazes towards Jiang Yunyue and Jiang Qi carried additional meaning.
Jiang Yunyue’s smile remained graceful and gentle, while Jiang Qi felt quite embarrassed. He awkwardly smiled at Meng Ge, “My brother used to live with our grandparents in the Messier Region. He just returned recently. I apologize for his earlier rudeness.”
Meng Ge seemed to be pondering something and didn’t acknowledge Jiang Qi’s apology.
Many people nearby praised Jiang Qi for his consideration towards his brother, but couldn’t help but make comparisons in their minds.
Jiang Qi wasn’t bad-looking, and his manners were well-practiced, but compared to the youth who had just entered—
He fell far short.
Or rather, the two of them shouldn’t be compared at all.
Xia Zhiyang, juggling a red mist fruit snatched from the platter, scanned the room. His eyes gleamed with satisfaction as he spotted numerous gazes flitting between Qi Yan and Jiang Qi.
He called over a service robot to peel the fruit while chatting with Chen Mingxuan, “I feel like many people could use a certain phrase right now.”
“What phrase?”
“The glow of a firefly is insufficient to match the brilliance of the moon in the sky.”
Chen Mingxuan understood. “Hmm, not bad. That phrase is indeed fitting.”
Meanwhile, Qi Yan asked for a glass of water, slowly swallowing it down, then taking another sip.
Occasionally, he cast puzzled glances at Lu Fenghan.
Why hadn’t he left yet?
When he entered, he clearly saw the sudden change in Meng Ge’s expression as his gaze landed on Lu Fenghan standing behind him.
He believed that Lu Fenghan couldn’t have missed it.
So, why was Lu Fenghan still sitting beside him, not leaving?
It wasn’t until Qi Yan finished sipping his second glass of water that Lu Fenghan spoke up, “I’ll step out for a moment, be back in a few minutes.”
Qi Yan rested his hand on his temple and nodded gently. “Okay.”
Lu Fenghan stood up, placed another glass of water in front of Qi Yan, then walked away.
A corner of the Qi’s residence protruded, forming a greenhouse conservatory, and further ahead was landscaped gardens with an rockery.
Lu Fenghan stood in the shadow of the rockery, out of the surveillance range, and waited.
Within a minute, deliberately softened footsteps hurriedly approached.
Meng Ge recognized the figure standing in the shadow of the rockery. He stopped three steps away, heels clicking together, fingers trembling, and performed a standard military salute towards Lu Fenghan.
Lu Fenghan raised his hand, fingertips meeting at his brow, lazily returning the salute.
Meng Ge approached, numerous questions rolling in his throat, but in the end, he only managed to call out, “Commander Lu.”
Lu Fenghan, thinking Qi Yan was still waiting, cut straight to the chase, “What happened after I died?”
Meng Ge initially thought he was just hallucinating or had mistaken someone else, but now that he heard Lu Fenghan say “after I die” with his own mouth, he felt a sense of reality instead.
Conditioned reflexes developed in the military made him quickly regain composure from his initial excitement.
“According to the information I received, on the 21st of July, when you led a team to support the missing vanguard fleet and reached the outer edge of the combat zone after a jump, you encountered an enemy ambush,” he paused for a second before continuing, “No one survived. Our reconnaissance and salvage ships, upon arriving at the scene, only saw countless starship fragments floating in space. Subsequently, due to the cosmic storm caused by the explosion, the reconnaissance ships, after confirming no signs of life, swiftly returned.”
Lu Fenghan remained silent for a long time before speaking, “So, apart from knowing that everyone died, nothing else was found?”
His voice was hoarse and cold, like the freezing sands covering certain planets unsuitable for human habitation.
In the hall.
Qi Yan sat in a chair, only taking a few sips of the water in front of him. As he tapped on his personal terminal, a portion of his wrist peeked out from the pure white cuff, exuding a sculpted beauty.
Sitting across from him, Xia Zhiyang curiously asked, “Qi Yan, what are you looking at?”
Qi Yan didn’t even lift his eyes. “Watching the news.”
Meanwhile, he successfully infiltrated the surveillance system, erasing all footage of Lu Fenghan walking from the hall to behind the rockery. Upon exiting, he also disabled the recording function of all service robots and deleted any stored footage.
After completing these tasks, he brought up the pages of the Leto Daily. Just as he started reading a few lines, he noticed someone approaching.
The person stopped in front of him and greeted, “Hello.”
Behind the rockery.
Meng Ge, driven by biological instinct, felt a layer of cold sweat on his back.
This man, a graduate of the First Military Academy, joined the Expeditionary Force at the age of nineteen, and had a notorious reputation on the front lines of the Southern Cross Region. He wasn’t as easy to talk to as some in Leto believed.
Having served as the “mouthpiece” of the Central Army and the Expeditionary Force for five years, Meng Ge knew well that jungle beasts like Lu Fenghan thrived on the front lines and didn’t become the Commander-in-Chief of the Expeditionary Force by being soft-hearted.
The cool night breeze sent shivers down his spine, steadying Meng Ge’s nerves. “Yes, nothing else was found.”
Lu Fenghan’s expression remained unchanged, leaving him unsure of what he was thinking. “And then?”
“After you died——disappeared, the acting commander regrouped the remnants. Due to the lack of troops, they applied to retreat to Turin Star. The order was quickly approved from above. I issued that order.”
“So, with this retreat, the Alliance conceded twenty-three planets, including four rare mining stars. While the rebels took a big step forward, they also had the mood to celebrate by detonating twenty-one photonic pressure bombs within the Alliance. They even reached into Leto. Truly,” Lu Fenghan spoke plainly, but his gaze was as dark as the night sky, “what a well-made order.”
Meng Ge closed his eyes briefly. “It was necessary, Commander.”
“Hm.”
Lu Fenghan absentmindedly patted his pocket.
Seeing this, Meng Ge quickly passed over his own cigarette.
With a “click,” the metal lighter ignited, illuminating his features for a moment before darkness enveloped them once more.
Lu Fenghan lowered his eyes and lit the cigarette.
“Continue,” his voice sounded even hoarser now, “Who took over as the acting commander, Erich?”
Meng Ge shook his head. “No, it was Weiss.”
After a few breaths, Lu Fenghan’s voice echoed faintly, “Him.”
Though it was a seemingly simple answer, Meng Ge sensed a storm brewing in those words.
He then detailed the situation after the major defeat—including all the promotions and transfers within the military that he knew of, as well as the current situation on the front lines.
Not being a direct subordinate of Lu Fenghan, and lacking a deep understanding of his style, the best course of action when unsure of what clues to provide was to simply divulge everything he knew.
After listening, Lu Fenghan extinguished the cigarette he had barely smoked. “I heard your promotion got blocked?”
Meng Ge chuckled bitterly. “You heard about that too?”
“Yeah,” Lu Fenghan instructed, “in a couple of days, go see Vincent Von. He’ll lend you a hand.”
Lu Fenghan took two steps forward, then paused in the brief moment of shoulder brushing. The clear lights ahead cast shadows in his eyes. “Today, consider this meeting never happened, understand?”
Meng Ge nodded. “Understood.”
Recalling Lu Fenghan’s entrance, he hesitated before asking, “You and the one from the Qi family?”
“Qi Yan?” Lu Fenghan’s smile softened the terrifying aura around him. “Ah, him. He’s my employer.”
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Thanks for the update