Chapter 55
In the command room, the main lights were off, and the holographic starmap glowed in the center of the oval-shaped table, casting a blue light on Lu Fenghan’s face.
An ashtray spun around on the conference table, with four or five cigarette butts crushed inside and a few embers burning quietly.
Lu Fenghan also bit on a cigarette, but didn’t light it. He was leaning back in his chair with his military jacket casually draped over the armrest, listening to Erich’s briefing on the preliminary battle plan.
Although Erich had spent seven or eight years on the front lines, half of that time as Lu Fenghan’s deputy, he was in no way influenced by the surroundings, always maintaining strict discipline, with his sleeves and collar neatly pressed, a perfect representation of the Expeditionary Force—
That’s why every time a dignitary from the capital star came to inspect, it was Erich who received them.
“…There’s a rare mineral star here. Donald has stationed quite a few people to guard it. When the time comes, we’ll seize this mineral star first.” Erich pointed at the starmap. “Next to it, there’s a backup supply station that we can take out as well. Without energy replenishment, the small and microstarships are as good as done with one hit.”
Lu Fenghan followed up on Erich’s words. “The objective of this operation is to relocate our current base to Turin. How long has it been since the second retreat? Over half a year, right? It’s time to reclaim our territory.”
Half an hour ago, he had a brief conversation with General Nie Huaiting. It hadn’t been long, no more than a minute at most. The gist was that they could now go all out against the rebel forces on the front lines, without needing to hold back anymore.
Since the Foundation Day, the Alliance had truly been in disarray for some time. The rebels occupied Leto, and General Nie Huaiting’s forces moved to Odin. At first glance, the Alliance seemed to have suffered a devastating defeat, but in reality, out of the four major administrative regions, only the Central Region was occupied—solely because Leto held significant importance to the Alliance, which raised the stakes and gave the wandering bards recruited by the rebels a prominent platform to heavily sensationalize the defeat.
This aligned precisely with Lu Fenghan’s previous speculation. The rebels, aiming to supplant the Alliance, certainly wouldn’t follow the starmap and painstakingly fight their way from the front lines of the Southern Cross Region all the way to the Central Region. Instead, they would first occupy Leto, then secure the Central Region. With the garrisons in the other three regions spread thin, dealing with them wouldn’t require much effort.
In the six months prior to Lu Fenghan’s return, both sides maintained a tense standoff, barely managing to keep the peace. The Alliance needed a top-to-bottom purge and reorganization, while the rebel army had a portion of their forces tied down in Leto. Those who remained on the front lines were wary of engaging in large-scale combat with the Expeditionary Force.
Now, Nie Huaiting had reclaimed what was rightfully theirs, one by one, while the rebels had temporarily stabilized their hold on Leto.
Once again, the focus of the conflict shifted back to the front lines of the Southern Cross Region.
Lu Fenghan was never one to let go of territory without a fight. On the contrary, his philosophy dictated that whatever was taken from them must be reclaimed in kind.
Thus, he planted a small flag bearing the emblem of a shield and sword directly on the Turin star.
When the meeting concluded, Lu Fenghan remained seated, his gaze fixed on the position of Turin.
Vincent, as Lu Fenghan’s adjutant, finished tidying up his personal records and noticed Lu Fenghan still lingering. “Commander?”
“Nothing.” Lu Fenghan snapped out of his reverie, rose to his feet and grabbed his military jacket draped over the chair. There was a palpable tension in the furrow of his brow.
Vincent guessed that Lu Fenghan was thinking about the first major defeat. His own heart sank a little. Even hardened by frontline duty and the inevitable losses, the stark emptiness of the starships and the greying names on the roster never failed to weigh him down.
Following Lu Fenghan out of the command room, Vincent deliberately changed the subject. “Commander, where to next?”
“It’s almost eleven, time to pick up Qi Yan from work.”
Lu Fenghan had made arrangements with Qi Yan. From now on, he would go pick him up every day.
“So during the meeting just now, you were constantly checking the time, Commander?” Vincent had been mulling over this question since Lu Fenghan brought up Qi Yan. Seeing no one around, he asked in a hushed tone, “Commander, how did Qi Yan suddenly become Y?”
Back when they were in Leto, they had speculated about Qi Yan’s identity based on the clues they had. They concluded that Qi Yan was likely a close relative of a core member of the White Tower, hence the classified identity information.
It turned out that Qi Yan was not only a member of the White Tower but also its chief, the legendary Y.
This fact had Vincent marveling repeatedly as he recounted old stories from Leto to Erich. “He turned out to be Y! The legendary Y is only nineteen, can you believe it? A second-year student at Turan, yet he’s Y!”
However, what he really wanted to ask was why Qi Yan seemed a bit different from before. But instinctively, he felt it was best not to ask, fearing trouble if he did, so he kept it to himself.
“Whether he’s an ordinary second-year student or Y, what’s the difference?” This question from Lu Fenghan echoed his inner thoughts precisely.
For Lu Fenghan, Qi Yan was simply Qi Yan.
There was no difference.
No matter what label adorned him, he was still that Little Delicate, the little clingy spirit.
Vincent trailed alongside Lu Fenghan, mouth agape, wanting to retort, but he felt that Lu Fenghan’s words made sense. However, as they touched on the subject, he remembered something. “Apart from you, Erich and me, only Pojun knows about the White Tower bringing in the new detection system and Qi Yan’s identity.”
Lu Fenghan understood Vincent’s implication.
In the past six months, not only had Nie Huaiting been reorganizing the military internally, but Erich and Vincent had also been kept busy, meticulously scrutinizing every aspect of the Expeditionary Force both inside and out.
The accurate coordinates of exposed jump points, the risk of being ambushed immediately upon exiting a wormhole, leading to the annihilation of the entire army—such incidents were not to be allowed to occur a second time.
Even after the scrutiny, it couldn’t be guaranteed that everything was thoroughly screened. That’s why it was necessary to capture Weiss and interrogate him.
“The new detection system will be unveiled in a couple of days, perfect timing to test it out in the next battle. Qi Yan’s safety is the priority. He—” Lu Fenghan recalled the contract they signed during their first meeting, his expression softening, “is my employer.”
Vincent understood the situation and knew how to phrase things publicly. Seeing they were nearing the equipment room, he didn’t follow further, but instead saluted Lu Fenghan and turned to find Erich.
Lu Fenghan stood before the metallic door of the equipment room. Before he could even use his personal terminal for identification, the door slid open on its own—Pojun always liked to make its presence known when it came to opening and closing doors.
As the silver metal door closed behind him, Lu Fenghan remained by the doorway, leaning against the wall, neither advancing nor making a sound.
So, from a distance of about ten to twenty steps away, he watched Qi Yan in silence.
At this moment, all the tumultuous distractions that had stirred his emotions settled into silence.
This scene reminded him of the times in the library at Turan Academy, where Qi Yan would delve into the principal’s collection of paper books, while he waited outside behind a pane of glass.
After an unknown duration, Pojun’s voice echoed in the equipment room, “It’s eleven o’clock.”
Qi Yan snapped out of his data stream, his eyes feeling a bit dry. Subconsciously, he turned his head towards the door.
Lu Fenghan stood there.
In that brief moment of surprise, Qi Yan felt as if a floating feather in his heart had gently landed.
He rose to his feet, wanting to ask if Lu Fenghan had come to pick him up, but realizing the answer was obvious, he saw no need to ask. Instead, he chose to remain silent, bowing his head to tidy up the writing board he had been using as scratch paper.
Lu Fenghan didn’t mind Qi Yan’s silence. He approached and took Qi Yan’s wrist in his hand without hesitation. “Is your hand hurting?”
Qi Yan hesitated for a moment before replying, “It’s a bit sore and a bit painful.”
He had been busy in the equipment room all day, linking Windcatcher to the central control system. He also took the opportunity to access the central control system’s database and optimized some details based on the data records within.
It was a significant amount of work, but whether it was back at the White Tower or now, he never noticed if his hands would hurt after finishing his work.
Not until Lu Fenghan controlled the pressure, gently squeezing his knuckles and wrist.
When he reached the base of his fingers, Qi Yan whispered, “Be gentler, it hurts.”
After speaking, Qi Yan quieted down again.
Due to his sensitivity to pain, he had grown accustomed to various levels of discomfort and rarely showed it, let alone voiced it.
“Did I press too hard?” Lu Fenghan eased the pressure as instructed, raising his eyes, a smile playing at the corners of his lips. “I’m sorry.”
Qi Yan wanted to explain that he had a low pain tolerance, but for some reason, the words didn’t come out.
Yet, Lu Fenghan seemed to have sensed something. “If your hand hurts, tell me. Whether you have nightmares, feel lazy, or anywhere feels uncomfortable, you can always come to me.”
After a moment of silence, Qi Yan responded softly, “Okay.”
After loosening Qi Yan’s hands, Lu Fenghan, as he did yesterday, escorted Qi Yan back to his room. They chatted briefly about a few issues regarding the central control system along the way.
Upon reaching the door, Lu Fenghan saw Qi Yan preparing to swipe his personal terminal to unlock the door, then suggested, “Your nails have grown out. Why don’t you come to my quarters? I can trim them for you.”
As he said this, Lu Fenghan wasn’t entirely sure if Qi Yan would agree.
Trimming nails was such a trivial matter, too minor to serve as an invitation. But Lu Fenghan’s hand injury had already healed with the application of healing gel, so he no longer had the opportunity to ask Qi Yan for help with bandaging it again.
He was aware that what he was relying on now was nothing more than that subtle “difference” Qi Yan showed toward him.
Qi Yan agreed.
The reason he gave himself for this decision was—back in Leto, Lu Fenghan had also trimmed his nails.
The two of them went to Lu Fenghan’s quarters.
Before entering, Lu Fenghan deliberately added Qi Yan’s access rights to the system. “In case I’m not around, you can still enter my room directly.”
The lights in the room turned on as Lu Fenghan went to pour water for Qi Yan and gestured for him to sit anywhere.
Instead of sitting, Qi Yan looked around curiously at the furnishings in the room.
Lu Fenghan’s quarters wasn’t just a bedroom. It also had a desk with a floating holographic screen lit up, displaying several unfinished documents.
There weren’t many things in the room. Besides the bed and essential furniture, there were only two metal pens and a few pouches of nutritional supplements casually placed around.
Qi Yan somehow felt compelled to remember every detail.
Handing the cup to Qi Yan, Lu Fenghan took the only chair in the room, leaving Qi Yan to sit on the edge of the bed.
The bedsheets were gray with no patterns, and the bed itself was quite firm.
Qi Yan drank the water. Although the environment felt unfamiliar, the pervasive presence of Lu Fenghan made him subconsciously feel comfortable and relaxed.
Lu Fenghan waited until Qi Yan placed the empty cup down before delicately trimming his nails, focusing as if manually aiming a particle cannon before firing.
“Isn’t it uncomfortable without emotions?”
It was the first time Lu Fenghan brought up this topic.
The tone made Qi Yan feel as if lacking emotions wasn’t such a terrifying prospect.
Qi Yan shook his head. “No, at first, it feels a bit… empty, but gradually, I don’t feel anything.” He paused, carefully considering. “It’s just strange when recalling memories. Like when I recall the first time we went to the Diamond Sky Plaza to watch the fountain show together, I know I was happy, but I don’t understand what happiness feels like. It’s my own memory, yet it’s as if someone is telling me I was happy, but I can’t comprehend it.
“And there are many more, like… when I received the message from you saying you were back,” he looked puzzled, seeking confirmation from Lu Fenghan, “Lu Fenghan, should I have been happy?”
As he asked, Qi Yan’s fingers lightly touched Lu Fenghan’s neck, then felt the pulsation of blood vessels beneath his touch.
Warm, vivid.
The person before him was real.
He was still alive.
It wasn’t until Lu Fenghan wiped away each tear, feeling the faint chill, that Qi Yan realized he was crying.
But he still felt bewildered, not understanding why he was shedding tears.
Lu Fenghan felt the fingertips moistened by Qi Yan’s tears. As if they were splashed by sparks, the burning sensation spread to his chest.
He held Qi Yan’s chilly fingertips in his hand, his voice hoarse. “Don’t cry, darling. I’ll stay with you and help you get it back.”
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