Limited Ambiguity Chapter 61 Part 1

Chapter 61.1

It was just the faintest kiss on the corner of the lips, yet it made Lu Fenghan feel as if he had broken free from the pull of gravity, his very soul floating adrift.

But as reason returned, Lu Fenghan regretted his impulse from half a minute ago.

He stepped back slightly and opened his eyes.

Qi Yan was buried in the pillow, his eyes still heavy with sleepiness. Evidently, the kiss just now had no effect on him.

As he let out a sigh of relief, Lu Fenghan felt a sudden pang in his chest again.

Slowly, he enclosed Qi Yan’s hand in his palm, his calloused fingertips brushing over Qi Yan’s wrist as he steadied his emotions.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Because I don’t understand the meaning of a kiss?” Qi Yan’s voice, usually cool, was softened by drowsiness. He tilted his head slightly, his neck defined, his eyes looking up at Lu Fenghan with seriousness. “You can kiss me. In my memory, you’ve kissed me before.”

Lu Fenghan understood clearly that due to the absence of emotions, Qi Yan had lost some of his basis for judgment, which led him to use memories as a reference point to determine “yes” or “no,” “allow” or “refuse.”

Holding Qi Yan’s hand, he squeezed his knuckles twice, his voice returning to its usual casual tone, “Not now. You have to regain your lost emotions first. Otherwise, it would be taking advantage of you.”

Qi Yan didn’t fully understand, but he chose to believe Lu Fenghan’s words.

With his eyes half-closed, his voice more slurred due to sleepiness, he added somewhat randomly, “I allow only you to kiss me.”

After saying this, unable to resist any longer, he fully shut his eyelids and drifted off to sleep.

Lu Fenghan silently watched the sleeping figure for a long while before delicately lying down on the bed.

The lights went out, and the white noise from the starship’s operation continued uninterrupted. Following his usual habit, he mentally reviewed everything to ensure nothing was overlooked, then prepared to sleep and recharge so he could wake up and take down Donald’s stronghold.

Having spent nearly a decade on the front lines, Lu Fenghan had long developed the ability to fall asleep quickly anywhere and anytime. However, before he could even drift off, he noticed Qi Yan turning over and burrowing into his arms.

For a moment, the scene overlapped with memories from the past.

Lu Fenghan held him securely, and they slept together.

Truly a little clingy spirit.

After catching five hours of sleep, Lu Fenghan took a still-groggy Qi Yan to the command room. Only three people were seated at the conference table, and a few minutes later, Magelyn and Wayne walked in, yawning.

Duchamp noticed Magelyn yawning incessantly since she sat down. “What kept you so busy? You look so drained, like you’ve been completely emptied out.”

Magelyn, looking weary, retorted, “Don’t throw dirty water on me. I’m a good rabbit. I never graze near my own burrow.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Magelyn caught sight of Lu Fenghan tearing open a pack of nutritional supplement and feeding it to Qi Yan. Still groggy with sleep, Qi Yan leaned against Lu Fenghan’s shoulder, obediently opening his mouth to take small sips.

Witnessing this sight, Magelyn was immediately filled with envy. Why didn’t I have such good luck? It’s all the fault of the rebel army!

After Qi Yan finished drinking, he sat up and moved to the sofa. Lu Fenghan tapped the table to draw everyone’s attention. “Alright, let’s begin the meeting.”

“For this operation, Duchamp will lead the assault team with the Jiangling as the vanguard. Long Xiyun will command the Feilian to defend the flanks, while Magelyn and Wayne, with the Chanyuan and Pingning, will form the center. I’ll be in the Dingyuan for rear guard, and Erich will remain on the command ship.”

As Lu Fenghan finished speaking, Pojun projected a holographic image of the fleet above the conference table.

In the scaled-down starmap, the fleet was arranged in orderly formations, with different colors marking the positions of supply ships, escort ships, and other auxiliary vessels.

Lu Fenghan’s gaze swept over each person present before he asked, “Any objections?”

Magelyn spoke up, “No objections, but I request that the Chanyuan take the lead. The designer of the Pingning had some strange preferences. They turned a perfectly good starship into a trapezoid with an oversized rear. It’s too obstructive to the line of sight.”

Wayne retorted, “How is it obstructive to the line of sight? Is the Pingning blocking your radar detection? Or are you planning to speed ahead while admiring the pitch-black scenery ahead?”

The others in the room either sipped their water or picked at their nails, giving them a full minute to bicker.

As usual, the bickering lasted for about forty seconds before Wayne begrudgingly conceded defeat.

“Agreed, the Chanyuan will lead the way,” Lu Fenghan rolled up the cuffs of his standard-issue shirt, leaning his elbow on the table. “Sending five main ships to escort Donald to his grave is more than enough honor for him.”

Magelyn quipped, “When he’s smiling in his grave, he can boast to his deceased brothers!” Her smile faded. “Linton would probably be in a good mood too, getting to vent some anger by beating him up first.”

The Linton she was referring to was the captain of Eros, who had never returned after being ambushed during the first major defeat.

In space warfare, there’s no such thing as recovering remains.

Lu Fenghan produced another list. “These people, take them out this time, and don’t let them come back.”

Everyone present understood that this list was finalized by Long Xiyun. Those named had all, to some extent, betrayed the Alliance, but they were all peripheral figures, not worth military intervention.

Once this battle was over, reporting them as ‘missing’ would be the standard procedure for the Expeditionary Force.

Seeing that everyone had memorized the list, Lu Fenghan added, “Once we win this battle, we’ll give our fallen comrades a proper farewell on Donald’s turf.”

The faces around the table turned somber.

At that moment, the door to the command room swung open, breaking the solemn atmosphere.

The head of the Technical Department, Lorenz, was the last to arrive. He had no intention of sitting down to join the meeting. Instead, with dark circles under his eyes and a steaming cup of espresso in hand, he stood at the doorway and said, “Don’t just charge forward like you’ve got rabies. Take care of the propulsion systems. If they break down one after another and the tech team decides to quit, you’ll be on your own.”

After delivering his threat, Lorenz turned around, the hem of his white coat swirling in the air.

Once they were sure he had left, Magelyn and Duchamp exchanged glances, whispering, “Why do I feel like I can’t breathe? Lorenz is too terrifying!”

Wayne replied with a cutting remark, “That’s because the two of you always charge the most recklessly, and your post-battle repair request forms are the thickest!”

Magelyn and Duchamp simultaneously rubbed their noses, falling silent.

July tenth, four o’clock in the afternoon, headquarters of the 11th Corps of the rebel army.

Inside the monitoring room, two officers on duty were chatting quietly.

“How many times have they argued upstairs because of the new mysterious tactics of the Expeditionary Force?”

“Who can keep track? All I know is that the Commander has been furious several times. How can the Expeditionary Force predict exactly when we’ll emerge from the wormhole? We can’t figure it out. Plus, the contact with the spies planted on the other side has been severed for quite some time now. Not a single piece of news has come through.

“I think there might be someone leaking information, but that’s just my random thought. Right now, unless the enemy’s commander personally announces it, no one knows what’s really going on.”

“How can we fight when everything is so uncertain?” The speaker checked the surveillance feed to ensure there was no one nearby before continuing quietly, “We’re just going to lose if we fight blindly. It’s better to figure out what’s going on first. I don’t want to go out and die for nothing.”

The officer on duty patted his shoulder. “We’ve just finished two battles, and even the Expeditionary Force needs to rest. We shouldn’t expect any trouble during our shift. The Sage is so powerful, and the ‘messengers’ sent by the Sage are also capable. They’ll surely figure it out.”

With nothing else to do, they speculated on the Expeditionary Force’s new tactics using their imagination. Suddenly, the monitoring equipment emitted a sharp beep, signaling an anomaly.

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