There were no lights on in the equipment room on the eleventh underground floor. Only a few lights were flickering in the glass house, like fireflies slowly moving through a dense forest.
August stuck his personal terminal to the wall. After a few seconds, a blue data stream suddenly appeared on the wall, running horizontally and vertically, gradually extending in all directions.
Soon, the light spots in the glass house began to become denser.
Xia Zhiyang was in the middle of it, and suddenly had the magnificent illusion of standing under the starry sky.
August noticed the surprise in his eyes, and while starting up the super optical computer, he introduced: "It's beautiful, isn't it? This super optical computer is called 'Galaxy'. Isn't the name very appropriate? It is the super optical computer with the best performance and computing power in Leto today. You should know that after General Nie evacuated Leto, the ISCO equipment center automatically started the 'freeze' program, and no one could enter or exit. All the machines were broken. The rebels tried to go underground several times to start up the 'Galaxy', but they failed. They were reluctant to blow it up, so they had to put it on hold for the time being."
Xia Zhiyang knew the news.
This is also the reason why the outside of the Cisco equipment center is deserted and unattended.
Looking at the lit screen, perhaps because of Qi Yan as a link, Xia Zhiyang was not so restrained: "What are you going to do next? Of course, I'm just a little curious, I don't need you to answer."
August was always very patient with his juniors. Apart from the relationship with Qi Yan, he also admired Xia Zhiyang's tenacity: "From what you have seen, what did the rebels do to control Leto?"
Xia Zhiyang felt like he was back in class at Turan College, facing a professor's question. He stood up straight and answered after careful consideration: "Use death and violence to increase people's fear, and then tame their inner thoughts. Use ubiquitous surveillance to constrain everyone's words and deeds, and then tame external actions."
What he did not say explicitly was that "surveillance" also included situations where some people in Leto monitored and reported on each other because of the system of collective responsibility and fear.
"Very accurate." August praised positively, "Human fear is like an invisible shackle, which is not so easy to break, but this is not my natural task. The first thing I have to do is to analyze the triple key obtained by Ms. Wen Shiqing, use the 'Galaxy' to enter Leto's signal network, and regain control of the capital planet's planetary defense system."
Hearing the name "Wen Shiqing", Xia Zhiyang's eyes became sore. He suppressed his personal emotions and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"I can't pay too much attention to the outside world during this process. I need you to be my 'eyes' and 'ears' and help me pay attention to the situation outside." August raised his eyebrows and said in a relaxed tone, "For example, if my actions are discovered by the rebels, you need to remind me to run quickly."
"Okay!" Xia Zhiyang nodded heavily, "Don't worry, I've done this kind of thing many times before!"
He originally thought that August would take a long time, and while paying attention to the situation outside, he was hesitating whether to find a test paper to try and do it, if possible, two would be better.
This is a habit he has developed recently.
Because the rebels' surveillance of Turan Academy is very strict, some subjects are banned and can only be studied secretly. Professors will risk their lives to privately record the course content into audio, provide text versions, and distribute test papers. The top students will share their study notes and test answers for everyone to read secretly.
Although this way of studying requires hiding and can only be done in the early morning when supervision is lax or in spare time outside of school, and requires quick concentration, Xia Zhiyang quickly adapted to this model.
Just as the three professors taught—the faith in one’s heart cannot be abandoned, and the pursuit of truth cannot be stopped halfway.
Unexpectedly, just after he finished solving five problems, August stopped typing the characters.
Xia Zhiyang was a little confused, and looked up and asked, "What's going on?"
"Don't worry, I've finished it." August pointed out, "The answer to question 5 should be option b. The built-in equation you introduced is wrong."
It took Xia Zhiyang a few seconds to react. His ears turned red. He immediately closed the virtual screen showing the question and pretended nothing had happened. He changed the subject: "You have actually successfully seized control of the planetary defense system?"
"Yes, there is no technical problem. Before that, the only difficulty was how to get me into Leto. The rebels did their best to build a 'high wall' to completely isolate the data signal of the entire capital planet from the outside world. I and other technicians were blocked outside."
After August moved his fingers, he continued to type characters while chatting with Xia Zhiyang at the same time. "As for the method of taking control, I have pondered it many times, so it will be very fast. Next, I will shut down the monitoring systems in various parts of Leto, and at the same time put in a batch of aircraft to shoot down the rebels' flying cruisers. After forcibly raising the protective shields of large buildings, the Alliance garrison will come in-"
"Once the garrison is in place, you will immediately shut down the planetary defense system!" Xia Zhiyang's voice was hoarse for a moment, and he immediately understood the intention. "The ground battlefield and the space battlefield will be divided into two."
At this moment, at the edge of night, he clearly saw the light.
August nodded: "I will be the vanguard. I think we can all wait and see how this battle will play out."
Outside the Divine Court, Metierin blasted three medium-sized ships that were blocking the way and commented: "It seems that the rebels are really scared and dare not use the 'system' to control the starships anymore."
Even if humans have trained thousands of times and have superior individual quality when piloting starships, all kinds of accidents will occur on the battlefield. It is normal to have errors in operation, and it takes time to react to incoming artillery/bullets.
Compared with the starships that could not be hit no matter how hard we tried in the previous battle, the enemy now shows a normal human level.
Lu Fenghan heard: "Qi Yan is here, they dare not."
The tone was calm, but everyone could hear a hint of showing off.
Mei Jielin regretted in her heart - I shouldn't have brought up this topic, giving the commander the opportunity to be proud and complacent!
She immediately changed the subject: "Pojun, are you sure only one space fortress can be moved?"
Po Jun replied: "Yes, Miss Mei Jielin, according to data analysis, there are a total of 17 space fortresses revolving around the Divine Court. Because their circular motion relies on the gravity of the planets, there are a large number of space bridges connecting them. Except for the 14th space fortress, no single space fortress can detach at will."
Weiyin interrupted: "Then how can this No. 14 take off and shoot at us?"
"Take a closer look. Isn't No. 14 the smallest? It's very close to the left and right, and densely distributed? As soon as it escaped, the space bridge barely connected, and it still formed a closed loop." Mei Jielin explained and suggested rudely, "How about bombing the unsociable No. 14? Otherwise, who can stand it floating around and getting shot from behind from time to time?"
Long Xiyun also spoke up: "The space fortress has a huge firepower reserve, but its movement speed is very slow and not flexible enough. This can be solved."
The most important thing is that now the expeditionary force has confined the combat zone between the vortex and the Divine Court. As long as they do not enter the range of the closed loop of the space fortress, they can eliminate the Third and Sixth Legions in one go.
After destroying this wave of enemies, aim the gun at the space fortress.
Eat your food one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.
Lu Fenghan: "The Chanyuan has only been bombarded once, so its protection system is still intact. Mei Jielin, you go forward to attract the firepower of Space Fortress No. 14, and Long Xiyun will lead the light ships to encircle it from both sides. I will give you 40 seconds to finish it off and blow it up completely."
Mei Jie Lin curled her lips and whistled: "Long Xiyun, let's go. I will be your bait myself. You better hurry up. My appearance fee is very expensive!"
The Chanyuan and Feilian turned their bows, and Lu Fenghan immediately ordered the remaining starships to increase their firepower to attract the enemy's attention and leave a forty-second gap for Mei Jielin and Long Xiyun.
Staring at the star map, Lu Fenghan took out a bag of nutrient solution, tore it open skillfully, and fed it to Qi Yan's mouth.
Qi Yan was facing the virtual screen, tapping continuously with both hands. He opened his mouth and bit it without even looking. After taking a sip, he found that it was a nutrient supplement. He couldn't help but look up at Lu Fenghan.
Lu Fenghan ruffled Qi Yan's hair and naturally slowed down his voice, reminding: "You didn't eat two bites of dinner, you must be hungry now."
Lu Fenghan seemed to have a timetable in his mind. He knew Qi Yan's meal time, how much he ate, and when he would get hungry more clearly than anything else.
After taking a little nutrient solution, Qi Yan suddenly felt hungry and let out a soft "hmm".
Less than a minute later, Mei Jielin's voice was heard on the communication channel: "Reporting to the command, the No. 14 Space Fortress has been taken down." She concluded, "Although the firepower of the Space Fortress is strong, it is more inclined to long-range combat, and it is too heavy, like an iron ball that cannot be moved. Long Xiyun bombards it like shooting at a target, and every hit is accurate."
Lu Fenghan responded: "Well, since it is a turret, mobility was abandoned at the beginning of its design."
"That's right. The sixteen artillery batteries have sufficient ammunition. If they fire at us at the same time, we will be seriously injured if not killed!"
Mei Jie Lin has always believed that as long as Lu Fenghan is around, she doesn't need to use her brain and just follows orders. Since Lu Fenghan didn't take this problem to heart, it means that there is probably a solution.
She didn't think about it any further, and started shouting in the communication channel, "Brothers, quickly deal with the Third and Sixth Legions, and let's drive the starship into the Divine Court to take a good look at what that wise man looks like!"
If the Alliance's non-disclosure of the appearance of senior officers on the front line is a lock put up to protect personal safety, then the information of the rebel wise men can be said to be put up with hundreds of locks. Whether it is appearance, age or even gender, it is all a mystery.
Mei Jielin's call actually had a good effect. She touched her nose and said, "So everyone is so curious about the wise men? Wow, human curiosity is indeed the primary driving force!"
The pressure on the rebel army's third and sixth legions in the battle increased sharply. Butler frowned and asked, "Did this expeditionary force take stimulants?"
A large part of his combat power was reduced at the beginning of the battle, and even with Fritz's arrival, it was not so easy to turn the tide.
In the space battlefield, one careless move can be like stepping into a quagmire.
Fritz was no longer in the mood to eat candy. "I don't know whether you took stimulants or not, but the situation is not in our favor. Our advantage lies in our familiarity with this star field. I originally wanted to lead the expeditionary force to the storm zone, but I didn't expect that the other side was determined not to move even a step."
Butler asked solemnly: "How about retreating?"
Fritz narrowed his eyes slightly. “Even if I survived thanks to the cover of the Space Fortress, I can’t escape the reckoning of the wise.”
Butler said nothing.
No one expected that the Alliance would find the location of the Divine Court in such a short time, and no one expected that the expeditionary force would attack so quietly.
The first flash of fire caught almost everyone off guard.
At this moment, the one-way video was forced to connect, and Butler and Freeze stood up almost at the same time, bowed their heads and said respectfully: "Wise man."
“Retreat immediately.”
After a brief command, the video was immediately cut off.
Butler and Freeze looked at each other and found affirmation in each other's eyes.
Fritz rolled a piece of candy between his fingers, the wrapper making a rustling sound as he rubbed it. "The wise man wants to use the Third and Sixth Legions as bait to lure the expeditionary force into the range of the Space Fortress and solve the problem in one go?"
Unlike the other ten legions stationed outside, they have been guarding the Divine Court all year round and are naturally aware of the power of the space fortress.
Seventeen space fortresses completely covered the entire planet, with top-notch attack area and attack power. Once they brought the expeditionary force into range, all the space fortresses would open fire at the same time, and within twenty seconds, their defense system would be shattered.
By then, not to mention the expeditionary force, even they would not be able to escape.
Obviously, the wise man made this decision and regarded them as bait, which showed that they were abandoned pawns.
However, if done properly, the soldiers and the fleet would be blown to pieces, but they would still be able to survive.
Putting the candy in his mouth, Freeze looked at Butler across the screen and said, "Happy cooperation?"
Butler replied: "It's a pleasure to work with you."
In the command room, Wei's eyes were shining, and his blood was boiling. His voice was hoarse from giving orders continuously: "Commander, the rebels are retreating to the Divine Court. Should we chase them?"
Mei Jielin also noticed it: "Why did the other side suddenly do this? Didn't they try to stop us from getting close before?"
Under the fluorescent blue light, the lines of Lu Fenghan's profile were like a rock, frozen in place: "The wise man has already given up on the Third and Sixth Legions."
Long Xiyun reacted immediately: "Allowing us to get close to the Divine Court is risky, so the two legions are trying their best to stop us. But the third and sixth legions are obviously unable to withstand the attack. The wise men decided to burn their boats and count on the space fortress?"
"So they want to lure us over there and immediately blast us to pieces?" Mei Jielin sighed again, "Those in the starships are not considered human beings in the eyes of the wise. They just say no to the starships, big and small."
His fingers tapped on the table, and after a short, deep sound, Lu Fenghan made a decision: "Let's catch up."
In the communication channel, Wein and others were waiting for his next arrangements.
Lu Fenghan's eyes flickered with determination: "It's a good opportunity to show the other side the new weapons sent by the White Tower."