When the others fell asleep, Lu Fenghan began to think about something else. If he was so afraid of thunder, how did he spend the nights with thunderstorms in the past? Did he wear noise-canceling earplugs
uncertain.
Qi Yan once said that he had a very good memory and would never forget sad or scary things. If the fear was caused by something that happened in the past, then even if he wore noise-canceling earplugs, he would still be aware that it was thundering and raining outside.
Looking at Qi Yan, who was curled up in his shadow and covered his ears obediently, Lu Fenghan sighed in his heart.
Poor little thing.
Lu Fenghan slept soundly all night, taking care of the person lying next to him. When he woke up the next morning, he found that Qi Yan had snuggled into his arms again like last time, with his clothes loosely grasped in his left hand.
Lu Fenghan couldn't help but suspect that the vigilance he had developed over the past ten years was all in vain—he had no idea when Qi Yan had come close to him.
His biological clock has always been accurate, and it was time for him to get up and do physical training, but when Lu Fenghan moved slightly, Qi Yan seemed to sense it and tightened the fingers that were holding his clothes.
Lu Fenghan didn't believe it, so he slowed down his movements and prepared to stand up. However, as soon as he moved, Qi Yan's brows, which had been straightened, began to frown.
He had no choice but to lie down again and put his arms behind his head. Lu Fenghan thought to himself, if he didn't practice for a day...it wouldn't delay anything.
Just one day.
Giving up his insistence on getting up every morning for exercise, Lu Fenghan closed his eyes and went to sleep again.
Qi Yan slept a full night on a rainy night, and didn’t even dream. But when he woke up and saw Lu Fenghan beside him, Qi Yan was stunned: “You—”
Lu Fenghan interrupted him first: "Someone grabbed my clothes and refused to let go, causing me to give up my morning exercise plan today. Do you want compensation?"
Qi Yan had just woken up, and his mind was not yet fully clear. He followed Lu Fenghan's words and said, "You have to pay."
Wiping the wet marks from the corners of Qi Yan's eyes, Lu Fenghan asked him, "How do you want to compensate?"
Qi Yan was stumped by the question.
He has no experience.
Seeing his clear eyes looking at him, and his black nightgown making his skin look like jade, Lu Fenghan couldn't help but reach out and pinch his cheek. But fearing to leave marks, he didn't dare to use force, and only pinched it gently, letting go after a few seconds.
"Okay, I've paid the compensation."
After Lu Fenghan got up, Qi Yan sat on the bed and touched his face - compensation was just... pinching his face
In the next few days, Turan first reported the details of Laurent's collusion with the rebels, and then discovered that a total of thirteen students from various grades had close contact with the rebel spies.
Soon, Turan updated the official page, and once the thirteen dismissal notices and incident explanations were issued, they caused a stir in Leto.
Although the war on the Southern Cross region front has never stopped, for Leto and even the people of the Central Galaxy, everything is too far away.
Whether it was the expeditionary force or the front-line battle reports, they were usually just words that appeared in the Leto Daily, without any sense of reality. Including the previous reports of the rebels sniping at blacklisted personnel, relying on a powerful defense system, it only added to the gossip of ordinary people after dinner.
But this time, when the people of Leto realized that someone around them might be the "tentacle" of the rebels, everything began to feel real.
In the private room of the cafe, a holographic projection created an aurora scene above the dome. Qi Yan was sitting on the light brown sofa, playing a game with his head down.
Lu Fenghan was talking to Vincent across a glass wall from him.
Vincent wore a classic trench coat, a hat, and a pair of glasses. He looked like an ordinary young man pursuing retro fashion on Leto Street.
Influenced by Lu Fenghan, he stood in a shabby manner and didn't look like he had ever been on the front line.
Lu Fenghan, who was suddenly called out to meet him, asked him: "Are you very free?"
Vincent spread his hands and said, "I really have a lot of free time. Especially after you died on the front line, I seemed to have entered retirement life in an instant."
Initially, Vincent was transferred back to Leto from the front line. Everyone knew that he was the pair of eyes of the expeditionary force on the capital star.
At that time, when the news came out that Lu Fenghan intended to place his adjutant in the military intelligence department, some people in Leto could no longer sit still.
The frontline and Leto were too far apart, and sometimes, if someone didn't want Lu Fenghan to know some news right away, it could be kept secret for two or three days as long as it was done properly. But if Lu Fenghan planted his own spies, and it was still aboveboard, it would be different.
But the expeditionary army had an outstanding record and no one dared to say anything in the end. So with the tacit approval of the Central Corps, Vincent was kicked back to Leto by Lu Fenghan.
Everyone knows that Vincent is Lu Fenghan's confidant. Now that Lu Fenghan is dead, he has lost his meaning in Leto.
Glancing at Qi Yan, whose posture had hardly changed, Lu Fenghan had no patience to greet him: "What on earth do you want me to come out for?"
"It's nothing, actually. It's just—" Seeing Lu Fenghan was about to leave, Vincent said hurriedly, "No way, our comradeship is not worth even a minute of nonsense time?" He quickly got to the point, "I just feel something is wrong."
Lu Fenghan leaned back against the wall again and asked him, "Tell me more about it."
Vincent comes from an intelligence background. People in his line of work see countless intelligence messages every day. Over time, they naturally develop the so-called professional intuition.
Lu Fenghan believed him. When he was on the front line, Vincent relied on this professional intuition to see through the rebels' plans several times.
If he really wanted to be specific, Vincent would be worried: "Actually, I don't know how to put it. I just feel more and more uneasy these past few days. I feel a little uneasy."
He held the wide-brimmed hat in his hand. "It started with the great rout on the front line, and the expeditionary force retreated to Turin. Then the defense systems of Leto and Turan had problems, the rebels' light pressure bombs directly bombarded the principal's office, and there were a total of 21 sniper kills in the alliance." He counted them one by one, "The deactivated jump point was activated by the rebels, Fontaine No. 1 was attacked, and the Special Affairs Department caught a bunch of spies. It was too frequent. The occurrence and end of these things, one by one, are like-"
Lu Fenghan continued: "They are just like the tip of an iceberg."
Noticing Lu Fenghan's habitual movements, Vincent took out a metal box from his bag and opened it, revealing a few cigarettes inside.
This type of cigarette is standard equipment on the front lines and is included in the military supply list. It is harmless to the human body, does not cause fumes or addiction, and mainly serves to calm emotions.
Lu Fenghan took out a cigarette, but didn't light it, just held it in his hand.
Vincent held the metal box and said, "Yes, that's what I meant. Usually, only a corner of an iceberg is visible to people, but humans cannot judge how big the iceberg is under the sea through this corner. It's like a storm is coming. Don't blame me for my bad mouth. I always feel that something big is going to happen to Leto."
Twisting the cigarette in his hand, Lu Fenghan suddenly mentioned: "In the past month, interstellar pirates have robbed transport ships 27 times at the borders of the three regions, and these are just the reports published in the Leto Daily. The last time the Fontaine No. 1 was attacked, Huo Yan first determined that the attackers were interstellar pirates. At that time, I felt something was wrong. Later, I asked him, and he said that among the enemy ships that came, there was a ship modeled as 'One-eyed Dragon'."
Vincent wondered: "One-eyed dragon?"
"You probably don't know, but I know this because of Lu Jun. The 'One-Eyed Dragon' was the ship that interstellar pirates relied on to roam the space and rob people. It has a high load capacity and consumes little fuel. A crew of one ship can stay on it for several years without landing."
Vincent's voice sank: "Is commanding you to suspect—"
Lu Fenghan lowered his eyes: "It's just what you think."
"If the rebels and the space pirates join forces, then their combat power, no," Vincent realized a key point, "since your father beat the space pirates to pieces, the space pirates have been extinct for more than 20 years! The rebels have attracted most of the attention of the alliance, and no one cares whether that small group of space pirates is dead or alive, let alone what level of strength the other side has developed to now."
"More than that." Lu Fenghan shook his head, "What if the rebels and interstellar pirates did not form an alliance recently, but ten or twenty years ago."
Vincent swore.
The interstellar pirates who are struggling to survive and are left to fend for themselves are completely different species from the interstellar pirates who have been supplied by the rebels for more than a decade!
The former is like a hyena with two broken legs, while the latter is an enemy with sharp teeth and claws who is worth taking seriously.
He quickly regained his composure. "If the rebels had reached a cooperation agreement with the space pirates long ago, then the space pirates were not hiding because they were crippled in the past 20 years, but were gathering strength to make great plans."
"Well," Lu Fenghan continued with his eyes as deep as a pool, "If that's the case, then it would explain why they first resorted to an ambush to severely weaken the expeditionary army."
Only when the expeditionary army is seriously injured, the front line will be less restrained and the rebel army will be able to free up its hands. The death of Lu Fenghan will weaken the expeditionary army and vacate the position of the commander-in-chief of the front line, and Leto will swear to fight for it.
Only when the Alliance has no time to take care of it, and only when the expeditionary force is no longer the same expeditionary force as before, will the rebels be able to make their moves.
"But it's just speculation." Seeing Vincent's tense expression, Lu Fenghan comforted him nonchalantly, "It's just that the rebels and the interstellar pirates have joined forces. You can count how many people in the military have a relationship with the rebels, and how many people are colluding with the rebels openly or secretly. If you think about it this way, don't you think it's not a big deal?"
Vincent was speechless. He paused for more than ten seconds and sighed: "I actually think it's okay. It's bad enough anyway. I don't mind if it gets worse."
"Yes, that's right. Whether the rebels are colluding with space pirates or infiltrating everywhere and trying to subvert the Alliance, soldiers only need to pick up their weapons."
"Protect the stars behind us," Vincent laughed again. "Anyway, the particle cannons are coming, and I have the commander in front to hold it. If anyone is going to die, I won't be the first to die."
Lu Fenghan raised his foot and kicked him, scolding with a smile: "Get lost!"
Vincent walked out of the cafe wearing the same wide-brimmed hat that covered most of his face and a loose windbreaker as when he came.
Lu Fenghan sat back on the sofa. The coffee that Qi Yan ordered for him was already cold, but he didn't care. He picked it up and took a sip. The slight bitterness made his tongue astringent.
It was easy to tell Vincent, but it was just his instinct.
These worries should be the responsibility of leaders.
If the rebels had recruited the interstellar pirates as their own twenty years ago, a lot of things could have happened in this time dimension.
Even, was Lu Jun, who died at the hands of the rebels, a key link in facilitating the cooperation between the two
Lu Fenghan was immersed in thinking and quickly finished a cup of coffee. After finishing it, he realized that Qi Yan, who was sitting next to him, had been staring at him.
He wondered, "What's wrong?"
Qi Yan's eyes moved down to the empty coffee cup: "You drank up my coffee."
Lu Fenghan was startled, then smiled and said, "Then I'll give you my cup as compensation?"
Qi Yan reluctantly agreed, then opened the page he was just reading and continued reading the news.
Lu Fenghan followed suit and took a look. In the corner of the page, he caught a glimpse of a short message: A civilian transport ship in the Kepler region had lost contact and was being searched for with all its might.
This is generally a common tactic used by space pirates.
Lu Fenghan closed his eyes slightly, leaning against the back of the sofa, not knowing what he was thinking. The shadow cast by the aurora in the dome made the lines of his face sharp.
The cigarette he took from Vincent was still in his hand. Seeing the metal lighter on the table, Lu Fenghan sat up straight, pinched the cigarette between his teeth, and lit it with his eyes lowered.
Because Qi Yan was right next to him, Lu Fenghan originally just wanted to take a puff to calm himself down, but he didn't expect Qi Yan to look at him and suddenly reach out and take the cigarette away from his fingers.
Lu Fenghan was basically unprepared for Qi Yan, and only reacted when his fingers were empty.
When he looked up again, he saw Qi Yan holding the cigarette butt between his lips and teeth, leaving the bite mark on it.
Qi Yan had a handsome face to begin with, and the faint mist made him look cold and decadent.
He took a careful sip.
In an instant, sparks flickered.
Lu Fenghan watched quietly and thought, compensating for a cup of coffee is not enough, but you want to steal the cigarette too
At this moment, he felt as if his heart was gently scratched by a cat's claws.