Before Qi Yan got home, he received several communication requests from Xia Zhiyang, Ye Pei and Mondrian. He simply started a multi-person conversation.
Xia Zhiyang spoke the loudest: "Qi Yan, are you okay? Are you injured? Are you in a bad mood? Is your bodyguard with you?"
Ye Pei said, "Xia Zhiyang, you've asked everything I wanted to ask! Are you going to give me a chance to speak?"
Qi Yan answered the questions in order: "I'm fine. The hovercraft has a high level of safety protection. I'm not injured, and I'm not in a bad mood. He has always been with me."
Hearing Qi Yan's last few words, Lu Fenghan glanced at him sideways.
"That's good, that's good. Don't be sad. It's not worth being sad for such a scumbag! I've read all the news on Starnet. Jiang Qi is such a rubbish. How dare he drive his car into you!"
Although Xia Zhiyang calls himself a dandy, he doesn't have many curse words. He said angrily, "We are so unlucky that we have to share the same air with such scum! He used to act so arrogant in front of us, but it turns out that he was just bluffing because he was intimidated!"
The average life expectancy of the Alliance has exceeded 100 years. After a person becomes an adult, he or she will face a long youth and middle age. As late marriage, late childbearing and celibacy become prevalent, the concept of love and marriage has gradually changed.
Society does not oppose not getting married or having multiple marriages, but it attaches great importance to monogamous fidelity during the marriage. Therefore, extramarital affairs are despised and illegitimate children do not have any inheritance rights.
Ye Pei thought of Laurent's incident: "No wonder Laurent was so against you before, there must be Jiang Qi's instigation and the one million star coins behind it! If the incident hadn't been exposed, it would be hard to imagine that Jiang Qi could call you brother with a smile, care about you, and secretly want to kill you!"
Xia Zhiyang concluded: "A beast in human form!"
Ye Pei: "He deserves death!"
The two of them were talking back and forth, like they were singing a duet. Mondrian couldn't get a word in for a while, so he could only type: "I'm glad you're okay."
Xia Zhiyang was the first to see: "Mondrian, why are you just typing and not talking?"
Mondrian sent another ellipsis.
Without realizing it was because he talked too much, Xia Zhiyang cheerfully suggested: "Should we get together and celebrate? Today's event is really gratifying! You don't know how happy I felt when I commented on Fanxing.com! Finally, finally! Finally more and more people have seen through Jiang Qi's disguise!"
However, his proposal was ruthlessly rejected.
Ye Pei: "The research group's project tasks do not allow me to go out and get together!"
Mondrian: "The task of this stage is finishing, breaking one hour into two hours."
Xia Zhiyang asked cautiously: "Where's Qi Yan?"
Qi Yan: "I have completed the research group's mission, but I have to do other things and I don't have time."
Xia Zhiyang howled in disappointment, then said firmly: "Then let's go into the holographic system to celebrate! Five minutes!"
Finally, four people accessed the holographic system from their personal terminals, found a virtual coffee shop, drank a cup of virtual coffee, and then went offline one after another.
Lu Fenghan had been listening to the conversation between several people. When he saw Qi Yan cut out from the holographic system, he asked, "Why are you so tight on time recently? Is it because of 'Po Jun'?"
Although he didn't really drink the coffee, his taste buds still transmitted a faint bitter taste. Qi Yan nodded: "Well, time is running out."
"Too late?"
Qi Yan didn't answer and turned his eyes away quietly.
Amused by his little action, Lu Fenghan changed the subject: "Then... why do you like to do these things that most people find difficult? Because no matter how difficult it is, someone always needs to do it?"
Qi Yan rarely thinks about questions like "motivation".
"That's partly the reason. Another reason is that scientific research is forward-looking. If I don't understand the formula, then I haven't figured it out. If I don't understand the steps, I won't think I have understood them. I won't remember it wrong."
This was a rare moment of clarity for him.
Lu Fenghan quickly thought of another possibility: "What if you have already solved the formula, but you remembered it wrongly, thinking that you haven't solved it yet? You have already completed the work, but you remembered that you haven't finished it yet?"
"Sometimes." Qi Yan said calmly, "But clarity is greater than confusion, that's enough."
The car accident had been a hot topic on the Starnet, which has a huge information flow, for half a week. It involved a wealthy family, a traitor who had previously sold scientific research materials, and academic fraud for the Roentgen Award. In addition, keywords such as cheating, illegitimate child, concealing identity, multiple secret frame-ups, and intentional murder were also very popular, and Qi Wenshao became famous in the alliance.
It's just that the reputation is not so glorious.
According to information from reporters who were waiting there, Jiang Yunyue never went out again after returning home from the police station, and the Qi family kept their doors closed, refusing all outside visitors and interviews from reporters.
At the same time, that is, at the end of the 216th year of the Star Calendar, the "Leto Daily" published on the second page in a very low-key manner the news that General Nie Huaiting intended to resign his honorary title of "Alliance Commander".
Although the Alliance Commander has no corresponding real power and is a purely nominal title, he is the number one person in the Alliance military by default. The information about the successor has not yet been released, but this action alone shows that the war faction has reached a point where there is no room for retreat.
Looking at this brief message, Lu Fenghan was not sure whether the person behind it was temporarily unwilling to expand the impact of this matter, so he just put two simple sentences on the second page.
His mind was rarely in the air without a landing point. He remembered that Lu Jun was once full of ambitions. He wanted to first destroy the interstellar pirates, then destroy the rebels, and restore peace to the alliance. But in the end he died and not even a piece of his bones could be found.
He also remembered that Nie Huaiting had not yet entered old age, but his hair had already turned gray. He had devoted himself to the Alliance and worked hard to remove the rebels, which was a thorn in the heart of the Alliance. But now, he had to resign from the post of commander-in-chief himself.
For a moment, he was a little confused.
It is said that we should follow the will of the people, but what should we do if the will of the people is wrong
Just like Nie Huaiting, he certainly never thought that one day he would be questioned and suspected by the citizens of the alliance he had always protected, to the point that he would have to compromise and appease all parties.
But even so, Nie Huaiting still did not agree to transfer the expeditionary force stationed on the front line of the Southern Cross Region back to Leto. Instead, he ordered the integration of the troop deployments of the Central Administrative Army in various locations to strengthen Leto's defense.
Lu Fenghan could see that Nie Huaiting's move was to avoid being attacked from two places at the same time. However, once this order was issued, it caused dissatisfaction among many people.
Vincent had the same idea as Lu Fenghan. He didn't even contact Qi Yan's house through communication as usual. Instead, he knocked on Qi Yan's door in person after nightfall.
Taking off his wide-brimmed hat and black-framed glasses, Vincent slumped on the sofa without hesitation, staring at the ceiling for a while, then tilted his head and asked Lu Fenghan, "Commander, after the New Year, will General Nie officially step down as commander-in-chief?"
Feeling weak and as if having lost his spirit.
Lu Fenghan didn't sit down. He stood against the wall as usual. "It should be. After the New Year, it will be the founding day of the alliance. According to the rules, the celebration ceremony of the founding day is jointly hosted by the Secretary-General of the Alliance and the Commander-in-Chief of the Military. It is impossible for the pro-war group to wait until then and let General Nie win over the people's prestige."
Vincent's voice was bitter: "I have been feeling weak all day. I feel... I don't know what I am protecting with my weapons."
He put the back of his hand over his eyes, revealing the calluses on his palms. "Commander, aren't you disheartened? The mainstream argument on the Starnet is that the expeditionary force spends the most military funds, uses the most advanced weapons, drives the most powerful starships, but fights the most cowardly wars. The rebels are described as invincible gods of war, but we are described as a bunch of worthless trash!"
Vincent lost his usual frivolousness, his voice choked with sobs and anger: "But, if we are afraid of death and we shrink back, then who can tell me why Reina, Fengao, Jacinto, Louis, and Mofei died? When I joined the expeditionary force, the team number was 7683. There were 100 people in the team, and now there are only 19 people alive, including me! Who can tell me where the other 81 people went? Huh?"
As he went on, his voice became more trembling, and the veins on his forehead became more noticeable.
But in front of Lu Fenghan, he finally suppressed his outburst of emotions.
Lu Fenghan stood in the shadows, without any military bearing or posture. He waited until his breathing calmed down before speaking, and every word he said was solemn: "Pick up your weapons."
Vincent closed his eyes tightly, and after a few seconds he continued the second half of the sentence: "Protect the stars behind you." He gritted his teeth, "But—"
"No buts." Lu Fenghan did not allow for doubt, "If you think you are right and most people are wrong, then you should correct their mistakes. If you think those people's judgments are wrong, then you should provide sufficient and accurate information so that everyone has the basis for correct thinking.
Even if it is wrong, the fault does not lie with the citizens of the alliance who spread public opinion, but with those who deliberately guide wrong public opinion. "
Vincent said nothing.
Silence filled every corner.
After a long while, Vincent finally removed his hand that was blocking his eyes and looked at Lu Fenghan with a wry smile: "Commander, how did you do it? When everyone was angry, disappointed, and confused, why were you able to always stay awake? Oh, and by the way, you also scolded all of us to wake us up one by one."
"Because you called me 'Commander'." Lu Fenghan raised his eyebrows. "Why, do you want me to pound my fists on the table with you guys, screaming in pain while I pound?"
Vincent retorted: "There is no way this could happen!"
Lu Fenghan was particularly perfunctory: "Oh."
Vincent: “…”
Before I knew it, I recalled how stupid I was back then.
Only now did Vincent finally have the energy to look around: "Where's Qi Yan?"
Lu Fenghan replied: "Study." He has been staying up late every day these days, as if something is chasing him.
"As expected of a student from the school across the river, you're diligent!" Vincent stood up, picked up his wide-brimmed hat and retro glasses, and said, "I'm leaving now."
Lu Fenghan did not try to persuade her to stay, but only reminded her: "Cherish this opportunity. You will be charged next time you come. Psychologists charge by the minute, so I will charge by the second."
Vincent felt like he was nailed to the floor, unable to move. He felt that if he left a minute earlier, he would lose tens of thousands of star coins! He said sadly: "Command you, you were not like this before, you have changed!"
"Before? You know that was before."
Vincent felt something was wrong, and after thinking about it, he asked tentatively: "What about now?"
"You don't understand." Lu Fenghan put his hands in his trouser pockets. He didn't know what he was thinking about, and his voice became lighter. "I have to save money now."