After the New Year, the whole place was filled with warm-up for the Alliance's founding day celebrations.
All news gave way to the front page of Leto Daily, which published a history of the alliance every day, and the homepage of Star Network played various documentaries about the alliance.
Bombarded with information about discounts from merchants, Lu Fenghan saw the bargain and couldn't help but buy a few more set A meals to keep at home.
Vincent came over during this period and gave some of the fruits and food distributed by their Intelligence Search Department to Lu Fenghan - he was alone and couldn't finish them all, so he simply gave some to his immediate superior.
Before leaving, Lu Fenghan stopped the man and confirmed again: "Is everything OK at the front line?"
"No problem. All the rebel troops are stationed in their original positions. The interstellar pirates occasionally move around in the Kepler region and seize two transport ships. There is no unusual news. The Central Corps' garrisons scattered throughout the Central Administrative Region have gathered towards Leto, and 70% of them are already in place."
Vincent recalled, "But I got some new news this morning. General Nie Huaiting wanted to upgrade the weapons and equipment of the garrison and asked for a list of names. But Krimo pushed it back, saying that the finances had been dragged down by the expeditionary force and that they could not afford to upgrade the equipment.
But if you ask me, the Central Administrative District’s garrison should really change their weapons, as the guns they are using are still models from several years ago.”
However, Lu Fenghan heard something strange.
"Whenever General Nie wanted to know the actual number of troops being transferred, he had to beat around the bush like this."
Vincent paused for two seconds before reacting: "Command, you mean?"
"General Nie is worried that his subordinates may not obey his orders. He ordered 100,000 troops to be transferred to Leto, but maybe only 50,000 or even 30,000 troops were actually transferred. So he used the excuse of wanting to upgrade the weapons and equipment of the garrison to let his subordinates report the number of people."
Lu Fenghan's expression was not very good. "This kind of small matter could be stopped by Klimo. It seems that the peace faction is indeed very powerful."
After hearing what Lu Fenghan said, Vincent's heart skipped a beat: "That shouldn't be the case. If they say they will transfer 100,000 people, at least 80,000 should be in place, right?"
But after saying this, he himself was unsure and felt empty.
If General Nie Huaiting was still the leader of the alliance, then if he said he would send 100,000 troops, then he would send 100,000 troops. But now, the situation has reversed. There have always been many factions within the military, and General Nie Huaiting's words are not as effective as before. The middle and lower-level generals of the neutral faction may not dare to do too much. If he asked to send 100,000 troops, he could actually send 90,000. As for the peace faction, it would be difficult to send 60,000 troops.
Coupled with Climo's strong efforts to stop it, Vincent felt that there might be something fishy going on.
His throat was a little dry. "But General Nie Huaiting insisted. We both took a step back. Klimo agreed to upgrade the equipment and weapons for Leto's garrison."
Lu Fenghan nodded: "It's better to upgrade part of it than not to upgrade at all."
Vincent didn't know why. He was so sure that the rebels would not get too excited and that nothing would happen to Leto, but now he started to panic.
"There are two defense forces in Leto now. One is the local garrison in Leto, and the other is the troops transferred from other places in the administrative district to assist. Both of them... are very weak."
What he said was very respectful.
Apart from the rebels, there has been no war in the alliance for many years, and the role of the garrison is just to fight against space pirates and conduct daily patrols.
Twenty years ago, Lu Jun led his men to defeat all the interstellar pirates, leaving the garrison with only patrolling to do.
Not only the Central Administrative Region, but also the Messier Region and Kepler Region are the same.
Only the Southern Cross Region, which is close to the front line, is slightly better.
The war was kept out of the country by the expeditionary forces, and the people naturally became more lazy.
Fontaine 1 is an example.
If you get used to a comfortable life, you will lose your vigilance and become weak.
Seeing Vincent's expression change again and again, Lu Fenghan didn't continue, just raised his chin towards him and said, "Leave quickly after delivering the things."
Vincent smiled bitterly: "I feel at ease here. If I leave this room, I'm afraid I won't be able to sleep tonight."
"What you and I can think of, General Nie can naturally think of as well." What Lu Fenghan didn't finish saying was that if Nie Huaiting couldn't handle it, the two of them alone would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.
If it is a torrent, no one person can stop it.
Vincent heaved a sigh of relief, as if he had immediately found his psychological support and backbone: "Yes, General Nie is still here, so I'm leaving now. Contact me if you have anything."
"Well," Lu Fenghan reminded, "keep the communication open."
Vincent's eyes became more serious and he said, "Yes!"
On the founding day, Turan made an exception and gave the entire school a holiday, allowing students to go out to the streets to watch the celebration procession. People also distributed small square flags for free at the school gate.
Qi Yan was originally planning to go home with Lu Fenghan. The optical computer at home was on and was extracting the data core of "Po Jun". This was the fourth day of the extraction process and it was almost completed. He wanted to watch from the side.
As for the celebration ceremony, you can watch it in the virtual Sky Diamond Plaza through the holographic system.
But Ye Pei, Mondrian and Xia Zhiyang were all eager to try, so they simply joined the team heading to the Sky Diamond Plaza.
Lu Fenghan followed Qi Yan and helped him block the people who were squeezing in from the side. However, there were too many people and Qi Yan was bumped several times, frowning in pain. Lu Fenghan noticed and put his hand on Qi Yan's shoulder, and directly pulled him into his arms.
They were too close, Qi Yan could see Lu Fenghan's Adam's apple when he lowered his eyes. He did not struggle free, but instead let the strength of Lu Fenghan's arm hold him.
The subtle sound of their clothes rubbing against each other was amplified, and it actually suppressed the noise of the crowd around them. This feeling suddenly reminded Qi Yan of New Year's Eve.
He was a little afraid to look into Lu Fenghan's eyes again.
Qi Yan actually didn’t quite understand his own feelings. He felt like he was exploring a complex formula. Just by taking a quick peek inside, he could vaguely see the splendor within.
He took a cautious step forward, but because he was unfamiliar with this emotion, he cautiously took a small step back.
When we arrived at the Sky Diamond Plaza, countless people had already gathered here. Security robots were maintaining order. A huge light screen was suspended above the square, broadcasting the situation at the central concierge desk in real time.
Xia Zhiyang shouted, "What should I do? I was calm when I left the school, but now my blood is boiling! Think about it, more than 200 years ago, humans left the earth and came to Leto! This is the starting point of mankind, and mankind is destined to move forward! Yearning for the vast stars!"
Mondrian was always restrained and introverted, but he was also infected by the atmosphere of the square at this time: "The sculptures of those who have contributed to the alliance are standing quietly on one side of the square, celebrating with us!"
Xia Zhiyang was even more excited: "Yes, yes, yes! I will study hard! I want to get a B at the end of the semester! I want to be open source like God Y! I want to fight for the alliance!"
Ye Pei listened to the conversation between the two people: "Are you crazy?" But after that, he closed his eyes and said loudly, "I am nineteen years old this year. In fifty years, I will definitely become the best scientist in the alliance!"
Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were slightly flushed with smile.
Mondrian: “So can I!”
Xia Zhiyang laughed loudly: "Then I will be the most profitable businessman, and then provide you with research funds! As much as you want!"
By the way, he also made plans for the future of Chen Mingxuan who was playing games at home. "Chen Mingxuan will create the most powerful game company in the entire league! All the games he develops will be free for us to play!"
Ye Pei also laughed: "Free? Very good!"
Lu Fenghan was talking to Vincent on the phone.
"Commander, there's nothing unusual, but I'm so miserable. It was my turn to be on duty on the founding day last year, and I got picked again this year! I want to be there too!" Vincent cried, "Why in the world is there such a wicked thing as being on duty!"
Lu Fenghan said: "Fortunately you are on duty."
Vincent choked on his sobbing: "Okay, that's right, I'll be watching all the movements today and directing you, don't worry!"
After the call was disconnected, Lu Fenghan saw Qi Yan lowering his head to fiddle with his personal terminal, so he asked, "What are you doing?"
"I'm remotely controlling my optical computer at home. The data core of 'Po Jun' is almost stripped successfully." After a minute, Qi Yan looked up again. "When will the celebration ceremony begin?"
His voice was not loud, but Lu Fenghan was paying attention and answered immediately: "Ten o'clock, it's nine fifty-five now, almost."
At 10 a.m. on January 7, 217 of the Star Calendar, the celebration ceremony for the founding of the Alliance officially began.
The Secretary-General of the Alliance was the first to step onto the protocol desk. Due to the temporary absence of the Alliance Commander, the three four-star generals of the military were present at the celebration and sat side by side with the Secretary-General, half a step in front or behind.
Woodrow Cremo, commander-in-chief of the Joint Operations Department, stood first, followed by Nie Huaiting, commander-in-chief of the Space Force and commander of the Central Corps, and finally Hodgkin, head of the Alliance Security Council.
The statutory members of the Alliance Security Committee include the Alliance Secretary-General, Nie Huaiting and Klimo. This also means that although Hodgkin is the head of the Security Committee, he has never had much presence. He is a well-known centrist in the military and almost never participates in the overt or covert struggles between the pro-war and pro-peace factions.
Nie Huaiting once commented to Lu Fenghan in private that Hodgkins was a dullard. Even if he was scolded as a coward in front of him, he would continue to drink his tea with a smile, and ignore it in one ear and out the other. He was very patient.
He acted as if, "You guys fight your own business, don't involve me. I'll be satisfied if I can just work peacefully until retirement."
At this moment, on the light screen above the square, Nie Huaiting had a serious expression, Krimo was serious, and only Hodgkins had no burden and waved to the people with a smile.
Looking at the image on the light screen, Lu Fenghan calculated that he had not seen Nie Huaiting for several years. The last time they met was when Nie Huaiting came to the front line to inspect the situation of the expeditionary force. As the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, he was responsible for the reception.
Compared to that time, Nie Huaiting looks obviously older, with deeper nasolabial lines on his face, and he never talks or smiles. If he goes to any kindergarten, he can scare a lot of people into tears.
Lu Fenghan felt that he was indeed very brave when he was a child. At that time, Lu Jun had just died, and Nie Huaiting came to him and asked if he was willing to transfer the guardianship to his name. Lu Fenghan had only one request, not to change his name or surname.
Nie Huaiting nodded and said that he didn't want to have more sons.
Then Lu Fenghan followed.
Over the years, there was no such thing as a close relationship between the two of them, they were more like superiors and subordinates. Nie Huaiting stayed in the alliance capital star, and the front line was entrusted to him, and he took on this trust, it was that simple.
The Secretary General of the Alliance stepped forward and delivered a founding day speech.
At the same time, on Fontaine 1, the off-duty staff gathered together to watch the live broadcast of the celebration ceremony.
Someone was muttering, "I still have three days before I rotate back to the surface. When I get back, I will plan four meals a day for myself and make sure to visit all of Leto's new gourmet restaurants!"
"Four meals? Can't you enter the holographic system and try some in the virtual store?"
"How can this be the same? I tasted the taste nerves and the smell nerves, but I actually only ate air! There is no sense of reality!" The man sighed again, "Why does time pass so slowly?"
Someone nearby comforted him: "Just think about it, when you return to the ground, all the stores will still be offering discounts, how happy you will be."
Huo Yan, the defense chief of Fontaine No. 1, passed by and heard these people talking about food. He couldn't help but start calculating when he could be rotated back to the ground.
He still owed Lu Fenghan a drink.
Entering the defense command room, Huo Yan saw two staff members chatting together. He tapped the metal wall with his fingers and asked, "Where is the discipline?"
When they found Huo Yan, the two people who were standing together quickly sat down. One of them explained shyly: "My wife just gave birth to a very cute girl. My family sent me the photos and videos, and I couldn't help but look at them all the time."
As a single man in the expeditionary army, Huo Yan had no wife, let alone children. He wondered if the singleness of the expeditionary army had poisoned him. He enviously said, "Today is the founding day. Your daughter is very smart. It just so happens that she came into this world today."
At this moment, an observer raised his voice in surprise: "Defense Minister, a UFO appeared within the radar range!"
Huo Yan raised his eyebrows: "Please give more details!"
The observer's voice suddenly trembled: "There are too many!"
Realizing that something was wrong, Huo Yan took a big step forward and saw countless red spots appearing in the detection area on the radar screen - only unregistered starships would appear red on the radar of Fontaine No. 1.
Nearly a hundred red dots formed a wedge shape, as if they suddenly appeared in space, and continued to approach Fontaine No. 1 in a dignified manner.
No, not Fontaine 1, it's approaching Leto!
Huo Yan's pupils trembled, and he pressed the button with almost shaking hands, notifying the entire fortress of the enemy attack and ordering the communicator to send a message back to Leto.
The next second, the communicator's voice rose: "Communication is cut off, our communication with the ground is cut off!"
Huo Yan turned his head suddenly: "How do you judge it?"
The communicator quickly replied: "Leto unilaterally cut off the communication line with us!"
Huo Yan closed his eyes.
When he opened his eyes again, his voice had regained its composure. In the fortress's broadcast, he asked non-combat personnel to take cover on the spot, combat-related personnel to quickly arrive at their posts, and the entire fortress to enter a state of readiness for war.
The observer's palms were covered in cold sweat: "The enemy is moving very fast and has entered the range of 180!"
"That's the enemy. The space pirates are not that big. They are the rebels."
Huo Yan didn't dare to think about it.
I dare not imagine how the rebels far away on the front line of the Southern Cross Region could drive their starships to the Central Galaxy in such a mighty force.
I dare not imagine why no alarm was issued along the way during such a long migration.
I dare not think whether they cannot contact Leto, or someone inside Leto has shut down all external communication interfaces.
The observer reminded again: "One hundred and fifty range!"
Huo Yan stood up straight and reported solemnly to the entire fortress: "The enemy did not bypass us, which means they will wipe us out before attacking Leto. At the moment, there are no reinforcements, only us. Everyone, you have one minute to write your suicide notes, we may have to fight to the death."
No one spoke in the channel.
There was a faint sound of crying, but it was quickly suppressed.
Huo Yan said in a deep voice: "If you just sit there and wait for death, you will turn into dust in the next second. If you fight hard, you may still have a chance of survival! Everyone, listen to my orders-"
Leto.
The Secretary-General of the Alliance did not speak much, but because he spoke slowly, he still spoke for more than ten to twenty minutes.
Every year is pretty much the same, we reminisce about the past, strengthen cohesion, talk about the various achievements of the alliance this year, inspire people, and finally look forward to a bright future and hope that the alliance will be better.
Although the format of the speech has remained unchanged for many years, the people present were still excited. For example, Xia Zhiyang was waving the small flag in his hand until it left an afterimage.
Next, it was Kerimo's turn to speak.
Klimo was wearing a four-star general uniform and had a serious expression. After his opening remarks, he focused on the situation on the front line and said that the military would make some necessary changes in policy due to the new war situation. But no matter what, the citizens of the alliance and their lives would be the first priority.
Nie Huaiting began to listen with his eyes lowered, but later, perhaps because he couldn't listen any more, he simply closed his eyes.
Lu Fenghan felt the same way. He felt that if Krimo’s several pages of eloquent speech were summarized in two words - bullshit!
He blocked out Klimo's voice, leaned in and asked Qi Yan, "Are you tired?"
Qi Yan's skin was exposed to the sun, and the cold white tone was more obvious. He shook his head gently: "I'm not tired, just a little stuffy."
Because it was too noisy around them, the two of them sat very close to each other when they talked.
It was so close that Lu Fenghan could notice at a glance that Qi Yan's earlobe was turning pink again.
He deliberately moved a little closer: "If you feel tired, you can lean on me."
Qi Yan didn't dare to look him in the eye. He always felt that there was some kind of attraction around Lu Fenghan. He just said, "Okay."
At this moment, it seemed as if there was a layer of moist soil in his heart, and seedlings were about to break through the ground and grow wildly.
Lu Fenghan's mood quickly improved.
I can’t explain why it’s so good, but I just feel inexplicably… happy.
Like when he was in the First Military Academy, he got first place in every subject. Or when he just joined the Expeditionary Force and won first-class merit for the first time. Or when he was promoted to brigadier general, his shoulder strap became a silver star, he became General Lu, and his father Lu Jun had to retire as "Old General Lu".
No, this kind of mood is good, but it’s still a little different.
At this moment, Lu Fenghan felt his sleeve being pulled. He tilted his head and saw Qi Yan pointing at his wrist.
The personal terminal lights up.
It's Vincent.
"What happened?"
Vincent said solemnly, "Commander, I just found something wrong. After careful comparison, I found that some of the information received by me, no, I should say the military intelligence department, has exactly the same frequency band!"
Lu Fenghan understood immediately.
There is only one possible situation, this information is all fake!
Vincent spoke very quickly: "After I found out something was wrong, I immediately did an experiment. Fontaine 1 sends regular security information to Leto every fifteen hours. Three minutes ago, their message arrived. However, I tried to contact them in reverse, but I couldn't get through."
Lu Fenghan: “Explain clearly!”
Vincent took a deep breath and said, "Leto's external communication port has been blocked! I'm not sure when the blockage began, but I know that all the information, everything! The information received by Leto and the information I received here are all fake! Someone is pretending to be the Fontaine No. 1 and a small cruise ship outside to send us a message, creating a false illusion of peace!"
At the same time, on the light screen above the square, Nie Huaiting opened his eyes with a sharp look.
Lu Fenghan was almost certain that Nie Huaiting also knew the news!
Fontaine One.
The Fontaine 1, once praised by the Leto Daily as "a black crystal floating in space", had its ferrous metal shell destroyed by artillery fire and no longer had its former beauty.
The entire fortress tilted and broke, slowly rotating around Leto.
Inside the fortress, Huo Yan was covered in blood, his legs were twisted, and he obviously had multiple fractures. There was a bloody hole the size of a fist on his waist. Near him, countless people fell to the ground, with blood spurting out.
He coughed several times, crawled to the ground, and crawled towards the communication desk with difficulty.
The communicator was dead. Huo Yan supported himself on the table with his hands, and cold sweat dripped down from the pain. He kept pressing the button to send an "enemy attack" signal to Leto, but unfortunately, all the signals fell on deaf ears and there was no response at all.
After doing it dozens or hundreds of times, Huo Yan's fingers began to cramp and he could no longer hold on, collapsing to the ground in exhaustion.
The outer shell of Fontaine No. 1 Fortress has been shattered, and a line of dark universe is revealed in the gap, with distant stars looming.
He slowly rolled his eyes, looking at the dead colleagues around him one by one.
Finally, he opened his personal terminal and wrote the last message in the encrypted channel.
A message that you are not sure whether the other party can see.
"Take up your weapons and protect the stars behind you."
"Commander, I have fulfilled my mission."
After finishing writing, Huo Yan was exhausted and rested for a long time before he continued writing:
"Fontaine One, all the fortresses, died for it, hope the living take care."