Three days after Qi Yan boarded the expeditionary command ship, the debugging of the new detection system was completed. Based on his working speed in the White Tower, it should not take that long, but compared with his previous speed in Leto, it was very close.
Po Jun reminded him again that it was time to drink water. Qi Yan leaned back on the table, holding the water cup: "Got it, I'm taking a rest."
When he was in Leto, Lu Fenghan would always remind him of these small details. Now that Lu Fenghan is not always there, Pojun follows Lu Fenghan's orders and executes them meticulously.
Po Jun likes chatting with Qi Yan very much: "I found millions of messages about 'fatigue and sudden death' in the Star Network. Your work intensity is too high. You need to get enough rest, otherwise you will easily get sick."
"Well, the debugging is done. I don't have any projects I want to start for now, so I won't be very busy next time." After putting down the empty cup, his eyes accidentally fell on his fingertips. The edges of his nails were trimmed very evenly. Qi Yan looked at them quietly for a while, and suddenly asked softly: "Why do people cry?"
Without waiting for Pojun to answer this question, he asked again: "What is the general doing now?"
But after asking this question, Qi Yan suddenly realized: "He is the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force. Shouldn't I ask about his whereabouts and schedule?"
"No, the general has issued relevant instructions. All his information is open to you. You can confirm his location and behavior at any time."
Po Jun quickly replied, "The general is chatting with Weiss, the former acting commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force." He corrected his words, "It's a rather different kind of chat."
Interrogation room.
Lu Fenghan's white military jacket was unbuttoned, and his sleeves were rolled up to reveal the firm muscles of his arms. He pulled open a single chair and sat down. He glanced at Weiss who was sitting opposite him and asked Vincent, "Did you torture him?"
"We are a clean expeditionary force, and we never use inhumane methods such as torture!" Vincent acted very innocent, and added, "It's just that he has not been allowed to sleep since he was brought back."
Weiss's light brown hair hadn't been trimmed for several months, and it half covered his sunken eye sockets. It was obvious that he had not had a good time during those few months of escape and hiding.
Lu Fenghan looked him up and down. "Your parents died when you were sixteen. The cause of death was indirectly related to the technological destruction. From that time on, you must have hated the Alliance."
Weiss was thin, with prominent cheekbones and chapped lips. "Shouldn't I hate him? If it weren't for the great technological destruction, there wouldn't be all these hidden dangers left behind, the particle storm wouldn't have destroyed the route, and the starship my parents were on wouldn't have been in trouble!"
"Everyone has taken interrogation courses, so you don't need to use tricks like playing misery and logical traps," Lu Fenghan was unmoved after listening to it, and asked, "Then who should the children of those who died because you colluded with the enemy and deliberately lost the war hate? The Alliance or the rebels? Or, you?"
Weiss avoided Lu Fenghan's cold gaze and said nothing.
Lu Fenghan did not dwell on this question: "Let me guess, in the first great defeat, you leaked the coordinates of the jump point. Your superior and accomplice, Dyson, was against leaking the coordinates, so you drove him back to Leto for control. After he witnessed the great defeat, you used the 'lead' to fake a hovercraft accident and got rid of him, right?"
Weiss's eyes showed sarcasm and contempt: "He was afraid, afraid that you would find out, so he didn't dare to do anything. His lover was on the same starship as my parents. After she died, even her body could not be found. He kept saying that he wanted revenge, but in the end, he was just a coward!"
Lu Fenghan wasn’t actually very curious about the motives of people like Weiss, but he had to include it in the report he was submitting, so he needed to ask according to the procedure.
For example, Laurent, who is in the same class as Qi Yan, is willing to frame his classmates and provide scientific research materials to the rebels for money; Jiang Yunyue has tasted the power and actively colluded with the rebels, not caring about human lives; and Crimo has done a lot of stupid things to maintain the privileges of the military.
Everyone has secrets and reasons, and he doesn't have the energy to understand and empathize.
Because on some issues, right is right and wrong is wrong.
If you are wrong, you should bear the consequences.
"Donald has given up on you, you should have seen that. To the rebels, you can barely be considered as a favor given by Donald." Lu Fenghan spoke in a normal tone, but his words were not very pleasant to the ear. "Don't glare at me. You know whether I am telling the truth or not."
Weiss certainly knew this.
Otherwise, Donald would not have taken him on board the starship during the mission after he had been hiding and living in fear for several months and sent hundreds of distress signals to the rebels.
Of course, he threw him to Lu Fenghan without any care.
Lu Fenghan continued, "You haven't said a word since you came on board. I think you think Vincent is not qualified and want me to come in person?"
Vincent couldn't hold back: "After all, I am the adjutant of the expeditionary force commander-in-chief, a real direct descendant and confidant!"
Weiss looked directly at Lu Fenghan. Because of the angle, an inch of white was visible under his pupils, and he looked gloomy. "I will write down all the names I know, without missing a single one, and you let me go."
Lu Fenghan raised his eyebrows: "Are you negotiating terms with me?"
"I know I am under your control now. Whether I live or die depends on a word from Commander Lu. But the information I know is very useful to you." Weiss spoke faster, "As long as you are willing to let me go, I will never hide anything!"
Vincent looked at Weiss, then at Lu Fenghan, without saying anything.
He thought to himself that Weiss was still not very smart. After so many years in the expeditionary force, he still didn't understand that threatening Lu Fenghan would only lead to his death faster.
Lu Fenghan's expression didn't change. He tapped his fingers on the table twice, as if negotiating: "Then I'll give you a chance to choose between two options. One is, write out the list without missing a single one, and I'll shoot you, and you'll die easily. The other is, if you refuse, I'll have someone torture you until you say so. What do you choose?"
Coming out of the interrogation room, Lu Fenghan asked Vincent with great interest, "Do I look kind-hearted? He killed so many of my men, and you actually think I can let him go just for a list of names?"
Vincent: "Weiss is blind." He shook his head again, "He's not very smart either. I guess this is all he can rely on."
Lu Fenghan's eyes were cold and gloomy. "When he speaks, find someone to check the list and deal with it accordingly."
Vincent nodded: "Understood."
The dead can never be resurrected, and all the living can do is give a complete explanation.
On the other side, Qi Yan sent a message to tell Lu Fenghan that the detection system had been debugged and he was going back to his room to rest. After turning two corners in the passage, he caught a glimpse of a figure and asked uncertainly: "Mondrian?"
"Prayer?"
Ye Pei was still wearing a high ponytail like before. When she saw Qi Yan, she thought she was dazzled at first. It was not until Mondrian called out Qi Yan's name that she quickly walked over, her eyes red, with countless things to say, but she had no idea what to say.
Half a year ago, they were still second-year students in Turan. The next time they met was on the command ship of the expeditionary force.
Qi Yan followed them to the technical department's lounge.
Seeing that Ye Pei's eyes were still red, he found a topic: "Why are you here?"
Ye Pei pointed proudly at the uniform he was wearing: "We are all active military personnel now."
Her eyes were still as bright as before, but there seemed to be something more in them.
"On the day of the founding, after we separated from the Diamond Plaza, I took Mondrian back to my home. My parents wanted to leave Leto to avoid disaster, but the rebels attacked us halfway through the journey.
A bomb exploded on the driveway not far from us. It was so scary that we had no choice but to go back home the same way we came.
Later, Leto fell, and General Nie Huaiting and the Secretary General were going to the Kepler Region. My parents tried every possible way and finally left Leto with General Nie. "
Ye Pei still feels frightened when he recalls that chaotic situation.
"After arriving in Odin, Mondrian and I applied for enlistment together. Since we were already adults and had Professor Fu's recommendation letter, we were assigned to the expeditionary force as technical soldiers. The five-month probation period has passed, and Mondrian and I entered the technical department of the command ship because of our good grades."
"I still remember that we set out from Odin with other new recruits. Because there were too many people being sent to the front line, the Odin starport directly closed the civilian passage and used all of it for military starships, and did not allow family members to see us off."
There was something more heavy in Ye Pei's tone, "That was the first time I truly felt that this was a wartime state."
Mondrian mentioned: "Qi Yan, do you still remember Chagall? He also joined the expeditionary force and is now in the destroyer fleet. He is already a captain. We have met twice in a hurry."
Qi Yan nodded: "Remember."
On the day of establishment, they went to the launch tower together and seized the source architecture of the starship's central control system. When Lu Fenghan asked about his plans, his answer was that he wanted to join the expeditionary force.
Speaking of military rank, Ye Pei laughed again and pointed to his shoulder straps: "Look! Lieutenant! I also have a military rank!"
The smile on her face slowly faded again, "We had agreed before that if there was a chance, we would travel to Planet Woz together."
Pray: "When we get Leto back, we can go together."
Although no one knows how long it will take for this to come true.
Qi Yan asked: "Where is Xia Zhiyang?"
Mondrian replied: "Xia Zhiyang is still in Leto. The rebels are under very strict control and do not allow external communications. We have completely cut off contact."
Ye Pei actually wanted to ask why Qi Yan suddenly appeared on the command ship, and where Qi Yan’s bodyguard named Lu was and whether he was safe.
But Qi Yan did not take the initiative to explain, which meant that the reason might not be convenient for others to know, so Ye Pei and Mondrian did not speak rashly.
After talking about what happened at Turan Academy, Ye Pei couldn't help but sigh: "It really feels like a dream. If what happened on the founding day hadn't happened, I would be a third-year student at Turan now, probably preparing for the exams. If I did poorly on the exams, I would hide away and cry quietly."
None of the three spoke again.
At this moment, Ye Pei and Mondrian's eyes simultaneously focused slightly, as if they were listening to something attentively.
Qi Yan knew that everyone on the ship had a communicator implanted in their personal terminal, and the sound was directly connected to the auditory nerves, ensuring real-time communication was not limited by distance and would not be easily leaked.
Just as he thought, more than ten seconds later, Ye Pei spoke: "Notify everyone in the technical department to hold a meeting. There is a new system that needs to be familiarized. Qi Yan, we are leaving first. Can you find the way?"
Qi Yan nodded: "Yes, I can find it."
Ye Pei was a little reluctant: "Let's chat together next time if we have a chance!"
After Ye Pei and the other two went to gather, Qi Yan stood there for a while, then went back to his room to sleep.
Qi Yan was woken up by Po Jun in the middle of the night, and the lights in the room were very dim.
"What's up?"
Po Jun: "The general asked me to take you to the combat command room."
Qi Yan's voice was still slightly hoarse from just waking up, but he had already reacted completely: "The war has started?"
"Yes."
When Qi Yan arrived at the command room, the meeting had just begun. Lu Fenghan was the first to notice him coming in and pointed to the empty seat behind him.
Qi Yan didn't care about the various looks cast at him, and sat next to Lu Fenghan as he requested.
Lu Fenghan got straight to the point without saying a word: "The new detection system provided by 'over there' has been successfully debugged. The code name for this mission is 'Salute'." He looked up at a middle-aged soldier, "Has the 'Pingning' been fully equipped?"
"Report to the command, the 'Pingning' and its escort ships and integrated supply ships have all been equipped!"
"Yes." Lu Fenghan ordered, "Pojun, let me check on the Pingning."
The next second, a shadow appeared above the round conference table, and a starship appeared in front of everyone.
There is a high-energy particle cannon on each side of the front of the starship, forty-nine missile thrusters on the left, and thirty-six high-sensitivity cannons and laser cannon turrets on the right. The whole body is black, like a shadow in space.
Lu Fenghan: “Inside.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the outer shell of the starship quickly peeled off, revealing forty destroyers and twenty small reconnaissance ships inside.
Lu Fenghan nodded and looked around at everyone: "Get ready for action, I wish you all a successful start."
The people surrounding the round table stood up straight, touched their heels together, saluted Lu Fenghan, and quickly left the command room.
When the command room was empty again, Lu Fenghan took off his military jacket and put it on Qi Yan's shoulders. Compared with just now, his voice seemed to have retreated a layer of thin ice: "Were you sleeping just now?"
"Yeah, I was a little sleepy, so I went to sleep." Lu Fenghan's body temperature was still on Qi Yan's clothes. He sniffed gently, inexplicably wanting to say a few more words to Lu Fenghan. After thinking for a while, he said, "I came out of the equipment room and ran into Ye Pei and Mondrian."
There were a lot of new recruits sent this time, and Lu Fenghan only had a general idea of the formation and training situation.
"They are in the technical department?"
"Yes, a letter of recommendation written by Professor Fu."
When these names were mentioned, Lu Fenghan suddenly had the illusion that the calendar had turned over hundreds of pages.
Looking out the porthole again, I could no longer clearly realize that this was indeed the front line of the Southern Cross Region.
At this time, the "Pingning", which was the main battleship of this mission, had slowly moved. Although the ship was huge and bulky, its movements were extremely agile, and it sailed silently into the sea of stars.
Seeing Qi Yan looking out the porthole, Lu Fenghan explained: "The battle plan this time is very simple. The 'Pingning' will be the main force. We will first clean out several enemy resource supply stations, and then use high-sensitivity artillery to bombard several asteroids. When Donald receives the signal, he will naturally lead the troops to come over through the jump channel.
However, there are many jump channels, and we cannot determine where they are coming from, so we need to use "Wind Catching" at this time. We can use the time difference to ambush at the exit of the high-density heat signal in advance."
Vincent smiled and showed his white teeth: "This time we have prepared a lot of gifts for Donald at all costs. We are just waiting for him to bring the main force over and fire to welcome him!"
Not long after, battle reports kept coming in the communication channel:
"Report to command, supply station F-074 has been destroyed!"
"… Supply stations F-075 and F-077 have been destroyed!"
"… "
"The K-N765 mining planet's defense network is 98% destroyed."
"The landing ship is in place..."
Just after half an hour, five planets on the virtual star map had already re-planted the shield and sword flags.
At this time, Po Jun prompted: "General, the detection system detected that the jump channel No. y801 has a high-density heat signal. It is predicted that there are two battleships and it will take 2 minutes and 21 seconds to leave the jump channel. The signal of the jump channel No. y806 is weak. It is predicted that there is one medium-sized ship and 20 destroyers, and it will take a total of 2 minutes and 55 seconds."
Judging from the distribution of combat power and the time difference, Donald's plan was to encircle the enemy from both ends.
Lu Fenghan also issued an order: "Frigates should unload their bomb/munition reserves to 20%, and battleships should unload to 50%. After unloading is completed, retreat in an E-shaped path to a distance of thirty firing ranges. The Pingning should turn its guns and aim at the exit of 806. If someone has come out, use missiles to bombard them. Don't be too economical. The destroyers should be prepared for assistance."
"yes!"
Two minutes later, the rebels who had just escaped from the squeezing feeling of the jump channel triggered the bomb placed at the exit before they had time to react!
In the black curtain-like space, huge fireworks rose up. The orange-red flames even coated the dark surface of the Pingning with a light color.
At the same time, on the command ship where Donald was, countless bright spots representing the starships went out within three seconds, shocking Donald so much that he stood up suddenly: "What's going on? Check if it's communication interference!"
Soon, the signalman reported: "Report, no interference signal detected ahead!"
At this moment, Donald's heart was beating like a drum, and no one in the command room dared to speak.
If it wasn't communications interference, then what did it mean that the light spots went out at the same time
It only means that the entire fleet was wiped out by the expeditionary force in just a few seconds!
At this moment, he thought a lot, and the biggest possibility was that a traitor leaked the coordinates of the jump point, and Lu Fenghan deliberately replicated the scene of the great defeat!
Tang Na's face turned pale. He sat back in his chair, his hands on the armrests: "I want to know what happened just now!"
On the expeditionary command ship, Qi Yan was looking at the information sent back from the front.
After comparing the data obtained within three seconds after the rebels left the jump point with the data obtained by the new detection system, the conclusion was reached - there was no error.
After the "Pingning" in front dealt with the rebel's main battleship, it left behind a few destroyers to clean up the rear, and then quickly passed through the jump channel and attacked all the way towards Turin.
Lu Fenghan was 70% focused on the battle, and the other 30% on Qi Yan. Seeing him yawning quietly with his hands covering his mouth, physiological tears instantly wet his eyelashes.
"Are you sleepy?"
Qi Yan shook his head.
During the half year of getting along with Leto, Lu Fenghan probably understood Qi Yan's little expressions better than Qi Yan himself.
Without exposing Qi Yan's words, Lu Fenghan patted his thigh.
Qi Yan hesitated for two seconds, but still sat closer and rested his head on Lu Fenghan's thigh. Then, the coat he had been wearing was unfolded and put on him again.
Lu Fenghan covered Qi Yan's eyes and whispered, "Go to sleep."
Qi Yan couldn't help but blink.
He couldn't help but reflect that his behavioral logic seemed to be broken in recent days.
It has been confirmed that there is no problem with the new detection system, so he can go back to his room to rest. Even if he has to stay just in case, he can sleep on the conference table.
Why do you want to sleep on Lu Fenghan’s lap
However, I have slept like this before, more than once or twice.
Whenever he compared it with his previous memories, Qi Yan would give up thinking.
So not long after, Lu Fenghan discovered that Qi Yan's breathing had become steady and he had fallen asleep.
The battle did not last long.
After dealing with the rebels' vanguard, the "Pingning" continued to advance with great speed, catching the enemy off guard while they were still trying to figure out the situation. The enemy was unable to react even when missiles were fired in front of them.
In the star map, Durin Star also planted the shield and sword flag. Lu Fenghan gave an order: "You all performed very well. You can come back after finishing it."
This battle was fought to test the new detection system and to boost the morale of the expeditionary force with a victory.
In other words, not only the expeditionary force, but the entire military and the entire alliance, needed such a complete and thorough victory.
On the day the Alliance was founded, the Alliance's capital planet was lost. Countless rumors like "the rebels are invincible" had already spread across the Alliance's territory and filled everyone's ears.
And only a perfect victory can dispel such rumors.
Therefore, Lu Fenghan did not prepare to pursue the victory, but after taking Turin Star, he immediately called everyone back.
An hour later, the fleet returned, and countless repair robots came forward to begin repairing the damaged starships.
Leaving the follow-up matters to Erich, Lu Fenghan leaned over and picked up Qi Yan horizontally.
Qi Yan's eyelashes trembled, but she did not wake up. She even unconsciously grabbed one side of Lu Fenghan's collar, just like before, like a little animal afraid of being abandoned.
Lu Fenghan hugged him tighter.
Before leaving, Lu Fenghan turned to his adjutant and said, "The Alliance has moved the entire center to Odin, but the Leto Daily is still there."
Vincent nodded. "We moved with them. When we first moved there, the army was unstable and someone suggested changing the name to Odin Daily, but it was rejected. General Nie said that we have to change it back when we return to Leto. It's troublesome."
Considering that Prayer had fallen asleep, Vincent lowered his voice.
Lu Fenghan nodded: "Send the detailed information of this battle to the Leto Daily and ask them to write a good front-page headline."
Vincent continued: "Wouldn't it be best to let Leto's people know about the first victory?"
"Yeah." Lu Fenghan looked through the porthole at the slowly moving "Pingning" ship, "People always have to have some hope and expectation."
Just like during the six months on Chenxi Star, the person in his arms was his hope.