Can Ci Pin - - - Chapter 108

Chapter 108 – I Only Have You Now

“What’s going on?” Turan was confused. “Commander, are these your backups?”

She then quickly rejected her idea before he could respond: “Nah, they look rich, so definitely not.”

“Turan,” Lin Jingheng said, “you’re in the middle of pretending to lose your voice; I didn’t know you also got intermission time for this act.”

Turan: “……”

Lin Jingheng: “Ignore them.”

The AUS fleet had the Eighth Galaxy chasing from behind and a third party blocking their way in front and suffered a wave of cannon fire as they attempted to retreat. The commanding ship fell during the encounter while the rest of the fleet fled like headless chickens without a leader. At the same time, the Eighth Galaxy fleet took this opportunity to take them down one by one.

A single mech that tried to flee the battlefield was caught by Zhanlu’s vast mental network before it could escape. The pilot was immediately knocked off the mental network, the backup pilots frantically reconnecting in an attempt to reclaim their mech. Yet before any of them could do anything, Lin Jingheng turned on the broadcast inside the mech and asked: “you all can choose to be a hostage or die.”

The backup pilots were stunned for a moment before they responded with their action–they chose death.

No planet outside the territories of the Union, where civilization failed to reach, was suitable for life, so these followers of nature could only live on artificial space stations. They were exiled from the comfort of earthly nature to the void of space.

Anyone who hadn’t struggled with their faith in the darkness of space would never be able to understand the kind of madness driving these people.

Lin Jingheng answered their plea for death without hesitation and turned on the air pressure system inside the mech the moment the AUS pilots attempted to retrieve their mental network. Within seconds, the air pressure vent sucked out all the oxygen inside the mech and those fearless soldiers almost instantly turned into deformed corpses. The enemy mech was then captured by the old Model 3.

It took less than a minute before the entire AUS fleet was virtually annihilated once the unidentified third party fleet joined in, and after cleaning up the battlefield, the Eighth Galaxy forces sailed forward to face their accidental support.

The unidentified fleet was a well-equipped superdimensional galactic fleet that outshone the Eighth Galaxy forces, who looked like a bunch of civilians carrying broken maces in comparison.

Neither side spoke up first and stared at each other in silence.

“Sir,” Zhanlu said, “a portion of the fleet before us don’t have a ‘gap’ on their human-mech connection port and have a sync rate of 100%. That means if the pilots are not AIs they must be biochip humans.”

Could it be the Freedom Corps?

Lin Jingheng’s suspicion grew as he recalled the small space station selling ‘opium’ near the old planet Cayley.

Turan attempted to send a communication request to the fleet with no response.

Soon after, this mysterious fleet split into two as the group of mechs in the back sailed forward while the leading mechs in front slowly retreated into the nearest transfer portal right before Lin Jingheng’s eyes, leaving the battlefield. The rest of the mechs that didn’t leave stayed silently in their same spots and entered an awkward staring contest with the Eighth Galaxy Galactic Forces.

Turan: “Uh…is this supposed to be a space version of Red Light, Green Light? I…should we try shooting gently at them?”

Lin Jingheng silently approved this violent request and Turan ‘gently’ fired a round of particle cannons at the closest mech in front.

Yet as the cannon shots disappeared upon contact with the enemy mech’s shield, something even stranger happened–every single one of these floating mechs voluntarily gave up their mental network access.

From the visuals on the mental network, it looked as if a small breeze blew out all the candles before them.

A vanguard mech of the Eighth Galaxy Forces carefully sailed forward and took over a mech’s mental network to look inside these strange mechs: “Captain, the mech is well-functioning and fully-equipped with arms.”

Turan asked: “What about the pilots?”

The vanguard answered: “there are no traces of life inside the mech.”

Zhanlu added: “there are also no AIs we can communicate with.”

Turan felt goosebumps crawling all over her skin: “Then who was piloting that mech earlier? Are you telling me it was a ghost?”

The truth was the pilots were indeed ghosts–the fleet later spent over 20 hours total with the help of the engineering team to open up all 50 of those new and functioning mech as if they were disarming a bomb. Even Lu Bixing was freed from his little space jail to help out; to everyone’s surprise, they found a corpse on every heavy mech they opened up. The corpses all died standing by the wall in the same pose, cause of death still unknown.

It was like those ancient supernatural myths where they all had their souls sucked out of their bodies within an instant.

Every one of these corpses had a biochip on their napes, ones very similar to opium but still slightly different. By the time they were taken out of the body, the chip was already dead and rendered useless.

The armories of the mechs were also as the vanguard soldier reported: aside from using up a few missiles against the AUS earlier, they were all virtually fully-loaded.

What did a fully-loaded heavy mech mean?

Back when Lin Jingheng stole two backup supply storages from that old fart and loaded all important military supplies onto the Model 3, he’d only managed to fill about 90% of the mech.

Turan felt like she was dreaming; a day ago she was still weeping over her bad luck at losing a dozen or so mechs that had still been under repair, now she felt like she’d won the lottery with this sudden gift from the heavens.

All 50 heavy mechs were very new with functions far superior and updated than Lin Jingheng’s old Model 3. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that it was almost on par with Zhanlu’s original mech body back in the Union minus the AI core–of course, while heavy mechs usually come with their own AI systems, the commander would not be willing to use an AI from an unknown source.

Because the Eighth Galaxy did not have the ability to produce their own heavy mechs right now, all of the heavy mechs of the military were gathered through various means throughout the galaxy; none of their existing models could compare to the new and fancier models they found from the last battle.

The Freedom Corps pirates were like a group of clowns at first; their fleets were made of small mechs from all around the universe and worked with a small cult like the Toxic Nest for a living. They didn’t seem particularly well-off compared to the other two big pirate organizations, almost as if they were a group of farmers carrying axes and butcher knives on their shoulders.

Yet with every encounter, the Freedom Corps seemed as if they would grow more organized than before. It was almost terrifying to think what could possibly be behind their expansion and development.

It had only been less than a year since the war broke out — how far had opium spread within the Union to the point that the mastermind behind the drug became a billionaire almost overnight?

“That space station from before was at least a war prize, now this is straight-up a gift.” Lu Bixing nudged over shamelessly as if he forgot that Lin Jingheng was still mad at him and asked, “This mystery person is pretty interesting, are you sure this isn’t from your secret admirer? Do you have any idea who it might be?”

Lin Jingheng shook his head as he thought about Laura.

Whoever was bringing opium out right now must be someone that was very close to Laura and Lin Jingheng himself; of course, there were not many people that fit this criteria.

When he was still in the Union, Lin Jingheng spent most of his time around the higher-ups of the Military Council. If it was someone among them, they could easily have access to the factories in the Union and could equip the Freedom Corps with supplies from the beginning. There would be no reason for the pirates to loot supplies to make a living.

As for Laura…she had been the director of the White Tower and allied with the Committee in name.

Lin Jingheng himself didn’t have a very close relationship with the Committee and his only connection to them was…

Lu Bixing noticed that the commander’s expression was growing anxious. In hopes to ease his worries, Lu Bixing instinctively wanted to make a joke to distract the commander. The young scientist placed an arm around Lin Jingheng and messed around with the commander’s chin and hair flirtatiously as he leaned in to say: “Commander, you sure are a heartthrob despite looking so serious all the time. Should you give me…”

Lin Jingheng grabbed his wrist.

Lu Bixing was stunned; the commander’s grip was so tight it felt as if his fingers were digging into Lu Bixing’s bones. Lin Jingheng’s expression remained cold, yet his lowered gaze reeked of concern as if his soul had been hurt underneath his flesh.

Lu Bixing: “Lin, what happened?”

When Monoeyed Hawk and William had sailed around the Eighth Galaxy to contact their old comrades, they were betrayed by an old friend. The Freedom Corps then chased them down for intercepting their opium sales.

Monoeyed Hawk once said that the traitor was a brother whom he’d shared life and death with, someone he’d spent 50 days together in a mech with…back then, Lin Jingheng had taunted Monoeyed Hawk and said that even sharing the same womb wouldn’t prove anything.

He had said it so heartlessly and so sternly as if he wouldn’t regret his own words.

“I only have you now.” Lin Jingheng grabbed onto Lu Bixing’s wrist as if it was his only hope left.

In the Eden lab, the Young twins said their goodbyes to Lin Jingshu.

“We didn’t realize the Glory Troops would receive the news before us and even do such an underhanded move.” Poisson said, “now that everyone knows Commander Lin is in the Eighth Galaxy, our backup central is completely useless now. We’re going to meet up with the rest of the Third Squadron and head over immediately.”

To their surprise, Lin Jingshu didn’t force them to stay nor give them a hard time for leaving. Instead, she even prepared enough supplies for them to last the trip.

“I have a mech that’s fully disguised. All eight galaxies are in turmoil right now, please be careful. I’ve heard that you two are back-end technicians –I’m sure neither of you would normally enter the frontlines during war, right? So stay cautious, take a detour if you run into any locked down area. Remember, safety first.” Lin Jingshu paused after she gave her warning and then added, “My brother never did any of the things they said, I know. Everything will be okay.”

The twins almost threw all their suspicion of her away with these words.

“That’s right,” Thomas shot a smile at her. “Associating Commander Lin’s name with those pirates and whatever dumb president is absolutely slander, but some people will believe anything that’s being said and others will purposely paint the situation that way. Miss Lin, the Union is very dangerous right now, are you sure you don’t want to come with us? If there really is a spy within the City of Angels, you will be in danger.”

Lin Jingshu shook her head and repeated herself patiently: “Didn’t I say already? I’ll be fine.”

The twins tried to talk her into fleeing with them a few more times, only to have Lin Jingshu insist on staying. Unable to convince her, the twins could only leave by themselves.

Right as they left, the First Squadron closest to the First Galaxy responded to their message.

“What did they say?” Lin Jingshu asked.

“Nothing too important,” a researcher said. “They only reported their coordinates and stated that they are on their way to the Eighth Galaxy. The original message was ‘we’re avoiding the Hummingbird Fortress as per Commander’s request, we’re stopping by…’”

“Hummingbird Fortress,” Lin Jingshu interrupted him, “that’s…what’s his name again?”

“General Yelvich, a former subordinate of Lu Xin. Some have said that he had been holding a grudge against the Union for a long time.”

“Oh, that’s good, then he’ll be it.” Lin Jingshu lowered her head as if she’d just ordered her food at a restaurant, “ex-subordinates of Lu Xin are all in a questionable position during wartime; even my brother had suspected them before, it’s perfect. Regardless if it really is him or not, let’s use him as the fuse for this war.”

The researcher looked at her carefully and said: “Madame, but what if he’s actually innocent….”

Lin Jingshu looked at him as if she couldn’t understand his question: “And what does that have to do with me?”

The researcher swallowed the rest of his words and lowered his head.

Lin Jingshu: “We’ve already reached this point, it’d be pointless if we’re still scared about saving faces and maintaining a fake relationship. Let me be the bad guy here who jumbles things up.”

“Madame, what about the City of Angels? They discovered the corpses of your guards and traces of battle, and now that you’re missing the news headlines are all over this incident.”

Lin Jingshu squinted slightly: “Then let me stay ‘missing’.”

Meanwhile, the Hummingbird Fortress reached its aphelion in orbit as Yelvich returned back home from the military base with a heavy heart.

For some reason, those voices of hatred towards Lin Jingheng reminded him of how the people spoke of Lu Xin in the past.

Those people claimed with pride and confidence that the most powerful evidence was what Lu Xin had said out of anger during his attempt to fight for the rights of people in the Eighth Galaxy: “Look at what the Eighth Galaxy is right now, you all might as well let the pirates govern them!”

Lu Xin rose to fame too early and stood on top at a young age. He might have been a bit reckless, but he wasn’t a fool that didn’t know how to control his mouth in public.

This was something he’d said to a subordinate during a vacation on a private starship parked outside a supply station. He already had a few drinks prior to this and didn’t bother hiding it in a private situation, but the words fell on the ears of a robot mechanic who happened to pass by at the time.

This mechanic was also a strong believer of the Pledge of Freedom who personally attended almost every demonstration and protested against threats of his belief. Like the child of a murdered father, he loathed space pirates with all his heart—even if he had never seen what pirates looked like.

After hearing these words, the mechanic thought he had mistaken someone else for him and snuck back to check. He used his worker access to look up Lu Xin’s customer profile and confirmed his identity. Shocked that this backbone of the Union military would say such a politically incorrect thing, this patriotic mechanic carried his frustration and worry back home that night and turned them into tears. The next morning, he finally fell under the pressure of fulfilling his civic duty and took this recording and reported it to the government.

They said that Lu Xin betrayed the Union and betrayed his faith.

They said he was too conceited and that his character and morals were not fit to be a leader. They said he had too many ambitions; he controlled the Military Council and wanted to extend his hand to the Parliament in order to make the Union his playground.

They also said that he was putting on an act to show off his happily married life, when in reality the marriage was already dead and the couple were both on their own. The marriage rate in the NSC era had already dropped down to 15%. A long life and youth spoiled the concept of marriage between young couples as most of them ended in breaking up after they got tired of playing family. What even was a partner for life, why would anyone believe such a lie in the modern era?

What could possibly be a more satisfying victory than to rip up the mask of someone and expose their true colors to the world?

What else could better show the fearsome power of truth?

“Pour me a glass of vodka,” Yelvich mumbled to his guard, “and ask if the temperature control is broken, it’s damn cold in here.”

The guard responded: “Sir, the temperature is 24 degrees with no abnormalities. Do you need to check your health?”

“No,” Yelvich complained in frustration, “move it, I want my vodka.”

The guard delivered the vodka at his request and poured a glass for him. The strong alcohol shot straight to his head as Yelvich took a sip and noticed that the guard in front of him was a new face. He spat out the sip of vodka and pushed the glass forward: “Put some ice in this thing…you weren’t part of the guards before, right?”

“No,” the guard responded calmly, “I used to be security at the front gate of the base. Someone on your personal team called in sick recently, so I spent some money and bought my way in as a replacement through some connections.”

Yelvich recalled him vaguely as he remembered the young man who would always greet him by the door every day and relaxed a little: “You’re still relying on these shady methods to climb up the ladder during a time like this? Why don’t you earn some honor the right way and make your way up?”

The guard answered: “Getting recognized for military feats is too much of a risk, I’d rather apply as your personal guard. Not only is it safe and a great start for a career, but I could also earn an impression from my boss.”

“I hate investors like you that come from rich families.” Yelvich tossed his hand up in the air with a displeased expression. “None of you all ever take the legitimate path.”

The guard laughed a little and added the ice into his glass without a word.

Yelvich stared at him and quietly opened up his personal device behind the glass. He scanned the young man’s face and asked casually: “What does your family do for a living that they can afford to buy a position in the military for you?”

The guard answered vaguely: “They run a business.”

Yelvich lowered his gaze and “Oh’ed” in disinterest as he quickly pulled up the guard’s profile and sent out an alert quietly: “What kind of business?”

The guard lifted his head and met his gaze with Yelvich’s. His eyes were cold and filled with an eerie glow that didn’t seem human.

“Biochips,” he said, “General, are you not going to drink your alcohol?”

The profile Yelvich pulled up of the young guard clearly indicated that he was an orphan, date of birth unknown.

The general quickly pulled out a gun from his waist and shot the guard in the knee: “Bullshit!”

Yelvich might have been a coward, but he still had some skills as a soldier from working in the military for years and aimed directly on his target. He’d simply planned on disabling the enemy before he continued the interrogation, but little did he expect that a shot to the knee would only cause the man to lose balance on the spot for a short second.

The guard even looked down at the hole in his leg, pulled up his pants slightly and walked towards Yelvich without any trouble.

Yelvich was shocked: “What the hell are you?”

The guard didn’t respond and only gave a ghostly smile as he slowly walked towards Yelvich. Goosebumps covered the general’s skin as he fired a few more rounds at the enemy, then turned towards his personal device once again–normally, his guards should arrive within two seconds after he sent out the alert, but…

“You don’t need to check, General. Your signal won’t send and the surveillance will not capture anything.”

Yelvich backed up to the corner of the room: “Who are you working for? The AUS? City of Angels? Or that president from the Glory pirates?”

The face of the guard slowly transformed into a completely different person. None of the security cameras nor anyone within the Hummingbird Fortress noticed this event: “You can ask that question in hell; farewell.”

Assassination–this was the last straw that indicated the fall of modern civilization.

Three hours later, another guard on shift discovered Yelvich’s corpse.

The injuries on the corpse and the surveillance indicated that he had desperately shot at something inside an empty office and screamed in fear about something as if he had gone mad. Then, he pointed the gun at himself and shot right through his own head.

According to his medical history, Yelvich was an alcoholic that also abused a lot of mood control medication. The mix of medication and alcohol was the main reason that drove him to madness, and his personal device also had records of him contacting the president of the Glory Troops in private.

General Ankur of the Seventh Galaxy received this news almost the instant it came on the news through his own sources.

At this time, General Ankur stood before Lin Jingheng–

Beginning of November, the Eighth Galaxy somehow gathered an entire fleet of superdimensional heavy mechs under turmoil. Now that they were back in the saddle, the Eighth Galaxy Forces pushed the AUS out of their territory, and under desperation, the AUS could only request more backup from their headquarters.

At the same time, the Eighth Galaxy deployed a large fleet of military mechs to begin relocating all the residents near the frontlines.