Can Ci Pin - - - Chapter 133

Chapter 133 – The Cruelness of Time

Lin Jingheng was supposed to feel nostalgic and reverent as he sailed near the Heart of the Rose, but the territory wasn’t what he would consider a ‘hometown.’ He didn’t know if the mysterious wormhole area would change over the last twenty years, nor was he sure if the spatial distortion would be able to send him back to the same place…regardless, he was convinced that something would go wrong with his plans, based off his personal experiences in life so far.

It had been fourteen Woltorian years since he regained consciousness; the journey had been too long and almost spanned a whole lifetime. This ironically gave him more patience than he needed and gave him the delusion that there would be a longer journey ahead, so he didn’t even have time to think about the anxiety of returning home.

Therefore, this man without foresight was faced with an unexpected immediate threat.

For a while, Lin Jingheng’s mind was blank. When he finally regained his senses, he realized he had subconsciously asked in a daze: “What…what happened to your eyes?”

“My blood pressure got a little unstable from passing through the wormhole, it’s no big deal,” Lu Bixing answered nonchalantly under the puppeteering of the relaxant. The powerful drug even allowed him to give a gentle smile. “Welcome back, my Commander.”

It almost sounded like Lin Jingheng had simply returned from a week-long business trip, just stepping back into the meeting room with his luggage from the back door.

The emotions flooding out of Lin Jingheng didn’t even have time to burn up in flames when cold air surrounded him, catching him off guard and consuming him as he fell into an icy pit.

What was a reunion after life and death supposed to be like?

When he saw Woolf again, he was filled with conflicted feelings that rushed to him like a tide; when he saw Lin Jingshu, he was moved with fear and shock with a loss of control over overflowing emotions. When Thomas Young of the Third Squadron received the summoning order out of the blue, the Captain screamed through the channel like a madman; right now, even all the old Ninth Squadron soldiers behind Lu Bixing were tearing up as they looked at him.

Only Lu Bixing himself was calm and collected as an unexplainable sense of alienation shone from the young man’s eyes.

“My apologies, I haven’t introduced myself yet,” Lu Bixing quickly removed his gaze from Lin Jingheng and captured the rest of the galactic fleets gathered by the edge of the First Galaxy under his eyes. A courteous and diplomatic smile appeared on his face. “I am the Executive Prime Minister of the Eighth Galaxy, Lu Bixing. Our galaxy’s Galactic Expedition Team was initially exploring a newfound territory in space when we suddenly discovered the existence of an active wormhole area. We naturally passed through it and didn’t expect to arrive in the First Galaxy; we had no intention of interrupting everyone’s meeting here today. However, because our men happened to pass by and were blocked by our fellow galactic fleets here, we had to make our appearance out of courtesy to retrieve them.”

There were indeed too many accidents today.

First was the unexpected crash of the Silver Ten led by a Lin Jingheng who seemed to have mastered the skill of ‘immortality’, then it was the appearance of an unknown mech fleet from within the forbidden zone inside the Heart of the Rose. Whether it was the Eighth Galaxy or passing through a natural wormhole area, everything that happened was news shocking enough to shake the grounds of the Union. In comparison, the news of “a terrorist group took a whole planet hostage” didn’t even seem like a headline that would make it onto even the second page.

If this wasn’t the battlefield, perhaps the whole universe’s media groups would be rushing in to get first dibs on these headlines that could shock the world for a whole year.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, a General from the Central Militia finally spoke up: “The Eighth Galaxy Independent…Government?”

“The Eighth Galaxy destroyed its own intergalactic transfer portals and isolated itself from the Union. Since then, we have established a new independent government and adapted a new calendar following the Independent Era,” Lu Bixing said. “And you are?”

“I’m the former Second Galaxy Central Militia Top General Will Duke, I am currently executing the mission of cleaning up space pirates near the borders of the First Galaxy.”

“It’s my pleasure to meet you, General Duke.” Lu Bixing nodded. “I hope that you are able to visit the Eighth Galaxy as a guest if we ever have the chance to establish an official diplomatic relationship with the Union.”

“You…but the Union never recognized…”

Lu Bixing interrupted him in a civil manner: “My apologies, General Duke; however, the meaning of an ‘Independent Government’ is that we have full sovereignty as a governing body in a fully-recognized territory. We hold equal governing rights as the Interstellar Union, and are not an autonomous region within the Union. We do not recognize the legal and governing system of the Interstellar Union, nor do we need the recognition of the Union.”

Nobody younger than 300 years old born in the NSC Era truly understood the concept of a “state” and “sovereignty”. Even space pirates were considered anti-government and terrorist organizations in their subconsciouses; even as the Glory Troops lived a decade-long dream of founding the Glory Empire in Wolto, nobody truly dared to claim they were equal to the Union’s authority.

General Duke was left speechless by such a treacherous statement.

Lu Bixing lowered his head slightly to check his personal device; he had less than ten minutes before the effects of the number 6 relaxant wore off.

His clear mind could still hold off all his senseless emotions for ten minutes. Lu Bixing carefully assessed the current situation in his mind: right now, the Silver Ten were still the center of attention here. Even if they were a battered-up fleet right now, they were still a fleet that could cast a storm in the battlefield if they were stuck inside ecopods. Their legacy had been unshakable for over 300 years to the point where they were almost a mythological entity.

However, the homeground still belonged to the Union Forces. The scale of their forces right now was perhaps the equivalent of all three other forces on-site combined. Their mechs might be a bit outdated, but they were still the ones that controlled the Union. If they weren’t being held hostage by the pirates right now, the Union wouldn’t have hesitated to dispatch their full force against all of the pirates.

In contrast to the other two, the Freedom Corps were much more easy-going in terms of management and function as an armed force. They were still pirate forces with the goal of destruction, but what made them such a threat was their insanity, willingness to sacrifice, and the dangers of the biochip on any groups of people. If the opium situation didn’t resolve soon and caused the Union to fall apart from the inside, capturing a whole planet would no longer be an isolated incident in the future…though of course, none of this really had to do with the Eighth Galaxy.

As for the Union, the Central Militias held up by the former subordinates of Lu Xin made up a great half of their galactic forces.

Lu Bixing’s gaze quickly ran over Woolf in the corner of his screen. This old man who had steadily walked up the ladder of authority and represented the Pledge of Freedom perhaps didn’t know that Lu Bixing had repaired the database of the forbidden fruit; that list that could single-handedly pull Woolf off his throne was in the hands of this Prime Minister.

Perhaps the old Chief would have his own explanation of this issue, but the system revealed that Woolf had been on the list since before both deaths of the two directors of the White Tower. Since then, he was no longer under the control of Eden, but had still witnessed his own adopted son Lin Wei die by the hands of Eden and watched his student Lu Xin also fall into the trap of Eden, only to expect Lin Jingheng to return to the Union after the same forces had already destroyed this young man–

How would Lu Xin’s ex-subordinate see all of this?

Would they believe that Woolf had long been a dog of the Eden Committee? Or would they believe that the old Chief didn’t have anything to do with the Committee and was simply building his relationship with the AUS behind their backs?

Lu Bixing exchanged glances with Woolf briefly as he smiled towards the old man, thinking: I can destroy half of your kingdom right now.

But…someone would not want him to do that.

Lu Bixing let out a silent sigh and said: “48 Woltorian years ago, a well-known lady scholar was forced to flee to the Eighth Galaxy, this place her husband had once fought in, due to some issues at home…”

Everyone present knew who he was talking about immediately as the words came out of his mouth. Lin Jingheng’s heart skipped a beat and he was suddenly filled with unease.

“Her husband–whom I’ve heard everyone here is quite familiar with, seemed to have his name cleared of false accusations already, but died from a terrible conspiracy of the Eden Committee. As for why his relationship with the Committee grew sour, I’ve learned it was due to giving his heart to the Eighth Galaxy outside of Eden’s control.” Lu Bixing paused slightly and spread his hands before him in a slightly helpless manner. “Our poor rural lands have a population made up of vaccuocerebrals — nobody’s even seen what Eden looks like in their lives, including myself. We’ve never been through higher education like everyone else here and were isolated from civilization for hundreds of years; these are facts that still remain relevant today. And for the Eighth Galaxy to obtain equal rights was the greatest wish of that Commander when he was alive. For me, this was the will of my father.”

Woolf immediately understood the meaning behind those words and was stunned.

The entire Central Militia fleets also fell into silence as countless eyes locked on Lu Bixing’s face hoping to find traces of his parents in the young man’s features.

General Duke from the Central Militia fleet stuttered as he opened his mouth again: “You…you are…”

Lin Jingheng: “……”

He knew that Monoeyed Hawk wasn’t a reliable ally, but he didn’t expect that old cat to be this unreliable! Didn’t they agree to never speak of this even if they died, so that they could let this child stay away from conflict and live a peaceful life in ignorance?

And what the fuck was Minister Edward doing, why were they pushing Lu Bixing up on the front stage?

Lu Bixing: “Zhanlu, you can say hi to everyone now.”

A robotic voice rang out from behind him: “Long time no see, people of the Union–Sir, I thought all of my data relating to you would become like Commander Lu Xin’s and forever be kept in my database; what a pleasant surprise to meet you again during this lifetime.”

This voice that once disappeared near the edge of the Seventh and Eighth Galaxy pierced through Lin Jingheng’s heart as he felt the corner of his eyes burn slightly, gently closing his eyes in response.

Zhanlu continued: “I’ve compared Minister Lu’s DNA with Commander Lu and Madam Lu’s DNA respectively and have confirmed that he was the child born that year under such dangerous circumstances…”

General Duke once again interrupted in a frenzy before Zhanu could finish: “Send me the report, you…are you really Zhanlu? But didn’t Zhanlu…”

“I can send the report to your mech’s communication device,” Zhanlu answered calmly. “Hello, General Duke. I still remember that year when you and a few others secretly made a bet when Commander Lu wasn’t around and tried to connect to my mental network to check your mental strength range. Although due to my custom settings back then, I accidentally hurt you and sent you to the medical capsule after knocking you out. I have been very concerned about this event for almost a century; I feel that I owe you a proper apology.”

“That….that was when I was still a personal guard for Commander Lu…I….” This general of the Central Militia couldn’t even formulate a proper sentence as his lips trembled uncontrollably, “He…he has an offspring? It’s been so many years –we never knew and never fulfilled our duty, now he’s grown so big already…I owe it to our Commander…the Eighth–how has the Eighth Galaxy been these years?”

“Not bad, but of course I’m not almighty, so everyone’s just been barely surviving right now. Thank you for your concern; I hope one day I can live up to my father’s name.” Lu Bixing answered, “The active wormhole area is still quite unstable, so in order to ensure the safety of the terminal, I’m afraid we will have to take our leave right now. When we rebuild the transfer portals in the future, please feel free to come visit.”

He gestured at the people beside him and rearranged the fleet as they turned towards the depths of the Heart of the Rose. At the same time, the heavy mechs rolled their connecting tracks out towards the battered-up mechs of the Silver Ten.

This little feral child that appeared out of nowhere openly took away the Silver Ten in front of everyone’s faces in the utmost disrespect.

Wang Ailun was about to call him out when Woolf lifted a hand and pressed on his shoulder.

The secretary was stunned for a moment until he saw that with General Will Duke leading, all of the Central Militia mechs that had followed Lu Xin in the past voluntarily opened up a path for the Eighth Galaxy forces to pass, even pointing their guns at the necks of the pirates in case anyone wanted to jump in.

Lu Bixing’s eyes locked onto the heavy mech’s connecting tracks until the last small mech rolled in, the pressure on his chest finally alleviated.

A small alert flashed on his personal device soundlessly to indicate that twenty minutes had passed, that the effects of the relaxant were starting to wear off.

“Retreat,” Lu Bixing announced with an expressionless face. “Don’t linger around the Heart of the Rose. Let the Expedition Team lead the fleet and open up the terminal for us; we’re heading back immediately.”

“Yes sir!”

“Oh right, here’s a parting gift for you all.” A missile shot out of the commanding ship as Lu Bixing spoke; the range of the missile exceeded the maximum range of a Union missile as it shot directly at a pirate mech. While it wasn’t uncommon to see missiles on the battlefield and the range of said missile was something to be feared, the most terrifying of all was the fact that the moment the galactic missile shot out, no mech on the battlefield, regardless of the Union or the Freedom Corps, received a missile warning.

The target pirate mech didn’t even have time to put up a proper defense as it blew up into a ball of fire.

Lu Bixing explained patiently as if he was simply giving a lecture in class: “According to my observations, this particular pilot had bad aim and seemed to have misfired toward my men earlier. We may be poor, but we don’t like to also owe others, so here’s a missile in return. See you all next time.”

Lu Bixing cut off the connection on his end and sailed away proudly with his fleet, then disappeared before everyone as the whole world stared in awe.

The foolish Silver Ten fleet that followed Lin Jingheng to the Eighth Galaxy Forces were stunned the moment they stepped down from their little mechs. Thomas was like a frog in a well seeing the world for the first time and ran around like an excitable child: “The air pressure balance and activation speed of the launching dock is almost 0.6 times faster than an equivalent grade of heavy mech from the Union, fucking rad…wow, check out this backup mech, these tracks…am I dreaming? Is this really the Eighth Galaxy? Hey Commander, didn’t you say the heavy mechs from the Eighth Galaxy back then were stolen from the pirates? How come…”

Poisson was at his wit’s end and mercilessly gave his brother’s back a kick. Thomas was kicked forward a few steps before he leaned against the wall of the launching dock, ready to turn his head back to complain only to see that Lin Jingheng’s expression was grim.

Zhanlu’s voice came out of the broadcast inside the launching dock: “Please be careful, Captain Young.”

“Hey, Zhanlu.” Thomas rubbed his nose and strolled back to push Doctor Hardin’s wheelchair out. “Your new ‘skin’ is pretty neat.”

“This is not my mech body, Captain,” Zhanlu said. “Due to the overwhelming cost, my mech core function still hasn’t been fully repaired. Now I’m simply the Prime Minister’s personal AI.”

“Prime Minister?” Lin Jingheng lifted his head.

“Yes, sir. Prime Minister Edward passed away ten Independent Years ago due to illness, so now the Executive Prime Minister of the Eighth Galaxy is Headmaster Lu–I personally prefer ‘Headmaster Lu’ in private occasions, what about you, sir?”

Lin Jingheng suppressed his anxiety and asked: “What about Turan? Monoeyed Hawk?”

“General Turan is now the Top Commander of the Eighth Galaxy Defense Department and has been ordered to remain on standby back in the Eighth Galaxy. I believe she will be waiting for us on the other side of the wormhole.” Zhanlu paused slightly before continuing, “As for Mister Lu, he sacrificed his life on the frontlines against the pirate invasion that year when the Eighth Galaxy’s secret terminal was exposed, he is now buried in…”

Lin Jingheng’s mind blanked out before Zhanlu could finish.

At that moment, the team of soldiers that came to escort them arrived at the launching dock. The head of the team was Lu Bixing’s former student, little Rickhead.

This silly child who liked to solve everything with his fist had always been scared of Lin Jingheng back then and could never speak a full sentence in front of the revered Commander. Now, he was all grown up and even the last trace of adolescence had disappeared from his face; his features had grown sharper while he seemed to have grown taller. A new sense of sternness and confidence shone from his eyes as he courteously saluted Lin Jingheng: “Commander, please follow me, the safety capsule for passing through the wormhole is located at the bottom of the heavy mech…”

Lin Jingheng interrupted him: “Where’s the commanding center?”

Rickhead: “……”

“Sir,” Zhanlu said, “we’re about to arrive at the wormhole area in the Heart of the Rose. Even though the Expedition Team has made some progress in wormhole research these last years, there are still risks in passing through, we need you..”

“Move!” Lin Jingheng pushed away the soldier standing in front of him.

The Silver Ten that was left behind all looked at each other in shock; they’d never seen their Commander lose composure like this before.

Thomas blinked a few times before commenting: “Oh right, didn’t this Prime Minister Lu say earlier that he was a descendant of Commander Lu Xin? So that means he’s our Commander’s….”

Poisson looked at him as if he couldn’t believe this dumb child shared the same blood at him.

“……Hey bro.” Thomas looked back at him innocently. “Why are you glaring at me like that again?”

Thankfully, the interiors of a heavy mech were quite the same so Lin Jingheng didn’t need someone to lead the way to find the command center.

All the staff on board were getting prepared to pass through the wormhole and doing last minute checks. Even though the galactic soldiers on board were all fresh faces to him, it was clear that they’d all been through proper training and survived battlefields, not new enlistments that were barely pulled out of the training grounds. The Eighth Galaxy fleet had only showed their faces for an instant, but it was more than obvious that the same old discount fleet that had been pulled together back in the day no longer existed.

As for the familiar old faces, some had grown old, others were now gone.

After over a decade of time, the temporary lives of man and permanent objects of the world showed their true faces before Lin Jingheng without warning. For the first time in his life, he felt the cruelness of time.

He felt as if…even the air around him smelled different.

Lu Bixing’s cold and elusive demeanor flashed across his mind.

The Prime Minister’s gone, Monoeyed Hawk was also gone; how did he live through all these years?

How did he learn to suppress all his emotions, to turn the Eighth Galaxy into what it is today?

Has he…tried finding someone else, even if it was just to chat and comfort his broken heart?

Lin Jingheng quickly pushed the last question out of his mind the moment it surfaced.

For over a decade, he had been fighting with fate day and night as he closed off all other emotions within himself; yet now, he couldn’t even bring himself to face this question. It was like a double-edged sword that hung on his heart; if the answer was ‘yes’, one side would stab into him. If the answer was ‘no’, the other side would also stab into him…there was no win for him regardless.

Zhanlu chased after him annoyingly about safety–only this silly AI remained unchanged and could talk for hours beside him.

Some soldiers and staff along the way tried to explain the dangers of passing through the wormhole, but who could stop Lin Jingheng?

The countdown to the wormhole rang throughout the mech; Lin Jingheng ignored everything and ran, barging into the command center.

Inside the command center of the mech, Lin Jingheng noticed the secretary was still the same one who had followed Prime Minister Edward. His impression of the secretary was that he was an avid gossiper and unreliable man, but different from before, his hair was graying from old age. The Secretary had already put on his spacesuit and was preparing to lock the helmet and safety belt onto himself; he saw Lin Jingheng barge in and quickly pointed at a certain direction without a word–

Second floor, the closed door of the Prime Minister’s office.

The effects of the number 6 relaxant faded away as quickly as they had taken effect; Lu Bixing’s whole body was numbed like a rusty robot. He could vaguely feel his consciousness fading as he locked himself in his office like he was sinking into a dream. He couldn’t remember where he was while the medical capsule reached out its robotic arms and helped him into the space suit.

The door to the office opened abruptly. Lu Bixing looked up after a few moments as he stared dumbly at the person walking towards him.

At this moment, the mech arrived at the spatial distortion zone. The gravity system inside the mech temporarily malfunctioned as everyone’s feet left the ground. Lin Jingheng lost balance for a split second as he tripped on air and floated towards the doorway while grabbing onto the walls.

Lu Bixing’s eyes widened as he instinctively jumped out and grabbed onto the man in front of him–