Can Ci Pin - - - Chapter 187

Chapter 187 – Reinforcement to the Eighth Galaxy

A few days ago, just after Lu Bixing’s secret was exposed throughout the entire Eighth Galaxy—

Lu Bixing slowly trudged around the corner of his wooden desk. Lee, Turan, Bayer, and Liu had all checked in long-distance, their figures projected on the 3D screen around the corners of the study. For a split second, the small study seemed more crowded than usual amidst this strange scenery.

Lu Bixing mumbled: “Turn in the biochip human, or we will open fire.”

Bayer studied the Prime Minister’s expression and chimed in: “According to the report the Third Squadron sent back, the AIs have given us twenty-four hours…”

Turan interrupted him grimly: “Don’t listen to that bullshit.”

“I’m not the one that said it…”

Lee said: “But in reality, they didn’t give us the twenty-four hours they promised—are you alright, Prime Minister?”

“I’m fine.” Aside from the initial shock, Lu Bixing had been relatively calm throughout the situation. He was someone who had overcome the greatest pain he could imagine for a man to shoulder, thus every other travesty seemed much more trivial in comparison. His playful mouth couldn’t help but add, “Worst case scenario, I quit my job. It’s no big deal, I’ve done my job well enough. From now on your Marshal here can bring the income home and raise me; I was actually worried I wouldn’t have time to raise kids and dogs here.”

The crowd listened to this completely unprofessional and unmotivated comment, squinting silently at the thought that there might be some more explosive information behind those careless words.

Lin Jingheng knocked on the table: “Quit the nonsense.”

“I’ve discussed this issue with Jingheng already,” Lu Bixing said. “Super AI Woolf does not have a main body within the Eighth Galaxy, and the time distortion caused by the wormhole would temporarily disconnect its ‘feelers’ from its main body. I don’t believe this ‘feeler’ that he sent over has the power to control surveillance of the entire Eighth Galaxy in real time.”

“Yes, the security department just reported in regards to that. It wasn’t too difficult to counter and destroy this hacker,” Lee said. “They should have it under control by now.”

Turan lifted an eyebrow: “It can’t control us? That means…Longyuan was bluffing the whole time?”

“It takes at least five to six days to travel between the Eighth Galaxy and the Heart of the Rose. If the wormhole terminal never received tech support, it could even take up to half a month to travel. Longyuan said he would give us twenty-four hours, but in reality, it was because he knew that they would have no way to monitor the Eighth Galaxy after twenty-four hours.” Bayer commented in a low voice, “And if we lied to him to wait for five or six days, I’ll bet he would only be greeted by the Alliance backup fleets.”

Zhanlu’s robot arm poured a cup of tea for Lin Jingheng. As an outsider AI that had once partnered up with someone else to trick his own master’s piloting permissions, Zhanlu chimed in with his own opinion: “Longyuan isn’t that dumb.”

“Of course he’s not stupid, but I bet the Youngs are also at their wit’s end. When I got the report, the Alliance fleet that had just arrived in the Heart of the Rose was only a few small fry in the pond. It’d be completely useless even if they took the AIs head-on, so I bet they’re only going to try and hold the AIs back as much as possible and use all the cards up their sleeves.” Turan let out a sigh, then pondered slightly as if she was hesitant to speak. “But if Longyuan knew that the Third Squadron was only playing along, why would he still let them stall for time?”

This was a good question that momentarily silenced the entire study.

Then, as if realizing something, Lin Jingheng quickly lifted his head and exchanged a glance with Lu Bixing.

Lu Bixing muttered: “Now that’s bad.”

Turan: “What?”

Lin Jingheng ordered: “Turan, send a warning signal to all allies heading through the wormhole terminals immediately. Tell them to be prepared for an ambush any minute once they pass through the wormhole zone. Also, report to the Third Squadron, tell them to be careful of Alliance fleets!”

Turan carried out the order without question and sent all messages as demanded. Only once the job was done did she turn around in confusion and ask, “But why, Marshal?”

“Because we can close up the wormhole zone,” Lin Jingheng responded sternly. “Longyuan showed up in the Heart of the Rose with his troops to heighten tensions between the Third Squadron and the Alliance. If the AI troops try to forcefully push through the line of defense, the frontlines will immediately send a message back and we’ll receive live reports of the battle here in the Eighth Galaxy. The moment the AI troops break through the Alliance’s defense and enter the wormhole zone, we will likely have no choice but to close off the wormhole terminals and crush them all within the distortion of timespace.”

“That’s why he attempted to ‘talk peacefully’ in the beginning, to let the frontlines think they’re gullible AIs with a simple goal. By the time Woolf’s ‘feelers’ hack into the Eighth Galaxy and successfully cause a ruckus within the galaxy, both the masses and the Alliances troops would have developed their own suspicions of the rumors. This is especially true for the Alliance; when they realize the Third Squadron had lied to them, they will grow wary of us. They would suspect that I would close off the terminal in order to protect myself, so they’ll destroy all of the wormhole disruption equipment on both sides and the communication platforms.” Lu Bixing followed up, “Once the AIs successfully got past the defense line, they would then be able to enter the wormhole terminal without anyone knowing.”

Lee: “They would also guard the exit and lay out a massive communication blockade near the Heart of the Rose. If the Alliance fleets that hadn’t yet reached the Heart of the Rose arrived ignorant of everything, they would be ambushed the moment they left the wormhole zone and have no way to contact us.”

“Shit, will the warning I sent out get there in time? Poisson and Thomas…” Turan sucked in a breath of cold air as her gaze hardened into ice. “If that’s the case, then let them in. The Ninth Squadron will be greeting them at the exit; let me see what these Great Swords of the Union are all about!”

Zhanlu waved his robot arm at her and said: “Look, it’s just a robot arm.”

“……I’m not talking about you.” The rage Turan let out almost choked her up. She looked at the little arm and felt her heart sink. “Oh Zhanlu, sweetie, you…you sure are a strange one to come out of that Great Swords bunch.”

“Then…Prime Minister, Marshal, now that we’ve considered this possibility, should we still prepare to close off the wormhole zone as insurance?” Lee asked. “Of course, we’ll leave enough time for the Alliance fleets that are still inside the terminal to come out and ensure at least the vast majority comes out safely, although we won’t be able to help those very few unfortunate souls if it happens.”

Lu Bixing didn’t answer the question and turned his head to Lin Jingheng to say: “The wormhole zone of the Eighth Galaxy used to be outside of our jurisdiction. It wasn’t until a few years ago when the Expedition Team discovered the area that we began to build temporary border patrols and bases near it. Geographically, it’s still quite a distance from the main human activity zone of the Eighth Galaxy. If it’s you, do you think…”

Lin Jingheng lifted a brow at him: “Hm?”

Lu Bixing quickly changed his wording and continued: “I’ve heard from Zhanlu that the Great Swords had been on display in the Union for years due to them not being able to find a suitable pilot. I’m sure it wasn’t these AIs that made it difficult for pirates to step foot in Union territory for the last thirty years, right?”

Lin Jingheng didn’t give an answer and simply looked at him, deep in thought.

Bayer was out of the loop and asked, “What’s that supposed to mean, Prime Minister?”

“Don’t close off the wormhole zone,” Lu Bixing said. “I’ll go to the First Galaxy.”

“W-what did you say, Prime Minister?”

“Listen, no matter what the outside says or how others see you, the Ninth Squadron has been struggling along by your side all these years. We will stand with you now as well, Minister Lu.”

“I…”

“I can’t even sleep well at night knowing there’s this awful AI as my neighbor.” Lu Bixing raised a hand to interrupt the panicked cries of the people. “Whether it’s closing off the Eighth Galaxy or discussing how to deal with Longyuan, none of these will solve the actual problem at hand. Now that we’ve established this super AI has ill intentions toward us, let’s take care of it while we can. If we leave it alone, perhaps in a mere few months it will be able to replicate multiple backup motherboards for itself; in six to seven years, it will be able to reach the Second Galaxy and control the whole universe through its transfer portal networks.”

Everyone’s gaze fell on him.

Lu Bixing raised his hand, the personal device on his wrist projecting a galactic terminal map that shone brightly on the slightly antique-looking wooden desk.

He said, straight to the point, “About three hundred years ago, Chief Commander Lin Ge’er lured ‘King Hertz’ to its doom and annihilated the monstrous AI. Now, it looks as if this honorable yet difficult task is now on my shoulders.”

Days later, at the end of intertwining destinies, the headquarters of the Eighth Galaxy’s wormhole zone border security department–

The frontline wormhole technicians and non-combat personnel began retreating in an orderly fashion as they had been told. Mint was among the last batch of people to retreat, and the young woman noted a heavy mech near the security homebase that they passed as they returned. The military camera on her starship recognized the serial number on that heavy mech–it was the Silver Ninth Squadron Captain Turan’s commanding ship.

Mint carefully adjusted the angle of the camera on her mech to get a good look of the wormhole area. She noticed that within a matter of minutes, the once quiet and dead wormhole zone had now been lined with rows of heavily-armed galactic fleets. The First, Sixth, Ninth, and Tenth Squadrons of Silver Command had dispatched all of their forces. It was almost unimaginable how such a large-scale military dispatchment could be made so swiftly and silently without any issues. The fleet was like a crowd of ferocious beasts creeping through the night, giving the people they protected a sense of revered security.

For some strange reason, the anxious atmosphere spurred by the wormhole’s abnormal activity also vanished at this sight.

The technicians were all gathered up and sent to the backside of the armed zone. That was when Mint finally noticed a strange line of equipment that surrounded the fleet of mechs in the back row as spatial robots began doing final checkups on them.

Mint wasn’t sure what that equipment was for, but before she could study it further, the starship she was on shrieked in alarm–

Abnormal energy alert!

How could they even detect any abnormal energy activity this far away!?

“They opened fire!”

Mint asked, “Where?”

“The wormhole zone,” a colleague shouted back. “Enemies appeared out of the wormhole and were blocked off by the galactic forces!”

For the past few days, there had been multiple fleets of Alliance troop mechs traveling through the wormhole terminal that entered the Heart of the Rose. Every fleet in the first wave out of the terminal were the supplying starships carrying necessities for long-distance travel, which created a convenient cushion against the first round of AI fire for the incoming mechs behind them. However, it didn’t seem as if the fleets in the back had any intention of engaging in combat; upon facing an ambush, they simply pulled up their shields and hid behind their supply ships. There were no signs of firing back nor sending out warnings to their other allied fleets.

The Union Troops ran like desperate rats, avoiding every missile fired at them while the Central Militia scattered like a collapsed sand castle. The Heart of the Rose was naturally a digital vacuum, making it difficult for AIs to separate and chase down the fleeing Alliance troops and giving them no choice but to allow a great majority of the mechs to escape the zone of fire.

On the other side of the terminal, the Eighth Galaxy had been nothing but silent with no sign of closing off the wormholes. It was almost as if they really were oblivious to the invasion, just prey waiting to be ambushed.

At the same time, the first wave of AI vanguard fleets arrived at the Eighth Galaxy.

Their first attack was met with a bad start.

“The First Squadron average hit rate during the first round was 96%,” Lee reported. “We accidentally missed one; thanks, Elizabeth.”

“No need,” Turan responded after filling in an extra shot. “It’s the First Squadron, y’know. To be honest, for a department that pretty much uses all their salaried hours sitting in their office putting makeup on, this is an acceptable hit rate.”

“Hey, all the ones that can fight know to stay lowkey. Can you guys stop embarrassing yourselves in front of the Marshal with your little charade?” Liu Yuanzhong chimed in, “Watch out, a super mech!”

The next instant, another wave of AI mechs popped out from the wormhole zone and was once again annihilated by a violent storm of fire. Soon after, super mechs Longyuan and Chengying charged forward from behind using the remnants of their escort mechs. Two massive mental networks overlapped and consumed the entire wormhole zone before anyone could blink.

At the same time, at least a few dozen mechs from the Silver Command faced a violent hack into their mental networks, forcing the Eighth Galaxy Galactic Forces to temporarily halt fire. This short break allowed large fleets of AI mechs to swim out like fish to the ocean and begin forcing their way into the Eighth Galaxy.

A pilot from the First Squadron was knocked off the mental network, yet before a backup pilot could reconnect, the AI hacker cut off the internal gravity system of the mech. The galactic soldiers inside the mech lost their balance and were about to be lifted from the ground–when the gravity system was suddenly repaired as the enemy AI was forced out of the mech’s mental network.

Zhanlu’s voice rang out from inside the mech: “It’s me. Backup pilot, please be prepared to connect to the network.”

The first wave of mental network invasion was successfully blocked off by Zhanlu.

“Zhanlu,” Chengying said. “Did you get taken off another washing machine for being useless again?”

Nobody knew who set the original personality for Chengying, but as a super AI, it certainly had a little too much attitude. If Lu Xin hadn’t left Zhanlu’s access and permission to Lin Jingheng, the famed Commander Lin would likely have chosen Chengying as his partner: a team of natural-born assholes that could have been.

“Digital butlers are not installed on washing machines,” Zhanlu responded patiently as if he was educating Chengying on common sense. “Home-use smart kitchens, air conditioning and interior climate systems, the overall household cleaning system, and security system are all under my management. Your perspective of digital butters is too narrow.”

Chengying: “……”

Oh, so much authority! Awesome?

Longyuang: “Your mental network has just been repaired, are you sure it’s stable enough?”

“Thank you for your generous donation of transformable material for my mech core; my network is much more stable than before,” Zhanlu said. “Even though it is still not up to standards and my current mech body is still merely temporary hardware, fortunately my master’s own mental strength is stable enough to take you all on.”

The revered super mech core of the Union’s Great Swords: not only a proud loser but also as shameless as one could be!

If Longyuan had the function to understand shame and anger, perhaps it would be boiling in rage right now.

Longyuang: “We’ll test how stable your network is.”

Before the last syllable dropped, an invisible force of energy swept through the entire battlefield–every mech, from human to AIs, lost all communication signals.

The AI fleets looked as if they had lost the string connecting the entire fleet together and began to lose control.

Yet the Silver Ten looked as if they were completely unaffected by this loss of signal. Their teamwork was too strong, powerful enough that they could still fight like professionals and support one another even after all connections were cut off.

The tables had completely turned; the AI troops were on the brink of annihilation, and one of Longyuan’s backup engines was knocked off during the battle.

Longyuan turned immediately back into the wormhole terminal—

A few hours later, the AI troops still on standby in the Heart of the Rose received a broken-up message: “Send reinforcement to the Eighth Galaxy.”

The main AI fleet on standby began to sail towards the terminal.

“There will likely be a large fleet of AI troops on standby in the Heart of the Rose.” Lu Bixing said that day during the emergency meeting inside his study, “I’m not our God of War Marshal Lin; I can handle a small-scale battle, but a full-blown war is not my field of expertise. If I am going to the First Galaxy, we will need to find a way to lure the AIs on the other side of the terminal away.”