First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 223
Chapter 223: Finale: Jiugong
Lian Sheng and the others stayed in the 16th District for nearly another week.
The airport seemed to be under control, with few outside visitors stopping by. Their group's activity was confined to the waiting hall and the tarmac.
After a while, Lian Sheng even suspected for a moment that they had fallen into Gelen's trap, tricked into confinement.
Several of them sat casually on the front desk benches, using the internet to browse Gelen's news.
Overall, the 16th District was quite harmonious. The lifestyle section of the news was filled with trivial matters or records of strange people and events, embodying the saying "it takes all sorts to make a world."
"Hey..." Cheng Ze said, sucking on the straw of his drink bottle. "What's the situation in Gelen now? Or rather, what's Maxwell's situation? Is there really no news?"
Lu Mingyuan: "None. I couldn't find anything, not even about the battle situation in the 1st and 2nd Districts."
Lian Sheng: "Did the money come through? That's the important part."
Zhou Shirui: "The money definitely arrived. Otherwise, my brother would have told us to pack up and leave."
At times like this, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger seemed to provide a special sense of security. Everyone nodded in satisfaction.
The dozen or so people slumped together dejectedly.
Lian Sheng: "It's good as long as the money came through. Not having to fight makes our lives safer. Let's just treat this as a vacation."
Fang Jianchen couldn't figure it out: "Maxwell spent a fortune just to keep us here like this. Is he crazy?"
"They're definitely up to something, we just don't know what," Lian Sheng said. "Besides, the 1st and 2nd Districts are far from here. Even in the age of interstellar internet, news from other districts has to be reviewed before coming in. Who knows how fast they review news that could cause social unrest? By the time we see it, it'll probably be old news."
Zhao Zhuoluo said: "From what I see, the people in the 16th District have very little interest in these matters. The outcome probably won't affect their daily lives much. They're just waiting to see the final power play, pick a leading faction to follow, and continue living. So, we won't dig up any valuable internal information here. We might as well ask Hundred Meter Flying Dagger."
The public's state of mind was easiest to gauge from public social media, which was why they started browsing online information whenever they arrived somewhere new. The comrades scanning various websites quickly got a sense of the overall mood in the 16th District.
Their discussion about the current tense war situation was minimal. This wasn't the result of public opinion control; rather, the 16th District hadn't interfered with discussions about the war at all. People just didn't seem to care much, neither pessimistic nor optimistic.
How to put it? The 16th District's geographical location was too good, situated in the middle section of Gelen, it had never suffered much devastation from war. After years of development, they had sufficient farmland. The economy wasn't highly developed, but it was self-sufficient.
Look at their booming entertainment industry here, their immature yet simple social style. Government-related propaganda slogans were pitifully squeezed into corners. Or pinned to the top of software homepages, ignored by everyone.
It could be called a sanctuary for retirement.
Lu Mingyuan said: "Yeah, it's completely peaceful. Their political sensitivity isn't high. Different places nurture different people; the comrades here are very zen."
Cheng Ze nudged Zhou Shirui: "Junior, why don't you go ask your brother if there's any inside news? Waiting like this makes me a bit anxious."
Zhou Shirui thought for a moment: "My brother said there might be some good news soon, and told us to wait first."
Lian Sheng shivered for some reason: "I feel like the 'good news' your brother talks about usually isn't 'good' in the conventional sense. Is he being mysterious? It's not that a fight is about to break out, is it?"
Zhou Shirui's expression was a bit subtle: "No, it's him. Getting rest and time off is the greatest good news for him. He sounded quite happy when he mentioned it, so it should really be something good."
Ji Ban squeezed the bottle in his hand and sighed: "Actually, maintaining the status quo is fine. I want to go back to the Alliance."
"I thought you were a war expert." Lian Sheng patted his back and smiled, "Don't you really like piloting Moshi?"
"No, uh, I'm quite safe, but you guys are in danger," Ji Ban said. "Mainly, I miss home."
Everyone fell silent for a moment. The topic of homesickness was rarely brought up; they hadn't been home in a long time either.
Although their parents had always been busy, seeing them only a few times a year, and they themselves were resilient and used to living alone, being far from their homeland, afraid to think about the future and their safety, made them feel exceptionally nostalgic.
Lian Sheng, brimming with curiosity and knowing Hundred Meter Flying Dagger had a delightful little secret, prepared to go dig it out.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger was currently addicted to sleep and couldn't pull himself away.
Every day before sleep, he placed a drink and a bag of snacks by his bedside, turned off the lights, drew the curtains, blocked all signals, and then freely fell asleep in bed. Upon waking, he'd replenish his twitching stomach, then go back to rest, living a luxurious life oblivious to day and night.
This led to Lian Sheng and the others not having seen him for a long time.
At his age, with such a schedule, Zhou Shirui was very afraid he might die suddenly.
He had tried to drag him out several times, but Hundred Meter Flying Dagger had completely degenerated. This doting older brother, looking so proper, was actually deceiving his own dear brother behind his back! Utterly shameless! Unforgivable!
When Lian Sheng went to find him, however, he had already put on a jacket and gotten up to wash.
Lian Sheng could hardly believe it: "Yo, you've... been exorcised?"
"Burning incense and bathing, preparing to welcome a sacred object." Hundred Meter Flying Dagger squinted, shaking his head and sighing, "Being an official isn't easy. Your superiors, to take care of you youngsters, truly—give their all until death. Take good care of your health; maybe you can support me in my old age."
Lian Sheng: "..."
"What sacred object?" Lian Sheng thought carefully. They didn't usually have special pre-battle rituals like sacrificing to heaven or consecrating banners here; it seemed like a place that valued scientific principles. "What did you welcome back? You shouldn't just claim random things."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger completely missed her strange train of thought and mysteriously mouthed to her: "Your mech."
Lian Sheng didn't react immediately: "Your mech?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger looked at her, wiggled his eyebrows, and said with a knowing expression: "No, it's *your* mech."
Lian Sheng paused for two seconds: "Ah—"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger patted her: "Wash your hands. Make your own arrangements; I need to go handle the liaison."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said he needed to handle the liaison, but the various procedures involved were extremely cumbersome. After all, it involved transporting a mech within Gelen, including various approvals for entry into Gelen, docking requests, and border monitoring.
By the time it finally landed at the airport, it was already the afternoon of the next day.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger once again felt overwhelmed, thinking to himself that he was really getting old. When he was younger—who gave a damn, whoever wanted to claim it could claim it!
This was probably the biggest event for them since boarding the ship. Everyone ran onto the tarmac to gather and look at the mech.
Jiugong was a modification of an old mech model from over twenty years ago. Its original shell was scratched and faded, the internal parts aged and rusted. Machinery left unused for a long time develops all sorts of problems.
Now, its appearance had been significantly altered to accommodate manual operation and unlock the mech's potential. Many functions had been added to the mech.
Lin Lie had re-polished the exterior metal, cutting, melting, and then refitting it. However, she had preserved its original color and appearance as much as possible, making the metal plate engraved with the name on top seem less out of place.
Jiugong's left arm was gone, replaced with a shield-like structure. Actually, mechs didn't necessarily need two arms; Moshi's left hand was also a detachable weapon state.
...And the legs had also become shorter.
Lian Sheng's 1.8-meter long legs felt restless with nowhere to go!
Lian Sheng walked closer, looked, and asked hesitantly: "Did it get shorter?"
"What are you thinking? Comrade Lian Sheng, your thoughts are very dangerous right now!" Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "Are you suspecting your own mother cut corners and built you a mini-version of Jiugong? Or do you think you're like a penguin, hiding surprisingly long, slender legs under thick fur? Let me tell you, you're wearing pants! Everyone can see where your hips are and how short your legs are at a glance, don't try to pull a fast one!"
"..." Lian Sheng, "..."
She couldn't stand this injustice!
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger pulled out a stack of unbound white papers from a box and solemnly shook them: "Let me see your instruction manual here. This thing is wicked awesome. They told me it can even transform, like a construction toy, super cool. It can alternate between manual and sensor control. Although you only manually operate with one hand, Jiugong's manual operation details seem to involve transformation, allowing control over the arsenal and your lower body."
As he spoke, he looked at Lian Sheng's hand again: "Actually, what you do isn't really called manual operation, it's called..."
Ji Ban interjected: "Fancy maneuvering!"
*He* was the pure-blooded manual operator!
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger nodded at him, absolutely right.
Lian Sheng took the manual from his hand and scanned it briefly.
This wasn't an instruction manual, just notes. The content seemed to have been organized, but it was still chaotic. The pages were covered with various corrections made with pen tips, with key points roughly marked in red pen at the end.
The title page, however, contained a handwritten letter from Lin Lie, telling her about the major modifications made to Jiugong as a hybrid mech.
Jiugong was probably the first mech combining manual and sensor operation. Based on the data, its performance was estimated to surpass all new mech models. Combined with Lian Sheng's skills, Lin Lie predicted it could reach the pinnacle of the interstellar mech world.
This wasn't a pipe dream, but of course, it was also irreplicable.
The cost and time consumed by the modifications were too great for mass production. The requirements for the pilot were too high, making it unfeasible. The reason it was approved was because it was deemed to have sufficient value, a value derived from the assessment of Lian Sheng's left arm and personal capabilities.
Not everyone could multitask, not everyone could instantly judge the direction of a battle, and certainly not everyone could master both manual and sensor control methods simultaneously.
Of course, the most impossible thing was prying another mechanical prosthetic limb out of the stingy research institute.
Lian Sheng climbed into Jiugong's cockpit. Under the uneasy gazes of the Gelen supervisors, she put on the sensor equipment snugly. She slipped a small keyboard onto her left hand and connected it to the piloting interface in front of the mech.
She recalled the operation codes she had practiced before, then drew a weapon from under the shield on her left arm. She tried a chopping motion as a warm-up.
In the spotlight, she brought the sword down. The tip pointed slightly upward. Just as it stopped, a loud bang erupted from within the airport.
An explosion, followed by alarms.
It was unclear where it came from, but the sound was immense, as if right beside them.
The crowd jumped at the sudden loud noise, warily backing away and searching for the source of the sound.
The Gelen supervisors nearly wet themselves, one hand pressing the emergency call button as they asked, "What happened? What did you do?"
"We didn't do anything!" The group looked innocent and surprised, searching all around: "Where did the sound come from? Why didn't we see any explosion flash or smoke?"
Lian Sheng remained stationary, indicating she knew nothing.
"Oh, that was my custom ringtone," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger suddenly remembered and said. "Big news just came in. You guys play by yourselves, I'm leaving first. Logistics, keep an eye on things. In half an hour, the mech goes back into storage for inspection. All relevant personnel must sign, responsibilities must be clear. If even a speck of paint chips off, you're all finished."
With that, he ran directly towards where the main ship was docked, leaving the group staring at each other blankly.
Far away, in the administrative building of Gelen's 1st District.
A person hurried up the stairs and walked to the office at the end of the hall. Without even having time to knock properly, they tapped quickly and pushed the door open.
Seeing him enter, Maxwell placed both hands on the desk, stood up straight away, and asked nervously, "How did it go?"
He subconsciously held his breath, listening intently for the other person's reply.
The person in front said: "We infiltrated the security system and detonated the building."
Maxwell: "And then?"
"If the intelligence is reliable, there were no survivors," the person said. "We will deliver the detailed survey and investigation report to you this afternoon."
Maxwell: "Was there resistance?"
The person replied: "Yes, but it wasn't strong. It was quickly suppressed."
Maxwell felt no sense of relief. Everything had gone too easily, preventing him from feeling the joy of success.
He just shook his head.
The person in front was puzzled. It was his own decision, yet now he seemed somewhat regretful.
The man called out: "Sir, if this matter..."
Maxwell said: "If this matter is exposed, I will bear all responsibility. I will bear it. As long as Barite... it's worth it."
However, Barite's soldiers seemed completely unaffected. The attacks on the outskirts of the 1st and 2nd Districts remained intense, and the people here continued to live in fear.
Maxwell didn't know if he should trust his friend. Even though he had chosen to trust, his heart was in turmoil. And now, with the result in, he still couldn't believe it.
He didn't have the chips to gamble, at least not now.
He sensed an unstoppable storm was coming soon. He had to do something.
Maxwell hesitated for a moment, picked up the internal communicator, and sent a short message.
"Belial," Maxwell's voice trembled slightly, "Do it now."
After putting Jiugong away, Lian Sheng went back to find Hundred Meter Flying Dagger. Seeing how hurried he was earlier, she guessed something major had happened. She finally found him in the lounge next to his area.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger was slumped in his chair, eyes closed as if zoning out. His fingers tapped lightly on the armrest, proving he was still awake.
Lian Sheng asked: "What's wrong?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said simply: "The assassination seems to have failed."
Lian Sheng paused, then said: "Assassination is a very foolish act."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "But if the target is Barite, that's not necessarily true."
Generally speaking, assassinations aren't very effective. If they have any effect, it's usually negative.
Because influential parties, or power structures, aren't determined by individual will, but by the collective of the majority.
Even if one person dies, a second can be immediately put forward. Such shameless acts might even increase the opponent's cohesion.
This is why some people even take the risk of arranging their own assassination attempts.
But Barite was different. His deterrent power and influence within the military were irreplaceable.
Barite didn't exist to execute the military's ideology; rather, the entire military relied on Barite for its existence.
If he died, various dissenting voices within the military would emerge. Power struggles and arrangements would be one issue. Even if a successor appeared immediately, the entire military would inevitably undergo intense turmoil, which would be precisely Maxwell's opportunity.
That sturdy little old man was no ordinary person. He knew his life was precious.
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