VAP - Chapter 116
Chapter 116: The Marshal's Journey is the Sea of Stars (12)
For the next few days, Yue Du didn’t bring up the matter of the mental landscape again. Instead, she spent a great deal of time analyzing the classified Federation intelligence she had previously acquired.
Compared to a normal computer, Yue Du’s speed at deciphering data was unbelievably fast. But even for the most advanced artificial intelligence, integrating all that information still required time.
During this time, she continued to attend her classes at the military academy.
It wasn’t for any particular reason; thanks to the immense processing power of her true human-machine integration, Yue Du could easily handle her coursework while performing her analysis at the same time.
Sheng Xuejiu would sometimes check on Yue Du’s work progress, although she was completely clueless in this area and too lazy to learn.
“How long will this take, roughly?”
Yue Du made a rough estimate. “If it’s just the data I have now, it will probably take half a month. But it’s clearly not enough.”
Some of the deeper-level information was stored very securely, usually either offline or connected only to a local area network. Even a System couldn’t hack into it.
There was no better way to handle this situation; all she could do was constantly monitor for any activity on their end.
Sheng Xuejiu murmured, “That’s really a pain.”
Yue Du replied, “It’s always a pain to get things done right.”
She gave an example. “Actually, there are many ways to achieve our goal. For example, seizing power by force, something you’re good at.”
“I’m not good at that. I’ve never done it before,” Sheng Xuejiu refused to admit.
Yue Du said gravely, “However, those two things aren’t mutually exclusive.”
The Marshal’s strength was undeniable, and the military power she controlled was not to be underestimated. Seizing power wouldn’t be difficult.
The biggest threat was the anti-matter cannon, jointly controlled by the President, the Parliament, and the Administrative Cabinet. A single shot was powerful enough to destroy a planet, which would essentially ruin the capital star.
The Marshal was strong, but Yue Du knew her physical strength was limited by the rules of this technologically-based small world. In such a situation, a body of flesh and blood couldn’t possibly stand against real guns and cannons, could it?
It was possible for Yue Du to seize control of the anti-matter cannon, but definitely not now—
There hadn’t been any major events recently, so the Federal Defense Network that directly controlled the weaponry hadn’t connected to the external network even once.
Forget Yue Du; even the Main System itself would likely be helpless if it came in person. Besides, Yue Du had no intention of messing with large-scale anti-matter weapons in the first place.
For someone who grew up in an era of peace, crossing that line was nearly impossible. The survival of billions of lives rested on a single thought, and she admitted she didn’t have that kind of nerve.
At this thought, Yue Du suddenly paused. She turned to Sheng Xuejiu and asked with some hesitation, “You’re not actually thinking of breaking the stalemate with violence, are you?”
“Thinking about it is one thing, being able to do it is another,” Sheng Xuejiu said.
“I can suppress one planet, that’s true, but can I suppress hundreds or thousands of them? There are over 3,700 habitable planets in the Federation, with a total population exceeding one hundred billion. Can I really keep them all down? Taking that route would be incredibly stupid.”
“—Besides, I know you wouldn’t like that.”
That last sentence was spoken softly and clearly. Yue Du suddenly had a strange sense of déjà vu, as if she were the favored consort of a tyrant.
Others would say, “Your Majesty, let’s march north and slaughter the foreign tribes!” and the tyrant would reply, “Forget it. My beloved consort doesn’t like all this fighting and killing…” Something like that.
What a ridiculous association!
After discussing their grand future plans in the room for a while, Sheng Xuejiu stood up with a smile. “I’m heading to the military district.”
Yue Du checked the time. It was 8 p.m.
“Will you be back tonight?”
“Probably not. I have class tomorrow morning, so I’ll go straight there from the military district.”
Yue Du nodded and watched the Marshal leave.
After a long moment, the White Deer materialized by her side.
“Ah Jiu’s mood isn’t right,” Yue Du muttered to herself. “You felt it too, didn’t you? Her cat hasn’t appeared at all, but her mental fluctuations are very intense.”
The White Deer let out a soft cry in agreement.
Yue Du stroked the base of the White Deer’s antlers and sighed deeply, then connected a portion of her data stream to the surveillance equipment at the military academy’s main gate.
After confirming she would receive updates in real-time, she once again immersed herself in the vast ocean of data integration.
At the military district, Sheng Xuejiu entered the training room with practiced ease.
The people already in the training room tried to flee the moment they saw her, but not a single one managed to escape.
“Why are you here again…” a certain officer who had failed to escape lamented, his face a mask of misery.
Sheng Xuejiu sneered. “How interesting. I’m the Marshal, am I not? Is there a problem with the Marshal coming to the training room?”
The officer quickly changed his tune. “No problem, of course not. I was just a little curious why you’ve been coming to the training room so frequently again lately.”
“Can’t be helped. Watching the students peck at each other like little chicks makes my hands itch for a fight. But I can’t very well bully the future backbone of the Federation, so my only option is to come back here for a brawl.”
Sheng Xuejiu deftly took off her military uniform jacket, revealing the pure white, form-fitting combat suit underneath.
Instantly, a series of sharp intakes of breath echoed through the room.
Everyone knew that if the Marshal fought in her military uniform, it was just light sparring.
But if she was wearing her combat suit, then sorry, she was getting serious—the kind of serious that would land her opponent in a medical pod for half a day.
“Understand?” Sheng Xuejiu flexed her wrists. “Anyone who doesn’t want to get hurt, or can’t afford an injury right now, can leave.”
Three or five people left, but the majority stayed, including the officer with the mournful face.
Wailing and complaining aside, the chance for a no-holds-barred fight was still something no Sentinel could refuse.
“You’re not releasing your Quantum Beast?”
Sheng Xuejiu replied, “No need. It’s a bit agitated. If I really let it out, I’m afraid I won’t be able to control it.”
She could feel it. In her mental landscape, the long-haired cat was pacing slowly, its silver-gray eyes darting about coldly, searching for prey to tear to shreds.
In fact, it no longer looked like a delicate house cat in the slightest. The only thing restraining it from revealing its other form was the last shred of Sheng Xuejiu’s rationality.
“Then—let’s begin.”
The brutal fight lasted for a full five hours. Opponents came and went in waves, yet Sheng Xuejiu remained full of vigor, the fighting spirit flowing in her dark eyes.
Zhan Lingqi stood outside the training room window, watching in amazement. “Marshal, how about you call it a day? Otherwise, what soldiers will I have to train tomorrow? I’ll be a general with no army!”
Sheng Xuejiu replied, “Then why don’t you come in here?”
Zhan Lingqi replied, “No thanks. It wouldn’t look good for an admiral to skip training…”
He really had no idea what had gotten into her, or who had pushed her buttons, but for the past few days, she’d been coming back at the drop of a hat to drag people into a fight.
How could fighting Sheng Xuejiu be the same as a normal sparring session? Other people pulled their punches, aiming to train their techniques. The Marshal, on the other hand, turned it into a deathmatch without the actual dying, and had the gall to call it “sparring.”
Anyone who didn’t know better would think the two sides had some deep-seated hatred for each other.
Zhan Lingqi really didn’t want to get beaten up; he’d just had his turn the day before yesterday.
So in the end, he could only accept his fate of being a general without an army tomorrow.
At five in the morning, Sheng Xuejiu left the training room looking refreshed and invigorated. She took a quick shower in her office and, without even needing to rest, took a flyer to the Capital Star First Military Academy.
Sheng Xuejiu returned earlier than expected.
She thought she could use the extra time to find Yue Du. Yue Du hadn’t switched to sleep mode for the past few days, and today was likely no exception.
As long as she said she hadn’t slept yet, she could rest her head on Yue Du’s lap, wrap her arms around her waist, and take a short nap.
But before that, she needed to check if the cat’s mood had calmed down. If it showed any signs of trouble, she’d keep it contained. If it was behaving, she’d let it out to play with the White Deer.
Sheng Xuejiu stopped outside Yue Du’s door and released the long-haired cat from her mental landscape. The cat, which had been extremely aggressive just a few hours ago, now seemed very well-behaved, its eyes fixed on the door without blinking.
“Looks like it’s recovered,” Sheng Xuejiu determined.
Yue Du’s calm voice came from inside the room.
“What’s recovered?”
Sheng Xuejiu: “…”
Sheng Xuejiu sat obediently in the armchair, just as obedient as the cat beside her.
But this was just an appearance, and appearances could be very deceptive.
Yue Du sat opposite her, having even paused her data integration work.
“So, you went back to the military district to pick a fight.”
Sheng Xuejiu said, “That description isn’t quite accurate. It should be called sparring.”
Yue Du said, “Did you know, an hour ago I noticed a very interesting phenomenon. The medical facilities in the military district suddenly reached full capacity, and they’re still full now. Can you explain that?”
“…Injuries from group sparring are normal.”
“I also pulled the medical records from the last few times you went back to the military district. What a coincidence—they were at full capacity then, too,” Yue Du pointed out mercilessly.
Sheng Xuejiu was silent for a moment, then leaned back and gave up the struggle. “I thought it would take you longer to find out.”
Yue Du raised an eyebrow. “Apparently, I know you better than you think. Spill it.”
So Sheng Xuejiu confessed everything.
Since coming to the military academy, every time Sheng Xuejiu returned to the military district, it was basically to pick a fight.
It was normal for Sentinels to be irritable and aggressive, but this frequent need for battle, this pursuit of a true life-or-death struggle, was by no means normal. Sheng Xuejiu’s subordinates were used to being thrashed and didn’t pay it much mind, but Yue Du couldn’t turn a blind eye.
“Before coming to the academy, how often did you usually have an all-out fight?”
“About once a month.”
“And now it’s become every three to five days?”
Sheng Xuejiu: “Mmm…”
Yue Du suddenly recalled the host’s connection to the seven deadly sins. There was no longer any doubt. Sheng Xuejiu was definitely “Wrath.”
Aggressiveness and irritability—she had never noticed these two traits before. After all, the host had always been so carefree and laid-back around her. Even her Quantum Beast was small and delicate, completely non-threatening.
But now it seemed that the Federal Marshal in other people’s eyes was not like that at all.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Yue Du asked.
The Marshal refused to answer the question.
Yue Du didn’t press her. “This has something to do with your mental landscape, doesn’t it?” she asked, troubled.
Sheng Xuejiu replied, “It might have a little something to do with it, but I definitely won’t lose control.”
“I believe you,” Yue Du coaxed, her first sentence as sweet as sugar. But her next was a ruthless reminder: “Think about your soldiers. They’ve all been beaten into medical pods. I don’t think they’d be so convinced, do you?”
Sheng Xuejiu: “…”
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