Chapter 56

Chapter 56

For a few seconds, Lin Fu's mind was a complete blank, void of thought, as if a humming sound echoed in his ears.

He blinked, looking at Dempsey, and came back to his senses in a cold sweat.

Turbulence surged through his psychic sea, prompting the system to speak: [Host, perhaps he means that your psychic world differs from the people here. After all, you've always stood out, not quite like an ordinary guide.]

In his mind, Lin Fu asked it, "Do you think so?"

The system hesitated.

Did it think so?

Theoretically, he wasn't human and couldn't comprehend human emotions.

Yet for someone like Dempsey, who had witnessed Cheng Su's glory, Lin Fu's actions were unlikely to elicit such an exclamation.

His statement was a straightforward declaration of the fact that "Lin Fu is not of this world."

Dempsey didn't rush the conversation with Lin Fu; he gave him ample time to process the statement's content and shock, allowing him to make a choice.

To candidly acknowledge and accept his proposal.

Or to vaguely evade and refuse the offered help.

Everyone knew that help didn't come without reason; if he accepted, there would be a price to pay.

Lin Fu fidgeted with his wrist, the skin devoid of sensation, his action failing to alleviate the anxiety it once did.

His brows furrowed.

The pros and cons were arrayed in his mind, continuously analyzing the consequences of acceptance or refusal.

After a long pause, he suddenly exhaled, abandoning these intricate calculations.

The Lin Fu who grew up in the Lin family needed to meticulously weigh every gain and loss; the Lin Fu who grew up in the war zone did not.

Now, everything he had was a win; taking a risk, even if things turned worse, couldn't possibly be more dire than dying in the war zone.

He looked up, meeting Dempsey's gaze, and noticed that the old man across from him was also unsettled, anxiously awaiting his response.

Lin Fu: "What kind of help can you offer me, and what do you require in return?"

Dempsey breathed a sigh of relief; he knew Lin Fu had agreed.

He glanced around the metal-encased chamber, at the central arch pedestal half a person's height, the data storage hub, the cornerstone of his existence until now.

He had survived so long, yet he couldn't leave this place; in essence, it wasn't much different from imprisonment.

He said, "You know, Cheng Su is a lesson from the past, and your misfit status is the reason the council attacks you; there might be other reasons, too. Cheng Jiu can help you once or twice, but not for a lifetime. You must have your own support, a support that everyone fears."

"I will entrust the Fourth Legion to you, to be your support. You may use it for whatever you wish, solely based on your will. My only request is that you must not allow the Fourth Legion to be dismembered, unless the empire falls."

Lin Fu clenched his fist: "You have better candidates; selecting an S+ level sentinel to take over the Fourth Army should not be difficult for you."

Deng Pums remained silent.

Thus, Lin Fu did not pursue the matter further.

Everyone has their considerations; one only needs to be responsible for their choices.

Deng Pums said, "I have at most one year left before I dissipate."

He must pave all the paths for Lin Fu, watching him rightfully take over the Fourth Army before he can rest easy.

To become an army general, at least the rank of brigadier general is required. Countless military merits need to be accumulated.

Since the establishment of the empire, only Cheng Jiu managed to rise to the rank of brigadier general before the age of thirty, reflecting the difficulty of such a feat.

Lin Fu’s acceptance of the Fourth Army was not simply a verbal agreement but a commitment to a significant aid.

He removed his military cap, bowed his head, and saluted Deng Pums: "Within a year, I will fulfill your commission. I wish you well."

Deng Pums smiled and said, "The Fourth Army will fully cooperate with you."

……

When Lin Fu emerged from the door, Pu Tian Xiang Ri was waiting at the entrance.

Like a silent shadow, he quietly followed behind, his feelings towards his superior unchanged and undisturbed.

The reflections of people in the grey metallic corridor mirrored Lin Fu’s dark eyes.

He commanded, "Prepare the warship, issue orders to AI27, and prepare for a comprehensive extermination of the insectoids."

After speaking, he paused slightly, then added, "Enforce a communication blackout on CT62, deactivate the star network grade shielding on other stationed stars, and broadcast the Fourth Army’s combat videos and news across the entire star network."

Within the empire, the nobility’s rank could suppress many things, for the people were subdued, lacking the courage and cohesion to rebel.

Lin Fu didn’t need them to rebel; he just needed them to see a force that could suppress the nobility on their behalf and to voice support for it.

Pu Tian Xiang Ri opened his mouth, intending to raise an objection, but meeting Lin Fu’s gaze, he promptly agreed, "I'll arrange it immediately."

An individual is intelligent; a crowd is foolish.

Sowing division among the public to prevent their unity is not difficult. However, attempting to manipulate public opinion often backfires, resulting in losses that outweigh the gains.

But now, there was no better alternative. To ensure Lin Fu could take control of the Fourth Legion in a year's time, it was crucial to prevent dissection by the council.

The challenges he personally faced were perhaps even more daunting than manipulating public sentiment.

*

Planet CT62, situated in the midst of the war zone, was constantly at risk of insectoid attacks.

Lin Fu and his three companions had been deployed to this planet, fighting alongside veterans to exterminate insectoids for a year now.

They each had accrued military achievements on this planet, rising from mere soldiers to officers.

Zhong Si and Tang Qian advanced from non-commissioned officers to second lieutenants, Lin Fu was promoted to major, and Albert was only a few minor battles away from his next promotion.

During their downtime after the battle, the three sat idly in their dormitory, bored to tears.

Leaning on the balcony railing, Zhong Si suggested, “How about we catch some bugs to grill and eat?”

Tang Qian rolled his eyes, “Without Lin Fu’s treatment, we’d be dead a second after eating, just like the bugs.”

Zhong Si smacked his lips in disappointment, sighing, “Alright then. But why has Lin Fu been gone so long? Even asking Colonel Shao gets us nowhere, and we can’t reach him through video call either.”

Albert fiddled with his light-computer: “I’ve been using this thing for almost two years; I’ve never kept a light-computer this long before. I’ll replace it when we get back.”

Scratching his head, Zhong Si mused, “I reckon it's not the light-computer's fault. Whether you replace it or not, an unreachable call remains unreachable.”

Albert leaped up and playfully pummeled him, and the two broke into a scuffle in the dormitory, prompting Tang Qian to move upstairs to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

As the two exchanged blows downstairs, Tang Qian leaned on the railing upstairs, browsing on his light-computer.

Lin Fu had been away for two months; even accounting for travel time, it was unusually long in this world.

Once tired from their fight, the three conspired to exceed their mission objectives and accumulate military achievements to catch up with Lin Fu’s rank.

After all, they had all graduated together, and Lin Fu, despite his inherent physical disadvantage as a Guide, shouldn't be so far ahead.

Otherwise, they would be doing a disservice to the brotherhood they shared.

The locals at the base were well-acquainted with them and saluted upon their arrival.

They joined a squad boarding a flyer, heading to the uninhabited zone to clear out insectoids.

*

The defense lines were segmented and assigned to various legions. As a declining force, the Fourth Legion had many of its areas re-assigned, leaving them responsible for only seven Class-A planets.

Planet AI27.

The most perilous among the first tier of battlefronts under the jurisdiction of the Fourth Military District.

On the fringes of the Empire's star domain, a defensive line formed of planets bore the brunt of the fiercest insectoid assaults.

The defense line was also graded; the closer to the periphery, the higher the risk, while the inner areas were relatively safer.

Class-A planets were at the very edge of the defense line, denoting the highest degree of danger.

Within half a light-year from Planet AI27, there was a planet completely overrun by insectoids, also the closest to the Empire's star domain.

Humans didn't believe the insectoids possessed territories, especially planets on such borderlines where demarcations were exceptionally blurred. Many regions beyond Class-A planets had been occupied by humans, only to be reclaimed by insectoids later.

Such planets also had their own designations, starting with the letter 'S'.

It only took half a month to reach Planet S177 from AI27.

One day, an anonymous small account suddenly uploaded a video on the star-web.

The title was sensational.

"The True Uninhabited Star! An S-class planet captured twice by the same legion!"

Some, driven by curiosity, clicked to see which irresponsible editor used a headline to lure viewers to an irrelevant video.

Others, without even watching the video, cursed in the comments section, enlightening about the perils of S-class planets and how difficult their recovery was, telling the editor to eat dirt.

Yet, more people scrolled past this title instantly, having blocked similar content before.

But soon, this video was shared across major platforms, even becoming a talking point in various settings.

The tone was incredibly fervent, like that of fanatical believers, trying to convince the person on the other side of the star-web to believe them and take a look at the video's content.

Curiosity piqued, some couldn't resist the urge and decided to click on the video.

After all, it's just a video, and a few minutes spent watching it wouldn't be a loss.

The video opened with a desolate planet, its soil a deep red, and the noisy wind created a constant static, almost drowning out all other sounds.

The camera was even shaking.

The recorder was moving forward at a rapid pace, the land speeding by in their field of vision.

Seconds later, they stopped, and a dense green mass tinged with dark purple filled the screen, its crisp crunching sounds overpowering even the howling wind.

It was all beetles, teeming and uncountable, the ground barely visible beneath them. It made one's skin crawl instantly; even those without a fear of clusters felt a chill down their spine.

More terrifying was the sight of a mech entering the frame, dwarfed by the insectoid swarm that reached up to its waist!

The sheer number was overwhelming, and their size created an oppressive presence.

Despite the chill in their hearts, viewers continued to watch as more mechs charged into the tide of bugs.

The camera's vigorous shaking indicated that the video was being recorded from inside a mech, perhaps even as the operator was battling the insects.

As this thought surfaced, they saw a beetle's limb magnified on the screen, only to be severed before they could scream, splattering viscous, ink-green blood.

The camera then rose to reveal a dark mech at the center, wielding a familiar-looking Tang sword, its tip glinting coldly.