Chapter 151: Black Box

Chapter 151 Black Box

The Border,

When Pei Wei issued the command, both Pei Huai and Qi Ran were at the same location, awaiting orders from their superior.

Over the past few days, Pei Huai and Qi Ran had more or less sensed that something was amiss.

The newest models of robots from the Sri Lanka Continent seemed highly unstable, prone to exploding with minimal trigger.

If it weren’t for the fact that the robots developed by Song Yuqing could restrain themselves in the final instant to protect the Alphas, their casualties would have been severe.

However, the losses to the New Continent were still considerable.

Because the robot bodies were damaged.

They could only reissue the Alphas with new robots. They were well aware of the cost of robots—raising an Alpha might not even compare to the cost of manufacturing a new robot.

Pei Wei: "The primary forces will engage in combat at the front, while a dedicated unit will be established in the rear to eliminate wounded enemy soldiers. The core objective is to ensure that no Alpha or equipment from the Sri Lanka Continent is successfully retrieved, and nothing is allowed to be brought back to the Sri Lanka Continent."

"Received!"

Two voices responded in unison.

Without so much as glancing at each other, Pei Huai and Qi Ran parted ways to execute their orders.

After giving his orders, Pei Wei hung up the call without further pleasantries to Pei Huai.

On the battlefield, there are only ranks, not father and son.

One day, this world will be handed over to Song Yuqing and Pei Huai.

By then, no one will be there to offer Pei Huai any more advice.

As an Alpha and a soldier, it is their duty to protect their homeland from invasion and ensure the safety of their people.

He had done it, and he hoped Pei Huai would do the same.

The only thing he failed at was accompanying his partner.

Pei Wei briefly gazed at the twilight on the horizon, countless sunsets reminiscent of the day his partner died.

He hoped that while Pei Huai could protect everyone in the New Continent, he would also be able to keep his own partner safe.

Not to leave regrets like he did.

At the border, the sunset resembled a congealed blood scab, staining the sparse clouds a somber purplish-red, spreading like blood across the sky, pressing down heavily.

The soldiers of the Sri Lanka Continent were scattered across the charred battlefield, their movements lacked all agility, showing more exhaustion-induced numbness than agility.

The screeching sound of dragging metal wreckage echoed occasionally, with soldiers crouching down to pry valuable small black boxes from shapeless damaged frames.

None of them understood why the Alphas of the New Continent seemed to have gone mad today. In the past, after their robots exploded, those Alphas would simply move on to kill the next.

But today, before they could respond, finishing-strike Alphas would come from behind and deliver fatal blows to already injured Alphas.

By convention, all wounded combatants would be transported back to the Sri Lanka Continent for recovery.

Disabled soldiers posed no further threat to the New Continent, yet they insisted on eliminating them root and branch—it was downright insane.

Many Alphas died today.

The air was thick with the heavy smell of charring, the greasy stench of leaking machine oil, and the faint scent of lingering pheromones that hadn’t been completely dispersed by the wind.

It was like inextinguishable embers.

The soldiers clearing the battlefield couldn’t help but feel a sense of mourning the hare's death as the fox would, and they shared a common hatred for the Alphas of the New Continent.

"Fuck!"

While they were still clearing the battlefield, without any warning, several enemy soldiers launched an attack.

It wasn’t a disorganized resistance but a long-planned ambush.

"Enemy attack!"

A distorted scream had just escaped someone’s throat when a mechanical arm pierced through their heart.

In the next second, even the corpses were harvested by the Alphas of the New Continent.

The soldiers of the New Continent had clearly been waiting for a long time, their flawless tactical formation impeccably maintained. Interlocking fields of fire instantly woven into a web of death, ensnaring the Sri Lanka Continent soldiers who were still bent over busy at work.

In an instant, what was once merely a cleanup zone became a new killing field.

Every soldier, whether dead or alive, was executed, and not a single component of the enemy robots was spared.

The retrieved robots were stripped of their black boxes, immediately secured and sealed, and prepared for transport to the Central Special Zone of the New Continent.

Zhou Yongnian tapped the black box with some confusion. "What does Song Yuqing want with this? What kind of treasure is it?"

They couldn’t open these boxes, and just by looking at them, Zhou Yongnian couldn’t figure out what was inside.

When no one responded, he turned to Qi Ran and asked again, "Do you know what this is?"

Qi Ran expressionlessly replied, "I don’t know."

Zhou Yongnian’s scrutinizing gaze fell on Qi Ran. "When Song Yuqing assigned the task, didn’t he tell you?"

Qi Ran’s expression didn’t change in the slightest. "He didn’t go outside proper channels."

Zhou Yongnian fell silent. Song Yuqing certainly handles matters by the book, leaving no room for criticism.

Commands received at the border were all issued by the Central Military District.

In their military campaign, both Pei Huai and Qi Ran were now at the same level, jointly leading the coalition against the Sri Lanka Continent and Westland Continent.

Now, both Qi Ran and Pei Huai reported directly to Pei Wei.

Zhou Yongnian: "If Song Yuqing doesn’t reach out to you, can’t you initiate contact with him yourself?"

Qi Ran’s gaze toward Zhou Yongnian turned cold, as if he wanted to kill him.

Zhou Yongnian: "..."

Zhou Yongnian: "Forget it, go handle your business. Song Yuqing just doesn’t like you. Logically, when you received your promotion, you should have returned to the Central Special Zone for an awards ceremony, but Song Yuqing denied your return."

This Alpha Qi Ran was truly quite extraordinary. He was gradually understanding why Qi Ran wasn’t liked by Song Yuqing.

No one would like an Alpha who didn’t know how to please others, refused to bow his head, and never admitted his mistakes.

Expecting Qi Ran to ingratiate himself with Song Yuqing to get some intel is simply unthinkable.

"Perhaps Song Yuqing privately entrusted Pei Huai with some matters," Zhou Yongnian insinuated once again.

Bang!

The door slammed shut, Qi Ran sealing all noise behind it.

Zhou Yongnian: "Qi Ran, what the fuck is your problem?"

Does Qi Ran have no idea who raised him? What does it mean for Qi Ran to give him attitude now?

Does he really think there's nothing he can do about Qi Ran?

Zheng Kaiji rubbed his forehead. "Stop arguing. There really isn’t anything you can do about Qi Ran right now."

"We’re all relying on him."

Zhou Yongnian fell silent again.

"Don’t rush it. Take it slow. One day, Qi Ran will grow to hate Song Yuqing," Zheng Kaiji said slowly. "Even if he doesn’t hate him enough now, he will eventually."

For now, just plant a seed and wait for it to grow strong, eating away at all of Qi Ran’s illusions about Song Yuqing.

Then, when the war is nearly over, they can claim Song Yuqing’s achievements.

Song Yuqing has been holding them down like a dictator for so many years—it’s time he paid the price.

Zhou Yongnian was getting antsy. "When are you going to start making moves against Song Yuqing?"

"Not yet," Zheng Kaiji leaned back in his chair, tapping the desk in rhythm with the music playing in Zhou Yongnian’s office. "If we take down Song Yuqing now, wouldn’t that just allow Sri Lanka and Westland to overrun New Continent?"

"Just wait."

Zhou Yongnian: "Song Yuqing mentioned before that he had a way to prolong alpha lifespan. I mean—"

Zheng Kaiji: "No rush. If Qi Zhengqing isn’t in a hurry, why should we be?"

If Qi Zhengqing dies, then there’s no need to keep Song Yuqing, that "fraud," around anymore.

Once Song Yuqing is dead, he’ll give him a nice little send-off—turning him into a fraud that everybody hates, forever sinking into the mud as a rotten piece of shit.

If Qi Zhengqing has even the slightest chance of survival, he’ll find a way to ensure he dies.

Then, he’ll detain Song Yuqing and make him a stepping stone to the top.

Song Yuqing’s research, Song Yuqing himself—all will be put to use for him.

Zheng Kaiji: "You’re just too damn impatient."

Zhou Yongnian: "..."

This coward Zheng Kaiji is pretty damn patient.

Honestly, he never expected that Zheng Kaiji would be the one to persist with him until the end, waiting to deliver the killing blow to Song Yuqing.

It’s true—it's the quiet dogs that bite.

Zhou Yongnian pointed at the black cases. "Should you take half back? I’ll keep half here?"

Zheng Kaiji sneered. "No. Song Yuqing is too cautious. Keeping half here would be asking for trouble."

Zhou Yongnian: "..."

After considering Song Yuqing’s methods, Zhou Yongnian quickly shoved the black cases away.

Zheng Kaiji stared at the black cases, lost in thought. Both Song Yuqing and Sri Lanka are fighting over these.

Perhaps this thing could help him find an opening.

Since hearing Su Quan’s plan, Hurst had begun preparations, but the situation wasn’t progressing as smoothly as planned.

New Continent seemed to have gotten tipped off, dealing finishing blows and going through hell to seize the black cases.

Although they managed to reclaim some disabled alpha soldiers, the numbers were far fewer than expected.

Hurst had started to suspect there was a mole in his ranks.

Su Quan, however, remained unruffled, dressing a doll. "Do you think I should bake a ceramic doll?"

Hurst: "..."

Hurst: "Aren’t you worried at all? Song Yuqing can anticipate your every move. Aren’t you afraid you won’t be able to capture him?"

"If Song Yuqing kills you, nobody'll even cry at your funeral!"

Su Quan remained calm. "You really have no fucking sense. I don’t know how you got to your position."

Hurst: "..."

Su Quan: "Do you really think you and your worthless army can take down Song Yuqing? Only trouble from within and without can truly overwhelm him."

Hurst narrowed his eyes, waiting for Su Quan to continue.

"Have you ever considered that these cases might also be bait?"

Hurst: "You mean, to lure out those in New Continent who aren’t loyal to Song Yuqing."

Su Quan buttoned the last button on the doll. "To cut off Song Yuqing’s wings, leaving him isolated with no backup."

One plank don't make a bridge—that’s an unchanging truth since ancient times.

He wanted to see if, with no one left by his side, Song Yuqing would still give a damn about him.

Hurst: "Weren’t you trying to flip Ye Siling? Any news?"

Su Quan smirked. "Just a hardheaded fool."

"It’s only a matter of time."

Su Quan: "Take your men back."

The people Su Quan referred to were the alphas who had been mechanically enhanced. There were fewer than expected, but they could still make some trouble for Song Yuqing.

Song Yuqing didn’t trust him worth a damn.

He told him to get lost.

Several days had passed, but Ye Siling still couldn’t shake Song Yuqing’s words from that day.

Ye Siling absentmindedly drew blueprints, the feeling of being completely pushed away by Song Yuqing was agonizing and bewildering.

He even felt that the previous instances of distance—the fact that he was the least favored among the dogs Song Yuqing kept—paled in comparison.

Someone said: "Being cold-shouldered by our beautiful council member again. How pathetic."

Someone said: "If you agree to my terms, you can be with Song Yuqing forever."

YSL: "Shut up!"

—"You can be with Song Yuqing forever."

The words echoed like a haunting specter, resurfacing from the depths of his mind.

Ye Siling abruptly opened his eyes, his eyes clouded with gloom.

He snatched a glass from the table and slammed it against the floor. Instantly, the glass shattered into pieces under the impact, and a flying shard shot toward Song Yuqing, who had just walked in. The edge of the fragment grazed Song Yuqing's pale fingers, drawing a small but bright bead of blood.

Cold light fell on the young man's lowered eyelashes, casting a faint, delicate shadow.

Song Yuqing looked calmly at the clearly agitated alpha. "Ye Siling, what are you doing?"

The alpha's heaving chest suddenly stilled, his violent emotions as if abruptly paused.

Seeing that vivid red on Song Yuqing's fingers, Ye Siling's pupils constricted sharply, and his lost control was violently reined in.