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墨書 Inktalez
An Xiaotian did not directly face Lu Sha, but he noticed her hesitation from the corner of his eye. He had always known how Lu Sha felt about him; however, in his world, Yang Meng's position was unshakeable. Even though she was no longer present, the immense void left behind made it difficult for An Xiaotian to let go easily. Despite standing still and silent, he could sense the subtle fluctuations in Lu Sha's heart. He didn't want to confront it because he was still immersed in the past, perhaps something he would never be able to let go of.
Matsushima returned to her post to continue working, while General Jiang led the two back towards the previous straight path. "Xiaotian, you've changed quite a bit," General Jiang couldn't help but break the silence.
"No, I'm just speechless from being amazed," An Xiaotian replied with a forced smile.
General Jiang did not respond immediately. He swiped his access card, revealing a larger factory workshop before An Xiaotian and Lu Sha. However, contrary to their expectations, there were no rows of neatly arranged items waiting for assembly; instead, there stood a castle. Although the manufacturing workshop was over a hundred meters away, its top frame towered above them.
An Xiaotian focused intently on it, feeling that this massive structure looked very familiar. General Jiang intentionally refrained from reminding him as he walked to the railing and looked down at the steel framework below. It was completely unfathomable; on more than ten visible layers of work platforms, intelligent machines were operating—this was not a castle; its height was at least six hundred meters.
"Xiaotian bro, don't walk too far..." Lu Sha called out as she saw An Xiaotian lost in thought moving forward. She tried to stop him but was halted by General Jiang. "Go back and find Time; tell him we've arranged everything for Yang Meng's funeral," General Jiang instructed Lu Sha. "Her parents have decided to give her personal diary to him; Ma Yihan went to get it and will explain."
Lu Sha understood General Jiang's meaning and quietly stood beside him.
Ahead was a completed outer wall. An Xiaotian reached out to touch it, hoping to retrieve some memories, but unfortunately found no answers. It wasn't until he raised his hand that a Photon Cannon barrel, previously obscured, faintly came into view.
In an instant, memories of that night when artillery rained down flooded back into his mind. He recalled the first large-scale confrontation between lunar and terrestrial civilizations when The Celestial Warriors Alliance was just taking shape at the Military Base in City S. Countless top Special Forces Soldiers who had once made everyone proud perished without warning or any mourning from Time. After being struck by a Photon Cannon, there would be no trace of them left in this world...
His thoughts spiraled out of control as memories surged chaotically through his mind. He remembered the first time he donned the Fierce Eagle Armor; everything stemmed from that rapid shock grenade he threw. If he hadn't thrown it, would Yang Meng have lived a peaceful and ideal life with him? He recalled being blasted down a slope while covering retreating comrades; yet before that, his roommate had died right before his eyes—he would forever owe himself a meal...
I am just an ordinary Special Forces Soldier, a rookie who should have been killed by a Photon Cannon or shot by enemy bullets.
How many people died because of me when I should have been dead myself?
Why?
A wave of dizziness hit him; An Xiaotian felt an unusual heaviness in his head as he stumbled and found his gaze drawn toward the ceiling lights of the factory workshop after colliding with the railing. Just as he felt himself about to lose weight and fall, Lu Sha lunged forward and pulled him back down to the ground. However, all An Xiaotian could hear was ringing in his ears as he watched Lu Sha anxiously shaking his shoulders and shouting at him. A long-lost warmth spread throughout his body again; the Variant Current within him surged with intense pain as consciousness slipped away.
This giant workshop was solely responsible for constructing humanity's only space carrier—the primary project within the Southern Gate Project—the Luan Bird plan.
The Xuan Nu Aerospace Fighter previously shown to An Xiaotian and Lu Sha would take off from the Luan Bird-class space carrier. Once war broke out, the Luan Bird would be the core combat platform for gaining air superiority. Theoretically, Luan Bird-class space carriers could carry six hundred seventy-five sixth-generation fighters, five hovercraft or helicopters, and one hundred Xuan Nu Aerospace Fighters hidden within the hull ready for deployment at any moment. Once launched, they would spread out at maximum speed to engage in battle.
However, one crucial point could not be overlooked: Luan Bird was actually built on the foundation of an internal Human battleship that crashed at Military Base in City S. This saved a significant amount of time during its early development phase. During inspections, researchers discovered that some equipment could still operate; for instance, the Photon Cannon An Xiaotian saw was dismantled and preserved for modification into weapons suitable for human-machine requirements. The Luan Bird's engine would consist of four fusion engines and two anti-gravity engines for takeoff assistance; it was still in debugging stages but had advanced further than those smaller branches in terms of assembly progress—it was actually the most mature and complete project.
Yet because Luan Bird retained many characteristics of Intra-Material Warships, An Xiaotian experienced intense emotional turmoil upon recognizing it. His feelings had already become extremely sensitive and fragile due to Yang Meng's situation; this sudden emotional outburst caused his heart rate to spike rapidly. With blood flowing quickly and emotions wildly unstable simultaneously triggering the long-suppressed Variant Current within him, his body fell into paralysis. This time, An Xiaotian's willpower failed entirely; without the protection of Fierce Eagle Armor, he succumbed to unconsciousness due to Variant Current surges—or perhaps he simply chose not to resist its activation within him; he preferred closing his eyes and embracing an empty darkness devoid of sensation.
"He's fine; the internal current triggered suddenly but only lasted for several seconds—much shorter than three years ago," the military doctor reassured General Jiang.
"That's good to hear." General Jiang looked at Lu Sha sitting beside An Xiaotian with a worried expression. "Take care of your captain first; I have an urgent matter that just came up—Xuan Nu No. 1's engine caught fire and nearly exploded; fortunately, it didn't affect the entire factory building. Matsushima Riko suspects someone among those executing plans deliberately filled energy without following ratio requirements; this issue has already reached me."
The military doctor followed General Jiang out of the room, leaving Lu Sha alone beside An Xiaotian as she gazed at the trapezoidal energy source near his heart.
From when An Xiaotian opened his eyes to watch General Jiang leave until he closed them again for rest—and then felt it too quiet before reopening them—Lu Sha's gaze never strayed from his exposed chest.
"What's wrong?"
"I thought you... only knew how to operate Battle Armor."
"Do you think you're the only exception?"
"I'm... I'm sorry, I really didn't know, no one told me..."
Lu Sha stammered, burying her face in her palms.
"It's okay, I didn't mean to blame you." An Xiaotian reached out to stroke Lu Sha's red hair at the back of her head. "You were the team member I worried about the most because we couldn't truly understand the pain deep inside you. But even so, I want you to know, Lu Sha, that you have family, and you always will."
"Shut up!" Lu Sha pushed An Xiaotian's hand away and turned her face aside. "Don't touch my hair!" With that, she stood up, pretending to be angry and ready to leave, but instead handed the nutritional meal in front of her to An Xiaotian.
"Xiaotian, Mengmeng's parents left her diary for you. It's with Ma Yihan now, remember to ask for it."
"Got it." An Xiaotian's response surprised Lu Sha; he turned to meet her gaze. "Before Suixing opened his eyes, I found the answer."
"Answer? What answer?"
At the same time, a call request from Matsushima Riko came through on the large screen in the room. "You two! Can you come over?"
Realizing something was wrong, An Xiaotian and Lu Sha immediately stepped forward. "The engine of Xuan Nu No. 1 exploded! We found HMX in the debris, which is a main component of modern military explosives and shouldn't be in the fusion engine's energy storage!"
"Is there a clue?" An Xiaotian quickly asked. "An intelligent machine suddenly crashed after debugging the engine; its programmer has been compromised. Those soldiers forced him to reveal the truth—he did it for money from someone who is a very wealthy officer!" Matsushima Riko glanced back at the chaotic scene, tears welling in her eyes as she shouted, "The general's leg is injured; a piece of metal is lodged above his knee and he's bleeding heavily—he needs treatment immediately! Please!"
"Wealthy? It must be Colonel Gao! I'll go take care of that bastard!" Lu Sha immediately headed for the door but was sternly stopped by An Xiaotian: "You run fast; go get the general treated!"
"Captain, don't you trust me?" Lu Sha patted herself on the chest. "I'm the strongest pursuit expert in the alliance!"
"Saving lives is more important; you're not going!" An Xiaotian's expression was very serious. "I absolutely won't allow this to happen again."
"Happen what?"
"This is an order!"
"Explain yourself; I don't like being left in the dark! Do you think I'm unfamiliar with this place? Just tell me why!" Lu Sha snapped impatiently at An Xiaotian.
An Xiaotian took a deep breath and stepped in front of Lu Sha, speaking earnestly: "If I gave you one more day, everything that happens would be almost identical to that day which changed your fate. What would you do? Do you think Fierce Eagle—the captain—was chosen by everyone? It never was! Lu Sha, like you, I'm not a born superhero; we're just exceptions—a fate we can't change. Many times we are powerless against it, and it becomes a curse for our entire lives. Let me tell you, my benefactor—General Wang Yangchen—was killed on a day much like today! Everything began on a similar yesterday. If it were you, would you choose to escape and let things be or try again to save those who shouldn't have left?"
Outside in the corridor, alarms blared as red lights spun around Lu Sha's gaunt face, casting fleeting shadows. She looked down at her wrists—once places that changed her fate: "Is this what you've found as your answer?"
"I won't run away," An Xiaotian brushed past her and prepared to leave the medical room. "I accept the curse of fate but will never compromise. I hope you can do the same, Sasa."
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