A torrential rain fell from the clouds onto Star City, soaking the streets and alleys.
Pedestrians hurried home, even the fresh red poster that was put up at the street corner this morning, opposing the “Silver Big Dipper’s advance,” was knocked down by the rain, soaking in a corner of the street.
“The Crystal Cult only propagates how the crystal particles have left humanity in name only. But what it won’t tell you is how human civilization has resisted in this existential war of the races.”
At the military headquarters, the conversation was carried out amidst the sound of rain.
Sitting across from the highest military commander, next to him was the Crown Prince of the Empire who had died and been resurrected once, at this moment, Jiang Jianming suddenly remembered last year.
He had just graduated from Kaios Military Academy, and it was such a stormy evening when the old Marshal Chen came to see him.
“The Gray Owl Laboratory of the Old Empire was the first turning point, the first spark of hope.”
The old man’s gaze was as deep and distant as that time, “The infamous tyrant Odin, at the cost of inhumane human experiments, developed the first tranquilizer in history.”
“If there were no tranquilizers, the collective return phenomenon of crystal particles, from the perspective of humans, would be the mass outbreak of crystal disorder leading to racial extinction–the Crystal Cult calls it ‘the ultimate,’ that ‘ultimate’ should have come before the founding war.”
“Unfortunately, the founding war led to a technological gap, important information was lost, and our New Empire learned this truth again in the Fourth Holy War.”
“The expeditionary fleet of the Fourth Holy War went far, the vanguard ship accidentally entered the outer domain of the Crystal Nest, and mysteriously perished. Even in the communications that were sent back, the soldiers were mad and delirious.”
At this point, the old marshal turned off the projection screen, and Xie Yuduo’s figure disappeared in a flash.
“Of course, now we understand that this was due to the influence of crystal particle consciousness, but at that time no one knew. That area was like a death black hole, and in the end, it was the brave Great Emperor Kaios who personally drove the mecha Crown of Golden Dawn into the Crystal Nest alone, becoming the first human to witness the true face of the Crystal Nest.”
“Venturing alone, as an emperor?”
Ryann looked up in surprise, “He’s got guts.”
“……”
Old Marshal Chen and Jiang Jianming fell into a strange silence at the same time, then turned their heads and simultaneously gave the Crown Prince a “How dare you say that” look.
“Cough,” Ryann’s eyes twitched twice, he cleared his throat with a finger to his lips, “Never mind, continue.”
“In short, the Great Emperor came into contact with the Crystal Nest and noticed something unusual. Her Majesty the Empress Sylph had an old connection with the Gray Owl Laboratory, urgently searched through old cases, pieced together the remaining data, and discovered this secret.”
Old Marshal Chen said solemnly, “After the Great Emperor’s fall, it was Empress Sylph who took on the responsibility in the face of danger, established the Black Shark Base, and became the first base leader.”
“What?”
Both Ryann and Jiang Jianming were shocked and changed their expressions.
“She is…!” Ryann suddenly stood up, slamming the table, and exclaimed, “She is the Empress Dowager?”
Jiang Jianming suppressed his shocked emotions and murmured in realization, “No wonder.”
So that’s how it is.
Thinking this way, everything seemed to line up.
No wonder the leader had an extraordinary temperament, no wonder Emperor Lin Ge was so close to her.
No wonder it was rumored that the Empress Dowager lived in the White Jade Palace… but he had been living there for so long, and he hadn’t seen a single person.
Jiang Jianming secretly glanced at the side: …no wonder “Second Prince Garcia” still maintained a majestic and noble royal demeanor after losing his memory.
His Highness didn’t stay at the Black Shark Base for long, how could an ordinary scientist or researcher possibly train him like this?
Ryann obviously had mixed feelings, his face changed several times, and it was only when Jiang Jianming tugged at his sleeve that he sat down again.
“Your Highness.” Jiang Jianming called him softly.
Ryann only felt a wave of weakness, he held his forehead in a daze, “She is my… mother…!?”
Next to him, Old Marshal Chen’s expression suddenly became strange, his mouth twitched violently, almost breaking his composure.
The old man quickly poured himself a cup of tea and gulped it down, managing to keep his expression in check.
“You guys…really have been in this together from the beginning.”
In the end, His Highness shook his head with a light smile, a hint of self-mockery flashing in his emerald eyes, “I crawled out of a cultivation tank, I don’t have a father or mother.”
“Your Highness!” Jiang Jianming gritted his teeth, wanting to speak. But Ryann seemed to have anticipated his outburst, he turned around and hugged him tightly, lowering his voice and saying, “It’s good the way it is now.”
Jiang Jianming sighed quietly and stopped talking.
Although the chief was kind, she and the Little Highness really didn’t seem like a mother and son in the normal sense.
Perhaps it was the chaotic times, there was no room for familial affection.
The cold cultivation tank, the lonely Black Shark Base, three years of concealment… The First Fortress was indeed His Highness’s initiative, but those combat skills and tactical strategies that allowed him to fight in the Far Star field must have been deliberately taught to him by the chief.
To the Empress Dowager, was Ryann first an indispensable secret weapon of the Empire, and then her child?
Jiang Jianming didn’t want to think too much, some things couldn’t be changed by a few points of regret.
But Ryann seemed to really not care anymore, he leaned back on the sofa with his eyes half-closed, flicking his scattered platinum curls, “We’ve gone off-topic, let’s not talk about this. Since you guys chose to hide it from the founding period until now, you must have formulated a foolproof strategy for humanity, right?”
The thunderstorm outside the window didn’t stop for a long time, the sky grew darker, casting deep shadows on their faces.
Old Marshal Chen sighed deeply, “Little Highness, don’t joke around, in this situation, what good strategy is there? It’s just a struggle for survival.”
“In that era, humans had almost no clear understanding of crystal particles. The Gray Owl Laboratory developed tranquilizers, but it was just to prolong human life.”
They could only defend, without the power to fight back. From a military perspective, they were already driven to a dead end.
Old Marshal Chen: “But Great Emperor Kaios made a choice that was different from the tyrant Odin, but ended up in the same place: to defend by attacking, to counterattack the Crystal Nest.”
Jiang Jianming: “Counterattack? How to counterattack?”
“Two ways.” Old Marshal Chen turned the teacup next to his hand with his finger, suddenly raised his eyes, “Consciousness, existence.”
The Crown Prince and the Crown Princess looked at each other and frowned…How did this turn into a philosophical question?
“Consciousness and existence, that is, spirit and body. Let’s start with the first one that’s not easy to understand.”
Old Marshal Chen looked at Ryann, “Your Highness, do you still remember the battle in the Lan Xishi star field?”
Ryann snorted lightly, that battle Jiang Jianming had almost lost half his life, it was definitely not a good memory.
“If I’m not mistaken, your own memory should not be very clear, right?”
Old Marshal Chen said, “That day, your spiritual consciousness suddenly erupted, counter-pressing the consciousness of the crystal particles. This spiritual power was then transmitted and spread through the consciousness of the crystal particles, causing a large number of enemy and our soldiers around to suffer injuries.”
Ryann: “Spiritual power?”
“Yes, it’s hard to explain in words, please feel it, Your Highness.” As he said this, the eyes of the white-haired old man in military uniform suddenly changed, and an invisible spiritual power spread from around him.
Jiang Jianming was sitting next to him, and at this moment he only felt his heart “jump”.
He suddenly felt palpitations, and suddenly a very oppressive, oppressive to the point of painful rage rose in his chest!
…It was as if he was desperate to burn through everything, but was suppressed under the thick and hard rock, like magma.
It flowed, it was hot, it wanted to roar, but it always lurked silently underground, heating itself day and night, waiting for the day when it could break through the sky.
Jiang Jianming was hit by that rage, his chest hurt, he felt nauseous and saw stars in front of his eyes. When he came back to his senses, he had already been held up by Ryann.
“Jiang!!” The Crown Prince looked tense, then turned around in anger, “What did you do!?”
“Uh…”
Old Marshal Chen was also unusually stunned, obviously, he just wanted the two of them to personally feel this kind of spiritual shock, he didn’t expect Jiang Jianming to be so sensitive.
The old man awkwardly patted his head and quickly handed Jiang Jianming some tea, “Ah, my bad, my bad, I messed up…Is the Crown Princess okay?”
Ryann laughed in annoyance, “With his constitution, I dare not touch him heavily on a regular basis, do you want his life!?”
Jiang Jianming’s face was slightly pale, sweat appeared on his forehead, and he was breathing slightly, “…Your Highness, don’t talk nonsense, I’m fine now. Old Marshal, I understand.”
A double entendre.
The so-called understanding, on the surface, meant that he understood what spiritual power was; in reality, it meant that he understood the perseverance and determination that the old marshal had hidden under his cold and cunning exterior for decades.
Jiang Jianming knew that Old Marshal Chen was deep in thought and would certainly understand the meaning of his words.
However, Old Marshal Chen looked deeply at Jiang Jianming’s pale cheeks, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and his heart was in turmoil.
Clearly, he was spiritually sensitive and fragile, but his will was extremely tenacious. After being injured, there were no signs of mental confusion, and he recovered in just a few seconds.
Is this…actually a strong spiritual resistance?
Is this what they call “afraid of pain but can endure pain”?
Hiss…Marshal Chen secretly took a cold breath.
With such a spiritual constitution, if he really went to the Crystal Nest battlefield, given this child’s temperament, he was bound to suffer.
TN: Spiritual power (精神力量) refers to the passion and vitality of self-confidence and self-improvement in people’s ideology, thinking activities and general psychological state, as well as the corresponding self-control and self-restraint.
