“Cough, anyway…”
Lin Ge cleared his throat heavily, “The damned Crystal Cult has intensified the conflict now, all plans have to be advanced. No one can predict what will happen in the future, we can only adapt to the situation.”
“Your Majesty, please don’t use foul language.” Sylph said indifferently from the side, “I find the emergence of the Crystal Cult very strange. Just as the momentum of the human counterattack was just starting, they grew up, as if they were aiming to give us a head-on blow.”
Jiang Jianming understood, “Next time we encounter them, I will pay more attention.”
As soon as his voice fell, a gentle touch came from his hand. He looked down and saw that Ryann’s crystal bones had entwined him again.
Hmm, there were two this time…Jiang Jianming was helpless, letting the crystal bones poke him over and over. It didn’t hurt, but it was a bit annoying.
He looked at the chief and couldn’t help asking, “Will His Highness Ryann…His Majesty… always be like this in the future?”
Sylph shook her head, “No, he’s about to go back. I estimate that he can only maintain until tomorrow at most. With the current technology, the base body can’t carry the original body’s memory for a long time.”
As expected…Jiang Jianming somehow felt a bit lost.
After about two minutes, the crystal bones quieted down. The two of them lay side by side on Jiang Jianming’s leg, found a comfortable position, and curled up into a circle without moving.
Jiang Jianming patiently picked them up, ready to stuff them back into the quilt. This time when he lifted the quilt, he saw clearly that the crystal bones were extending from Ryann’s heart.
A crystal-like substance uncontrollably protruding from a human body, and being able to move with its own consciousness, this scene was actually quite chilling.
However, Jiang Jianming stared at it for a few seconds, changed his mind, gently put the crystal bones back into his arms, and thought to himself, just hold them.
That morning, because they were worried about the newly ill Jiang Jianming and the strangely behaving Ryann, Lin Ge and Sylph stayed here all the time. It wasn’t until almost noon that the female emperor had to leave due to state affairs.
Jiang Jianming watched Lin Ge’s figure enter the aircraft from the window, and suddenly wanted to ask the chief, whether he was also some special existence, like a certain base body or something.
After all, the attitudes of the emperor and the chief towards him were a bit too good, to the point of being unreasonable. His memory loss on the starship, as well as the two dreams he had already forgotten, were also suspicious. Heh, speaking of which, he was still an orphan…
Jiang Jianming was already 60-70% sure in his heart. But just as he was about to speak, he hesitated.
He felt that if he was actually nothing, saying such self-flattering words would inevitably embarrass the chief.
In the end, Jiang Jianming didn’t ask.
In the afternoon, Ryann woke up, but his spirit seemed even more wilted, and he showed signs of pain from time to time.
He was already very unclear, only recognizing Jiang Jianming. The crystal bones extended from his back, dragging from the bed to the ground in a messy and twisted manner, like discarded scrap metal. His fingertips were also covered by crystal bones, intensifying the non-human feeling.
Jiang Jianming was just heartbroken, holding Ryann and patting him while turning his head to ask the chief, “He seems to be in a lot of pain, can’t we end the projection early?”
“It’s possible.” Sylph looked deeply at the two of them huddled together and said softly, “But…he took a rare risk to see you once.”
Jiang Jianming was stung by these words, his eyes almost welled up, and he said hoarsely, “…I understand.”
He pushed all his plans for the day to accompany Ryann. Fortunately, as the Crown Princess, or rather, the Crown Princess known to the entire empire to be suffering from a terminal illness, no one dared to force him to do any official duties, so he took leave.
Until the sun gradually set, accompanied by colorful clouds. The moon and a few stars rose, hanging in the black sky.
Jiang Jianming turned on the bedside lamp and carefully peeled an apple to feed Ryann.
The latter blinked his emerald-green eyes slowly, ate it very cooperatively, but the last piece was stuffed into Jiang Jianming’s mouth with a crystal bone.
It seemed that the less clear and abnormal he was, the more he liked to use crystal bones instead of human limbs. Jiang Jianming secretly noted another point.
That crystal bone suddenly circled his upper body, pushed him down on the bed, and continued to extend. In less than a second, his wrists and ankles were held down by the crystal bones, like a fish on a chopping board showing its white belly.
Jiang Jianming’s eyes flickered, he raised his long neck, the light was blocked by the shadow that came over, and Ryann pressed him underneath.
Ryann bit his collarbone with unfocused eyes, and a strong desire emerged in his eyes. He took out the ring that Jiang Jianming had hung back on his neck and stubbornly put it on his ring finger.
The light was dim, and the crystal bones moved over the tightly drawn waistline and thighs of the disabled human, but that was all, they didn’t do anything more excessive. It seemed that they just wanted to truly feel the body of their lover.
Jiang Jianming lay under Ryann, turned his head to look at the ring. The red gold crystal luster fell into his eyes, and he suddenly felt that it was not bad to wear it more.
“Good night, Your Highness.”
Before closing his eyes, he took the initiative to kiss Ryann’s lips.
……
The next morning, when Ryann woke up, he had returned to normal, of course, the memory of the original body had also disappeared without a trace.
When he woke up, he found that he was holding Jiang Jianming with his crystal bones and sleeping together. There were still emergency medicines for chronic crystal disorder scattered on the bedside table, and his scalp was numb.
His face was ashen, and his fingers were shaking when he stuffed Jiang Jianming into the treatment cabin.
Jiang Jianming, who was awakened, didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He was knocking on the lid of the cabin, begging His Highness to let him out to explain.
The explanation work was very difficult.
Jiang Jianming had no intention of hiding anything from Ryann, but the cause and effect were too absurd. It was already quite difficult for Garcia to accept that he was his own Ryann’s royal brother, and now he had to accept that he was his own father…it was not an easy thing.
In the end, seeing Ryann’s face was really gloomy, Jiang Jianming had to sell the female emperor to comfort him.
“You see, in this way, Lin Ge will be your adopted daughter instead of your adopted mother in the future, it’s a good thing.”
Whether it was a good thing or not, Jiang Jianming didn’t know. He only knew that in the following days, Ryann would go to the female emperor every day to make trouble. If he wasn’t sarcastically finding fault, he would directly use the crystal bones to fight, completely using the female emperor as a vent.
As for this, Sylph was very calm and said it was good. Once the vent was out, the knot in the heart would be untied, and there would be no problem in the future.
She also took the initiative to pull Jiang Jianming to sit next to her and gossip about the old things. “Do you know why Lin Ge and the Great Emperor don’t get along?”
…Good heavens, Jiang Jianming thought to himself, the memory of the Great Emperor had just returned briefly, and the chief was already calling the female emperor by her name, no longer calling Her Majesty.
Sylph smiled softly, “It’s because of Commander Aslan.”
“When Lin Ge was young, she was terrible, hypocritical and jealous. She admired the commander in her heart but refused to admit it. Seeing His Majesty and the commander close, she bit like a mad dog…and then was beaten by His Majesty like a drowned dog.”
The royal gossip was too stimulating, Jiang Jianming didn’t know what expression to make, he could only listen with a stiff face.
The chief was speaking happily when Old Marshal Chen came again. Seeing this scene, his eyes were almost bulging out, he was so angry that his cane was knocking on the ground, and he shouted at the female emperor and the crown prince to stop fighting.
Jiang Jianming almost suspected that they were preparing to set up a sunset red group crosstalk troupe on the spot and tell a whole day of founding jokes.
If that were the case, it would be very happy, but what the old marshal said was, “Emergency military situation.”
“The first fortress of Silver Big Dipper was attacked, and it was the people of the Crystal Cult again, the offensive was very fierce. Now that Xiao Xie is not there, the fortress is likely to be unable to hold.”
Old Marshal Chen said solemnly, “We need to dispatch reinforcements urgently.”
The air was frozen, and the four people all looked serious at the same time. Lin Ge gloomily combed her messy cloud temples, and Ryann also looked unhappy, “The three fortresses of Silver Big Dipper have been supporting each other for decades, and they have never asked for reinforcements from the empire. Now that the first fortress has been stabbed, what are the second and third fortresses doing?”
Old Marshal Chen: “The second fortress is restrained by the Lava Space Bandits and can’t take care of itself; the military power of the third fortress is not strong, Major General Emma is worried about the loss of the Black Shark Base, and refuses to send troops to rescue. Now that the opportunity to support has been missed, the empire can only send troops.”
****
The decision to send troops to rescue was made quickly.
There was no other choice, the first fortress was the front line of Silver Big Dipper, and it was also the most important base for advancing into the Far Star. If the first fortress was lost, the situation of the empire would immediately turn passive.
Moreover, Xie Yuduo’s expeditionary fleet was now on its way back. If the enemy cut off their rear, the outcome was unthinkable.
Jiang Jianming privately said to Ryann, it was very likely that the Crystal Cult knew about the visit of the vice chairman of the autonomous dominion, guessed that the empire was preparing to enter a full counter-offensive posture, and then hit the Silver Big Dipper fortress hard, this was to catch them off guard.
In fact, they were really hurt. Even though the empire had reached an agreement with Vice Speaker Lopez a few days ago and decided to disclose the truth to all the people, how to disclose it and how to stabilize the people’s hearts afterwards, there were a lot of tricks. The timing, the right place, and the right people, all need to be considered. The war situation couldn’t wait, if it dragged on, the fortress would be gone.
Old Marshal Chen: “All the legions of the empire, including the Golden Sun Wheel, are not very familiar with the Silver Big Dipper fortress and the Far Star battlefield, let alone fighting with the Crystal Cult. Under this situation, we can only ask the two Highnesses to go first.”
The commander’s office of the military department was bright and clean, Jiang Jianming saluted for a long time, his expression calm. “Yes.”
Crown Prince Ryann leaned against the side with his arms folded, he didn’t salute or respond, he just looked deeply at Jiang Jianming’s profile.
……
New Imperial Calendar 64, late spring.
The empire urgently dispatched troops to support the Far Star fortress, Crown Prince Ryann Kaios was the commander of the fleet, Crown Princess, Colonel Jiang Jianming was the staff, immediately prepared personnel and military supplies, ready to move.
Also accompanying the army was the original little young master of the Glorious Autonomous Dominion.
Of course, they didn’t expect him to have any combat power, mainly hoping that the 002 base body could quickly familiarize itself with the environment of the Far Star battlefield and cooperate with the follow-up experiments of the Black Shark Base.
“Why…why!”
Inside the White Jade Palace hall.
Larry’s face was red, angrily spitting.
“What crystal particles, what base body plan, I don’t understand, you, how can you… you… you decide someone else’s life on your own!?”
This male servant who had accompanied Yuan Changze since childhood and was not very good-looking stood below, looking up at the vice speaker of the autonomous dominion, the female emperor, and the crown prince in a hurry and anger.
Against the backdrop of these noble bigwigs, he was like a humble, pitiful, and spinning little ant.
“Too rude, Larry Horn!” Lopez scolded coldly, “If it weren’t for Her Majesty’s grace, allowing Changze to say goodbye to you, you wouldn’t have the right to speak here.”
Larry’s face was ashen, his knees softened, he knelt in front of Miss Lopez like a feudal servant, and knocked his head with a bang.
“No no, Miss Lopez, please, Miss Lopez, you know, the little young master is a disabled human, his physique is not good and he has no military power, he can’t stand high-concentration crystal particles and can’t stand fright, what help can he go there, he will die in the distant starry sky…!”
“Larry, Larry!” Yuan Changze rushed up, crying and pulling him back, “Don’t be like this, I agreed to go, it’s me!”
Larry’s eyes were full of bloodshot eyes. “Why does it have to be the little young master… he is not an experimental body! He is a living person!!”
Crown Prince Ryann suddenly spoke, looking down at the male servant from a high position. “——Just because he is a living person.”
“The empire is about to enter a state of war, and all of humanity must be ready to sacrifice their lives for this war at any time, no one can be an exception.”
His face was so cold and ruthless, but his right hand was held behind him, clenched tightly in a shadow where no one could see.
…If possible, who wouldn’t want to protect the sensitive and sick disabled humans, it would be best to keep them in the treatment cabin forever, or locked deep in a palace full of golden roses.
“It’s okay, it’s okay.” Yuan Changze gently shook his head, forcing a smile, “His Highness said, as long as we win this war, I can come back.”
Larry rushed up and hugged his little young master, his mouth wide open, crying out loud.
****
Jiang Jianming stood at the entrance of the Golden Sun Wheel military starship port.
The wind blew his white and gold military coat. The black-haired young man slightly lowered his eyelids, and his hands wearing white gloves buttoned one more button on his coat.
The weather was not good that day, with dark clouds pressing overhead. According to the weather forecast, it would thunder and rain in another two hours. For superstitious people, it didn’t seem like a good omen.
“Colonel!” “Colonel!”
Bei Man’er and Zheng Yue were already waiting for him, both in neat Golden Sun Wheel military uniforms.
Jiang Jianming walked past the two of them, and from a distance, he saw the fleet of starships docked at the port, a large black mass, like a group of steel beasts bowing down, extremely oppressive.
He asked, “How many people has the military department gathered?”
Bei Man’er said, “Six hundred starships, about eighty thousand soldiers.”
Her voice was crisp and decisive, but her expression was uncertain. Six hundred starships with a total of eighty thousand people, not a small number; but as reinforcements rushing to the Far Star, this number could not be considered large.
Zheng Yue saw her unease and said on the side, “This time we are in a hurry. It’s not easy to dispatch troops urgently.”
“The military department has also allocated a large number of new crystal mechanical weapons, combat drones, military armed robots, oh, and mechas equipped with advanced brains. The B-class self-destructing mecha S-Yishuihan, which shone in the Aslan defense battle last time, gave a full four thousand.”
“That’s indeed not easy.” Jiang Jianming affirmed, patting Bei Man’er’s shoulder, and said softly, “It’s okay, His Highness Ryann can be used as ten thousand starships, so our troop strength is ten thousand and six hundred.”
Of course, he was joking, but when he said His Highness, Ryann came over from the opposite side, followed by Yuan Changze and Larry.
His Highness was wearing the tight-fitting royal dress he used to wear in Silver Big Dipper, elegant and not cumbersome, unimpeded in battle; the platinum curly hair was also tied into a high ponytail with a hair band after a long absence, hanging long behind him.
He walked to Jiang Jianming’s side, his emerald eyes deep, and asked, “Are you ready?”
Jiang Jianming nodded, “Let’s go.”
After a while, they stood on the high platform side by side.
Below, there was a sea of people, like waves.
At this moment, outside of the six hundred starships, eighty thousand soldiers all stood in straight military postures, looking up at them.
Being able to follow the two legendary Highnesses on the expedition, and also bearing the responsibility of rescuing the Silver Big Dipper fortress, each of these soldiers had excitement in their eyes.
Zheng Yue saluted, “Please give a speech, Your Highnesses.”
Before an important battle, it was routine for the commander to give a speech to inspire morale. Ryann looked at Jiang Jianming, slowly reached out and adjusted the microphone.
His face was still as cold as an isolated mountain, and he said indifferently, “I have nothing to say, in the next half hour, you guys write your wills.”
Zheng Yue widened his eyes, this…
Ryann: “I can be honest with you all, the upcoming battle is a matter of life and death, or even ten deaths and no life. If anyone wants to quit, this is the last chance. I will exempt you from punishment.”
(t/n: ten deaths and no life=means that the chances of dying are ten out of ten, indicating no chance of survival.)
The soldiers were taken aback, and their straight postures began to loosen.
They looked at each other and whispered.
They couldn’t believe that the always arrogant and self-confident Crown Prince, the undefeated Crown Prince, would face his own soldiers today and admit defeat before the battle.
Jiang Jianming sighed silently, he was the only one among the people present who could understand the true meaning of Ryann’s words.
The rescue of Silver Big Dipper itself was not a matter of ten deaths and no life, but the soldiers who went to the Far Star now were likely to be the candidates for the next White Bird expedition.
He helplessly stretched out his hand, took the microphone from Ryann. Just like that time at the grand ceremony, but this time he was not afraid of heights.
Jiang Jianming spoke, “As His Highness the Crown Prince has said, those who want to leave can do so.”
The commotion below was even greater, and a few people turned their heads to look at the road they had come.
A few people hesitated to touch the photo necklace hanging around their necks, the amulet in their pockets, or even just the tie that their partner had tied for them before they left.
“But, I also want you to remember the day when the star city was attacked. Alien creatures roared in the towns, rubble fell from the sky, and the bodies of civilians filled the streets.”
Jiang Jianming’s voice was calm, “You are all the best soldiers, you should be able to feel that we are facing an unprecedented battle, facing an unheard-of enemy, and behind us is our homeland.”
“Of course, you can turn around and leave today, but if there is a day in the future.”
He closed his eyes and opened them again, word by word, “When you are struggling to survive in the rear, watching the foreign enemies invade, the war raging, the country broken and the family destroyed.”
“When you see the white-haired parents and the babbling children lying in a pool of blood, your lover loses all their life in your arms;
“When you realize that the empire is defeated, you climb onto a small starship in a panic trying to escape from your homeland, and when you look back, you see the three major star systems full of scars, and realize that human civilization has come to an end.”
“You will think of the once flower-filled and dove-filled Aslan Star City, and think of the happy days. Then you will inevitably think of today, and think of the comrades who have already died heroically on the front line.”
“At that time, please don’t feel ashamed in your heart, and don’t regret it.”
It was unknown when, the noise disappeared.
Jiang Jianming didn’t look at what expressions the soldiers below had.
He looked up at the heavy sky, cast his gaze into the distance, and said softly, “In a lifetime, it’s hard to die without regret, but we should at least die without shame or regret.”
He thought of the rainy night when he chose to actively suffer from crystal disorder.
In fact, he knew in his heart that there was a risk to his life. If he just died in the wilderness, or died on the battlefield of the Far Star without accomplishing anything, or died on the sickbed…
Naturally, there will be resentments.
But not ashamed, and no regrets.
That’s enough.
“I’m done.”
The speech ended. Jiang Jianming turned off the microphone, sat down, and also took a piece of paper and pen to prepare to write a will.
But he couldn’t write a word for a long time, mainly because he had no parents, no worries, and his lover and friends were all fighting alongside him. What was there to write, and who to write to?
Jiang Jianming thought hard for a long time, but finally gave up.
He gathered his coat, leaned back in his seat, and closed his eyes to rest.
He felt Ryann’s hand on his shoulder, and Ryann’s body temperature was a bit higher than his, very warm.
Half an hour passed, Ryann called him in a low voice, “Jiang.”
Jiang Jianming opened his eyes, slowly stood up and looked around, “Is everyone done writing?”
He asked, “How many people left just now?”
Suddenly, in the crowd of tens of thousands of people below, there was a sudden burst of thunderous noise—
“None!!!”
Jiang Jianming was shocked, his heart thumped, and he looked up abruptly.
It was too far, he couldn’t see the faces of each soldier, and he couldn’t see those pairs of eyes, whether they were burning with anger and fighting spirit at this moment.
But he could hear the soldiers shouting, “None!!!”
The sound was like a drum, a war drum.
The echo lingered for a long time, symbolizing the war drum of human will, echoing under the heavy clouds, echoing in front of the heavy fate.
Bei Man’er quietly wiped the corner of her eye, and Zheng Yue looked at the young colonel with admiration.
Yuan Changze and Larry, two people who had never been on the battlefield, had never seen such a momentum, and were scared to have their heads buzzing, but they were also infected by this soaring fighting spirit, breathing quickly and their cheeks flushed.
“We can definitely win,” Yuan Changze tightly held Larry’s hand, and said firmly in a low voice, “Definitely, definitely.”
Jiang Jianming showed a mixed emotion of sadness and relief at the corner of his eyes.
Next to him, Ryann looked ahead, the wind blowing his curly hair, and His Highness said in a volume only they could hear, “As long as human civilization can survive for one day, history will always remember you…forever.”
Jiang Jianming smiled at him.
Then he took the microphone again and said to the soldiers.
“Let’s go then. Although I just said something discouraging, it’s not that bad. We strive to win sooner…and go home sooner.”
