“They are all a bunch of short-sighted fellows.”
In the dim underground of the Silver Big Dipper, Lieutenant General Jin Min shook his head, speaking bitterly, “Most of the space bandits are not well-educated. They probably think that this raid is no different from the ones in previous years.”
It was just like before, attacking the starships of the great empire, joyfully killing people, plundering resources, and after returning fully loaded, they could provide for their brothers’ livelihood for half a year.
As usual, they would drink from large bowls and eat meat in big chunks, being unrestrained heroes in this sea of stars.
However, it was this battle.
The empire had lost their founding commander.
Jiang Jianming felt the blood in his body cooling down.
What he perceived went far beyond Lieutenant General Jin’s perspective.
Because he had seen it, he had witnessed that morning when Kaios’s consciousness returned. Lin Ge and Sylph hurried over, shouting without any image, tearing at each other, even pulling and dragging at each other.
It was as if they were no longer the empress of the empire, no longer the chief of the base, but just two young women running along with the years and then grabbing hold of time by its corner.
Jiang Jianming did not know what it would have been like if the commander had been there at that time.
He knew even less about how deep the hatred and unwillingness were that had accumulated layers of tears and blood over the years…
That could make such a tomboyish female emperor chase across five star systems alone in the universe and personally thrust a laser spear into the throat of Red Fish.
That could make such a tolerant and kind chief forcibly peel crystal particles from Red Fish’s corpse, refine them into a bloody forbidden long knife, and present it to the emperor.
All along, he disliked pointless wars, endless hatred, crystal bone weapons that defied ethics, and even fought with His Highness Crown Prince over this.
He should have silently shaken his head at the emperor’s extreme actions in eradicating the space bandits back then, and felt that it was truly irrational for the chief, as a researcher, to have crossed that line.
But the fact was, standing in the dungeon of the second fortress at that moment, Jiang Jianming had only one vague thought in his mind—
When the commander passed away, Lin Ge was not yet thirty years old. Sylph had just turned a little over twenty, an age that could still be considered a young girl in this interstellar era.
Later, when the truth about the crystal particles was revealed, and the great emperor also passed away, they entrusted the future of the empire and the fate of humanity to them.
Over the years, they must have had a hard time.
And very lonely.
Suddenly, his heart felt like it was being cut by a knife, his vision blurred by a mist of water. Jiang Jianming blinked blankly, and a tear rolled down his cheek.
When he realized what had happened, he was startled himself. Fortunately, the environment was dark, and Lieutenant General Jin was also lost in emotion and did not notice this side.
Jiang Jianming quickly wiped away the tear streak with a swift turn of his face, thinking in shock: What’s going on? Have I become so sentimental?
Gao Long was still babbling on. “Ah, but do you know why the great emperor was in such a hurry to fight in the Far Star back then? Little brother, general, do you know?”
“Hehe, you must not know! But I,” he pointed to himself with his thumb, looking spirited, “I know!”
Jiang Jianming’s thoughts had already flown away; he just hummed along noncommittally since this big guy was surely spinning some wild historical rumor.
Whether he insisted on a ceasefire or not, Gao Long’s matters or those of Lava Space Bandits were not something that could be arranged in just a few days. Jiang Jianming turned around and walked out of the dungeon with Lieutenant General Jin.
“It is said!” Gao Long took a deep breath behind them, “The great emperor was in such a hurry to deploy troops back then because there was a shortage of real crystal ores domestically. And His Majesty he…”
He deliberately paused for several seconds with an air of mystery, turning his face red from holding his breath—of course, it might not have been from holding it but simply from excitement.
“Because His Majesty! He was unfaithful to Empress Sylph at that time, falling in love with a disabled human in the late stages of crystal disorder!”
Jiang Jianming stumbled, nearly tripping over the threshold.
His first reaction was: Help.
He really didn’t want to hear any more suffocating founding gossip.
But as Jiang Jianming steadied his steps, and after walking two more steps forward amidst Lieutenant General Jin’s scolding look—
It was as if he was struck by a bolt of white lightning, he suddenly stood still!
Wait!
A thought suddenly pierced through, Jiang Jianming’s back went cold, and all sorts of doubts surged in his heart again.
He remembered…..yes, just before this expedition, he had even suspected whether he was also a projected base body.
Wild histories are unreliable.
But as the old saying goes, there’s no smoke without fire.
Why back then, did Sylph, as the Dowager Empress, readily agree to officiate his marriage with Ryann?
Even if the marriage between the emperor and empress was a political union, wasn’t her relieved demeanor, as if she was marrying off a child, somewhat off?
And why did Emperor Lin Ge treat him so kindly, calling him “Ming Ming” every day, showing no hesitation about such an outrageous act as allowing a disabled civilian into the royal family?
As he pondered, Jiang Jianming’s face turned deathly pale; his limbs were ice-cold, and his heart thumped so hard that his vision began to darken.
Most importantly: Why did Emperor Kaios show such undiminished affection for him when his consciousness returned that day?
Just like Ryann said a few days ago, could such a great emperor, who could be called a hero of troubled times, really accept without any qualms a disabled human newly added to his memories after dating for two or three years?
In the era when the great emperor lived, disabled humans were definitively considered an inferior race…
But what if Emperor Kaios himself had fallen in love with a disabled human back then, and Lin Ge and Sylph were also aware of it?
And then there’s the testament in the Crown of Golden Dawn. He had once guessed that its imagery was related to the founding era; if “awakening” symbolized the projection of a base body…
If those words were actually not left by Little Highness Ryann but were a love poem between Emperor Kaios and his past lover; when Kaios’s memories awakened as the base body neared death, he left them for himself…
If that was the case, then everything would make sense!
Jiang Jianming frantically grabbed a pipe embedded in the wall to steady himself, his fear mounting: So, could his past life be—
That person mentioned by Gao Long, heard from some obscure wild history, the true lover of Emperor Kaios…perhaps?
This speculation did not bring Jiang Jianming any sense of “fate across two lives” happiness; instead, it felt like a kick into the abyss.
With tensions high and war looming, he didn’t want to torment himself needlessly and disturb his peace of mind.
But he couldn’t help it. Jiang Jianming uncontrollably put himself in that past scenario, beginning to imagine if he really was gravely ill.
A new empire had been established, darkness had been expelled, but he was about to die. Without real crystal ore, there was no way to make medicine or tranquilizers.
Yet the newly enthroned emperor refused to accept this fate—this indeed sounded like Ryann’s style. He faced pressure from all sides, arguing with the chief who had supported him since childhood, leading to a rift between emperor and chief.
Jiang Jianming felt a headache coming on just thinking about it; of course, it was obvious. To risk an expedition for a lover, if he were Aslan, he would be just as frantic with Ryann!
In the end, the new emperor went alone, leading the fleet through uncharted interstellar space bathed in blood.
If only there hadn’t been that ambush. If so, perhaps after a safe return from his triumph, the great emperor could have extended his beloved’s life as he wished and even reconciled with the chief.
If it were Ryann’s personality, he would likely choose a sunny afternoon to visit personally. First with a stiff face, haughtily humming: How is it? Didn’t I win after all? It seems even the chief can be mistaken at times.
Then lowering his stance, speaking in a low and magnetic tone: …Don’t be angry anymore, rest and recuperate; I know the chief wants what’s best for me.
But real history wasn’t like that.
The Lava Space Bandits came; the fleet was trapped in the sea of stars struggling fiercely; the lives of warriors were fading away; and the hard-earned real crystal ore was about to be plundered.
The young new emperor would fight like a cornered beast; surely he possessed crystal bones as strong as Ryann’s.
Yet everything still headed towards that irreversible situation.
****
That night, Jiang Jianming shut himself away.
When Ryann returned from gathering his troops and saw him in such a dispirited and absent-minded state, it was as if he had seen red rain falling from the sky.
At the dinner table, the black-haired disabled non-crystal moved slowly picking up food; however, his vacant gaze showed he was lost in thought.
The food he picked up never made it to his mouth and eventually fell back onto the plate pitifully.
Ryann couldn’t bear to watch anymore and fed him a piece of meat. “What’s wrong with you? Did someone bully you today? Or did Jin Min say something to you?”
Jiang Jianming chewed and swallowed mechanically, and after a long while, still in a daze, he murmured softly, “Your Highness, if one day I’m about to die…”
He couldn’t finish his sentence when suddenly, Ryann slammed his bowl down on the table with a bang.
Jiang Jianming snapped back to reality and quickly stuffed a few bites of food into his mouth. “Sorry, I was talking nonsense.”
Ryann got up and went outside the room. Five minutes later, His Highness returned with big strides, impatiently pulling out the chair Jiang Jianming was sitting on. “Did you go to the dungeon?”
Was it late-night communication harassment from Lieutenant General Jin… Jiang Jianming was confused as he was pulled up, and in the next second, he was pressed into Ryann’s embrace.
His chopsticks fell to the floor with a clatter.
Ryann held him tightly, his chin resting against his face, both pained and angry, his voice dark. “How many times have I told you—”
“Ah…no no,” Jiang Jianming realized something and patted Ryann’s tense shoulders, “Don’t think too much, it’s not a stress disorder issue.”
Half-convinced, Ryann simply scooped up Jiang Jianming’s legs and carried him to bed, skillfully stripping off his outer clothing and shoes.
Then he turned on the warm yellow bedside lamp, took off his own robe, and got under the covers to hold him. “Then what is it? You’re not acting normal.”
In Ryann’s eyes, Jiang Jianming was very strong in terms of restraint and self-control, no less than his tactical prowess.
Before this, whenever there was an issue, it was always him throwing a fit and Jiang calming him down. He had never seen Jiang lose composure like this.
Ryann tentatively asked, “Jin Min said that you intend to make peace with the Lava Space Bandits?”
“…” Jiang Jianming clenched his teeth tightly, unable to speak.
He did indeed have that intention. But if his speculation was true, then his original self was the root cause of that year’s tragedy. The phrase “asking the empire to lay down its hatred and cease fire with the Lava Space Bandits” should not come from him.
What would Her Majesty and the chief think if they heard it? And how would Ryann view him after knowing the truth?
But even so. Jiang Jianming lowered his eyelashes indifferently; biting the soft flesh inside his mouth, he thought to himself that despite knowing he owed Aslan an apology, he must…
“Yes, now the war between crystal particles and humans is of utmost importance. I hope that in the near future, the empire can cease fire with the Lava Space Bandits.”
Ryann remained silent for a moment before saying, “As long as the slaughter thief remains in Lin Ge’s hands, it’s impossible.”
“Then please ask Her Majesty to destroy it.”
Jiang Jianming controlled his voice to prevent it from trembling. Perhaps because he was supported by a do-or-die attitude, he did it perfectly.
“I will personally draft a petition to Her Majesty. Crystal weapons should not exist in a world of peace. The ring you gave me is the same.”
He took off his black leather gloves and glanced at his ring finger. “When the war is over, I won’t keep it.”
This statement was meant to be very unfeeling by Jiang Jianming. But Ryann actually felt quite good upon hearing it.
He pushed the disabled man down on the bed, opening his shirt collar, first caressing the pale and delicate nape with his lips, then lightly biting with his canine teeth, smiling and saying, “Of course, I allowed it.”
Thus, Jiang Jianming had an epiphany followed by a sting of pain. In the warm yellow light, he endured the bitterness and closed his eyes, resting his forehead on Ryann’s chest.
— What he intended to imply was clear: even if you endure the pain of stripping crystal particles to forge this wedding ring for me, I will discard it without any care. That’s how indifferent and heartless I am.
However, the message received by His Highness was: The war will end, and by that time, Jiang Jianming will still be alive.
…….
The next day, Jiang Jianming was forced to take a day off.
Indeed, sitting in the flagship’s command seat saved more physical strength than operating a mecha control seat, but the mental exhaustion was not any less taxing.
Ryann didn’t trust his condition in various senses; he locked him in the treatment cabin late at night and didn’t allow him to go out alone during the day.
Jiang Jianming had no choice but to nestle in his bedroom reading books and military intelligence materials while maintaining an “I’m cold-hearted, I’m ruthless, I have no conscience—what are you going to do about it?” posture as he wrote reports for the emperor. It wasn’t a waste of time.
In fact, when it came down to it, Jiang Jianming was definitely a cautious person. Now there were only speculations; he knew what he needed to do was to seek verification rather than blind belief.
Coincidentally, the task at hand was rather excessive. Jiang Jianming worried that angering Emperor Lin Ge might jeopardize the grand scheme of things, and considering his only remaining excuse was “ignorance is not a sin,” he dared not speak up.
It must be said, the various farcical misunderstandings in the world were mostly born from such coincidences…
Jiang Jianming had envisioned countless outcomes, including all sorts of dire situations. But the reality was something he could never have anticipated.
In the first star system of the Empire, Aslan Star City, White Jade Palace.
At five o’clock in the early morning, the palace depths were empty. Lin Ge sat with her long hair draped loose, surrounded by golden roses in the dawn light, like a classical statue of a woman.
After a long while, the female emperor muttered to herself. “Sylph, sometimes Zhen feels that he really has a kind of miraculous ability—”
Beside her was Sylph’s communication projection. The chief had put on a black hood again and dressed in mysterious black clothes, like a solid black mountain.
She said with an inorganic electronic voice. “Oh.”
“It’s always him torturing others,” Lin Ge’s eyes gradually reddened as she spoke through gritted teeth, “yet he makes everyone feel like he is the one being tortured the most.”
The chief calmly said. “Are you sure you didn’t get it backward: It’s always him being tortured the most, yet he always has a way to make others feel like it’s them he’s torturing.”
The female emperor turned a deaf ear, “Hah, do you know what Zhen received yesterday? He…”
Lin Ge covered her eyes and laughed, her shoulders shaking so much that one might think she was crying, “He actually proposed to Zhen that we should negotiate peace with the Lava Space Bandits…Hahaha…”
“For so many years, everyone in the Empire knew how much Zhen hated the Lava Space Bandits; even Old Marshal Chen only dared to hint at it occasionally. But it had to be him…”
Lin Ge buried her head deep, pressing her forehead with her palm and tightly clutching her disheveled black hair with her fingers, “Tell Zhen, why is this person still the same as ever? Sylph, say something?”
Sylph was silent for a long time, then her fingers clad in black armor moved slightly, as if she wanted to lift her hand to comfort the female emperor.
But then she remembered that this was just a communication projection, and between them lay the vast sea of stars.
So the chief withdrew her hand and slowly said, “Actually, that night years ago, when I helped you create the slaughter thief…”
Lin Ge: “Do you regret it?”
Sylph: “No, I just dreamed that the commander scolded me.”
“I stood before him dejectedly, getting reprimanded, wearing the snow-white dress I wore when I first met him, with an elaborate braid, a girl who had just turned eighteen.”
“That was also how I looked when I first met you, Lin Ge.”
Lin Ge shook her head, her voice hoarse. “We can’t go back to that time, Sylph… It’s been too many years.”
Sylph: “Do you really plan to keep hiding it from him forever?”
Lin Ge: “What? Zhen doesn’t understand what you’re saying.”
Sylph: “Playing dumb won’t work. When do you plan to tell the commander about his current Base Body identity?”
Lin Ge laughed softly with her head lowered, her crimson prosthetic eyes gleaming faintly. “Chief, what’s gotten into you?”
“Dawn Aslan is dead. Letting Mingming become ‘Jiang Jianming’ for this lifetime… Wasn’t this what we agreed upon initially?”
“We didn’t anticipate,” the chief said, “the emergence of the Crystal Cult or the early arrival of the final battle.”
“So what!?”
Lin Ge suddenly stood up from her seat, her expression ghastly. “What do you take him for, a living dead that can be dug up from the grave and used whenever the situation becomes perilous!?”
There was silence for a few seconds on the other end.
The chief remained motionless, her cold black hood completely covering her expression.
Until an electronic voice sounded, “Lin Ge, I’m giving you a chance to retract your statement.”
In the garden where golden roses bloomed, there was a moment of tranquility; only birds chirped in the distant shadows of trees, accompanied by a gentle breeze rustling the branches of newly sprouted leaves this spring.
The female emperor sat back down wearily, supporting her forehead as she murmured apologetically, “…Sorry.”
