For the next half month, Lei Ting was constantly on the move, sometimes with a team and sometimes alone, putting out fires across the galaxy.
There was no other way. The corruptive crystals were far too aggressive toward normal environments and could be mass-produced through breeding bodies. If allowed to snowball, the consequences would be unthinkable. In times like these, the soldiers of the Federation had to fulfill their duty to purge them; after all, even if the enemy acted inhumanely, their own people could not afford to simply give up.
During this period, Lei Ting and his subordinates were highly efficient, rarely staying in any single star system for more than half a day. Despite this, vast swathes of Federation sectors still fell to the enemy. Numerous 'Gah' breeding bodies took root on every planet, constantly corroding and devouring almost all matter. Their behavioral pattern was one of unsustainable consumption—stripping everything bare and draining the pond to catch the fish.
Like almost every race that sustained war through war, as long as the resources they recovered from a battle exceeded what they consumed, it was a victory for them.
Anyone with eyes could see that if this continued, the Human Federation might have to resort to devastating scorched-earth policies to reclaim resources and deny them to the enemy. But who would want to do that unless it was the absolute last resort?
The Federation Parliament had been arguing over this incessantly. Its internal factions were currently divided into three categories based on their differing opinions.
The radical group, operating from a purely rational perspective, believed they should immediately begin destroying their own resource planets, clearing out star sectors, and delivering a killing blow to those crystal locusts as early as possible.
The conservative group held a more humanitarian view. They believed that even if the populations of those planets could be evacuated and dispersed to other worlds that hadn't reached their carrying capacity, the planets themselves—whether considered from the perspective of the interstellar environment, the Federation economy, or cultural history—were by no means insignificant. As long as there was still a choice, the Federation should not abandon them.
Then there was the third group... they were pure fence-sitters. Day in and day out, they attended meetings not to consider which faction was more logical, which rhetoric suited them better, or which would bring them more profit, but rather which side the top-level decision-makers were more likely to favor.
The moment the three permanent members of the council showed even a hint of a 'leaning,' these people would immediately and subtly pivot their tone and outlook a full hundred and eighty degrees, pointing toward a direction diametrically opposed to the one they held five minutes prior without the slightest hint of integrity.
Currently, the radicals made up about 15% of the proposers, mostly high-ranking military officials. The conservatives accounted for 25%, largely consisting of politicians backed by financial conglomerates, along with some sincere pacifists.
The third group occupied the remaining 60%, making them the majority. Most people who could climb high enough in the political system to offer opinions and suggestions here would never fully commit to a position before the situation became crystal clear. Or rather, the word 'fully' was itself a joke that didn't exist in their personal dictionaries.
In the four major sessions held over these two weeks, the tide of opinion among the Federation councilors leaned toward the conservatives. However, the options proposed by the radicals were not entirely rejected; instead, they remained in a state of being 'reserved for later discussion.'
On such matters, no one—including Lei Ting or any of the Vice Speakers—possessed a legal, unilateral right of resolution that wouldn't trigger a total backlash from the Parliament.
They never would.
***
"New Hope 02 is gone?" When Lei Ting heard the news, his face tightened and his brow furrowed. "...This contradicts the capability assessment models the Parliament previously established for them."
Setting aside the issue of internal disagreements, the Parliament did possess operational competence. During these extremely tense two weeks, they had indeed demonstrated a theoretically sufficient understanding of Federation affairs and various factions.
"Someone among them tore down the walls from within." Susanna’s synthesized voice held a strange calmness. "A group of people shouting slogans about communication, peace, and laying down arms for the good of all life—that kind of bull... those kinds of slogans. Centered around a mental-specialization Esper, they carried out illegal violent actions against the local authorities. They murdered a large number of system management technicians and responsible officials, then voluntarily opened the integrated defense shields and let the Gah in."
"..." Lei Ting slowly tilted his head back, taking a deep, long breath.
"...How many survived?" he asked. "I remember... that place was a fairly prosperous commercial hub."
"Not a single one," Susanna replied. "All twelve billion registered sapient beings on that planet became nutrients for the Gah. The Seventh Legion purged that star system the day before yesterday; they didn't find a single living person."
"Tianhe, add to the Star-Net ban..." Lei Ting began, his voice slightly hoarse, but then he suddenly stopped. After a moment, he said somberly, "...No. Cancel that order. New directive: Identify the information and current status of all Star-Net base stations within Federation territory. Compile the content into a document and place it in my database."
After Tianhe acknowledged the command, Lei Ting turned to Susanna, who acted as if she hadn't heard a thing. "Coordinate with the Federation Police Department to filter Star-Net information. Find every individual promoting this ideology and execute them. Live-stream it on the Star-Net, no blurring."
Susanna’s response came without hesitation, though she still voiced her concern: "Yes, sir. But I suspect this will only drive the maggots to dive into the darkness where we cannot see them..."
"First, ensure the majority of people browsing the surface web aren't led astray." Lei Ting wanted to rub his temples but refrained. "As for the rest... I want them to stop dragging us down in the coming days. Otherwise, I wouldn't mind adding a line to their resumes: 'Personally visited by the Sun Star.'"
"There's no need for you to gild their dark, filthy lives. Their pathetic deaths won't even have a tombstone to record them," Susanna shrugged. "To be honest, that sentence alone would be enough to get them recorded in the history books."
"..." Lei Ting wanted to give her a cool retort, but he wasn't in the mood.
"Perhaps," he said raspily, standing up to leave. "I hope no more entries are listed alongside them... I have things to do. I'm leaving."
"Yes, sir," Susanna said, bowing her head.
Even though she had just reported such a tragedy to her superior, friend, and old classmate, her tone held no hint of sorrow or pain. It even carried a trace of restless brightness. A... mechanical brightness.
Because before this conversation, Lei Ting had discussed another matter with her. Another matter... one that gave her hope for revenge.
And that reaction sent a chill through Lei Ting’s heart.
Yes, Susanna was loyal to him because she believed there was essentially no difference between them: they were both avengers. It was just that she was doing it for one person, while he was doing it for 'everything.'
But because of this, Lei Ting had always understood—and had to understand—that he and this classmate, who had never been one for idle chatter, were actually quite different. A friendship did exist between them, but it had not truly reached a deep level; the greatest bond between them was merely the name 'Sandro.'
Of course, Lei Ting didn't actually mind this. As long as the other party was willing to treat him as a friend and avoid his forbidden zones, he would reciprocate with the same attitude. Or rather, he was a person who was tolerant to the point of being easygoing, someone who could indulge those around him infinitely within conventional bounds.
But... some things were not okay. One thing in particular was not okay.
And now, Susanna’s attitude...
"...Susanna," Lei Ting suddenly called her name.
"Hmm?" The suit of armor—which had actually been personally adjusted and reinforced by the 'Sun Star' himself based on the properties of its metallic materials—looked up.
"You..."
Lei Ting turned around, hesitating for a rare moment before starting a conversation. "..."
Under the lights, his pitch-black cape fluttered like a sea of dark clouds blotting out the sun. The tall young man wearing the golden crown gazed at the armor from a few paces away, and at the young woman beneath that armor, whose eyes glinted with a hint of crimson.
Finally, "...Emotions are closely linked to the hormonal system," he said stiffly. "Activating your superpower for long periods is bad for your body. Remember to go to the medical department for regular check-ups."
"?" Susanna blinked, surprised by this sudden show of concern. But in the next moment, she let out a relaxed laugh. "Thanks for the concern. I know, Brother Lei."
"..."
Lei Ting sighed inwardly and turned to float toward the door.
He still had to visit the mediator, 'Ruo,' and check on 'Little Lina.' Since the incident half a month ago, they had been resting at the Consortium's envoy starport within the Federation. That place was essentially an 'embassy'; it was directly considered a territory of the Consortium. Attacking it was equivalent to attacking all member powers of the Consortium, so it was currently quite safe.
On the way there, other thoughts came to mind—
To be honest, the memories provided by the 'Recorder' were actually somewhat... difficult to distinguish in certain fragments, due to their extreme age and the fact that the Recorder had sunk into states of mental chaos several times.
He could only pick out some members of the Galactic Empire who weren't particularly powerful. This served to fill in the blanks of this race's image, which currently seemed so strangely empty within the galaxy. They were a race of 'humanoid carbon-based beings' with an average height of about 4.2 meters. Their appearance, aesthetics, and thought patterns were extremely similar to 'humans' but of a higher caliber, and almost every one of them was handsome or beautiful, without a single ugly individual among them.
It was almost a 'perfect' race, but in Lei Ting's view, it also had its flaws. The citizens of the Galactic Empire were divided into nine tiers, with rank directly linked to welfare. First-tier citizens held all rights below the 'Emperor's' power, while ninth-tier citizens had only the title of 'citizen' and the most basic food, shelter, and entertainment.
These tiers were also classified based on individual contribution points. Everyone was born into the sixth tier. Before reaching adulthood, unless there were factors of heinous crime or contributions beyond human imagination, one's personal tier would not be adjusted. But tier changes after reaching adulthood... one couldn't say they were common; they were simply a daily occurrence.
A flash of golden light appeared, and Lei Ting flew out from it alone. At the top floor of the Consortium starport hospital—a regular spiral column constructed from common modular designs—he floated toward a recuperation pod a few meters away.
But within a second, his figure froze.
He smelled a faint, sweet fragrance. It wasn't the scent of some dessert or Omega hormones.
It was the scent of Dottan 'blood.'
***
