Chapter 14#

The Beta Lieutenant Colonel Who Died for His Country#

After disappearing for several days, Schuyter finally appeared before Lu Heng. Without a word, he shoved Lu Heng into a small shuttle and brought him to a location near an asteroid belt.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Lu Heng sat in a lounge chair, holding a glass of red wine that Schuyter had force-fed him. “Do you need my help?”

“Just sit there like a good boy, rest, and savor the red wine I’ve been cellaring for twenty years.” Schuyter didn’t even turn around. “Found it!”

The small shuttle quickly landed on an asteroid. Lu Heng leaped out of the hatch, only to find himself standing in water that reached his knees. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but a shimmering surface of water stretching to an invisible horizon. There was nothing else.

“How about it? Pretty unique scenery, right?” Schuyter jumped down after Lu Heng, his tone laced with smug pride.

“Are there any usable resources here? Could this be relevant to the mission?” Lu Heng looked at Schuyter with some confusion.

“Don’t let missions fill your eyes and heart.” Schuyter winked at him. “Just wait a moment.”

Standing in the water alongside Schuyter, Lu Heng felt he must look absolutely ridiculous. He tried to pry something out of Schuyter, but the man wore a mysterious expression, dodging and weaving the subject without ever revealing the purpose of this trip.

At the moment Lu Heng’s patience was about to run out, the star dipped below the distant horizon. Night fell over the asteroid, and as darkness descended, tiny flecks of light slowly began to bloom across the vast expanse of water—like a multicolored sea of flowers that had instantly blossomed across every place within sight. Lu Heng’s sharp eyes quickly noticed that each pinprick of light was a translucent, jellyfish-like bioluminescent creature, gently swaying in the water with the ripples, making it seem as though one were walking through a resplendent nebula.

“Happy birthday, Rhainer.” Schuyter’s voice came from behind. “This is also the fifty-third anniversary of the day we first met. The first time I ever saw you was at your third birthday party.”

“That day, a little monster wrecked my birthday cake.” A hint of a smile crept into Lu Heng’s voice.

Schuyter scratched the back of his head with some embarrassment: “Didn’t I make it up to you?”

“Oh? The makeup cake never actually made it into my stomach.”

Schuyter awkwardly ran a hand through his hair, then changed the subject: “Do you still remember what you wished for that day?”

Hearing the word “wish,” Lu Heng immediately lost all desire to continue the conversation. That really was a dark chapter of history he’d rather not revisit. Back then, there was an extremely popular children’s cartoon called Child of the Starfield, and little Rhainer had been one of its most devoted viewers and fanatical fans.

“No.” Lu Heng was silent for a long time before producing a single word.

Schuyter looked at Lu Heng’s flustered expression and smiled with a touch of mischievous delight: “It’s all right—I remember it for you. Little, tiny you, three years old, said, ‘I want to be the Child of the Starfield, and play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the piano in an ocean of stars…’”

Lu Heng, half-embarrassed and half-irritated, tried to cut him off, but then saw Schuyter retrieve an enormous box from his spatial storage.

“Birthday present—open it and see.” He smiled as he handed Lu Heng a remote control for the box.

The remote still seemed to carry Schuyter’s body heat. In truth, Lu Heng didn’t even need to open it—he already knew what was inside. But Lu Heng had never imagined that this gift would be given to him. Because in the original timeline, in the memories of Lieutenant Colonel Rhainer, he had never seen this asteroid and had never received such a birthday gift.

Schuyter’s urging from the side left Lu Heng no time to think further. He pressed the button, and the exquisite outer casing opened like flower petals, revealing inside a breathtaking piece of craftsmanship—the Starfield’s Tear.

“I’ve always remembered your wish from that day, and I’ve painted this scene in my mind countless times.” Schuyter took a step back and bowed with a gentleman’s grace. “It’s been so long since I’ve heard you play. Could I have the honor today of listening to you play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star?”

Lu Heng looked at this man—usually so carefree and unrestrained, but now so earnest—with a flicker of emotion in his eyes, yet cruelly, only a single word left his lips: “No.”

Schuyter was so deflated that he sat down heavily in the water, wailing with exaggerated drama: “You can’t be this heartless. You have no idea—I searched this asteroid belt day and night for a whole week to find this planet. And to purchase its ownership, I spent every last credit I had.”

Schuyter at that moment resembled a large dog that had brought its beloved treasure to its master, only to be kicked savagely—utterly pitiful.

Lu Heng finally couldn’t hold back a soft laugh. Then, to Schuyter who was staring dazedly at his smile, he said: “It’s been too long since I played—I need to practice. Let’s wait until I have time to practice.”

The moment he said it, Lu Heng regretted it. Perhaps it was the scenery, the atmosphere, that had driven him to say something so irresponsible on impulse. Lieutenant Colonel Rhainer had died during the mission to assassinate the Queen. When the time came, Lu Heng would have to leave at around the same time.

“Really?” Schuyter’s eyes lit up.

Seeing his expectant look, Lu Heng swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue. It was just one piano piece. With Rhainer’s memories and Lu Heng’s enhanced mental abilities, practicing a few times in his spare time should be no problem. He could treat it as a gift to a dear friend.

“It’s a promise, then—on my birthday. When the time comes, forget the birthday present. Just come back here with me and play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the Starfield’s Tear for me to hear.” Schuyter was so thrilled he grew a touch carried away.

This time, Lu Heng said nothing. He simply gazed silently into the distance. Schuyter, lost in his joy, didn’t notice anything amiss.

The task of guarding Carlo happened to fall to Andrew’s squad. Saying “happened to” was perhaps not entirely accurate, since every other squad was busy training in preparation for the assassination mission on the Queen, and no one wanted to take on such a boring and meaningless job. So Andrew, ever maintaining his image as the good guy, stepped forward and took on the task.

However, some of his squad members were somewhat dissatisfied. An operation like assassinating the Queen was destined to be recorded in the annals of history, and no one wanted to miss it. Therefore, when Andrew appeared at the door of the detention room, smiling amiably, and told his team members to go participate in joint drills while he took over the watch for a while, no one suspected a thing.

Opening the door to the detention room, Andrew saw Carlo curled up in a corner, the food on the table completely untouched. The smile on his lips deepened a few shades.

“Carlo, are you doing all right?” His voice sounded so soothing and gentle, the smile at the corner of his lips as tender as moonlight.

For the desperate Carlo, it was like a ray of sunlight piercing into the abyss. His ice-cold body felt a trace of warmth.

“Andrew…” He hadn’t even finished a sentence before his voice broke, choking on sobs.

Andrew wrapped a comforting arm around Carlo’s shoulders: “I know you’re unwilling to just leave Fung Lei like this. You have real talent, and I hate to see it go to waste.”

Andrew’s affirmation calmed Carlo’s emotions somewhat: “I just lack an opportunity to prove myself. Lieutenant Rhainer is prejudiced against me—he won’t even give me a chance.”

“I see. Well, as it happens, there’s an opportunity right now that could let you prove yourself. I believe you can seize it. The Commander will definitely see you in a new light…”

Twenty minutes later, Carlo’s face had regained its glow, and the defiant spark of fighting spirit had reignited in his bright eyes. Even though he was still locked in the detention room, he was no longer afraid of anything. So long as one was willing to work hard, no difficulty was insurmountable.

And as Andrew left the detention room, a satisfied smile played on his lips.

According to the Research Institute’s analysis of the footage transmitted by the probe, the Queen was about to enter the final stage of her evolution. During this stage, the Queen was at her most vulnerable, but the window was extremely brief. The best opportunity to annihilate the Zerg would come only once.

Queen’s final evolution stage: countdown, five hours.

All personnel of Fung Lei had assembled in the tactical hall for final pre-battle preparations. Schuyter and Lu Heng stood on the platform, running through the various tactical deployments once more—this mission could not afford any errors. In one hour, Lu Heng and Schuyter would traverse the wormhole to the Queen’s hive.

Autonomous holographic cameras floated in midair. During the entire mission, everything that happened would be under the scrutiny of every citizen of the Human Alliance.

“All mecha maintenance squads, please perform one final inspection on the mechas under your charge.”

“All mecha squads, please verify and confirm one final time the sectors under your responsibility.”

“All preparations are complete. Logistical personnel, board the auxiliary vessel and withdraw from the front lines.”

This was standard procedure whenever Fung Lei undertook a high-risk operation. Once all preparations were made, logistical personnel would board an auxiliary vessel and evacuate, to prevent them—these people who couldn’t fight their way out of a paper bag—from being caught in the crossfire.

The moment the logistical personnel had withdrawn, a disturbance broke out at the position of the Eighth Mecha Squad. One mecha soldier suddenly lunged at his teammate, but was quickly kicked away by another. More and more people plunged into the melee. Those sent to restore order inexplicably lost their own minds and began brawling as well.

Seeing that even the guards he’d sent had been drawn into the chaos, Lu Heng wanted to go over and investigate himself, but Schuyter held him back: “Something isn’t right. I’ll come with you.”

They had only taken a few steps in that direction when Schuyter stopped. He sniffed the air with a puzzled expression, as though trying to identify a scent—and his face changed drastically.

“It’s Carlo’s pheromones. How could he be here?”