Chapter 15#
Explanation#
The explosion was massive. The nearby towns heard the strange sound and were thrown into great panic.
The guards interrogated Ning Feng.
Since he had come out in a hurry, he wasn’t carrying any military ID, and the ordinary civil affairs system couldn’t find any relevant occupational information—only a standard resident ID card.
Thus, Ning Feng was treated as a troublemaker and thrown into the detention center.
As a model citizen, Ning Feng had lived over twenty years, been to the military’s solitary confinement plenty of times, but this was his first time in a guard station’s detention center.
He looked left and right, found everything novel.
Unlike the thugs squatting in the corner with a thuggish air, he chatted leisurely with others, showing no awareness of being locked up. When the duty guard bought late-night snacks, he even shamelessly asked for a few skewers.
Seeing that the man was decent-looking, warm, and open, not like some vicious criminal, the guard turned a blind eye to his familiarity. They even brought some medicine and gave his wounds a simple treatment.
After chatting about trivial matters with everyone, Ning Feng had just eaten his fifth skewer of grilled enoki mushrooms when Yin Beichen arrived.
“Yo, Commander, want a skewer?” Ning Feng raised his hand.
Seeing the man covered in blood and grime, Yin Beichen furrowed his brow and nodded to the station chief beside him.
“It’s him.”
The station chief gave a signal, and the guard immediately unlocked the door.
“Why are you here so fast? I haven’t finished eating yet.” Ning Feng bit the skewer as he limped out, putting an arm on Yin Beichen’s shoulder.
“Looks like you didn’t need me to come get you.” Yin Beichen’s face was cold, but he didn’t push him away.
“Commander, I was scouting enemy territory in the dead of night. Even if I didn’t succeed, I still put in effort, right? How could you bear to leave me to my fate?” Ning Feng let out a couple of exaggerated groans. “Sure enough, once you have someone new, you don’t care about the old.”
Hearing this, a layer of coldness crept into Yin Beichen’s eyes.
The station chief laughed. “General Yin, you really do have an excellent adjutant.”
Half-lidded, Yin Beichen thanked the station chief. The chief waved his hands repeatedly, exchanged a few pleasantries, and personally saw them to the official car, even bringing along the leftover skewers.
It was now the early hours of the morning, and the stars in the sky had faded.
Ning Feng’s eyelids were drooping, and he yawned several times in a row. He thought about hurrying back to base to wash up and sleep; he could talk about everything after waking up.
But then they had a disagreement about how to get back.
“Take my car.” Yin Beichen was insistent.
“Commander, I know the way. The Jiaolong-2 has navigation.” Ning Feng didn’t back down either. “Your car has it too, so no need for me to direct.”
No way—the Jiaolong-2 was still impounded at the station!
If it accidentally got banged up somewhere, wouldn’t he be heartbroken?
No, he had to bring it back himself.
Yin Beichen gave him a faint, indifferent glance, his gaze very cold. “Get in the car. I have something to ask you.” He paused. “It’s about the Zerg.”
Hearing this, Ning Feng wanted to roll his eyes.
Yin Beichen could be casual about anything except military affairs, especially when it came to the Zerg. If he stressed that he wanted to discuss “Zerg matters,” it meant things had to be done his way.
Helpless, Ning Feng could only drag his steps and follow him into the car. On the way, he accidentally bumped his wound and immediately gasped in pain.
When he saw bloodstains smeared on the official car’s seat, Yin Beichen’s brow twitched slightly, but he said nothing and quickly looked away. The man noticed the other’s expression, his eyes dimmed, and he wiped the dirt off the seat with his hand.
He might as well have driven himself back to avoid dealing with that look.
The official car started smoothly and flew toward the base.
Yin Beichen pressed the partition between the front and back seats, closed his eyes, and said, “Talk. What’s the situation?”
So Ning Feng recounted everything about discovering the alien insect hole in the wilderness, leaving out no detail. But about the fate charm, he didn’t breathe a word.
He also said nothing about the strange whisper in his ear while fleeing—he had never encountered such a thing before and simply assumed it was an auditory hallucination caused by extreme mental focus.
But just because he didn’t say anything didn’t mean others wouldn’t be suspicious.
“Out for some fresh air?” After listening, Yin Beichen didn’t even open his eyes.
“What else do you think?” Ning Feng had a “believe it or not” expression.
Yin Beichen looked at him, his pupils unfathomable. “You left the base without permission and without filing a report. Do you know the consequences?”
Ning Feng lifted his eyelids to glance at him, then propped his feet up on the backrest.
“What, Commander wants to put me in solitary?” He leaned his arm against the window, his sharp black eyes sinking. “Ah, such a hard life. Some people take their little sweetheart to a bar to have fun all night long, and I go out for a ride and end up in solitary.”
His brow twitched. Yin Beichen’s tone paused for a rare moment.
“I went to the bar for work.”
“Ha? Work? In charge of eating and drinking?”
“I have no obligation to explain that to you.”
“Afraid of feeling guilty, are you?”
“I’m just stating the facts—”
“The fact is you stood me up!”
As soon as the words fell, the air inside the car froze.
His chest heaving violently, Ning Feng roughly combed his bangs back with his hand, then simply turned his head to look out the window.
Yin Beichen was taken aback for a moment, then softened his tone slightly. “You’re angry because I didn’t show up at the training ground.”
“Who cares if you came or not? I went out for a wild ride and had a blast.” Ning Feng’s voice was tight, barely holding back a surge of fury.
“I recall saying at the time that I would come if I had time,” Yin Beichen said, looking at him with a very faint gaze. “Besides, since I didn’t come, you could have just called to confirm my schedule. That’s a communication problem on your part. I don’t understand why you’re angry.”
He paused. “And I never asked you to wait.”
Hearing this, Ning Feng’s chest churned like a stormy sea.
“So, it’s my own fault, then?” He laughed in bitter anger. “I deserve to wait all night, deserve to get bitten by bugs, deserve to end up in detention—all my own doing.” He clenched his fists, black eyes blazing with uncontrollable fury. “Sorry, Commander. I shouldn’t be angry with you, because I don’t even have the right to be angry!”
If you’re free, come.
Yes, that was exactly what Yin Beichen had said.
No exact time, no definite promise. But he had still taken every word the other said to heart. In the end, it was just a passing remark.
For this appointment, he had worked himself to the bone to finish all his tasks early, turned down invitations from friends, and shamelessly cleared out the entire training ground. And in return, he got “I never asked you to wait.”
Fine. Truly excellent.
A true battlefield commander, decisive in killing, calm, objective, and utterly inhuman.
Ning Feng almost felt like laughing, but he couldn’t muster the expression, so he just narrowed his eyes sarcastically.
“Enough.” Yin Beichen frowned, a hint of impatience in his tone. “After we finish dealing with the Zerg matter, another day—”
“Don’t trouble yourself.” Ning Feng cut him off coldly.
“But come to think of it, Qiao Xi’s figure and face are just so-so, not as good as yours, Commander.” He lazily twitched the corner of his mouth, his gaze thoroughly audacious. “If I were you, I’d just look in the mirror and take care of it myself, rather than lowering my standards—”
“Ning Feng, watch your attitude!” Yin Beichen’s gaze was like a blade, absolutely sharp and ruthless. “You abandoned your post and arbitrarily blew up the alien insect hole. Do you have any idea how much trouble you’ve caused?”
Hearing this, Ning Feng just wanted to laugh.
If he hadn’t done it then, that satellite would probably be crawling with Zerg by now, and they wouldn’t have the leisure to bicker here!
“Oh my, so fierce, Commander. I’m so scared.” A loose grin hung on his face, but his eyes were cold. “If the Commander wants to put me in solitary, remember to say it in advance, so I don’t wait too long.”
Just then, the official car swayed to a stop at the starport. Ning Feng opened the door and got out directly. Before closing the door, he turned back and smiled faintly at the person inside. “Oh, this time I’ll remember to call and ask.”
Boom!!
The sharp sound of the door slamming echoed in the cabin. Yin Beichen, left alone, pursed his lips tightly, his gaze cold as ice.
**
In the end, Ning Feng was confined for five days.
The solitary room was just a small space, with no light at all. Besides a table and a chair, there was nothing else. It was extremely quiet; sitting inside, you could only hear your own breathing. Even if you shouted or screamed, no one paid any attention.
Those confined also had their diet controlled—only the most basic vegetables and staple foods were provided. During this time, they were not allowed any communication with others, until they truly recognized their mistakes and were released.
With social needs stripped away and no entertainment, most people stayed far away from the solitary room. But Ning Feng didn’t mind; he just treated it as a vacation for himself.
Some people advised him to soften up and write a letter of guarantee, but he flatly refused.
Letter of guarantee? Guarantee what?
Guarantee he’d do it again?
Ridiculous!
However, Ning Feng’s small wish was soon shattered. Even in solitary, his commander had no intention of letting him idle—he was to write a summary report of his experience that night inside the alien insect hole, to be discussed at a meeting after his release.
Furious from Yin Beichen’s tactics, unable to sleep, Ning Feng cursed as he wrote the report, all while going hungry and enduring the torment of not being able to bathe. Fortunately, the bug poison didn’t act up these days. But with all the busyness, even he had forgotten about the Jiaolong-2.
A few days later, all base commanders gathered in the command room.
The spacious room was full of people. Commanders from various regions clustered around the star map. Yin Beichen leaned back in the central command chair, arms crossed over his chest, his blue eyes slightly narrowed.
Already injured and having spent several days in solitary, Ning Feng looked haggard and had lost weight, but he still insisted on presiding over this briefing.
Throughout it, Yin Beichen didn’t ask a single question about his condition, which left Ning Feng disappointed but not surprised.
When he thought about it, there was really nothing to ask.
They were superior and subordinate; maybe they had a good personal relationship, but the military was the military, and executing orders came first. As for feelings…
Ha, what feelings did they have?
Ning Feng pulled himself together and leaned wearily against the star map. His calves were wrapped in bandages, and his fingers danced across the control panel as he began inputting data into the system.
“Attis III, wild alien insect nest planet.”
He uploaded the coordinates he had recorded earlier, and a detailed holographic map appeared before everyone. Every part of the celestial body was marked in a circular grid, projected onto the walls around the room for easy reference.
The planet was about 3,500 star miles from the base. Nearby was a red ringed planet, and farther away was a gathering point for space pirates.
This was a dangerous world full of flowing magma.
The air was thick, filled with ash. There were rolling hills and basins composed of hard black rock, and the surface was covered with sparks and columns of smoke. There were no signs of plant or animal life—if you didn’t count the Zerg.
“This planet doesn’t look that big,” one officer said, rubbing his chin.
“About the size of a medium base.” Ning Feng nodded. “But based on data comparisons, this planet is definitely hiding a high-level queen insect, maybe around the ninth rank.”
“Just a medium base?” Ou Jingshan slapped his chest. “That’s simple. I’ll take my men and flatten it directly.”
“My suggestion is to use warships.” Ning Feng crossed his arms.
“Tch, warships for a few bugs?” Ou Jingshan sneered.
“Reasons.” Ignoring the big man’s mockery, Yin Beichen kept his eyes on Ning Feng.
“It’s simple.” Ning Feng tapped the star map to illustrate.
As a frontier satellite, the Zerg had already entrenched themselves there for a long time. There was no value in trying to salvage it. Moreover, the Zerg’s method of reproduction was through gene splitting and replication. Their numbers were astonishing. Going head-to-head in manpower would not be advantageous—in fact, it would be a disadvantage.
“We have equipment superiority,” Ou Jingshan immediately retorted.
“Captain Ou, equipment losses also factor into the battle damage assessment.” Ning Feng lightly tapped the edge of the star map with his fingertip. “Besides, a nest of this scale is at least a ninth-order queen, possibly even tenth.”
The higher the rank of Zerg, the higher their intelligence, but the smaller their bodies. They could control the activities of a large number of sub-organisms. Qu Yan’s previous research just happened to prove this point. If it really was a overlord-level entity, it definitely wouldn’t expose itself on the surface—it would hide deep underground. This planet had many fissures, perfectly meeting the defensive terrain conditions. If they directly sent ground troops into a strong assault, the cost would be too great.
After hearing this, the other commanders felt it was reasonable and began persuading Ou Jingshan. The big man was left speechless and could only curse under his breath.
“Ning Feng’s analysis is backed by data. We don’t have the numerical advantage.” Yin Beichen slowly stood up. “As for how to quickly clear the surface of alien insects, I’ll discuss it with Qu Yan; he’s more familiar with Zerg characteristics.”
“Zerg characteristics?” Ou Jingshan grinned. “Commander, I’d like to recommend someone. His knowledge of the Zerg definitely surpasses Professor Qu’s.”
“Who?”
“Qiao Xi from the research department. You know him.”
As he spoke, he glanced at Ning Feng, his smile full of provocation. The others’ gazes also turned ambiguous.
The base was located in the frontier star region. The soldiers’ lives were dull, and there was rarely any entertainment. So, the messy affair between Yin Beichen, Ning Feng, and Qiao Xi had become fodder for everyone’s gossip after meals. After all, their commander was famously cold, and it was rare to get any juicy stories about him.
Idiot.
Ning Feng rolled his eyes inwardly.
Just then, the guard at the door reported that Qiao Xi had arrived.