Li Mian couldn’t understand why Yuan Yi would push Li Heng at such a critical moment, so he simply sent over the recorded footage without adding any explanation of his own.
At this moment, Li Heng’s Zhenyuan fleet was facing off against the Mingzhu fleet in the star river.
Feilong’s main ship was coordinating with the Zhenyuan fleet, but still couldn’t swallow the Qiming Army in one go.
Both sides had suffered heavy losses. Linhai Fleet and Sirius’s forces were also locked in a stalemate—it had already escalated to the point of fighting over metal mining resources.
Nearly half of the troops Dru’Adi had brought were lost. Now, dissatisfaction toward him in the Brute Barbarian homeland was rising by the day. If this went on, even if he won the war, it would be hard to win people over when he returned. But losing was even worse.
“Can your troops take the Ace mining zone or not? If not, then let my men do it!”
“No. This is Owanda’s most important source of minerals. If I really let your men go in, it would completely stir up public outrage!”
“So in the end, you still don’t trust me,” Dru’Adi said coldly. “You’re just afraid my people will take your resources. As for public outrage—you’ve already caused that. What difference would one more mining zone make?”
The Second Prince thought, What nonsense. That’s the foundation of Owanda’s mineral economy—so many people rely on it to make a living. That one mining zone supports so much of the machinery industry! If the Brute Barbarians really take control of it, I’ll be the one to suffer later.
Dru’Adi questioned, “My people found that your Qiming Army still has a fleet in active service. We’re already at such a critical moment—why haven’t you sent them into battle? Or are you saving them for after the war?”
The Second Prince replied, “I already said it’ll be transferred to Marledor after the war—I have no intention of clashing with you. Also, my people found that Li Heng has stationed troops in Aysdiya. We suspect he’s hiding Yuan Yi there. And the blue gel—Visser completely lost contact with me after going to Aysdiya. The people I sent later found Qiming Army equipment there. There’s definitely something wrong with that place.”
He had already sent more than one group there. But it wasn’t until the fourth group that they finally managed to successfully send back information. The previous groups had all been lost. If he hadn’t been so desperate to find out the whereabouts of Yuan Yi and the blue gel, he absolutely wouldn’t have sent more troops there during such a critical stage of the war.
Dru’Adi reluctantly accepted the Second Prince’s explanation. He told him, “Since you’re determined not to let my people near the Ace Mining Zone, then your troops will have to lead all the upcoming assaults. You have more mecha units under your command, which gives you some advantage against Li Heng’s robot army. His robotic soldiers are all powered by blue gel—they can fight for long periods and are nearly as strong as my men. But even if my people get hold of the blue gel, they can’t use it right away. Your mecha troops, on the other hand, can.”
The Second Prince knew full well that Dru’Adi was trying to reduce his own casualties, but he had no choice. They were now at a life-or-death stage—no matter what, they couldn’t afford internal conflict. As for the rest of the debts, they could be settled slowly once the war was over!
The Second Prince smiled at Dru’Adi. “Alright. We’ll do as you say.”
Three days later, the Qiming Army launched a fierce attack on the Zhenyuan Ship. General Luo Qizheng of the Vajra Division personally led the mecha corps aboard a stealth sub-ship in a surprise assault. However, when they actually boarded the Zhenyuan Ship, they discovered that Li Heng wasn’t there at all. There wasn’t a single living person aboard the Zhenyuan Ship—not even a robotic soldier.
“General, could this be a trap?”
“Split up and investigate—groups of ten,” Luo Qizheng signaled. “Try to capture them alive!”
“Yes, sir!”
Luo Qizheng made his way straight to the Zhenyuan Ship’s command center. His personal guards followed closely behind, about fifty of them in total.
They hadn’t seen anyone the entire way—not a single living or dead soul.
Everyone in the unit was growing uneasy. But someone couldn’t help exclaiming, “Damn, this thing’s way too advanced!”
Another person said, “Sure, it’s advanced—but where did everyone go? A massive, brand-new thing like this doesn’t just disappear with its crew.”
Luo Qizheng couldn’t figure it out either. Where were the people? Could it be that all the attacks launched by the Zhenyuan Ship had been remotely operated, with no one physically present to command the battle? That idea was absurd no matter how he looked at it.
Outside the ship, on the stealth sub-ship Luo Qizheng had arrived in, the pilot and his coworker suddenly felt something cover their mouths and noses, even strangling them so hard they couldn’t breathe. The two of them struggled for a long time, but in the end, they still suffocated to death.
At that moment, something slithered silently into the sub-ship.
Back on the Zhenyuan Ship, Luo Qizheng and his team reached the command center. Inside, they could see data analysis of the entire battle—casualty reports on both sides, details on troop deployments, commanding officers, and unit characteristics. Everything appeared normal—except for the fact that there wasn’t a single person present.
Where had everyone gone? Luo Qizheng refused to believe that Li Heng would abandon the main ship and run.
Just as he was puzzling over it, a subordinate suddenly shouted, “General! Look at this!”
The man had opened a drawer and found a whole box of energy coins!
Luo Qizheng immediately ordered more men over to search the place thoroughly and see if any more of those were hidden nearby. The command center was spacious, so even with soldiers pouring in, it didn’t feel crowded. Before long, someone else found another box. At first, Luo Qizheng suspected they might be fake, but when he tested one in his own equipment, he confirmed it was genuine energy.
So after all this time searching, Li Heng had actually hidden them on the Zhenyuan Ship?
Luo Qizheng ordered, “Don’t leave a single spot unchecked—search carefully!”
The team responded and began working, but just then, a tremor suddenly shook the floor beneath their feet, like an earthquake. Everyone immediately assumed defensive stances, weapons aimed at the exits. But even as the shaking grew more intense, no one entered from the doorways.
“General! There’s an abnormal energy fluctuation!”
“Grab the stuff and retreat!” Luo Qizheng shouted, running toward the exit while firing his gun. But despite the barrage of energy rounds, the command center wasn’t damaged at all! His suspicions deepened, and he signaled everyone to freeze.
At that moment, the teams that had gone to scout other areas came rushing back.
“Report, General! There’s not a single one of their people left on the ship—it’s like they all fled.”
Luo Qizheng said, “Impossible. For a warship like this to be abandoned, unless Li Heng’s lost his mind. Stay on high alert.”
Suddenly, someone pointed up at the ceiling. “General, look up there!”
Everyone except those on guard looked up—only to see what looked like a small dragon up there?
The little dragon tilted its head, then suddenly melted away like a lump of slime.
Luo Qizheng recognized it as something likely created by Marledor and immediately fired at it. But at almost the same moment, a sudden feeling of weightlessness hit them—unbelievably, the entire command center had detached from the Zhenyuan Ship!
Someone instinctively raised their weapon to fire, but Luo Qizheng barked a sharp command to stop.
Because he saw that after detaching, the command center was rapidly being dragged deeper into the star river—but they couldn’t see what was dragging them!
“General! We’ve lost contact with our forces!” one of the personal guards shouted. “It’s a trap!”
“Find an exit first. We have to destroy whatever’s pulling us!”
“General! We can’t find an exit. This door—it’s sealed shut!”
“That’s impossible! If we got in, then there must be a way out! Keep looking!”
They couldn’t risk damaging the command center’s structure—if they were exposed to cosmic radiation for too long, they’d be dead anyway. Not to mention the pressure differential outside would accelerate their deaths even more.
The alphas inside their mechas began to break into cold sweats. None of them had expected a tactic like this!
They had gone through so much just to board the Zhenyuan Ship—even prepared to fight to the death! And yet they hadn’t even caught a glimpse of Li Heng!
Someone tried pressing the control buttons, only to find that the buttons were completely flimsy—press them a few more times and they actually crumbled.
Damn it! It felt like their hearts were shattering too.
They were being dragged faster and faster—so fast they could no longer see the Zhenyuan Ship. If this continued and no one found them, it would mean certain death!
Just then, the data screen on the main console suddenly changed—Li Heng’s face appeared.
Li Heng was sitting on a sofa, with his personal guards standing behind him. The setting was unmistakably the interior of the Zhenyuan Ship.
Rage shot straight to Luo Qizheng’s head. “Li Heng! Never thought you’d stoop to using such low, dirty tricks!”
Li Heng smiled and said, “All’s fair in war, General Luo. Back when you and your wife went to my wife’s school to stir up trouble for mine, you should’ve expected this day would come.”
Hearing the name Yuan Yi and thinking about those city-cleaning robots, Luo Qizheng sneered, “Looks like Captain Li is quite the devoted type—willing to expose yourself for an omega. Then again, I guess it makes sense. He’s carrying your child, after all. It’s only natural you’d care. But you weren’t even home—are you so sure that the child Yuan Yi’s carrying is yours? Isn’t it possible it’s someone else’s?”
Li Heng’s smile slowly faded. “Luo Qizheng, don’t try to sow discord. And don’t judge others by your own standards. That ex-wife of yours you kept hidden in the Vajra Division—how she died, maybe others don’t know. But you really think I don’t?”
Luo Qizheng clenched his teeth hard. “What exactly do you want?”
If Li Heng had wanted him dead, he would’ve blown up the command center by now. But instead, they were still being dragged—clearly, there was some other purpose.
Li Heng said, “I have three conditions. Agree to one, and I’ll let you die without too much pain. Agree to two, and I’ll let you die with some dignity. Agree to all three, and I’ll give you and your men a chance to live.”
Luo Qizheng immediately cursed in his heart: You bastard!
If he didn’t agree, what would his men think of him? Die—and take them all down with him?
Though the ones who’d followed him this far were all seasoned veterans loyal to him, they were still human. Who didn’t hope their commander would treat their lives as something that mattered?
Li Heng was clearly setting a trap for him.
But he had no choice but to walk into it! Luo Qizheng held in his fury. “What three conditions?”
Li Heng said, “One, record a video and personally apologize to my wife. Two, tell me exactly how many troops the Second Prince still has under his command. Three, give me the communication channels used between your division and the Mingzhu Ship and the Linhai Ship, as well as the source code for all of your mechas.”
Luo Qizheng refused without even thinking. “Impossible!”
Telling him all that would be no different from handing over the entire lifeline of the Vajra Division—and even the Mingzhu Ship—to Li Heng on a silver platter!
Luo Qizheng said righteously, “Don’t even dream of it!”
Li Heng said, “Alright then. Enjoy the scenery outside. Every second you see is one more second. I’ve had them load the stealth ship up front with high-purity blue gel. I guarantee it can keep towing you for thirty to fifty days without issue. Whether you all can survive that long without food or water… well, that’s another matter.”
What the hell kind of sadistic nonsense was this?! Three days without water was already deadly—and he was talking about thirty to fifty days without food or water?!
Li Heng added, “Also, the module you’re in—it’s vulnerable to cosmic radiation too. It can’t stay exposed for long. In about an hour, its temperature will start to rise sharply. So if you’re thinking you might be able to hold out for a few days, I suggest you give up on that fantasy right now.”
Luo Qizheng: “!!!”
One hour?!
One of the personal guards shouted, “Li Heng! If you’ve got guts, come fight us head-on with real weapons! What kind of man pulls cowardly tricks like this?!”
Li Heng replied, “Not as dirty as your commander. Offering up his own omega to his superior to sleep with, pushing someone into a dead end just to get himself promoted—that kind of thing, only your commander could do. I have to say, you lot are real loyal to the right kind of man.”
In the command module, several people turned in stunned silence to look at Luo Qizheng.
They were veteran soldiers. They knew that before Luo Qizheng married Cao Yuran, he had indeed kept an omega in the division. But at the time, they’d all thought the two had an established relationship, so they turned a blind eye and pretended not to know.
Alphas with certain rare gene types had notoriously intense susceptibility periods, and their desires were stronger too. So they chalked it up to just another commander with “special needs.” Honestly, how many commanding officers didn’t have something going on? But they hadn’t imagined this…
Luo Qizheng snapped, “Shut your filthy mouth, Li Heng! You think you’re so clean? Didn’t Cao Yuran have dinner with you back in high school? You think I didn’t know he used to write to you, send you things? Now that Yuan Yi’s carrying your kid, suddenly you want to act all high and mighty!”
Li Heng let out a cold snort. “I only ever saw Cao Yuran as someone I happened to know—nothing more. I never accepted anything from him, either. But you? You’re truly shameless. You misunderstood him in all those ways and still married him—what, just because his family could give you a leg up? That’s exactly the kind of person you are. Whatever. Talking to you is a waste of time. Those three conditions—take them or leave them.”
With that, Li Heng disappeared from the screen. It switched to Night Wolf.
“General Luo, you’ve got fifty-four minutes left. If you change your mind, just tap any of the control buttons on the console—doesn’t matter which one.”
Luo Qizheng didn’t respond. For the Nth time, he tried to contact his own forces. But no matter what method he used, he couldn’t get through—not to the sub-ship, not to the main fleet. Nothing. Meanwhile, the power in their mechas was depleting at an alarming rate—there had to be some kind of energy-absorbing device in this module draining them.
Just then, one of the personal guards suddenly said, “General! I think this section might be able to open!”
Luo Qizheng rushed over—only to find that if they forced this open, it would be extremely difficult to seal it shut again.
Their mechas were made for interstellar combat—this time, they’d brought heavy models with high energy capacity, powerful combat strength, and multipurpose functions including onboard welding tools. But if they pried that door open, sealing it perfectly afterward would be nearly impossible—any small gap could be deadly.
Still, they had to take down whatever was dragging them from the front. If this kept up, only Li Heng would know where they ended up!
Besides, they suspected that the reason their signals couldn’t get out was also due to this sealed module—so getting out was absolutely necessary.
Luo Qizheng ordered, “Pull out the drawers and flatten them. We’ll use them to patch the hatch later. Move!”
If Li Heng hadn’t been lying, they had less than an hour left.
The drawers were made of the same metal as the hatch. Once pulled out, a soldier quickly stomped one flat in just a few swift moves. Then came the question of who would go out—there was no debate. Anyone fighting in an elite unit like the Vajra Division already had the necessary resolve. Luo Qizheng randomly selected six from the rapidly shifting status display—soldiers with call signs like Six and Seventeen were assigned to exit the module and destroy the object pulling them from the front.
“You must end this quickly—get it done within ten minutes,” Luo Qizheng ordered. “Once they’re out, seal the hatch immediately. When time’s up, let them back in—whether they succeed or not.”
“Yes, sir!”
“One, two, three!”
Slash! The hatch was sliced open simultaneously by two mecha soldiers. The six designated exited the module in rapid succession.
But before they could even reach the object pulling them, they were suddenly and firmly stuck to the outer wall of the module! The door they needed to access was on the opposite side of that wall—they couldn’t even get close to it!
Loveguy On CFRFGC Chapter 17