Lan Zhouhe’s backup light brain private messages were nearly exploding.
After finishing his shift at the palace and returning to his quarters, he was smacked in the face by densely packed, frighteningly numerous unread messages.
[Silver Crow]: Explain.
[Silver Crow]: What’s with the photo and audio?
[Silver Crow]: Where did you get them? Are there more? What happened to the Admiral as a child?!
[Silver Crow]: …
Lan Zhouhe was bewildered. Seeing the other still online, he simply made a communication call.
The other side connected in one second.
Nie Liang: “Speak.”
Lan Zhouhe was quite speechless: “What were you doing the past two days, only looking today? What I sent you might not necessarily be Elansno. I couldn’t figure it out myself either, which is why I wanted you to assist in investigating.”
The other side was quiet for quite a while, so long Lan Zhouhe thought that mad bird had disconnected, before finally hearing him say: “…The one thing I would never mistake is him.”
That was him.
Lan Zhouhe couldn’t help but sit upright, frowning and tapping the bed frame.
Silver Crow was someone who could accurately pick out one shadow photo of Elansno from several hundred photos, like a spirit-possessed ‘Elansno radar detector.’
He didn’t doubt Silver Crow’s baseless certainty. Instead, this acted like a shot of cardiac stimulant, completely solidifying his speculation.
So… between Elansno and the royal family, the Research Institute—what exactly was their relationship?
Nie Liang: “Where did you get it?”
His tone remained calm throughout.
Out of cooperative relationship, Lan Zhouhe thought for two seconds, then told Nie Liang what he knew. “That’s all I know. Other things require stealing more materials from the Research Institute. However, the Research Institute database’s defense system is too strong. Also, I need help from your end.”
Nie Liang seemed deaf to the latter half: “You need Research Institute materials, correct?”
Lan Zhouhe frowned: “What are you planning to do?”
Nie Liang disconnected the communication.
[Silver Crow]: Creating an opportunity for you. Seize it.
? What does that mean?
Lan Zhouhe called again, discovering the other had logged off, with a two or three thousand-word auto-reply praising Elansno popping up.
He: “…”
His ***ing *** no ** ‘s ** passionate recommendation for mercenaries!
·
Nie Liang changed out of his military uniform. His clearance was high enough—he soundlessly left First Army base in the dead of night.
An extremely small privately modified spacecraft sped toward the Imperial Capital at excessive speed.
Though mercenaries were solitary, their intelligence network wasn’t narrow. Nie Liang asked someone for a general Research Institute layout distribution map.
He printed it on paper, then used a crimson thick pen to circle two places on it. His expression was somewhat neurotic, tears pitifully welling from the corners of his eyes.
Tone aggrieved like a little mad dog kicked by someone, wailing.
“They made him hurt.”
“So small.”
Finally, he seemed to realize this was truly improper. As Elansno’s adjutant, how could he lose composure like this?
So Nie Liang’s expression returned to normal, changing back to that extremely refined, mature appearance.
He smiled, slowly drawing a large ‘×’ on the circled places on the paper.
Nie Liang tossed the pen, lifting the rear cabin cover.
Inside, pitch-black ammunition was neatly arranged. He carefully inspected once before closing it again.
The micro-spacecraft’s tail flame was blood red. The strong wind from excessive speed scattered the dark clouds in the night into wisps.
Like the wings of a red-eyed crow emerging from the night curtain to hunt, it flapped its wings patrolling territory, using mad, piercing shrieks to issue warnings to surrounding enemies.
·
1:46:12
The Research Institute was still brilliantly lit.
Most researchers on important projects hadn’t slept, day and night reversed, working tirelessly without rest.
The next second, walls rumbled and shook. With a boom, the Research Institute’s lights went out without warning.
And at the location of the main circuit breaker, flames shot skyward.
The alarm instantly sounded.
*Woooo—!*
Director Pei woke with a start, throwing on clothes and running out, roaring: “What’s happening! Quick! Quick! Report to His Majesty! Someone’s attacking the Research Institute!”
Before his words finished, another boom!
The main control room’s star cables crackled a few times, autonomously activating defense mode, protecting all important data.
Simultaneously, a huge artificial defense shield slowly rose, covering all the Research Institute’s core areas.
Scorching tongues of fire rolled up blazing waves.
Burning, curling leaves emitted an acrid, astringent smell.
Nie Liang discarded the empty ammunition box, carefully admiring the chaos below. With a flick of his fingertip, a sharp mercenary task card spun out, embedding itself in a tree trunk within the Research Institute.
This was a long-standing tradition. Each mercenary had their own task card. Completing a mission and leaving the card served two purposes—one was to gain fame, the other was to prevent fraudulent claims.
Task cards were specially made iron pieces, engraved with the mercenary’s code name and unique emblem.
However, no one had ever fraudulently claimed Silver Crow’s task card. His style was uniquely distinctive throughout mercenary history.
Firelight illuminated that sharp iron piece.
Besides the three characters “Silver Crow,” there was also a line of semantically chaotic, mad words:
[The crow chases the divine. Forgive the small bird. The crow will not mourn.]
Nie Liang wasn’t clear what connection this place had with the Admiral, but that didn’t prevent him from detecting an unfriendly scent—that nauseating feeling identical to what the Federation gave him.
Except for Elansno, the Admiral’s aura felt completely different from what the Federation gave him.
Of course, everything about the Admiral was good.
Nothing was bad.
His revenge came quickly and left quickly. Though unable to cause substantial harm, it was enough for him to vent.
Nie Liang sent Lan Zhouhe several messages and left with a flourish.
·
Palace.
Lamps lit up one by one.
Emperor Rosh, awakened by emergency transmission, flew into a rage, dispatching Guard Army Teams One and Two to the Research Institute to fight fires and investigate the cause.
Lan Zhouhe led people rushing toward the Research Institute at high speed while secretly checking his backup light brain.
[Silver Crow]: The rest is up to you.
[Silver Crow]: Seize the opportunity. Also divert attention so I can safely leave the Imperial Capital.
Sure enough, this guy.
He’d vaguely sensed something would happen today, but hadn’t expected this guy to directly bomb the Research Institute.
However, the Research Institute had multiple layers of defense. This time’s easy success was also due to prolonged laxity here. Once was possible, but the probability of a second success was nearly zero.
So, if one wanted to make moves in the Research Institute, this time was the best opportunity.
Lan Zhouhe’s heartbeat gradually accelerated. He steadied himself, shouting to everyone, grabbing tools and rushing into the constantly spreading fire at the main cable area.
Two places were bombed this time.
Their group of external rescue Guard Army was only allowed to rescue at the main cable area. The other bombed location was the Research Institute’s core, storing quite a few experimental instruments and massive amounts of data.
But correspondingly, the defense mechanism there was also extremely domineering. The instant it sensed fluctuations, data was protected—not a single bit damaged.
Lan Zhouhe couldn’t approach there. He could only act at the main cable area. In the minutes before the fire was extinguished, he threw a ‘crawler’ into the cable’s star wires.
The tiny ‘crawler’ elongated, melting inside.
The chip hidden under his wrist epidermis gradually heated. Lan Zhouhe’s heart eased slightly.
It seemed successful.
Spending half the night thoroughly investigating the entire Research Institute, they only discovered one task card left by ‘Silver Crow.’ Besides that, no other traces.
Moreover, no irreversible losses were caused to the Research Institute.
Under Lan Zhouhe’s guidance, this sudden incident was treated as provocation from the Northwest Sector.
However, experimental equipment was fragile after all. Several core zone instruments were damaged. Guard team members stayed to help transport replacements.
Lan Zhouhe kept an eye out, using his authority to inspect once. Normally, people like them couldn’t even see core zone equipment.
The appearance seemed no different from other instruments. Only one thing was different.
Lan Zhouhe noticed that those several experimental instruments from the core zone all bore one word: [Eternal].
Eternal.
Forever.
——
Nie Liang’s excessive-speed spacecraft began self-immolating.
This type of spacecraft sacrificed safety for speed. Though fast, it was also dangerous—who knew when it would start self-destructing.
However, he was already very close to the First Army. Nie Liang abandoned the spacecraft, circled outside again, changed clothes, then entered First Army territory.
He opened his backup light brain.
[Silver Crow]: Thanks. Very smooth.
[Blue R]: Next time before taking action, please inform in advance.
[Silver Crow]: How was it? Did you seize the opportunity?
[Blue R]: Threw in one ‘crawler’ our boss researched that can infinitely magnify.
‘Crawler’ was the clumsiest, most primitive data virus. It often couldn’t attract the defense system’s attention, only devoured without digesting—like a pocket stuffing everything inside until it couldn’t eat more, then vomiting out all the ingested data before instantly dying.
As long as one could catch that instant when the ‘crawler’ died, one could perfectly replicate everything in the Research Institute database.
But correspondingly, because of clumsiness, its devouring time was also very long. If the database was very large, it often required two or three years.
[Silver Crow]: Don’t understand technical work. Your boss is talented. Though time-consuming, also once and for all. Be careful not to be discovered.
[Blue R]: Mm.
…
News of the Research Institute bombing had already spread. Emperor Rosh was furious. Silver Crow’s assassination bounty amount doubled again, striking out against the Northwest Sector.
The First Army guarding the Northwest Sector faintly detected restless factors.
Nie Liang strode quickly toward Elansno’s office.
At the door, he was stopped by a guard: “Adjutant Nie Liang, please wait. The Admiral is communicating with His Majesty.”
Nie Liang nodded: “Alright.”
Working continuously all night, he wasn’t tired at all. His spirits were even more excited than usual.
Nie Liang slightly relaxed his tense muscles, gazing through the door toward Elansno’s desk, slightly distracted.
Actually, he’d known the Admiral for a very long time.
Nie Liang had no family. Since childhood, he’d been an orphan with a strange, twisted personality.
At age twelve.
His birthplace, G1 Sector—a very small, backward place.
A Federation bandit soldier trampled his crow to death. His beloved crow, his companion.
The instant his most important thing died, he immediately hated the Federation. He wanted the bandit soldier who killed his crow to pay with their life.
When charging up to bite and tear at that bandit soldier, he heard people around calling him a little lunatic.
Ridiculous. He was clearly extremely lucid.
Biting the bandit soldier’s arm, he could still clearly distinguish which parts were sinew and flesh, which were bone. Blood splashed into his eyes, yet he stared wide, not even blinking. He wanted to watch that bandit soldier hurt.
That bandit soldier was bitten bloody and mangled by him. He was also beaten half to death.
Until a gunshot rang out.
*Bang—!*
A bullet pierced the bandit soldier’s head. He slowly fell, eyes bulging even wider than his own.
He saw that figure holding a silver handgun.
That person wasn’t much older than him, possessing a pair of very mysterious, dreamlike purple eyes, merely glancing over faintly.
Perhaps because he was too dirty, face covered in blood, those beautiful eyes briefly reflected his shadow.
But quickly looked away.
Nie Liang heard him order: “Non-Federation regular army, unregistered bandit soldiers, those without proper reason—all execute within one day.”
A troop of soldiers behind him obeyed orders and prohibitions, responding without exception.
Nie Liang watched their departing backs, wiping blood from his mouth, thinking—this was truly too cool! Countless times cooler than the fat aunt next door using a rolling pin to smash a cockroach.
Such a cool person saved his life.
Only his life.
Casually defeating enemies he couldn’t defeat then, like a supreme law suddenly descending upon this chaotic, disorderly, filthy, disgusting place.
He watched for a while, then robbed all the money from the dead bandit soldier’s body and discarded the crow’s corpse.
That was his most significant life turning point before then. Because of a bird representing ill omen, he came to hate the Federation bitterly, while simultaneously placing a person seen only once on a divine altar.
From then on, pursuing with all his might.
Ordinary him, utterly unremarkable encounter—this was his only intersection with the Admiral before becoming adjutant.
They hadn’t even spoken a single sentence.
Until now.
He could righteously stand behind the Admiral.
“Adjutant Nie Liang, the Admiral wants you to enter.”
The guard’s voice interrupted his thoughts.
Nie Liang returned to his senses, smiling faintly, pushing open the door and entering.
·
The small light orb had already told him everything that happened last night in full detail. Gong Du flipped through just-printed paper documents, not even lifting his head, casually asking: “Are you adapting well here?”
Nie Liang: “Very well.”
“That’s good. Did you need me for something?”
The Admiral’s diet was entirely the adjutant’s responsibility. Previously Kang Quan, but Kang Quan had already left. That nutritional meal menu suited to the Admiral’s tastes in his hands also couldn’t be found.
Nie Liang could only make a new one based on Kane’s suggestions.
Elansno’s expression didn’t change: “Cross out sweets. Everything else is fine. I’m not picky.”
“Not leaving any sweets at all?”
“Mm.”
Unlike Kang Quan, Nie Liang didn’t ask more questions. He directly crossed out the sweets marked in the form.
“Just now His Majesty communicated with me, issuing an order not yet announced.” Elansno reversed the document in his hand, pushing it forward, indicating Nie Liang should look himself.
“Hall of Divine Mercy reconstruction?”
Nie Liang flipped through, feeling the three characters “Hall of Divine Mercy” somewhat familiar.
“His Majesty said, this time the Research Institute was attacked, the Northwest Sector is so arrogant. To comfort the populace and demonstrate the Empire’s benevolence, he’s decided to reopen the Hall of Divine Mercy, sheltering homeless children, hiring priests to educate and civilize them.”
“This is no small project. His Majesty gave three years. Simultaneously, the Second Army received the same order. The Hall of Divine Mercy’s reconstruction—both armies will jointly handle.”
Elansno raised his eyebrows slightly, saying carelessly: “Having to work with that Wright fellow… truly uncomfortable.”
Nie Liang noted down his duties, lifting his head to calmly ask: “He makes you very uncomfortable?”
Elansno: “Just ignore him. Must say, sometimes he’s still somewhat useful.”
Something inexplicably surging in Nie Liang’s eyes slowly hid away.
“Understood.”
He lowered his head, about to withdraw when Elansno stopped him.
Elansno sat in his chair, posture still leisurely, revealing no abnormality. Only the hand gripping the pen was faintly pale. Muscle lines beneath the military uniform were smoothly taut.
This was an unconscious defensive and resistant posture.
Nie Liang frowned slightly, still waiting quietly.
After a long while, he finally heard the Admiral’s slightly hoarse voice, a bit labored—a very strange order.
Elansno’s fingertip touched the mask on his face. “…Go get me a mirror.”
Author’s Note:
Lord Gong: Quickly let me see my beauty (bushi
Future updates will return to the normal 9 PM evening schedule.
——
PS: The Hall of Divine Mercy is an important thread. Treasures who’ve forgotten can go back and look at Chapter 4, the middle section about the Hall of Divine Mercy’s history.
Actually later chapters also hinted at it several times obliquely. Wonder if any treasures read carefully.
PPS: Writing the section where Little Mad Bird throws the task card, I suddenly remembered when writing that book about Yan cub (author’s another novel), later stages also had card-throwing descriptions. Cough cough! Sure enough, no matter how much time passes, I still really like this kind of thing (looks at sky)
——
**
Sam Williams On TYMIMA Chapter 152
Hmm, mirror mirror on the wall, lol.