Chapter 100: Victory
To dispel the gloom and panic brought on by the failures of the first two legions, the military command took the unprecedented step of having Yan Guixing deliver a speech, broadcast live across the entire StarNet, to reassure the public before his departure.
Yan Guixing’s pre-deployment speech was, like his inauguration address, simple and sharp. In just a few short sentences that sounded like a military vow, he effectively calmed the restless and anxious hearts of the people.
Mu Mu was one of the millions of Imperial citizens glued to their screens. The Yan Guixing on the screen was a world away from the lazy, laid-back man who had kept him company on D5 Star. His black hair was styled, revealing handsome yet sharp features.
He wore the black and gold uniform of a General, his left breast adorned with an array of medals. A three-finger-wide gold belt cinched his waist, a decorative golden command sword hanging at his side. Clad in black, knee-high military boots, his presence was fully unleashed—a cold, majestic aura tinged with the bloody aura of the battlefield.
On a normal day, this version of Yan Guixing would have struck fear into the hearts of those who saw him, making their legs go weak.
But now, with the Empire under invasion by the Zerg and its people living in fear, this Yan Guixing was like a powerful tranquilizer. He made everyone’s blood pump, their confidence soaring. They believed that it wouldn’t be long before Yan Guixing completely drove back the Zerg and brought peace back to them all.
Mu Mu stared intently at the unfamiliar Yan Guixing on the screen, his hands clasped into fists in front of his chest. He whispered, “Go, Gui Gui! Beat the bad bugs!”
Zheng An, who was watching the live broadcast next to him, gasped in shock. “Oh my god, they’re actually fighting? When did this happen? This feels like a dream.”
Zheng An didn’t usually watch the news. In his free time, he was either betting on Star Beast races or binge-watching trashy dramas.
Lately, sharing a room with Aqi had left him eating and sleeping poorly. He took every chance he could to catch up on sleep and barely touched his optical computer unless absolutely necessary.
Who would have thought that squeezing in to watch the screen with Mu Mu today would lead to such explosive news?
Zheng An looked at the cold, imposing figure of Yan Guixing on the screen, then thought about how he had spent over a month in his company. It was almost unbelievable.
“Good heavens! Who would’ve thought I’d ever know someone so important, let alone live with him for a few months? It’s too surreal! If I went around bragging about this, no one would believe me.”
Zheng An’s rambling continued until the live broadcast ended. The scene changed to a female host in a blue suit, with the Fourth Legion boarding a starship in the floodlit night behind her.
After his initial shock wore off, Zheng An finally remembered he was sitting next to the family of the deploying General.
He turned to look at Mu Mu’s serious little face and nudged his arm. When Mu Mu looked at him, he asked, “Aren’t you worried?”
The moment the words left his mouth, he felt it was a stupid question. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Hah,” he said, “it is really dangerous. Aren’t there five Generals? Why did it have to be General Yan?”
Mu Mu looked at Zheng An with confusion, as if he couldn’t understand why Zheng An wouldn’t want Yan Guixing on the battlefield. So many people were waiting for Yan Guixing to save them. He was supposed to go.
“I was the one who convinced Gui Gui to go,” he said.
“What? It wasn’t an order from the military?” Zheng An stared at Mu Mu, stunned.
Mu Mu shook his head. “No. I saw the news and talked to Gui Gui about it. I persuaded him to volunteer.”
Zheng An’s jaw nearly hit the floor. He was a simple man, with no grand ambitions of dying for his country in a time of crisis. All he wanted was to live a quiet life and for the people he knew to be safe and sound.
So, he couldn’t quite wrap his head around why the little fool, who clearly liked Yan Guixing so much, would send him off to his death.
Yes, in Zheng An’s eyes, going to the battlefield was a suicide mission.
“No way.” Zheng An didn’t know what expression to make, his face contorting into a strange grimace. “You really are a fool, little fool. The battlefield is so dangerous. Aren’t you just sending General Yan to his death? There are five Generals. If he doesn’t go, someone else will.”
This time, it was Mu Mu’s turn to look shocked. “An An, how can you think that? Gui Gui is a General. He has the power to save everyone. Why should he let someone else do what he is capable of doing?”
Zheng An opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. He found himself swayed by Mu Mu’s logic. What Mu Mu said made a lot of sense, and he couldn’t find a way to refute it.
He scratched his head. “So you’re not worried about General Yan at all?”
“Of course I’m worried!” Mu Mu said loudly. “But Gui Gui promised me he would win. I believe in him!”
Zheng An looked at Mu Mu’s blind faith in Yan Guixing, and his pessimism kicked in. He wanted to say, General Yan was just comforting you! It’s a battlefield! No one is a god, how could anyone predict what will happen?
If everything was predictable, this violation of the security treaty by the Zerg would never have happened in the first place.
But he swallowed the words before they could escape. Yan Guixing was probably already on the battlefield. Saying such things now would only make the little fool overthink and serve no purpose.
He patted Mu Mu’s arm and, for once, spoke in a gentle, comforting tone. “Alright, let’s not dwell on it. Even someone like me who doesn’t follow politics knows that General Yan is a brilliant commander. I’m sure he’ll be back before we know it.”
In just two days, Yan Guixing delivered the victory everyone had been hoping for.
The Fourth Legion achieved it with zero casualties, losing only some weapons and equipment. In exchange, the Zerg lost an entire regiment of soldiers, 200 B-class mechs, and a small starship. It was a resounding victory.
The gloom of defeat brought upon the Empire’s people by the two new Generals was finally swept away by this triumph. The military command seized the opportunity, and Commander Fang delivered a speech to rally morale.
With the first victory secured, everything that followed seemed to become much simpler.
Mu Mu continued to send messages to Yan Guixing every day—morning, noon, afternoon tea, and late-night snack time. He mostly talked about his day and reminded Yan Guixing to take care of himself and not get hurt.
Occasionally, he would send a photo of himself with Wangwang. The puppy was growing fast; he was already a size bigger than when Yan Guixing had left. He looked adorable in a little goose-yellow jacket Mu Mu had bought him, snuggled up with Mu Mu, who wore a matching yellow down coat.
At first, Yan Guixing replied once a week to let Mu Mu know he was safe, uninjured, and that the war was going smoothly. He would remind Mu Mu to take care of himself and wait for his return.
Then, for some reason, the replies became once every two weeks, then once every twenty days. Finally, it was over a month before a single message came through: All is well. Do not worry.
Mu Mu looked at the dates of the few messages on his computer, and a sense of unease grew. His intuition told him something must have happened to Yan Guixing, that things were not as fine as his messages claimed.
But the military news reports were filled with one victory after another. They said the Fourth Legion had already driven the Zerg from the mining planet, and the main battlefield had been confined to the Border Star. There were casualties and fallen soldiers, and the military had published the lists, but Yan Guixing’s name was never on them.
The military news wouldn’t lie, and Gui Gui wouldn’t lie to him either. Mu Mu told himself to trust Yan Guixing, to trust the military.
But he was still worried. The number of messages he sent to Yan Guixing increased. Sometimes, he felt like sending more than a dozen a day.
But these messages were like stones dropped into the sea, vanishing without a trace.
Along with the unanswered messages came an intensification of the war as the battlefield shrank. It was as if the Zerg sensed their impending defeat, and their attacks became more frequent and ferocious.
The military spokesperson’s expression grew more solemn in his appearances. The Empire was still winning, but the number of deaths and damaged mechs was increasing exponentially.
Other legions sent support troops, and the military even dispatched the God of War, Dessimo, to be stationed in a star system near the Border Star to prevent the front line from expanding. A tense, anxious atmosphere once again spread throughout the Empire.
In this atmosphere, Mu Mu began to suffer from anxiety and insomnia.
He was afraid he would miss a message from Yan Guixing while he was asleep, so he stopped using his night light. His optical computer became the only potential source of light in the darkness.
After just a few sleepless nights, Mu Mu lost a significant amount of weight. His face was gaunt, with dark circles under his eyes.
Zheng An, worried that Mu Mu would ruin his health, forced him to stay home and rest during the day, forbidding him from going to the convenience store.
Left to mind the store alone, Zheng An was distracted with worry for Mu Mu and miscalculated two transactions in a row. If it weren’t for the fact that the customers were regulars who paid the difference, the little store would have lost money.
Zheng An decided this couldn’t go on. They had some savings now, so he hired a clerk to watch the store. He stayed home to take care of Mu Mu and Wangwang, only stopping by the store when he took the dog for a walk.
Two months passed in this daze. In June, as summer arrived on D5 Star, the Empire’s victory finally came.
But with it came devastating news.
It was June 20th, a clear day. The weather wasn’t too hot, but Wangwang’s thick fur had him panting on the cool floor to dissipate heat. Zheng An snorted at how delicate he was but turned on the air conditioning anyway.
Before the room had fully cooled down, the screen, which had been playing Star Babies, suddenly crackled with static. The next second, the image changed to Commander Fang in his summer uniform.
The white-haired, stern-faced old man stood before a black backdrop emblazoned with the Empire’s golden totem and announced in a powerful voice.
“On June 20th, 752nd year of the Star Calendar, the Zerg Queen has announced her surrender. A new security treaty will be signed in the coming days. The Empire is victorious!”
Mu Mu stared at the screen, stunned. Then his eyes lit up, and he jumped to his feet with excitement. “We won! We won! That’s great! The war is over!”
But before Mu Mu could fully celebrate, Commander Fang continued, “At the same time, I have some grave news to announce.”
Mu Mu’s heart dropped. A powerful sense of dread washed over him, and a ringing filled his ears.
“No, it can’t be,” he swallowed hard, whispering to reassure himself. “It’ll be okay! Nothing bad happened! Mu Mu, don’t overthink it! It’s okay!”
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