Chapter 144: At the End of Time, They Will Meet Again
Chu Baixian took Shen Zhuo onto Impermanence, a mech with black as its main color scheme.
Impermanence had a counterpart, a white mech of identical appearance; together they were known as Black and White Impermanence.
White Impermanence was originally Du Feng’s mech, but after being damaged in a certain war, it had been kept in the General Command’s exhibition hall until now.
Impermanence had been set to auto-return early in the morning. Once Shen Zhuo was seated securely, Impermanence would travel all the way back to the transport plane.
“When you wake up, you’ll be home.”
Chu Baixian helped the boy into a relatively comfortable position and pressed the auto-return button.
Watching Impermanence move further away step by step, Chu Baixian turned and boarded Oracle.
Connecting S4 spiritual power to a Super S-class mech was manageable, especially since Chu Baixian had made preparations on Oracle yesterday.
“S-112 Model Mech, Oracle, connected.”
The sound of successful connection came from within the cockpit. Chu Baixian checked all control panels, confirmed everything was running normally, and ran towards the Bug Mother.
But he hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Du Feng’s image popped up on one side of the screen.
The man sat upright in the command room, surrounded by several adjutants, almost all successors he had trained.
“Leave now, there’s still a chance,” Du Feng said.
For the last time, he tried to pull Chu Baixian back.
Even though he knew it was impossible.
As expected, Chu Baixian shook his head. He looked at the camera and laughed happily:
“Du Feng, you know someone is waiting for me.”
Chu Baixian’s expression showed not a hint of sadness or reluctance; instead, his eyes were full of anticipation.
“He has waited for me for too long…”
“He’s so afraid of the dark; I should have gone to keep him company sooner.”
Du Feng looked at him, silent for a long time.
Along with him, all the military personnel in the command center behind him watched the screen with solemn and tragic expressions.
“Commander Chu… we will miss you.”
“The General Command will remember you forever!”
“Teacher…!”
The people around spoke one after another, gritting their teeth, faces flushed.
When Du Feng served as Commander-in-Chief, there were always times when he couldn’t attend to everything, such as the training of the next commanders.
In all the places Du Feng couldn’t reach, Chu Baixian was practically there to support them.
If Du Feng was the pillar supporting the Empire, then Chu Baixian was the wall filling all the gaps.
As long as the two of them were there, the Empire was like an indestructible fortress, forever at peace.
“What I can do, you can do too.”
Chu Baixian smiled at them. “Don’t miss me; you must become me.”
He could leave with peace of mind because he knew there were countless versions of him within the Empire.
The adjutants still had tears in their eyes.
“No need to be so sentimental…” Chu Baixian wanted to say something more but was startled by the actions of those on the screen.
Everyone, led by Du Feng, stood up and gave him a uniform military salute.
Representing a farewell.
Chu Baixian snapped back to reality, his eyes curving like crescents, his smile incredibly bright.
He raised his hand to return the salute to Du Feng: “Goodbye, best friend.”
Du Feng’s eyes were full of bloodshot veins. He closed his eyes briefly, and finally, imitating Chu Baixian, revealed a smile just like his:
“Goodbye.”
Everyone in the command room shouted in unison, holding back sobs:
“Safe travels, Commander Chu!!”
“Little brats…” Chu Baixian laughed and scolded, but his eyes turned red.
Not from reluctance to leave.
But mostly from relief and gratification.
There was nothing more that needed to be said.
He crossed into the signal cut-off zone. Du Feng’s image disappeared in the next moment, leaving only the Bug Mother, constantly magnifying and clarifying in front of him.
Finally arriving at the destination, facing the Bug Mother that was countless times larger than the mech, Chu Baixian couldn’t even see the top when looking up. He suddenly felt a physiological chill.
A massive enemy, capable of attacks that could destroy heaven and earth.
And now, he was going to defeat such an enemy.
He thought that at the very end, he would still be afraid for a moment.
But now, not even for a moment.
Chu Baixian’s mood had never been so calm.
“Trading me for a future where no new Zerg will ever appear again—it’s worth it beyond measure.”
Chu Baixian stared at the terrifyingly abnormal Bug Mother, couldn’t help grinning, and pressed a few buttons on the keyboard.
A small window opened in the center of the control console, and a red button was pushed up.
It was Oracle‘s self-destruct button.
Without pause, Chu Baixian pressed it without hesitation.
A crimson countdown instantly filled the screen.
The sharp, piercing alarm countdown began to count off the final minute.
Chu Baixian let out a long breath, grabbed the phone by his side, and opened the photo album.
Inside were hundreds of videos, long and short.
Every single one had a play count in the four digits.
Chu Baixian swiped up, scrolled down to find a video just over half a minute long, and clicked play.
Meng Xihe’s slightly youthful voice suddenly appeared in the silent cockpit.
“Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you…”
The off-key singing was accompanied by the sound of coughing while stifling laughter in the background.
He had a habit of recording life with videos before.
This was a video from his birthday, a year before Meng Xihe fell ill, just after he had won the Imperial Dance Competition champion title.
“Little Lotus, you dance so beautifully, so why is your singing so ugly? Luckily I recorded it to mock you every day in the future.”
He held the phone off-camera. The lens was pointed at the boy with his long hair tied up, whose autumn-water eyes were glaring at the screen.
“You dare! Delete it quickly! Give it here!”
“Eh, today I’m the biggest. You can’t refuse me.”
The screen obviously moved back a lot, the image went black, and sounds of a struggle appeared.
In the control room, Chu Baixian leaned lazily against the back of the chair, the corners of his lips hooked up slightly.
The brilliant glow of the setting sun penetrated through the Bug Mother’s grotesque body, landing inside the cockpit.
Landing on that exquisite brooch.
The image returned, and Meng Xihe’s puffed-up voice came through.
“Make a wish then. Hmph, I won’t haggle with you.”
“I want…”
“Eh, saying the wish out loud makes it not come true!”
“But you can help me realize this wish.”
“Mn? Then I’ll reluctantly listen to you… doesn’t mean I agree.”
“Say you love me.”
“Just that simple?”
“Just that simple.”
Chu Baixian’s gaze slowly moved to the countdown in front of him.
From the recording came Meng Xihe’s light laughter and passionate voice, exceptionally warm in the cold control room.
“I love you, Baixian!”
The huge red numbers jumped, the decaying hourglass of time about to reach the other shore of the wish.
Three seconds, two seconds, one second…
Chu Baixian smiled and closed his eyes.
…
No need to fear the darkness.
At the end of time, they will meet again.
.
Shen Zhuo woke with a start in the Eastern Border Command Center.
A nurse was right beside him, administering a nutrient injection.
Shen Zhuo grabbed the nurse’s wrist and shouted, losing his voice:
“Where is Commander Chu?!”
The nurse panicked and almost knelt down. “Your… Your Majesty… I don’t know.”
Just then, there was a knock on the door. It was the Eastern Border Commander.
“Your Majesty, it is a communication from His Majesty.”
Shen Zhuo realized he was too agitated. He apologized to the nurse and nodded to let the commander project the image onto the opposite wall.
Both the commander and the nurse left the room.
“Brother Baixian, he…” Shen Zhuo’s eyes were red.
But Du Feng smiled at the boy.
“No need to be sad. He should be very happy right now.”
Shen Zhuo heard the expected answer.
And thus he understood the reason Chu Baixian insisted on bringing him along.
The boy lowered his head, his fingers gradually curling and tightening.
Du Feng didn’t comfort him or interrupt this emotion.
Everyone should learn to say goodbye with a smile—him, and Shen Zhuo too.
After a long time, Shen Zhuo raised his head: “So my current military rank is?”
Du Feng: “Major General. In a few days, you will lead two teams. You know the original leader of one of them.”
Shen Zhuo said, “Nain Tute.”
Du Feng nodded. “Their team has a total of ten thousand people, and the Imperial Military has ten thousand people.”
“The entire Eastern Defense Line has about two hundred thousand people. You need to guard the most dangerous section of the Eastern Defense Line.”
Shen Zhuo squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them, his emotions recovered.
“Okay, I understand. No matter what method I use, I will definitely hold it.”
Du Feng looked at the boy. His lips moved; words came to his mouth intending to be swallowed, but he still said:
“But I want you to come back alive even more.”
Shen Zhuo hadn’t expected Du Feng to be so frank this time.
Perhaps after experiencing so many things, there was no need for real concealment anymore.
The boy smiled. “I will.”
All aspects of the deployment for the Mega Insect Tide now required Du Feng’s personal attention.
From the day the general situation of the insect tide was retrieved from the Research Department, Du Feng hadn’t had a full night’s sleep.
The man’s exhaustion was well suppressed in the depths of his eyes.
Now, the high wall supporting him was gone. Everything had to be done perfectly.
This was a massive campaign concerning the survival of humanity.
No mistakes were allowed.
After briefly asking a few questions about his physical condition, Du Feng cut the communication.
The commander re-entered the room and handed a black military uniform to Shen Zhuo with both hands.
“Major General Shen.” The commander saluted respectfully.
Hearing this title for the first time, Shen Zhuo froze for no reason.
For a long time, he had been addressed as “Young Master Shen,” then “Commander’s Wife,” and then “Your Majesty the Queen.”
He was General Shen’s son, Commander Du’s wife, the Empire’s Queen.
An appendage, a greenhouse flower enjoying the shade under a big tree.
But Major General Shen was the first title he had held for so long that had nothing to do with anyone else.
Finally, for once, he was himself.
Nain Tute’s voice suddenly came from the doorway:
“I thought you’d be depressed for quite a while. After all, you had a pretty good relationship with that Commander Chu?”
Nain Tute stood at the door with his arms crossed, wearing an Imperial military uniform.
Shen Zhuo looked at him. “That was his wish all along.”
“He doesn’t need our mourning. So what I need to do is not useless sorrow, but to walk well on the path he paved for me and pay tribute to him with a peaceful future.”
Nain Tute’s lazy posture suddenly straightened a bit.
“I have completely changed my view of you, Your Majesty.”
Nain Tute looked at the boy’s firm and resolute eyes and performed a military salute of the Kingdom of Nain.
“No, Major General Shen Zhuo.”
“We will obey your command. Hope you lead us… lead humanity, to victory.”
Nain Tute’s salute was very standard. In the young general’s slightly raised gaze, one could see burning expectations for the future.
Shen Zhuo returned the military salute: “Definitely.”
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