The Ancient Bell is the largest spaceship in the Ancient Bell Company's fleet, known for its exceptional cruising capabilities, ranking among the top ten in the entire federation. However, the Ancient Bell Company, being the largest company in the federal Westwood Grand District, has a wide-ranging business scope that permeates every industry. Despite being investigated for several hundred years by the Westwood Grand District Administration Committee under the Company Information Public Law, the true owner of this giant company's capital remains a mystery.
Speculation abounds, with many people guessing that besides the Federal Asset Committee, several of the wealthiest families in the Westwood Grand District are secretly linked to the Ancient Bell Company. Some even faintly associate the company with the influential Fourth Military Region due to its prominent position in guarding the Westwood Grand District.
This time, as part of the federation's coordinated plan, the Ancient Bell Company dispatched this spaceship to Area Eastwood to extend greetings and establish official exchanges between the Westwood and Eastwood regions. Superficially, these activities were meant to shield the actions of the Fourth Military Region's special machine armor group. However, nobody anticipated that the spaceship itself would become the instrument of treason.
How could a commercial spaceship possess space weapons that are strictly controlled by the military?
The captain of the Ancient Bell spacecraft, a portly individual, leaned back on the sofa, gasping for breath, holding a cup of coffee that still retained some warmth in his hand. The secretary reminded the captain in a hushed voice that Colonel Lake would undoubtedly be furious upon his return. Typically, a ship's captain would coordinate with a commissioner, but this portly captain lacked the assertiveness of a true leader and treated himself more like an official than a military officer.
Despite his gentle appearance, occasional glimpses of cold light in his narrowed eyes revealed his true character. Softly, he said, "If Lake can accomplish this task, I won't risk firing the main artillery again."
A shadow of sorrow passed between the meaty brows, and the captain gritted his teeth in pain. "One artillery wiped out half a year's worth of the company's energy quota. Do you think I'm not grieving? The Fourth Military Region spends a fortune on their special machine armor group every year!"
"There's no choice. Under the death orders from the President's Office, the Charter Bureau, the Ministry of Defense, and the Commander, we can't spare any more of these energies," the secretary replied, shrugging. "Once we resolve the problem, I need to hurry and report to the Eastwood Grand District Office and authorities. I have to present them with the federation's order; otherwise, I suspect the ongoing exchange visits between Eastwood and Westwood will suffer, and the Eastwood Garrison Command's battleships will be on our tail."
"Let them gather some courage," the portly captain said, with a mocking smile in his eyes. "Eastwood has been demoralized for too long. Just give the district office the secret federation order. In my opinion, these officials won't dare oppose our Fourth Military Region... On the other hand, our military region has truly lost face on this insignificant star and now looks back in arrogance."
The secretary shrugged. As a civilian-turned-military officer, he joined the Ancient Bell Company after retiring from service. Like the captain and others, he concealed his military role in the Fourth Military Region. Therefore, he neither understood nor wanted to understand why their fellow officers harbored such strong animosity towards the Eastwood Grand District. After all, Westwood and Eastwood were both branches of the federation, and they rarely interacted over the years due to the considerable distance between them.
Inside the captain's cabin, the portly captain responded calmly. He placed his coffee on the side, revealing a hidden communication line and a motionless image on the light screen. He spoke respectfully, even somewhat flattered, lowering his head, "Boss, we succeeded."
The image displayed a middle-aged person wearing a straight dark-colored military uniform, with clearly visible Venus and silver bars on the shoulders, signifying their high military rank. Communications between Eastwood and Westwood took at least 14 minutes, so the image of the middle-aged general remained motionless, like a puppet. However, the deep furrowed brow and cold expression exuded an immense pressure.
The portly captain swallowed hard and continued, "To kill the machine repair master, it took half a year's worth of energy quota. But this was the task assigned by the federation. You should consider sending a letter to the President's Office, requesting coordination between the Ministry of Defense and the Energy Committee... and perhaps some compensation for the company?"
Suddenly, he thought of something, and the face on the previously motionless light screen seemed to lean forward, saying, "Is... the young lady not joining us for dinner today?"
After uttering these words, the speaker activated the main artillery, causing the machine armor to vanish into thin air. The resulting explosion obliterated countless green spaces on the outskirts of Eastwood, prompting the portly captain to quickly turn off the intercom and rush back to the captain's cabin.
...
...
Xu Le hadn't eaten anything all day. He ran from the hill while shielded by the massive explosion, taking advantage of the chaos in the suburbs of Hexi Province. He successfully made his way back into the underground stream, running desperately until he reached an untouched forest.
Collapsing onto a bed of thick fallen leaves, he brushed off some dirt, releasing a musty scent. The young boy was panting heavily, feeling extremely tired and hungry. His heart ached, burdened by sadness and weariness. After experiencing the events of the day, his spirit had endured an intense blow, and he was not even yet 18 years old.
It was nighttime, and suddenly, the sound of rain filled the sky above the forest for no apparent reason. The raindrops shook loose the dust accumulated on the ground, mixing with the scent of fallen leaves and pervading the entire forest with an earthy aroma.
Filthy and disheveled, Xu Le wore a sorrowful expression. He closed his eyes, biting his lip with determination. Taking a deep breath, he gazed at the shield meter he tightly held in his hand. The blue light was fading, and in a couple of minutes, it would lose its effectiveness.
He started to move.
Xu Le looked at the metal bracelet on his wrist, gently touching the intricate metal lines and small chips embedded within. He felt his heartbeat growing stronger, yet weaker at the same time. The stabbing pain at the back of his neck spread throughout his body, leaving him cold.
A new life awaited him.