The Eden Experimental Base was blown up, and the Angel City Fortress very close to it was devastated.
The Alliance Council made an urgent decision to put all members of the Eden Management Committee under control, except for the missing Lin Jingshu.
Allen Wang glanced down at the personal terminal and whispered to Woolf: "The Parliament requests to speak to you."
Woolf was like a dying old turtle, as if turning his eyes would tire him, his eyes fixed on one place. He stayed still for a long time as if he were meditating on Zen, and then said after a while: "Tell them that my heart is not feeling well, and I will lie down in the medical cabin and let them wait."
Wang Ailun lowered his head and skillfully organized an article for the old marshal "Although The rhetoric of being old, frail, and suffering from illness, but still worried about the country and the people has gone back to the past.
Woolf turned around and knocked on the wall. A three-dimensional video screen popped up on the wall, and then the screen jumped out. What was playing was the video of Lu Xin being accused of having "forbidden fruit". A man's voice trembled and said: "Laura Geddon escaped. I went to see Lu Xin before. General Lin Wei was awake at the time. He stood behind the window and watched her leave. I happened to be on duty that day... He... General Lin didn't want me to say anything. General Lin said, There is something very important. Dr. Gordon doesn't trust him, so now he has to hand it over to others..."
"This man was born in the fourth galaxy. He has a younger brother who suffers from cerebrospinal syndrome. He was once a member of General Lin Wei's bodyguards. A guard. Jingheng was still young when he was taken away by Lu Xin. He was afraid that he would not adapt, so he chose someone from the Lin family to go with him. After all, there were many opportunities to climb up with Lu Xin. . Later, Lu Xin arranged for him to be a member of his personal bodyguards, treating him as someone who knew the basics. "Wang Ailun said, "There is a special area for encephalopathy in the White Tower of the Management Committee, and a group of encephalopathy patients are maintained in daily work. Just cooperate with the brainwave scan and get the treatment of a researcher. You know, in the world of Eden, except for "researchers" like Baita, there is no place for encephalopathy. That year, his brother was twenty years old and had just grown up. His family's background originally meant living in the eighth galaxy. For the sake of his family, he decided to betray Lu Xin and made a deal with the management committee. However, he overheard a few words about "ghost hunting" in the management committee. After learning that the result of the national jury was determined, he regretted it when the matter came to pass, and told Lu Xin about it. Both sides did not end up well. "
"Because of this double-dealing whistleblower, and because of Lu Xin. After his death, they could not find out where the "forbidden fruit" was, so the management committee gradually believed that the "forbidden fruit" might not really be in Lu Xin's hands, and disappeared with Laura Gordon's self-destruction."
Wang Ailun nodded: "Yes . , the only thing they can't touch is Zhan Lu. Zhan Lu's backup authority is Jing Heng. That child has been monitored for many years because of this, but it is said that all his data are normal, too normal - appropriately cynical. Appropriately acrimonious, appropriately quarrel with Eden and the Alliance Central Committee, occasionally aroused, and even crossed the safety line of being on the "potential" list, but the whole person is basically "safe". If this kind of data is also forged, that would be too much. It's scary. He was only a teenager at that time."
"For so many years, the Forbidden Fruit system has been running silently on Zhanlu, conscientiously forging a series of data. It seems that Lu Xin has never told Lin Jingheng about the 'Forbidden Fruit'. Based on the deep logic, he may have always thought that the forbidden fruit was just a shield." Woolf sighed, "In order to protect the child, Lu Xin said nothing, including everything between him and the Eden Management Committee...including him. I've seen me on the list of "forbidden fruits" before."
Woolf said, holding on to the table, and slowly walked to his desk. The solid wood tabletop had a thick luster, and he fumbled to open the drawer, revealing it. There is an old picture frame inside - it is hard to believe that in the new star calendar era, people are still using this antique.
In the photo frame is a group photo of three teenagers. The special photo craftsmanship has allowed the passage of more than two hundred years to maintain the quality of the picture without any loss. It seems that it was just taken that morning.
"It's me in the middle," Woolf murmured, "Can you see? I have lost my appearance."
Wang Ailun smiled slightly: "Nowhere, the outline and facial features have not changed much, the other two are Dr. Harden "With Marshal Ringel."
"The three of us have been together since childhood, and now they are gone," Woolf said softly, as if babbled, "They are all gone... Geer has told me this all his life. His last words were to let us look at the world for him, to see that the pictures imagined in the Declaration of Freedom had come true, and to tell him about it. He said that he could not see the light of the stars sweeping over Watteau, and he also saw Before Xiao Wei was born, he was only one second away from dawn."
Wang Ailun knew that the old marshal was not talking to him, so he stood aside silently, fulfilling his duty as a wooden sculpture with ears but no mouth.
"The idea of 'forbidden fruit' was proposed by the Management Committee. The Management Committee uses the Garden of Eden to monitor everyone, but they don't want themselves to be monitored. They want to build a privileged shielding system for their own people. Unexpectedly, Harden secretly It was upgraded to a sharp blade that could pierce the Garden of Eden. At that time, he came to me and told me that he planned to use the forbidden fruit to secretly cultivate an "anti-Black Society" outside the territory, so that the Garden of Eden would not be able to control it. After hearing this, I became stupidly excited. Furious, I think the Eden Management Committee is too greedy, but how could Dr. Harden collude with pirates outside the territory? Isn't this treason? But that is my dead brother, and I can't possibly report him. I had no choice but to cut off contact with him. "
Harden didn't argue with me at the time. He just said that he would record my thoughts and beliefs at the time and record them as "forbidden fruit." If one day I change, I will be in the Garden of Eden. He was still such a model of uprightness - he said he hoped I would never use it," Woolf said softly, "He was mocking me, but he was right, if not. "He, I can't live today."
His friends, the people he couldn't let go of in his life, the children he raised with his own hands, the students who had high hopes, left him one by one, pushing the huge steam car of the alliance towards the United States. Initially going in opposite directions.
By the time he regretted it, he was already old and frail. He had to rely on the memory stored by artificial intelligence to recall those long-ago ideals and beliefs.
For a moment, an image flashed across Woolf's mind like a resurgence. He vaguely remembered that there seemed to be a young man who described himself as down and out, and said to him half-jokingly: "I just need to live to be two hundred years old, that's pretty much it." Come on, otherwise, if I accidentally live to be three hundred years old, become deaf and blind, stubborn and narrow-minded, I can't remember anything about the past, and my thoughts have changed, wouldn't I become another person, or me? I don't want it."
Woolf and Wang Ailun stood and sat in silence for a long time. Wang Ailun glanced at the old photos in the drawer and thought of Lu Xin.
Wang Ailun thought, what was Lu Xin feeling when he made the temporary decision to flee from Wotto in a hurry?
He was loyal to the Alliance and worked for the Alliance through life and death, but found that his teachers, friends, and seniors all tried their best to shield and protect himself when encouraging others to use the Garden of Eden.
He spent his life pursuing freedom and equality for every citizen, and these people decided to find him guilty in a national jury.
Time was in a hurry, and he didn't know how to explain these things to Lin Jingheng, who was still a child... Even he himself probably didn't have time to figure it out, so he had no choice but to keep silent.
On the night when Lu Xin flew out of Watto, did he really still believe in the things he had fought for and shed blood for?
"It's not over yet," Woolf said with a somewhat vague voice. "The glorious group that took advantage of the situation is still in Wotto, and the garbage in the anti-Ukrainian society has not been cleaned up. The new world I promised Ger and Harden is still there. Far from it. I can't give up on the Alliance's remaining strength just yet…"
Wang Ailun understood something: "You said… Jing Heng."
"He doesn't know what the 'forbidden fruit' is yet, but with such an uproar, no matter how closed the eighth galaxy is, he will always have a chance to know, there will always be a chance to see the list, and his faith will collapse like Lu Xin," Woolf said, " It's so pitiful. I don't want this. I hope he can live like a hero and die like a hero. Do you understand what I mean?"
Wang Ailun understood, bowed slightly to Woolf and asked him: " What about Jingshu?"
Woolf was silent for a while and sighed: "No matter how good the organization is, it is not as good as sneaking into the Eden Management Committee since she was a child. We old people have underestimated her. The Management Committee is really poisonous. Normal flowers cannot grow on the soil. We must find her as soon as possible, and we must not let her disappear without any explanation - you should contact the person as soon as possible to issue a statement announcing a comprehensive eradication of "opium" within the alliance, and tell the people that this is the action of the Management Committee. The conspiracy behind the Garden of Eden issued a wanted order for Lin Jingshu. "
Poisonous Flower - Lin Jingshu stood up in front of Dr. Harden, with her hands behind her back, the smile on her face disappeared, and she stared at the murderers in the glass laboratory who were in agony. , stood up slightly on tiptoes, leaned forward, and rubbed the tip of his nose against the cold one-way glass.
"If this world treats you badly and hurts you, and every idiot who thinks you are innocent has sucked blood from your heart, you still have to forgive, repay kindness with kindness, and do the so-called... what is that called? 'The right thing' '. Then you are also guilty." She said, "Because you allow the dead good people to remain innocent, you allow the living fools to still feel at ease with their "innocence", and you allow history to fall into shameful and despicable ants. There will always be tragic heroes. The cliché of salvation. The hatred you swallowed with your teeth and blood made this story hypocritical and ugly."
Dr. Harden stood in the shadows and asked softly: "My child, there is no justice and justice in your heart. Human nature?"
"I am human nature," Lin Jingshu said, "What is human nature? Human nature is to eat when you are hungry and drink when you are thirsty. When others treat you well, remember them and repay them. If others trample on you, you will do it at all costs. Go back with revenge - this is natural human nature. The so-called "justice", ha, is a kind of narcissistic perversion, and it will not end well."
After she finished speaking, she kissed the protective glass lightly and blushed. lip prints.
"Disgusting," she said, and turned away.
The eight major galaxies were all bleeding like rivers when she turned around.
Thomas Young and Poisson Young originally planned to integrate the Silver Third Guardian at the edge of the second galaxy. There is a large interstellar transfer station on the edge of the second galaxy. Private starships are bought and sold, and civilian and commercial starships are supplied and repaired here. Over time, various Supply depots and starship service agencies are clustered here. The Third Silver Guard were all technicians, and they happened to hang out in this place. They could set off with a summons order, but unexpectedly they encountered a large number of private starfleet groups coming to the transfer station to seek refuge.
"We are from the Second Galaxy, my teacher from the Second Polytechnic University. Our school is in an artificial space station, which is far away from the natural planets. The students all live on campus." A middle-aged man led a group of confused teenagers , waved his hand and declined the cigarette handed over by Thomas Yang, "Thank you brother, don't smoke this, there are still a few minors among the students - that day a group of people suddenly came, driving a mecha and occupied the space station where the school is located, forcing We are injecting a biochip, which is said to be a substitute for Eden. The principal said that it is good for Eden to have a substitute, but internal injection requires strict procedures. Besides, the school cannot give consent without permission, and must organize the parents of underage students to sign... They He actually shot and killed the principal without any reason! When my colleagues and I saw this formation, we quickly took the students and fled. Most of them were shot down. We were lucky. I wanted to send these children home. , but the channel of the second galaxy has been blocked, and someone started fighting there. I really have no choice but to hide here for a while."
Before he finished speaking, a student suddenly screamed: "Teacher!"
He saw a few people . A student somehow managed to connect to the underground network, and a video with violent shaking was uploaded. It appeared to be an artificial space station - the natural conditions of the second galaxy were average, mainly due to the developed financial and transportation industry, and nearly half of the population lived there. On a large man-made space station - the next moment, an ominous alarm flashed across the video screen, and a passerby suddenly ran wildly, shouting "missiles". His words faded, white light engulfed the entire screen, and everything came to an abrupt end.
"This is the Kenny space station near the capital star of the second system."
"The space station group near the capital star is now completely lost."
People were panicked. Some relatives and friends who were still near the capital star began to anxiously try to establish contact. After a while, , people who couldn't be contacted began to collapse and cry, becoming a mess.
Thomas Yang silently put the cigarette he had not sent out into his mouth. Poisson crossed his arms in front of his chest and walked next to him: "It is not safe here. Such a large interstellar transit station will soon become a refugee camp. Desperate people, pirates who buy and sell opium by force will soon target this place. What do you say, captain of the guard, shall we withdraw?"
At the same time, the first guard of Silver has been stranded in the third galaxy for more than a week - Just because they rescued a group of refugees who were chased by pirates along the way.
As the war rages on, there are more and more interstellar refugee groups. People living near the front line are afraid that a missile will fall from the sky and land in their yards every day. Anyone who can afford a starship ticket will run away. . It is said that the price of refugee tickets for the three star systems has risen to sky-high prices. Not only will the average middle-class family lose all their money, they will also be forced to choose who will leave and who will stay.
This group of refugee starships cannot withstand emergency jumps. If the acceleration is too high, people will be killed. All the nearby jump points that can be scanned have been surrounded by various armed forces. With such a big burden, the Silver First Guards He was also trapped in a circle of pirates.
In the eighth galaxy, Lin Jingheng had just repelled a wave of anti-Ukrainian attacks due to Ancru's defection. Before she could breathe a sigh of relief, she heard Zhan Lu suddenly say: "Sir, the remote communication request comes from the third party of Baiyin." Wei Thomas Yang."
Lin Jingheng was stunned.
The Ten Silver Guards are well-trained. It stands to reason that after they confirm that Lin Jingheng is in the eighth galaxy, they should rush to join them as soon as possible. They will do things cheaply on the way and will not try to establish contact with anyone. They will only pass when they are close to the destination. The jump network releases a long-distance communication request - this way it will not expose its coordinates on the road and avoid complications.
Bai Yinsan sent a message at this time. If he had not arrived at the Eight Galaxy, he had something important to ask for instructions.
Lin Jingheng: "Yes."
From the second galaxy to the eighth galaxy, even if there is a powerful jump network that continuously folds space, real-time dialogue is still not possible. It takes a long time to wait from the two-way connection of the remote signal to Thomas Young appearing on the screen. Over fifty hours.
"General," finally, the picture of Thomas Yang appeared. He straightened his crooked hat, subconsciously put on his slick clothes, and sat upright to salute, "the waterway is blocked, we are currently at the "Nebula Transfer Station" of the second galaxy. , there are at least six million refugees gathered here, and the pirate Free Corps visually detected that more than fifty heavy armors are approaching here, and they will forcibly inject everyone with the biochip drug opium."
Lin Jingheng's fist suddenly tightened.
Due to the delay in such long-distance communication, it was impossible for the two parties to talk freely, so Thomas Yang thought for a while and finished everything he wanted to report at once: "Poisson and I had contact with Miss Jingshu when we were in Angel City, but she refused. Come with us. The news we heard now is that Miss Lin is missing - sorry, General, we could have just taken her away by force."
"The third Silver Guard has been assembled and has made continuous emergency jumps. It won't be a problem for us to get rid of the pirates. Now. Should we make an emergency jump to the eighth galaxy immediately, or should we stay to protect the Nebula transfer station? Please give your instructions."
Lu Bixing, a few army engineers, Zhan Lu... Turan, who had just climbed out of the medical cabin, looked at everyone. All focused on Lin Jingheng.
"The pirates who forcibly bought and sold opium named themselves the 'Freedom Legion'. Who are you trying to mock?" Lin Jingheng paused and said to Thomas Young more than fifty hours later, "The Silver Ten Guards chose to take the oath back then. Don't you remember what you are loyal to? "What do you want me to do!"
"Sir, a remote communication request from the First Guard of Silver..."
"Sir, from the Sixth Guard of Silver..."
...
"Sir, Captain Yang. Send a message, saying "Long Live the Declaration of Freedom.""
Ancru, from the Central Army of the Seventh Galaxy, was listening to battle reports from each galaxy in the conference room when a prompt suddenly sounded on his personal terminal.
He was stunned for a moment, waved his hand to interrupt the chattering secretary, told everyone to disperse, then stepped back and locked the office door alone.
"It's me." Wang Ailun's face appeared on the personal terminal, "Good day, General An in fifty-six hours."