mesbooks Chapter 132 Reinforcements and Pursuit
Chapter 132 Reinforcements and Pursuit
"Smart choice."
Luo Ji watched the news broadcast on TV for a long time before finally uttering this sentence.
Shi Qiang, standing to the side, even threw away his cigarette and grinned.
“Old Chang, you’ve lived 200 years longer than us, and you’ve learned to be cunning too.”
Shi Qiang's impression of Chang Weisi was still from two hundred years ago. Back then, Chang Weisi was just a rigid soldier who didn't like to joke or smoke.
At the operational meeting of the "Guzheng Project," Chang Weisi treated Shi Qiang fairly well; otherwise, Shi Qiang, who had been dismissed from the Public Security Bureau, might have had to go back to farming like Taylor.
“Perhaps something has changed his mind. Chang Weisi… is indeed quite different from before,” Luo Ji also said.
"People always grow."
Luo Congmin pushed open the door and walked in. She wasn't wearing her usual black suit today, but instead a white short-sleeved shirt, which reminded Luo Ji of the image of a county party secretary he had seen in some TV dramas.
"Can't you dress a little less maturely?" Luo Ji sighed.
"Dad, I'm already two hundred years old."
"It's not here yet. Don't I remember your birthday is still a month away?"
"I'm so glad you remembered my birthday. I thought only my mom would remember. She ordered a birthday cake for me."
"Happy birthday. Your 200th birthday is worth celebrating. After all, the last time your mother and I celebrated your birthday, you were not even a year old."
Upon hearing this, Luo Congmin shook his head slightly.
"I'm afraid that won't work. You might have to go to Reach."
Luo Ji and Shi Qiang were both taken aback upon hearing this.
Why go to space?
"I don't know, this is Lin Xuan's idea," Luo Congmin said helplessly.
"He's awake?"
"No, but before hibernation, he met with three people: Chang Weisi, me, and that person..."
“Now that Chang Weisi has run away, I think it might be related to Lin Xuan. This is very likely Lin Xuan’s plan to retreat into seclusion, so I must carry out his pre-hibernation arrangements.” Luo Congmin didn’t say this aloud, but from her eyes, Luo Ji and Shi Qiang both understood what Luo Congmin meant.
"Do you need me to come along?" Shi Qiang asked.
This statement actually has an underlying meaning; Shi Qiang is asking: Is this dangerous?
"No need, Uncle Shi, you have other things to do."
Meanwhile, a commotion gradually arose outside. People expressed their bewilderment at Fleet International's defection, while politicians were mostly angry.
"Absurd, utterly absurd! What is Fleet International up to? The commander deserted his post! This is a disgrace to human history!"
"Fleet International should have just sunk that command ship. It's ridiculous that such a large ship could escape right under the noses of more than 5,000 warships. Are the people at Fleet International all idiots?"
"Let me explain. Fleet International's attack calculation method mainly uses AI-assisted calibration. As the command ship, the Navigator was probably programmed to not be attacked by other ships, which is why it escaped."
"Holy crap, so that's how it is. Fleet International's operation was incredibly stupid. Didn't they consider the possibility that the command ship might escape when they came up with this setup?"
"Listen to yourself, are you even speaking human language? Stop being a Monday morning quarterback. If it were you, you wouldn't have expected the command ship to escape either. Besides, Chang Weisi was one of the first commanders of the Space Force. This whole thing is like the whole family is on the same page. It's just outrageous."
At this time, all kinds of insults against Fleet International spread across the Internet, but while hurling insults, people also began to unconsciously think about a question.
Why did Chang Weisi run away?
"Yes, why would he run away as the fleet commander?"
"The war has already been won, so why is he running away?"
Immediately, only one possibility came to everyone's mind.
"Impossible... It's definitely not what we think. Humanity is bound to win this war. The Trisolaran fleet is already prepared to surrender. There's absolutely no chance of them resisting!"
Although people had considered the worst-case scenario, decades of government-sponsored film and television culture had made it impossible for them to believe that the human fleet would be defeated. To them, this was as difficult as believing that the water was poisonous.
Some people sensed the threat and quickly sold off all their assets, exchanging them for easily portable items such as gold. Others took the opportunity to buy up those items at rock-bottom prices.
But no matter how much the public prepares, it will all be meaningless in the face of a real disaster.
Inside the Earth International Conference Hall, the ministers' faces were grim.
Before even getting off to a successful start, such a huge scandal has already caused the government's credibility among the public to plummet.
"Now, the only way to quell this matter is to recover the Navigator and severely punish Chang Weisi and the crew," said the Minister of Military Affairs.
"Easy for you to say. The Navigator uses cold fusion; it could easily travel from here out of the Oort Cloud. How are we supposed to catch it?" the Minister of Science said irritably.
"So what do we do now, just watch Chang Weisi escape?"
"A fleet has been dispatched to pursue them. According to the reports that have come back, more than 100 star-class warships have participated in the pursuit of Chang Weisi and the Navigator."
"However, since the Navigator is a command ship, only ships piloted by Hibernators can stop it. So Zhang Beihai and Chu Yan are currently piloting their own ships closely behind the Navigator, and are expected to catch up with Chang Weisi in about 37 days."
"37 days? That's a long time!"
"Yes, 37 days is just our estimate. It may actually take longer. After all, there is a speed difference between the two ships. The pursuit distance will only increase. Our only chance to catch up with the Navigator is the day the Navigator slows down due to lack of energy!" the Minister of Industry explained.
"Following Blue Space and Natural Selection are 100 star-class warships, which will act as power supply ships for these two warships, refueling them in a relay, like hounds hunting rhinoceroses, slowly wearing down the Navigator in space."
As the Minister of Industry finished speaking, the commander of the North American Fleet, who was also present at the meeting, nodded in agreement, indicating that his analogy was quite apt.
"So, does that mean that after refueling, those star-class warships won't have any fuel left to return?" someone asked.
“Yes, in that case, these starships will become ghost ships floating in space, so we must send another engineering fleet to retrieve these poor souls abandoned in space,” the North American fleet commander said.
"This is already underway. Earth International and Fleet International have deployed all their engineering ships, carrying large quantities of nuclear fusion fuel, to retrieve those star-class warships," the European fleet commander stated.
"Who will drive these engineering vessels? After all, it seems that neither Fleet International nor Earth International can be trusted now. It seems that whoever goes will be a hidden danger," the Minister of Military Affairs questioned.
“Indeed, we can’t trust any of us right now, so this job can only be done by Lin Xuan’s people, since the monitors are absolutely neutral.”
The current head of the research department is one of Lin Xuan's followers.
He was promoted by Luo Congmin, and because he was born relatively early, around the time the Earth International was first established, he received education on Earth International history from a young age.
Back then, Lin Xuan was extremely popular among the masses, completely different from how she is now.
Since he has been in hibernation until now, his stance is different from those around him, and he is more inclined to support Lin Xuan's faction.
"Lin Xuan? He doesn't seem to have woken up yet; he's still in hibernation."
"Yes, and it seems he doesn't have enough people under him. Professor Wang Miao and Dr. Ding Yi have other things to do, and Luo Congmin is from Earth International, so he's not suitable to participate in this rescue operation."
"No, no, no, you're overthinking it. Only one person needs to go."
"one person?"
"Yes, one person is enough!"
"Are you kidding me? There are more than twenty engineering vessels alone. How could he possibly operate so many ships by himself?"
"You're wrong, there is one person who actually can."
……
Three days later, Liu Chang packed his luggage and stepped into the engineering vessel.
"Tsk, they always have to call me for this kind of trivial matter. It's really annoying."
"Don't say that, Principal Liu. This is precisely the time to show your importance." Shi Qiang smiled and lit a cigarette.
Only he and Liu Chang participated in this rescue operation, because the rest were clones.
They will operate these engineering vessels, refuel them, and pursue the star-class warships ahead that are unable to return due to running out of fuel.
That's why we insisted on having Liu Chang come.
After all, he created the clones, and he's the only one who knows these things best. If something goes wrong, it'll be a good safety net.
More than twenty engineering ships soon set off from Earth, heading straight for the navigator and the pursuing fleet.
"Honestly, Principal Liu, the tobacco you cultivate is much better than the tobacco you can buy in the Earth International Supermarket."
As Shi Qiang spoke, he casually picked a piece of tobacco leaf from Liu Chang's cultivation chamber, rolled it up in paper, and Liu Chang's eyelids twitched.
"My tobacco!"
These tobacco leaves are special varieties that do not require processing; they can be rolled up and lit directly to smoke.
This is a new variety bred by Liu Changxin. In addition to researching human cloning, he has not forgotten his original job assigned to him by PDC: to cultivate some new varieties.
For example, boneless crucian carp, coreless apples, pigs that can grow through photosynthesis, and cola that tastes like snail rice noodles...
Pure technology and ruthless work.
After the engineering vessel had been flying in space for a while, Shi Qiang made conversation.
"By the way, has Lin Xuan not graduated yet?"
"Ah."
Shi Qiang was speechless.
"It's been almost two hundred years, why bother? Just let him pass. It's just a bachelor's degree, it's not a big deal for you. Look at him now, Luo Congmin can be his mentor."
"I would like to pass him, but the problem is he hasn't come to me. He hasn't even submitted his graduation project. I can't just conjure one up out of thin air for him, can I?"
Upon hearing this, Shi Qiang frowned slightly.
"Do you think... is it possible that Lin Xuan had no idea that he had to submit a graduation project?"
Liu Chang: ...
The two of them fell silent immediately.
Believe it or not, Lin Xuan has been so busy that he probably didn't even know about this.
After all, his former teachers and classmates are no longer around, and if no one had told him about it, he probably wouldn't have known.
"Well, it's fine if he stays. That way, he can focus on his own things," Liu Chang said with a smile.
“If he graduates now, given his current situation, it would be a disservice to his status not to pursue a combined master’s and doctoral degree, otherwise people will start criticizing his academic qualifications again.”
“A master’s and doctoral degree together would take at least five or six years. He doesn’t have time to study now. If we just give him a diploma, then Luo Congmin, the Minister of Education, would seem to have neglected his duties.”
Upon hearing this, Shi Qiang couldn't help but smile.
"That's only one reason, you must have your own selfish motives too."
"I'm not a saint. Who doesn't have selfish motives? The longer Lin Xuan stays at the National Academy of Sciences, the more research subsidies the school can get. Recruitment has also been much easier in the past two years. Otherwise, why would I work for this brat Lin Xuan for free? Look at the academics around him, only Wang Miao is really working for a salary."
Shi Qiang nodded slightly.
"I've actually heard that. The University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS) has risen in status among the C9 universities, especially compared to the original ten. Now, Tsinghua and Peking Universities are almost out of the top ten in China. UCAS has become one of the most popular universities for postgraduate entrance exams, with a large number of applicants every year. The most outrageous thing is that some people mistakenly applied to the University of Science and Technology of China in Hefei."
"You'll get used to it. At least it's still a school under the same Huazhong University of Science and Technology as us. I'm already very satisfied that they didn't get into the National University of Defense Technology."