Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The question raised more doubts in Ding Lingdang’s mind.

Unlike Li Yao, she had been involved in the battle from beginning to end. The weird and unstoppable attacks of the Big Bai Fleet had left a very deep impression on her. She could not help but feel puzzled, too.

“Boss Bai certainly had planned everything in advance,” Ding Lingdang said confidently. “The Big Bai Fleet was supposed to go to the No. 2 and the No. 3 space gates to join the main force of the Burning Prairie Fleet and safeguard the arrival of the following troops from the Burning Prairie Fleet according to their order.

“But after the elites of the Burning Prairie Fleet arrived, all the space gates and even the Spiritual Nexus were seriously damaged. There were no following troops at all.

“If the Big Bai Fleet had carried out the order from the highest command center, they would’ve lost the best opportunity to disrupt and stall the operation of the Black Wind Fleet.

“From the very beginning, Boss Bai refused to obey the orders of the command center but made the best choice on the battlefield. But how was he so certain that he was right? Why was he so determined that he dared to defy the military order in such a crucial battle?

“Boss Bai perhaps did not care for the Star Glory Federation. He was a bold, unrestrained space pirate that was not to be bound by any country or law. But his son, Bai Kaixin, was still in the Burning Prairie Fleet on the battlefield.

“It is safe to say that he wagered all his hope to fight for the future of himself and his son!

“One other thing. When the Spiritual Nexus was sabotaged on a large scale by the extraterrestrial devils, the Big Bai Fleet kept radio silence. All connections to the outside world, including the simplest communication interfaces, were shut off.

“Even the internal communication was conducted through an obsolete wireless communication system from the Nether World Sector. Since the Nether World Sector merged into the federation, the system had been abandoned for more than fifty years and had long been replaced by more advanced interaction protocols on the Spiritual Nexus.

“The real problem is, when exactly did Boss Bai unearth such an ancient communication and commanding system, why did he replace the latest version of the interaction protocol with such an old version, and why was he smart enough to maintain the silence to the outside world, not allowing any data to flow in or out?

“It was because of the precautions that the Big Bai Fleet was not corrupted by the virus on the Spiritual Nexus and stabbed into the belly of the Black Wind Fleet bloodily.

“It was almost like he not only foresaw that the Black Wind Fleet would assault the Heaven’s Origin Sector but also knew that the extraterrestrial devils would destroy the Spiritual Nexus, right?”

The questions from the two of them made Bai Kaixin sigh gloomily and shake his head. “There’s more to it. You are not commanders of a fleet. So, it may be difficult for you to understand how terrifying my father was yesterday. He truly exploited all the potentials of the fleet without leaving any drop behind.

“But the problem is, teamwork and cooperation matter a lot to a fleet in a battle, and an epiphany and the hot blood of the commander himself are far from enough. It requires the neat cooperation from the commander, the Chief of Staff, the captains and chief mates of the starships, every soldier, and even the mechanics in the engine compartment in order to carry out a brand-new tactic.

“The fluent and flawless tactics that they demonstrated yesterday couldn’t have been improvised at all and used for the first time. It must’ve been trained repeatedly in drills. They came fully prepared. That was how they accomplished what they accomplished.

“The communication system from the Nether World Sector involved some very ancient communication magical equipment, which must’ve been installed in secret during the last year, too.

“He secretly prepared an intact comprehensive supply starship and tremendous assets that were enough to support a space jump. He also recruited a large batch of subordinates who had the destiny of space pirates on their shoulders and were unwilling to be curbed by the notions of army, law, or country… All the work couldn’t have been done overnight. He must’ve spent years if not decades on the preparation.

“The drill last year was the last step of his whole scheme. Who knows where he took the Big Bai Fleet, what kind of subjects they trained themselves in, and what else they did?”

Li Yao and Ding Lingdang looked at each other and asked at the same time, “So, Boss Bai learned a lot of things several years ago? That’s unbelievable. How could he have seen it coming?”

Bai Kaixin shook his head and hesitated. Looking at the door, he said, “Supposedly, a certain person can tell us the answer, but…”

Jin Xinyue opened the door and walked into the room at this moment.

The Black Wind Fleet had been defeated, and the federation had seized the initiative. Demons had greatly distinguished themselves in the battle.

Although the ‘wormhole bomb’ had failed to directly teleport Black Swirl to a distant alien world, it did heavily damage the flagship of the Black Wind Fleet and create advantageous conditions for the thunderous strikes of Li Yao, Boss Bai, and the rest of them.

Eighty percent of the ‘Dim Moon Plan’ had worked out, and demons had truly played an irreplaceable role in the battle that marked the rise of the federation. Jin Xinyue’s own innocence had been proved, and the fatal mistakes that she had made were perfectly rectified. She should have been jumping in joy or at least chuckling at the fact that her scheme had proved effective.

Jin Xinyue, however, had red and unfocused eyes. She looked so lonely and vulnerable that a gentle breeze might blow her down.

“Master…” Jin Xinyue called him pitifully in the voice of a chicken, and tears were rolling inside her eyes.

Li Yao was immediately at a loss.

What was going on? She had not been like that when Li Yao spoke to her in the communication channel earlier.

At that time, there was still thirty percent prudence, thirty percent cockiness, and thirty percent expectation of being complimented in her eyes. Pride was beaming out of her big shining eyes as if she were saying, “Look, Master. I did quite a good job in the hundred years while you were away, didn’t I?”

Ding Lingdang jabbed Li Yao in the back quietly and said to him, “Why don’t I give you a special permission to hug her and comfort your little disciple?”

“Well…” Li Yao opened his arms. “Don’t cry. You are a girl more than a hundred years old now. Whatever is troubling you, just tell your master. Your master and your masteress are in your back. We can certainly take care of anything for you.”

Before his arms really reached her, however, Jin Xinyue gave the answer while sobbing. “My—My father is gone.”

Li Yao was utterly dumbfounded and froze.

Looking at Bai Kaixin and then at Jin Xinyue, he could not help but suspect that the two of them had come intentionally to puzzle him.

Had Jin Xinyue’s father, Jin Tuyi, not been sentenced to death as a ‘war criminal’ a hundred years ago to remove the greatest obstacle for the reconciliation of demons and humans?

Although the death sentence had not really been carried out, he had been sealed with very crude hibernation technology. The deal was that he would be executed when the methods to treat his brain were found to bring back his self-awareness.

But right now, Jin Xinyue claimed that Jin Tuyi was gone. What was that supposed to mean?

“This is what happened.”

Seeing that both Li Yao and Ding Lingdang were greatly battled, Bai Kaixin hurried to explain, “When we investigated Bai Xingjian’s ‘defection’, we discovered that he sent two communication signals to the Heaven’s Origin Sector before he performed the space jump. The second signal was for me, but the first signal was launched to somewhere in the capital city.

“After we traced the signal back to the source, we discovered that it was a piece of unregistered magical equipment for secret communication. Then, somebody else was involved, one known as Jin Tuyi according to Jin Xinyue.

“Jin Xinyue has just been investigating the issue. She must’ve found something. Let her explain the facts.”

Li Yao, Ding Lingdang, and Bai Kaixin all looked at Jin Xinyue, full of questions.

Seeing Jin Xinyue’s sorrowful face, Li Yao immediately realized part of the truth. “Jin Tuyi woke up from the hibernation state and regained the ability to think long ago?”

Jin Xinyue nodded first but then shook her head. Looking at Li Yao carefully, she bit her lips and said, “He did wake up from the hibernation, but I never knew that he had completely recovered his thinking ability. I thought that his brains were still severely damaged.”

“What exactly happened?” Li Yao asked suspiciously.

“Eighty-six years into his hibernation state, humans and demons had long reached an accord,” Jin Xinyue said. “Also, with the participation of the new worlds and the approaching expedition army of the Imperium, the old grudge between the Heaven’s Origin Sector and the Blood Demon Sector was gradually forgotten. The outcome of the old ‘war criminal’ was no longer at the center of public attention.

“Or rather, few people even remembered that such an ancient hibernation cabin was still in the dustiest, darkest corner of the warehouse of hibernators.

“Of course, I would never forget my father.

“As my position in the federation rose stably and the power of the Dim Moon Fund further expanded, and also because Director Guo of the Secret Sword Bureau kept in touch with me in secret, I was very tempted to get him out, seeing that everybody had forgotten him.

“Since the first-generation hibernation technology was adopted on him, and he used the identity as an ‘experiment subject’ to trade for his temporary exemption from execution, a lot of faults happened during the hibernation process. Most of his body parts were broken due to freezing.

“Taking advantage of the point, and by pulling strings, I finally shipped him out stealthily and sent him to someone trustworthy for treatment and modification. In the end, his brains were removed from the incomplete, unfunctional body and installed into an artificial body after necessary adjustment. Parts of his wisdom and movement were recovered.

“Although he could not return to the state of the commander-in-chief of the coalition army of demons and was nothing more than a silly old man, I was already very satisfied. I didn’t ask for much other than spending some time with my father to talk with him.”

Li Yao frowned. “This is a very clandestine issue. Where exactly did you send him for the procedures of brain treatment and modification?”

“Deep Blue Super Brain Hospital in Hundred Flowers City,” Jin Xinyue replied.

“What!” Li Yao jumped to his feet immediately.