FT DR Chapter 140: Ambition Revealed

Chapter 140: Ambition Revealed

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

“Seiling Military Harbor’s loss of contact, can we assume that Popova hasn’t responded to Hannibal’s rebellion?” Wu Chenghe pondered for a moment, asking Jin Xuan, “Hannibal has blocked communication between the Third Army and the Federation, indicating that he hasn’t gained control over that area, right?”

“That’s possible,” Jin Xuan agreed with his speculation. “So Latika took the risk of intercepting the medical ship. She wanted to take Chen Miaomiao away to blackmail Popova. After all, Popova and Chen Zhen only have this one son. They can’t just let him go.”

“It’s all thanks to Marlow’s shot,” Wu Chenghe sighed. “If Miaomiao had really been taken away by Latika, we don’t know how much it would have cost us to rescue him. But now, we can pursue the remnants of the ‘Moon Chariot’ without any worries.”

Jin Xuan nodded, but his expression was somewhat heavy. As he peeled fruit for Wu Chenghe, he said, “One-third of the ‘Moon Chariot’ consists of naval forces injected two years ago. Even if we win this battle, there’s nothing to be happy about. After all, it’s still the loss of federal forces.”

Wu Chenghe fell silent. He understood Jin Xuan’s mood. Those warships they destroyed, the rebels they killed, were once elite troops of the Federation. Perhaps there were brothers and friends of the rebels in their fleets… And the Voyager Army, formed over hundreds of years of human effort. Both sides of the Federation’s military, now engaged in conflict due to Hannibal’s selfish desires, must have been uneasy.

“Why did Hannibal start the war at this time?” Wu Chenghe furrowed his brow and muttered to himself. “Back then, for the Second Army, he could plan meticulously for so many years. With such a big event this time, why didn’t he have the patience to deal with the Third Army first?”

“He’s running out of time,” Jin Xuan said. “He’s fifty-four years old. At this age, if a sentinel doesn’t have a guide to soothe him, his emotions will become increasingly volatile, his personality increasingly strange… In fact, from the internal messages received a year ago, he has already shown signs of mild personality disorders, even his family couldn’t stand him anymore—Lilith has been stationed at the Mulan Fleet base for the past two years, only coming home five times, two of which were when he wasn’t there.”

The last time Wu Chenghe saw the Hannibal couple was at their wedding more than two years ago. Since the Outer Ring incident, Wu Chenghe had avoided Hannibal like the plague, not even making eye contact with him at the wedding, so he hadn’t noticed his abnormal behavior.

Even if he wasn’t abnormal, Lilith probably wouldn’t want to see him either. After all, the Lancer General died by his hand. Wu Chenghe thought for a moment, then asked Jin Xuan, “Internal messages? NTU agents? Does Hannibal show signs of a manic breakdown?”

“Internal messages from the president, Jin Zhe’s people,” Jin Xuan said. “Jin Zhe’s people have entered his medical team. From the intelligence sent back a year ago, Hannibal has shown signs of personality splitting and his temper has become more and more narrow-minded. His secretary Yuna has privately arranged multiple meetings with the medical team, asking them to find ways to control Hannibal’s changes and reduce the side effects of the stabilizers.”

Wu Chenghe remembered the well-equipped small pharmacy in the Gabriel apartment and couldn’t understand. “He’s so concerned about maintenance, using custom-made stabilizers for years, why is his stability worse than an ordinary sentinel’s? Jin Zhe is sixty-two this year, and there doesn’t seem to be any major mental issues.”

“It might be related to personal physique and genetic inheritance, as well as spiritual beliefs,” Jin Xuan said. “Black-and-chestnut eagle sentinels have clear goals and firm convictions, but their patience and stability are relatively poor, which is different from Barbary lion cub sentinels. In fact, Jin Zhe has also undergone some changes, but they’re not very obvious. He often tells me that he’s not as calm as he used to be. He might make impulsive decisions one day. Oh, I didn’t believe it much before, but now he even started the ‘Successor Act’ for Mu…” Jin Xuan suddenly realized something and glanced nervously at Wu Chenghe.

Wu Chenghe had just finished eating a hot dog and took a sip of water, looking at him with a cold gaze. Jin Xuan chuckled dryly and avoided his gaze, saying, “Well, keeping it from you was wrong of me, but the situation was too dangerous at the time, and you were so weak. I didn’t dare let you know. Look at you now, everything’s settled, everyone’s safe, and you don’t have to worry for nothing.”

Wu Chenghe was furious. “Is this a trivial matter? No wonder you’ve been avoiding letting me touch your consciousness lately, pretending to be busy and not having time to come back to sleep… And you dared to hide such a big thing about Dean Mu from me! What’s this about ‘for my own good’ and ‘for the sake of my health’? Does that mean I don’t need to care about what’s happening outside anymore? Should I just obediently stay behind you and listen to you alone? Am I still an adult, am I still an independent person? Am I not even qualified to inquire about the life and death of my family? What if something happens to Dean Mu? Do you expect me to wait until after I give birth to our child before you take me to his grave to pay respects?”

Jin Xuan, with a sullen expression, let him vent, but suddenly brightened at the second half of his sentence. “Family? Did you say he’s your family?”

Wu Chenghe was speechless, realizing that he had made the same mistake as Jin Xuan since his pregnancy. Helpless, he admitted, “Yes, he’s related to me by blood. I had his blood sample taken two years ago for a DNA comparison. He should be my uncle.”

“Oh!” Jin Xuan’s eyes widened. “You didn’t tell me such a big thing! Why is that? Are you afraid I’ll tell Jin Zhe? You don’t trust me? My brain is open to you, yet you don’t trust me! If I had known he was your uncle, I would have discussed it with you first…”

“Is it all my fault?!” Wu Chenghe was amazed at Jin Xuan’s twisting ability. He interrupted him, angrily saying, “So you hid it from me because I hid something from you, is that it?”

Jin Xuan fell silent, meeting his gaze for a moment, then a lazy smile crept onto his lips. “Well, let’s call it even this time, shall we? You also have your faults, don’t you?”

Wu Chenghe glared at him for a long time, finding that he couldn’t refute that statement. His anger dissipated instantly. With his index finger tapping out each word from between his teeth, he said, “No, more, next time!”

“There mustn’t be!” Jin Xuan dodged a bullet, deeply grateful for the saintly fragment in his wife’s genes. He handed over the fruit that had been cut and wagged his tail, hoping for acceptance with a smile. “Alright, halftime break, let’s eat some fruit. Eating more fruit makes your skin fairer.”

“…Am I not fair enough?” Wu Chenghe felt heartbroken, almost like a weakling victim!

“I’m talking about our third son.” Jin Xuan said, “Fair and tender, just like a daughter. Didn’t you want a loli like Zhuang Zhuang?”

“…Is this really his biological father?” Wu Chenghe couldn’t understand his mentality of being afraid his son won’t be effeminate enough. But thinking about how his old man used to have long hair and ear piercings, neither male nor female, everything seemed to make sense. However, the hot dog he had just eaten seemed to be coming back up. He took a deep breath and told himself not to dwell on these details. “You don’t need to worry about the child. Let’s continue discussing the topic of war.”

Jin Xuan was very cooperative, wearing an expression that invited abuse, “Talking about it is too tiring. Anyway, there are no more secrets now. Why don’t you enter my consciousness? You haven’t reviewed my mind for a long time, and I’m starting to feel strange.”

“…No, I don’t want to know too much about you.” Wu Chenghe refused to connect to his memory area. Although this method was convenient and fast, Jin Xuan’s mind was too cluttered. His views on art and sex were mental pollution to him. He didn’t want to be the first guide to die from sentinel mental contamination. That would be too pathetic. “You said Hannibal has a personality disorder. Didn’t any of his subordinates notice? By declaring independence so recklessly, without even subduing the Third Army, did no one question him?”

“Of course, some did, but very few, and they were all suppressed by him.” Jin Xuan opened his personal terminal and projected a holographic video. “This video was broadcast through a virus to the federal network shortly after he declared independence. But the Federal Information Center intercepted it in time, and it didn’t spread widely. Only the military and political sectors have archived it.”

Wu Chenghe’s brow twitched. In the video, Hannibal still exuded the same tall, heroic, serious, and stern demeanor as before, wearing the black uniform of the Voyager Army. However, the shoulder patch of “General” had been removed, replaced by a pair of lion heads, probably a shoulder patch he designed for himself as “Supreme Leader”. Behind him was a huge relief of a double-winged lion, black background, golden lines, solemn and majestic. However, the original “the Voyager Army” logo at the bottom had been changed to “Far Voyage Empire”.

“Soldiers of the Empire, citizens, I am the Supreme Leader Hannibal Simpson, greeting you from the capitol of Gabriel, the seat of the Empire.” Hannibal’s voice was deep and textured, with a faint metallic clang, exuding a kind of solemn dignity that wasn’t as approachable as Jin Zhe’s. Instead, it had a kind of awe-inspiring majesty. “When you see this video, the great Far Voyage Empire has already been established. We, the former First and Third Armies of the Voyager Army, hereby declare our secession from the Federation and establish a new great nation! The decadent federal government has long ceased to protect the collective interests of humanity. Traditional democracy and freedom only hasten the decline of humanity, and cheap equality is hindering the progress of human evolution. Humanity can only move towards the universe, dominate the universe under the leadership of powerful sentinels!”

Wu Chenghe was dumbfounded. No matter how lofty and righteous Hannibal’s words sounded, they couldn’t conceal his core essence—elitism, racism, dictatorship… Jin Zhe was right; he was the Hitler of the new era under the Dunkirk Federation!

In the video, Hannibal continued to expound passionately, from human genetic fusion to sentinel evolution, and then enumerated the incompetence and cowardice of the federal government over the past three hundred years. Each president was described as a puppet of the decaying forces. The cabinet and parliament were depicted as tools of the aristocracy and the financial conglomerates. And the Voyager Army was portrayed as “pioneers of evolution” who were persecuted by the old forces but were eager to lead humanity forward.

President Jin Zhe was also among those criticized, but Hannibal wisely refrained from accusing him of “weakness and incompetence.” Instead, he attacked his personal integrity—his brother had marked a guide without permission, yet he hadn’t received the punishment he deserved. Instead, he successfully whitewashed his way to becoming a fleet captain! Jin Zhe himself was shameless; on the surface, he claimed to be an individualist, but in private, he protected the Dean of the Aston Medical College, “raising” guides for himself.

It must be said that Hannibal’s blow was extremely accurate. Wu Chenghe and Jin Xuan indeed found loopholes in the “Guide Protection Act.” Although they hadn’t broken the law, speaking about it out loud wasn’t exactly honorable. As for Jin Zhe and Mu, their story was too legendary. Even if every link was legal and traceable, it inevitably aroused speculation. The power of gossip was truly terrifying.

Hannibal was indeed adept at stirring up emotions. Although his approach differed from Jin Zhe’s, the effect was equally cutting.

Hannibal’s final blow to the federal government was about guides, “Sentinels represent the highest stage of human evolution. Only sentinels can lead humanity towards a more glorious future. But due to the federal government’s incompetence and ignorance, guides have been almost exterminated over the past two hundred years, leading to sentinels having a lifespan of less than half that of ordinary humans! After the implementation of the Guide Protection Act, the federal government attempted to remedy this, but their focus was completely wrong. They gave guides too many rights and freedoms, completely ignoring the interests of sentinels! Especially President Jin Zhe, who even supported schools in conducting aggressive education towards guides, allowing them to enter professional fields, almost elevating their status to that of equals with sentinels!”

“This is simply outrageous!” In the holographic projection, Hannibal’s veins bulged on his forehead, his eyes mad and persistent. “Tolerance alone will not bring us more guides; it will only make existing guides ambitious, trying to replace and control sentinels! In order to prevent humanity from perishing, in order to ensure the absolute leadership of sentinels over all humanity, our new empire will enact laws to forcibly increase the birth rate of guides! Our scientists have already developed relevant drugs that can greatly increase the number of guides through embryo interference in a short period of time. Our educators are developing a more perfect guide education system to cultivate the best assistants and the most docile mates for sentinels!”

Wu Chenghe watched the video in shock, unable to express his feelings in words anymore. Has Hannibal transmigrated from Hitler? He actually wanted to raise guides, his own kind, as pets!

Forced breeding, forced education, forced assistance… This was worse than the Holocaust!

As Hannibal continued to speak, Wu Chenghe was in a daze, not hearing clearly. He only heard Hannibal suddenly raise his voice and say, “I, Hannibal Simpson, will lead this great empire, along with the elites of all humanity, towards a more glorious future!” Then the video ended.

“Madman!” After a long time, Wu Chenghe trembled his lips and said, completely infuriated. “Jin Xuan, you’re right. He’s gone mad, not just with a personality disorder, but completely insane! He’s not even human; he can’t even be bothered to pretend!”

Jin Xuan sensed his anger through their consciousness connection, afraid of harming the fetus, and kept comforting him by rubbing his palm. “Don’t be angry, don’t get excited. If you keep doing this, I won’t dare to tell you anything next time.”

Wu Chenghe took a deep breath, hinting to himself to calm down. “Is Hannibal out of his mind? With such extreme racial rhetoric, isn’t he afraid of causing public resistance?”

“His mind may be a bit off, but he’s still very smart,” Jin Xuan said. “He knows very well how to win over the majority. You should know that now, nearly half of the soldiers in the Voyager Army are sentinels, among which only two thousand have guides. By expressing these views, he effectively turns this half of the soldiers into his loyal supporters. As for those two thousand guides, they were originally docile assistants. Even if they voice out, no one will hear them. As for the rest of the ordinary people, Hannibal has already classified them as second-class citizens, under the category of ‘to be led.’ He simply doesn’t care about their opinions. If anyone dares to speak out, sentinels will spontaneously crush them.”

Pausing for a moment, he solemnly said, “Whoever holds the gun has the final say. Hannibal controls the war machine. At least within the Voyager Army, no one will question his policies.”

Wu Chenghe fell silent. Jin Xuan was stating the facts. People were selfish, and sentinels were no different. No one was willing to give up half their lives to gain domesticated guides. Most sentinels would support Hannibal. Suddenly, he thought of a terrifying possibility and couldn’t help but shiver. “If this video were leaked, would it cause a shock to the Federation?”

Jin Xuan didn’t want to admit it, but he had to nod. “Although the proportion of sentinels in the Federation is not as high as in the Voyager Army, the population base is large, and the number may be even higher. The Information Center intercepted this video in time and didn’t let it spread out, just to stabilize the situation. Fortunately, the sentinels in the Federation are dispersed in various industries, not just in the military, making them easier to control and less likely to cause a mutiny in the army.”

“But it’s only a matter of time before something like this gets out, isn’t it?” Wu Chenghe asked worriedly, “And Hannibal definitely won’t just sit back. He’ll think of other ways to shake the loyalty of the Federal Legion.”

“That’s why Jin Zhe made that speech,” Jin Xuan said. “His words can somewhat rally the troops, and the cabinet and parliament are also planning follow-up actions. Although Hannibal talks big, he actually doesn’t have much in his hands. The embryo interference agent is still in the hands of the Federation. Once this news is made public, his lies will be exposed—why would he besiege the research starship if he truly had the interference agent?”

“Technical matters are secondary.” As a guide, Wu Chenghe always thought more about guides. “Hannibal proposed legislation to forcibly breed guides. This concept will definitely resonate with some sentinels. Now is a time of war. If radical sentinel factions were to propose similar suggestions to the parliament, the future of guides… is worrying.”

“Jin Zhe and the cabinet will handle this,” Jin Xuan comforted him. “The same thing can be handled differently. While Hannibal wants to control reproduction through dictatorship, we can encourage it through democracy. After all, the majority of the population are ordinary people. At any time, people are more accepting of a free and relaxed environment. No one wants to live under terror.”

His comforting words made sense, and Wu Chenghe felt slightly calmer. Jin Xuan continued, “The deed is done. We can only deal with it as it comes. We are soldiers. As long as we fulfill our duties, political matters will be handled by Jin Zhe and the others. We don’t even account for one-tenth of their expertise in this area.”

“Each to their own profession,” Wu Chenghe nodded. Jin Xuan reached out and pulled him into his embrace, gently rubbing his chin against his head. “It’s just going to be hard on you. Next, we’ll have to pursue the remnants of Latika’s rebels together.”

“Yeah, it’s our duty. Even if you didn’t say it, I would still go. I’m a soldier too,” Wu Chenghe was already accustomed to fighting and didn’t find it tiring. He sighed contentedly, nestled against Jin Xuan’s chest, “I’m just worried about Marlow… He didn’t do anything wrong, he just ended up with a crazy father.”

“Everything will be done according to the superior’s orders,” Jin Xuan said. “Don’t express any opinions on this matter. In times like these, be careful of people using your identity against you.”

“I know,” Wu Chenghe could only keep a low profile at times like this. Fortunately, he was just an adopted son, officially under Hannibal’s name for less than four years and had only lived with him for less than six months. There wasn’t much to exploit.

The two of them embraced each other quietly for a while. Then, Jin Xuan’s right palm trembled—a signal from his secretary came in with a war report. The fleet from the Starbreaker was about to join them. Jin Xuan helped the drowsy Wu Chenghe into bed and tucked him in.

“What’s wrong?” Wu Chenghe asked groggily.

Jin Xuan replied softly, “The Starbreaker will join us in half an hour to escort the medical ship and the families of the Star Core back to the Tianque Spaceport. Rest for a while, then go see Chen Miaomiao and comfort him. Later, I’ll have the Starbreaker take him back to Tianque.”

“Mmm,” Wu Chenghe was too tired and quickly fell back asleep.

Jin Xuan set the alarm clock for half an hour later and quietly left the main cabin, standing at the doorway with a sigh. If possible, he didn’t want Wu Chenghe to accompany him to the front lines. After all, the child was due in three months, and if they couldn’t return to Tianque in time, the baby would have to be born on the fleet. But the Federation was in a crisis, and as the Alpha Front’s guardians, he had no choice but to step up. His full-time doctor also had to step up.

“Ah!” Jin Xuan sighed again. In retrospect, the timing of this child’s arrival was really not ideal…

 

 

 

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