Chapter 177: Come to Me
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“Zerg had always been humanity’s greatest enemy. Before the Ark Fleet split, all humans had stood together, shoulder to shoulder, fighting against the Zerg.
Human morality and nobility were etched among the stars, leaving tears for future generations to mourn. But today, that old enemy had returned, slaughtering our people and destroying our homes. Tears could serve as tribute, but they could not kill a powerful foe.
Humanity must once again join hands, using burning blood and courage to drive out the Zerg and save our loved ones and friends.
I hereby declared, in the name of the Marion Empire’s Emperor, that the Imperial army was fully prepared and set out for the frontlines. The warriors’ blades would be aimed at every single Zerg.”
He didn’t utter a word condemning the rebels or the alliance, yet his speech stirred anger and disgust among the people toward them.
“The rebels and the alliance were so ungrateful. Didn’t they ever think that if they wiped out the Imperial now, their own people—who had never fought the Zerg—wouldn’t last long?”
“Yeah. If it weren’t for the First Legion holding the Zerg back on their home planet, the rebels and the alliance wouldn’t have had the chance to grow strong.”
“That’s like biting the hand that feeds you.”
“Please, I beg the rebels and alliance—stop causing chaos now. If this keeps up, humanity will be the first to perish.”
“Imperial may be a mess, but it still had some use. Besides, the mess was caused by those before us. Now all we can do is acknowledge and apologize; history can’t be changed. Maybe we should be more lenient toward Imperial.”
“The alliance also stood up earlier to accuse Imperial of fabricating history. That’s probably just political propaganda. People’s hearts are so treacherous.”
The invasion war had barely begun. Imperial reinforcements hadn’t reached the front yet, and the Zerg still fed on human flesh in the Long Whale Region. It was still unknown whether Imperial could successfully resolve this crisis, but public perception of Imperial had already turned once more.
The rebels and alliance went from being seen as whistleblowers to cunning opportunists, their reputation plummeting. Support for Imperial surged again. What a dramatic reversal of fortunes. What a twisted distortion of right and wrong.
On the third day after Lin Xu arrived in the northern hemisphere of Haven, he witnessed the public opinion inside the Imperial flip.
Over the past two days, with Brumer’s help, Rita had reached an agreement with a laboratory willing to provide experimental weapons, and Lin Xu was put in charge of weapon deployment.
Some people looked at Lin Xu’s face and seemed to recall the notorious Lin Xu who had been the prime suspect in a high-profile noble family murder case within Imperial, who had since fled and was at the top of Imperial’s wanted list.
But Haven wouldn’t harbor Imperial criminals—at least, not under the watch of the censor board chairman Brumer. For now, everyone set aside their doubts and followed Lin Xu’s commands.
They once again felt this Lin Xu wasn’t the same man who was on trial. That other Lin Xu was just an ordinary Earth scholar, while this one was well-versed in tactics, weapon deployment, and the Zerg. He moved with agility and might be a retired officer from the well-defended Florence front.
Lin Xu mobilized land-based orbital cannons, electromagnetic bombs, and laser beam weapons to build a fire blockade in front of the Wuyun Mountains in the northern hemisphere.
The space-based missile system unleashed fierce firepower but couldn’t kill all the Zerg, so Lin Xu used it like a long whip to drive the Zerg, controlling their landing points outside the atmosphere and steering them toward uninhabited areas.
A bionic android research base provided androids for transport and security to maintain the stability of the fire blockade. Drones from the front lines sent back reports: Zerg and android corpses piled up before the mountains, forming another scorched hill.
Yet beyond the blockade, cities were still being destroyed, and most people forced to flee by aircraft were chased and shot down by Zerg mid-escape. Only about one-fifth managed to escape successfully, including survivors temporarily rescued on ocean islands.
Far away in the Crescent District, people boasted of Imperial’s achievements as an important force resisting the Zerg. Yet the Imperial army still hadn’t arrived in the Long Whale Region to save its people.
“Alfred is really lucky,” Lin Xu muttered, sitting alone in the temporary command room, talking to Heinrich. After three days of nonstop intense work, dark circles shadowed his eyes. The northern hemisphere communication system still worked. Over these days, Lin Xu had found ways to reconnect with Heinrich.
“Why do you say that?” Heinrich asked.
Lin Xu snorted. “Just as our revelations began to take effect, the Zerg showed up, giving him enough reason to restore Imperial’s prestige. He can then smear the Dawn Front and the alliance again.
“Even if the war is eventually lost, the Imperial people will just shift their complaints onto the Dawn Front and the alliance, weep over Imperial’s suffering, and rekindle their loyalty.
“Maybe it’s not just luck—Alfred probably seized the opportunity and carefully planned the propaganda campaign.”
He pressed his temple. “Enough about that. How’s the situation at the Michael’s Sword defense line?”
“The battle was complicated,” Heinrich said. “Both Michael’s Sword and the alliance forces were fighting the Zerg simultaneously—and each other. They hadn’t agreed to first unite to eliminate the Zerg. Before taking Michael’s Sword, we’d have to deal with the Zerg surrounding the defense line.”
Lin Xu pondered this. “That would take too long. Haven’s weapons and equipment can’t hold out that long.”
Haven wasn’t originally a habitable planet. The Zerg had destroyed part of the planet’s climate control systems. The remaining 66% still worked at full capacity, barely maintaining the planet’s stable weather.
If the system’s integrity dropped below 30%, humans would no longer be able to operate on the surface. Rapid swings between extreme heat and cold, violent thunderstorms, and intense radiation would severely impair human activity and physiology.
“Maybe… maybe we can use the spacetime rift again,” Lin Xu suggested.
Heinrich asked, “The alliance has nearly a thousand starships in battle. Do you have enough energy to support that?”
Lin Xu fell into thought, his eyelashes fluttering slightly. After a moment, he said, “I’ll definitely need to use gravitational lensing to expand the rift. As long as the chosen star’s energy is sufficient, my powers can work.
“Have Marshal Meng send me a fleet size estimate. I’ll ask Brumer if there are any suitable stars or pulsars. Whether this is feasible depends on the calculations from the data.”
“Understood.” Heinrich nodded. After exchanging all their information, Lin Xu prepared to close the comms. Suddenly, Heinrich called out, “Lin Xu.”
“Hmm?” Lin Xu looked up.
“Remember to rest.”
Lin Xu smiled. “There’ll be time for that.”
Hearing this, Heinrich knew Lin Xu wasn’t likely to rest anytime soon. He opened his mouth to argue but swallowed his words, only calmly replying, “I’ll get Marshal Meng’s response as soon as possible.”
“Good.”
That same night, Brumer was jolted awake. Upon opening his eyes, he saw a dark figure standing by his desk. The blue glow from the screen below illuminated the lower half of the figure’s face, stretching the shadows in a way that looked like a ghost in a horror movie.
“Ah—”
“Dr. Lin!”
Brumer’s heart nearly jumped out of his chest. He instinctively leaned back, almost toppling over with his chair. Lin Xu steadied the chair for him. Brumer commanded the AI to turn on the office lights.
“Dr. Lin, what brings you here at this hour?”
Lin Xu got straight to the point. “The alliance forces are tied up at the Michael’s Sword line. I want to try using a quantum spacetime rift to bring them directly near Haven. Here’s the relevant data on their fleet. Do you think it’s feasible?”
Brumer took the electronic tablet and skimmed through the rough numbers. His expression shifted from startled confusion to seriousness.
“In theory, it’s possible, as long as we find stars and pulsars large enough. But teleporting an entire fleet requires more detailed data and coordinates. Will the alliance agree to provide that?”
Having the fleet data and coordinates would make a long-range interstellar strike effortless—a top secret in interstellar warfare.
“If you find a trustworthy assistant, I can guarantee they’ll provide the data,” Lin Xu answered. “We’ll do a preliminary estimate with the current data. Once we identify usable stars and pulsars in the Long Whale Region, I’ll have them produce the specific coordinates.”
“Alright,” Brumer considered. “There’s a super high-energy frequency emitter in the northern hemisphere. We should be able to use it. No need to worry about the launch.”
The Zerg attacks continued relentlessly, with the mounting casualty statistics nearly matching the number of Zerg that had surged out from their nests in the Abatis Galaxy before.
However, the Florence defense line sent back an investigation report revealing that this time, the Zerg attacked via unconventional routes. Their behavior was entirely spontaneous; they had flown all the way from the Ent Nebula to the Long Whale Region without encountering any black holes or being deliberately driven away. Experts studying the Zerg were currently investigating the cause of this unusual migration.
Imperial rescue forces had already arrived in the central Long Whale Region. Some troops were scattered to planets in the middle region that were under Zerg attack to provide aid. But it would still take time before they reached Haven, the hardest-hit area.
Thanks to emergency repairs, communication on Haven had been partially restored. Various media outlets on the planet were sending a flood of war reports back to the Imperial populace.
“Greetings, viewers. I’m Lei Ying, a reporter for Star Ocean Deep Space News, reporting to you live from the Haven frontline.”
“Behind me, a convoy is transferring civilians from Zerg-affected areas to safe zones. Since most Zerg possess flight capabilities, the convoy leader chose ground transport mode to avoid losing control of the vehicles if attacked from the air.”
Lei Ying was one of the few reporters daring enough to broadcast from the most dangerous frontline. Her livestream viewership skyrocketed, breaking the 100 million mark within half an hour.
“You can see the large patches of scorched earth not far from where I stand,” she said, standing alongside bionic android guards responsible for transport security. A few human guards patrolled with guns, alert and watchful. “The Haven Censorship Committee has gathered firepower from various laboratories across Haven to build a blockade line of weapons in front of the Wuyun Mountains, preventing the Zerg from advancing further into the survivors’ territory.”
Comments section:
[No sign of artillery fire.]
[Haven actually has heavy weapons?]
[Can’t see any Zerg either. Over in Hans’s livestream, drones are patrolling. The Zerg are everywhere—super intense.]
[Haven should have had an Imperial garrison ages ago. They say science shouldn’t be politicized, but now look—they’re begging for help.]
Lei Ying glanced at the scrolling comments and continued, “The Censorship Committee specifically chose areas with fewer Zerg nearby for the personnel transfer. During the transfer, artillery fire in this zone has been temporarily halted.”
Comments section:
[?????? Lei Ying, aren’t you in a dangerously risky spot right now?]
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