Chapter 95: Thank You
After what had happened that year to the Marshal, who had gone missing after the war and had been accused of dereliction of duty, the trial conference, which was claimed to be open to the entire Empire, had, in reality, except for the ten-minute video that Deng Xi had seen, the rest of the conference’s content had been hidden by the royal family, leaving a blank black screen.
Besides the dozen or so people who had been at the conference that year, no one knew what had happened in the latter part of the conference.
The final verdict of the trial was also not known to the public. It was only briefly mentioned that the Marshal was an alien, and that his disappearance was due to severe injuries and the need for treatment.
This trial conference had ended just like that.
No one had explained why the Empire had lost the war, and who was to bear the responsibility for the lives that had been lost in the war.
At that time, the official accounts of the royal family and the military had been almost completely overrun by the public. But as time passed, fewer and fewer people mentioned it.
But now, the former Elder, as if his memory was in a state of confusion, had suddenly told everyone that the verdict of the trial conference that year was not the Marshal, nor the military, but the Council of Elders, which seemed to have nothing to do with this matter.
Under the top headlines, everyone was discussing—[Help, the more I think about it, the more my hair stands on end. Wasn’t the trial conference that year discussing why the Empire had lost the war? Didn’t everyone think that it was because the Marshal had transformed into a Jiaoren and, after he had lost consciousness, we were completely annihilated by the Federation because there was no one to command? But look at the verdict. Is it possible that the Council of Elders was the biggest responsible party? Otherwise, why would the royal family have ruled like that?]
[Otherwise, why would the Elder have the Council of Elders pay compensation to the people who had died in the military? And look at his last few sentences. Why did he have to apologize “on their behalf”? Why did he have to emphasize that “I” paid the compensation for them?]
[I always feel that those verdicts were not for us to see, and the last few sentences were not for us either.]
[Then who was he talking to? The dead?]
[I can only say that a person with a clear conscience has nothing to fear.]
…
The adjutant hung up the communication and then called the secretary-general back. “The Marshal’s meaning is to go and check where the Elder went yesterday. The rest, I’ll leave it to you to handle.”
After the secretary-general had gotten the news in the middle of the night, he had rushed to the military and political building. He asked nervously, “What is the Marshal’s attitude?”
The adjutant said cheerfully, “Don’t let the popularity die down. Whether we can win this battle or not depends on you.”
After the secretary-general had gotten a definite answer, he anxiously sent out an urgent summons.
The adjutant, on the other hand, was a little excited and lay back down. He had been begged by the secretary-general, and had braced himself to make this communication to the Marshal in the middle of the night. This time, even if he had to do extra training for a month, it would be worth it!
He, a big oaf who only knew how to use a gun, didn’t understand anything about the twists and turns of public opinion on the star network.
The adjutant had not slept all night, and had been refreshing the star network over and over again.
·
After Si Jisheng had finished dealing with the matter at hand, he no longer looked at his comm. He had coaxed the Deng Xi, who had been insisting on kissing, to sleep, and then rubbed his brow, seriously checking the progress of the convention’s issuance, the data from various fields that had been uploaded back to the headquarters from various stars, and making new revisions.
He had not slept all night.
When Deng Xi woke up, he dazedly rubbed his cheek against the waist he was pressed against, and opened his eyes in a daze. He saw that the little mute, just like before he had gone to sleep, was still half-leaning against the head of the bed, staring at his terminal.
The little merman’s voice was filled with a sleepy stickiness. “Didn’t Little Mute sleep?”
Si Jisheng avoided the question. “Morning.”
He wiped the tears that had overflowed from the corners of Deng Xi’s eyes because he had just woken up.
Deng Xi had a gut feeling that something was wrong. He shook his head, not being fooled. “How can Little Mute not sleep!” He was both angry and anxious. “You’ll get sick like this. You can’t not rest no matter how busy you are.”
Si Jisheng paused for a moment.
Deng Xi blinked his eyes, as if he would wait forever if the other party didn’t agree.
Si Jisheng had no choice but to seriously guarantee to Deng Xi, “I promise, there won’t be a next time.”
They made a pinky promise.
Before he got out of bed, Deng Xi couldn’t help but tug at the corner of the little mute’s clothes. He pursed his lips and stammered, “Is there no…” he stammered, “no good morning kiss?”
He knelt up on the bed and met the little mute’s gaze.
Si Jisheng propped himself up on the bed, bent down, and slowly closed his eyes. Deng Xi was stunned for a moment. The silver Jiaoren had waited for a long time and, imitating the little merman, tilted his head in confusion.
Only then did Deng Xi slowly and actively move closer and place a kiss on the eyelid of the little mute who was waiting for a kiss, on his tired brow.
He would give the good morning kiss.
At night, it would be the little mute’s turn to kiss.
He had remembered!
He washed up, had a meal, took his juice cup and flying chair, and in less than half an hour, Deng Xi was taken to the military and political building. The flying ship had just arrived at the top floor. Before he could enter, a person suddenly rushed up in front of them.
“It must be you! It must be your doing!”
A cane was raised high, pointing straight at Deng Xi.
His blue eyes widened in an instant. Faced with the sudden, sharp wind, Deng Xi closed his eyes tightly. His ears seemed to have become very quiet in an instant. After a long while, the little merman quietly opened his eyes.
Si Jisheng stood calmly in place, and the cold muzzle of his gun was pressed against the Elder’s forehead with a strange speed. He didn’t even let Deng Xi hide behind him. His silver eyes were sharp, and he silently met the ashen-faced and ugly-looking Elder’s gaze.
Behind the Elder were several wary members of the Council of Elders.
Deng Xi cautiously moved behind the little mute. He poked his little head out without much fear and observed his surroundings.
The adjutant arrived in the next instant, cursed in a low voice, and said angrily, “Marshal, this group of bastards came up on their own. We couldn’t stop them.”
Si Jisheng did not say a word and was in a stalemate with the Elder for a moment. Without any warning, he put on the safety.
Only then did the Elder resentfully withdraw his cane, holding his breath, and retreated step by step. He had passed out due to the effects of the drug after he had sent those few messages. It wasn’t until morning that he had been woken up by his biological clock. The moment he had opened his comm, it was a flood of news.
The messages had been deleted by the other members of the Council of Elders who had noticed that something was wrong after he had sent them.
The moment he saw the screenshot, the Elder broke out in a cold sweat. How could he, because he felt guilty and was afraid of retaliation, send a message in the middle of the night to offer compensation, so that those who had died and their families could, according to the verdict of the trial conference, seek revenge for their grievances and avenge their hatred?
He had completely cleared himself of any responsibility.
It was definitely the problem with that sentence.
In his anger, the Elder had driven his flying ship to the military. Faced with that dark muzzle, he finally regained his composure and said through gritted teeth, “You have your ways.”
“This time, it is indeed the Council of Elders that has lost. But what does that matter?” The Elder once again became a strategist. His old voice was extremely slow. “The complete video of the trial conference is in the hands of the royal family and us, who were responsible for recording it. No one can prove that your Jiaoren transformation on the battlefield three years ago was not out of instinct, but because you were drugged.”
He lowered his voice and, while coughing, said, “Weren’t all those who had tampered with things in the Council of Elders back then dealt with? What else does the military want? Do you have to let this scandal be known to everyone and make the Empire a laughingstock in the galaxy?!”
Si Jisheng unhurriedly withdrew the hand that was holding the gun and said concisely, “There are still some fish that have escaped the net.”
Every word was meaningful.
The Elder’s face instantly turned a mixture of green and white. The adjutant led the soldiers forward and, with a signal from the Marshal, made a gesture of invitation.
The members of the Council of Elders left in a sorry state, like defeated dogs.
Si Jisheng clenched his hands and pulled Deng Xi out from behind him. He said in a low voice, “Don’t be afraid.”
Deng Xi nodded vigorously.
Just as he stepped onto the top floor, the secretary-general came up to him with a document. The group of them walked in a hurry. Deng Xi was being led and could only run to keep up.
The secretary-general said quickly, “Marshal, we’ve found it. The Elder went to the Martyrs’ Cemetery yesterday after he left the military.”
Si Jisheng asked in return, “What do you think?”
The secretary-general: “Even if it’s exposed, this plan is not feasible.” He said quickly, “The Council of Elders is already manipulating public opinion. When they come back to their senses, they will probably use this point to completely clear the Elder of this matter.”
He might even get a good reputation for caring for the martyrs.
Si Jisheng said in a cold voice, “But they can’t explain the existence of those few verdicts.” He glanced at the secretary-general, suddenly stopped his steps, and after a long while, nodded his head in a signal.
The secretary-general immediately understood. “Yes.”
The newly built giant pool was filled with seawater and sparkled under the camera. A dim silver-tail suddenly flashed past the camera, followed by a black-haired “merman” who had broken through the water.
In front of the camera was an ordinary human face. He looked at the camera, his expression numb. “You’ve all seen it. I have a Jiaoren’s fish tail, but I’m not an alien. I’m a human.”
His tone carried a deep hatred. “I am a Jiaoren who was created by a human experiment in the research institute.”
But he had been willing. He had voluntarily signed that agreement. After his fish tail and his upper body had been successfully synthesized, that group of researchers had begun to use his genes to research a potion. But they had never been able to find a chance to use it. The potion had been developed, but it could only be left to collect dust.
He had been sent out in the middle of the night. The Marshal had also been in District A at that time. He had sneaked in from the seabed, but had run into a silver Jiaoren who had lost his human consciousness after his Jiaoren transformation.
The people who had been sent to monitor him had all died under the silver Jiaoren’s sharp claws, and he had escaped with his life because of this similar fish tail.
Humans were greedy.
He had signed that contract for money, but he had regretted to find that the process of the experiment had made him wish he were dead and had completely deprived him of his freedom.
This was a good opportunity.
He had sneaked into the deep sea of District A, hidden his tracks, and tried to find a chance to go ashore again and return to the human world. He had a lot of money, a fortune that he could never squander.
Finally, he had avoided the members of the research institute, who had not dared to search on a large scale, and was preparing to leave this ocean when he had discovered in despair that he could no longer grow human legs.
He could never go ashore and could only stay in the ocean.
The black-haired merman did not dare to contact his relatives and friends. As long as his whereabouts were exposed, neither the military nor the Council of Elders would let him off.
He was like an insect that was only fit to live in the dark. He did not dare to see the light, and he had forever lost the ability to run towards the light.
A year, two years… he couldn’t count how long had passed.
He had completely lost touch with human society.
The black-haired merman faced the camera. “Back then, the research institute stole the Marshal’s Jiaoren genes and created me. Oh no, it’s the Jiaoren me.”
He didn’t want to hide anymore.
“They used me to develop a potion that targeted the Jiaoren genes, which made the Marshal go berserk on the battlefield three years ago.” He said in a breakdown, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I really didn’t expect the consequences to be so serious, that so many people would die.”
The lives of hundreds of thousands of people had cast a shadow over the Empire for three years. But now, it was time for them to stand in the light again.
The black-haired merman covered his face, and his eyes, which were filled with red blood vessels, were exposed between his fingers. He was about to go crazy and, purely on instinct, said, “The military is innocent. The real traitors are me, me! The research institute!! The Council of Elders!!!”
He roared neurotically.
He was the real deserter.
They were the traitors who had killed countless people.
“Don’t you try to get yourself out of this, Elder. Have you forgotten? I was also your student back then. I could have graduated from the Imperial Military Academy like everyone else and stood on the battlefield with my brothers.”
Standing in the sun.
“You were the one who said that my physical fitness was so good, that I would definitely be able to resist the genetic experiment, and that I could also earn a large sum of money to ease the burden on my parents.”
“That’s right. I was the last one to survive the experiment, even if I was a failed product of the synthesis.”
“But I didn’t want to kill so many people either.”
“I will go and turn myself in. I will wait for you in prison.”
The camera suddenly flashed and was completely turned off.
The black-haired merman laughed and cried, and then suddenly froze in place. He looked at the secretary-general outside the camera. “I’ve said everything I need to say. Will the military really help me recover my human body?”
The secretary-general nodded. “The treatment center will set up a project team centered on you, and it won’t be until you have recovered your human legs that you will be allowed to fulfill your obligations.”
The black-haired merman paused for a moment. “How long do I have to stay in there before I can come out?”
The secretary-general glanced at the document. “Regarding the matter of stealing genes, you are not the main culprit, and you were completely unaware of the battle three years ago. You will be out soon.”
The black-haired merman was stunned for a long while before he frantically wiped his face, his excitement uncontrollable. “Then, then can I see my parents in advance?”
The secretary-general was silent for a moment. “I’m sorry.”
The black-haired merman smiled. “It’s okay.”
This was very good.
He looked up at the boundless blue sky and suddenly said in a low voice, “Can you help me say thank you to Deng Xi?”
Thank you for being willing to extend a helping hand to him without asking for anything in return, even when he knew nothing.
Thank you to the Marshal for giving him a chance, for Deng Xi’s sake.
