DDT - Chapter 130
Chapter 130: Interstellar ABO (15)
Admiral Derian was extremely satisfied with the crowd's reaction. This was precisely the effect he wanted!
Bit by bit, he had implicated the Yi Family in various incidents, and now, at today's press conference, he was adding fuel to the fire. No matter how powerful the Yi Family was, how could they possibly stand against the condemnation of the entire Alliance? Could they silence every single person?
For centuries, the Alliance had united to resist the Zerg in the cosmos. Yet the Yi Family had orchestrated the death of the Alliance's great general, the one who had repelled the Zerg time and time again. Admiral Chi had trustingly placed her back in the care of her compatriots, only to be met with betrayal and a death so gruesome her body was never recovered. After today's press conference, the Yi Family, murderers of Admiral Chi, would face the wrath of the entire Alliance. They would lose the power they had accumulated over a millennium. They would lose their countless riches, their ownership of the military factories—they would lose everything! At best, they would be locked away in an interstellar prison; at worst, they would be exiled into the cosmos, never to return.
Admiral Derian's heart pounded with excitement. His right hand, hidden by the amplification equipment on the table, was incessantly twisting the ring on his left index finger. He was so deep in his role that he had completely forgotten that it was his own faction, the great families, who were the true culprits behind Admiral Chi's demise, the true traitors of the Alliance.
Yi Jun was also at home, watching the military's live broadcast. This press conference was clearly orchestrated by Derian from start to finish. He carefully examined the video's embedded timestamp; it was indeed from the same day as the video he had previously seen at the military headquarters. That couldn't be faked. In other words, this bunch of old geezers had planned all of this long ago, and they had schemed against his Yi Family from the very beginning.
Yi Jun snorted coldly. He figured that the authentic video he had seen at the military headquarters, the one showing Admiral Chi's actual persecution, was also deliberately shown to him by these old men. They had probably long known that Admiral Chi was pursuing his precious daughter, and they had somehow learned that he and his wife had rejected the marriage proposal. They had calculated that since he had refused the marriage, he wouldn't intervene after her death. Showing him the video was both a test and a way to lull him into complacency.
Indeed, the Yi Family had always abided by the principle of not bothering others unless bothered first. Admiral Chi and the Yi Family had no significant ties, so after learning she had fallen victim to their treachery, Yi Jun had merely sighed a few times, lamenting that he hadn't agreed to the marriage.
The Yi Family's initial refusal of the marriage wasn't due to any old-fashioned notions about matching social status. The most important factor for Yi Jun and his wife was their daughter's feelings. They could see the affection for Yi Shuhan in Admiral Chi's actions and eyes, but their daughter was completely engrossed in mecha research and development. Her interactions with Admiral Chi showed no signs of romantic love; they seemed more like old friends or perhaps kindred spirits. If Yi Shuhan had been married off to Admiral Chi before she understood her own heart, and if she felt no love for her, wouldn't that Alpha have gotten off easy?
So, Yi Jun had only temporarily rejected Admiral Chi's request to marry Yi Shuhan. They just wanted to see if, after being refused, the Alpha pig trying to get his hands on their precious daughter would give up and find someone new, or if she would continue to wait for Yi Shuhan to come to her senses.
Naturally, Yi Jun and his wife would never speak of such domestic matters to outsiders. Only an incredibly bored person would do such a thing. Thus, those old heads of the other families hadn't thought too deeply about it.
Yi Jun logged into the military's internal network. The original video was already gone, undoubtedly destroyed by those wretched old men. Those old fools would never have imagined that Yi Shuhan would actually leave the Main Star to search for Admiral Chi's whereabouts, and that she had already succeeded.
A message from Yi Shuhan had already appeared on his light screen. Admiral Chi was safe and sound, and they would be returning to the Main Star soon. However, Admiral Chi's injuries hadn't fully healed, so they needed to keep the news of her survival quiet for the time being.
Yi Jun had the same plan. It was best to let everyone behind this jump out and gloat, lost in their daydreams, before casting them into the abyss.
The military press conference was still underway. After a reporter asked who was pulling the strings, old Admiral Derian didn't answer immediately. He tapped the light screen a couple of times. The wall behind him received the command and parted, revealing the backstage area of the conference hall. In the wide space, the wreckage of a silver-white mecha lay on the floor. The words "Divine Eagle" were still faintly visible on its chassis, along with a serial number that was hard to make out. The reporters couldn't get closer, so they all maneuvered their broadcast drones forward, vying to get a crystal-clear shot of the ruined mecha.
Parts of the mecha were scorched black, and it was covered in countless cracks. In addition, there were numerous slash marks left by the sharp forelimbs of the Zerg. The people watching the broadcast could almost hear the grating sounds from the video again, and many reflexively swallowed.
The mecha had been cleaned up slightly, but many dried, blackened bloodstains were still visible.
Sometimes, when the Zerg were numerous or particularly fierce, many mecha pilots would unfortunately perish in their encirclement. The military personnel were long accustomed to the sight of scattered limbs. To them, this was just an empty, blood-stained mecha, and it didn't evoke much feeling. But many people in the Alliance had never even seen footage of major bloodshed. In a world where horror culture was a tiny niche, most people nearly threw up at the sight of such large bloodstains on such a massive mecha. Their minds replayed the scenes they had just witnessed—the towering flames and the terrified roars of the soldiers who saw it all. Some of the more timid and emotional Omegas couldn't help but start crying sorrowfully.
Looking at the scattered pieces of mecha wreckage, the people's anger deepened. What kind of despair must Admiral Chi have felt, trapped in her mecha, watching the malfunctioning interface?!
Admiral Derian carefully studied the expressions on everyone's faces, feeling even more delighted. Once the broadcast drones had gotten their fill of shots, Derian coughed a few times to draw everyone's attention back to him.
With a sorrowful voice, Derian said, "Everyone has seen Admiral Chi's mecha. The Alliance military's mechas are all blue and black. In the entire military, only Admiral Chi's mecha was this silver-white color." The crowd subconsciously nodded, indicating they all knew this. "And as you all know, every mecha in the Alliance is developed and produced by the Yi Family's military factories." The crowd nodded again, their suspicions growing stronger.
"Many years ago, when Admiral Chi first enlisted, she was selected by the Yi Family to be a test pilot for their newest mecha models due to her exceptional physique and mental power."
Hearing this, everyone frowned. This was something they had never heard before. They only knew that for some time, Admiral Chi's mecha had always been unique and different, but they never imagined it was a test model!
"That's right. From the very beginning, Admiral Chi went into battle piloting an unfinished test mecha! After every return, the Yi Family would collect data from the test mecha to perfect their new models. Test mechas have an extremely short service life, which is why Admiral Chi's mecha was replaced so frequently."
After he finished speaking, the information slowly sank in. The press conference erupted into an uproar. The incensed reporters couldn't suppress their fury and nearly abandoned their so-called professional etiquette to stand up and curse.
Almost everyone in the Alliance watching the broadcast was so angry they were about to explode with curses. Good heavens, the great general they revered and held dear! The strongest Alpha in the Alliance! To be treated like this by the Yi Family!
Didn't this mean that for the past ten years, their Admiral Chi had been walking on a knife's edge?!
At the press conference, some of the younger, grief-stricken reporters had already begun to sob quietly.
On the distant Moon Star, in a high-class medical ward in the central city of the southern continent, Yi Shuhan watched the Star Network broadcast on the projection, gritting her teeth in anger. How could that shameless old Alpha general spew such blatant lies that twisted right and wrong!
Chi Chi was still watching! Chi Chi already had amnesia! What if Chi Chi actually believed that their Yi Family had framed her like that? What if Chi Chi thought she was targeted by the Yi Family, who deliberately gave her a so-called test mecha, and decided to never speak to her again?!
Panic began to set in Yi Shuhan's heart. She realized that ever since she had become clear about her feelings, she had grown increasingly anxious and insecure. Chi Chi's place in her heart was far too important. Although she hadn't seemed overly concerned about Chi Chi's amnesia at first—because Chi Chi's injuries were too severe and she had no energy to think about much else—now that the two of them had shared such an intimate act, she was starting to worry that Chi Chi would leave her. Chi Chi had forgotten everything, and now some scoundrel was sowing discord. Yi Shuhan felt her heart pound with anger, and her head was buzzing. Chi Junluo, however, sat beside her, watching with great interest.
Noticing the lack of movement beside her for a while, Chi Junluo turned her head slightly and saw Yi Shuhan's pale face.
Perhaps her gaze was too direct, as Yi Shuhan quickly snapped out of it. She turned to meet Chi Junluo's questioning eyes and felt she had to explain.
"Chi Chi, don't believe that old bastard's nonsense. How could the Yi Family possibly harm you! All of your mechas were developed by me, for you alone. They weren't some defective test models…" Yi Shuhan's voice trembled slightly. Chi Junluo saw fear and panic in her eyes, and her heart began to ache again, just as it had when she saw this girl cry before.
However, this pain wasn't unbearable. Chi Junluo's expression remained unchanged, but she reached out, took Yi Shuhan's light screen, opened the writing interface, and began typing rapidly under Yi Shuhan's nervous gaze.
Because her mind was focused on comforting the Omega girl before her, Chi Junluo's writing was a bit messier than the neat script she had written that first night. She didn't keep Yi Shuhan waiting long before handing the light screen back.
"Don't worry. You're the person I trust most right now. I can tell that old bastard is lying."
The words "old bastard" were even bolded, a clear sign from the writer that she was on Yi Shuhan's side.
Yi Shuhan's worried heart finally eased a little. Chi Chi said she was on the same side as her!
At that moment, Yi Shuhan suddenly felt extremely dissatisfied with her former, oblivious self. Why had she been so focused on mecha research that she failed to see sooner what that Alpha named Chi Chi truly meant to her?
She felt a pang of sadness. Their past had become her past alone. Their memories had become her memories alone. She would make sure those old geezers were sliced into a thousand pieces!
Chi Junluo took back the light screen and wrote, "The mecha they're showing isn't mine. Mine is still with you."
Chi Junluo had been viewing these events from an outsider's perspective, so her mind was exceptionally clear. It wasn't like she had actually become an idiot. To her, these bizarre claims were complete fabrications. Especially after the second half of that video was shown, she had started treating it as a joke. When she saw the silver-white mecha and heard Admiral Derian's explanation, she would have laughed out loud if her vocal cords weren't damaged.
Combining the previous information with the discussions on the Star Network, Chi Junluo could clearly see that the Yi Family was being targeted by a coordinated attack, smeared in every way possible.
Thinking that her lifesaver, the heroine with whom she had an indescribable encounter, was part of the Yi Family, she naturally didn't want to see the heroine's family persecuted.
She then recalled something strange. According to the Omega girl named Yi Huai, she and the original owner of this body were very close, and she had spent years building unique, custom-made mechas for her. How did she not seem like the heroine of the story???
Thinking back, the heroine, Yi Shuhan, seemed like a background character in the original owner's world. She hadn't done anything, nor had anything happened between her and the original owner. How did this Yi Huai become a love rival to the heroine?
However, everything she had heard so far about the past came from the Omega Yi Huai's mouth. Perhaps she had deliberately omitted the part about her love rival?
The moment a sliver of suspicion towards Yi Huai arose in Chi Junluo's mind, her heart began to throb with pain again, and this time it was even more intense than before. Chi Junluo frowned slightly and took a deep breath, and the pain gradually subsided.
When Yi Shuhan saw what Chi Chi had written, her mind cleared. She had been too worried, completely forgetting that Chi Chi wasn't that foolish. The flaw in their story was so obvious, yet she had completely overlooked it just now.
By the time the two of them came back to their senses, the military's press conference on the Star Network was nearing its end. The atmosphere at the venue was tense, and people's emotions were running high. Military personnel were organizing the media outlets for an orderly exit to prevent any unfortunate incidents.
Yi Shuhan turned off the projection. They needed to start preparing for their return to the Main Star. The first problem they had to solve was Chi Junluo's injured face.
After two days of rest, Chi Chi's complexion had improved considerably, and her hair had been trimmed short after her shower. Judging from her face and figure alone, she already bore a striking resemblance to the former Admiral Chi. This wouldn't do. In her current state, she could easily arouse suspicion or even be recognized. It seemed they would have to cover Chi Chi's face first.
Yi Shuhan operated the ward's system, retracting the coffee table in the living area and making the room much more spacious. She took out her portable toolbox, then picked out a piece from the less-shattered fragments of Chi Junluo's mecha. She planned to use the spare parts on hand to fashion a temporary mask to cover Chi Chi's face as a stopgap measure.
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