A Five-Star General
(9,000 Chapters)
Something unexpected happened. Xia Fei had actually stopped supplying power to the engine. In truth, Xia Fei had used almost all the power of the warship on five major facilities: the proton bomb, the missile launcher, the target marking device, the radar system, and the most crucial shield defense system.
As for the auxiliary systems such as propulsion, they had all been shut down. Xia Fei was now fighting like a medieval warrior, neither retreating nor giving up. It was purely a battle of life and death, which was what the art of war referred to as hand-to-hand combat.
No one could have imagined such a risky way of fighting. Xia Fei had always given people the impression of being smart and calculating, but at this moment, Xia Fei was fighting like a stupid barbarian, completely disregarding the consequences.
* Bang! *
Xia Fei's second volley of missiles hit the target almost at the same time as the opponent's second volley. Two fireworks bloomed on both sides of the starry sky. Xia Fei's attack appeared very weak. After all, he was fighting alone, while the sky above Xia Fei's warship was filled with bright colors, like a star exploding.
The audience stared at the screen. Even the most optimistic people did not believe that Xia Fei could survive the second volley. They were only interested in whether Xia Fei had activated the ejection mechanism at the last moment. If he continued to stubbornly refuse to back out of the tournament, the result would be obvious.
"Look! Xia Fei managed to sink a warship at the last moment! "
"Yes, he did well. He's lucky that he managed to kill one of the nine enemies. If it were me, I probably wouldn't have chosen to counterattack and directly activated the escape pod."
"Why did Xia Fei get surrounded the moment he came out? Could the other participants have discussed this beforehand? "
"I don't think so. If they had planned this beforehand, they would've been disqualified. After working so hard all the way to the third last round, unless there's an offer they can't refuse, no one would be stupid enough to violate the rules. Perhaps Xia Fei's performance was so outstanding that he caught the attention of the other participants."
The audience, of course, had their own opinions. Meanwhile, in Sunset Villa, Avril's face had already turned pale. Even a layman could easily tell what kind of situation Xia Fei was in, let alone Avril, who had stayed up all night to learn about machinery.
Back on Earth, Old Porters face was solemn. As a top-notch machinist, Old Porters could tell that something was amiss. He was also very clear on what Xia Fei's strategy was, and from his experience, Xia Fei's actions were risky and crazy!
As for what the result would be, Potter had no idea at all. This was because this unconventional combat method not only tested the contestant's degree of warship modification, but also challenged the contestant's control skills.
The more complex a combat strategy was, the more precise and precise maneuvers were required to maintain it. This match had already surpassed the goal of testing the warship's performance and was now testing Xia Feis ability to adapt to the situation under extreme circumstances.
* Whoosh! *
Just when everyone was focused on whether or not Xia Fei would be able to escape, Xia Feis warship suddenly emerged from the sea of fire. It was heading straight for the enemy's fleet!
"Oh my god! Xia Fei had survived the second round of attacks! He really did it! "
"Impossible! How could a Kestrel-class frigate escape twice in a row? If the first time was due to luck, then what's the reason this time?! "
"Look, he's heading straight for the enemy's battleships. Is he going to risk his life?"
The armor system is clearly damaged, yet Xia Fei still wants to attack? Does he really think that he's favored by the goddess of luck? He's practically sending himself to his death! "
The audience was in an uproar once more. Of the nine enemy warships, only eight remained. After Xia Fei's bait, they were now very close to each other, forming a sparse group, and the direction Xia Fei was heading toward was the gap between them!
The pilot of warship number 11079 was a middle-aged man nicknamed Baldy. He had a head of sparse brown hair. Though he was still young, the signs of his defeat were very obvious. It would not be long before this man became bald like his father.
All nine contestants had accepted Li Mo's hefty sum of money. Baldy was the most experienced among them, having participated in the Golden Finger tournament three times, which was why he was elected as the temporary commander.
He was not strong enough to compete for the top spot in this highly competitive tournament. This was something that Baldy understood very well after working hard for so many years, so he might as well give up hope this time. After all, Li Mo had given him enough money that he would not have to worry about for the rest of his life. Even if he could not obtain glory, he would at least be able to have women and a mansion, which was what he had always dreamed of.
Everyone in the world did not come for fame and fortune. Few would not be tempted by such a huge profit, so it did not take much effort for Li Mo to convince these greedy fellows.
If the Association of Machinists found out about this, they would permanently disqualify them from the tournament, but so what? The money was already in their pockets. Who would care about becoming a machinist in the future?
Besides, even if they killed Xia Fei and the others, they would not be handed over to the court. First of all, every contestant had a contract with them, and their life and death were up to fate. Moreover, it was very common for accidents to happen in the tournament, and there was no evidence to prove that Baldy was the culprit. Even if there was, Li Mo would use his money and influence to settle everything.
Baldy did not expect Xia Fei to actually be able to escape from the second round of attacks. Furthermore, he had already given the order for everyone to engage in a free-for-all. Everyone had to put on a show and not let others see it too obviously. After all, it was not very honorable for nine people to gang up on one person. If they stopped fighting after sinking Xia Fei's warship, it would be too obvious, and even a fool would be able to tell that something was fishy.
"Keep attacking! Keep attacking! We have to sink him. Spread out in formation and don't gather together! We're too close to each other; we might accidentally injure him! " Baldy commanded. The communication signal was encrypted, so the organizers would not be able to eavesdrop on them.
This was also one of the disadvantages of the tournament. The organizers provided the contestants with a lot of freedom of choice, so it was not against the rules for them to secretly install their communicators.
Spread out?
It was too late to do so now. Xia Fei had been waiting for this opportunity all along; there was no way he was going to let them succeed!
"Armor damage: forty-one percent. Structural value dropped by nine percent. Warship entering orange alert," the main control computer coldly reported.
"Power system at full capacity. Immediately replenish the energy of the shield system and the proton bomb!" Xia Fei ordered. He completely ignored the flashing orange warning light in the command deck.
Phantom knew that no one could stop Xia Fei once he went berserk, so he simply kept his mouth shut and did not say another word. He silently prayed for the blessings of the gods in his heart. Xia Fei was already giving it his all at this moment, and if he interjected any further, it would only interfere with his judgment, so he might as well just shut his mouth and watch the situation unfold. Phantom believed that though Xia Fei was a very adventurous fellow, he was not a reckless idiot. He definitely had his reasons for doing what he did.
The greatest disadvantage of missile attacks was the need to reload after every round of firing, and there was also the long flight time. Before this, Baldy had thought that Xia Fei would not be able to evade the attack, so he had ordered the fleet to lock onto each other to create the illusion of chaos. When he realized that Xia Fei had escaped from his attack and was preparing to counterattack, Baldy ordered another attack. Be it locking onto the target or adjusting the fire control system, it would take several seconds, and Xia Fei had already taken advantage of the gap between Baldy and the others' attacks to rapidly approach the formation.
"Don't attack recklessly! If he's carrying a jamming missile, it'll instantly disrupt the missile locking system! "Baldy anxiously ordered when he saw that Xia Fei was already right in front of him.
His worry was not without reason. A jamming missile could send out a signal shockwave, disrupting the missile locking system. Though the missiles could self-adjust, it would still take some time, and if they were too close, the missiles might not even have time to adjust before hitting their own warships. Thus, Baldy hoped that Xia Fei would only attack from a distance to avoid losses.
Baldy and the others did not attack, but Xia Fei would not let this opportunity slip by. Two rounds of missiles were successfully fired, and with the help of the target marking system, he destroyed another warship.
Seeing Xia Fei's warship whizzing past, just about to pull away, Xia Fei adjusted his direction once more. Using the thrust from before, his warship made a rapid turn and charged right back!
"Attack! Attack! Begin the attack immediately! " Baldy suddenly realized that Xia Fei was using his desire to reduce losses to engage in close combat!
"Even if two of our warships have been destroyed, we still have seven more! Victory will definitely be ours! "Baldy yelled.
* Whoosh ~ *
Twenty-eight missiles were fired the moment they received the order, heading straight for Xia Fei, exploding right in the middle of the fleet!
"So he didn't install any jamming missiles! We're sure to win this time! "Baldy was pleasantly surprised.
What he did not expect was that Xia Fei's Kestrel-class warship was like a cockroach with astonishing vitality, burrowing out of the flames once more with wounds all over its body.
Due to Baldy's excessive caution, another warship was hit, the weakest right engine room, and it only took a round of missiles to destroy it.
"Damage report!" Xia Fei sternly ordered.
"Armor damage: 69%; structural damage: 27%. Recommended to immediately use repair drones to repair the armor!
"Release the repair drones! Power system to replenish the proton bombs and energy shields! "
The emergency lights in the warship had already turned from orange to red, indicating that the ship was on the brink of collapse, and the consequences would be unpredictable if anything went wrong.
The audience was in an uproar. Xia Fei had single-handedly fought against an enemy that was nine times his size, evading five rounds of attacks and destroying three warships. Even if the match was over, Xia Fei had already created an astonishing record! It was likely that no one would be able to surpass him in the next few years!
Xia Fei did not seem to be willing to stop here, and he was still preparing a new attack.
Aside from being shocked, what everyone wanted to know the most was how Xia Fei had evaded wave after wave of attacks. They could not imagine that a Kestrel-class frigate would have the same defense as a cruiser. Could Xia Fei have installed some kind of super divine weapon on his warship?
Xia Fei's expression was solemn, his two fingers remaining on the button for the proton bombs. "Lock on to the fourth target and begin the attack!"
…
The battle began to develop in a direction that Baldy would never have imagined. Xia Fei had also sustained considerable damage after he destroyed the fourth warship. Black smoke billowed from the warship, and there were even some sparks of fire mixed in.
Baldy was greatly encouraged. Though it would not be glorious for him to win this battle, the most important thing was the result. Since he had already accepted Li Mo's bribe, why should he care about his reputation? Reputation was something that should not be taken away when it was necessary.
However, he was wrong. Wave after wave of attacks failed to penetrate Xia Fei's defense. To be more precise, he could not penetrate Xia Fei's shield at all!
The firepower of five was on a completely different level from that of nine; the difference was almost half. In the first round, Xia Fei's shield was reduced to less than five percent. Xia Fei retaliated, and Baldy lost a teammate, leaving him with four. In the second round, Xia Fei's shield was reduced to seventy-nine percent, and Baldy lost another teammate.
When Baldy was the only one left on the battlefield, his firepower was no longer able to do any damage to Xia Fei. It was as if Xia Fei's shield was like the ocean, never drying up, and it would only take a few seconds for it to fully recover after taking damage.
"Fire at full power! Give him a good beating! "Xia Fei ordered.
Smoke was already rising from the command deck of the warship. Most of the equipment had already malfunctioned, and the air filtration system had been destroyed. The air in the control deck was suffocating.
* Bang! *
A round of missiles accurately struck Baldy's warship 11079, and Baldy was still putting up a feeble counterattack. It was not that he did not want to retreat, but he had already failed. If he were to flee now, he would not only face disqualification from the tournament but also the wrath of Li Mo!
"Fire again!"
* Whoosh! *
Another round of attacks came. Due to the damage to the target marker, Xia Fei needed three consecutive volleys before he managed to destroy Baldy's warship.
Baldy lightly pressed the ejection button, and the space capsule ejected from the warship that was about to explode.
"Young Master Li shouldn't blame me anymore after I destroy the entire warship, right?" Baldy felt like he had been pardoned after losing. He was already mentally and physically exhausted after persisting for so long.
The space capsule was like a round egg, and the distress light on top was constantly flashing as it floated in space.
Baldy glanced out the porthole, and his face instantly turned pale!
He saw Xia Fei's warship charging toward his space capsule at high speed, a long trail of flames trailing behind it!
* Bang! *
Baldy did not even have time to cry out before he collided with Xia Fei's warship!
The space capsule was not as thick and sturdy as the warship's armor, and it was also small in size. Xia Fei's collision directly shattered Baldy's escape capsule! It was like an egg colliding with a hard hammer!
* Whoosh! *
Another escape capsule ejected, and Xia Fei sat in it and glanced out into space. He lit a cigarette and squinted his eyes.
…
Baldy died, turning into several pieces of flesh floating in space.
Several minutes later, a spaceship from the Association of Machinists collected Xia Fei's escape capsule and headed straight for the tournament's chief referee's office.
With a contestant dying, the tournament had no choice but to temporarily postpone it until the matter was fully investigated before it could resume.
In the Alliance's Department of Military Affairs, the chief of staff, Williams, ignored the commentator's long-winded speech. He turned off the screen, stood up, and went to his desk to take out a notebook. He used a pencil to write a few lines on it before putting the end of the pencil in his mouth and chewing it lightly, his eyes sweeping across the words.
Many people would often do some inexplicable actions when they were thinking, as if it was human nature.
Some people would massage their heads with their fingers, while others would light up a cigarette and let it burn slowly. Meanwhile, the chief of staff of the Department of Military Affairs, Williams, had the habit of chewing the end of a pencil with his teeth. This was a long-standing habit of his, and the number of pencils he had chewed up since he was young was probably not enough to fill an entire office.
In short, the chief of staff spent every day thinking, and the number of pencils he would bite off every day was a well-known secret in the Department of Military Affairs. The mischievous lads had given him a nickname: The Pencil Killer.
Williams had short red hair unique to his family, and the bright color was like a bonfire in the dark night. Seventeen wrinkles were closely arranged on his forehead, evenly distributed and so deep that it was hard to fathom, as if they had been carved by a sculptor.
The Williams had a long and famous name in the Alliance. Since a very long time ago, the Williams family had produced intelligent and resourceful military commanders. They mostly served as staff officers or fleet commanders in the military, and it had been several dozen generations since then.
It was said that the members of the Williams family were distinguished by the wrinkles on their foreheads and their strange red hair. The more wrinkles they had and the brighter their hair, the more intelligent they were.
According to historical records, the person with the most wrinkles in the history of the Williams family was Williams' great grandfather, William Denton. He had an astonishing twenty-nine wrinkles on his forehead, and his hair shone like the midday sun.
Unfortunately, this William Denton, perhaps because he was too smart, had long ago seen through the mundane world and chosen to pilot a worn-out warship into a black hole, ending his life at the age of twenty-seven.
Although Williams did not have as many wrinkles on his forehead as his ancestors, and his hair color was not too bright, his achievements made many of his ancestors blush with shame. The chief of staff of the military, one of the military's Iron Triangle, was no longer accurate to say that he held a high position and authority. It seemed that the power he wielded was a more accurate description of his importance in the military. Moreover, he was only fifty-three years old, the youngest member of the military's Iron Triangle, and his future was limitless.
What was written on the note was an analysis of the competition. This was his habit. Every time he found it hard to make a decision, he would write down all the thoughts in his mind and then analyze them one by one, eliminating the uncertainties to arrive at a final answer.
* Swish! *
The tip of the pen scratched across the paper again and again, and soon, the words on the note became fewer and fewer. The truth was gradually emerging, and a pleased smile appeared on Williams' face.
At this moment, the communicator on the table rang. Williams picked up the phone and saw that it was another member of the military's Iron Triangle, the chief of the navy, Admiral Layton.
"Are the results out?" Layton asked.
"They're out," Williams said softly.
"Good. Come to my office and tell me your analysis. I've been wanting to have an argument with you about this," Layton said.
Williams frowned slightly. The argument he had with Layton had been going on for close to twenty years, never stopping since the day the two of them met at the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Now that Layton and Williams had become the three pillars of the Alliance military, this argument was still going on.
Arguments were Layton's greatest hobby, and he seemed to argue just for the sake of arguing. Even if it was how many sugar cubes should be put in his coffee? Britannia Resin Sugar or Milenstein Coconut Sugar was also a topic he was arguing about.
There was a joke that went like this: Two economists went to a restaurant to eat, and the waiter asked them what they wanted to eat. In the end, the two of them said in unison, "It's not important what we want to eat. The key is to bring the bill as soon as possible, so that we can argue about the price issue."
Layton, like these two economists, was one of those people who would feel uncomfortable if they did not argue about something.
"The last time you won an argument was 749 days, 15 hours, and 22 minutes ago. I believe that you won't win this time either," Williams said with a smile.
Admiral Layton said, "Don't think that you can be arrogant just because you've beaten me 197 times in a row. Let me tell you, even if you beat me a thousand times, ten thousand times, you still won't be able to dispel my resolve to argue!"
Williams shrugged. "I believe you very much, because you're the most stubborn person I've ever met."
Layton was puzzled. "I've always thought that the most stubborn person you've ever met was Tai."
"Tai?" Williams laughed. "Tai's style is persistence, and you're the real stubborn one."
Layton waved his hand in dissatisfaction. "Let's not talk about this. I'll wait for you in my office."
"Alright, prepare my favorite maple syrup and fruit salad, as well as Mullis coffee," Williams said.
…
A moment later, Williams pushed open the largest and most luxurious door in the naval headquarters, only to find Layton already sitting on the sofa, waiting for him. In his hand was a microcomputer, and he was focused on reading the information on it, his fingers constantly scribbling on it.
The Mullis coffee on the table was still giving off white steam, and a large plate of fruit salad was placed on the table. Next to it was a silver jar filled with maple syrup that was sweeter than honey.
"For some people, it's useless no matter how well prepared they are," Williams said as he walked over with a smile.
Layton glanced at Williams, tossed the computer in his hand onto the sofa, and leaned back. "I'm just reading the latest military report. Those fellows from the Death Trio Star Region have been camping at the border for several months now, but they haven't started fighting yet. I have no idea why."
Williams sprinkled the entire jar of maple syrup on the salad, and the strawberry syrup was rich and fragrant, exuding a tantalizing aroma.
"Do you want to argue about the war in the Death Trio Star Region today?" Williams asked as he stirred the syrup evenly with a spoon.
Layton shook his head. "Not today. Let's talk about the tournament first. I'm the one who prepared the Death Trio Star Region's military report for tomorrow."
Williams used his fork to pick up a piece of syrup-covered fruit and stuffed it into his mouth, not commenting on Layton's words.
Layton could not help but feel his stomach churn when he saw Williams gobbling down the syrup. He frowned and said, "Williams, this syrup is ridiculously sweet. How greasy will it be when it reaches your stomach? Why would you like something that's meant for children?"
Williams chuckled. "The brain is the most important organ of the human race. Aside from protein, the brain also requires large amounts of sugar to maintain, so it's normal for people who overuse their brains to like sweet foods."
Layton had heard Williams say the same thing many times, and he did not want to continue on this topic. Facts had already proven that Williams had a myriad of reasons for eating sugar, and there was no way he could win against him in an argument.
Thus, Layton changed the topic to what he was most concerned about today.
"How about it? I let you watch the Golden Finger Cup's warship tournament today, right? "Layton asked.
Williams nodded. "Originally, I wouldn't watch a warship tournament between machinists, for these people aren't true combat experts, but this tournament greatly exceeded my expectations. The process was very exciting, and so was the outcome."
Layton laughed heartily. "Very well. Why don't you tell me how Xia Fei managed to win despite the disparity in strength?"
Williams chuckled. "You're the one who suggested the debate, so you should be the one to start first."
Layton did not argue, getting straight to the point. "Then I'll tell you. It's because Xia Fei used two medium-sized proton bombs!
"A proton bomb will generate a powerful pulse wave in a sixty kilometer radius, and the Golden Finger Cup's warship tournament is a frigate, so it's naturally equipped with light missiles. Light missiles have decent speed and range, but their lethality and armor aren't worth mentioning. The shockwave generated by Xia Fei's proton bombs was just enough to destroy the defensive armor of the missiles, causing them to self-destruct!
"We'll often see scenes like this in the tournament: dozens of missiles rapidly approaching and exploding on Xia Fei's warship. Actually, this is just a visual error. When those missiles got within sixty kilometers of the warship, Xia Fei immediately activated the proton bombs to form a shockwave, detonating the missiles in space.
"Because the speed of the explosion was too fast and too concentrated, it's very difficult to discover that the missiles were actually detonated by the proton bombs when they were still a certain distance away from the warship and not directly landing on the hull!
"I've already looked into it. Xia Fei is a speed ability user, and he's already reached the Advanced Star River rank. A speed ability user's reaction speed is far faster than a normal person's, which is why he was able to accurately detonate the bombs at the most appropriate time," Layton confidently said.
Williams nodded, shoving a large piece of syrup-covered orange into his mouth. "I agree with this point. We have nothing to argue about. Continue."
Layton helplessly shook his head. This was how arguments were. They had to first find the differences in their viewpoints and then stick to their own. If both of them agreed, there was no need to argue.
After drinking a cup of coffee, Layton continued. "Xia Fei suddenly shut down the engines and focused all his energy on the energy shield and the proton bombs after he suffered two volleys of attacks. That's because Kestrel-class frigates aren't known for their high speed. Even if he tried to widen the distance to avoid the enemy's attacks, it would be futile, for he wouldn't be able to dodge the missiles at a speed that's too slow, nor would he be able to shake off their pursuit.
"That's why Xia Fei focused all his energy on the defense system and then made a tactical turn in the midst of the explosion, charging right into the enemy's midst."
Layton looked at Williams to see his reaction, only to see that the red-haired admiral was still munching on his syrup, showing no reaction at all. This meant that Williams agreed with his explanation of this tactical maneuver, and there was still no point to argue about.
"It's your turn. I'm going to rest for a bit," Layton said.
Williams nodded, using a handkerchief to wipe the syrup from the corner of his mouth before drinking some of the high-quality Mullis coffee.
"The reason why Xia Fei's missiles were able to destroy an enemy ship every two volleys was because he was equipped with a target marking system, and he even made some modifications to the marking system. Given the lethality of these light missiles, there's no way he could've brought down a Kestrel-class frigate with just eight of them.
"As for how he modified it, I'm guessing that he installed a signal positioning device on the target marking system, so that not only could he increase the enemy's signal radius, but he could also increase the accuracy of the missiles. Many of the missiles exploded when they landed on the most critical energy system of the enemy ships, so it's clear that he must've researched on precise positioning beforehand. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to strike with such precision."
Layton nodded. "I agree. Continue."
Williams thought about it and said, "We're wasting too much time like this, so I might as well share a bold idea. This time, we'll definitely be able to find something different."
Having a different point of view meant that an argument had begun, and Layton hurriedly nodded, bracing himself for a heated argument with Williams. It was funny. While others were trying to find common ground to promote friendship, these two military powerhouses of the Alliance were desperately trying to find different points of view so that they could argue. How could this be described?
"Do you remember when Xia Fei destroyed a space capsule at the very end?" Williams asked.
"Of course."
Williams smiled mysteriously. "I think that Xia Fei did it on purpose. In other words, he purposely created the illusion that the ship had lost control and killed it!"
Layton slapped his thigh. "So that's what you're thinking, too? I've long since noticed that Xia Fei deliberately didn't attack warship 11079. There were several times when that warship was clearly the most suitable point of attack, yet Xia Fei chose to attack someone else. Moreover, his piloting skills are quite good, and he definitely has the ability to drive a warship to destroy a space capsule! "
The moment he said this, Layton became somewhat vexed. He was still unable to find anything different this time. Could it be that the two of them had been together for too long that they had become the same?
Williams also appeared somewhat disappointed. He poured himself a cup of coffee and said, "Your turn."
…
Time passed very quickly, and both Chief of Staff Williams and Chief of Naval Staff Layton were feeling depressed. Had this been any other time, they would have long since found something to argue about, but for some reason today, the two of them had surprisingly similar opinions.
Williams was even thinking of leaving. After all, arguing in their free time was just a hobby, and they could not possibly let it affect their work, or else Tai would probably fly into a rage again.
"Just what the hell is going on? Today's really strange. Xia Fei and that unkillable warship of his actually have nothing to argue about. How disappointing," Layton said.
Williams somewhat dejectedly replied, "Of course it's possible to kill him. There's no such thing as an unsinkable warship in this world, and the strongest part of Xia Fei's frigate is its shield system. As long as we can penetrate his shield, we can easily defeat him."
"That's right. His shield is indeed strange. Others will take a long time to repair their shields after they've been destroyed, but his ship's repair speed is ridiculously fast. Just look at how its energy value keeps rising, and I have no idea how he's doing it," Layton followed up.
Williams furrowed his brows. "Could he have installed some sort of special device on his warship?"
"It's possible," Layton said in a deep voice. "Based on my experience, that ship's shield recharge speed is at least seventy percent faster than most warships, perhaps even eighty percent faster. There's no way it could be that efficient without some sort of special modification."
The two of them were still unable to find a different point of view, but they did find a common question. The problem of the shield recharge speed was like a swarm of ants crawling on their hearts, making them itch.
Williams said, "When the tournament is over, the Association of Machinists will naturally announce the warship configuration list of every participant. Before that, it'll be kept a secret, but we'll know when the time comes. I'm sure that there are quite a few people in the Alliance who have the same question."
"How many more days?" Layton asked.
"Under normal circumstances, it should be six days later, but with the death of a participant, it'll probably take a few days to investigate. The tournament schedule will also be interrupted as a result, so I'm guessing that it'll be pushed back to ten days later."
"Ten days!" Layton rubbed his chin. "Isn't that a little too long?"
…
"Fellow judges, my warship was indeed out of control at the time. The reason why I crashed into another participant's escape pod was entirely because I lost control of my warship. I'm very sorry about this incident, but I don't feel guilty, for I was completely following the rules of the tournament and didn't break any rules," Xia Fei said without a change in his expression.
"Then how do you explain why you didn't immediately eject and escape, only activating the escape system after crashing into another participant's escape pod?"
Xia Fei sternly replied, "I had already predicted that the flight path of my warship would lead to an accident, so I desperately tried to maneuver the ship's steering to avoid any accidents. Unfortunately, the warship was too heavily damaged, and I was unable to control it.
"After the collision, the damage to the warship worsened, and it looked like it was about to explode, so I had no choice but to activate the emergency escape system."
Actually, everyone suspected that Xia Fei had intentionally crashed into Baldy's escape pod, but they had no proof, so there was nothing they could do.
The chief referee, Years of Floating Light, sighed. Xia Fei had spoken so calmly that he could not tell that he was lying.
"Are there any other questions? If not, the inquiry will end here, and the results of the investigation will be announced as soon as possible, "Years of Floating Light said.
Everyone expressed that they had no objections, and Years of Floating Light called Xia Fei over to his side. "There's a messenger from the military looking for you outside. He has a warrant from a military general asking for you."
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