"Leader Cheng said that it was a theory that originated from the true path of immortality but surpassed the true path of immortality," Cheng Bin said. "It would be an effective supplement and improvement for the current true path of immortality. But she did not talk to us so deeply about it. She only said that she would discuss it with us slowly after the job was done."
"Alright," Cui Lingfeng said solemnly. "Let's leave your thoughts aside for now. Who were the people who attended the lectures with you?"
Cheng Bin shook his head and said, "I don't know. In the lectures, everybody will change their appearance. Also, it is forbidden to ask each other about their identities. Besides, for someone of my level to attend the lectures, the people I met must be similar to me. We all contacted Leader Cheng one-to-one. As for the people of higher levels, they had their own internal discussions."
"However …"
Seeing that Cui Lingfeng was frowning in disappointment, he thought for a moment and said, "I've attended three lectures. One of them left a deep impression on me. He should be Captain Xiao Yunpeng of the Second Squadron of the Speaker's Guards. I trained with him in the past. His left leg was seriously wounded. Three components were planted inside his knee to ensure the unobstructed flow of his veins. That's why his walking style is slightly different from that of normal people."
"Xiao Yunpeng of the Speaker's Guards …"
Cui Lingfeng's eyelids shivered. "Is there anyone else?"
Cheng Bin lowered his head and said, "I-I'm not sure. I'm just guessing about some of them. All in all, Leader Cheng was encouraging us to do … When we were doing the job, she said that our men were in every critical post on Firefly. She asked us to do it without any concerns! So, I think … "
Cui Lingfeng quickly interrupted him. "No evidence is needed. Name all the people you suspect. Hurry up!"
Cheng Bin swallowed hard and reported a series of names incessantly. Every name was like a burning bullet, making Cui Lingfeng almost unable to catch his breath.
After reporting eighteen names in total, he looked at Cui Lingfeng pitifully.
Cui Lingfeng couldn't have looked more awful. Every wrinkle on his face had turned into a deep canyon. He suddenly pressed Cheng Bin's neck softly and inputted a stream of spiritual energy that was neither heavy nor light, making the guy pass out.
After the job was done, Cui Lingfeng was still staring at the darkness that was the color of rust in a daze.
"We are not going to 'No. 1 Fortress', are we?"
As if nothing had happened, Li Yao said casually from the side, "It seems that Speaker Cui's side has long been riddled with holes. Most of your trusted aides have betrayed you. Even for those who did not betray you, it is impossible for you to know if they are trustworthy in a short time."
"It does make sense. If I were Cheng Xuansu, I would definitely attack the people around the Speaker first if I were to carry out such a great plan. I might not necessarily kill the Speaker, but at the very least, I would find a way to make the Speaker a figurehead so that it would be easier for me to carry out my next action!"
"So, Speaker Cui, five minutes are up. Have you decided where you want to go? After escorting you there, I still have to rescue Captain Tang, follow him, and listen to his orders! "
Cui Lingfeng struggled to turn his neck. Staring at Li Yao, he said, one word after another, "My intuition tells me that ninety-five percent of what you said just now is indeed true.
Li Yao nodded. "Of course, like I said, it's really just a coincidence!"
"But my intuition also tells me that the key lies in the five percent of lies," Cui Lingfeng said.
Li Yao opened his hands. "It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter whether or not you believe me. All that matters is that Captain Tang Dingyuan trusts us. If he trusts us and gives us an identity that allows us to swagger into the Federation, we will work for him. It's as simple as that."
Looking at Li Yao in the eyes, Cui Lingfeng asked, "Is it really so simple?"
Li Yao looked back at him frankly, too. "It's as simple as that," Cui Lingfeng said.
Taking a deep, deep breath, Cui Lingfeng mumbled, "I'm still not willing to believe that you are just the natives of the Red Lotus Sector. However, based on all the information I have, the odds that you are from the Imperium, the Holy League, or the Federation are a hundred times smaller than the odds that you are from the Red Lotus Sector. This is too weird and complicated. I need to think about it carefully …"
"Alright."
Li Yao looked at the time on the tactical crystal processor and tapped it. "Why don't you take your time to think about it here? I'm going back to rescue Captain Tang!"
After saying that, Li Yao really strode away without looking back.
"Wait!"
It was not until he was about to walk into the rust-colored darkness that every wrinkle on Cui Lingfeng's face stopped shivering. He made up his mind and gnashed his teeth. "Tell me again. Who are you?"
Carrying him on his back, Li Yao replied casually, "Lin Jiu from the Red Lotus Sector."
"No," Cui Lingfeng said quickly.
"Your name is Lin Jiu, but you are not from the Red Lotus Sector. We have never heard of the Red Lotus Sector before, either. You are the first batch of volunteers of the 'Red Lotus Project' and the captain of 'Team Red Lotus'!
"The Red Lotus Project is a secret plan to build super warriors that was put into effect 233 years ago. The background is that when Firefly is getting further and further away from home, the starship is getting worse and worse, and the Imperium is getting stronger and stronger, a lot of pessimists and desperate people who have lost all their ideals have popped up among us. Those people are very likely to be swallowed by the darkness and transformed into Immortal Cultivators!
"The Immortal Cultivators lurk deep inside Firefly in the perilous, unpredictable sea of stars. Nobody knows whether or not the people around them will have a nervous breakdown and turn into Immortal Cultivators. Even the 'Internal Affairs Division', which is responsible for the internal security of Firefly, may be infiltrated and sabotaged by the Immortal Cultivators!
"Under such circumstances, it is necessary to establish an elite team that is higher than the secret police of the Internal Affairs Division and that absolutely nobody knows about. The team will be under the command of the Speaker himself as the last defense line should the Immortal Cultivators riot at the most critical moment!
"The Red Lotus Project was proposed and established by 'Shui Yian', the Speaker from 233 years ago. For absolute confidentiality, after the first batch of elite warriors was built, all the files about 'Team Red Lotus' were erased. The records of the crystal processors were modified, too, and they were sent into the hibernation cabins as specialists in various fields!
"Since then, the Red Lotus Project has been the top secret of the top secrets. Every Speaker will inform the next Speaker during the handover. To this day, the Speaker himself is the only one who knows the existence of the Red Lotus Project and how to activate Team Red Lotus!
"The warriors of Team Red Lotus are all well-deserved heroes. In order to guard against the rampant attacks of the Immortal Cultivators, they are willing to guard Firefly forever in the long hibernation. Once they are woken up by the Speaker, it will mean that the situation on Firefly has truly reached the most perilous moment.
"Under such circumstances, Team Red Lotus will only listen to the Speaker, and the Speaker will authorize them to claim all the permissions on Firefly. As long as the threat of the Immortal Cultivators can be eliminated, they will be allowed to claim all the resources on the starship except for hurting the ordinary people!
"Team Red Lotus had ninety-seven members at the beginning, but unfortunately, eighty-four of them were lost in the large-scale malfunction accident of the hibernation cabins. When they were woken up today, other than Captain Lin Jiu, there were twelve of the most elite secret warriors!
"Am I right, Captain Lin?"
"Wow …"
Li Yao clicked his tongue in amazement. Tilting his head, he thought for a moment and asked, "It sounds like Team Red Lotus is just a simple and violent organization of armed forces, isn't it?"
"Of course not," Cui Lingfeng said.
"Team Red Lotus is an elite troop of 'anti-Immortal Cultivators'. Other than direct combat, they can also carry out a series of tracking, investigation, espionage, and even assassination missions. But that is only if Team Red Lotus is fully staffed.
"Right now, the number of members of Team Red Lotus has been greatly reduced, and we are faced with the problem of merging with the Federation and confronting the expedition army of the Imperium! The situation is different from two hundred years ago. It seems that the mission on Team Red Lotus' shoulders needs to be adjusted, too.
"After the threat of the Immortal Cultivators on Firefly is settled, there is no need for Team Red Lotus, whose identity has been exposed, to enter the hibernation state again. I plan to ask Team Red Lotus to protect a batch of trustworthy representatives. They will join the 'Election Observation Delegation' and go to the Federation together with Captain Tang's men. They will partly discuss the merger of the two parties and partly inform the Federation of the threat of the Immortal Cultivators. What happened on Firefly is related to the 'CFIA', an organization of local Immortal Cultivators in the Federation. In that regard, it is necessary for the two parties to cooperate.
"As for you, Captain Lin, it won't be a problem for you to go to the Federation as the special commissioner of the Speaker's Office, will it?"
Cui Lingfeng crossed his fingers and stared at Li Yao, his eyes brimming with passion.
Li Yao stared at Cui Lingfeng for a long time, too. Amused, he shook his head and said, "Speaker Cui, did you know that I almost believed you when you said just now that you were considering for the Star Ocean Republic and that you were not greedy for power at all.
"I didn't know that you could be so ruthless in order to protect your position."
Cui Lingfeng smiled, somewhat sadly. "You think that I proposed such a condition because I was greedy for the power of the Speaker and did not want Tang Dingyuan to ride on my neck and even drive me away in disgrace?"
Li Yao raised his eyebrow. "Is that not the case?"
"No," Cui Lingfeng said.
"If I have no choice but to join the Star Glory Federation, Tang Dingyuan is not the best candidate for the specific operation of the plan. I am!"
"Oh?"
Li Yao said. "I'd like to hear more about it."
"Firstly, although many people think that those in parliament who cling to the name of the Star Ocean Republic are shameless scoundrels who are greedy for power and want to buy something at a high price, that is not the case at all."
Looking at his hands, Cui Lingfeng said, "You don't understand Firefly. You don't understand how difficult the path we walked on in the past thousand years was. It is impossible to sail for a thousand years in desperation in the dark night without a strong mind! You may say that we are deceiving ourselves, that we are making up dreams, and that we are anesthetizing ourselves and other people. All in all, a thousand years is enough for some people to turn the name of the Star Ocean Republic into a scorching brand and brand it into the deepest part of their soul!
"Extreme? Maybe a little, but under such circumstances, if they were not so extreme, it was very possible that they would've completely collapsed and slid into the abyss of the Immortal Cultivators at the other extreme!
"Tang Dingyuan did not understand those people at all. He did not understand their belief and pride. He simply regarded their belief as stubbornness, their persistence as stupidity, and their zealotry as madness!
"Tang Dingyuan thought that they were either a bunch of stubborn lunatics or pretentious liars. He couldn't have been more wrong!
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
