Although the rebellion of the Immortal Cultivators on Firefly was suppressed quickly, it was just the beginning of everything. The CFIA and its leader, Master Lu, were the key to everything.
In the war between the Federation and the Imperium to come, what kind of important role would the mysterious local organization of Immortal Cultivators play?
The secret interrogation about Ding Zhengyang immediately began.
He was the leader of the Immortal Cultivators on the starship and one of the few people who had met Lu Qingchen, the 'most wanted criminal of the Federation', in person. Lu Qingchen was more or less behind the hasty rebellion.
Cui Lingfeng, Tang Dingyuan, and Li Yao himself were all hoping to dig out Lu Qingchen through Ding Zhengyang. They were even hoping to find out the people behind Lu Qingchen.
The secret interrogation was conducted by Speaker Cui Lingfeng, Captain Tang Dingyuan, and Li Yao, who had rescued them and captured Ding Zhengyang alive on his own.
The prison cell that Ding Zhengyang was locked in was exactly the one where Tang Dingyuan had been locked half a day ago. That was exactly what they meant by 'reaping what they sowed'.
The first mate, who used to be quite prestigious on the deck floor of Firefly and known as the 'Pillar of Stability', was crouching in a corner of the prison cell like a viper whose tusks and veins had been plucked. He stared at the void in a daze, mumbling to himself. Now he was smiling bitterly, now he was shaking his head, and now he was cramping. There was no telling whether he was lamenting the failure of the plan, begging for the forgiveness of his old boss, or complaining that he shouldn't have made the step in the first place in the first place.
"Zhengyang!"
Seeing his lethargy and hopeless appearance, Captain Tang Dingyuan was even more heartbroken than when he saw his betrayal. He and Ding Zhengyang had been life-and-death brothers for decades. He knew very well what the red-faced man with thick eyebrows and big eyes used to be. "Look at yourself. How did you end up like this? You shouldn't be so scared of death. You gritted your teeth and climbed to the post of first mate from the bottom-level sailors. You never frowned after so many dangers in the past but took the lead to solve them! Your nicknames ranged from 'Daredevil' to 'Pillar of Stability'. You are scared of death? You surrendered to the Imperium of True Human Beings in order to save your own life? I don't believe it. Tell me what happened! "
Tang Dingyuan's every word was surging and rolling inside the prison cell like a tiny ball of lightning, striking Ding Zhengyang's almost decayed nerves.
Ding Zhengyang looked like a man who was struggling to survive after taking too many drugs. He stared at the crystal camera in a daze for a long time before he scratched his unshaven face. Suddenly, he chuckled. While he was laughing, he closed his eyes, leaving two lines of dirty tears.
"Yes. I shouldn't have been so scared of death … In the first fifty years, everybody called me 'Daredevil'. In the later fifty years, everybody called me 'Ocean Stabilizer'. I worked my way up to the post of Chief Mate from the dirtiest and most dangerous fuel area and engine compartment at the bottom level of Firefly. What dangers have I not been through? What gory corpses have I not seen before? "
He opened his eyes again. The dim rainbows deep inside his eyes interweaved into memories of the past. "Eighty-two years ago, when the engine compartment was pierced through by a meteor shower and caused a great explosion, I was the first to rush in for repairs. Wearing the thinnest Maintainer Crystal Suit, I sealed the holes one after another. In the meantime, the meteors simply passed by me. One of them directly penetrated through my helmet. If it had been five millimeters to the left, my entire head would have been melted.
Fifty-seven years ago, in the accident of the fuel area, the 'Heavenly Cicada Divine Blood Sand' should've been preserved in the extremely low temperature but immediately vaporized in the normal room temperature. It filled the entire fuel area and could've corrupted the main fuel tubes at any moment, raising an unimaginable chain reaction.
"Again, I was the first to rush in with my brothers. We repaired the freezing rune arrays in the lethal gas that was highly toxic, highly corrosive, and irreversibly corrosive to the spiritual root. We sprayed the 'Condensing Liquids' and collected the 'Divine Blood Sand' that was liquefied again bit by bit.
"That time, we sacrificed a hundred and twenty-two brothers. Everybody did a good job of protection, but it couldn't be helped. Such accidents could only be compensated with lives. Before we rushed in, everybody was well aware of that. Even I was very clear that the cabin door might never be opened again after we closed it behind us!
There's also that collision accident forty-two years ago, the black hole tide accident thirty-three years ago, and the super radiation accident twenty-five years ago … Captain, you're right. I don't think I've ever been a coward, I've never run away, and I've never been afraid of death!
"But … Hehe. But I am not a machine after all. I am not a magical equipment unit. I am just a human being, too! Who would dare to pat his chest and straighten his neck and say that he had never been a coward, had never retreated, and had never been afraid of death? Who was not scared of death? Every human being was scared of death!
"I was scared of death, but I gritted my teeth and charged at death for only one reason. At that time, I still had hope, and I believed that my death was meaningful and worthwhile! My death can let my wife, my children, my grandchildren, and all my compatriots on this ship live on and live a better life!
But is that really the case? Do we really have any hope? Look into my eyes. Be honest and tell me honestly. My brother, my captain, tell me! "
Ding Zhengyang suddenly went crazy. He roared at the surveillance cameras in a hoarse voice.
Tang Dingyuan and Cui Lingfeng looked at each other and said solemnly, "Of course we have hope. The sacrifice of every hero is worthwhile!"
"… Nonsense. I won't believe it anymore, captain."
The roar just now seemed to have drained the last bit of Ding Zhengyang's strength. Like a balloon that had lost its air, he crouched in the corner again. Like a lost child who was hugging a nonexistent doll, he crouched and put on a self-mocking smile. "Once upon a time, I believed in the lies as deeply as you did. 'We have inherited the orthodoxy of the Star Ocean Imperium and are the last hope of mankind', 'evil has never triumphed over righteousness since the ancient times, and we will march back to the center of the cosmos one day', 'the Imperium of True Human Beings is cruel and inhumane, and its reign is on the verge of collapse and may self-destruct at any moment', and even the idiotic 'Dark Star' that has been destroyed dozens of times … Every word of it was not just believed but my belief!"
Li Yao coughed softly and glanced at the two big shots of the government-in-exile next to him. Then, he asked Cui Lingfeng secretly through private talk, "Mr. Speaker, what exactly is this' Dark Star that has been destroyed dozens of times'?"
Cui Lingfeng was sitting solemnly, as if he did not hear Li Yao's question at all. Even his lips did not shiver at all. But Li Yao received his reply.
"It is a series of morale-boosting promotional videos that we shot over the past hundreds of years about how we defeated the Imperium of True Human Beings," Cui Lingfeng said solemnly.
"In the promotional videos, in order to rule the entire universe, the evil Imperium of True Human Beings established an extremely powerful, evil, and terrifying artificial planet and star fortress known as' Dark Star '. It also moved all the important government agencies, key technicians, and all the precious techniques and files of the Imperium into the fortress.
"As it turned out, Firefly took the opportunity to march into the 'Dark Star' and sabotage it, destroying the 'brain' and the 'heart' of the Imperium of True Human Beings. The Imperium was defeated just like that!"
"… Fine," Li Yao said. "Although the Imperium of True Human Beings can't be so stupid, it is understandable that it is a promotional video after all. But what do you mean by 'destroyed dozens of times'?"
"The promotional video was very popular after it was broadcast and soon swept across the entire Firefly," Cui Lingfeng said. "It won countless enthusiastic supporters. Naturally, a sequel was shot. In the sequel, the Imperium of True Human Beings was even more aggressive and came back with even more evil approaches to deal with the entire universe and the Star Ocean Republic!"
"What kind of approaches?" Li Yao asked.
"To continue concentrating all the resources and build a 'Dark Star II' that is bigger, stronger, and more terrifying," Cui Lingfeng said.
"And then?" Li Yao asked. "The second generation of the Dark Star was not sabotaged by Firefly again, was it?"
"Yes," Cui Lingfeng said.
"Then, you shot dozens of sequels of 'Space Wars', each of which built a 'Dark Star II' that was even bigger, only to be destroyed by Firefly?" Li Yao asked.
"Wrong," Cui Lingfeng said. "Later, the Imperium of True Human Beings stopped building artificial planets. Instead, it simply found a planet and hollowed it out, transforming it into a stronger Dark Star. When the audience was tired of the planets, we also tried to build white dwarfs, red giants, and stars in the prime years, namely the sun."
"… Mr. Speaker," Li Yao said, "I suddenly understand Chief Mate Ding's fury after he saw through the lies. What do we do?"
"What can we do?" Cui Lingfeng asked. "If the Imperium hadn't kept adopting such a stupid strategy, how could a tiny Firefly have saved the day and secured a great victory?"
Inside the prison cell, the mocking smile on Ding Zhengyang's face was deeper and deeper, as if a bitter tide had drowned him and the three people outside. He continued speaking lethargically. "I've always believed in everything. I believed that we still had hope. I believed that the Star Ocean Republic would return to the center of the cosmos one day. I believed that the Imperium of True Human Beings was just a facade but actually weak.
I believed that the Imperium of True Human Beings was the reason why I was not scared of death. It was also the reason why I became the 'Pillar of Stability' and the 'Most Determined Man'!
However, lies are lies after all. They will collapse the moment they encounter the truth!
My belief was completely shattered when we encountered the claw fleet of the expedition army of the Imperium ten years ago! "
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