Bai Xingjian was so infuriated that his nose was almost out of joint.
The claim that a handful of Immortal Cultivators might have escaped to the starships of the Great White Fleet was obviously a blatant lie that both of them were aware of.
By logic, since they were all allies, if Firefly was really capturing the Immortal Cultivators, they should not have been asked to anchor at such a sensitive moment. At the very least, they should have been informed of the corresponding military intelligence in advance!
What was the meaning of the move when their starships had all been reduced from the battle and cruising formation to the anchoring formation, and many of the starships had even been connected to the docks?
Bai Xingjian knew very well that there must be experts on Firefly who had seen through the real purpose of their trip and the series of schemes that had been hidden behind them.
However, Bai Xingjian was not embarrassed at all. Instead, he was more and more curious. Had their evaluation of Tang Dingyuan and Cui Lingfeng been wrong, and the real methods of the two of them were far beyond their imagination?
Bai Xingjian was planning to meet the 'Colonel Lin Jiu, commander of the guards of the Speaker of the rightful government of the Star Ocean Republic'. He was quite interested in the guy.
Weren't the armed forces around the Speaker of the government-in-exile the secret police led by Cheng Xuansu? What was the 'guards of the Speaker' all about?
He had never heard the name 'Lin Jiu' before, but he vaguely had a feeling that the guy must be the key to the whole thing!
Naturally, he would not allow Lin Jiu and his companions to board the starship for inspection. Instead, he arranged the meeting place of the two parties in the cold, empty hangar near the No. 7 airlock of 'Infinite Fire'. Rows of space shuttles of the latest model of the Federation, which were emitting cold brilliance, and two fully-armed Exos of the assault teams were welcoming the 'ally' whom he had never met before.
Firefly's silver boat, which carried the smooth and elegant style of the center of the cosmos, slowly slid into the No. 7 hangar through the nine interlocking airlocks.
But only three people walked out of the boat unhurriedly into a forest of steel that was brimming with killing intent.
Bai Xingjian narrowed his eyes and observed the newcomers casually.
It was really … a surprising combination.
On the left side was a dwarf who was short, bald, and shiny. He was wearing the military uniform of the Star Ocean Republic that seemed to have been made in a hurry and looked rather sloppy and hilarious. He was also holding a short sword in his arms that seemed to have just been dug out of a relic. He was almost as hilarious as a clown in a circus.
But
When the dwarf's gaze inadvertently met his, both of them were slightly startled at the same time. Their pupils suddenly contracted to the extreme.
The dwarf's hand involuntarily gripped the hilt of his sword, while Bai Xingjian took half a step back before he reacted. Both of them returned to their original positions as if nothing had happened.
Bai Xingjian heaved a sigh of relief and looked to his right. He happened to see an average-looking but tall woman looking at him with a smile.
"Why are there so many monsters on Firefly?"
Bai Xingjian frowned. It was not until then that he focused his eyes on the middle-aged man in the middle who was wearing the colonel uniform of the Star Ocean Republic.
Compared to the dwarf holding the short sword and the smiling woman, this was a man who did not have any special features and could even be called plain. But for some reason, the more Bai Xingjian thought about it, the more he felt that he seemed to have seen the guy somewhere before!
What's going on? I've never seen his face before, but why does he feel so familiar?
While Bai Xingjian was observing 'Lin Jiu', Li Yao, whose pseudonym was Lin Jiu, was observing Bai Xingjian in silence, too.
In Li Yao's eyes, the great general under Jin Xinyue's command, the 'traitor' of the Burning Prairie Fleet in the past, and the commander of the Great White Fleet right now, had a slightly sloppy appearance that greatly contrasted with his glorious accomplishments.
His major general uniform and his military cap were so wrinkled that they were dangling on his body as if they had been worn for half a year. His sallow face that could not be called handsome was full of stubble, too. There was no telling how many days it had been since he last washed his face. His drooping eyes suggested that he was not interested in anything, and he could yawn and say casually, 'I'm not targeting you. I'm just saying that everybody in the Burning Prairie Fleet is garbage …'.
Yes, that was the feeling, a kind of helpless arrogance, a careless arrogance, as if the words "come and hit me, idiot" were written on his forehead!
While observing, Li Yao mumbled to himself, What's going on? Why do I seem to see … familiarity in the guy's eyes? That doesn't make sense. When I left the Federation a hundred years ago, he was only a teenager at most, and he was still playing in the mud in the Burning Prairie Military School. He looks so unique. There's no reason that I can't remember him if I've met him before!
Li Yao and Bai Xingjian walked to each other, frowning.
"Major General Bai!"
Li Yao saluted the guy casually at first indifferently, playing the arrogance and pride of a senior officer from the 'rightful government' at the center of the cosmos in the most vivid way.
Bai Xingjian's eyelids twitched, and he returned the salute to Li Yao. "Colonel Lin, what happened on Firefly exactly? How did such a huge mess happen? If necessary, my fleet is always ready to give you a hand. There's no need to be courteous. It is our shared responsibility to annihilate the Immortal Cultivators! "
"That will be unnecessary."
Li Yao smiled and said, "It's true that a very serious rebellion of the Immortal Cultivators took place on Firefly. Even Chief Mate Ding Zhengyang and Cheng Xuansu of the Internal Affairs Division were involved. However, it was a trap that we set up in the first place. It was a scheme to lure the enemy out of its lair. The purpose was to fish up all the Immortal Cultivators!
"Thanks to the wise decisions of Speaker Cui and Captain Tang, and the unremitting efforts of Team Red Lotus, the Speaker's special guards, most of the Immortal Cultivators have been suppressed. Only a few of them are still on the run.
"There's no need to worry about the safety of Firefly, Major General Bai. As for your fleet, I'm told that it suffered heavy losses in a cosmic storm just now. Perhaps there are a lot of loopholes in your defense, and it is possible that the panicked Immortal Cultivators have snuck in. I suggest that you conduct a comprehensive search with our cooperation!"
"Cheng Xuansu and Ding Zhengyang have both been suppressed? Cui Lingfeng and Tang Dingyuan knew everything in advance? The Speaker's special guards, Team Red Lotus … "
Bai Xingjian analyzed the latest intelligence quickly. While he was pondering, his portable crystal processor began to shake crazily.
Judging from the way it was shaking, it was an alarm of the highest level!
Raising his wrist, Bai Xingjian's face was even more gloomy than before. Right at this moment, 'Silver Light', an assault warship that he had just docked in the enemy's dock, had detected that somebody had snuck in. Also, the intruder was still wandering around inside the starship unstoppably after breaking through three of their defense lines. It was obvious that the intruder was about to leave after wandering around for a while!
Veins were bulging on Bai Xingjian's forehead as he glared at Li Yao in fury. "Commander Lin!"
"What's wrong?"
Li Yao was emotionless, but there was mockery in his eyes. "Have any Immortal Cultivators really snuck into your starship? Do you need our help in the search?"
"That will be unnecessary!"
Bai Xingjian gnashed his teeth and declared, one word after another, "Not a single cockroach can sneak out of my starship unharmed after sneaking into it. Not a single one!"
"That's good."
Li Yao bowed at Bai Xingjian. "I'm here to report the latest situation on Firefly to you and remind you to be more vigilant and prudent while the ship is anchored. Do not cause any misunderstandings, or there will be dire consequences.
"After all, the Immortal Cultivators have not been completely annihilated yet. Should a few guys run to your starship in desperation, thinking of dying together with your starship and even the high-level officers, nobody wants to see such a thing happen, right?"
Li Yao and Bai Xingjian's eyes collided in midair, raising spluttering sparks that were almost detonating the entire empty hangar.
Standing behind Li Yao, Yan Liren and Long Yangjun narrowed their eyes and observed the iron giants behind Bai Xingjian as if they were a bunch of garbage.
"Colonel Lin …"
Sensing the tense atmosphere, Bai Xingjian coughed softly and smiled. "I didn't know that such a person like you was hiding on Firefly. You were quite right. With such a chaotic situation, we should indeed be more cautious and not cause any trouble. After all, we are allies, and the Imperium of True Human Beings is our common enemy.
"I look forward to the day when I can fight side by side with Colonel Lin on the battlefield against the Imperium of True Human Beings and witness Colonel Lin's real capability!"
Li Yao looked at Bai Xingjian thoughtfully. "That's what I think, too."
…
When the silver shuttle slid out of the hangar of 'Infinite Fire' again, Bai Xingjian was still frowning, deep in thought.
He summoned a tall, strong, and hideous-looking Exo behind him. "Old Wu, I'm not good at fighting. What do you think of the capability of the three people just now? Personal combat ability."
"Old Wu" was the captain of the assault team on 'Infinite Fire' who was responsible for boarding battles. He was a tough Yuanying who was bold enough to charge at the enemy's starship on his own. But he was somewhat hesitant at this moment. "The woman on the right is rather tricky. Judging from her body shape, scent, and posture, it will not be easy to deal with her. But the dwarf on the left is even tougher. His scent and his footsteps are no different from those of ordinary people, but there is something creepy about him, as if all the Crystal Suits and armed shuttles in the hangar will be cut in half by him as long as he is willing to attack!
"When he glanced at us casually just now, quite a few of our brothers couldn't have been more anxious, as if — as if a saber was placed on their necks!"
Bai Xingjian nodded. "What about Lin Jiu?"
"Lin Jiu?"
Old Wu tilted his head and thought for a moment. "There doesn't seem to be anything special about him. He is between the woman and the dwarf, right?"
"Is that so?"
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