The standard time was 4: 30 pm, and the sky was already pitch black. Night always came earlier in the northernmost part of planet 5460 than in other places. The howling snowstorm was like countless willow catkins dancing wildly in the air. In addition to the thick clouds above blocking out the stars, there was not a single ray of light to be found around the endless stretch of glacier, only darkness.
There were no roads in the glacier to begin with, only a narrow piece of flat ground crushed out of the ground. The three white MXT mechas of the new 17th Division in charge of testing stood silently on this flat ground like silent giants.
Under their feet were the armored vehicles and tractors that carried supplies and instruments. The industrial achievements of human beings were instantly covered by the wind and snow that filled the sky, as if they were covered by a very thick blanket of snow. The clear structural lines and metallic brilliance could no longer be seen. They had been integrated with the environment and turned into an ice cliff that had been there for ten thousand years. It was impossible to distinguish them at all.
The Federation soldiers' camp was right between the bodies of the ten-thousand-year-old ice cliff-like mechas. Who knew how many Empire soldiers were hidden in this glacier and snowy mountain they had lost their way into, so the camp maintained long-range radio silence. There was silence, only silence. The lights were also under control, so it was pitch black.
The giant mechas and armoured vehicles around the camp were densely packed, blocking out the fierce snowstorm outside. The specially made simple shelter was unable to completely block out the extremely low temperature here. After a simple meal, everyone crawled into their sleeping bags and stared at the ceiling with their eyes open. Only after enduring until perhaps deep into the night did they finally fall into a deep sleep.
Xu Le's eyes were open the entire time. His gaze shot out from those small eyes of his, piercing through the pitch black surroundings, through the rustling ceiling, as if he wanted to look past the thick snow clouds a thousand metres above his head and see the brilliant starry sky.
He could not sleep, because every time he closed his eyes, the greenish-grey face of the little girl's corpse in the underground space would appear before his eyes, especially those eyes that were frozen but still glowing with a dim light.
He had already killed when he was twelve years old, and counting until today, at least a hundred lives had died by his hands. In a sense, he could be said to have killed people like flies. As for human corpses, he was almost numb to seeing them on the frontlines. It was difficult for him to feel the initial nervousness and fear that made him want to vomit, but today, for some reason, his emotions were somewhat different.
It was probably because the little girl underground was about the same age as a small watermelon when she died. Xu Le narrowed his eyes. If Little Watermelon died so tragically, how sad and desperate would he be?
Where is the little girl's family? Perhaps he had also died in this massacre, or perhaps he was right beside her. If that was the case, wouldn't the little girl's departure be more peaceful?
Was the massacre of civilians really a necessary evil in a racial war? This magnificent war was naturally an incomparably great project, but as an inconspicuous individual, what could he do? What could he do for these people who shouldn't have died and what shouldn't have happened?
The Imperial expeditionary force had not completely occupied the planet, but so many citizens of the Federation had already been massacred. How many civilians had died on the other two fallen planets? Xu Le felt that his throat was a little dry and painful. He thought of some of the things that Commander Zhong had talked about in the restaurant, the things that made the citizens and civilians of the West Woods feel sad and indignant.
If the Federation had not always given up or even deliberately forgotten these two and a half planets, if the Department of Defense had not followed the instructions left by Military God Li Pifu to carry out the rotational warfare in the West Woods in the past few years, and instead of training for the invasion of the Empire, and instead launched a counterattack in advance, would it be possible to save some of their massacred compatriots, such as … the lives underground not far away?
"What are you thinking about?" Shang Qiu's voice came from beside him.
Shang Qiu was the only woman in the troop responsible for the test reconnaissance mission. She naturally arranged her sleeping bag beside Xu Le. It seemed that all the women had full trust in Xu Le's moral character.
Xu Le lowered his voice and replied, "I'm thinking about this thing called war. I realize that this thing is a monster. It's hard to understand."
The Federation soldiers around them had long fallen asleep. It was pitch black all around them. There was a clear whistling sound outside the camp, announcing the probing invasion of the cold snowstorm.
Shang Qiu exhaled and replied softly, "I heard that the history of mankind before the catastrophe was a history of war. The Federation meeting the Empire is just a repetition of ancient history. "
"The Federation … those tens of thousands of years without war were so happy," Xu Le replied with a smile.
Probably because she was stimulated by the corpses of the civilians of the Federation during the day, Shang Qiu was silent for a few seconds before suddenly asking, "If the war is over, what do you plan to do?"
She was worried that she would wake up the soldiers in the camp, and because the air was a little cold, her voice was a little trembling.
"If that day comes, I really want to go back to the Nutshell Engineering Department and be a normal engineer." At this time, Xu Le's mind was still replaying Commander Zhong's words. He said self-deprecatingly, "But I don't think I'll live to see that day."
In the darkness, Shang Qiu's eyes glittered. Her lips had just curled up when she was suppressed by the second half of his sentence.
After another long silence, Shang Qiu squeezed into Xu Le's sleeping bag in silence.
"It's cold. Squeeze together to get warm."
Xu Le was stunned for a moment. He moved his body and helped her squeeze in. Then, he zipped up the sleeping bag again. His left arm naturally wrapped around her waist and hugged her. He found that although she was wearing a full set of close-fitting clothes, her body temperature was indeed a little cold and not hot.
"We're not going to die here, are we?" Shang Qiu held his chin and leaned into his arms tightly. She seemed a little helpless.
"We won't." Xu Le gave his promise very seriously. He hugged her tightly, lowered his head and sniffed. He found that although this genius female engineer hadn't washed her hair for a few days, her hair didn't smell bad.
Shang Qiu's lips finally curled up. It seemed that she was relieved because of Xu Le's words. She twisted her body comfortably and found a suitable angle. She slightly raised her face and gently kissed Xu Le's slightly dry lips.
Xu Le slightly pursed his lips and found that her lips were as soft as her body. They were very moist, cold, and sweet like the iced persimmons sold in Wangdu Market.
Their lips gently pressed together without any unnecessary movements. He didn't know whether it was because the weather was too cold or because death was too clear, but he didn't have any desire.
Shang Qiu lifted the hem of her sweater and gently held Xu Le's hand, letting him reach in. Feeling that sliver of warmth and the thick calluses on his palm, she couldn't help but let out a soft hum.
Shang Qiu placed her hand outside the sweater and inside the sweater. Her voice was calm as she said, "You know, I've never treated those men in the engineering department as men, so it's also very hard for me to treat myself as a woman."
"Mm."
Xu Le looked into her bright eyes and replied in a nasal voice.
"After the MX mecha standard was confirmed, in the nightclub beside Capital University, I once asked you if you were a virgin."
Shang Qiu's bright eyes were wide open. Probably because it was too dark, she couldn't see the person in front of her clearly, so she didn't like to squint her eyes like she usually did when she wasn't wearing glasses.
Xu Le's eyesight was much better than the average person's. Looking at this pair of bright and calm eyes, he was somewhat puzzled as to why she could be so calm. Just as he was about to answer, he heard her continue with a slight smile. "Actually, I'm a virgin."
"Don't you think this kind of thing is very boring? I mean, compared to solving those engineering problems. "Shang Qiu's face was slightly red, but her voice was still as calm as ever.
"Mm, those are two different kinds of pleasure." Xu Le thought for a while before replying. Then, after another period of silence, he looked at her face and said seriously, "Let's fall in love. Perhaps you'll find out. This kind of thing really is a bit interesting."
A faint, warm feeling of lust rose up in the crowded sleeping bag. The young man and woman's bodies hugged each other, rubbing against each other. However, because of the two people's usual calm thinking, they were unable to break through a certain boundary.
"What about Minister Zou's daughter?" Shang Qiu looked into his eyes and asked.
"Please keep it a secret. I don't have a romantic relationship with her," replied Xu Le. "But this is a rather complicated story."
"Then you don't want the nation's maiden either?"
"Gossip, definitely gossip … I admit that I was indeed quite happy and close to her when I was with her, but we definitely didn't talk about feelings."
"Zhang Xiaomeng?"
"In the past."
"The woman in the apartment in Sunset State?"
"Would you believe me if I said … that she and I were just old friends from back in the day?"
"I don't believe you." Shang Qiu opened her bright eyes and said, "Don't forget that I'm also an excellent engineer. My eyes are very sharp. I know that you like a lot of people, but I just happened to appear in front of you at this time."
"Everything in the world is originally made up of countless coincidences. As an excellent engineer, you should understand this point."
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