hunting stars

Lieutenant General Follard, who was also Levi's adoptive father, is a middle-aged man with fierce eyes and a hard expression. Every wrinkle on his face seems to be inlaid with steel wire.He has a resolute and resolute character, and all the generals and soldiers in the Union Army speak highly of him.And his wife is famously weak and beautiful, with outstanding temperament.

The two have been married for more than 30 years and have always been deeply affectionate. The only regret is that they have never had children.It is for this reason that they are chosen to be the nurturers of the full clones.

Among the people present, many people now understand their relationship with Levi.

Sophia's intention is very obvious, to use family affection to force Levi to submit.This kind of naked/naked despicable behavior is really against the aesthetics of the soldiers, so amidst a lot of discussions, most of them expressed their opposition.

"This is despicable..."

"Is this the only way we can come up with?"

"...If this is the case, I would rather lead the remaining soldiers to fight the Empire to the death!"

"Gentlemen! Please be sober!" The indignant rhetoric was interrupted mercilessly by Rophia, "Anyone knows that the soldiers of the alliance are not

Not afraid of death.But have you ever thought about it?What if we lose this war?Do we want our descendants to bow their knees and stand under the banner of the empire and shout 'Long live the emperor'? ! "

Her words were like pouring a bucket of ice water into hot oil. Everyone felt a chill behind their backs and couldn't help shivering.

Yes, the moment of survival of the Alliance has come.

It is foolish bravery to be impulsive, and only by bearing the burden of humiliation can one survive.

The meeting ended in an atmosphere of helplessness and unwillingness. When everyone left the venue, Sophia stopped Lieutenant General Vlad.

She bent down and bowed deeply, "General, please understand the reason why I made such a decision. This matter will definitely leave a stain on your reputation..."

"Your Excellency, please don't mind. As a soldier of the alliance, I will do whatever it takes for the motherland." The general who spoke sonorously paused suddenly, "It's just my wife..."

As a woman, Sophia couldn't bear it a bit, "I know, she will probably be very sad. For Levi, her feelings are sincere."

"I'll convince her."

The lieutenant general's assertion did not make Sophia miss the hidden struggle in his eyes, "Actually... you also regard Levi as your real son."

The general was silent for a while, then finally said, "It's too late to say anything now."

Lieutenant General Vlad turned and left after a simple salute.

The back of this tough general who has been tough all his life is already a little hunched, and his back looks very sad under the afterglow of the setting sun in the corridor.

***

Three days later, a shocking news was repeated many times in the various communication circuits of the alliance: Since they have been in a passive position in the war against the empire, in order to alert the generals and calm the dissatisfaction of the subordinate soldiers, there will be a Fleet captains who failed to organize battles were held accountable.This includes many once prestigious names, and the third one is Lieutenant General Vlad.These officers will be escorted back to the alliance capital by a special fleet formed temporarily. What awaits them is a harsh trial by a military court and the helpless tears of their loved ones.

The media has polarized opinions on this decision of the military. Some praised it as an extraordinary measure taken in an extraordinary period, while others called for giving these senior officials who have been fighting for many years an extra chance.In order to win sympathy, some TV stations broadcast the scenes of these generals meeting their families, and the pain shown by the weak and beautiful Mrs. Flood is particularly memorable.

December sixteenth.

The fleet carrying these senior prisoners is about to pass through an asteroid belt and arrive at the alliance capital in three days.

The group of small battleships with orange flames lined up in a straight line, looking like a string of elongated pearl necklaces from a distance, slowly moving forward.

The ship on which Lieutenant Admiral Follard and his wife were placed was placed in the middle of the entire team.

Duan is a photon-powered warship. This ship is the place where the lieutenant general and his wife met before. Its appearance appeared in the background inadvertently on TV.Behind it was a slightly larger spaceship. Although it looked unremarkable, it had actually become the general flagship of the Alliance Army.

The supreme commander of the alliance, Marshal Sophia is stationed here.

With the assistance of the generals who did not hesitate to sacrifice their reputations, Sophia also showed enough sincerity. She came to this place that was about to become the most frontier battlefield, and personally commanded it.Behind her, standing on the podium as an assistant officer was Major General Isos, her trusted confidant.

This special mission team seems to be sailing in the universe in an orderly manner, but in fact, whether they are prisoners or guards, the hearts of everyone in the fleet are anxious.

The legendary "Bloodthirsty Queen" has not yet appeared.

Once through this asteroid belt, it's too close to the capital.For the raiders, launching an offensive there is really an unwise choice; and it is impossible for the alliance to cooperate with the empire in the hinterland so close to its military and political heart.Or to put it another way, as long as TBQ does not appear tonight, it means that the well-laid trap has lost its effectiveness.

As time passed by second after second, even if she was as calm as Sophia, there was a vague sense of uncertainty.

"If this method fails, what should we do?" Sophia half-jokingly said to the major general behind him, "However, maybe the most disappointed person will not be us, but Crown Prince Roger Hill. Back then The purpose of sending Levi to the empire is not only to obtain the DNA of the royal family, but also to verify whether the clone has been completely successful. As long as he falls in love with a member of the royal family, it proves that our "emperor gene" has been successfully replicated, so even if he Betrayed, the alliance actually won the victory. But I didn't expect that his combat power exceeded all of us's expectations. The alliance's replicator plan became empty talk, and the empire lost its most important weapon. You once persuaded me, but I'm still determined to go my own way, and as for today... As you can see, TBQ still hasn't appeared, I'm really afraid that this is another wrong decision."

Issos did not comfort his boss for his rare frustration. He just looked at the infinite starry sky around him and said firmly, "He will appear, sir. On this point, I am absolutely sure."

As if to confirm his assertion, a soldier sitting in front of the surveillance screen suddenly jumped up and shouted, "I found the enemy plane, ah, the computer automatically verified that it is TBQ!" He seemed to want to stand up and turn to Sofia. He reported in detail, but his eyes were firmly fixed on the screen, and then he opened his mouth wide, with a look of horror and disbelief.

The abnormal situation made the marshal and her assistant look at each other, and Issos immediately ordered loudly, "What's going on? Report the specific situation immediately!"

Commander's order

The soldier suddenly woke up, and he tried his best to report in a steady voice, but he still couldn't suppress the trembling in his voice, "Report to the commander-in-chief, the TBQ was found at the due east of the fleet, and its speed is very fast... reaching [-] light-years per hour ..."

On the screen with dark blue as the background color, the silver-white light point representing the position of TBQ is very eye-catching. Its trajectory on the photon display does not show the streamlined movement of a general ship, but flashes like a star, which means its speed It's getting too close for radar to keep track of.

Thirty light years. --This is undoubtedly a record that people have never imagined. In this era, the fastest warship that can jump in space can only reach a speed of [-] light-years per hour.

"Now... its position is..." The poor soldier was still stammering, but he couldn't express it clearly, because the position of TBQ was changing greatly every second.

"Needless to say, we have already seen it." Sophia slammed the armrest of the seat and stood up, and said in a sharp voice, "Quick! All the warships must act according to the first plan, fast! Now! Immediately!"

The unusual tone of the Supreme Commander spread in all directions through the instant messaging device.

"Your Excellency? This is..."

Isos, who didn't know why, was about to ask a question, when he suddenly found a fiery red spot that was rapidly growing in size through the glass screen in the direction of three o'clock.He subconsciously looked at Sophia, and found that she was looking at the same place as himself, and it turned out that she had seen it just now.When Issos looked outside again, in just three or four seconds, the light spot grew from the size of a soybean to the length of a finger.

From such a distance, one can already see that a fiery fighter is rushing towards here at an incredible speed.

It is as light and nimble as a petrel, but its fiery red color and fierce posture make people think of a vulture preying on hunger, showing its sharp claws to kill its prey.

Such a color, such a speed, is exactly the eternal overlord of the air "Bloodthirsty Queen".

Her goal is very clear, which is to directly target the warship located in the middle of the fleet, where Vice Admiral Vlad and his wife are on board.

After only a second or two of reaction time, the soldiers moved quickly.The fleet that was originally elongated in a straight line suddenly moved in the shape of a line segment folded in half. The ships in the center moved back rapidly, and the warships at both ends gathered in the center, trying to form an olive-shaped fleet before TBQ reached the target.

But the "Bloodthirsty Queen" was too fast, and the fleet was forced to break through to the center before it could take shape.

"Surround it, at all costs!"

Sophia moved the warships used as bait to the periphery, and directed other ships to surround TBQ by mistake.But the air queen's combat power still exceeded her expectations, and such a siege could only delay time. TBQ keeps penetrating through the narrow gaps between warships

Flying out, like a dagger piercing the covered iron net again and again.

In a blink of an eye, the warship that the Follards were on was exposed to TBQ again.

The front end of the "Bloodthirsty Queen" emitted two silver-white rays, which hit the engine on one side of the photon-powered ship with perfect precision. The jet holes on the other side roared twice, and then lost power. TBQ turned to the other side of the ship with the intention of destroying the engine on the other side.

The real-time image transmitted everything unreservedly. Looking at the picture in front of her, Sophia thumped the table heavily, and roared in a low voice regardless of her image, "What are other people doing? Do we want us to watch Lieutenant General Vlad in front of us?" Hijacked?!"

This is just venting. Anyone, including Sophia, knows the helplessness and frustration of soldiers in the face of TBQ.However, the Union Army at this time showed commendable tenacity. They still surrounded from all directions, trying to stop TBQ's crazy actions.But these efforts are undoubtedly in vain. The "Bloodthirsty Queen" just turned around lightly and brought the photon-powered ship into range again.

Just when everyone was about to exclaim, the engine on the only remaining side of the photon power ship suddenly turned on its full horsepower. Since only one side was left to push, it did not move forward, but moved a little to the side.

In the position vacated by the warship, a fighter plane with the same appearance as TBQ was quietly suspended in the starry sky, as if it had been waiting for a long time.

And behind it, countless artificial light spots are neatly arranged.

The Imperial Army finally arrived.

For the first time, when the soldiers of the alliance saw the warships of the empire, they felt relieved at the same time.

At the same moment, when the same fiery red fighter plane appeared, the "Bloodthirsty Queen", which had been flying in phantom shape, suddenly stopped.

Within a very short distance, two fighter planes that looked like twins faced each other like this.

Set against the backdrop of countless warships of the Empire and the Alliance, in this starry universe.

Obviously it's just two metal-wrapped fighter planes, and they can't see each other's expressions and eyes, but such a picture of two facing each other conveys an invisible aura.All the ships automatically retreated to both sides, waiting with different purposes of guard and protection.

In this suffocating silence, suddenly, a fighter plane that looks like a TBQ is launched first.

It didn't adopt a roundabout attack, nor did it make any tentative moves, but it used all its horsepower to rush directly towards the "Bloodthirsty Queen"!

At this time, as long as TBQ launches a photon cannon head-on attack, the fighter plane will be destroyed immediately; or she only needs to dodge a little to avoid such a reckless offensive.But the invincible queen of the sky seemed to be suddenly stunned in front of this attack of losing her mind and committing suicide.

She shook slightly, then stopped in place.

The distance between the two fighter planes rapidly narrowed.

In the general flagship of the empire, Major Xue Nuo, who temporarily took over the command of the crown prince, stood up abruptly from the command chair, and shouted: "Your Highness!"

Sophia, the marshal of the alliance, also let out an "ah" out of composure.

Amidst the panic-stricken shouts of countless people, the two fighter planes collided with each other, and the sparks from the collision rose like fireworks, burning the eyes of every observer.

In an instant, the communication circuits of the armies on both sides were filled with various shocks, bewilderment, and anxiety.However, the commanders of both sides quickly controlled the situation in a short period of time. The empire sent emergency medical teams, rescue teams, and maintenance teams, while maintaining a calm posture to guard the opposite alliance army.

Sophia took advantage of the fact that the imperial army had no time to clean up, and mobilized a special fleet to retreat urgently. --Even if the two parties already have a secret contract, it is obviously not safe to be in the same place with such a large number of enemy warships.

When both sides had no intention of fighting, the two forces that had divided the Milky Way for a hundred years resumed a half-year truce.

The Alliance side has won a short but precious rest time, while the troubles on the Empire side are about to climb to the top.

When Roger Hill woke up, the light in the room was very dark, but just a slight trembling of his eyelashes attracted great surprise from the people waiting around.

"Your Highness, are you awake?"

Xue Nuo hastily adjusted the indoor light and came to the crown prince's side. After confirming that he was awake, he went out and called the waiting doctor.

Vincent took a step forward, as if he wanted to say something, but the hurried footsteps of the medical staff interrupted his unspoken words.

Then the quiet lounge continued to be noisy. Some people received orders to report the news that the emperor and the grand prince were awake, and some were busy conducting various life index tests for the crown prince.Attendants, doctors, and nurses surrounded the prince, and even outside the door were representatives of various people who were unwilling to leave because they were worried about the crown prince.

After undergoing a simple physical examination, Roger Hill sat up and raised his hand.

Because he was always paying attention to his movements, Xue Nuo immediately approached, "Your Highness, is it too noisy? Let's step back and let you rest for a while?"

"You stay."

"Uh...Okay." Xue Nuo was stunned for a moment and then understood the meaning of the crown prince. He turned to face the crowd gathered in the room, "You all go down first, and call when His Highness needs it."

Everyone filed out, and only Vincent stayed at the end. He glanced in Roger Hill's direction, but saw the prince leaning against the head of the bed with his eyes closed, supported by Xue Nuo.He walked out of the room with self-deprecating frustration, and after looking back at the closed door, he finally puffed up his chest and left.

The two people in the room did not talk immediately.

Roger Hill's face was a little pale, and he closed his eyes tightly, looking like a snow and ice sculpture under the white light.

Xue Nuo stood quietly aside.

"how is he?"

The crown prince spoke suddenly. He didn't directly say who that "he" is, but in the past two years, it has almost become a specific pronoun.

"You...you'd better go and see for yourself." The major hesitated.

Roger Hill suddenly opened his eyes, and his sharp eyes flashed, "Something happened? Is there any injury? TBQ's defense system is also the most advanced."

"It wasn't that something went wrong in the collision..." Xue Nuo carefully picked his words, "It's that he was not in a good condition. I sent a doctor to make a preliminary diagnosis for him when you were in a coma, but nothing came out. clear conclusion, so..."

Hearing this, the prince lifted the quilt and got out of bed, "Where do you arrange him?"

"The felons are detained at the lowest level of the warship..." Sensing the cold gaze of the crown prince, the major quickly added, "I'll ask them to change places immediately!"

"No need."

Roger Hill directly opened the door and walked out. His movements were quick, and Snow could only trot behind him, thinking about the prince's elusive attitude.

The special elevator for the crown prince descended all the way to the bottom of the huge ship.

On the first floor, the too bright light from the top of the elevator cast on the prince's face, and the shadows under the thick eyelashes made his eyeballs look deep blue, revealing a trace of depression in the depth.

"How long have I been unconscious?"

In the too quiet space, the prince's sudden voice made Xue Nuo shiver.He immediately replied, "About three hours."

"Did the capture process go smoothly?"

Roger Hill's questions became more and more jumpy, and Snow could not help wondering whether the prince's thinking was also in chaos at this time after his long career as a guard officer, although it was completely impossible to identify this from the outside.

"Huh?" The crown prince asked again suggestively.

Xue Nuo came back to his senses and immediately whispered, "It went well, and there was basically no resistance. I brought him here myself, but before I left, he made a request..." After careful consideration, He still said the following words, "He said, if you know that you are all right, you must tell him."

"...No other requests?" The crown prince's tone was very flat.

"No, no matter what we ask after that, he won't talk anymore."

The prince's footsteps stopped suddenly, and Xue Nuo realized that they had arrived at their destination.

Since it was on a warship, the so-called cell was actually just a cell for prisoners, so it didn't look so eerie.However, in order to save energy, there is no temperature regulation system here, and it only relies on being close to the power cabin to maintain the temperature at around zero.The oxygen content in the air is also relatively thin, and being in this environment for a long time will make people feel difficult to breathe.

The Crown Prince paused at the door for a long time before motioning for the guard to open the door.

The light in the room was dim, and it took Roger Hill a few seconds to see clearly that in the deepest part of the nearly twenty-square-meter room, there was a vague black figure locked on the wall.As he approached step by step, his eyes gradually adapted to the dim light. It took him a long time to confirm that this was the person he had dreamed of every night for five years.

But, he was no longer what he remembered.

The imprisoned criminals wore simple black clothes, which were clean but couldn't hide their oldness.The smooth and tight honey-colored skin in the original memory lost its luster, his cheeks and eye sockets were sunken, his lips were bloodless, and his excessive weight loss made him look haggard and weak.What is even more striking is that the blood vessels on the sides of his chin and the forehead that should have been hidden under the skin are dark blue/branch-like protruding from the surface of his skin, looking like a weird human skin embroidery from a distance. Lightly floated on the gloomy face.

His wrists were bound, his feet were hung from the ground on the wall, his head was hanging limply, and his hands and feet were bruised and purple due to the lack of oxygen and cold.

Looking at it from this angle, it seems that even breathing has stopped, and what remains here is only a pale and handsome male corpse.

As if in order to see more clearly, Roger Hill moved closer, and in the air, the faint fragrance that only belonged to him diffused.

r> Levi's nose moved slightly, and his eyes opened without warning.

The eyes of the two men met like this.

Levi spent a long time looking at Roger Hill, and his eyesight seemed to be not very good, so he could only narrow his eyes to look for the afterimage of the blond boy.But in front of him, there was only a handsome man wearing white gloves, a stern military uniform, and a cold expression.

The man took off the whip from the wall and raised his chin slightly with the whip, "Let me ask you a few questions."

Levi didn't speak, just looked at him quietly and vigorously.

Under such a sight, Roger Hill gritted his teeth, "This time... the Union Army lured you here. Why didn't you go back five years ago?"

"..."

"You had so many opportunities to get my DNA, why did you end up using such an obvious method?"

"..."

"Why did you destroy the Alliance's clone base?"

"..."

None of the questions were answered.After this short period of time, as if this brand new crown prince had been engraved in his mind, Levi bowed his head silently.

Just the act of pulling away from his eyes has already angered the prince.

"Who told you to bow your head? Answer my question!"

The whip brushed against Levi's face again, but instead of turning his head, he closed his eyes.

Strong emotions burst in the crown prince's eyes.

"Snapped!"

A severe whip hit Levi's chest.

It was a water-soaked cowhide whip. Although its structure was primitive, its painful effect was no worse than modern electric shock equipment.The suspended human body bounced like a fish out of water, and quickly regained its calm.Even though he forcibly resisted the reaction of the severe pain, cold sweat still slid down Levi's forehead, and a hole in his black shirt was pulled open, and the place where the whip had passed immediately became red and swollen, bloodshot.

Looking at the blood, Roger Hill seemed to have been whipped, and he tightly grasped the whip but couldn't lift it up again.

Levi still had his eyes closed.

Such an attitude of indifference and non-cooperation made Xue Nuo on the side feel uneasy.

Sure enough, the crown prince walked back and forth for a few steps and said to Xue Nuo, "Call the accompanying doctors and ask them to prepare the blood drawing equipment."

"...Yes." With a worried look in his eyes, the guard had no choice but to back down.

When the prince said "drawing blood", Levi flinched imperceptibly, but of course this did not escape the eyes of the crown prince.

Roger Hill suddenly smiled softly, "Since you don't want to help me solve my doubts, then I have to find the answer by myself... Actually, I still have a question. Back then, you had a deep relationship with a man named Raymond, and then we His body was also found in the room where you lived. According to investigations, he is a replica of the Alliance. So... I have been paying attention to your body

I'm curious too..."

At the end of this passage, he deliberately prolonged his tone, and the lingering lingering sound made Levi, who had been closing his eyes tightly, tremble as if being pricked by a needle.

The team of doctors led by Snow arrived soon, and Roger Hill stepped aside and gave an order, "You guys start."

The moment the needle pierced the skin, Levi, who had been unresponsive during the torture, suddenly struggled violently.The doctor who drew the blood was unprepared for a moment. With a flick of his finger, the slender needle broke in the skin.

"What are you all doing? Still not holding him down?!"

The crown prince's stern order made the doctors rush over to squeeze the prisoners tightly after being stunned for a second.Levi struggled desperately, but his physical strength was not as good as before. He couldn't bear the strength of five grown men at all, so he could only be pressed against the wall and couldn't move.

When he felt the sharp coldness go deep under his skin again, he suddenly opened his eyes, passing through the surrounding people, looking straight at Roger Hill with an unpredictable expression.

The look in this moment, for some reason, suddenly reminded the prince of that helpless confession after the dance that only belonged to the two of them in that winter.

Moist eyes that are about to cry, dewdrops rolling on the white magnolia, cherry blossoms trembling in the cold wind...such irrelevant images constitute all that represents love in the prince's heart.

Five years ago, he could say "I love you" in the most gentle and loving tone.

Five years later, he turned his face away, forcing himself not to look at that person, and not to soften his heart in the slightest.

Such an expression of refusal shattered Levi's last request for help. He was like a person climbing on the edge of a cliff, and finally let go of the branch representing hope and expectation, allowing himself to sink into the endless abyss.

Finally, he closed his eyes again.