nebula story

The door of the secret temporary ward opened quietly.The doctors and nurses in the ward were instructed and quietly retreated.

Standing in front of Yuan Bihai and Qi Bo, a tall man with a dignified face stood there quietly.

The setting sun that was approaching evening came in through the heavy curtains that covered half of the windows, and reflected a little on the man's side face.

Slowly turning around, the man in front of Chesu's hospital bed turned his head, and looked at the federal general at the door who was wearing a straight military uniform with a dazzling shoulder badge from a short distance away.

In the past 20 years, although the faces of the best spies of the Federation have been scarred, and the most talented generals of the Federation have been stern, they still cannot prevent them from recognizing each other.

Standing up slowly, Che'an spoke softly, slightly hesitant: "Xie Zhan?..."

Walking in front of him, the federal general nodded: "Welcome back, Feng Zhuan."

Also dressed in neat federal uniforms, with the same sharp and bright eyes, the two stretched out their arms at the same time, hugging each other tightly.

After leaving silently, General Xie Zhan looked at the patient who had regained sleep on the bed.

The light and shadow moved slightly, and the dust was light.With the sun behind him, Che'an couldn't clearly see the expression on his face and the real emotion in his eyes for a while.The two MI[-] directors behind him were also silent.

A little confused, Che'an looked at him, and then at the old MI[-] boss behind him.

Qi Bo has been in one-way contact for many years, and Qi Bo is the only link between him and the Federation. The tacit understanding between the two is naturally unparalleled.

But he couldn't understand the strange look on Qi Bo's face now.

Feeling a little dark in his heart, Che'an looked at his old friend whom he hadn't seen for many years, now a famous general of the Federation, and said quietly: "I told him just now that he is safe. This is not comfort, but a promise."

Looking at Yuan Bihai coldly, he seemed to be saying to him, and at the same time he seemed to be saying to Xie Zhan: "You have responsibilities, and you don't know Xiaosu's true identity. No matter what you did to him these days, I have nothing to say Can say."

Slightly glanced at the dense pinholes exposed on Chesu's chest and the scorched black marks left by the electric shock, he suppressed the great grief and anger in his heart, and tried his best to speak in the most restrained tone: "But from now on, if anyone dares to Give him a cold hair, first ask me if I promise or not."

Looking at him wordlessly, Yuan Bihai and Qi Bo stood not far away, with even weirder expressions.Looking at General Xie Zhan, they seemed to want to say something, but at the same time they kept their mouths tightly shut.

Feeling more and more suspicious, Che'an narrowed his eyes and looked at Xie Zhan.

The old friend in front of him had been staring closely at Chesu on the hospital bed, his black eyebrows were as cold as a blade, but there seemed to be something undercurrent surging in his eyes.

Misunderstood the surging thing as inevitable, Che'an finally couldn't hold back his anger anymore.From the moment Qi Bo contacted him, he exhausted his resources and dark intelligence lines, and returned to the Federation from the strictly controlled wartime interstellar channel. It reached the peak in an instant.

And now, Xie Zhan actually came to Chesu's hospital bed, why?

...Why, as the supreme commander of the federal frontline on Fisher planet, did he abandon the battle that was in full swing?

No matter how important Chesu's matter is, there's no reason for Xie Zhan to fly back to the capital of Goda on an interstellar ship like him, wearing stars and wearing moons, giving up everything, right? !

"General Xie Zhan, I want to emphasize one more point to you." Che'an changed his military title and met his gaze calmly, "I know that in your eyes, these orphans we brought with us are just a few Chess pieces are the help for us to complete the task. But for me, Chesu is not."

Looking at the quiet and thin young man on the hospital bed, his voice is still flat, but there are turbulent waves hidden: "I raised him in the empire for 18 years, watched him babble, toddler, and watched him grow up day by day... To me, he is my son. Not some second-generation spy code-named 001."

There were flames burning in his cold eyes, and he said fiercely: "Whoever wants to hurt him again, whether it is the military or the parliament, I will never agree. Believe me, I will show a father's attitude Onslaught!"

Looking up abruptly, Xie Zhan looked at him with a strange look in his eyes.

Looking at Che'an with that weird and depressed look for a long time, he finally raised his eyebrows, and said a word in a difficult and desolate manner: "Thank you, Zhu'an. But I am his real father."

……

Sitting in MI[-]'s single office in the original Bihai, the door was firmly closed, several men with different complexions sat silently beside the square sofa, and the room was oppressively silent.

It was the old supervisor Qi Bo who broke the silence first, stretched out his hand to Che'an who had been in shock and couldn't restrain his face, and handed over a checklist.His face was full of bitterness: "This is the DNA test result of Chesu and General Xie Zhan, take a look."

Reaching out to take it stiffly, Che'an, the No. [-] spy of the Federation's "Deep Sea" project, looked at the thin paper in a daze.

Looking at the long list of RCP values ​​as high as 99.9999%, he stared at it, unable to speak.

"Actually, General Xie Zhan just found out just like you." Qi Bo rubbed his temples a little tiredly, feeling a pinprick-like pain.In the past few days, the guilt and heaviness in his heart have not been easier than those of these parties.

"How is it possible?" Che'an raised his head impressively, "These children we took out are all orphans picked out from the federal orphanage, aren't they?"

Qi Bo didn't immediately answer his question, but looked at Yuan Bihai, and asked abruptly: "That day at the pier by the sea, you criticized this spy continuation plan as very shameless, and even said bluntly that the justice of General Xie is very serious. cheap."

"Yes, even if General Xie Zhan is here, I still think so now." Yuan Bihai remained expressionless.

"I said at the time, you don't know what the Xie family paid for it." Qi Bo sighed, "Chesu is that price."

Seeing the indifferent Xie Zhan, he continued: "Even General Xie Zhan didn't know what happened at that military meeting that year."

"What?" Yuan Bihai asked.

"At that time, General Wu, who strongly opposed the 'Deep Sea' spy project, slapped the table angrily, denouncing the inhumane plan. He was very similar to what Xiao Yuan said, mocking your father, General Xie Ruifeng, for taking innocent children from other families. Fulfilling his so-called national righteousness... At that time, General Xie Ruifeng stood up with a sneer and said a word."

Although it has been 20 years, the scene at that time is still extremely clear, and Qi Bo still vaguely remembers his shock at that time.

"What did he say?" Yuan Bihai held his breath.

"He proudly said: 'My eldest son Xie Zhan's daughter-in-law is about to give birth, and she has undergone a gender test, and it is a boy. I will send him to the empire to participate in this plan with these orphans—do you have any objections? '...I remember that all the generals present were speechless, and were so shocked by his words that they couldn't refute any more. Even General Wu finally fell silent." Qi Bo sighed heavily, still feeling heavy in his heart. .

That was the grandson of General Xie Ruifeng, the first baby boy born in the second generation of the Xie family.

The Xie family has already paid such a price, who would dare to say that he was just sacrificing an orphan from another family? ...

"I was the head of MI[-] at the time, and when the plan was finally approved, I started formally selecting candidates."

Che'an nodded: "Yes, I was the top-secret mission I received at that time."

Falsifying the news of his death and concealing his identity, he was sent to various parts of the empire together with the group of outstanding spies carefully selected by the federal military. Each of them carried a little orphan with him. It has to be said that the cover of this father-son relationship has indeed brought convenience to their smooth integration.

But he was not told all the secrets, and he simply thought that the child beside him was an orphan without father and mother, just like everyone else.

Looking at Xie Zhan, Yuan Bihai finally couldn't help asking: "But General...why don't you know all this?"

Sitting there coldly, the man in his 40s showed no expression: "My father was afraid that my wife and I would disagree, so he directly fabricated the news that the child died at birth. After Xiao Su was secretly taken to the empire, he That’s why I was called to the study alone and told the truth.”

His voice was very calm, and his eyes were still steady, but Yuan Bihai noticed something sharply: General Xie Zhan's fist was clenched for a moment!

I don't know if General Xie Ruifeng discusses with him, will he agree to his father's plan?Yuan Bihai thought vaguely, but didn't ask.

Ah, suddenly there was a flash in his mind, and he caught another important piece of information!That's right, although the Xie family's two generations of generals are iron-blooded hawks, according to rumors in the army, the father and son are actually seriously at odds and have been strangers for many years!

In an instant, Yuan Bihai suddenly realized the truth of this.

"Old General Xie has always been concerned about Chesu's affairs. I will pass on all the information I got from Che'an to him in time." The old supervisor Qi Bo sighed slightly, "He will never give up if he is convinced of the matter. So he ruthlessly ordered me not to disclose any information to you, the general in private. Even before he retired, he made that decision."

"Yes, he decides everything." With a slight sneer, Xie Zhan said, "Because he was afraid that I would disagree with his decision, he hid my son from me and my wife. Because he was afraid that I would After taking over the military affairs, he took advantage of his power and took Xiao Su back, so a few years later, he ordered you to falsify his death again."

Listening in amazement, both Yuan Bihai and Che'an were a little dazed.

again?What's the meaning?

With a sneering smile, General Xie Zhan, who had been expressing anger all this time, finally showed a trace of unusual emotion: "In order for his grandson to take root in the empire, and for the 'Deep Sea' project he created, my matter Father, who puts the interests of the Federation first, ordered this loyal Director Qi Bo to inform me that my son failed to survive in the empire due to illness..."

"There is no such thing as loyalty." Qi Bo said indifferently, "I am not responsible to any individual. I am a soldier and must obey the orders of my superiors."

"What did my father say to you before he retired?" Xie Zhan stared at him with knife-like eyes, "Xiao Su has come back, my father has also passed away, and you are about to let this plan go to Yuan Bihai, and Nothing to keep secret?"

"No more." Qi Bo looked at him with complicated expressions in his eyes. "Before he died, he only told me that everything about Chesu should be handled in the same way as other second-generation spies. If he chooses to come back, I can tell you." , your son is still alive; if he is willing to continue lurking, then respect his own wishes and keep it a secret. At that time, Chesu had just passed the exam and entered the Royal Academy of Engineering."

Even though he was shocked by the old general's ruthlessness, he still remembered the complicated emotions in Xie Ruifeng's eyes when he reported Chesu's excellent results to the old man in the hospital bed that year.It seems to be gratified, it seems to be sad, and there are some things that I can't see clearly.

Touching the latest photo of Chesu he brought with him, Old General Xie didn't speak for a long time, just staring at it for a long time.

He was silent at the side, the setting sun was cold and the wind was merciless, the old general lay down on the hospital bed and entrusted him with a matter in his personal capacity.

Reaching out his hand and taking out a thick document from his pocket, Qi Bo handed it to General Xie Zhan.

"This is a fund entrusted to me by Old General Xie before his death. He said——if Chesu returns to the Federation in the future, the legacy left by Old General Xie will be his."

Glancing at the document, Xie Zhan didn't show any emotion.Throwing the document on the table casually, he sneered: "He didn't explain it. If the person dies, what will happen to these funds?"

"He said that in case Chesu couldn't come back, the fund would be shared equally among all the orphans of second-generation spies who would return in the future, and it would be added to the military's special allowance."

……

The huge director's office of MI[-] was originally extremely spacious, but now it seems a bit cramped.

The four silent men sat on the sofa and office chairs, their postures were strangely stiff for a while.

Finally recovering from the endless surprise, Yuan Bihai looked at General Xie Zhan hesitantly.Today, General Xie Zhan is the highest authority in the military, and the imperial intelligence line in the hands of old director Qi Bo has just been transferred to him.

"General, next?" He asked tentatively.

Glancing at him silently, General Xie Zhan's stern face remained unchanged: "According to your judgment, after this prisoner is cured, if he is handed over to you again, how sure are you to pry his mouth open?"

Yuan Bihai was startled, and was keenly aware of a problem: General Xie Zhan called the child "Xiao Su" before, but just now, he still used the word "captive"!

"I don't think I'm sure at all." He thought for a while, and answered seriously, "To be honest, we have been unable to find out the military situation in the past [-] days. I think we have exhausted our means."

Beside, Che'an's face has changed slightly.

Yuan Bihai felt guilty for no reason when he caught his gaze.The man's gaze was like a sharp awl, and he had no doubt how easy it would be to pierce someone's throat when the best federal spy wanted to do something.

"General Xie Zhan, Chesu is not a prisoner." Che'an looked at General Xie Zhan and said word by word, "He is a spy sent by our Federation to the Empire, and the entire Federation should call their children heroes. You forgot Yet?"

Quietly meeting his gaze, General Xie Zhan's lips lined coldly: "But you have not told him his true identity in the past 18 years. He fought for the bloody bravery of the empire a year ago, and kept his mouth shut for the empire a year later. .I also admit that he is a hero, but I'm afraid he is—the hero of the empire."