The first time was unfamiliar; the second came naturally. When Hoshijiro Shizuka appeared before Fang Zheng again, she was embarrassed beyond words.
"I'm truly sorry... Commander..."
"This is the second time, Miss Hoshijiro. Your luck is really terrible..."
Watching Hoshijiro Shizuka lower her flushed face, Fang Zheng helplessly shook his head.
"Tell me, what happened this time? How did you die again? And what was that monster?"
"A monster?"
Hearing Fang Zheng's question, Hoshijiro Shizuka froze. Fang Zheng snapped his fingers and took out the test tube Tesla had given him earlier.
"Oh, and this thing. We found it in your brain. What the hell is it? What trouble did you get dragged into this time?"
"Th-that is..."
The moment she saw the octopus-like bug in the test tube, Hoshijiro Shizuka's expression changed drastically.
"It-it's Kishio Kunihisa! It was him! He... he controlled me... No, not just me. Sidonia... everyone..."
"Calm down, calm down, calm down."
Seeing Hoshijiro Shizuka on the verge of losing control, Fang Zheng hurriedly gestured for her to settle down.
"Come on, take it slow... Don't panic."
"Ah, yes..."
Taking the tea Electro Mei handed her, Hoshijiro Shizuka finally managed to calm down somewhat. She took a sip, then explained everything that had happened to Fang Zheng in detail.
After watching the battlefield records Fang Zheng had given them, Sidonia immediately launched an investigation into the two of them. Later, the cockpit recordings proved that Kishio Kunihisa—the long-haired man who had framed his fellow soldier—had indeed done it. He was promptly interrogated and handed over to the Military Tribunal for Judgment.
Originally, under Sidonia's laws, a culprit like Kishio Kunihisa, who had framed a comrade on the battlefield and even caused the failure of an important operation, should have received the death penalty—in plain terms, he