After receiving his graduation certificate from Li Fulai and being informed that the academy would hold a commissioning ceremony for him at three o'clock that afternoon, Lin Fan and Emma left the simulated battle building.
"Are you leaving today?"
Emma walked beside Lin Fan and asked softly.
"Yeah. The commander said he'd take me away after the commissioning ceremony this afternoon."
"But the front lines... Mm."
Just as Emma was about to say something, Lin Fan reached out and covered her little mouth.
"I know about the front lines, and I know more than you do."
Emma stared blankly at Lin Fan with her beautiful eyes. She could not understand why he knew. This information should have been tightly sealed away; if one did not belong to a major family like Campbell, it should have been impossible to learn of it.
That was right. Though the Federation appeared peaceful and stable now, that was not the case at all.
Ever since humanity formed the Federation and began expanding into the stars, it had incorporated the three Star Systems of Proxima, Barnard's Star, and Epsilon Eridani into the Federation in just over a decade.
For a time, humanity was swept up in a frenzy of interstellar exploration. Yet only a few years later, it encountered the powerful Oakes Empire in the universe.
Who struck first was no longer important. Under the jungle law of the cosmos, no grand cause was needed to attack another civilization.
Over the next thirty years, the Federation and the Oakes Civilization fought countless major battles.
The fighting spread from Epsilon Eridani to Barnard's Star, then from Barnard's Star to Proxima.
In the end, the Federation's three fleets outside the Solar System were utterly annihilated, while the three Star Systems of Proxima, Barnard's Star, and Epsilon Eridani all fell.
At that point, only the Fourth Fleet stationed in the Solar System remained of the Human Federation's four main fleets.
The total number of warships had plummeted from a peak of 150,000 to 30,000, including 20,000 in the Fourth Fleet and 10,000 in the Garrison Fleet.
Meanwhile, the Oakes Empire's 200,000 warships were charging straight toward the Solar System.
In Federation Year 52, the Oakes fleet entered the Solar System. Liang Xingchen, who had just become commander of the Fourth Fleet, withstood the pressure and ordered all fleets to retreat to Mars Base.
Liang Xingchen knew that with a tenfold disparity in strength, there was not the slightest chance of victory in a frontal battle.
No matter how capable he was, in a direct confrontation, achieving an exchange ratio of one to three would already be the limit. Their only chance was to use the Asteroid Belt to find an opportunity to defeat the enemy.
Before long, with no one there to defend it, the Oakes Empire's fleet advanced all the way to Jupiter. At that point, only the Asteroid Belt remained between the two sides.
Three months later, the Oakes Empire's 200,000 warships entered the Asteroid Belt, and Liang Xingchen finally found an opportunity to ambush them.
The battle lasted a full three days. In the end, the Federation's Fourth Fleet lost 8,000 warships, while the Oakes Empire lost 80,000 warships and retreated to Jupiter.
It was this battle that established Liang Xingchen's position as the God of War of the Federation.
Afterward, for the sake of internal stability, the Federation changed the publicly announced results to the complete annihilation of the Oakes Empire's 200,000 warships. It loudly proclaimed that the Oakes Empire had been defeated, leading all Federation citizens to believe the war was over.
Yet the truth was that although the Oakes Empire had suffered enormous losses, it still had 120,000 warships at Jupiter, while humanity remained holed up inside the Asteroid Belt, unable to venture out.
Furthermore, according to Liang Xingchen's assessment, the Oakes Empire had not organized a second offensive in the past few years. Its purpose was most likely to wait for reinforcements.
Therefore, humanity's current situation was extremely dire, utterly different from the illusion of peace and prosperity within the Federation.
"Don't worry. Maybe by the time you reach Mars Base next year, I'll already be a general."
"Hehe, you're only nineteen now, aren't you? You'll only be twenty next year, and you want to become a general? You're dreaming! Even General Liang Xingchen was twenty-eight when he became a Major General, okay?"
"Then let's make a bet. If I've become a Major General by the time you arrive at Mars Base next year, you'll be my girlfriend!"
"Wh-who wants to make that bet with you?!"
Emma's little face instantly turned red, and she turned around and fled.
"What a dishonest girl! Sigh, I'm leaving this afternoon. I should report to the old man first. What a hassle!"
Lin Fan then returned to his dormitory to pack his things. But before he began, there was something he needed to do first—call his father.
The communicator connected quickly, and a stern voice came through.
"This is Lin Zhen!"
"It's me."
"Speak."
"I just completed my graduation assessment ahead of schedule. After the commissioning ceremony this afternoon, I'll be following General Liang Xingchen to Mars Base. Just letting you know."
"Is that so?"
"Is that so? Old man, can't you stop being so stingy with your words every time?"
"What is there to say to a brat like you? Get lost already! I'm busy!"
"When are you ever not busy?"
"You think I'm like you? Don't think I don't know that you little brat do nothing but sleep at the academy, whether it's during class or after class!"
"What's wrong with sleeping? Sleeping makes me happy, sleeping makes me strong. No matter how much I sleep, I'm still the strongest!"
"You!! You're going to drive me to an early grave."
Though he was angry, Lin Zhen truly had no way to refute him. Lin Fan really did grow stronger the more he slept.
This was just fucking ridiculous. According to reports from his subordinates, that brat slept in class and slept after class.
In short, he looked for every possible opportunity to sleep. Yet the problem was that he really did grow stronger the more he slept. After several years of sleeping, not even a single instructor in the entire academy could beat him.
He had clearly been such a well-behaved and diligent child when he was young. How had he become like this after growing up?
The more Lin Zhen thought about it, the angrier he became.
"Alright, old man. I just came to say goodbye. Who knows whether we'll have another chance to talk in the future, right?"
Lin Zhen fell silent. Others might not know the state of the front lines, but how could he not? He was the Federation President.
As for Lin Fan, Lin Zhen did not want his position to negatively affect Lin Fan's growth, so he had his records classified long ago. The information released to the public was a falsified and altered file.
As a result, no one in the entire academy, not even Principal Li Fulai, knew that Lin Fan was actually the Federation President's son.
For a moment, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere became somewhat silent.
"Be careful. I don't want to be a white-haired man sending off a black-haired son."
"You should take better care of your health yourself!"
"..."
Come to think of it, conversations between father and son Lin Zhen and Lin Fan had always been like this. They seemed to bicker every day, but in truth, they cared deeply about each other. This was their unique way of communicating.
After ending the call, Lin Fan began packing. Then, seeing that he still had plenty of time left, he lay directly on the bed and went to sleep—no, he was training!
At three o'clock that afternoon, all the academy's students and instructors gathered in the central auditorium for the commissioning ceremony.
The assembled students were utterly bewildered. Wasn't the commissioning ceremony held only once a year? The last one had just ended, so why was there another one? Who was being commissioned?
Not only the students—the instructors were equally baffled.
It was not until Li Fulai took the stage and began speaking that everyone erupted into an uproar.
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