Lu Xunji tilted his head and said, "Yes."
Xie Ji pulled the blanket up a little to cover his face and said in a muffled voice, "Even if you know the result won't satisfy you?"
Lu Xunji's communicator on his personal computer rang. He turned around to process the information and remained silent for a long time. Just when Xie Ji thought he wouldn't answer the question, he heard Lu Xunji's calm voice.
"The result isn't the most important thing," Lu Xunji said. "When doing something, I enjoy the process more than the outcome."
Xie Ji looked up at Lu Xunji's face, which was clearly illuminated by the light from the computer's LED light, and softly hummed in agreement.
He had fallen asleep on the sofa sometime during his sleep, but was awakened by the sound of hurried footsteps and a sharp alarm, which made him very uneasy. Xie Ji opened his eyes and found that he had been moved from the sofa in the command office to a bed in the lounge.
Just a door away from him was Lu Xunji's office, where quite a few people were standing. Lu Xunji sat in his seat, frowning as he listened to the people below him talking.
Xie Ji sat up in bed and glanced at the time. He had slept for less than four hours, while Lu Xunji hadn't rested at all.
The voice seemed to be deliberately lowered, as if someone had told him not to wake him from his sleep. Xie Ji had some difficulty listening and could only barely make out a few words.
" Fifth War Zone... shot down... fell into... gone missing..."
Xie Ji straightened his clothes and prepared to go out to listen carefully to what had happened, but suddenly a heavy breathing sound rang in his ears.
"Damn... I can't hold it anymore."
Xie Ji was frozen in place by that sudden shout.
Is this a good luck charm he gave to Ji Shi?!
Xie Ji opened his mouth, wanting to speak, but then remembered that this peace charm was one-way; he could hear Ji Shi's inner thoughts, but Ji Shi probably couldn't hear what he was saying.
What's wrong with the Ji Shi?
"Did I... did I manage to hold on tight enough?" The voice on the other end continued, "I've lost too much blood, I'm almost out of strength, Xie Ji."
Xie Ji gripped the clothes rack beside him, his knuckles turning white from gripping it so tightly.
What do you mean by "too much blood loss"?! What happened to Ji Shi? Where is he?!
Ji Shi took a breath and continued, "I hope you can hear me. I am Ji Shi, the commander of the Fifth War Zone. What follows will most likely be my last words. Since taking over as commander of the Fifth War Zone, the number of unknown creatures in the surrounding area has been increasing exponentially every day, and the number of people in the war zone has been decreasing. In the end, I had no choice but to personally lead the team to fight against the invasion."
Xie Ji's breathing trembled, and his sobs were trapped in his throat, sounding like the mournful cry of a small animal.
"I can't remember how many times we've encountered swarms of life forms in the past three days. The starship is severely damaged and it's difficult to break through the encirclement. We have no choice but to abandon the starship and board small escape pods. My partner is Shen Ting, a third-year student in the individual combat department."
"To buy me time to escape, she steered the starship into the swarm of lifeforms." He paused here, then continued slowly, "The starship initiated its self-destruct sequence. Ten seconds later, I saw that burst of fire erupt from the dark swarm of lifeforms. The escape pod, affected by the aftershocks, was pulled off course and sucked into that black hole. What's inside is hard to describe... It's like the end of it all. This is probably the birthplace of those unknown creatures. Destroying this place might end it all."
Xie Ji clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. The pain in his heart almost made him unable to stand. He hunched over like a weathered old man, trying to alleviate the pain.
"The resources in the escape pods aren't enough to destroy this place, and monsters are constantly spawning from here. I can't hide for long." Ji Shi swallowed hard, his Adam's apple bobbing. "... That's all I can say as a battlefield commander. I hope it can be of some help to the Empire's research into resisting the black hole monsters. I can't go back."
"The last sentence, as Ji Shi..."
"I can't bear to part with it."
The golden lines on his palms were faintly warm. Xie Ji clenched his fists, holding back his tears. He straightened up and opened the door to the lounge.
Everyone in the office turned to look at him. Lu Xunji's expression was indifferent, almost unreadable, but Xie Ji knew that he was probably wondering whether to tell him about Ji Shi's accident.
"I need to apply for a combat mech." Xie Ji cut to the chase. "Now, immediately, right now."
Lu Xunji's brows furrowed. "Impossible."
" Ji Shi alive." Xie Ji rushed to Lu Xunji and slammed his hand on the documents in front of him. "I'm going to find him! Give me the mech!"
Lu Xunji pursed his lips and said coldly, "He is only 'alive' 'now,' and it's only what you think he's 'alive. 'Xie Ji, calm down."
Xie Ji's lips trembled, and he shivered at the coldness in Lu Xunji's tone.
Perhaps for Lu Xunji, from the moment the Fifth War Zone fell and the Ji Shi Starship crashed, Ji Shi was already 'dead'.
But how can that be?
He could clearly still feel Ji Shi's faint heartbeat, so how could he remain indifferent and stand by and watch?
Even the slightest chance should not be given up, especially since it is the Ji Shi.
That was the first person to be kind to him after he came into this world.
Xie Ji slowly clenched his fist on the table. "I'll go by myself, just me. It won't waste many resources, just one mech."
Lu Xunji raised his eyes, looked into Xie Ji's eyes, and after a long while, as if defeated, stood up and said, "I'll go with you."
"No." Xie Ji immediately rejected the idea. "You can't go. Of all the war zones, only the Second War Zone is still holding out. You are very important to the Empire... You are the backbone of everyone. You can't be harmed. If something happens to you, everyone is finished."
Lu Xunji looked at him with a strange, probing gaze.
"So, you mean I have to watch you go to your death and even hand you a knife?"
" Xie Ji, you overestimate me."
Xie Ji opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then felt he had nothing to say.
"Do you think I sit in this position because I'm supposed to protect the empire, protect everyone? Because I think I'm important?"
Xie Ji whispered, "... But you can do it. You can protect everyone. Only you can do it."
"What's it to me? What misunderstanding do you have about me? Am I some kind of hero? The reason I'm sitting here, the reason I'm working day and night, manipulating the war, building defenses, raising troops and cultivating land, isn't to protect anyone, but to prove my abilities to you, to tell you my worth."
"If anything happens to you, the first people I'll target are those you're trying to protect. If you die, nobody will survive. Do you understand?"