CH 75.2

Chapter 75.2 – One Year

Shi Yuan asked, “After the end times started, did the Empire and the Alliance make up?”

“It can’t be called reconciliation, it can only be said that the truce has been forced,” Lu Tinghan explained, “At first, both sides thought they could handle the abyss, and they defended alone and studied alone. After a few years, they found that something was wrong. The two sides wanted to defend together, but it was too late. In the year 192 of the Alliance, we contacted the Empire for the last time, and then the communication was cut off, and we no longer received any news from them. So there was the ‘Echo’ project, and in the end, the project also failed.”

He actually felt a little bit emotional: “Some time later, both sides stopped having barriers and realized that they weren’t really that different from each other – ironically, it was at times like this that they finally put aside their centuries-old grudge and shook hands and made peace. If at the beginning, the Alliance and the Empire had cooperated without reservation, each taking advantage of the other’s strengths, maybe the situation would have been different.”

Shi Yuan hugged his tail, thought for a while, and said, “I can’t imagine the era when the Alliance and the Empire were in their heyday.”

“At that time, the entire sky was full of aircraft carriers, warships on the sea, tanks and missiles on the land, and cities everywhere. It was a very lively era,” Lu Tinghan said, “Let me look for it, there is a documentary short film in the database.”

He found the short film and projected it on the wall.

Wrapped in quilts, the two of them watched the magnificent city wall fortress reflected on the wall, the shocking display of the team of aircraft, the 100,000-ton aircraft carrier sailing into the deep sea, those fighter jets flying across the sea and returning to her side, like tired birds returning to their nests.

Shi Yuan opened his eyes wide to watch.

After a while, in the darkness, Lu Tinghan felt something stuffed into his hand. He lowered his head and asked, “What is it?”

Shi Yuan replied: “Professor Guan’s soybean cake. Of course, watching the video must be accompanied by snacks.”

Sure enough, a small box lay in Lu Tinghan’s hand, and there was only one piece of soybean cake left. Lu Tinghan smiled: “How many snacks does the professor have left?”

“I don’t know,” Shi Yuan said, “Anyway, I still have something to eat tomorrow.”

The two of them padded the residue with paper towels and finished dividing the piece of soybean cake. Shi Yuan watched carefully as Lu Tinghan threw the outer packaging of the snack into the trash.

After the short film was broadcast, the pomp from the past sank in the dark. They hugged each other and slept.

Later, they went to the northern district twice, both to Fengyang Amusement Park.

The windmill turned in the night, the wooden horse circled again and again, the small lanterns gleamed in the ruins, and the huge screen that had not yet fallen played silent fireworks.

Each time with Alice sitting in the abandoned pirate-themed restaurant, with her head raised and saying with emotion: “It would be great if I could see real fireworks – and, the most beautiful is the summer fireworks.”

Shi Yuan said, “Maybe there will be such a day.”

Alice didn’t speak, and there were jumping data in her eyes.

She gently swayed her bare feet, her white skirt fluttering.

When they went to the amusement park for the third time, the carousel broke down.

They didn’t know which part had collapsed or what was wrong with the circuit. Maybe an electrician could be called to fix it, but this was too extravagant and a waste of valuable resources.

The two tossed for a while, and could only accept the fact that it could no longer move.

In the end, they sat on the bench.

The large vertical screen was still fine. Virtual fireworks were still playing, exploding colorful colors and illuminating pirate ships and roller coasters, even the ferris wheel could be seen. The shadows of the two of them were stretched, and they fell on the ruins behind them, a large black mass, like two strange monsters.

The white horse, the maroon horse, and the pumpkin cart stopped quietly in the same place. A dark horse happened to look sideways, looking at them with big soft eyes.

Lu Tinghan asked, “Do you still want to come here in the future?”

Shi Yuan said, “Not coming anymore.”

“…okay.”

Lu Tinghan rubbed Shi Yuan’s head.

Just like this, a year passed.

As the war raged on, outposts were destroyed, rebuilt, and then destroyed again. The “Deep Dive” plan had not yet been successful. They couldn’t simulate Shi Yuan’s infection wavelength, nor could they find the Empire’s wartime underground buildings.

Lu Tinghan still commanded the battle, still speculating on the monster’s thinking.

The difference was that Shi Yuan would also accompany him to the front line.

Whenever the command was over, Lu Tinghan would have an extra little devil with a long tail purring in his arms – could there be anything better than this?

In May of Alliance 243, civilian communications were cut due to limited resources.

People had no way to access the Internet. If they wanted to make a call, they had to call the Alliance’s transfer center first, and wait for the operator to arrange a call for them. Each call time was within 7 minutes. There were a lot of people in line. It’d take nearly 10 minutes to make a call in the morning. In the evening, everyone had a break, and it’d often take 30 or 40 minutes to make a call.

Shi Yuan was worried about how to contact Lu Tinghan in time after that.

Lu Tinghan gave him a new mobile phone.

Said to be a mobile phone, it was actually more like an old-fashioned Alliance communicator, which was a bit bulky, and there was a knob that could adjust the frequency of the channel.

Lu Tinghan said: “Try the private channel 410.7625, this can communicate with me normally.”

Shi Yuan was not very good at using it. With the help of Lu Tinghan, he tuned the channel, but the next day, he didn’t know where he had touched it, and the channel couldn’t connect anymore.

He didn’t have to go to the research center today, so he tinkered with the communicator at home. Without the Internet, he couldn’t even find out how to use it.

Maybe if he went to the balcony, the signal would be better.

Shi Yuan took the communicator on the balcony railing and pressed it randomly. The communicator sent out a series of tones, but it just didn’t work.

He hung his tail in frustration and could only call the transfer center.

A cold female voice asked, “Hello, who do you want to call?”

Shi Yuan said, “I want to call General Lu Tinghan.”

The female voice was silent for two seconds: “We can’t do that.”

Shi Yuan thought for a while, remembering that Lu Tinghan had told him his private number, saying that he could answer the phone when he was not busy.

He reported the number to the female voice.

With a beep, he entered the waiting queue and waited for a full half an hour before starting to officially dial.

Fortunately, Lu Tinghan picked up the phone.

His first sentence was: “Is it knotted?”

“No,” Shi Yuan said, “I broke the communicator…”

Lu Tinghan told him: “You first press the largest button on the left, then the third button on the right, and when the green light is on, use the knob to adjust the channel back to 410.7625.”

Shi Yuan did so.

As soon as the channel was adjusted, the phone time was up and it was automatically hung up.

Shi Yuan was taken aback, but Lu Tinghan’s voice came from the communicator again: “…do you hear me now?”

“I hear you!” Shi Yuan replied. The breeze came from the wasteland, passing through the city walls and streets to the balcony, blowing his hair and clothes. He was holding the communicator and couldn’t help but smile and curve his eyes, “I just want to ask, when will you be back tonight?”

“Soon,” Lu Tinghan said with a smile, “I’m on the way.”