by <unknown>
Cui Lingfeng, Tang Dingyuan, and Li Yao himself all wanted to dig out Lu Qingchen, and even maybe… the guys hiding behind him, through Ding Zhengyang.
Therefore, the secret interrogation was conducted by Speaker Cui Lingfeng, Captain Tang Dingyuan, and Li Yao.
The prison cell where Ding Zhengyang was caged was the one that had confined Tang Dingyuan half a day ago. It was a living example of suffering from one's own scheme.
The Chief Mate, who had been quite revered on the deck floor previously and respected as the 'Pillar', crouched in a corner of the prison cell lethargically, like a viper whose tusks and bones had been extracted. He stared at the air with his eyes that had lost focus while mumbling something to himself. He switched between smiling bitterly, shaking his head, and cramping up. There was no telling whether he was moaning for the failure of his plan or begging for the mercy of his previous superior. Or maybe, was he regretting taking that very first step?
"Zhengyang!"
Seeing his depression and hopelessness, Captain Tang Dingyuan appeared to be even more brokenhearted than when he saw the guy betraying him. Having been a blood brother with Ding Zhengyang for decades, he knew exactly what the man whose eyebrows were thick and whose face was red had been in the past. "Look at yourself. Why did you turn yourself into? You shouldn't have been scared of death. You have been promoted to the Chief Mate from a bottom-level sailor through nothing but hard work. You never frowned when you met any dangers in the past, and you simply led the charge to take care of them! Your nickname changed from 'Striver' to 'Pillar'. You're scared of death? You surrendered to the Imperium of True Human Beings just to keep yourself alive? I don't believe it. Tell me exactly what happened!"
Tang Dingyuan's every word was like a tiny lightning of ball that was flashing, rolling, and blasting Ding Zhengyang's almost decayed nerves in the prison cell.
Ding Zhengyang's face resembled that of a drug addict who had experienced an overdose of heroin. He gazed at the crystal camera for a long time before he touched his stubbled cheeks and chuckled. While he was chuckling, he suddenly closed his eyes, and dirty tears flowed out.
"Yes. I shouldn't have been so scared of death. In the first fifty years of my life, people called me 'Striver'. In the latter fifty years, they call me 'Pillar'. I made my way to the post of Chief Mate from the dirtiest and most dangerous fuel areas and engine compartments at the bottom level of Firefly. What kind of dangers did I not experience? What kind of deformed bodies have I not seen?"
He opened his eyes again. The lackluster rainbow inside his eyes interweaved into memories of the past. "Eighty-two years ago, a great explosion took place in the engine compartment after it was pierced through by meteors. I was the first one who charged in for maintenance. Wearing the thinnest maintenance crystal suit, I filled the holes one after another while the meteors just screamed past me. One of them penetrated through my helmet directly. If it had been more to the left by five millimeters, my brains would've been entirely melted.
"Fifty-seven years ago, a leakage accident took place in the fuel area. The 'Heavenly Cicada Divine Blood Sand', which should've been preserved at an extremely low temperature, was vaporized immediately in the room temperature and filled the entire fuel area, threatening to corrode the main fuel transmission tube. A chain reaction of dire consequences could have been triggered at any time.
"Again, I was the one who led my brothers in and repaired the freezing rune arrays in the fatal gas that was highly toxic and corrosive and had an irreversible corrosion on the spiritual root. We sprayed the 'Ice Freezing Liquids' and collected the 'Divine Blood Sand' that was liquefied again bit by bit.
"That time, we lost 122 brothers. The protection work was already done as well as it could've been. But it couldn't be helped. Such accidents could only be resolved by human lives. Before we marched in, everybody was well aware of that. Even I knew it perfectly, too, that if I entered the room and shut the door, I might never get to see it open again!
"There are also the collision accident forty-two years ago, the black hole tide accident thirty-three years ago, the super radiation accident twenty-five years ago… Captain, you're right. It seems that I never chickened out, I never had cold feet, and I was never scared of death!
"However, hehe, however, I am not a machine or a piece of magical equipment after all. I am just a human being! Who can say that they have never been a coward in their entire life? Nobody is not scared of death as long as they are a human being!
"The only reason I gritted my teeth to face death when I was so scared of death was that I had hope at that time. I believed that my death would be meaningful and valuable! My death would earn a longer and better life for my family, my offspring, and all the compatriots on the starship!
"But is it true? Do we really have hope? Look me in the eyes and tell me honestly with your conscience, my brother, my captain. Tell me!"
Ding Zhengyang became mad all of a sudden and screamed at the surveillance cameras.
Looking at Cui Lingfeng, Tang Dingyuan solemnly said, "Of course we have hope. The sacrifice of every hero is valuable!"
"Nonsense. I will not believe you anymore, captain."
The scream just now seemed to have drained the last bit of strength in Ding Zhengyang's body. Like a balloon whose air had all escaped, he crouched back in the corner and held a nonexistent doll as if he were a kid who had lost his way.
With a self-mocking smile, he said, "Once upon a time, I believed in the lies as much as you do. All your talk about why we are the last hope of humanity after inheriting the heritage of the Star Ocean Imperium, why we will march back to the center of the cosmos one day eventually to slay all evil, why the tyranny of the Imperium of True Human Beings is already collapsing and can end up in self-destruction at any second… There's even the stupid 'Dark Star' that has been destroyed dozens of times. I did not just believe every word of that; it was almost my faith!"
Li Yao coughed slightly. Glancing at the two big shots of the government-in-exile next to him, he asked Cui Lingfeng secretly through the private talking technique, "Sir Speaker, what exactly is this 'Dark Star that has been destroyed dozens of times?"
Cui Lingfeng was sitting solemnly and wearing a grave expression, as if he had not heard Li Yao's question at all. His lips did not shiver at all, yet Li Yao somehow received his reply.
"It is a series of movies that we shot intermittently over the past hundreds of years to boost morale. They tell the stories of how we defeated the Imperium of True Human Beings. The official title is 'Universal War'!
"In the movies, the evil Imperium of True Human Beings, in order to reign over the entire universe, built the strongest, evilest, and most horrible man-made planet, known as the 'Dark Star', with all the crucial resources in the Sectors under their control. They then moved all the important government agencies, key technical personnel, and files about the valuable techniques onto the planet.
"Eventually, Firefly took the enemy unprepared by marching into the 'Dark Star'. The 'brain' and 'heart' of the Imperium of True Human Beings was destroyed immediately, and the Imperium was defeated just like that!"
"… Fine. Although the Imperium of True Human Beings can't be that stupid, it is all understandable since it is just a movie. Then what does he mean by 'destroyed dozens of times'?"
"The movie was very popular after it was aired," Cui Lingfeng said. "Soon, it was a hit on the entire Firefly and won countless enthusiastic supporters. Naturally, a sequel was shot. In the sequel, the Imperium of True Human Beings got even more ruthless and rose again. They came up with an even more evil approach to cope with the whole universe and the Star Ocean Republic!"
"What's the approach?"
"To build a bigger, stronger, and more terrifying 'Dark Star II' by continuing to concentrate all the resources!"
"Then what? The Dark Star II did not happen to be sabotaged by Firefly again after you crawled inside it, right?"
"Yes, it was," Cui Lingfeng
replied matter-of-factly.
"Then," Li Yao said, "you shot dozens of sequels of 'Universal War', and a greater 'Dark Star' was built in each and every one of them, only to be crawled into and destroyed by Firefly in the end?"
"You're wrong," Cui Lingfeng countered. "Later, the Imperium of True Human Beings stopped constructing man-made planets but simply went to hollow out an existent planet and modify it into a more powerful Dark Star. After the audience grew tired of planets, we also tried white dwarves, red giants, and suns in their prime years."
"… Sir Speaker, I suddenly understand the anger and embarrassment that Chief Mate Ding must've had after he saw through the lies. What should I do?"
"What choice did we have?" Cui Lingfeng asked. "If the Imperium had adopted a less stupid strategy, how could a tiny Firefly have reversed the situation on its way and secured a glorious victory in the end?"
Inside the prison cell, the self-mocking smile on Ding Zhengyang's face grew deeper and deeper, like a tide of bitterness that was drowning both himself and the three interrogators outside of the room. He went on wearily. "I believed in everything you told us. I believed that we did have hope. I believed that the Star Ocean Republic would eventually march back to the center of the sea of stars one day. I believed that the Imperium of True Human Beings was in fact vulnerable despite its tough appearance and that it would crash immediately after we launched our counterattack!
"It was with such a belief that I was fearless of death. It was such a belief that made the 'Striver' and the 'Pillar'!
"However, lies are lies, and they will fall apart the moment the truth is out!
"My faith completely broke when we engaged with the claw fleet of the Imperium's expedition army ten years ago!"
Chapter 1631: The Birth of a Traitor |
Li Yao thought of something and realized that Ding Zhengyang was referring to the claw fleet that Heiye Lan had been in and the battle in which Ding Lingdang had led a federal fleet to Firefly's rescue.
Opening his fingers, Ding Zhengyang held his head and said, his voice shivering, "Before—before the battle, I had never seen the army of the Imperium for real. The only impression that I had of the army of the Imperium was from the memoirs and notes of the heroes before me or from the self-fooling movies. In both the memoirs and the movies, the army of the Imperium were always made of a bunch of weak, stupid guys who only tried to drown us with their sheer advantage in numbers.
"Therefore, in the decades previously, I had always longed to encounter a real troop from the Imperium and to participate in a breathtaking, brilliant battle so that they would witness the toughness of the last defenders of the Star Ocean Republic!
"I thought more than once that, if I must sacrifice myself for my country, the best death would certainly be to strike the army of the Imperium with my magnificent death and to bring about the greatest triumph for Firefly in the fiercest battle of all time, like the great hero Cheng Qizhi did in the past!
"However, hehe, when the claw fleet of the Imperium was truly unfolded into battle formation in front of me, when the overwhelming crystal suits, space shuttles, and assault warships lunged at us unstoppably, I knew that I was wrong. I was fooled and tricked the whole time!
"We were no match at all, from head to toe, and in every respect!
"The Imperium of True Human Beings is too invincible for a tiny Firefly to resist. Our struggle and escape over the past thousand years, the so-called heroes and their epic resistance, were nothing more than moths darting toward the fire and a mantis trying to stop a car with their forearms. We were hilarious clowns asking to be killed!
"When a group of ants intend to shake a tree, they can cause nothing except a round of laughter. We were exactly such ants or perhaps bugs that were even less worthy than the ants!
"It's useless. Any resistance is useless. The valiant heroes, the boiling blood, courage, and sacrifice. Nothing can raise so much as a ripple when suppressed by overwhelming strength!
"Dead. All dead! In the battle, so many comrades and brothers, so many compatriots and families, were killed! Those who were scared of death died, as did those who weren't. Those who were willing to sacrifice died; those who trembled in fear died; those who marched forward bravely died; those who escaped and defected died. Everybody died. Everybody!
"Even—even my…"
Holding his head with both hands, Ding Zhengyang lowered his head to his chest, sobbing hard and unable to go on.
"Zhengyang…" Tang Dingyuan sighed and said, "I know that both of your sons were killed in the battle. The neighborhood of the high-level officers unfortunately suffered the fierce bombardment from the enemy. A lot of officers lost their family during the battle. Some of them even—even lost everything like you!
"But shouldn't we hate the Imperium of True Human Beings all the more for that and swear to avenge them? Our family and compatriots were killed by the Imperium!"
"No. They were not killed by the Imperium; they were killed by you, by us, by this damn government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic!"
Dazzling brilliance spurted out of the gaps between Ding Zhengyang's fingers that were covering his swollen, bloodshot eyes.
"Had it not been for your lies and tricks, had you recognized the situation sooner and surrendered to the Imperium sooner, they wouldn't have died at all! My two sons wouldn't have died! My five lovely grandsons and granddaughters wouldn't have died! They would've survived and lived the rest of their lives in happiness!
"Hehe. It was me who murdered them. Me! It was me who inculcated the idea that the Star Ocean Republic shall never perish into the two brats. It was me who watched 'Universal War' with them, holding their hands, again and again! It was me who told them that being a soldier was the most honorable job in the universe, and the soldiers of the Star Ocean Republic were the most honorable of them all! It was me who told them lies like Cultivators are the sabers of humanity!
"Had it not been for me—had it not been for me, the two of them probably wouldn't have joined the army. Even if they did, they wouldn't have volunteered to go to the most dangerous frontline.
"If they hadn't joined the army, my grandsons and granddaughters wouldn't have lived in the neighborhood of the high-level officers at least. Some of them would've lived in some other cabins. They would've survived. One or two of them would've survived. Right? Right? Right?
"So, it was me who murdered them. It was the government-in-exile of the Star Ocean Republic that murdered them. It was us—it was you who murdered them!"
"Zhengyang!" Tang Dingyuan reprimanded. "How could you have such hysterical thoughts? What happened to you was certainly a tragedy, but even if you surrender to the Imperium of True Human Beings, are your offspring guaranteed a happy life? Don't forget how the Imperium treats ordinary people!"
"Of course, I know the Imperium's policies."
The muscles on Ding Zhengyang's face was twitching, and his previously red face turned pale. He sneered and said, "But how will my offspring be ordinary people? The achievements of my sons and myself have proved the excellence of our bloodline and our genes. The odds of my offspring awakening their spiritual roots will be multiple times higher than the odds of ordinary people. Also, I'll leave them training resources a hundred times greater than ordinary people have. How can ordinary people expect to compete with them? They will certainly distinguish themselves in the cruel competition! My offspring would've lived a much better life in the Imperium than on this ragged, broken starship!"
Tang Dingyuan looked at Cui Lingfeng and then glanced at Li Yao's reaction. He then calmly said, "But we're not fighting alone. With the help of our allies, we were still able to annihilate the fleet of the Imperium!
"Right now, we have much more than a 'ragged, broken starship'; we boast seven entire Sectors, a planet with relics from the primeval civilizations, and a hundred billion warriors who will fight side by side with us and never give in to the tyranny of the Imperium!"
"So what?" Ding
Zhengyang laughed peculiarly. "What we destroyed was an insignificant claw fleet that belonged to an expedition army of the Imperium. I believe that the Imperium can send out ten expedition armies of such a scale from the homeland anytime, right? The Star Glory Federation appears to be exactly like us, still living in delusions. When the Black Wind Fleet begins their assault, they will soon follow our path and flee toward the deeper darkness in the sea of stars."
"I understand it now," Tang Dingyuan remarked. "You were completely overawed by the skirmish ten years ago. You have turned into a pessimist."
Taking a deep breath, Ding Zhengyang gradually calmed himself down until he was almost as tranquil as a dead person. "I am not any kind of '-ist'. Our failure is objective, inevitable, and undergoing, not to be changed by what you or me think. My two sons were the firmest optimists who had the greatest hope for our victory. So what? Did it help him? The crystal railguns were not delayed by what they believed in at all when they ripped their bodies apart."
"So, in the ten years that followed, you gradually degenerated from a pessimist into an Immortal Cultivator. You slowly disseminated pessimism and theories of the Immortal Cultivators in secret, corrupting and transforming even more people?" Tang Dingyuan asked.
Ding Zhengyang laughed and shook his head. "Captain, to this moment, after such an enormous rebellion took place on Firefly, do you still not understand what's going on? I was just an illiterate, uncivilized sailor, who was capable of managing the affairs on the deck floor at best. How could I have bewildered so many people and transformed them into Immortal Cultivators?
"No. I didn't do anything. They did it on their own."
Tang Dingyuan frowned. "On their own?"
"Exactly," Ding Zhengyang said. "You don't think that I was the only one who was deeply stimulated by the skirmish that almost destroyed us ten years ago, do you? No. A lot more people came to the realization that they had been living in a hilarious dream just like me.
