Doctor Lu Always Wants To Steal My Baby! Chapter 82
byChapter 82 Everything is up to Shixiong
“Alert! Enemy attack!”
“Alert! Enemy attack!”
Just as the jump sequence began, the atomic clock synchronized, and the jump drive started charging, a repeated, sharp mechanical alarm blared inside the flagship of the Chu Family Army, commanded personally by the current Imperial Marshal, Chu Jianhui.
“What’s going on?!” Chu Jianhui stood before the holographic command table, his expression shifting slightly.
The void, which had been silent moments ago, like a dark canvas, suddenly showed dozens of red dots. Chu Jianhui selected one and zoomed in: a stealth destroyer with sharp lines and heavy armor, like a steel leviathan holding its breath, had suddenly bared its fangs!
Engines spat dazzling flames, and weapon systems activated within a second. The dark canvas erupted with hundreds of thousands of firing points, instantly becoming vibrant—a damned, deadly vibrancy!
“Defense!” Chu Jianhui roared!
The moment the words left his mouth, the deck vibrated violently! Chu Jianhui steadied himself, forcing calm. “How much longer for charging?”
“Eighty seconds, Marshal! But the jump point is being interfered with by gravity wave beams, we can’t lock onto precise coordinates!”
“Damn it!” Chu Jianhui slammed his fist on the command table. “Cancel charging, turn immediately!”
“Yes, canceling now!”
“Can the weapon systems be activated?”
“We need twenty more seconds! Only after cancellation is complete—”
“Are you telling me I have to stand here and take a beating for twenty seconds?!” Chu Jianhui stared at the command table, cutting the man off. “Release the assault ships and drone fighters! Aside from essential personnel, all other combat units are to enter the battlefield immediately!”
“The fire net is too dense, Marshal!”
“Don’t negotiate with me!”
“Yes, sir!”
Despite the affirmative, the subordinate’s movements in relaying the order were slow.
He was also a noble’s son, having not experienced true war in over a decade. Luxurious living had corroded his will. The thought of the mansions, fine wine, and beautiful women waiting for him in the prosperous capital star… the comfortable life awaiting him made him intensely unwilling to lose his life here.
But the order was passed down. He himself had no choice but to activate an assault ship. Without the mother ship’s fire protection, he felt like an infant entering a primeval jungle.
He was still dazed, unable to believe he had just entered the enemy’s firing net.
Most of his comrades were in a similar state. Though their numbers were considerable, they failed to form the fierce charge Chu Jianhui expected. Instead, they scattered like a chaotic, fragile flock of birds, quickly torn apart and annihilated by the steel fleets simultaneously released by the enemy!
“What are you doing?” Chu Jianhui shouted in fury. The moment he spoke, a vibration even more violent than before shook the deck.
“Alert! Shield overload!”
“Alert! Shield overload!”
A series of explosions rocked the ship’s interior. On the opposite side, in He Chen’s view, the cruiser carrier had already been ripped open with gaping wounds.
“They can’t hold on, Commander. Victory is in sight!” a subordinate reported, barely suppressing his excitement.
He Chen showed no excitement in his eyes. He stood before the command table, watching the ‘fireworks’ blooming in the void, his gaze deep and quiet like the abyss.
“Commander!” Just then, a communications officer suddenly stood up from his screen. “Urgent report from Han River! The Sirius Clan is invading in force!”
What? He Chen frowned sharply, looking at the screen. At the same time, he connected with the temporary commander at Han River to confirm the news.
“Commander?”
“Drop the gravity interference!” His pupils contracted for a moment. He Chen issued the command calmly and steadily. “Units 5 through 33, activate charging and enter the jump point. Immediately coordinate with the base upon jumping to contain the Sirius Clan forces from the rear! Elite units 1 through 4 will cover the retreat with me. Command, contact Liaoshan and prepare to reinforce Han River!”
What? The Sirius Clan?
Aren’t they one of the strongest races in Myster? Why would they suddenly attack us?!
The news of the Sirius Clan invasion spread across the Star River Empire immediately—the source was He Leyan’s “Ai Miaomiao” live stream.
Hanxiao Star immediately entered Level 1 alert status due to the Sirius Clan attack. He Leyan, along with the elderly, children, and women without combat ability, entered the air raid shelters. Even under these circumstances, the Ai Miaomiao live stream didn’t cut out, allowing the Imperial citizens to learn this bombshell news instantly.
What should we do? Will Leyan be okay?
It’s not just about Leyan anymore; the entire Pingliao Star Sector is in danger!
Thank goodness, there are many troops in the Pingliao Star Sector right now. If they unite, they can hold them off!
Unite? Is the person above dreaming?
What dreaming? Does the person above know some inside information? What exactly is the situation there now?
The situation is a three-way melee. The He Family Army is, needless to say, outright rebels. He Chen and the allied forces—let’s call them the Han River Army—were originally there to suppress the rebellion, but their nature is now unclear. I heard they are connected to former Marshal Shen Xingzhou. The third party is the Chu Family Army, the Imperial faction. I don’t need to explain them, right?
The Third Prince is in Han River, right? Judging by his video updates, he seems quite united with Han River. So, it sounds like the Imperial father, sons, and brothers are pitted against each other?
Support the Han River Army! Support Wolf Dad and Leyan!
To be honest, I support Han River too, but now is not the time to pick sides. Internal conflict is internal conflict, but with the Sirius Clan invading, shouldn’t we unite against the external threat first?
Unite against the external threat? I heard only the Han River Army is fighting alone.
I heard that too. I have a brother in the He Family Army. I heard the Han River Army had them surrounded at Tianhu Base, and victory was within reach, but they suddenly withdrew to rush to Han River!
What about your brothers?
Hiding in their bunkers, waiting to pick up the scraps!
Damn it!
Don’t curse. My brothers don’t want to, but it’s the higher-ups’ decision. My brother’s father died at the hands of the Myster people. He enlisted precisely so he could fight the Myster people one day!
Second Prince, Second Prince, summon your rebellious courage and go kill the Myster people! Someone shouted across the network.
They called out not only the Second Prince but also the military and even the Emperor directly—and were subsequently muted.
But muting couldn’t keep up. Netizens always found ways around keywords, and public opinion swelled, urging the Chu Family Army and the He Family Army to deploy troops and reinforce Han River.
“The pressure is on His Majesty. Your Highness need not worry. He is the father of the nation, yet he can ignore the cries of his people. Compared to him, Your Highness’s slight ‘caution’ today is nothing.”
In the He Family base, Qian Hongtao consoled the restless Chu Yunlan.
He pulled He Hongyi into the conversation. “General He, what do you say?”
He Hongyi gritted his teeth. “Elder Qian is right. History is written by the victors. Victory is what matters most!”
“Your Highness, I will go deploy. We should seize this opportunity to reclaim the bases we lost!”
Chu Yunlan closed his eyes, a look of reluctance on his honest face. “It can only be this way. Go, General.”
He Hongyi bowed, turned around, suppressed the last flicker of struggle in his eyes, and strode away.
Meanwhile, far away at the Han River Base, He Sizhong was disheveled in his prison cell, shouting questions. “What happened? What happened?”
“The Sirius Clan is invading! Troop strength is tight! The Commander has issued a special pardon! All criminals of Level 3 and below can be unshackled and sent to the battlefield to redeem themselves!”
The jailer shouted loudly, not explaining to him, but to the others detained in the prison.
Clang, clang, clang. Shackles were constantly being removed. People quickly donned battle armor and rushed out of the cells. Everything moved extremely fast, chaotic yet orderly!
“What about me? Me? Include me!” He Sizhong reached out from his cell and grabbed a jailer. “The Sirius Clan is invading. How many people? How many warships? How many Imperial forces are blocking them? What about the He Family Army? Have they arrived?!”
The jailer was annoyed by his clamor, only catching the last question. He replied angrily, “Cowards! Arrive? They’re causing trouble for us in the rear!”
Cowards? He Sizhong tightened his grip on the jailer’s hand.
The jailer finally noticed his prison uniform and shoved him away. “Level 3 and below! You don’t qualify!”
“How do I not qualify!” He Sizhong grabbed him again, eyes bloodshot. “The He Family Army are not cowards! Tell He Chen I want to go to the front line and kill the enemy! Let me go!!”
Lunatic! The jailer was startled by his rage, but hearing him call the Commander by name, he still relayed the message up the chain of command.
Soon, an order came down. The jailer listened through his earpiece, then acted with high efficiency, quickly opening the cell door and pulling He Sizhong out. While unlocking his handcuffs and leg shackles, he recited clearly, “Armor is on the left, weapons on the right. Each person is limited to one plasma gun and one Godslayer II pistol, plus ten hand-thrown tungsten grenades!”
“I know!” He Sizhong shoved him away and squeezed into the crowd to put on his gear.
“The Commander said he believes the He family is not entirely made up of cowards!” the jailer said behind He Sizhong.
“I need him to believe?” He Sizhong snorted, but his hands clenched. Intense fighting spirit erupted in his eyes. He grabbed a standard-issue battle armor, which he had always looked down upon, and silently began to put it on…
“Are you going to Han River? I’m coming too!”
On Hanxiao Star, Chu Yunqi reached out to stop Ning Tian, who was fully armored.
“Don’t cause trouble!” Ning Tian’s eyes flashed with anger.
“I’m not causing trouble! If I appear in Han River, Father will order the Chu Family Army to reinforce it!”
Ning Tian hadn’t expected him to say that. He paused, actually considering it, but was interrupted by the timely appearance of Lu Changqing.
“Your Highness, don’t be naive.”
Lu Changqing said, then turned to Ning Tian. “You’re going to Han River? Did your Commander agree?”
Ning Tian bit his lip hard. “No.”
He had requested permission, only to be cursed back by He Chen: If he dared to leave Hanxiao Star for half a step, Ning Tian would be considered a deserter.
“I’m not going to Han River. The Commander told me to report to you. Everything is under your command.”
“Under my command?” Lu Changqing looked up.
“Yes.” Ning Tian handed over an earpiece. “The Commander has something to say to you.”
“Shixiong.”
Lu Changqing put on the earpiece. He Chen’s calm voice came through, the background filled with the roar of artillery and various reports and commands.
Lu Changqing involuntarily tightened his grip on his fingers. “Are you alright?”
“I’m fine. Shixiong, time is tight. Listen to me. Because Shen Xian and the others reinforced Han River, Tianhu Base was torn open again. The Chu Family Army has likely passed through the He family’s defense line. Most likely, they are heading for Hanxiao Star.”
He Chen lowered his voice here. “All they want is Zero and the mineral vein. The technology is easy to obtain through various channels, but the mineral vein is the key. Shixiong, I made arrangements beneath the mineral vein long ago…”
He Chen’s voice dropped even lower. After giving Lu Changqing the instructions, his volume returned to normal. “Shixiong, Hanxiao Star is in your hands.”
“I understand. Be careful.”
“I will.” He Chen paused for a moment. Another channel connected, and he didn’t even have time to say “take care” before hastily switching channels.
The earpiece went silent. Lu Changqing paused for only half a second before looking at Ning Tian. “How many troops do we have?”
Ahhh, is this true? The Chu Family Army isn’t going to the front line to fight the Myster people, but is taking advantage of the situation to attack Hanxiao Star?
It’s true. Hanxiao Star has been holding out for ten hours with limited defenders. My friend told me. He’s an architect who went there because the Medical Academy was building a branch campus. I haven’t been able to contact him for an hour. He said he couldn’t stand it anymore and was going to the front line too!
Damn it! I heard some space pirates in the Pingliao Star Sector have even joined the resistance against the Sirius Clan. How can the Chu Family Army do this?!
Disappointment, heartbreak, and disbelief spread across the Star River Network, and they also churned in Chu Yunqi’s chest.
Ten hours. It was a miracle that Hanxiao Star had held out this long with limited defenders, and miracles couldn’t last forever. Just now in the command center, Chu Yunqi had heard Lu Changqing and Ning Tian discussing how the south side of Hanxiao City had been breached.
They were discussing how to retreat to the second line of defense and minimize casualties. Chu Yunqi was in a daze as he walked out of the command center: He didn’t believe it. He didn’t believe his Father would do this!
Chu Yunqi was born when Chu Jianhui was already 120 years old. Chu Yunqi had never seen his father kill enemies on the battlefield against the Myster people, but he grew up listening to heroic stories of his father’s exploits. His father often said, “A Chu family man must have spirit.”
Yes, just as he often said, “Love the people as your own children.”
Chu Yunqi’s steps suddenly halted at this thought.
There was no explosion nearby, yet his feet felt unstable, as if the ground was collapsing beneath him.
“Your Highness?” His bodyguards came to support him, but he suddenly pushed them away and ran toward the outside.
“Your Highness? Your Highness, where are you going?”
Chu Yunqi needed to go somewhere high, a place where he could be seen.
He quickly found such a spot—a hastily constructed observation tower. Ignoring his subordinates’ attempts to stop him, he quickly climbed the tower, opened his live stream, and spread his arms, shouting hoarsely at the approaching enemy aircraft:
“Chu Family Army, heed my command! In the name of the Third Prince of the Empire, I order you to turn around, point your guns outward, protect the Imperial citizens, and fight those who invade our borders!”
“Chu Family Army, heed my command!…”
“Marshal?” Someone on the warship looked at Chu Jianhui.
“Insolent brat!” Chu Jianhui clenched his hand.
Though an insolent brat, his actions, however childish and ridiculous, were still less likely to bring eternal infamy than Chu Jianhui’s own.
“Should we report to His Majesty?”
“Report it.” Chu Jianhui wouldn’t take the blame for this.
But Chu Jianhui knew the result of the report—sure enough, the command came back: “Ignore him.”
“Continue the operation,” Chu Jianhui ordered.
Hundreds of fighters immediately swept toward Hanxiao City, firing!
First came the tearing shriek from high altitude, followed by dull booms that echoed one after another. The ground shook, but his ears, already ringing from the previous noise, could no longer register the intense sound.
The world seemed surreal to Chu Yunqi for a moment.
It wasn’t until fragments of the explosion splashed toward him, obscuring his vision, that he suddenly snapped back to reality. Just as he turned to dodge, he was encircled by an automatically extending lasso and pulled hard—
Chu Yunqi flew through the air and then slammed with a bang into a military hovercar.
Hiss! Chu Yunqi, bruised and battered, climbed up. He saw Ning Tian in the passenger seat, spinning the lasso in his hand, searching for the next rescue target.
He must have hit his nose; Chu Yunqi’s eyes inexplicably watered. He stared intently at Ning Tian’s icy face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. We’re even,” Ning Tian said coldly.
“Even for what?” Chu Yunqi asked amidst the whistling stray bullets.
“You helped me once. I saved your life. We’re even,” Ning Tian replied, signaling the driver to descend and drop Chu Yunqi off.
“You mean that thing…” Chu Yunqi looked up in surprise. “You actually remember that? I never expected you to repay me!”
Ning Tian glanced at him, paused, then pushed him out of the hovercar and handed him over to the soldiers covering the retreat.
“I’m with you!” Chu Yunqi twisted to climb back into the hovercar.
—He didn’t make it. The hovercar was already ascending, but as it lifted off, Ning Tian tossed him a pistol. “Doing the same thing is being together.”
Doing the same thing… Chu Yunqi froze, his knuckles white as he gripped the pistol.
“Send more troops to hold that position. Leave a slight opening for them, but don’t make it too obvious.”
Lu Changqing commanded in a deep voice while individually checking the heavily sedated patients preparing for transport. Suddenly, someone tugged at his clothes.
Lu Changqing turned around, surprised. “Why aren’t you sedated?”
“I’m drug-resistant,” Shen Xingzhou said, sitting up from the makeshift transport bed and flexing his wrists and ankles. “That new toy of yours, Zero, give me a set.”
“Marshal Shen, don’t joke.”
“I’m not joking!” Shen Xingzhou’s expression turned serious. “I understand Chu Jianhui. He has already lost the people’s support, so he absolutely won’t lose Zero. He will reinforce Hanxiao Star.”
“Let me out. My face can still shake them up and buy you more time for the transfer.”
Lu Changqing pondered for a moment. “Are you serious?”
“Serious,” Shen Xingzhou confirmed.
Lu Changqing no longer hesitated and began removing the tubes attached to him. “We still have reinforcements on the way, breaking through the He family’s defense line. Delaying them is enough; there’s no need for a mutual destruction.”
“It won’t happen.” Shen Xingzhou smiled. “That foolish boy hasn’t seen me yet. I need him to see me alive.”
“Alive is good,” Lu Changqing looked at him.
“Haha!” Shen Xingzhou removed the monitoring lines that had been attached to him for years, stretched his muscles and bones that hadn’t been used in years, fixed his gaze, and looked at Lu Changqing. “Can I really be well?”
“In this moment, you are already well,” Lu Changqing said.
Shen Xingzhou was silent for a moment. He… was already well?
Lu Changqing then ordered a set of mecha armor to be brought in and looked at Shen Xingzhou again. “Without adaptation, you will experience dizziness and discomfort.”
“However uncomfortable, can it be more uncomfortable than before?” Shen Xingzhou laughed heartily again, stepped into the mecha cockpit, and then fell with a thud.
Just as Lu Changqing was about to walk toward him, he—or rather, the Zero mecha—creaked and stood up, flexing its mechanical hands and feet, turning around twice, and throwing two punches.
“The left side is the tactile feedback system, and the visual interaction—”
“I already know. You’ve been nagging me about it several times, just trying to provoke me into walking out of that hole, haven’t you?”
Well, I walked out. He said the rest to himself.
“Connect me to a command channel, and also the public channel. Let’s see if I, the former Marshal, still have any rallying power!” Shen Xingzhou said, piloting the mecha. In just a few steps, he went from clumsy to agile, quickly rushing outside!
The sky was vast. The earth was wide.
Former Marshal Shen Xingzhou was not highly educated, and after more than a decade without seeing the light of day, this was the extent of his sentiment upon seeing it again.
He did not rush to meet the enemy or take command of the troops. Instead, he ran for a while in the open world, then lay on the ground, looking up at the starry sky through the holographic screen that made him dizzy.
Achen, are you there, one of the countless stars?
I was wrong. War has nothing to do with race. Love has nothing to do with race.
Fu Chen, did you hear me? I was wrong. I was too narrow-minded.
Shen Xingzhou closed his eyes, then snapped them open, the shadow completely receding from his gaze, revealing a light as steady and imposing as Mount Tai.
He stood up straight and opened the public channel. “Chu Jianhui, I’m here.”
Simultaneously, an enormous golden eagle, ignoring the Chu Family Army’s defense line, attacked the bridge of Chu Jianhui’s flagship with a savage ferocity that seemed to tear through space!
“Quick, come help! We need people to carry some wounded soldiers!” A call for help came from the entrance of the underground air raid shelter.
Several people inside immediately got up to help and carried in a few wounded soldiers.
“Brother, squeeze over.” Xu Lin, who was asleep, occupied a full cot. Someone tossed a bloodied casualty next to him. The cot shook, and Xu Lin’s eyelids fluttered.
“Uncle Xu.” He Leyan knew Xu Lin was his father’s good friend and had been watching over him in the shelter. Seeing him being pressed, he quickly reached out his small hand and tried hard to pull him further away.
His attention was on Xu Lin, so he didn’t notice that the “casualty” who had just been carried in secretly reached for his waist when he heard the child’s tender voice.
And Xu Lin’s eyelids fluttered again, slowly opening a slit.
The slit wasn’t wide—his eyelids felt heavy as lead—but Xu Lin finally, finally saw the child’s appearance.
Very handsome, better than Han Jin.
He curved his lips slightly.
“Uncle Xu?” He Leyan leaned his head close to Xu Lin, his eyes wide. Uncle Xu, are you finally awake?
Just then, an instinctive sense of danger struck! The second after the feeling arose, the “casualty” beside Xu Lin violently attacked, his rough hand locking onto Leyan. Xu Lin, concentrating all his strength in his wrist, yanked the child down onto the floor with a whoosh!
Missing his target, the “casualty” reacted quickly and leaped off the cot. At this moment, the people in the air raid shelter finally reacted. “Leyan!”
Elder Fang shouted, “Quick! Protect the child!”
Without needing instructions, all mobile wounded soldiers immediately reacted, trying to subdue the villain and protect Leyan. However, the several “casualties” who had been carried in earlier were clearly prepared.
They were not injured; instead, they were agile and armed. Although few in number, they quickly gained the upper hand.
The only saving grace was that Leyan was small and, knowing the danger, had already scrambled away from Xu Lin’s cot into a corner.
The air raid shelter was crowded, and the lighting was poor, so the thugs couldn’t catch him immediately.
However, the good luck didn’t last long—the person who initiated the attack ignored the surroundings and focused only on finding him. Finally, just as Leyan was about to duck behind a water storage barrel, the man grinned menacingly and grabbed one of his feet.
“Let go of me!”
Leyan struggled desperately but to no avail, held upside down by one foot.
“Stop fighting.” The man holding him rotated his arm, turning Leyan upright, clamping his neck, and pressing the muzzle of a gun against his temple.
The Hanxiao Star residents in the air raid shelter stirred, but they all stopped their actions, glaring hatefully at the thugs.
“Grandpa Fang…” Leyan looked at the most familiar person in the room, scared and helpless, two streams of hot tears welling up in his eyes.
“Good boy, don’t be afraid.” Elder Fang spoke out in distress, but a thug shoved him. “Silence! Put down your weapons and step back, or don’t blame us for not letting this little thing live.”
“Drop them!” Knowing that these people went to great lengths to capture Leyan alive to threaten He Chen and the others, Elder Fang still didn’t dare to take risks. “Everyone, put down your weapons.”
As he spoke, he scanned the crowd who were reluctantly dropping their weapons, then suddenly narrowed his eyes.
The person holding Leyan was directly opposite him. From Elder Fang’s gaze, the thug keenly sensed that something was wrong, but it was too late.
A fierce wind swept past. An iron chain, with indescribable speed, force, and precision, suddenly looped around his neck, instantly strangling him into the embrace of an unusually tall, humanoid yet non-human figure.
The next second, he spat blood and lost consciousness, falling downward. He Leyan, however, was caught by the “person” and shielded in his arms!
“Be careful, Xiang Ye!” Elder Fang was first delighted, then shouted urgently—the thugs reacted after a moment of shock, aiming their guns at the “monster” who had descended from the ceiling, tall enough to block the light, his face obscured. They immediately began firing!
The monster turned sideways, shielding He Leyan behind him. His other hand grabbed a piece of metal wall from the shelter as a shield. While deflecting bullets, he strode forward!
“Ten, eleven o’clock direction, one arm’s length.” Xu Lin, lying on the cot, struggled to utter the first word, guiding the “monster” whose vision was obscured by the shield. The first enemy fell, and after that, everything became smooth.
“To the right, eight forty-five! What are the rest of you waiting for!”
“Everyone, move quickly!”