221: Chapter 221 Commander-in-Chief of the Luan Bird, Wei Zhongjun

[Reporting to the Luan Bird Commander-in-Chief, I am Sister Li Commander Jiang Qiuzhi. I have urgent matters and request permission to return to Earth.]

[Time: one week.]

After confirming that her old man hadn't actually turned to ash, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi immediately sent a leave request to the Commander-in-Chief of the Luan Bird.

At this moment, the Luan Bird aerospace carrier was resting in a sector of space approximately sixty million kilometers from the sun.

According to the Luan Bird's latest strategic mission, it was to cruise within fifty million kilometers of the sun.

The Sister Li's mission was primarily to capture beneficial planetary debris flying nearby.

Currently, the Luan Bird had not yet set off, and the Sister Li did not have any major tasks. Thus, Commander Jiang Qiuzhi's temporary request for leave, letting her deputy take over, wasn't much of an issue.

[Approved.]

Before long, the approval from the Luan Bird's command center came down.

Commander Jiang Qiuzhi was delighted. She immediately boarded a Xuan Nu Fighter Jet, flew away from the Sister Li, and headed straight for Earth.

Meanwhile, inside the Luan Bird's command center!

A group of people was discussing Commander Jiang Qiuzhi.

"Why is this Commander Jiang Qiuzhi suddenly wanting to return to Earth?"

A tall man who looked only fifty but was actually nearly eighty spoke first.

His name was Lieutenant General Fang Yu, a Lieutenant General. He had first served at Pangu Base as a subordinate of General Zhan Tianhao of the flight base back then, making him part of the Xinhuo Faction that pushed for global integration.

However!

Now, fifty years had passed. Zhan Tianhao, who had stalled at the peak of a Level 1 Life Form, had retired. In contrast, Lieutenant General Fang Yu had successfully broken through to become a Level 2 Lifeform and was now a Chief of Staff in the Luan Bird's command center.

Another staff officer snorted coldly. "That brother of Commander Jiang Qiuzhi's acts on whim, flying around with his avian formation. I suppose Commander Jiang Qiuzhi wants to imitate her brother."

This staff officer was also from the Xinhuo Faction, but he was only a Major General, equal in rank to Commander Jiang Qiuzhi.

Before Qin Xueyao resigned, he had campaigned for the position of commander of the Sister Li but was eliminated, so he harbored resentment.

Seeing Commander Jiang Qiuzhi suddenly leave her post, he naturally resorted to verbal slander.

He wished he could charge Commander Jiang Qiuzhi with desertion.

"Enough. Her temporary leave is reasonable; it's just a scheduled break that everyone is entitled to."

The Luan Bird's Commander-in-Chief, General Wei, spoke slowly.

At this moment, he stood beside a holographic projection. The air projected the entire airspace of the Solar System, with the Luan Bird's position in the void magnified. It showed the Luan Bird was sixty million kilometers from the sun, and on the seventh deck, a Xuan Nu Fighter Jet had just launched.

It was exactly the one piloted by Commander Jiang Qiuzhi.

Although he didn't know what Commander Jiang Qiuzhi was going back to Earth for, General Wei did not interfere too much.

He belonged to neither the Xinhuo Faction nor the Dragon Emblem Faction.

He was of the new generation that emerged after humanity entered the interstellar era, born at Moon Base 8. He was only fifty years old this year, but despite being so young, he had relied on his strength as a peak Level 2 Lifeform to step-by-step become the Commander-in-Chief of the Luan Bird.

He had managed to suppress everyone from both the Xinhuo Faction and the Dragon Emblem Faction.

Although his position wasn't the highest in the Earth United Fleet,

it was the position with the most widespread influence and recognition in all of human society.

After all,

aerospace carriers were the crystallization of human technological wisdom, a symbol of supreme power.

According to human social surveys, many people didn't care who the top leader of the Earth United Fleet was, but they certainly paid attention to who the Commander-in-Chief of the Luan Bird was.

"Among the current major interstellar warships, only the commander of the Sister Li has yet to reach the Level 2 Lifeform stage."

"She should be sticking to her post more than anyone else."

"Especially recently, I heard that the The Xu Family has produced another Level 2 Lifeform who also wants to come to our Luan Bird aerospace carrier... Isn't it obvious they're eyeing that position on the Sister Li?"

"And now she takes a leave of absence; naturally, it will invite criticism."

Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Fang Yu continued relentlessly.

The so-called The Xu Family was actually also part of the Xinhuo Faction, but its foundation lay in military factories and space shipyards. Many space structures were essentially built by the Xu Family Faction.

Of course, the fact that the The Xu Family frequently produced high-level life forms was also one of the reasons they held such strong discourse power.

From this perspective, both the The Xu Family and Lieutenant General Fang Yu belonged to the Xinhuo Faction and shared common interests.

However,

General Wei was indifferent to this.

He was even somewhat wary of the Xinhuo Faction's exclusion of the Dragon Emblem Faction.

He gave Lieutenant General Fang Yu a faint glance.

"You yourself called it 'criticism'."

"If the people of the Xu Family Faction feel the commander of the Sister Li is unqualified, they can go to the United Fleet. If the United Fleet also deems it inappropriate, then I will naturally notify her."

Lieutenant General Fang Yu fell silent and said no more.

Those who could command General Wei were currently only the old fogies of the Earth United Fleet.

A mere Lieutenant General like him could not influence a General like General Wei.

...

The news that Jiang Chen hadn't turned to ash quickly reached Xue Yao's ears.

At this moment, she was on an unnamed island.

However, according to her deductions, the location of this island was exactly where Zhujiang City had been submerged by seawater.

When she had nothing to do, she liked to come to this unnamed island to reminisce about everything she and Jiang Chen had shared in this city.

Back when they were in an online relationship, the distance between Zhujiang Medical University and Zhujiang Ocean University wasn't actually far, but neither dared to meet for a long time, fearing the reality wouldn't live up to the fantasy.

After they officially met, Jiang Chen would come to find her every weekend to watch movies, visit food streets, and stroll along the roads.

When he was slandered by Jiang Qingqing, the memory of her transforming into the Broom War Goddess and flaring up in rage for her boyfriend surfaced in her mind again.

"At that time, I was truly impulsive."

Xue Yao reminisced, and as she did, she couldn't help but smile secretly and shake her head.

But now,

Zhujiang City had been submerged by the sea.

Her mother and father had already passed away.

Jiang Chen had also disappeared in the Arctic Circle.

The children had grown up and could now hold their own.

Perhaps she really had grown old?

Qin Xueyao sat on a stone pillar by the island's edge. Dressed in cool, light clothing, she rolled up her pant legs, letting her fair legs feel the water temperature as the waves washed over them. Occasionally, a small fish would dart past, making her calves itch.

She looked down at her reflection in the water; her hair was jet black and her face remained the same, but her eyes lacked the naive innocence of those years—they held more gentleness and less of the aura of youth.

Relying on technology, time had left no mark on her body.

But counting the years, she was indeed nearly eighty years old.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, a wave surged up from the sea, crashing against her thighs and quickly soaking her pant legs.

Lost in her memories, Qin Xueyao felt something and looked toward the sea ahead.

She saw a small fishing boat leisurely sailing toward her.

She was stunned!

She thought her eyes were playing tricks on her.

She rubbed her eyes, and sure enough, there was a man wearing a straw hat on the small fishing boat, waving at her.

Xue Yao stood up blankly, watching in disbelief as the small fishing boat sailed closer.

Jiang Chen steered the fishing boat to a stop a few dozen meters away.

Then he walked up quickly!

He looked down at his dazed wife, pinched her cheek, and chuckled.

"Hey beautiful, your skin's looking a bit tanned."