Deep Space Wandering Fleet
Chapter 247 - Chapter 247 Chapter 247 Only War Can Save Our Civilization

Chapter 247: Chapter 247 Only War Can Save Our Civilization! (Two in One) Chapter 247: Chapter 247 Only War Can Save Our Civilization! (Two in One) Zhang Yuan and the soldier Li Junkang were running at high speed through the Underground City, their path twisting and turning like a sewer system.

Because of the planet’s higher gravity, combined with wearing space suits as bulky as cotton coats, Zhang Yuan soon found himself gasping for breath, a fine sheen of sweat beading on his forehead.

“Damn it, when I get back, I’m definitely getting myself some Power Armor!” he panted as he thought to himself.

Along the way, they encountered several frantic Glizerians who dashed about the alleyways like scared rats. These creatures shouted at them in their native language, incomprehensible to the humans, but their gestures seemed to indicate they should run for their lives…

There was even a small group of Glizerians filled with hostility, as if they were itching to attack, but after a minute-long standoff, reason prevailed over emotion, and they left.

“These Glizerians are in total chaos…” cursed Zhang Yuan.

“Sir, we don’t have guns!” Li Junkang suddenly said.

Joking, of course. How could they, as diplomatic visitors, be carrying firearms?

Zhang Yuan replied, “It doesn’t matter if we don’t have guns. Even if we did, we couldn’t just single-handedly kill all the enemies. We’re not here to fight. Just find the person and run!”

Li Junkang quickly acknowledged with an “Oh” and stopped to catch his breath. Running quickly in this environment was challenging, even for those with good physical fitness.

Fortunately, Zhang Yuan had a good Memory, or they would have been lost in this underground maze long ago.

As they ran, the noise ahead grew louder, and Zhang Yuan even heard panicked human screams over his headset, along with the faint sound of gun mechanisms working, which made him sweat with anxiety.

The worst had happened!

A few minutes later, the human screams abruptly ceased, replaced by the loud negotiation of a few Glizerians.

Turning the corner, they finally saw the scene inside: smoke filled the air, and the steel gate had been heavily dented by an electric car crash.

The recent tremor they felt was due to the vehicle’s batteries exploding upon impact.

It wasn’t the explosion of a bomb they had imagined.

Zhang Yuan furrowed his brows and thought, “The terror of a minority mob… an attack?”

The Universal Factory was located in almost the largest room of the entire Underground City. Upon closer inspection, the number of rebels was indeed not many, only about thirty, armed with some basic firearms, in a standoff with another faction of the government’s military forces.

Unfortunately, two humans had been captured!

Including the first Diplomat down, Wang Junpeng, who stood in the middle, pale as clay, not daring to move.

In that moment, Wang Junpeng was nearly scared to death. He had never seen such a show of force; everything had been going smoothly, and then suddenly there was an uprising…

The feeling of life being controlled by others was simply too miserable and awful.

Another old professor stood pale alongside Wang Junpeng, both motionless.

A “Pangolin” in the lead, visibly agitated, was babbling away in the native language while several government officials were negotiating with them, expressions grave.

Everyone knew the golden value of these hostages; any mistake might create a rift between the two civilizations! Even… it could become the direct trigger for war!

As if the negotiation wasn’t going well, the Glizerian became increasingly agitated, waving its arms and stomping around furiously.

A few rebellious Pangolins were holding the two hostages at gunpoint, their weapons pressed firmly against their backs.

The space suit was quite robust, but could still be easily damaged by close-range gunfire. Especially as this planet’s atmosphere lacked oxygen and was full of various microbes and toxic gases, a breach in the space suit would mean humans could die quickly from poisoning even if the bullets didn’t kill them immediately!

“Don’t move, don’t resist…” Zhang Yuan whispered nervously over the headset, “Let them negotiate, don’t do anything, just raise your hands and stand still.”

“My arms are about to go numb,” Wang Junpeng nearly cried out, “I can hardly keep them up.”

“Just hold them up, even if they go numb.”

Both men cooperated, staying silent, stealing only a glance at Zhang Yuan before returning to their stillness.

They waited for nearly half an hour.

Watching a bunch of Pangolins negotiate with no results was frustrating, and Zhang Yuan couldn’t help but swear inwardly before turning to ask Li Junkang.

“How should we handle this kind of hostage situation on Earth?”

Li Junkang whispered, “It’s also negotiation, first analyze their motives, satisfy their demands… Every action has an intrinsic motive.”

“In situations as dangerous as this, you either have a sniper blow their head off with one shot; or you negotiate and exchange hostages or something. Anyway, you first agree to the other party’s demands, then look for an opportunity…”

“Right now, the situation is very tricky, the initiative is in their hands. If this drags on, we’ll be exhausted, and it’ll be even more dangerous.”

After pondering for a while, Zhang Yuan said, “Motives? Do you mean they want me to exchange for those two?”

“Commander, how can this be?” Li Junkang said anxiously, “I’ll go! A bunch of pangolins, so what if they have guns, I can take down three or five with bare hands. We have the advantage in size.”

Zhang Yuan chuckled and raised his left hand, “Do you think others are fools, unable to investigate who is a high-ranking officer and who is a soldier? Don’t forget, they haven’t directly killed anyone. They must have their own purpose. I’ll go and talk to them.”

Li Junkang absolutely refused to let Zhang Yuan go. If something really happened to this gentleman, wouldn’t he have to commit suicide in front of all the people as an apology?

Zhang Yuan quickly said, “How many guns do you see they have?”

“Looks like…not many…”

“So, it’s possible that it’s a spontaneous uprising by civilian groups…”

“Hey, sometimes my value seems higher than those two officers combined, but sometimes, the value of two lives is higher than one. Especially in the face of other civilizations, face is very important, I, as a leader, must do something.”

After hearing this, Li Junkang was somewhat confused but then saw Zhang Yuan had already walked over quickly and said a few words to a high-ranking Gliezerian.

The Gliezerian high-ranking official’s eyes widened, still struggling to respond after a long moment, “What… You want to exchange hostages, how can this be done?”

Zhang Yuan nodded, “This is the customary practice of our civilization.”

“Customary… practice?”

“Yes, when something happens, it’s the higher-ups who need to take responsibility. Tell them, I am the high-level official of human civilization. It’s useless to capture those two ordinary diplomats. If this matter really involves humans, they can negotiate with me. I believe there is a solution that will be very satisfactory for everyone.”

“If something really does happen, I take all responsibility.”

Hesitating for a few seconds, the high-ranking Gliezerian did not know what to do. This was too big a situation, and no one knew how to decide before the real leader awoke.

After discussing for a while, they still conveyed the message.

The rebels hesitated for a minute, perhaps sensing the higher status and value of Zhang Yuan or maybe they really had something to say to the human high-ranking officials; they agreed to the request.

Zhang Yuan walked over calmly, raising his hands to show he was unarmed.

Thankfully, the other side kept their word and released the other two.

When faced with Zhang Yuan, the rebel leader pointed a gun at his glass helmet and yelled loudly.

“Yama aji Qiu Siman!”

“Bage!”

Two dark eyes were wide with excitement. Without the translation device, it was impossible to understand what was being said.

Then, realizing this, the rebels asked an official for a translation device.

“Human civilization, listen! The noble Gleize civilization will never surrender!”

“…Nor will it ever trade the Universal Factory… It is the precious heritage left to Gor City by our ancestors, belonging to all Glizerians!”

“…We will soon welcome the real reinforcements, prepare for your world’s end!”

Zhang Yuan sighed helplessly, facing a real war fanatic.

He could actually understand this emotion. If an alien civilization suddenly appeared in one’s Mother Star System and even wanted to colonize there, who wouldn’t want to drive them out?

The public is a very blind creature, blindly following their emotions. They don’t analyze rationally or consider whether their race would be wiped out if they truly lost a war…

Zhang Yuan sighed and said, “Surrender? I don’t understand what you are talking about. We’re just signing a peace treaty; there’s no talk of victory or defeat.”

“Mr…? Grow up, please. There are no minor matters in interstellar diplomacy between civilizations. What’s the point of using guns to hold each other’s heads, to achieve your temporary goals? Even if you kill me, you’re just killing a diplomat, there are plenty of humans who can replace me.”

“If you don’t want to trade the Universal Factory, that’s fine, no problem, why can’t we sit down and discuss it? We human civilization didn’t say we absolutely have to have your Universal Factory.”

“If you don’t want us to colonize your satellite, that’s fine too, we can switch to another planet, all of this can be negotiated… why must it be this way?”

When the translation of this passage went out, the group of Glizerians was slightly agitated.

In reality, migrating to another planet was impossible. Not to mention whether they could find a resource-rich mining spot like the one they had now, humans had already been working here for such a long time. They had even dug out an impressively sized Underground City on the surface, developing a large number of production lines. If they rashly switched planets, they would have to abandon a massive amount of infrastructure.

As a result, development progress would be delayed by at least five years, even ten!

What if the enemy took the opportunity to attack, wouldn’t humans be doomed then?

So, this was merely a rhetorical tactic, deceiving these guys should be enough.

Zhang Yuan continued, “Furthermore, I see that there are only twenty or thirty of you, indicating that you are in the minority. I have met many Glizerians, with many wanting me to escape quickly and a few attempting to attack me, likely your supporters.”

“All in all, the majority want to coexist peacefully with human civilization. Even if you kill me, it won’t change this fact, will it?”

Hearing Zhang Yuan’s words, the rebel leader was visibly stunned for a moment, seemingly angry with embarrassment, and began to shout loudly again.

Because the speech was so fast, even the translator machine couldn’t fully interpret what was being said.

Zhang Yuan only heard keywords like “war”, “reinforcements”, “civilization.”

He sneered coldly, “War? I think you might not know what a war between civilizations means.”

“A real war would turn the entire city into ashes, and the accumulation of bodies could pave your city, leaving no space to even walk on…”

“Would you have considered all the friends and family that would die or be injured?”

“Once a war begins, it’s very hard to sit back down and negotiate!”

The rebel leader continued to argue loudly, “Only a war can revitalize our civilization!”

It was getting more and more fanatic, as if affirming its own beliefs, “Whether you come with good intentions or bad, for us, war is the best way!”

“The best… way!”

However, the people behind it were no longer speaking, instead falling silent, each with a mournful look.

At that moment, the true leader of the Gleize Civilization, Ganyador, walked in from outside. It glanced at the young man, sighed, and said, “Rizer, you are wrong… The reinforcements you speak of don’t exist at all. Don’t you know what the world is like out there?”

“No, they will come! They must!”

Rizer was so agitated that he almost pulled the trigger of the handgun, making everyone extremely nervous.

Even his companions were no exception.

Zhang Yuan’s life was of course very important. If this human official died, with no hostage left, the government troops would riddle them with bullets in an instant.

Sweat on his forehead streamed down his cheeks drop by drop.

Zhang Yuan felt that the other side’s emotions had reached a tipping point; reasoning was useless, he could only calm down and quietly wait for an opportunity.

Time began to pass minute by minute, the energy of this rebellious troop greatly depleted in their agitation and anger. Rizer had his men control Zhang Yuan and began to pace back and forth alone, wandering as he waited for his so-called reinforcements.

An hour passed.

Two hours…

Three hours…

A day went by like this, and Zhang Yuan started to get hungry and tired. He licked his dry lips, unsure of how much longer the standoff would last.

The oxygen in the oxygen tank was down to 20%, reaching the warning line.

“This could get dangerous… sigh.”

He gripped his left hand and took a deep breath, the strength in his bionic mechanical hand maximized, wondering if he could crush the opponent’s head with a punch!

But until the very last moment, he would not lash out, because the other side had guns, and more than one!

“No matter how strong the fist, it can’t outmatch firearms.”

The opposing rebels felt the same, each showing a weary and desperate look.

The promised reinforcements hadn’t arrived, and some Glizerians even felt deceived by their leader… They began to complain in whispers, quickly followed by a bout of reprimanding.

The tension in the environment was growing ever tighter, as if the air itself had been frozen, leaving only the last catalyst needed to completely shatter the stillness!

After waiting another two hours, nearly everyone’s patience had been pushed to the limit…

Suddenly, the lights in the room flickered for an instant!

In that moment, each person present condensed their focus to the utmost extreme.

The rebel leader Rizer seemed to have seized upon something.

“Haha, here they come, they’re here!”

“We’ve won! Kill him!”

In that instant, Rizer leaped up and began to try to pull the trigger, attempting to kill Zhang Yuan directly.

The cold murderous intent instantly jolted Zhang Yuan’s tense nerves; his pupils dilated, and he sprung up from the ground, extending his left hand to block the gun barrel!

“Bang!”

A loud noise!

Crack, accompanied by the sound of metal on metal.

“Commander!” Soldier Li Junkang’s eyes split with rage, and he dashed forward!

But as this command was issued, the other Glizerians remained motionless, as if they were stunned.

The entire pistol had exploded due to the barrel being blocked!

“Don’t think I don’t have a way to fight back!”

Zhang Yuan felt sweat all over his body, and the various parts ejected from the explosion left his helmet full of scratches.

The bionic hand could feel pain, too, and even though it forcefully stopped the bullet, it still caused a wave of intense, sharp agony.

He immediately smelled rotten eggs, signaling that his space suit had been damaged, so he quickly pinched the damaged area with his other hand and held his breath!

Rizer, too, was completely bewildered; the firearm failed to kill the enemy but instead sent a dense shower of pistol parts flying at him. Moreover, the key point was that it had only been a flicker in the lights…

The so-called reinforcements remained silent…

“Rizer, calm down!” Everyone was on edge, including the group of companions behind him.

“Calm down!”

Companions quickly held him tight, jokingly thinking that if Zhang Yuan died, everyone would be buried along with him.

Almost everyone had pushed themselves to their limits, and some of the rebels had begun to ponder whether the so-called reinforcements would ever come and if they should surrender to the regular forces.

“Give up, the outside world has long since fallen into complete decay.”

“Ah, even if there’s a war, it’s not certain we could win.”

Looking at his dispirited companions, Rizer seemed to anticipate his own failure, and he shouted frenziedly, “Only war can save our civilization!”

He crazily picked up a small knife and stabbed at Zhang Yuan!

Zhang Yuan’s pupils constricted, truly wanting to take a step back…

Bang!

Another gunshot.

The rebel leader had fallen into a pool of blood.

A sniper had, at the last moment, shot and killed the attacker.

With their leader gone, all the rebels quickly surrendered. And so ended this anticlimactic farce…

…

(PS: This is a two-in-one chapter. Why combine them? Because after a free promotion, the book’s reading performance dropped instead of improving, failing to make it on the featured list, which is so frustrating! ;(-<-))