Major Qing had finally left the battlefield and was now rapidly approaching the Doomsday Great Wall, ready to board at any moment. The sole remaining question was whether he, Wu Xu, and the others would ultimately board the mothership, the Doomsday Great Wall, or humanity's fastest warship, CA117, which was still circling and skirmishing in the airspace above the battlefield.
Over the communications channel, everyone who spoke regarding this report and its pending decision instinctively lowered their voices, regardless of whether their physical surroundings actually warranted it.
From the atmosphere alone, one could easily sense their suppressed excitement and joy, their overflowing tension and anxiety, and the fragile trepidation that came with standing on the brink of reaching their goal.
Wen Jifei had not yet spoken, though he knew full well the answer had to come from him.
The Doomsday Great Wall or CA117? What seemed like a simple choice on the surface would actually govern many aspects of their subsequent flight.
On this matter, aside from Wen Jifei, not even General Yergna would offer an opinion or advocate a choice. Because he was Wen Jifei—not only one of the two co-commanders of the human expeditionary force, but Wen Jifei of Stream Vanguard.
Yet, aside from cold sweat drenching both palms and the silent tears he could no longer hold back, Second Lieutenant Wen, always known to be calm and decisive, found himself momentarily unable to speak.
Pulling his gaze from the observation scope for the first time, he paced back and forth a few brisk steps. His feelings at this moment defied simple description, but Wen Jifei knew for certain that it was far more than mere tension, joy, and excitement. It was wrapped in anger, helplessness, agony, heartbreak, indignation, guilt, and so many other tangled emotions.
*Qingzi is finally back, right beside the Doomsday Great Wall, so close to me. But even more people—those who have died, and those still living—will never come back. This slaughter on the battlefield, so nearly one-sided, will likely continue. Before we leave, and after we leave...*
"Major Qing... is he alive?" In the end, General Yergna was the first to ask the question he deemed most vital.
"We don't know... Likely in a critical, near-death state." As a pinnacle combatant of humanity, soldiers could not determine Han Qingyu's survival simply by checking for a heartbeat. The only thing they could confirm was that his current condition was terrible—exceedingly terrible.
"As long as he's alive." General Yergna's voice trembled with emotion. The old general's face was already streaked with tears.
"What about Second Lieutenant Wu Xu and the other two?" he quickly asked.
"Second Lieutenant Wu Xu and Major General He Tangtang returned with Major Qing. The lieutenant appears severely wounded, but he insists he can still fight. Major General He Tangtang is in better shape."
"As for Major General Shen Yixiu..."
"Report! Major General Shen Yixiu contacted us directly to report she has broken out of the battlefield, and she requests instructions on which craft Major Qing is boarding."
Because her iron armor was too conspicuous, Rusty Sister had not moved with the unit escorting Han Qingyu during the breakout. She had run diversion alone, carving out a bloody path with great difficulty to emerge from the fray.
"The Doomsday Great Wall. Have Qingzi board the mothership, the Doomsday Great Wall, and inform Major General Shen Yixiu simultaneously," Wen Jifei finally made his choice and gave the answer.
"Yes, sir!" the operator acknowledged.
"Also, recall CA117 immediately. Have it hover briefly at low altitude above our positions, open and close its hatch, then head out first, feigning an evacuation in the opposite direction," Wen Jifei continued his orders.
"Yes, sir."
"Order all evacuation craft to stand by and await the signal to climb and accelerate at any moment. We are leaving."
"Yes, sir."
With those three consecutive orders concluded, Wen Jifei quickly leaned back over the observation scope. He didn't search for Han Qingyu and the others; instead, he cast his gaze once more upon that purgatorial battlefield, looking at those people, those craft, that blood...
Puta'er's colossal form loomed among them. Standing there, it slowly turned its head, then cast its gaze toward the distant lines of the human expeditionary force. It seemed to still be searching for Han Qingyu and the others.
"Careful!"
"The craft is hovering midair at a certain height. When we hoist Major Qing up, we must be extremely careful not to let Puta'er or their craft spot us."
"Right, right, be careful, absolutely careful. That monster seems to be searching for Major Qing and Second Lieutenant Wu Xu."
Over the communicator, the hushed murmurs between the operatives reached Wen Jifei and the others word for word.
"That's right, you must exercise extreme caution," General Yergna chimed in to emphasize when Wen Jifei remained silent.
At the same time:
"Report: Super combat power has finished boarding Ship B243."
"Report: Super combat power has finished boarding Ship A92."
Amid the continuous stream of reports, nearly all the super combat powers who had pulled back had boarded nearby craft. The hatches of the respective ships sealed shut one after another, ready to depart at any second—to embark on the journey home, or rather, to begin their flight.
"Report: CA117 in position." This time, Yang Qingbai's own voice joined the command channel.
"I have completed the low-altitude hover and opened and closed the hatch as instructed. Permission to lift off?" he took the initiative to ask.
"...Lift off!" Wen Jifei waited roughly two seconds before issuing the order.
Without needing any explanation, both sides understood perfectly why Wen Jifei had Yang Qingbai do this and what mission he hoped to accomplish—indeed, every commander and staff officer of the expeditionary force understood.
Yang Qingbai and CA117 were acting as bait. Utilizing the vessel's unique presence on the battlefield, it would pretend to have picked up the key personnel and spearhead the escape in the opposite direction.
They hoped the Great Spikes would give chase—ideally the super dreadnought, along with swarms of Great Spike craft, and best of all, Puta'er boarding that dreadnought to pursue.
*Whoosh!* With a surge of source energy, CA117 climbed and accelerated, shooting toward the far sky like an arrow.
The eyes of every commander aboard the human craft turned nervously toward its wake.
One second, two seconds, three seconds... ten seconds.
"Report: Mission failed," Yang Qingbai reported back on his own initiative, his tone sounding dejected. CA117 had been completely ignored. Not a single Great Spike craft on the battlefield turned to pursue it, and Puta'er didn't even spare it a glance.
"Understood. Find a way to circle back. We are preparing to depart." Wen Jifei's tone carried an uncharacteristic helplessness.
By this time, the recovery team with Han Qingyu, Wu Xu, and the others had arrived beneath the Doomsday Great Wall.
"Requesting boarding! Requesting immediate boarding!"
"Approved," Wen Jifei replied, then switched to the fleet-wide channel. "I'm sorry we can't take you back. Attention all evacuation craft: prepare. Countdown begins: ten..."
"Fast, but be careful! Don't let them spot Major Qing!"
"Right, move fast and stay concealed. Begin, move up!"
"Five," the staff officer counted down.
"Right, be careful!" General Yergna repeated nervously.
"Two."
"One! Lift off!"
"Let it see! Let it see Qingzi! Let it see Wu Xu! Let it see you boarding! Let it see!"
The two commands rang out at the exact same instant.
The fleet departure order marking the end of the countdown came from the staff officer beside Wen Jifei.
The latter command came from Wen Jifei himself. To everyone's shock and bewilderment, Second Lieutenant Wen Jifei suddenly screamed like a madman in a near-shriek at the final second of the fleet's evacuation launch.
It was a snap decision, born without careful deliberation, let alone proper arrangement—Wen Jifei had decided to let Puta'er see Han Qingyu boarding the Doomsday Great Wall.
Because in that instant, too many emotions accumulated and suppressed for too long had converged and detonated. More importantly, it was because he firmly believed that if Qingzi were conscious right now, he would undoubtedly do the exact same thing.
As for the outcome, or the consequences, no one knew. At least for now, no one could weigh right from wrong, gain from loss.
And so Wen Jifei bellowed it out that way, because down in his heart, he was afraid. He was afraid to hesitate, afraid to think, afraid that if he wavered for a single second, he would never be able to make the call.
***
Aboard the hovering mothership, the Doomsday Great Wall, the team members who had now boarded hesitated blankly at the hatch for a moment upon hearing the abrupt, wild command.
As a result of that pause—regardless of whether they had intended to execute Wen Jifei's order—Puta'er saw them after all.
Its massive head swung round, fixing its gaze straight upon them.
Immediately, it broke into an explosive charge, sprinting at blinding speed as it threw its head back to howl at the sky.
Amid its savage howling, before the hatch of the Doomsday Great Wall could even close, the mothership surged sharply toward the high heavens. All seventeen source energy airships of the human expeditionary force kicked into full acceleration, slanting into the distant sky like arrows.
Chapter 949