Counterfeit Hero

"The Light Society? What does that organization have to do with Pipi and the others?" Fatty looked at the screen and asked. His sharp eyes had caught a piece of information on the display: over the years, this organization had been passed down generation after generation, yet no one knew where its headquarters was, and no one knew who each term’s leader was.

And yet this very organization had somehow won the recognition of countless top scientists. Not only were they willing to gather under the banner of the Light Society, they had even gotten used to this mystery surrounding its leader. Mechanics, explorers, scientists, entrepreneurs... the Light Society’s membership list was practically a who’s who of celebrities.

Who has that kind of power?!

"Regarding the air disaster twenty years ago that brought human civilization’s advance to a halt, in fact, a lot of people in this world have been paying attention to it." Once he got to the main point, Hastings’ expression became extraordinarily serious. He rapidly typed a string of commands on the Virtual Keyboard on the holographic screen, and a long red list popped up.

When two names quietly slid past on the screen, Fatty suddenly felt his eyes burn hot.

"All these years, my position has given me great power to investigate the truth of one matter," Hastings continued. "However, the facts have been buried very deep. The Pirate Group that participated in the attack back then has vanished without a trace. Not a single living person can be found. So what I’m going to tell you is not the truth about the Light Society and that famous disaster twenty years ago, but two pieces of information I obtained in my investigation that appear completely unrelated, yet can’t be ignored."

"What are they?" Fatty sat up straight.

"First, the little girl was discovered by a renowned Light Society scientist and given to the Sobel family; second, most of the names on the Light Society’s list of sponsors are former remnants of the Nademick Dynasty." Hastings spoke each word slowly and clearly. When he finished, he looked into Fatty’s eyes. "From these two points, what do you see?"

"..." Fatty stared blankly at Hastings.

After a long moment, Fatty coughed and forced out, "That points to two facts. First, this Light Society scientist is a lunatic. Second, whatever their motive was for sending the little girl to the Binart Empire and accepting funding from the descendants of the former Nademick Dynasty, clearly they’re not as noble as they appear on the surface..."

When he got to the last sentence, a chill suddenly ran through Fatty’s heart. The words that had slipped from his mouth felt like something he’d seen somewhere before.

Hastings nodded at Fatty in approval. "So in my view, that little girl in Binart, the Light Society, the attack twenty years ago, and the Nademick Dynasty are obviously linked in some way. It’s just that without evidence, we can’t know what the truth really is."

As he spoke, Hastings closed the electronic folder.

"As for the attack twenty years ago, most of the people in the Pirate Group that took part were confirmed dead. Not one of them died a normal death. I’ve talked with General Bernadotte as well, and we’ve both confirmed that at least some of them are still living in the Free World. Only there can they stay far from threats."

"Find the pirates who attacked the ship back then, find that exploration team member who miraculously sensed danger and left early, or—" Hastings pushed his wheelchair, sliding toward the door, "let that little kid go find the little girl... but first, you have to defeat Sobel."

He opened the door and looked back. "Also, once you’re recovered, come see me. I hear you managed to win a Thousand-Mile Victory company-level competition without losing a single man. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a war-game simulation; my hands are itching."

Fatty looked at the old man at the door, the one all soldiers—including those in the Western Alliance—revered as a god.

Hastings was very thin, his complexion pale, wrinkles crowding his forehead.

Thirty years ago, a great war had let him lead the Feiyang Republic to leap into being the largest superpower in human society. Since then, no one had been able to shake his position.

The name Hastings had already been thunderously famous long before Fatty joined the army. Toward this man, aside from admiration, he only felt awe.

This was from the bottom of his heart. Fatty swore that even when he had just undone his pants, he’d been doing it with a sense of reverence.

However, throughout this war, many of Hastings’ actions had always been hard for Fatty to understand.

He was the staunchest defender of Feiyang’s interests. That much was obvious from how he had spared no effort for years in expanding Feiyang’s reach across the universe.

But if all he cared about were the interests of the Feiyang Republic, then this war shouldn’t have entered its current phase at this time. As long as he wished, the Feiyang Republic could have continued to maintain tacit cooperation with the Binart Empire. The two giants could have just watched coldly from the sidelines as their little brothers slaughtered each other, waiting until the last drop of blood was spilled before stepping in.

"I’ve always wanted to ask you something." Seeing that Hastings was about to push the door open and leave, Fatty suddenly spoke.

Hastings’ hand paused on the door, as if waiting.

"You actually didn’t have to move this early," Fatty asked. "Feiyang joining the war too soon is the biggest reason Leefer has gained so much support. When did you make up your mind?"

"When I learned that the Binart 12th Generation Mecha was a fusion of electronics and the human brain," Hastings said calmly. "Can you imagine what humanity will face if human thought is controlled?"

"You mean," Fatty shivered, "that little girl?"

"Doesn’t it sound a lot like science fiction?"

Hastings said, "Right now it’s the modification of human brains with electronics. And next? What else will she do? If she can take this first step, she can take a second. Without the restrictions of the Human Supreme Joint Council, in this war, anything she wants to do will be covered by the entire Western Alliance. I’ve fought her for more than twenty years. In these final days, I still want to keep fighting. You’re not my successor—you’re my partner."

The door slid softly toward the frame.

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. Still owe you two Chapters; I’ll make them up when my writing’s flowing smoothly.

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. After being reborn, what’s the first thing you’d do? Go play "Sea Battle" and from then on enjoy the most dazzling second life! Top up to get monthly tickets, free high-VIP, grab huge gifts like crazy, Qidian coins beyond counting—everything’s in Sea Battle! I think it’s pretty good; I’ll be waiting for you all in there. There’s a link in the ad on Qidian, or you can just type this by hand: http://game.qidian.com/game/shzb/100406/index.htm

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. (To be continued. To find out what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com. More Chapters there—support the author, support legal reading!)