Chapter 131: "Terminal Illness"

A few hours later, Lu Yuan waited in his office for Ye Xing and Caoyuan.

Both were wearing their power armor, which was actually quite comfortable and made walking less strenuous. When the camp had ample power, it could be worn as casual attire, whenever needed.

“Li Star’s objectives now only include Oasis City and the Wormhole Space Station. Our unified star system is just around the corner.”

The Cangyuan Executive Officer looked at his two top generals and said.

“Relatively speaking, Oasis City is more troublesome. Of course, I know that our current military strength firmly surpasses theirs. With nearly 30 fighter jets, 60 power armors, plus a mixed force of numerous exoskeletons, all-terrain vehicles, and drones, as well as mechanical servant troops, it would be quite difficult to lose if we launched a direct assault.”

“But you’re afraid of those two scoundrels, Kohl and Omar, messing things up, right?”

As astute as Ye Xing was, he couldn't possibly not know what the Executive Officer was thinking.

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m worried about. When we launch an attack, they will 100% resist in a very disgusting way. Press-ganging is a basic operation, and there are other things like having defenders hide in residents’ homes, disguised as civilians, using the elderly, women, and children as human shields, and so on and so forth. Even before that, Kohl and Omar might hold the entire city hostage, burning it down and massacring its inhabitants the moment I move my troops. Those two aren't stupid; they know what I truly want, and when they are truly desperate, they will do anything.”

“Then let’s start with a decapitation strike!”

Ye Xing suggested.

“It’s not stable.”

Caoyuan disagreed.

“It’s not easy to simultaneously pinpoint the locations of those two and then kill them in a short time. Don’t forget that there’s an abandoned giant reservoir underground in Oasis City. I’m sure it’s a very spacious air-raid shelter now; it might even be able to withstand nuclear bombs.”

“That’s true…”

“And even if you get incredibly lucky and successfully decapitate those two old men, it doesn’t mean their orders will be immediately nullified.”

“...Ah, what a headache, they’re as annoying as cockroaches! Even if you kill them, you don’t know where their egg sacs are still hiding!”

“Don’t use such unpleasant examples. Caoyuan makes a lot of sense.” Lu Yuan stood up from his boss chair and patted Ye Xing’s shoulder. “Taking Oasis City isn’t difficult, but I want to take it in a way that minimizes collateral damage and aligns with the will of the people.”

“Oh~~~”

Ye Xing understood.

“To deal with fewer messes later.”

Lu Yuan: “Exactly! Cangyuan doesn’t have the spare energy to spend on things like security wars, ideological education, or catching saboteurs, so the occupation must be as clean as possible, and the moral dilemma of ‘whether or not to fire on civilians’ must be nipped in the bud as much as possible.”

“But, this problem is unsolvable from outside the city; the air inside needs to ferment to a certain extent first, and then we can coordinate from inside and out.”

Caoyuan: “So we need Cheng Lei’s family to take the lead and contribute.”

Lu Yuan: “Yes. By the way, why didn’t Cheng Yun meet you before? Any clues?”

Caoyuan sighed.

“At first, I thought it was because he didn’t fully trust us yet; but Ye Xing felt it was because he was afraid that if we met, our willingness to cooperate would decrease. His intuition is more accurate than mine.”

Ye Xing chuckled.

“During those few days in the city, we asked around among many citizens and learned that Cheng Yun hadn’t shown his face for at least two months. Some speculated he had a serious illness, others said he was already dead.”

“Cheng Yun only has Cheng Lei as his daughter. If he really passed away recently, then his family business and will would be inherited by the young Cheng Lei, which, in the eyes of most people, would make her much easier to control.”

“So I guess it’s because his physical condition is too poor and he doesn’t want us to see the fragile side of the Cheng family.”

Hmm—

Lu Yuan pondered.

It’s pretty much what I guessed.

“Alright. In any case, I need you to go to Oasis City again. This time, you need to make it clear to Cheng Lei that you are not just simple scouts or spies; you are envoys directly responsible to me. This time, either you meet her father, or there will be no more talks in the future.”

“Cangyuan will take Oasis City no matter what, even if I end up with nothing but ruins. I’d rather Cheng Yun be honest with me before that, not after. There’s a fundamental difference between the two.”

Caoyuan: “Yes! We guarantee to complete the mission!”

“Very good.” Lu Yuan took out a small medicine bottle and handed it to him. “If things are indeed as we suspect, then give this to them. As for the other mission objectives, I will have the butler send them to your wristbands before you depart.”

Bad news: the impact of the EMP on Oasis City cannot be eliminated in a short time, and Cheng Lei cannot be contacted by radio.

Naturally, she couldn’t send a car to meet them.

However, the good news was that the city’s radar was certainly burned out by the EMP, and the remaining four aircraft likely wouldn’t dare to take off.

Parachuting into the city again late at night was an efficient and safe choice.

At 1 AM, accompanied by two quick thuds, Ye Xing and Caoyuan successfully landed in the water from the air, expertly came ashore, and infiltrated Cheng Lei’s large residence.

Knock knock!

Ye Xing tapped on Cheng Lei’s room window.

She was startled at first, then quickly went to open the door for them.

“Thank heavens! You’re really alright! What was that explosion in the sky earlier? Did you just win a battle? Has Apollo’s main force been wiped out?”

“Of course, mere nuclear weapons are just small firecrackers to us!”

Ye Xing chuckled, deliberately not answering the latter questions.

“Cheng Lei, we’re here this time with a very important mission.”

Caoyuan stepped forward, his tone calm, but combined with his height of over 1.9 meters and massive muscle mass, whatever he said carried an inherent sense of intimidation.

He directly stated Lu Yuan’s request.

“If it’s convenient, we’d like to meet Mr. Cheng Yun now. It cannot be delayed for even one more day.”

“I, I understand—” Cheng Lei nodded, her expression somewhat solemn. “Then please wait for me first, at least let me wake up my father.”

“Alright, we’ll wait.”

A moment later, Cheng Lei returned from the master bedroom on the third floor.

“We can go in now. My father is very ill, so before—in any case, I’m truly sorry!”

“It’s alright, we understand, really.” Ye Xing said politely.

“What specific illness is it?” Caoyuan asked.

Cheng Lei shook her head miserably, seemingly very reluctant to discuss the topic, but since her allies asked, she had to answer.

“In this Desert, as long as your accumulated exposure to the sun reaches a certain length, what will ultimately take your life is always cancer.”

She paused for a few seconds.

“My father was an Engineer on an oil field when he was young. Back then, he was stronger than anyone, always thinking he was destined for greatness and different from others, that he wouldn’t get sick, so he didn’t care much about such things. Now the doctor says he has a month left, perhaps less. Oh, let’s go!”

The three pushed the door open and entered.

Ye Xing immediately saw the frail old man lying on the sickbed, bearing no resemblance to the word “strong”; he looked like a living skeleton.

Can he even speak normally?

For a moment, he didn’t know how to begin the negotiation.

Caoyuan, however, walked up with an unchanged expression, half-kneeling by the sickbed to keep his gaze at the same height as Cheng Yun’s.

This was also basic respect for the patient, he thought; a worthy ally would not belittle Cangyuan because of a single gesture.

“Hello, Mr. Cheng Yun. We are envoys sent by Cangyuan Future Technology.”

Caoyuan actively took the other’s hand and said.

He only regretted not having chosen a more immersive character name than “Caoyuan a Caoyuan” back then.

In a slightly more formal setting, saying that full name felt truly bizarre!

“Oh—hello, young man.”

Cheng Yun was very weak, but he still smiled at him.

Cheng Lei breathed a sigh of relief because she could best read her father’s expression; it was a sincere smile, indicating that her father had a good impression of the attitude Cangyuan had shown.

He had waited decades and finally found a reliable ally, and with it came the opportunity to rise that he had dreamed of before.

If only he could live one more year, no, even just half a year, how wonderful that would be.