Chapter 418: Chapter 417: A Hero of One
In the blink of an eye, two or three days have passed.
The warship sailed smoothly...
Just like when they came, everyone started their respective routines.
In Han Yun City, he began daily hard cultivation, Liu Dong stared blankly at the dashboard, while sneaking glances at Xiaoya operating the warship, evidently planning to learn an additional skill.
Zhao Yang, on the other hand, quietly calculated with a pen...
After consulting Xu Lingjun about the basic principles of the things he had previously taken out, he fell into a state of obsession.
And Xu Lingjun, similarly engaged in daily cultivation, had additionally taken on the daily task of delivering meals to Sun Yangwei.
After learning that Sun Lingli was still alive and doing well...
Sun Yangwei was no longer in that frenzied state, only during daily meals would he inquire Xu Lingjun about Sun Lingli’s current situation and ask how she and he met.
Upon learning about Feng Zhichen’s deeds over the years and that he adopted Sun Lingli, imparting all his efforts to her,
his expression became incredibly complex.
And upon hearing that Sun Lingli was troubled by her cultural achievements, no matter how seriously she studied, she was always at the bottom of the class, even straining her eyes to the point of nearsightedness from all the studying.
Comparatively, her talent in Martial Tao wasn’t mediocre...
His expression only then eased slightly.
Muttering that it was like him, poor in cultural achievements, but truly formidable in Martial Tao; he mastered the Wind Fist Style martial skill at once, even astonishing that brat Leizi.
But more than that.
Most of the time, Xu Lingjun would set the meal down and then turn to leave.
Aside from Sun Lingli, there was no common language between them. They had once fought to the death, and there were even comrades of Sun Yangwei who died at Xu Lingjun’s hands.
The two couldn’t just smile and forget their grievances...
Yet as the warship sailed, Sun Yangwei’s expression grew heavier and heavier.
And on this day.
"I want to drink tea, do you have any? Haven’t had tea for many years..."
Sun Yangwei actively made a request.
"Alright!"
Xu Lingjun responded.
And went to brew him some tea.
Ten minutes later.
Both sitting silently, one inside and one outside, Sun Yangwei slowly sipped the tea in his hand, sighing, "Don’t think I’m a coarse person, I’m actually quite cultured. Back in the day, my greatest love was drinking tea. Xiaoli’s mom always teased me about it, saying I was like a pig wearing a cork, pretending to be an elephant... But she didn’t understand, I actually have a great appreciation for tea. Now, even more so."
"If you like, I can put a water heater and some tea leaves in the cage for you in the future, so you can have them when you want."
"Forget it, one shouldn’t indulge too much in things they love, or it will corrode the mind."
Sun Yangwei put down the teacup.
Turning to look at Xu Lingjun, he asked, "Are you planning to return to the Polar Star battlefield?"
Xu Lingjun nodded.
"What about me? What do you plan to do with me?"
Xu Lingjun replied, "I will take you back. How you are dealt with isn’t my problem, a military tribunal might interrogate you. Regardless of how wronged you feel, it can’t cover your crimes since you intended to destroy Blue Star, which is far from a trivial matter."
"Indeed, everything from the past will be redressed, I guess."
Sun Yangwei closed his eyes, smiling bitterly, "Though I couldn’t leave anything for Xiaoli, I at least left her the title of having a martyr father, yet now even that will be overturned... I might become her blemish, something she can never shake off."
Xu Lingjun asked, "Isn’t there really no way to resolve it? You could atone for your crimes, like by stopping your plans..."
"It was because of this plan that I became the leader of the Shilin Race. If I abandon it, I would be discarded first!"
Sun Yangwei glanced at Xu Lingjun, saying, "Moreover, all the warships have been dismantled, the Shilin Race no longer has the capability to leave Xuyun Star. Now, Xuyun Star has been devastated by us. Even if we do nothing, this planet won’t last long... Do you think they would willingly wait to die without seeking revenge?"
"By the way, there’s something I’ve been contemplating whether or not to tell you. After thinking about it, it’s probably better to say it!"
Sun Yangwei said, "This warship is heading towards Blue Star, right?"
"Yes, is there something wrong?"
Seeing Sun Yangwei reiterate the same question twice, Xu Lingjun felt puzzled and asked, "Is there something wrong?"
"Do you know why I shared my plan with you, even before knowing your identities?"
Sun Yangwei’s gaze fell on Xu Lingjun, and he said, "I really didn’t want to tell you, but I can’t let my granddaughter be born without a father. I can’t watch my daughter dying tragically because of my plan... so..."
He said, "You’ve already learned about our plan, but the more boosters and acceleration engines you have, the better, especially since the engine of a Watchtower class Battleship is a sub-warp engine, much stronger than the engine on our warship. So, once we obtained this ship, we immediately started disassembling its engines."
Watching Xu Lingjun’s expression instantly grow grim.
Sun Yangwei said, "Later, after learning you intended to use robots to escape the planet, we, having no warships available, could only urgently pilot your warship in pursuit. At that time, we planned it very well—the war was solely confined to the planet, with no issues... But in reality, much of this warship’s engine connection had already been disassembled by us."
He explained, "Normal travel is fine, but once it stays in a high-speed state for an extended period, there is a significant possibility of the engine detaching from the ship. When that happens, the ship will completely be destroyed by inertia while in high-speed travel, leaving you no chance to escape to the emergency pod!"
Xu Lingjun was stunned, looking at Sun Yangwei in shock, and exclaimed, "So the twenty-day news you gave us was fake, and you were actually trying to make us travel at high speed so that the ship would lose balance, leading us to perish together?"
"The news is true, but the intention to perish together is also real."
Sun Yangwei smiled bitterly, "But I never imagined you would turn out to be Lingli’s husband... I’ve already wronged Lingli too much; how could I do something that would harm her again? I wish I could drag the entire Blue Star to hell, but the prerequisite is that she can’t be on it."
"You..."
"Do you know why I asked you for tea?"
Sun Yangwei raised his hand, picked up a piece of shattered glass he had crushed, and directly stabbed it deeply into his own neck!
With a hiss, blood splattered.
Xu Lingjun shouted in shock, "What are you doing?"
"Don’t come in!"
With his neck injured, Sun Yangwei’s speech was accompanied by a heavy wind sound.
But his expression showed no change, clearly indicating he felt no pain.
He shook his head, "After I die, this room will be filled with viruses... If you come in, you’ll be infected. Listen to me quietly; I don’t have much time left. The vital parts have been stabbed, and I won’t live long."
He said earnestly, "I’ve thought a lot these past few days. I remembered the reason I wanted to avenge Blue Star. I remembered what I owed Xiaoli—I’ve owed her far too much. If you take me back to Blue Star, I will certainly see her... Just thinking about the father-daughter reunion scene makes me tremble with fear."
Sun Yangwei paused for a moment, then said, "I wanted to take revenge on Blue Star for Xiaoli’s sake, but when you told me she was still alive, instead of feeling joy, I felt fear and despair... I can’t go back alive; I can’t see her."
He called out, "Xu Lingjun, am I right?"
"Yes."
Xu Lingjun paused, suddenly feeling as though he understood Sun Yangwei’s thoughts.
He had become someone she could never accept. Meeting her would only shatter the brilliant image of him she held in her heart.
He only wanted to maintain the grand and radiant image of a father in her heart... Perhaps this is the image every father fights to preserve."
"Don’t save me. Let me die; it will only take a while. After a while, I’d die from excessive blood loss. At that time, you can burn everything here to the ground, leaving nothing behind... that’s enough."
Sun Yangwei smiled bitterly, "Xu Lingjun, I have one request; is that okay?"
Xu Lingjun asked, "What is it, go ahead?"
"I’d like to trouble you to privately inform Xiaoli after returning that you saw me. You can tell her about your experiences on Xuyun Star, but could you please tell her that you only succeeded in leaving Xuyun Star with my help... Tell her that her father, though infected by the Shilin Race, always fought against his fate, never admitting defeat, and later sacrificed his life to save his son-in-law and grandchild!"
Sun Yangwei’s voice choked, yet he couldn’t shed a tear.
He choked, "I left when Xiaoli was very young, so she probably doesn’t feel much about me. Even knowing of my resurrection and demise shouldn’t be too hard on her... But this way, I can truly, in the name of a father, entrust you to relay a few words to her. I have so many things I want to say to her. I want you to tell her, tell her... Dad could destroy the whole world for you; Dad is also willing to save the entire world for you..."
His life was gradually fading away; even his words began to come in fragments. He choked, "These words, only tell her, no need to tell anyone else. I don’t need to be vindicated; no need to clear my name, nothing... I don’t care if I’m remembered with infamy or glory after I die. Even if I’m cast into an irreparable abyss from martyrdom, I don’t care... But... but... in Xiaolingli’s eyes, it must not be so... I want to be her hero, and from the very start, I only wanted to be her hero."
Xu Lingjun said solemnly, "Alright, I promise you."
"Thank you..."
Sun Yangwei let out a long sigh, and with a bitter smile, he said, "I never thought I’d get to speak to her as a father again in this life... it’s really nice... it’s enough."