Counterfeit Hero

Xingjian left the bottom holding cell with a depressed expression. Wearily walked into the hanging

The metal door of the elevator closed. Isolate the dark corridor of the holding cell from the outside.

In the huge elevator, the lights were dazzlingly bright. The floor numbers on the screen were changing silently. Except for the almost inaudible sound of the reaction suspension as the elevator climbed upwards, there was no other sound.

The whole world is eerily quiet!

The fat man sighed silently and pressed the emergency stop button. The elevator immediately responded to the command and stopped.

He slowly sat on the cold floor of the elevator. The fat man looked at the closed elevator door in a daze.

Just now, at the moment when Barbarossa revealed the treasure in an unusually bachelor manner, a Leray soldier who hurriedly rushed into the holding cell completely shattered his joy with a piece of news.

The Salga Federation withdraws from the war! The Bermuda Galaxy completely retreated, and LeRae retreated to the Central Galaxy!

Although he had already made an estimate of what was happening in this neighboring country, when the news was confirmed, Fatty still felt a deep despair!

Outside the closed elevator door, there must have been a mess. These Lelei compatriots who had just escaped from the pursuit of the West York Fleet were so confused and uneasy at the moment.

What about domestically? How has the war situation deteriorated again? Are those useless politicians trying to lead LeRae down another path? What are the anxious Hamilton, Mikhailovich, and teacher Russell doing at the moment? Sitting in a cigarette-filled conference room for a meeting. Or are you submitting an urgent report to the High Command of the Fiji Allied Forces?

Thoughts were running through my head, and my head hurt so much that it felt like it was going to explode.

From the day Gacharin invaded Leredi, this country, which had been at peace for three hundred years, was pushed by invisible hands and rushed on the road of war. For the glory and freedom of this country, and in order not to be conquered, groups of Lelei young people are fighting hard on the bloody battlefield.

And this struggle. It seems so powerless now.

This war imposed on the Lere people finally came to an end after three years.

LeRae's enemy. It is no longer the Gacharin on the planet Mirok, but Jiepen, Desik, and Suss. It’s these behemoths like Binart! In the future, maybe there will be Salega!

After three years of fighting, going through life and death again and again, all we got was this festering and spreading situation.

The fat man huddled in the corner of the elevator. He took out a piece of paper and drew a deduction symbol on it with a pen, next. But I couldn't figure it out. A feeling of weakness and powerlessness. It struck him at that moment. It left him breathless.

What else can you do?

***************************************

Helen stuck the camera on the tripod and activated the energy switch.

The camera shots are already set. With the red light flashing. A few shots were taken.

This is already the third day since arriving at this pirate base. Same place, same lens. Helen would stand in this position and shoot for half an hour every morning at ten o'clock in the morning, and then go to the dock to shoot a set of shots.

This is a lonely battlefield record.

All the pictures faithfully record every bit of what happened since the escape... In this cold and dark steel base, there is a group of soldiers who have been far away from the motherland, preparing for a difficult return.

"What will happen if we go back?"

Helen bit her lip gently and stared blankly at the lifeless hall of the base in this shot.

In this secret base, there is no communication channel with the outside world... In order to avoid exposure, there are no civilian networks, military communication repeaters, or waterway communications. The only ones who can get information from the outside world are the two electronic frigates released every day according to the pirates' rules.

Just today, one of the frigates went to the passenger channel to pretend to be a passenger ship and join the channel to collect information, and brought back news that surprised everyone... the Salaga Federation withdrew from the war.

Everyone was dumbfounded when they heard the news. And the news that followed was even more unacceptable... The main star of the Bermuda Galaxy, Rodbia, was forced to give up due to strategic needs. Millions of troops retreated with the desperate support of the fleet.

Jeppon's army has basically occupied Rodbia, and Xijiao's fleet has also blocked all routes, including marginal channels.

That means that the way home has been completely cut off!

No one can figure it out.

Salega, this same federal country, is the closest neighbor to the Lere Federation, its strongest support, and the only channel from Lere to the Chakna Republic. At this moment, her withdrawal is undoubtedly a blow to LeRae...

How could they just quit without caring? What's the difference between that and surrender? The flames of war are still burning in Lelei's country. Salega's contribution in this war is just a few mixed fleets and some supplies!

What do the weak-minded politicians in this weak-minded country think they can get from Siyo?

The wide base hall is an oval-shaped metal building. It is located on the first level below the giant transport ship on the surface.

In the center of the hall is a metal sculpture of a one-eyed pirate. This short and stocky pirate held a scimitar in his hand, with a ferocious face and piercing eyes looking ahead. Around his base are several rows of energy arrays, with thick pipes half exposed on the ground, providing energy to the surrounding cabins, environmental balance and life support systems.

Outside the two-story cabin is a walkway surrounded by railings, connected to the hall through metal stairs. The metal bulkheads were thickly nailed between the beams and columns in rows. There was no whitewashing on them, only some weird pirate graffiti.

With exaggerated genitals and grotesque naked women, the life of a pirate looks as messed up as these graffiti.

In the camera, more and more people are gathering in the base hall.

After receiving this bad news, the warship repairs were in full swing. The supplies and the cleanup of the pirate base have now stopped.

The soldiers stood together with heavy faces. They still hold in their hands

There were still dark oil stains on their hands, and the clothes on their bodies had been ripped off, and the mist was rising in the heating.

The entire hall was silent, and a sad mood was spreading silently. Helen could clearly see the confusion on the faces of the soldiers in the camera, and could deeply feel a kind of sadness, a kind of helpless despair coming from the bones.

Who will tell these soldiers who are far away from their homeland. Where should they go from here? .

Who will tell me where to go?

Looking back now. When Leray declared war on the Western countries, he stood in front of the people of Leray and said he would never be conquered. How determined he was, watching those Lelei young people rushing to the recruitment office to sign up, and watching troops one after another stepping onto the front line without hesitation. How passionate.

I have dreamed of being a war correspondent again and again. Follow behind them, use a camera to record the victory scene of the Federation...

But now, he can only hide in the pirate base deep in the universe. Use a camera to record the confusion and desolation of the soldiers. There is no boiling blood here. There are no fierce battles, all dreams. All after getting news from the Salga Federation. Disappeared without a trace.

Caressing the camera. Helen found that her ideals were facing cruel reality. It turned out to be so vulnerable.

What kind of war correspondent, who uses the camera in his hand to record history. Look at these shots. He was just doing the same thing as Robinson Crusoe carving the date on the wooden stake.

When Le Ray finally lost the war, these shots served as historical information for the loser. What other meaning does it have?

before. Those exciting videos played repeatedly on TV. Those fierce and magnificent battle scenes. Nothing more than a Romantic distillation of war. Only when you actually set foot on the battlefield do you realize that this bloody romance is so cruel, so monotonous, and so heart-wrenching!

Looking aimlessly through previous shots, Helen's fingers on the touch screen gradually stopped.

On the screen, the fat man was roaring with a ferocious face. On the screen with the volume turned off, you could vaguely make out what he was cursing...

Helen shook her head. She still could not connect this vulgar fat man with the federal hero.

Turning up the volume, she remembered that the next "Bolan Rose", amidst the roar of the fat man, rushed forward and stood in the middle of the crisscrossing artillery fire.

At that time, I was not timid at all.

In that crazy atmosphere with a blank mind, I held the camera tightly and recorded everything that happened in the main control room.

In the picture, there was a lot of noise... The correspondents were sending signals to the flagship, the observers were shouting at the top of their lungs, and the radar operators were cursing and capturing the signals amidst the interference again and again. Everyone's face was abnormally red.

Later, the battleship accelerated and suddenly hit the rear of the enemy destroyer.

Turning, accelerating, breaking away... It was the same as the moment when she escaped. Looking at the scene again, a numb feeling spread all over Helen's body.

On the screen, everyone jumped up and gave high fives!

Helen raised her head and looked around. She suddenly realized that she had not seen the fat man for a long time. At this time, what is that fat guy doing that people can't always see through? Are you still taking advantage of those pirates?

Following the soldiers' gazes, Helen saw Chekov. The captain leading the [Bolan Rose] had a serious face and smoked a cigarette. Behind him, several battleship officers also stood solemnly with serious expressions on their faces. Not far from them was the entrance to the suspended elevator.

In the circular elevator foyer, a LeLei soldier listlessly used gestures to direct several cargo mechas to move mountains of old-fashioned metal ammunition onto rail trailers.

Intentionally or unintentionally, every few seconds, Chekov, several officers, and all the soldiers in the hall would look up at the indicator light of the suspended elevator.

However, the indicator light is always red, indicating a fault.

They look back anxiously and disappointedly, wait a little while, and then repeat themselves. And they didn't even look at the elevators with their doors open all the time!

More and more people gathered in the hall, except for the warrior named "Bolan Rose". And the gang of smugglers in [Audrey]. They seemed to feel something too. The hundreds of students who were supposed to be conducting military exchanges at Chakna's military academy were also standing quietly in the crowd.

Only one person was absent, the fat man.

The man who commanded the "Bolan Rose" and miraculously escaped from death, the most famous civilian hero in Leray's history.

where is he?

*********************************

On the planet Rodbia, at this moment, the retreat has reached the most critical moment.

Looking down from space. The nineteen cities spread across the entire planet have turned into thunderous cannons. A hell filled with smoke.

Infantrymen wearing dark brown Leray uniforms were in the dirt stirred up by the shells, in the dense hail of bullets. Resisting desperately. Federal mechas roared across the criss-crossing trenches while gathering. While firing desperately.

And it was only a few kilometers behind them. Countless soldiers, with mud and gunpowder smoke still on their clothes, lined up silently onto the transport ship. Among them were the wounded, medical soldiers and nurses carrying medical kits. There are officers holding files. There are also busy mechanics and aviation troops.

The transport ship kept taking off and landing.

Under the cover of the land-based air force and space fleet, there are various kinds of spaceships, large or small. Full of Lelei soldiers and people who have left their homes. Leap into the vast space. Passing through the emergency channel still in the hands of the First Expeditionary Fleet in the Southeast of the Fei Alliance, they flew towards the central star field of Lelei.

The Bermuda Galaxy was lost. It’s a foregone conclusion!

The flagship of Leray's Third Mixed Fleet [Castania] has now become a frontline headquarters in space. Countless officers and staff officers. Running back and forth, noisy footsteps, roars and electronic sounds from the ship's radio were mixed together. The atmosphere has become extremely tense.

In the main control room. pull

Sit quietly.

The entire plan was completed the moment it was learned that the Salga Federation had withdrawn from the war zone. What is needed now is execution.

One spaceship after another dragged a long stream of ion light past the battleship's window and gradually moved away. Following the Lucerne evacuation, this was Russell's second evacuation involving nearly 10 million people. Both retreats left a deep impression on Russell.

The Lere people are always able to organize themselves tightly and carry out orders in an orderly manner. No complaints, no panic. They just stepped onto the transport ship in silence and left. All available spaceships have been used. Women, children and the elderly were given priority on the spacecraft.

Infantry divisions and armored divisions one after another were still neatly assembled on the front line. They will serve as a reserve team to step in when the situation on the frontline deteriorates. Buy time for retreat. .

The Federation's fleet has appeared in the Bermuda galaxy as much as possible. They resisted enemies many times their own. Be brave but not reckless. They can always entangle the enemy at the minimum cost, like a fox guarding its cubs.

This is a country worthy of respect.

Unfortunately, in this war, Leray, like Gacharin, was inevitably destined to suffer defeat.

Russell sighed and looked at the interstellar map on the main console, not knowing what it was like.

As a keen military strategist, Russell knew that as long as LeRae could survive for another year, the war situation would undergo profound changes.

Within a year, there will be a battle in Carlston Galaxy!

Sober and Hastings, had ended up at Carlston Layout. The reason why there was no large-scale confrontation was because these two men were restraining their troops.

They do not want to see any changes in the situation in the universe due to the merger of the two superpowers. The change was only between the two superpowers. Their leadership position will never be allowed to be interfered with by others. Not even your own allies!

Therefore, the Southeast Star Region has become a battlefield for the two great powers to test each other. They put their allies up one by one and let them bite and fight.

However, there are always some countries that have their own plans.

This is true of Chuckner, and so is Suss and Jeppon. These countries cannot be commanded so easily. Every step they take follows one principle, which is national interest.

Chuckner did not send troops because he did not want to become the focus of conflict before Carlston broke out. But Seuss and Jiepen were even more ambitious. The reason why they sent troops to the Southeast Star Region was to capture Salega. Take Leray, and then take Gacharin... Historically, these two countries are synonymous with greed! They all dream of becoming the next superpower!

Everyone has his own precise calculation!

However, no matter how this calculation is done. The confrontation in Carlston Galaxy is escalating step by step, but it is a fact.

Both Sober and Hastings are looking for opportunities and are carefully looking for flaws in their opponents. I don’t know when they will strike with a thunderous strike!

Only when the two superpowers completely strangled the two alliances in the Carlston Galaxy. Only then will the Southeast Star Region be released and the focus of the war be returned to where it should be. After all, whether it is Western York or Fiji. Carlston Galaxy cannot afford to lose.

Once the leading country of the alliance fails, the chain reaction that will follow will be fatal!

At that time, the forces of the Naga Federation and the Desik Empire. It will be transported to the Binart Empire from the Western Front. The Leon Republic and the Chakna Republic of the Fi League will work together to resist the attacks of Suss and Jiepen. LeRae will still be attacked, though. It will never be the focus of the war.

Unfortunately, all this is just theory. Jeppon and Seuss. LeRae will never be given the opportunity to practice this theory.

Don't say one year. West Yorkshire won’t even give him half a year! They will continue to attack. Until the Leray Channel is completely opened! The Feiyang Republic and the Chakna Republic may send troops when Lere is most in danger. Or perhaps, they will launch a direct attack at Carlston...

No matter what, LeRae is disabled. This country will become a scorched earth and an insignificant vassal state.

Russell pointed his finger upward at the star chart. In the three-dimensional space between the countries of Lere, Salega, Chakna, Sous, Jepen, Tatania, and Puditok, there is another force.

This force has always been on the fringes of mainstream society. They have their own rules of survival, they have their social form, they are a mess, they are a group of bloodthirsty gangsters, they are liars, mercenaries, gangsters, businessmen, adventurers and pirates.

They are the least trustworthy and the most trustworthy. They measure everything by strength. They murder, steal, and rob nakedly.

There is heaven, there is also hell!

If he could get help from this force, LeRae might be able to survive.

Unfortunately, when the high command was forming a force for this region, the person best suited to lead this force disappeared.

Is he still alive?

where is he?

************************************

There was still silence in the base hall.

Chekov smoked cigarettes one after another, looking at the closed elevator in a daze from time to time.

The atmosphere, strangely silent, seemed a bit depressing.

The soldiers looked at their captain. They knew that the captain, like them, was waiting for that person to appear. At a time like this, the man who rescued 270 prisoners of war, captured James alive, performed countless miracles, and brought himself to this base with a narrow escape may be able to tell everyone what should be done in the future.

The long wait has turned into a kind of expectation.

The confused and desperate mood needs someone to use his voice to dispel it.

Everyone waited quietly.

Until the elevator indicator light changed from red to green.

Watching the elevator go up level by level. The whole hall suddenly became slightly commotion. Everyone couldn't help but rush over.

Helen pointed the camera lens at the elevator door.

No matter what, she needs

own responsibilities. War has lost its romance, but perhaps there are still surprises left. When the dust has settled, looking back, some small details may be the turning point of fate.

What we should do now is record this period of history.

The elevator door opened.

Following a billowing puff of smoke, a fat man with messy hair and an open collar walked out with red eyes. In his hand, he also held a crumpled piece of paper covered with strange symbols. He held the piece of paper so tightly, as if he was holding a life-saving straw!

"Colonel Tian..." Chekov greeted him: "We..."

The fat man waved his hand.

Different from his usual playful and smiling expression, the fat man now had a livid face. His expression was unusually ferocious.

In full view of everyone, the fat man walked straight towards Helen.

Seeing the fat man getting closer and closer in the camera, Helen couldn't help but feel a little panicked. What does he want to do?

The fat man passed Helen. His eyes were fixed on the huge one-eyed pirate sculpture next to Helen.

"The status of a pirate is destined to the way pirates store their wealth...except for a small number of stocks and deposits in the free port, most of them are stored in the base in the form of precious metals."

Fatty's voice rang out in the base. He seemed to be talking to himself. He seemed to be speaking to everyone. .

"Unlike the gold and jewelry of ancient times, today's precious metals are the rarest metals since the ancient earth era——."

"~|Element. In the ancient earth era, its pure metal value was half a million times that of gold. Even today. When gold, gold and other traditional precious metals have become the most common metals,~

After some explanation, the fat man turned around. Looking at Chekov who was following him, he said: "Now one gram of land has a market price of five thousand Fiji dollars!"

I don’t know why, but this is completely unrelated to the explanation I was expecting. In everyone's heart. All set off an indescribable wave.

Everyone looked intently at the one-eyed pirate sculpture that the fat man was pointing at. Listen to him continue: "The body of this three-meter-high statue is made of valuable chrome alloy. And his head is entirely made of pure metal."

"Let's do the math." The fat man pointed his fingers.

"One kilogram~. The head of the statue is worth hundreds of millions!"

Before anyone could calculate the result, Fatty gave the answer.

"The cost of a [Bolan Rose] is only 90 million Fiji dollars. The cost of a Feiyang Republic's [Crazy Shark] class heavy cruiser is only 400 million Fiji dollars! It can be said that, The Red Beard Pirates’ decades of savings are all invested in this pirate sculpture land!”

Quietly in the hall...

Staring at the one-eyed pirate sculpture, the fat man suddenly laughed ferociously.

He almost bent over with laughter: "This statue! It's enough for us to purchase enough materials in the Free Port, enough for us to turn this place into a military base! Although we don't have military industrial enterprises or equipment, we have money, soldiers, and the most Excellent researcher!"

"If we become pirates, the entire free world will be ours..." Fatty's fanatical voice echoed in the hall.

Everyone was shocked by the fat man's words.

"Our ancestors blessed us. They gave us such a base. They gave us pirate treasures."

The fat man laughed, "Didn't they cut off our way home? Didn't they want LeRay to fall down like this?... Didn't they want to see me die?!"

"Bah!" The fat man spat fiercely: "From now on, this will be the land of the Leray Democratic Federation, a part of the federation, sacred and indivisible! We are standing on the land of our motherland."

"Our land..." Everyone muttered blankly.

"Lerei has been at peace for three hundred years, but the blood of this country has never cooled down. Many people died for this country. In the future, we will be one of them. Even if one day, Lerei is captured . At least we are still standing on Le Lei’s land and fighting them to the bitter end!”

"Fight to the bitter end!" These four words suddenly made everyone's blood boil.

"Bermuda has fallen. What will happen to the Leray Central Star Territory three months later? What will happen to the entire Leray Federation six months later?"

The fat man was asking. No one answered him, everyone just stared at him breathlessly, waiting for him to tell the answer.

"I don't know!" The fat man spread his hands with a hateful smile: "I only know... we want peace, they gave us war, we wanted to survive, they gave us killing. We are soldiers, it is our responsibility It is to protect our people. But now, we can only watch our people leave their homes, be robbed by pirates in the universe, and die in the war."

"***! Now, we have only one way to take revenge!"

In what way? Everyone clenched their fists.

"robbery!"

The whole hall was in chaos following the fat man's answer.

"Yes! Grab the ***!"

"Robbing the Jepen people, robbing the Sussians! Damn it, do you want to rob the Salga people?"

"And those pirates!"

This vicious thought made all the despair and confusion disappear. The fat man's words seemed to light up a beacon in the fog.

"Tell Barbarossa and his men." The fat man said to the bright-eyed Chekov: "Let's go all out and tell them, either they will be shot collectively. Or, they will follow us and become the most ruthless pirates in this star field." !”

"What is the name of our unit?" Chekov asked.

"Bandits!" the fat man shouted. He had no idea that his image as a bandit had been clearly photographed by Helen who was standing by with her mouth open.

Last time I was in Gacharin, I just grabbed a base. ***, this time, I have to grab enough! .