"I'll have someone bring the Star Army over." Qin Junche glanced at the two of them with annoyance.
He didn't understand when Gu Tang and Han Xuan had become so in sync!
He would rather keep such an important matter a secret from me and choose to do it with Han Xuan instead.
The same thing happened last time; when his mental strength was being enhanced, he was the last to know.
By the time he arrived, Gu Tang was already lying on the lab table.
"No!" Gu Tang shook his head. "Qin Junche, you need to go to the Star Army's base."
His eyes were bright, so bright they could be described as shining like stars: "Han Xuan and I will flank them from behind and launch a surprise attack, working together with you from the inside to catch them off guard."
"You and Han Xuan?" Qin Junche frowned again.
“That’s right!” Gu Tang said, “There should be quite a few people who know that my mental strength has reached S-level by now.”
He laid out his plan in detail: "Actually, even if you hadn't made it, you would have received my message soon. We started..."
"Wait a moment." Qin Junche gestured for him to wait. "You guys?"
Gu Tang raised an eyebrow.
At times like these, he doesn't mind catering to his partner's little desires: "Han Xuan and I."
He corrected his wording: "From the beginning, I planned to ambush their rear. Since they knew that I had forcibly enhanced my mental strength and that I possessed an S-class mecha, they would inevitably guess that I was going to seek revenge."
Gu Tang's eyes lit up even more.
His usually handsome face was now tinged with a deep, bloodthirsty murderous intent.
"For Xiao'er, and for myself!"
"But……"
"No buts!" Gu Tang raised his hand, stopping Qin Junche from continuing. "You need to go to the front lines and draw their attention. Let them think that the sneak attack and revenge are my personal actions. And you are still the selfless Marshal Qin who puts the country first."
Gu Tang swore that he really didn't mean anything by those words.
But the moment Qin Junche heard this, his expression clearly turned somewhat unpleasant.
He remained silent for a long time without saying anything.
After a long pause, Qin Junche slowly nodded: "...Okay."
"Don't worry," Gu Tang smiled reassuringly at him, "I'll be fine."
Qin Junche: "Mm."
He turned around and walked back towards his star rift.
But the figure in his back looked even more somber than before.
That feeling of dejection seemed to rise from the depths of Qin Junche's heart and eventually envelop him.
It made him look as if he had been thrown into a dark, muddy place.
Star Rift quickly left the warship and headed back the way it came.
Gu Tang and Han Xuan stood side by side at the stern of the warship, watching Qin Junche's figure gradually disappear completely from sight.
"Did you say those things to him just now on purpose to anger him?" Han Xuan suddenly asked after a long silence.
"What did you say?" Gu Tang asked him back.
"It's those words that told him to continue being the selfless Marshal Qin."
“I’m very serious,” Gu Tang said.
He roughly guessed what Han Xuan meant and explained, "I've already talked to him about this before, and I've told him that I don't blame him. If I were in his shoes, I would have made the same choice."
Han Xuan shook his head and did not continue the topic.
"Alright, we should get ready." Gu Tang didn't intend to dwell on this issue any further.
He turned on his personal computer and brought up a strategic map of the southern part of the empire.
“Here,” Gu Tang pointed to an area on the map, “is where the Star Army is stationed, so this area is relatively safer. And I will start from here…”
His hand traced a curved arc along the current location of the warship, finally plunging straight into the enemy's rear.
He glanced at Han Xuan: "Attack like this. If we're lucky, we can hit the center directly and catch the enemy off guard."
"And what about me?" Han Xuan asked.
He received a message from Gu Tang, who asked to cooperate with him and to borrow the Lie Ri Army's warships.
Han Xuan agreed to Gu Tang's request almost without thinking.
And they have just perfectly implemented the first step of Gu Tang's plan.
Using the Japanese warships en route to the Japanese garrison on the northern border, lure out spies within the Empire and then kill them.
However, Gu Tang knew that it wasn't these spies who kidnapped Qin Xiao back then.
Or rather, not just spies lurking within the empire.
Besides the intelligence passed out from within, external support was also crucial in enabling Qin Xiao to be kidnapped from the capital.
Moreover, now that Gu Tang has regained his memories, he naturally remembers who those cruelly treated his son back then were.
"This is Kuixing, the largest city on the northern border of the War Alliance. There are at least two S-class mechs, more than ten A-class mechs, and B-class mechs capable of forming two assault teams." Gu Tang continued pointing to the map and calmly added, "Leading these mechs is their Northern General. Although he himself is not S-class, he is ruthless and cold-blooded, with first-class strategic command capabilities."
He turned to look at Han Xuan: "You should know him better than I do."
"Hmm." Han Xuan nodded slowly, his expression solemn.
“My target is him.” Gu Tang’s eyes narrowed slightly.
His eyes were now filled with a bloodthirsty light.
The alliance and the empire have always been at odds, so border wars were inevitable.
However, these people, in order to deal with Qin Junche, went so far as to attack Qin Xiao.
This is absolutely unforgivable.
Gu Tang now remembers that after receiving that phone call, he went to Kui Xing alone.
The heart-wrenching scene when I first saw Qin Xiao.
Qin Xiao was only a few years old at that time. Several soldiers from the War Alliance stripped him naked, hung him upside down in the square, drank and laughed, and whipped Qin Xiao at will.
It's like it was just a toy.
And Qin Xiao, who was small and covered in blood after being beaten, saw Gu Tang the moment he saw him.
Even though he was clearly terrified, he kept shaking his head at him.
Although it was the same botany teacher who experienced all of this, when Gu Tang regained his memory and saw these scenes, his heart ached.
Despite experiencing such a thing, Qin Xiao is still as well-behaved and adorable as ever.
Except for that, he no longer wanted to make a sound.
But it's okay.
Gu Tang reached out and clenched his fist, pressing it tightly against his chest.
When he left home, he told himself that he would definitely end this nightmare.
He will end it himself!
"And what about me?" Han Xuan asked. "What should I do?"
“You’ve sent me to the border closest to Kui Xing, so it’s time to go back north,” Gu Tang said matter-of-factly. “I can’t do without you there.”
"Gu Tang!" Han Xuan's voice also turned stern. "You're joking!"
"I didn't!" Gu Tang looked even more serious than him.
“I’m very serious.” He looked into Han Xuan’s eyes and said very seriously, “As I just said, if I had switched places with Qin Junche back then, I would have made the same choice as him.”
He reached out and pressed the mecha space bracelet on Han Xuan's wrist: "When you take this thing, you also take on the responsibility attached to it."
Han Xuan: "..."
*
Three days later, near the southwestern border of the empire.
Gu Tang had already summoned the dark blue Star Rift. He stood on the cockpit elevator and said to Han Xuan, "I'll be careful. You should go back now."
"Gu Tang." Han Xuan still wanted to persuade him.
"Don't worry, Qin Junche will cooperate with me." Gu Tang knew what he was worried about.
However, compared to Qin Junche, Gu Tang felt that he actually understood Han Xuan better.
His personality is very similar to that of his former Daoist partner.
He might occasionally offer you some advice, but he'll only say what he thinks is right to say.
Even if I tell you, he won't listen or care.
As expected, Han Xuan remained silent for a moment before saying, "Alright, be careful."
"Han Xuan." Gu Tang was already standing at the cockpit door.
He turned around and looked down at Han Xuan: "It's nice to meet you. When we all return to the capital, I'll treat you to a drink."
He waved to Han Xuan, then turned and sat in the cockpit with a deft air.
Then close the door to shut out all outside noise.
The next second, Qingcheng was launched into the starry sky.
In the blink of an eye, Gu Tang used the disguise isolation device to completely blend himself into the starry sky.
Even Han Xuan could no longer find out his whereabouts.
When Gu Tang made his demands on Qingcheng, he pushed its speed to the limit.
Of course, this will come at the cost of significantly reduced protection levels.
He glided silently through the starry sky and crossed the border into the territory of the War Alliance in the blink of an eye.
He was familiar with this road. Back then, in order to save Qin Xiao, knowing that he was no match for him, Gu Tang had someone walk it alone once.