Chapter 684: Baili's Expression
Above the colony world Mera-IX in the Borderlands, in high orbit.
The Unified Fleet's flagship—the strategic cruiser "Mass Effect"—hung quietly within the docking force field of a star fortress.
Its iron-gray charged armor bathed in starlight, the vessel's straight, rigid lines discarded all unnecessary ornamentation. Only minimalist white markings covered the ship where needed, and within the symmetrical hull, the massive acceleration device pulsed with a flickering glow—the war machine stood ready, poised to strike.
This was a powerful ship with astonishing firepower and defensive capabilities, its design philosophy wholly adhering to the Borderlands Unified Fleet's consistent "raw force overpowering finesse" approach. Even though its primary role was as a command node within the fleet, it still bristled with gun batteries and missile silos. Moreover, as the latest improved variant of the "General"-class strategic cruiser, the Special Affairs Bureau's engineers had added a set of "Collapse Accelerators" at the bow, truly transforming this leviathan into a devastating war beast.
Anyone standing aboard this interstellar giant, gazing at the mass driver main cannons, the kilometers-long iron-gray armor stretching before the observation windows, and the glow flickering within the acceleration rails, would undoubtedly feel its majesty and power, giving rise to a surge of heroic pride as if nothing in the world could stand in their way, as if everything were under their control.
...That was how it should have been.
"What do you mean you just swiped the Hermits' stargate, but they don't know yet?"
"Are you saying we can directly 'jump' the main fleet behind their star fortress?!"
"...The Hermits' 'Living Saints' might all be miniaturized Gloom Angels?! What does that mean?!"
"What do you mean the 'Shadowless Skeleton' is not only alive but awake—didn't you just find the Hermits' stargate? How much time has passed? You guys... no, Yusheng, what exactly did you do in that time..."
Baili Qing stood on the bridge of the "Mass Effect," having only been on a fifteen-minute call with Yusheng before quickly regaining the feeling of working at the Special Affairs Bureau—mostly a job full of surprises, life full of ups and downs, and the ringtone signaling the sky falling.
And after it fell, the guy who had poked a hole in the sky hypocritically comforted her: "The first two things were good news, you know..."
"But the later news was too bad..." Baili Qing rubbed her forehead as she stood before the communicator, suddenly feeling a bit nostalgic for the overtime days at the Special Affairs Bureau. "Also, those 'two things' at the beginning could have been combined into one—you just split them into two sentences."
A subtle arc bobbed below the communicator's holographic projection. Irene's voice chattered from off-screen: "Hey hey, Iron Face, you've got so many expressions today! You're not in the office? What's that background—looks awesome... Is that a Borderlands spaceship? Are you off today?"
"I'm not Iron Face..." Baili Qing began instinctively, then forcefully rubbed her face, instantly returning to her usual expressionless, unsmiling demeanor. "I'm on Mera-IX now. A main Borderlands fleet is stationed here. We're waiting for you to light up the beacon in the Dark Flow Star Region—also, since we're communicating through a ship's comm station, why are you still surprised, Irene?"
"How would she know that? She's always clueless," Yusheng waved his hand in the holographic projection. "Anyway, I've already taken care of that stargate—I haven't fully taken over yet. You can think of it as me 'holding the handle but not pushing open the door,' to prevent them from detecting it prematurely. Once we infiltrate the Sanctuary, I'll 'broadcast' the stargate to you...
"But I don't know where this 'Mera-IX' is. I can only open a gate at places I recognize, so I need you to move the fleet to a suitable coordinate first—how about high orbit of Xu?"
Baili Qing's expression turned serious. After a quick thought, she said, "While Xu is your 'territory,' it's still within the Feiyu Star Domain. A fleet crossing the border between two nations is no small matter. That might require direct communication between the Council and the Taixu Spiritual Pivot, and timewise..."
"Don't worry about that. I've already coordinated with the Taixu Spiritual Pivot," Yusheng said quickly. "You'll jump in through the stargate at 'Yaolu.' That gate is between Algrad and the Feiyu Star Domain, 1.2 light-years from Xu. After the jump, head straight to the 'Great Gate' in Xu's high orbit without stopping. This route will remain clear throughout the operation."
Baili Qing couldn't help raising an eyebrow. "...That kind of arrangement isn't something you can settle with a few words. When did you make those communications?"
"I approached the Primordial Spirit back when the Derivative Star almost crashed into the Taixu Spiritual Pivot," Yusheng said with a bright smile. "I told him I had a score to settle with the Hermits and might need to borrow a lot of people's strength. Just now, I let them know the time had come, and it was done."
Baili Qing's eyes shifted subtly. Through the holographic projection, even Yusheng couldn't tell exactly what her micro-expression meant in that moment—some slight surprise, some emotion, but mostly an indescribable pensiveness.
After two or three seconds, she gave a slight nod. "Good. If that's the case, I'm relieved."
"Mm," Yusheng nodded slightly as well. "We'll start our operations simultaneously. We'll search for the Gate of Eden in the Sanctuary, and you'll pressure the Hermits at the border to divert their attention. But don't go too deep until we have further news. On one hand, we need to prevent those cultists from being cornered and lashing out; on the other, the 'Shadowless Skeleton' makes me uneasy. If we don't deal with that gate and that Gloom Angel, I'm worried there might be unexpected changes."
Baili Qing didn't waste words. "Alright. The Borderlands can coordinate with your actions. After we control the border stargate, we'll wait for your message."
"The garrison at that stargate shouldn't pose much threat to you, but be careful of that ' ,'" Yusheng thought for a moment and couldn't help adding an extra warning. "Right now we only have preliminary suspicions that thing was 'produced' by the Shadowless Skeleton, but concrete information is sorely lacking. In theory, an angel derivative shouldn't be as invincible as a true Gloom Angel, but I'm worried it might have some troublesome 'mechanisms'..."
He paused, then added, "I did fight that thing once, but unfortunately I didn't learn much about its abilities. I don't know where it's gone now. To avoid exposure, I can't probe further. You'll have to be extra cautious on your end."
"Understood. But don't worry. The Borderlands often faces various bizarre and tricky enemies. We're better at dealing with this kind of 'powerful individual' than other factions. We're not afraid of their decapitation tactics."
"Good," Yusheng said, then seemed to think of something else. "By the way, how much does your bureau know about the 'Living Saints'?"
"Living Saints..." Baili Qing spoke slowly, thoughtfully. "Previously, the bureau did hear that title through some special channels, but the information we've gathered is extremely sparse and messy. We only know they are the top-tier force of the Hermits, but they never seem to leave Hermit territory for missions. Most info comes from captured Hermit followers—sometimes they curse people of different faiths in the name of a ."
"That's it... Well, we'll figure it out sooner or later," Yusheng said, then let out a soft sigh. "That's it for now. We'll find a place to stay hidden. We'll wait until that Dark Star cruiser carrying the angelic catalyst arrives at the Sanctuary."
Below the holographic projection, the little golden arc in front of Yusheng jumped again, bobbing at the edge of the image with Irene's voice: "Bye-bye, Iron Face!"
Then, before Baili Qing could respond, the communicator was cut off.
"...I'm not Iron Face."
Baili Qing's mouth seemed to twitch by two pixels as she muttered at the now-dark holographic projection.
Then she felt the sensation of "gaze" from beside her.
Turning her head, she saw Hong standing nearby in a white dress, her long hair trailing to the floor, eyes tightly shut, with a faint smile on her face.
Baili Qing felt a bit awkward—after all, normally she was the one who "stared" at everyone, and there were few people in the entire Borderlands who dared to meet her gaze. But in front of this "vampire" who never opened her eyes, that feeling of being scrutinized was hard to ignore.
"What are you looking at me for?" she finally couldn't help asking.
"Interesting," Hong said unhurriedly.
"Interesting? What's interesting?"
"The way you interact with them—not just with that 'Yusheng,' but also with that puppet bouncing around off-screen. It's all very interesting," Hong's smile seemed to deepen. "I haven't seen you have so many expression changes in such a short time in many years. Sometimes I even wonder if you were born with a stiff face when you hatched from your shell... A completely unlovable little wyrm."
Baili Qing took a deep breath.
"Don't go rewriting facts. You never saw me hatch. By the time you fished me out, I was already in the juvenile dragon stage!"
But Hong said nothing, only continued smiling as she "looked" at her.
Baili Qing sighed helplessly and chose to change the subject. "Let's focus on what's at hand. The operation plan has changed. We won't be attacking the Hermits' border main force head-on. Instead, we'll use the enemy's stargate to jump inside their defensive perimeter. Have you ever fought this kind of battle?"
"No, but it sounds interesting," Hong said unhurriedly. "That 'Angel Hunter' gentleman's abilities and methods... truly exceed expectations."
She turned and walked toward a field of infinitely interwoven reflected mirrors that had appeared out of nowhere.
"Let's prepare to depart. Even if we've taken control of the Hermits' stargate, it's still a fair distance to Xu from here. Don't let our fleet hold up the entire operation."