Qin Longcheng kept nothing back from Zhao Chen's questions.
At this hour he was for all the world like an ordinary man telling an old friend his own story.
"The Saint-Disciple family over in the Holy Radiance Empire wanted to research hive-race technology themselves, and demanded of you the technology for opening a permanent cosmic bug-nest, and the technology for controlling the interstellar hive-race?" Zhao Chen's heart gave a jolt.
These hive-race technologies were, beyond doubt, Pandora's box.
The more of them were opened, the greater the harm done.
For… if these were permanent cosmic bug-nests, the consequences did not bear thinking of.
"If I blast this interstellar fortress of yours apart, can that destroy the 'hive-egg' that is starting up?" Zhao Chen looked at Qin Longcheng.
Qin Longcheng shook his head with a smile. "That hive-egg is about the size of a small room, but it uses the sturdiest armor technology our cosmos has at present, in 12 layers in all. Even were the bow cannon of the mightiest T4-grade interstellar battleship trained upon it and fired, in theory it could not be destroyed short of 12 full hours of continuous fire. Even a salvo from your missile ships would be no use. You understand well enough that a burst of force over a small area in an instant falls far short of the power of a battleship's bow cannon. If you do not believe me, you may try it and see."
Zhao Chen asked no further, nor did he truly do it.
Because he believed Qin Longcheng's words: Qin Longcheng had no need to deceive him — if he wished the thing to start up smoothly, he need not have told him of it at all.
And Zhao Chen, drawing on his own knowledge, was certain the Starlight Empire could indeed realize such a technology.
"You said before that at the earliest, Qin Xiaotian and that Doctor started a permanent tier-2 cosmic bug-nest in a stretch of interstellar edge-space. At what coordinates?" Zhao Chen asked.
Qin Longcheng laughed, and shook his head. "That I cannot tell you."
Zhao Chen drew a deep breath and looked at him. "Is that all? Nothing else you wish to say?"
Qin Longcheng patted his own head and raised a finger. "That's right — there is one thing more…"
Qin Longcheng's finger turned slowly toward Zhao Chen, and one word came out of his mouth: "Bang."
And with that the video comm broke off.
"Warning! A high-energy attack reaction detected, trained upon our flagship!" Secretary-Officer Chu Xuan cried out of a sudden.
Commander Charlotte said mildly, "There is no need for alarm."
A green beam of light blasted open the mutated hive-race that were being held off on one flank of the Owl Dragon Legion's fleets.
Zhao Chen looked at the battlefield image captured; he knew this.
This was the attack of a quasi-T5 Leviathan-Monarch-class Hive Mothership!
Just so — by the earlier intelligence, there had been two Leviathan-Monarchs within this star system.
One was in the melee with the mutated hive-race, and the other…
Zhao Chen looked toward the Snow-Swallow interstellar fortress. There, it seemed.
This green pillar of light came straight for the flagship Zhao Chen stood aboard.
But partway along it was blocked by a curtain of light.
That was a shield-field formed by 30 T4 Paladin-class Heavy Interstellar Missile Frigates.
A dazzling radiance shone across the Owl Dragon Legion's fleets.
And in the end, under the shield-field's protection, the green beam weakened by degrees.
In the course of it, through the stretch of mutated hive-race the green pillar had bored through, Zhao Chen saw that Snow-Swallow interstellar fortress tottering under the mutated hive-race's attacks.
And that Leviathan-Monarch crouched upon the Snow-Swallow interstellar fortress.
By the look of it, this Leviathan-Monarch had never recovered after being crippled in the last battle, so that now it could serve only as the Snow-Swallow interstellar fortress's fixed gun emplacement.
"Lilith, put out some stealth interstellar recon craft and imaging-record equipment." Zhao Chen looked to Lilith beside him.
"I shall go and arrange it." Lilith had heard Zhao Chen and Qin Longcheng's talk as well, and knew the purpose of the Commander-in-Chief's arrangement.
This interlude over, the Owl Dragon Legion's fleets advanced toward those two stars in the distance.
"Is there time enough?" Zhao Chen asked Charlotte.
Charlotte answered, "If what Qin Longcheng says is true, then taking that countdown together with it, this so-called permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nest will appear in 13 minutes. And for us to reach the coordinates where we are to make ready to jump wants 10 minutes, and after that 10 minutes of preparation — 20 minutes in all. If this permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nest resembles the tier-4 cosmic bug-nests recorded before— then we can still leave here smoothly."
Hearing Charlotte out, Zhao Chen let out a breath.
"Commander-in-Chief… what that Qin Longcheng said… is it true? A permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nest… this… this is too inconceivable…" Secretary-Officer Chu Xuan looked at Zhao Chen from beside him, her expression complicated.
Chu Xuan came of the Chu family; from childhood she had heard no little of interstellar hive-race warfare from Chu Changhe, and afterward, with Zhao Chen, had lived through the hive-race threat several times over.
She knew perfectly well how terrible this interstellar hive-race was.
"Now is not the hour to wonder whether this thing is true. What must be established is what Qin Longcheng said just now — that this Doctor, using the materials at hand, created 10 of these 'hive-eggs' able to open a permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nest. There is one here. Then… where are the remaining nine hive-eggs!" Zhao Chen said, his expression grave.
In that instant the very air about Zhao Chen chilled to the utmost.
Nine permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nests that might appear at any moment — quite simply nine time bombs.
"Qin Xiaotian… would he truly dare do such a thing? Would he not be nailed to the Starlight Empire's pillar of shame for it!" Chu Xuan asked in her tension.
"History is written by the victors; so long as Qin Xiaotian is the final victor— this stretch of history, he may describe however he pleases." Zhao Chen said it mildly.
"Then what are we to do? If it truly is as Qin Longcheng says, a permanent tier-4 cosmic bug-nest… this…" Merely to think of it made Chu Xuan's scalp prickle.
"Once we have left, notify the legion fleets of every field at once. The harm of this technology Qin Xiaotian must surely understand himself; he will not use it short of the crucial hour. Or else, even should he win, this shambles would be more than he could handle," Zhao Chen said gravely.
Hearing the Commander-in-Chief say so, Chu Xuan and the others let out a breath as well.
But their spirits were low at this hour; there was no joy left at all in having destroyed Qin Xiaotian's base.
…………
"Report, Marshal — our attack did the Owl Dragon Legion's fleets no damage whatsoever," the adjutant reported.
Qin Longcheng waved a hand in self-mockery. "I never expected any damage from it. But we have faced off a whole campaign, and not to fire a single shot at the Owl Dragon Legion — it sat too ill in the chest."
Just so. For to this hour—
the Owl Dragon Legion and their own legion fleets had, of all things, never met face to face; apart from that first round of missile bombardment they had borne—
they had not so much as had a chance to fire one shot at the Owl Dragon Legion.
"Bring me that bottle of my favorite wine," Qin Longcheng bade them.
And afterward Qin Longcheng sat in the captain's chair, drinking straight from the bottle, until the front of his uniform was soaked with it.
And now the red countdown before Qin Longcheng's eyes dwindled by degrees.
100 seconds
10 seconds
5 seconds
1 second
Somewhere deep within this Snow-Swallow interstellar fortress, a long-dormant device resembling a hive-cocoon began to start up.