The thirty-fifth colonial planet—New Shanxi.
Standing before the viewport, Li Longcheng calmly gazed at the ruined colonial landscape outside the window—this was the aftermath of humanity's first clash with the Turians. Their colony had been attacked and occupied by the Turians, then the Stellar Federation counterattacked and reclaimed this colonial planet from Turian hands.
Yet even now, the place remained a scene of desolation. The once bustling development and construction had completely vanished without a trace. In order to flee those terrifying alien invaders, most people had escaped back to the homeworld. And precisely because of that, the colony that used to be lively and crowded had now become like a ghost city. All of this stemmed from a single invasion—an attack launched by an alien race.
"Look at this."
Li Longcheng pointed outside the window.
"This is the humiliation those barbarians have brought upon us—and we will absolutely not surrender."
"But John doesn't think that way."
Hearing Li Longcheng speak, the elderly man sitting beside him chuckled softly.
"They've long been accustomed to bowing and scraping. They simply don't understand what a unified civilization truly needs. That's hardly surprising—ever since the Roman Empire collapsed, that place has been nothing but a chaotic battlefield."
"That's right."
Li Longcheng nodded. As the representative of the pro-war faction within the Stellar Federation, the pressure on him had always been immense.
Especially after humanity finally cast aside national boundaries following the discovery of alien forces and formed a unified human Stellar Federation—things had become even more so.
Yet on many issues, Li Longcheng felt completely out of step with his Western colleagues.
Just like this time.
The Turians had attacked their fleets and their colonies without any warning. As a representative, Li Longcheng firmly demanded war—to strike back hard. After all, the long history of his civilization had already taught him clearly: when facing barbarian invasions, there was no road other than rising up in resistance.
However, those Western representatives didn't see it that way. They didn't value human dignity—only benefits. In their view, a war with aliens was an opportunity, a platform through which the Stellar Federation could leap forward and become one of the few major powers in the entire galaxy.
Li Longcheng wasn't surprised by this at all. After all, the West had always been like this—when they wanted to integrate into a certain circle, any humiliation or loss was worth it. Like a nouveau riche desperate to become an ennobled aristocrat. This was clearly the exact opposite of Li Longcheng's thinking. Yet to those white-skinned fellows, they obviously wouldn't care about their own losses.
In their eyes, proactively showing goodwill would allow these aliens to form a favorable impression of humanity, thus enabling humans to join the other side's camp. But in Li Longcheng's view, even if peace talks were to happen, it had to be the other side begging them—only then could humanity seize the initiative.
Of course, it wasn't that they didn't understand this logic. And Li Longcheng knew very well why they refused to act that way.
New Shanxi lay within the territory of the Asian Alliance to which Li Longcheng belonged, not a colony of the pro-peace faction. Therefore, to those white bastards, this wasn't their loss at all—they didn't feel any pain over it, and might even secretly celebrate it. That was why they used excuses like "for all humanity" to coerce the Asian Alliance into swallowing this humiliation, even hoping to take this opportunity to greatly weaken the Asian Alliance's influence.
But for Li Longcheng, it was different. Although humanity had formed a unified Stellar Federation, internal factional struggles still existed. The rivalry between the former Asian Alliance and NATO had never truly stopped. Now that the Asian Alliance's power was being damaged while NATO wanted to seize the chance to rise—politics had always been a headache.
Yet insisting on war also required courage.
Because what they faced wasn't just the Turians, but the alliance behind them—the Citadel Council.
Just a few days ago, the Citadel Council had sent representatives to the Stellar Federation. They showed humanity a picture completely beyond their imagination—an enormous alliance composed of more than a dozen powerful alien races within the vast galaxy. They came to mediate and hoped that the Stellar Federation, representing humanity, would also join them.
Faced with this invitation, the pro-peace faction was overjoyed, while Li Longcheng's expression grew grim. He knew very clearly that what the Citadel Council representatives brought wasn't mediation—it was a threat. If the Stellar Federation truly rejected the Council's proposal, it would mean completely tearing its face with a massive force composed of more than a dozen alien races and going to war.
Was it worth it?
The pro-peace faction constantly talked about humanity's survival—but what was humanity's survival?
Living like beggars? Or dying like heroes?
Without dignity, what value did humanity have in this universe? Merely clinging to life?
Dignity was never free.
But once war broke out, widespread devastation would be imminent.
The pro-peace faction questioned Li Longcheng more than once.
Was it worth starting a war for some illusory dignity, letting humanity die in the flames of conflict?
Was it worth it?
To Li Longcheng, this question was utterly laughable.
Of course it was worth it.
A unified civilization had never been refined and gentle—iron and blood were its fuel. Without the power to keep enemies beyond your borders, how could there ever be a prosperous age?
If you couldn't make the other side hurt, how would they ever learn to respect humanity?
The carrier craft landed steadily on the ground. Li Longcheng withdrew his gaze and stood up.
This time, he had come here not just for the past—but for the future.
Humanity's future.
"Order the fleet to stand by in orbit."
"Yes."
However, Li Longcheng did not see that not long after he entered the base, the fleet loitering outside the planet quietly and silently departed.
And none of this escaped Duanmu Huai's eyes.
"Look—how foolish."
Duanmu Huai stared at the screen before him and curled his lips.
"Humanity faces a great enemy, yet they're still fighting among themselves?"
"Why must they insist on starting a war…"
Eclair sighed helplessly, and Duanmu Huai shot her a glance.
"To tell others you're not someone to mess with—whether it's a country, a civilization, or a person, it's all the same. Or do you think that the next time someone harasses you, you shouldn't fight back, but instead wash yourself clean and voluntarily deliver yourself to their doorstep?"
"Uh...…"
Hearing Duanmu Huai's reply, Eclair was instantly left speechless.
"That's… not the same thing, is it…"
"It is exactly the same thing. Think about it carefully. If the other person's goal is just your body, and if you resist you'll lose your life, then wouldn't it be better to just lie flat and let them enjoy themselves? Why risk your life for your meaningless dignity?"
"Uh… this…"
Eclair broke out in a cold sweat, not knowing how to refute him. In the end, she chose to raise her hands in surrender.
"Fine, I was wrong."
"But even if this civilization is powerful, it can't possibly defeat that many alien races, right?"
Anne also voiced her doubts. As a princess, although the technological gap was enormous, when it came to politics, not much would change even after thousands of years.
"Indeed, completely wiping them out is unrealistic—especially given this civilization's current situation. But the key is to make the other side hurt. Only then will they know that humans are not to be trifled with, not some obedient echo that does whatever it's told. In this regard, a resolute attitude and firm will are necessary."
Duanmu Huai silently stared at the image. The second reason he chose to intervene was that he wanted to cooperate with this civilization. After all, whether it was the Guardian civilization or the UNSC before, they had been too busy saving themselves to care about anything else. By contrast, the Stellar Federation not only had advanced technology but also strong military capabilities. If cooperation were possible, the benefits would naturally far exceed those of other civilizations.
The only problem was those idiots of bureaucrats who were no different from the Southern Song Dynasty… whether they could be saved this time remained to be seen.
Just as the group was discussing, suddenly, from the depths of the dark universe, a warship silently emerged. It stopped at the edge of the planet, and then several transport craft appeared from within, flying toward the colonial base.
The ruined colony seemed completely unaware of the transports' arrival. The craft halted not far from the base, their hatches opened, and a squad of alien xenos wearing space armor and carrying weapons stepped out. They had green skin, locust-like heads, and four eyes.
"Batarians. Well, that's not surprising."
Seeing this, Duanmu Huai snorted coldly. He was very familiar with the races of this alien alliance. Within it, the Asari, Salarians, and Turians were the "permanent council members," holding the greatest power over the entire alliance council. The Asari specialized in resolving political disputes, the Salarians excelled in scientific research, and the Turians were military experts.
Among the remaining races, the most disliked were the Batarians—a race of cosmic hooligans. The moment Batarians were mentioned, everyone's first impression was criminals—mm, the only ones with worse reputations were probably the Vorcha.
In fact, in the game, most of the raids on human borders were carried out by criminals sponsored by the Batarians. And Batarians actually hated humans, so their appearance here was not beyond Duanmu Huai's expectations.
Duanmu Huai could even be certain that this operation had definitely received tacit approval and support from the three major Citadel Council races. Unfortunately, none of those three races were present this time—otherwise, he could have seized the opportunity to make them bleed heavily.
But Batarians… well, better than nothing.
With that thought, Duanmu Huai tidied up his gear.
"All right, everyone—we're heading out."
(End of chapter)