The elevator slowly descended to the lowest level. Li Longcheng adjusted his clothes, then stepped out of the elevator. The soldiers responsible for his protection immediately dispersed, checking the surroundings. After confirming there were no problems, they nodded to Li Longcheng. Only then did he follow the passageway forward, all the way until he reached the end of the corridor.
This was a secret underground research facility. In fact, even within the Stellar Federation, very few people knew of this place's existence. The reason Li Longcheng had come here was because he had received a message through a classified channel—an A-level classified member had privately contacted him, claiming that he had discovered the reason why the Turians had attacked the New Shanxi colony. The matter was of great importance, and he could only tell Li Longcheng.
Although Li Longcheng was highly suspicious that this might be a trap, in the end, he still decided to come in person.
"Ka-cha..."
The door to the laboratory slowly opened. What appeared before Li Longcheng was not a clean, orderly space, but a place that looked more like an underground mine. Traces of destruction were still visible here, and within this subterranean cavern, a man stood there, blankly staring at the rock wall in front of him.
Hearing the sound of the door opening, he turned his head. A pair of small eyes that looked like they had been deprived of sleep for years, with deep dark circles beneath them, narrowed as they fixed on Li Longcheng.
"Oh my, I really didn't expect the number-two figure of the Stellar Federation to actually come here in person. To be honest, I thought you'd send someone else instead of coming yourself."
"You should understand why I came here, Dr. Herman."
Li Longcheng strode into the laboratory, staring at the man before him.
"It was you who said you knew why those aliens attacked the New Shanxi colony. That's why I came. I hope you can give me a clear answer."
Li Longcheng's decision to come here was indeed risky, but for him, it was a risk well worth taking. Because up until now, no one knew why the Turian fleet had suddenly attacked the New Shanxi colony, or even launched attacks on human fleets. This was precisely the core argument of the pro-peace faction—they believed that since they did not know the other side's background, they should first negotiate peace, then gradually figure out the other party's intentions.
But Li Longcheng didn't think that way. Since the Citadel Council was a cross-galactic political organization, it should clearly understand that attacking another species' colony was an extremely risky move—because not every species was kind and easy to bully. The other side might very well bite back.
And under such circumstances, the Turian fleet had still forcibly attacked the New Shanxi colony, even occupying it, only retreating after the Stellar Federation launched a counteroffensive. No matter how one looked at it, something was off.
"Heh heh. Since you're here, then I won't beat around the bush anymore."
As he spoke, Dr. Herman walked over to the control console and activated the system. Soon, the surrounding lights lit up, illuminating the center of the cavern—where a metal monolith stood.
"This is...?"
"Prothean ruins. I assume you're not unfamiliar with this."
"...…"
Li Longcheng nodded. Of course he wasn't unfamiliar with it. Prothean ruins were the remnants of an ancient civilization humanity had discovered among the stars. According to scientific research, this civilization had once flourished at the height of power in the galaxy, its footprints spread across nearly half the galaxy, leaving behind countless relics far beyond human imagination. Yet the Protheans had ultimately vanished mysteriously, their fate unknown.
Many of the technologies the Stellar Federation obtained after entering space had come from excavating and researching Prothean ruins. As such, every Prothean site was of the utmost importance to the Federation.
"You mean… the reason the Turians came here was because of Prothean ruins? Could it be that the Citadel also possesses Prothean technology?"
"That's possible. But what I found is even more interesting…"
As he spoke, Dr. Herman let out a strange chuckle and pressed a few buttons on the console. Very soon, faint strands of light began to emerge around the metal monolith, wrapping around it like lightning.
Seeing this, Li Longcheng frowned and stared at Herman, who shrugged.
"The Protheans stored knowledge and images directly within consciousness. Ordinary people forcibly connecting to it could result in unknown risks. So I used this method to barely activate the contents of the beacon, allowing us to extract information safely—though, of course, it's still incomplete."
As Herman spoke, the lightning-like glow around the monolith grew brighter. Then, one after another, illusory, almost 3D-projection-like images appeared before it.
They depicted a group of humanoid beings wearing space armor, with beady eyes and insect-like appearances. Li Longcheng recognized them at a glance—these were Protheans. He had previously only seen them in murals and ancient ruins; this was the first time he had ever seen living Protheans.
At this moment, the Protheans were gathered together, raising their heads to look upward, as if gazing at the sky. After a moment, they lowered their heads and knelt to the ground.
Then, Li Longcheng saw several towering figures appear in the image.
These giants stood over two meters tall. They wore blue, heavy, massive armor and held firearms and long swords in their hands. A Prothean elder stepped forward and said something to these blue-armored figures. The latter nodded, then handed a small cube to the Prothean elder.
The Prothean elder immediately knelt to the ground in overwhelming excitement. At the same time, one of the blue-armored figures standing before them removed his helmet, revealing—
A human face.
However, the next instant—perhaps due to overheating, or perhaps for some other reason—the surrounding images vanished in an instant. The equipment emitted a piercing alarm, then shut down.
"...…What… is this?"
At this point, Li Longcheng and his subordinates were completely stunned.
He knew of the Protheans, but… why were there humans in this recording?
"This is exactly why I called you here."
Seeing Li Longcheng's shocked expression, Dr. Herman chuckled, while Li Longcheng shook his head hard.
"That's impossible! Human history isn't recorded that way! According to previous research, the Protheans disappeared thousands of years before humans even emerged! How could they have been together?!"
"That's my question as well. But… this is indeed the truth."
As he spoke, Dr. Herman pointed at the metal monolith.
"If you don't believe it, you can directly interface with the beacon yourself. Perhaps you can learn the full truth without going insane…"
"...…"
Hearing this, Li Longcheng swallowed hard. He stared fixedly at the metal monolith, unable to speak for a long moment.
At this instant, Li Longcheng felt reality itself was absurd. The world he believed he knew seemed to have completely collapsed.
"This… this is fake!"
In the end, Li Longcheng dryly forced out these words. At this moment, his speech felt unbearably hollow. The tongue that had once stirred billions to cheer on podiums, calling for unity, now felt as if it had been frozen solid, unable to even turn.
Even though Li Longcheng was neither a historian nor a scientist, he still understood that if all of this were true, then—
"Boom!!"
At that moment, a dull explosion and violent tremor suddenly rang out, interrupting Li Longcheng's thoughts. He frowned and looked upward.
"What's going on?"
"We're under attack! It's the Batarians!"
"What?!"
Hearing the report from above, Li Longcheng was shocked.
"How did they get here?! Damn it—where's the fleet? Where's our escort fleet?!"
"We can't contact them. Communications have been cut. They don't seem to be here! The enemy's offensive is fierce—we—"
Before the sentence could finish, accompanied by a scream, the communication was cut off again.
"Batarians…"
Li Longcheng was, after all, from a military background. Sensing that the situation was dire, he immediately drew his weapon and signaled for the others to assemble here at once. Then Li Longcheng glanced at Dr. Herman, who hurriedly raised his hands.
"This has nothing to do with me. You should consider that someone among your own people has a problem. Of course, if you don't believe me, you can put me in cuffs."
"Then cuff him."
Li Longcheng directly ordered his subordinates to restrain Dr. Herman, while he himself prepared for combat. At this moment, Li Longcheng's mind began racing again, rapidly analyzing the situation before him.
The Batarians' arrival here was absolutely no coincidence. After all, his fleet was still stationed above New Shanxi. Logically speaking, these aliens should never have been able to break through the defenses and reach this place. Yet here they were. While it couldn't be ruled out that Dr. Herman was an inside man, Li Longcheng was more inclined to believe this was a scheme of borrowing another's knife to kill, orchestrated by those who didn't want to see him in power.
To think those people would secretly collude with alien races…
Truly degenerate!
Thinking this, Li Longcheng tightened his grip on his weapon and stared at the sealed door.
He had a very bad premonition—there was a good chance he would really die here.
"Boom!!"
At that moment, the sealed door was blown open. Immediately after, a group of Batarians armed with weapons charged inside.
"Open fire!!"
With Li Longcheng's order, he aimed at the enemies before him and pulled the trigger. Gunfire erupted instantly, and the two sides entered intense combat almost in the blink of an eye.
At first, Li Longcheng was able to suppress the Batarians' advance with firepower. However, the enemy quickly responded. Soon, two or three large automated mechs emerged, advancing forward through the hail of bullets.
"Damn it…"
Seeing this, Li Longcheng clenched his teeth. He hadn't expected the Batarians to bring automated mechs with them…! Meanwhile, his own side only had a few small pistols—there was no way they could fight enemies like this!
Was he really going to die here today?
"Thud… thud… thud!!!"
Just as Li Longcheng was desperately thinking of a solution, he suddenly heard heavy footsteps coming from the other end of the corridor. Li Longcheng looked up—and then saw a towering shadow slam straight through the Batarians at the rear, striding in with massive steps. It raised the warhammer in its hands and smashed it down at the automated mech in front!
"Boom!!!"
With just a single strike, the automated mech that had previously withstood the defenders' attacks without a scratch was completely blown apart!
(End of chapter)