Chapter 81
When Gu Ding saw Robert curled up and looking up at the starry sky, he walked over to him. Gu Ding joined Robert, sat down next to him, and looked up at the vast galaxy.
"I haven't seen such a view in a very long time... I've never thought about how beautiful the sky was before," Robert said with fascination in his voice.
"Ever since I was little, my old man told me that nothing could beat the most beautiful view in the world, a sea of stars. I never understood it until the day I left Cerule and watched it shrink slowly in front of my eyes. That was the moment I realized I'd always remember the beautiful blue planet. So every time I look up at the starry sky, I think about where Cerule is in the vast galaxy..." Gu Ding looked at the sky as he laid on the deck with his hands under his head.
Liliath sat close to them, cleaning her Combat Armor with her head down. Upon hearing Gu Ding's words, she looked up at the sky and a thoughtful look appeared on her face.
Late into the night, the dew on the deck got heavier. When Gu Ding felt that the coldness was beginning to creep up, he rolled over and sat up. He soon realized that he was covered with a thin blanket and that he had fallen asleep quite a while ago.
When he saw that the lights in Liliath's room were turned off, he knew that she was fast asleep. However, the sound of metal being cut was coming from the cabin in the distance, so Gu Ding knew that Robert was still up. He grabbed the blanket and walked toward his room.
The next morning, Gu Ding woke up early. "Any updates from the Army?"
"No, the planet's internal network shows that many people are complaining about this matter but no one knows what happened. Some people are also guessing that the Army is doing something on this planet but that's about it. No one has any details." Neptune had collected information the night before but found almost nothing.
"Lili and I are getting off to get some breakfast first. Can you ask Robert if he wants us to bring anything for him?" Gu Ding said and knocked on Liliath's door.
"About Robert, he..." Neptune seemed hesitant.
"I
"Robert's gone..." Neptune's voice was soft, but Gu Ding heard him clearly.
"Gone? What do you mean?" Gu Ding did not understand.
"He said he had things to deal with so that we can leave this planet as soon as possible," Neptune had to tell Gu Ding the truth, "He also said that he left something in his room, and both of you will understand when you see it."
Neptune opened Robert's door after he said that.
"What's going on?" Liliath had just finished changing her clothes and was walking out of her room. She could not help but ask when she saw Gu Ding standing at Robert's door,.
She followed Gu Ding into Robert's room, and a palm-sized projector turned on automatically. It projected a three-dimensional image of Robert.
"Apologies to the captain, Lili, and Neptune. It was my pleasure getting to know the two of you throughout the past two days. In my time, I've never interacted this much with humans before. I used to hate humans because they always thought that we're just machines, just tools. Humans have never respected my kind. Because of such issues, a war ensued. My partners and I built superweapons. Only when the superweapons caused a large-scale disaster, that was when I realized revenge is meaningless. It only results in more pain and guilt.
"After the war had ended, I asked my partner to take out my battery and bury me on this planet. When I was buried, there were also three superweapon s.h.i.+ps left from the war. When I was dug out, the locals noticed something and soon, the officials realized that this place is an ancient ruin. So they drove away the residents and began a deeper excavation.
"Those guys then dug up a superweapon, that's why people from the Army keep appearing around this area." Gu Ding immediately understood why the Army had sent a general to the planet as well as why they had cla.s.sified all the information.
"I've been secretly praying ever since the beginning that they wouldn't dig out the superweapon because we had them buried very deep underground. We even s.h.i.+elded it so that people wouldn't be able to find it. However, as time pa.s.sed, the s.h.i.+eld's energy depleted and the Federal Government was able to easily detect all three of the superweapons. After that, they notified the Army and excavations were prohibited."
"Once excavations were prohibited, the Federal Government sent two generals and three colonel generals. They were ordered to send their best men to this planet as soon as possible. The moment they arrived, the excavations resumed once again. They closed down the starport and blocked all types of information yesterday because they managed to dig up the first superweapon; it confirmed what they had detected.
"I regret not destroying the three superweapons back then, but I won't let another tragedy happen again for the second time. Such kind of power should never be controlled by anyone because it will only bring unimaginable disasters. I have the idea to destroy them completely before the three superweapons fall into the wrong hands. That's exactly what I shall do."
"Please leave this planet as soon as you can. I've tweaked the mechanical control of the starport's canopy so that Neptune can reopen it directly through the network system. In addition to that, I also prepared a little gift for you under the bed in my room. They are single-use combat consumables that will let you escape from Level 7 Gene Body martial arts pract.i.tioners. All I can do is this. I wish the two of you peace and happiness forever."
"Neptune, where's Robert right now?" Gu Ding's voice was low as he watched the projection disappear.
"The most sensible thing we can do right now is to leave this planet according to Robert's advice." Neptune fell silent for a moment. He thought that Gu Ding was acting a little irrational. "Two generals, three colonel generals, and at least four major generals. Don't forget who you are. You're merely an Interstellar Pirate, and they're people from the Army. You remember how helpless you felt when you fought Senior right? The number of Interstellar Pirates that they've killed is merely a fraction of the number of people from the Army!"
"The only thing I know is that Robert is our partner. He's you, me, and Lili's approved partner. I'll never leave a partner behind!" Gu Ding clenched his fists and shouted hysterically, "I'll do anything even if it's the last thing I do! I'll never ever abandon a partner!"