DDT - Chapter 144

Chapter 144: Interstellar ABO (29)

Admiral Chi's live broadcast was still ongoing.

Sitting in front of his screen, beads of sweat trickled down Admiral Derian's forehead. Chi Junluo was vividly recounting how she and Yi Shuhan had faced several perilous situations in a hospital on Moon Star. And how had they done it? By piloting Yi Shuhan's Omega-exclusive mecha back to the Main Star. Many netizens on the Star Network were listening in a daze.

They were particularly baffled when Admiral Chi mentioned a mecha piloted by an Omega, a massive machine stored in a small device worn on the arm, and a quick space jump performed without any pre-loading. These were things that had only ever existed in theory, never successfully invented in reality. How on earth had Admiral Chi and that Omega named Yi Shuhan managed it?

These were all Yi Shuhan's own patented inventions, but of course, her Chi Chi wouldn't overstep. It was best to let Yi Shuhan announce these strange and advanced technologies to the public herself.

A few meticulous individuals and some media outlets noted these peculiar points. Most netizens, however, were simply lost in Admiral Chi's stunning looks, unable to tear themselves away.

In the latter half of the broadcast, Chi Junluo addressed and clarified some of the events that had transpired on the Star Network over the past few days.

The first was the rumor about her betraying the Alliance. Chi Junluo responded to this with solemn gravity. As a proud mecha pilot of the Blue Star Alliance, she declared that she lived and died for the Alliance. She would never do anything to betray it. Furthermore, she stated that none of the pilots on her team during that mission had been harmed. At least, no one in her squad had been hurt before she was attacked.

Attacked?

The netizens watching the live stream instantly erupted.

What Admiral Chi was saying was completely different from Admiral Derian's account. Admiral Derian had implied, in every way, that Chi Junluo's mecha had been tampered with by the Yi Family, causing it to lose control, plunge into a swarm of Zerg, and be brutally torn apart.

A user in the comment section raised a question. To make it easier for the admiral to see the comments, the netizens consciously reduced the frequency of irrelevant posts.

Facing the doubts of the Star Network users, Admiral Chi quickly gave a direct response. She stated clearly that she had escaped the concentrated attack of over a dozen quantum cannons from her own squadmates only because of the automatic escape system's quick space jump feature on her Divine Eagle Mecha. Therefore, her one-of-a-kind Divine Eagle had naturally come with her to the class-two planet, Moon Star. The admiral explicitly stated that all the mecha wreckage was in Yi Shuhan's Space Storage Device.

Yi Shuhan was also watching Chi Chi's broadcast. Seeing this, she immediately took ten photos of the mecha wreckage lying in a corner of her personal lab at the research center and sent them to Chi Chi's communicator.

The photos popped up at the bottom of another page on the phone Chi Junluo was using to stream. She decisively published all ten photos directly to her Star Network account.

The pitiful remains of Admiral Chi's unique mecha, mostly charred black, lay on the ground. There were many mecha enthusiasts in the Blue Star Alliance who had collected numerous images of the Divine Eagle Mecha over the years—from afar, up close, videos, and photos. They quickly authenticated that this was the real Divine Eagle. When people compared this set of photos with the video Admiral Derian had released at his press conference, sharp-eyed netizens who loved studying mecha quickly spotted the differences. It turned out that what Admiral Derian had shown was just a replica.

Although some mecha enthusiasts had noticed a few subtle discrepancies when comparing the wreckage from the press conference with previous videos of the famous mecha, their voices were drowned out. At the time, the netizens were in the throes of immense grief, and no one wanted to listen to boring speculation, especially without concrete evidence. This time, however, with the release of these high-definition photos of the wreckage, the flaws and defects of the debris Admiral Derian had presented were glaringly obvious.

After all, the replica Admiral Derian had commissioned at the military headquarters only matched the exterior and paint job. The internal cockpit was the same as a standard mecha. In the newly released photos, the cockpit was charred black, but anyone with a discerning eye could see how different it was from a normal mecha's cockpit.

After settling the debate over the authenticity of the mecha wreckage, the focus in the comments shifted back to what Chi Junluo had said earlier—about being ambushed by over a dozen quantum cannons from her own squad.

When they first heard her say it, most people didn't immediately grasp the implication. The Blue Star Alliance had been at peace for a very, very long time. Many people living in this peaceful era refused to believe that someone in the Alliance, a fellow compatriot, would kill their own. In the minds of the Alliance's citizens, the military was an extremely solemn and unified institution. Yet, within this military, governed by such strict rules and regulations, someone had tried to assassinate Admiral Chi.

Previously, the Derian family had pinned the blame on the Yi Family. Since the Yi Family and the military were separate entities, people had felt sympathy for the other three military families for being slandered. No one had expected that corruption had begun to fester within the military itself, and that it had started with the Derian family. After her simple explanation, Chi Junluo didn't elaborate further and moved on to the second point.

The Yi Family was not exploiting her. Nor had the Yi Family forced her to use some so-called test mecha while she risked her life on the battlefield. None of that was true. On the contrary, the Yi Family had equipped her mecha with the most advanced technology in the entire Alliance. This mecha was developed in the personal research lab of the Yi Family head's daughter, the sole heiress Yi Shuhan, and was the most powerful mecha in the Alliance. It couldn't be piloted by anyone with a physique below SSS-class or mental power below super S-class. It was a mecha Yi Shuhan had custom-built specifically for her Chi Chi.

Ignoring the reactions of the netizens in the comments, Chi Junluo continued to the next topic.

No dawdling, no beating around the bush—it was indeed Admiral Chi's consistent style.

This was also the final topic.

Chi Junluo stared at the broadcast screen and said, word by word, "My relationship with the Yi Family has always been excellent, and I have known Miss Yi Shuhan for many years. Yi Shuhan is a lovely and beautiful young woman, the most outstanding mecha master in the Blue Star Alliance, and the brilliant heiress of the Yi Family. At the beginning of this year, I had already proposed to the head of the Yi Family, hoping he would entrust his daughter to me. I love her very much, and I love everything she loves. I hope everyone will stop misunderstanding and hurting innocent people." Chi Junluo paused, her gaze so sharp it seemed it could pierce the screen. "I did not tragically perish. My private residence was ransacked while under guard. You spoke of not disturbing my final peace, of leaving a measure of respect and love. May I ask, Admiral Derian, did you do that? Who is the one truly feasting on this tragedy? Old Torr."

The final image of the broadcast was Admiral Chi's undisguised, cold smile, her bright black eyes clearly spelling out: Time to settle the score.

The broadcast ended, and all viewers were forcibly ejected from the now-closed stream. Admiral Derian collapsed onto his sofa, his clothes completely soaked with sweat. Admiral Chi's final words, and that predatory look in her eyes, were more than he, an old general who had fought the Zerg for decades, could bear. Moreover, Admiral Chi's entire aura had changed since her return. The old Admiral Chi was someone he could, with effort, handle. But the current Admiral Chi was, as the old saying went, an unsheathed sword. She made no effort to hide her sharp edge. And now, that sword, the most dazzling in the entire Alliance, was pressed against his neck. Torr Derian's heart pounded faster and faster as panic consumed him. He gasped for air, and then fainted.

Chi Junluo's grand confession near the end of the broadcast had been too sudden. The moment Chi Chi said, "I love her very much," Yi Shuhan froze, her eyes filled with disbelief. Could it be that her Chi Chi had truly remembered the past?

But the current situation was urgent, and Yi Shuhan didn't have much time to ponder what had happened. This drama… if you were going to watch it, you had to see it through to the end.

Under the watchful eyes of hundreds of millions, the account "Star Obsessed" completed its Star Network identity verification. The authentication "Yi Shuhan of the main Yi Family" now appeared in the account's bio. The gossiping netizens were so shocked their minds were blown!

While Chi Junluo was still broadcasting, the Yi Family's behind-the-scenes team had already revealed Yi Shuhan's identity. Who was Yi Shuhan? She was the young lady of the main Yi Family. Just an Omega. The most delicate and petite female Omega. In an era where Omegas couldn't even pilot mecha, the war correspondent account "Star Obsessed" actually belonged to Yi Shuhan. This meant that for all these years, it was Yi Shuhan who had been piloting a mecha, charging into battle right behind Admiral Chi. Over the years, countless outstanding Alpha war correspondents had lost their lives to the Zerg's claws. Yet she, a mere Omega, had managed it! She was able to steadily follow the Alliance's strongest god of war and film everything. At this point, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call her the second-strongest mecha pilot in the Blue Star Alliance, would it?

What kind of accursedly sweet and powerful love was this!

It was a night where one could get full just from all the drama. The "Star Obsessed" account successively released several research patents, including the quick space jump and space storage devices Admiral Chi had mentioned. It also confirmed that every generation of the Divine Eagle Mecha piloted by the admiral had come from Yi Shuhan's hands. All across the Blue Star Alliance, especially the Omegas who had been oppressed their whole lives, were green with envy.

Soon, the Yi Family released another video. It was posted on the main family's official Star Network account. The video was timestamped. The day it was filmed was the day Admiral Chi had been attacked. Some people still hadn't believed that the admiral was ambushed by her own teammates. This video, however, clearly recorded the entire scene. It was the very video Yi Shuhan had found when she first hacked into the military's internal network. The people of the Alliance watched in fury as more than a dozen squad members simultaneously fired their quantum cannons at Admiral Chi's mecha, which was flying at the forefront. The immense light from the cannons was almost blinding. After such an attack, nothing was left at the scene, not even a speck of dust, not a single scrap. In the video's comment section, many people couldn't help but remark that if Admiral Chi hadn't had the quick space jump device developed by Miss Yi Shuhan, she would have died an obscure death. Even a fine family like the Yi Family would have been subjected to public attacks and insults. The filth that had been thrown at the Yi Family was now washed clean by Admiral Chi. Many netizens who had previously attacked the Yi Family felt a sense of guilt. They flocked to the Star Network to apologize to the Yi Family.

"Yi Family, we're sorry."

The topic even trended. The people of the Alliance spontaneously organized to clean up the trash they had thrown at the Yi Family's gate and scrubbed away the graffiti on the walls and ground. The Yi Family magnanimously stated that they would not pursue the matter, letting bygones be bygones. Now, everyone's anger was directed at the Derian family.

In a single night, the conspiracy between Admiral Derian, his son Nim, and the traitor Yi Wen to sabotage Admiral Chi's mecha was exposed. In just one night, the Derian family had become public pariahs, hated by all. The Derian family's PR department tried to do damage control, only to find their family account mass-reported by netizens and banned. The people of the Alliance would not tolerate allowing those who harmed Admiral Chi to remain at large. Even the military had become a disaster zone, questioned by netizens and the people of the Alliance. The higher-ups in the Alliance Parliament quickly made a decision. In the name of the military, they would prosecute the Derian family and Yi Wen in a military tribunal.

Due to the heinous nature of the incident and the immense pressure from the entire Alliance populace, the military tribunal was convened the very next morning at the Main Star's high court. Admiral Torr Derian hadn't even had time to come up with a counter-plan. At the crack of dawn, having just woken from his faint, his door was broken down by military personnel who forcibly dragged him away. He was still in a daze, wondering what on earth was happening, even as he was pushed into the military courtroom.

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