Chapter 1725 – Truly My Ancestor
After all, she was personally chosen by the Old Commander as his successor. Jiang Pengji braved countless ordeals to finally pass through many tests.
However, to prevent Jiang Pengji from drifting away from the Federation, these matters were not explicitly placed before her.
The Old Commander didn’t particularly like the utilitarian ways of the Federation, but he could understand those old geezers who were tearing their hair out, even shampoo and hair growth tonic wouldn’t save them. If blame were to be assigned, it should be placed on the shadow of the Heavenly Brain disaster from two thousand years ago. It left humanity, which once stood at the pinnacle of interstellar civilization, fragmented and on the verge of irrevocable destruction, suffering through two millennia of warfare…
Two thousand years, huh? During that time, there were hardly a hundred years of real peace. Thanks to the Heavenly Brain disaster, the human Federation regressed nearly a thousand years in various developments, with countless secrets leaked to hostile alien species. Wars have been waged since that year, through hundreds of years of darkness. Some star domains were ruled multiple times by these extraterrestrial foes, and in the end, they were only regained through countless sacrifices.
The human Federation could rise again from ruins after such extensive sacrifice, the number of lives lost is beyond estimation.
It’s no wonder the Old Commander, even Jiang Pengji herself, would mostly choose to understand.
The soldiers fostered by the Federation inherently possess a willingness to sacrifice everything for it, let alone Jiang Pengji, who comes from the Gene Warrior Project.
As long as it’s a command from the Federation, and those orders are for peace, any sacrifice is worth it.
On the surface, Jiang Pengji might appear cold, but in reality, her loyalty to the Federation surpasses that of many warriors from noble backgrounds.
The Old Commander struggled to understand why that man would send the sole bloodline of the Jiang family to become a Gene Warrior.
Understand that if the Federation truly had a falling out with that man, Jiang Pengji’s position would forever be with the Federation, and she might even become a weapon against him. No matter what “Jiang ancients” he claimed, Jiang Pengji would only identify as a fed orphan of the Federation.
Any actions causing even a slight harm to the Federation, regardless of relationship, would be deemed her enemy.
The Old Commander was deeply suspicious. Either that Jiang ancestor had a deep-seated grudge against the Jiang family, hence the torment of their sole bloodline, or he was indeed her ancestor committed to devising ways to destroy his descendants. Wasn’t Jiang Pengji just a perfect example?
The Gene Warrior Project might sound credible, but in reality, it was a forbidden experiment explicitly prohibited by interstellar laws.
In simple terms, it was an experiment using technological means to forcibly stimulate human potential, allowing for the mass production of powerful combatants in a short period, who could flawlessly execute those unspeakable black ops, assassinations, espionage, and stealing secrets…
Since it was labeled “forbidden,” the implications behind it were naturally not so simple.
According to the Federation military’s covert statistics, 90% of those who succeed from the Gene Warrior training camps die on missions, and of the remaining 10%, many perish young in hospitals. According to the Old Commander’s knowledge, the average lifespan of a Gene Warrior hovers around forty. To put this in perspective, the average lifespan of an ordinary person in the Federation is about two hundred fifty years, and a few strong individuals can reach five hundred! The Gene Warrior Project was marked as forbidden for a reason. If this matter were to leak out through gossipy media, the military would be pressured to stop the project.
In reality, even without public intervention, the project would have been halted in the near future.
Why?
Not because the high-ups in the Federation experienced a sudden surge of conscience… those old men, including the Old Commander himself, have no sense of morality at all… The reason for planning to stop this expedited project was simply because the Federation had been waging wars for two thousand years, almost with every notable interstellar alien species. Gradually stabilizing its interstellar status, with fewer wars, there was naturally less need for continued sacrifices from Gene Warriors.
At this moment, it so happens that news broke that the Heavenly Brain was making a comeback…
The near-total annihilation of the Jiang family’s lineage rang alarms for all the higher-ups.
Their first reaction was that the Heavenly Brain was provoking them, threatening them, making them remember the past two thousand years of suffering.
As long as the Heavenly Brain lived, the Federation could never achieve peace; the necessary sacrifices would only increase…
Jiang Pengji and the Old Commander shared the same thoughts.
Enemies of my clan, destroy!
No matter if it’s aliens, the Heavenly Brain, or the Jiang ancestors, any that come will be chopped down one by one!
The Federation’s high command opposed Jiang Pengji becoming the leader of the Seventh Legion not just due to issues regarding the Jiang ancestors and the Heavenly Brain, but also because Jiang Pengji comes from the Gene Warrior lineage. Even if she was lively and her genetic values robustly surging, no one knew when the hidden dangers from forcibly unlocking genetic locks might explode. Elevating her would pose too great a risk for the Federation.
Of course, once Jiang Pengji passed the tests, the Marshal and several other legion leaders could only hold their noses and accept it.
Considering this, the Old Commander couldn’t help but smirk.
It’s likely those old buddies never imagined that Jiang Pengji would not only become the leader of the Seventh Legion but also a strong contender for the next Marshal. Just thinking about it this way made the Old Commander want to laugh. Those cunning old foxes in the Federation, taking advantage of Jiang Pengji’s loyalty to the Federation, dared to initiate this plan to regain the Heavenly Brain permissions from the “Jiang ancestor.”
No matter what, the ultimate beneficiaries were the Federation, and Jiang Pengji was indeed the best candidate for Marshal.
The so-called “Jiang ancestor” had schemed for so long, only to end up making a garment for the Federation.
“Whew.”
The Old Commander leaned back in his chair, legs crossed on the computer desk, his calm gaze fixated on the screen.
“Retirement really is a good call…”
Dealing with that group of old foxes with nothing but the Federation on their minds is truly not a job for anyone.
What of being a legion leader?
Simply put, it’s a job with lousy pay and benefits completely out of proportion to the workload.
Rising before the rooster crows, and sleeping after the dog barks, eating worse than pigs, while working more than donkeys, earning yearly wages less than a star who does just one shoot, with risks of sacrificing always lurking around, and re-entering the job market post-retirement is tough…
So, what’s the point of Jiang Pengji coming back to the Federation?
Isn’t it better to hug her dashing husband, stand before the Emperor, and live shamelessly every day while idly hitting kids?
What a wonderful life, far better than working like a servant for the Federation!
If Jiang Pengji were to know the Old Commander’s thoughts, she would likely give him a stern lesson on his flawed perspective.
Ding ding ding!
As the Old Commander grumbled, he finished his smoke, and finally received a reply from the long-hidden “Jiang ancestor.”
“What’s the matter?”
Those cold words, even the punctuation felt stingy.
“Over on Jiang Xiaojiu’s side, we’re probably closing in. Are you really planning to let her face that Heavenly Brain alone?”
What a lousy ancestor; there’s bound to be a grudge!
