Chapter 243

"It's enough if you've understood."

Qin Hao looked at what lay before him, as if he had undergone a soul‑purifying baptism; a senior member of the Star Sea Divine Church, he nodded calmly.

He knew this final lesson was over.

Starting today, the Star Sea Divine Church civilization has finally set foot on the right path.

They will no longer be blind imitators.

They will become genuine revolutionaries of civilization.

"Lan Ge is now in your hands."

But we need to verify if the character (U+6F3A) is indeed "lan". Yes, the character (U+6F3A) is pronounced lan2. So "Lan". The character meaning "older brother" is "ge". So "Lan Ge". We'll output raw_term "Lan Ge". However, we need to check if any other names appear.

Qin Hao glanced at the still‑sleeping Lan Ge and said, "Heal him your way. Remember, don't treat him as a mentor."

"He is your comrade."

"'Yes!' the Church Leader answered in a ringing, powerful tone."

Qin Hao's figure vanished from the hall once more.

He still had more important matters to attend to.

…… (ellipsis) No names.

Federation Command Center

Qin Hao once again called together the top‑level military meeting.

The Star Sea Divine Church's issue is temporarily settled.

He cut to the chase: "They will become a powerful pawn we can use."

Now we must concentrate all our efforts on dealing with our primary threat.

His eyes fell on the holographic star map.

Those are the star‑system coordinates of the Silicon‑based Union civilization.

Two and a half years ago, I employed the two‑dimensional foil to destroy the command core of their ninth fleet, forcing them to withdraw.

During this time, the reason they have not launched immediate retaliation is:

One factor is that they were stunned by the two‑dimensional foil's power; the other is that the Star Sea Divine Church's guerrilla tactics have hampered them.

But that doesn't mean they'll back down.

A third‑level civilization that has endured for hundreds of thousands of years possesses a depth and resilience far beyond our imagining.

Qin Hao's words prompted everyone to nod.

Seated next to Lao Luo, Zhang Yunfeng picked up the thread and went on.

According to the latest intelligence supplied jointly by the Intelligence Department and the Star Sea Divine Church,

The Silicon‑based Union has largely finished its preliminary analysis of the two‑dimensional foil and drawn a conclusion.

Zhang Yunfeng's eyes grew grave.

They think the two‑dimensional foil is not something our Human Federal can manufacture.

They guess it could be a single‑use item we happened to acquire from the remains of a far superior ancient civilization.

In other words, they're not as fearful anymore.

This news tightened the atmosphere again after it had just eased.

Damn, these iron clods really won't cry until they see the coffin!

Zhou Shaoqing spoke bitterly.

Their logic is sound, and this two‑dimensional foil weapon devours enormous amounts of energy points.

Luo Lao remained calm.

That's correct—I can only produce at most three sheets of two‑dimensional foil, and its disadvantages are clear.

Its propagation speed is limited to light speed, so it's difficult to strike them if they're prepared.

Qin Hao picked up the thread.

The Silicon‑based Union civilization, aside from the ninth fleet we destroyed and the three main fleets facing the Star Sea Divine Church,

They still have five fleets on constant defensive duty, and they could likely pull one of those to attack us; the situation remains bleak—does anyone have a good solution?

After saying that, Qin Hao glanced at the others.

What's there to fear!

The Minister of National Defense, Zhou Shaoqing, slammed the table, sprang to his feet, his voice booming like a bell, and declared, "If they dare come, we'll smash their fleet into molten iron!"

Our Giant Spirit is now vastly different; it's ideal for testing their main fleet to see whether their logic modules hold up better than our annihilation cannons.

Old Zhou, take a seat.

Zhang Xianzhong raised his hand and pressed down, his expression solemn.

According to our war games, even a victory would be a costly one.

The Silicon‑based Union lost one fleet, leaving four; if we wear ourselves out, we'll end up with nothing.

Zhang Xianzhong's remarks doused Zhou Shaoqing's fury like a bucket of cold water.

He sulked back into his seat, yet his face still betrayed his reluctance to yield.

Cheng Haitang, once Qin Hao's personal adviser, now spoke up as the director of the Human Federal Security Bureau.

We must also consider the worst case: the Silicon‑based Union probably already knows a lot about us.

If war erupts, our rear, our industrial worlds, and even the Solar System could become targets for their infiltration and attack.

In a full‑scale war, our present scale cannot hold up.

For a moment, everyone was silent.

In a moment, everyone fell silent. No names.

To fight is to gamble with the future of the entire civilization.

Not fighting is tantamount to sticking out one's neck and waiting for the opponent's blade to fall.

This is a dilemma.

Finally, they turned their gaze to Luo Rui Xiang.

Feeling everyone's gaze, Luo Rui Xiang interlaced his fingers on the table and leaned forward slightly.

"Comrades, the crux of our current predicament is actually just one problem."

He paused, scanned the room, and said: "We lack a sufficiently large fleet to defend our core territory, thereby preventing the full release of our fist—that is, the upgraded Giant Spirit Fleet."

Everyone nodded in agreement; this is indeed the core of the problem.

"But,"

Luo Rui Xiang shifted his tone, a strange smile flickering in his voice: "Although we lack a fleet, we… do not lack students."

"Students?" Everyone blinked, then caught on.

Luo Rui Xiang's expression turned solemn:

"The comrades of the Star Sea Divine Church, under the meticulous guidance of Instructor Han Ge, have made great strides in their ideological awareness and theoretical level—something everyone can see."

"They have studied On Contradiction, knowing to grasp the principal contradiction."

"They have studied On Protracted War, knowing to mobilize the masses. Their theoretical foundation can be said to be quite solid."

"But,"

Luo Rui Xiang stressed his tone: "Having only theory, divorced from practice, is dogmatism—a major taboo in ideological study!"

"As an Instructor Civilization, we have the responsibility and duty to help them correct this mistake."

The atmosphere in the Command Center, as Luo Rui Xiang spoke, began to turn somewhat subtle.

Zhang Xianzhong's mouth corner seemed to twitch, as if he were holding back laughter.

All that could be heard was Luo Rui Xiang continuing at a leisurely pace:

"I propose that we immediately contact the Church Leader of the Star Sea Divine Church."

"To deepen their understanding of revolutionary war theory, and to better unite all forces that can be united,"

"our Federal has decided to offer them a precious internship opportunity."

"Let them send two or several main-force fleets to the Yanhuang Star System and the Solar System for practical study,"

"to help us jointly defend and jointly confront our revolution's most stubborn enemy—the Silicon-based Union."

"What is this? This is theory combined with practice! This is a united front joint exercise!"

"Aren't they always shouting that they want to bury the Silicon-based Union in the vast ocean of people's war?"

"The opportunity has come! We are providing them with a frontline position, letting them personally experience the harshness of struggle."

"We, as their instructors, have provided them with such a fine internship post, including room and board."

"Having them pay a little more… in practical tuition is reasonable, right?"

The words fell.

The entire Command Center first fell into a deathly silence.

After a few seconds.

"Pfft—"

Someone couldn't hold back laughter first.

Immediately afterward, the entire Command Center burst into earth-shaking laughter.

"Hahaha! Your proposal is excellent!"

Zhou Shaoqing laughed until tears nearly fell, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long while.

"Having students stand guard for teachers and still collect tuition! This… is totally reasonable!"

Zhang Xianzhong finally couldn't hold back either, laughing while shaking his head:

"I was just worrying about our defensive line being short on troops, never expecting we could do this."

"If they really come, our Giant Spirit Fleet can be fully liberated, able to strike wherever we wish, with the initiative completely in our hands."

"I have no objection."

Cheng Haitang nodded and said: "I think they won't refuse; instead, they'll see this as our utmost trust and test, and might even fight over the slots."

Everyone looked toward Qin Hao.

Qin Hao's face also broke into a smile; in fact, he too intended to do so.

"Having a Third-level Civilization student and not using him would be a waste."

"I agree with this; let's do it!"