Chapter 486 - 457: Awarding Honors

[Unstable Energy Outburst Countdown: 14 hours]

[Points Deducted for Inter-world Communication: 500]

[Current Technology Points: 14500]

Lille’s main consciousness had already transferred to the Cyberpunk World several hours ago, but there were simply too many things to deal with on this side.

Moreover, he didn’t want Little Octopus to handle certain matters.

At Zhu Ya City port, an old, battered cruiser slowly docked. The city’s 12,000 residents and over 100,000 online inhabitants were all watching this vessel’s arrival.

At the port, representatives from several countries of the African Union looked on eagerly.

"... Haha, we’re back!"

Abdi, limping out of the captain’s quarters with his left arm in a sling, was clearly injured.

Escape was not so simple; even this last cruiser had been bombarded. There was a malfunction during the journey, and they even thought they might never make it back.

But they did.

Breathing in the pure seabreeze of Zhu Ya City’s port, the crew members surged onto the deck and gathered along the ship’s side—

There, they saw countless people looking at them, waiting with anticipation.

Abdi was suddenly stunned: this was the scene he had imagined.

One day he would not have to rob like a pirate; one day there would be a port, with many people waiting for his return.

"Uh... boss, what are they doing?"

A black man, a head taller than he, nudged him.

"Don’t know..."

His brain seemed a bit slow to react. As he disembarked, King T’Chaka of Wakanda, accompanied by a group, lined up along the port’s walkway, and he walked up to these middle-aged and elderly-looking individuals with his men.

"Today, we gather here to honor our heroes, who bravely marched unflinchingly into overwhelming force, valiantly defending our sovereignty and security, preventing further massacre."

Applause filled his ears as King T’Chaka solemnly added, "Abdi, you have defended the sovereignty and safety of the African Union, preventing further bloodshed.

As the King of Wakanda, I represent the entire African Union, 56 countries, in extending to you and your soldiers, our heroes, the highest respect.

This medal is yours by right, but a single medal can hardly compare to your deeds..."

Next to him, a personal guard approached with a splendid box. T’Chaka opened the medal case, displaying it under the sun.

The medal’s main body was a deep blue pentagonal star, crafted from pure sapphire and set on a gold base.

On the back, an inscription read: "Fearless and undaunted."

"Please accept this medal, as the African Union’s highest honor and recognition for your heroic acts."

The ribbon was attached; the hefty medal fastened to the uniform. No one felt that the tattered uniform didn’t suit this priceless medal, instead, it seemed even more precious.

The applause continued unabated.

Abdi’s surviving relief finally dispersed with this scene. He looked at the people below and suddenly shed tears.

From pirate to alliance hero, from the underground to the clouds.

They were no longer the pirates everyone scorned, spat on, and cursed; from now on, many were waiting for them to return alive.

Abdi wiped his tears, turned to face the people, and gave a salute as he had imagined. His bewildered companions saluted as well.

After all that, Abdi approached the medical team busy with the wounded on the transport ship.

Among them was Lille’s robot, who upon seeing Abdi approach, asked, "How do you feel?"

"This is what I’ve been striving for." Thinking of those hopeful eyes, Abdi instantly connected with the brothers from his old camp.

His father had died early, his mother never saw—strictly speaking, his father was only a foster father, and the camp was his home.

The feeling of having people wait for one’s return home was more than pleasant.

But his tears were because he had convinced many brothers to follow his command; he believed that one day he could become the largest pirate in Somalia, and perhaps even a city, with more family.

Yet many of his brothers could see no more—

One destroyer sank on the spot, another caught fire after escaping, with only a few surviving on lifeboats.

Thinking that many who trusted him had died just before seeing all this, his heart was filled with guilt.

Lille patted his shoulder: "Take a break, have a look at this city. As long as we can keep the battles at the front lines, the trade routes won’t be completely cut off.

To the world, you have just achieved something incredible."

Abdi again wiped away his tears: "All over the world? I thought the whole world would still see us as pirates."

"The Pentagon may continue to call you terrorists, but the world will know the truth, and as to what they will think after seeing it, that’s hard to say.

"I can tell you with certainty that many people see you as even more of a hero than other heroes."

"More of a hero than heroes?"

"Yes," Lille nodded. "They call you, ’Superhero.’"

...

New York, the square was packed with demonstrators.

There were crowds squeezed in front of many state government buildings, and even the White House wasn’t spared this ordeal.

"We can see that the protesters, holding white banners with ’Free Somalia’ written on them, have occupied the streets in front of the White House."

"Let’s interview some of the marchers..."

"F*ck USA! Have you seen how they ’fight terrorists’? They start by bombing cities with bombs!

This isn’t counter-terrorism, it’s massacre! The Pentagon sends military units across borders and then initiates the attack. This is an act of war!

President Ellis should be tried for war crimes! They... Hey!"

The camera suddenly shook, the interviewee lifted their head, and the camera turned, a riot police officer in protective clothing smashed the camera to pieces!

The broadcast was interrupted.

[Little Octopus: Big brother, the Mei Country police seem to have a bit of an NCPD taste to them.]

As expected of Mei Country people, could they lack some heritage inside?

Of course, Lille is not discriminating against people from Mei Country; it’s just the local customs, nothing to say about it.

In the past few hours, many people had been arrested nationwide, a very bad sign:

This meant that Rocksen still had considerable control over the rulers, and one could even say it was getting stronger.

Maybe the second round of advancing would arrive soon.

There were still days left until the general election, but Lille wished that time could move forward a bit more.

Currently, the Suez Canal and Aden Bay were completely under Rocksen’s control, and goods to Zhu Ya City could only be rerouted around the west coast of Africa or transported overland, both options being costly.

All that can be said is, thankfully, even so, there are still businesses and countries in Europe willing to collaborate with the Atlas Group—

It must be said, sinking an aircraft carrier certainly shot up confidence.

Of course, big corporations are wary of placing bets at this time. After all, a full-blown war seems imminent, and sinking an aircraft carrier might be just good luck. In the long run, not many believe the African Union could survive.

Even AI thinks so.

[Little Octopus: But big brother, is this really useful?]

Relying on strong industrial capability, monopolizing 90% of the world’s oil resources, continuously manufacturing Iron Soldiers, and deploying them through the world’s most powerful army.

Even if the African Union is high-spirited, how could humans outrival steel with this attrition?

Lille shook his head, "Industrial capability needs a stable social environment as support."

[Little Octopus: But what if they use AI for all their industrial processes?]

"Good question," Lille shrugged. "Then we’ll have to step in ourselves. Maybe dealing with AIs could be more straightforward than dealing with humans."

Sometimes, when facing entirely different kinds of malice, you can fight without restraint.

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door, and Lille’s mother came in with a bag of steaming fast food.

"Today’s events were so terrible..." Maya placed one hot dish after another on the table. "You must be exhausted, right?"

Lille picked up the chopsticks and glanced at the time: half an hour left.

"A bit, but it’s all worth it."

As Lille spoke while eating, Maya watched contentedly by his side. Hearing him say this, her expression suddenly turned worried.

She hoped Lille could be under less pressure, but she wasn’t a fool; she had lived through war and famine.

Being responsible for the lives of so many people is bound to be stressful.

As a mother, she was proud of Lille’s sense of responsibility but also anxious that things might become uncontrollable, overwhelming her son with pressure.

Lille knew his mother’s concerns, but he just quietly ate, thinking if there were any casual, light-hearted topics to talk about.

Suddenly, Maya stretched out her hand to stroke Lille’s back: "Eat slowly, don’t choke. You’re my pride."

Lille paused, nodded, and then stopped thinking about those things.

Sometimes a grand vision comes from tiny bits of happiness.

That was one of the reasons he did all of this.