Chapter 361

But Father...

Rus may have a violent temper, but he is quite loyal to his subordinates, the wild wolves and wolf pups, or rather to all his compatriots; otherwise, when Lin Shunsheng's young son and daughter first saw him, they were not afraid at all, but instead grew close to him.

But Father, who wholeheartedly works for humanity, actually said that the humans of another universe are the main target, which left Rus somewhat puzzled.

"I know your doubts, child." Sui Bian placed his hands behind his back, slowly walked to the right-side floor-to-ceiling window, and, via holographic imaging, overlooked the already-developed metropolis of Fenris, explaining:

"I will have the White Empress upload an encrypted file for you later; only you have the permission to view it, so this expedition will be solely your responsibility, together with your Space Wild Wolves. As for the file's content, it concerns the human government of another universe and their actions."

"Child..." Sui Bian slightly turned his body, looking at Rus who had also come to the floor-to-ceiling window, and said earnestly: "Do you still remember my teaching you that 'human hearts are treacherous'?"

"Of course, Father." Rus blurted out: "You said that human hearts can be the most terrifying and also the filthiest existence in the world."

Saying that, Rus couldn't help but recall how, over a hundred years ago, they fought in the African rainforest wearing only nanosuits.

Rus then realized: "Father, do you mean that the human government of that universe has become utterly corrupt? If so, then I would have no psychological burden at all!"

"That's about right." Sui Bian did not deny it, then raised his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and tapped Rus's left forearm with a tangible-feeling image; his tone softened, revealing a kind demeanor that did not match his youthful appearance, and he again urged:

"Son, for this expedition I grant you absolute authority to decide how to treat that side's human government as you wish, and you must definitely display our absolute power, giving that side's humanity a lesson with overwhelming force, so casualties need not be deliberately limited; however, one point is that we must achieve a quick victory, swiftly incorporating that side's galactic territory under our command to prevent the junk of extradimensional space from beating us to it."

"I understand, Father." Rus responded solemnly and seriously.

"Good. Next, I will hold a press conference to announce to society the existence of the Space Gate for you; you only need to prepare for the expedition. By the way, don't forget to set up defenses—although that universe's bug race is not much of a threat, it is still a bug race, so watch out for bug eggs and bug plagues." Sui Bian said.

"Yes, I know, don't worry, Father." Rus gave three quick replies, but did not resent his old father's nagging.

"Hmm." Sui Bian then nodded in satisfaction and voluntarily ended the holographic call.

Seeing Father "depart," Rus gazed through the floor-to-ceiling window at Area 19, two hundred kilometers away, and murmured with anticipation: "Expedition... Hmm, it's been too long since I could properly move about."

———————

…

At the same time, inside the top-level office.

Sui Bian sat back down at his desk, placed his hands on the chair's armrests, and looked at the various videos and graphic data about the "bugs" displayed on the desktop.

Arachnid

Through Fenris's Space Gate, the invading bug race that caused millions of casualties is exactly the Arachnid; although he is not absolutely familiar with this species, he at least knows many of their traits, such as their exoskeleton having a certain immunity to beam attacks, and the bug varieties ravaging Fenris are one of the basic units of the Alech Arachnid—the warriors.

The reason he knows so much is that, in his previous life, during his childhood and adolescence, he often repeatedly watched the film *Starship Troopers* or the *Starship Fleet* series and related merchandise.

Actually, the earliest source of the Arachnid should be the classic sci-fi novel *Starship Infantry*, and it was only after this novel that people in his previous life began to possess concepts such as powered armor, exoskeletons, and orbital drops.

In *Starship Infantry*, the Arachnid's setting is that of an extremely advanced species, and the bug forms Sui Bian sees before him are clearly the "pure" bug race from *Starship Troopers* that relies on superstrong reproduction and diffusion, as well as unified thought and system, and even possesses telepathy.

However, what disgusts Sui Bian the most is the Federal Government in *Starship Troopers*, which constantly carries out various "shady" operations.

Its full name is the United Citizen Federation (UnitedCitizenFederation), a typical militarist regime that internally engages in intense self-glorification propaganda, externally demonizes enemies, and, to consolidate power and stimulate the economy, will launch full-scale war or total societal mobilization, with over half of the high-ranking government officials being extreme military leaders, and even uniforms and clothing everywhere express militarist ideology.

Just this alone might not make Sui Bian overly disgusted, after all every universe has its own characteristics; what makes him loathe, and even want to send Rus to directly topple the Federal Government, is the outbreak point of the war between humanity and the bug race.

In the first half of *Starship Troopers 1*, social conflict intensifies, the opposition between civilians and citizens, and between civilians and the government, is commonplace, and multiple armed clashes have already erupted.

Because only citizens enjoy various benefits, and the quickest, most common way to become a citizen is through military service.

However, unlike the military service systems of UEG and UNSC, which have no distinction between civilians and citizens—everyone is born equal—and whose officials even shape soldiers into admirable heroes.

Moreover, history textbooks record numerous soldiers' self-sacrificial deeds, such as during the Kaplan Battle, when all soldiers remained on the ground fighting the demons until the very last moment, entrusting hopes of survival to the old, young, women, and children.

Furthermore, observing how the Federal Government, in order to consolidate power, deliberately distinguishes civilians from citizens by any means necessary.

When internal contradictions become ever more intense, even reaching the point of split and civil war, unless a "divine person" appears to wield a swift, decisive reform to stabilize the situation, the best solution is to transfer the conflict outward.

Thus, shortly after the opening of *Starship Fleet 1*, the protagonist's hometown, Buenos Aires—hailed as a South American paradise—was bombarded by asteroids launched by the bug race, causing millions of casualties.

The sudden attack caused all of humanity to unite, pointing their spears unanimously at the bug race, thereby triggering a interstellar war that has lasted decades and seems endless.

Everything makes perfect sense.

As the male lead who guides the audience's perspective, he has conflict points, outbreak points, as well as patriotic fervor, brotherly bonds, and entanglements with his lover; one can say the first *Starship Troopers* is wholly complete, a classic among classics, and Sui Bian has naturally watched it countless times, many details and scenes still vivid in his memory to this day.

However, as Sui Bian ages and with the subsequent *Starship Troopers* series films and animations, it becomes easy to discover that the asteroid that initially struck Buenos Aires was actually intentionally caused by the Federal Government.

One must know that before humanity launched full-scale war against the bug race, the two sides had already engaged in skirmishes, but their scale was limited to a few colonial star systems, and furthermore, the bug race would "regularly" hurl asteroids and meteors at the Solar System.

This is an unwritten rule.

Previously, the Federal Government's annular defense installations established on Saturn, Jupiter, and the Moon were fully capable of repelling such attacks.

And the warship Roger Young, which the male lead's former girlfriend happened to be aboard, "unintentionally" discovered that asteroid and collided with it, causing them to lose contact with the Federal Government and be unable to promptly warn Earth to respond, but in fact, even if their communications remained intact, they would be blocked by the Federal Military.

Because the Roger Yang collided with the asteroid due to Sui Bian's ex-girlfriend unauthorizedly modifying and adjusting it to the optimal route calculated by the computer.

Since it's the optimal route, why weren't they sailing on this channel from the start? Could it be that the superiors ordered them to "take a detour"?

Moreover, the conflict between civilians and the government has reached a critical point, and the subsequent actions of the federal government all indicate that the higher-ups deliberately "released water," allowing the asteroid to strike Earth, thereby triggering an all-out war between humanity and the bug race, in order to achieve the goal of diverting conflicts outward.

Even if the truth is not what Sui Bian speculated, he still intends to overthrow the federal government's regime.

Anyway, it's displeasing to look at.

Moreover, time is pressing now; Sui Bian needs Rus to quickly subdue the humans of another universe, after all, there are things residing in the alternate space eyeing them hungrily.

If there were no threat from the alternate space, Sui Bian could dispatch Ghost agents and the intelligence bureau to infiltrate the federal government, causing internal fragmentation to minimize casualties.

Unfortunately, he needs to race against time.

The documents sent to Rus contain his description of the characteristics of the Arachi bug race, such as brain bugs, parasitic worms, and the bug god, as well as his impression of the federal government.

Although that universe may differ somewhat from Starship Troopers, Sui Bian believes Rus will make the correct choice.

He eased up a bit.

Sui Bian turned his head to look at the right side of the desk and ordered: "Prepare a press conference and publish online information regarding the Fenrir Space Gate, especially the 'possibility' of numerous parallel universes."

"Yes, Chairman." Bai Hou agreed.

———————

…

Six hours later.

At this moment, the subterranean world of Terra's Shield was at noon, and the artificial star cooperated, emitting the brightest light of the day.

As for this side of New Raccoon City, it was completely a sea of people, with crowds packed in the streets; the suspension of aerial routes and near paralysis of ground traffic plunged the entire city into a standstill.

Because Sui Bian, in his capacity as Chairman, was preparing in New Raccoon City's central square to announce the third expedition to all humanity.

Seeing the vast square's surroundings, a thousand guards equipped with black-gold powered armor, wearing black cloaks, helmets adorned with white plumes, and holding thunder spears stood vigilant all around.

Having completed their respective exclusive surgeries, and also possessing height enhancements from their individual powered armor, each guard exceeded 3.7 meters, with some even approaching four meters.

On the podium at the center of the square, Sui Bian, likewise dressed in black military uniform, had gold-thread embroidery on his cuffs and collar, and a gold sash hung from his right shoulder.

Standing below the podium, there was Constantine with his helmet opened, holding a Cassius gun; also there were the red-and-white two empresses controlling the on-site holographic screens and online livestream; as well as many high-ranking officials, politicians, and generals from Umbrella, UEG, and UNSC.

"Today!" Sui Bian exclaimed excitedly: "That is, April 14, 2141; as Chairman, I announce to all my fellow citizens! We humanity will launch the third expedition!"

As Sui Bian delivered his speech, a flickering golden radiance intermittently appeared and enveloped his entire body, even the whole central square.

"!!"

Upon hearing the word "expedition," the entire city's residents raised their arms and shouted in acclaim.

Seeing this, Sui Bian waved his left arm, signaling the crowd to first remain quiet, then he raised his voice further, speaking clearly and sonorously:

"I know your confusion—what exactly is the strange phenomenon appearing on Fenris Star that attacked our compatriots and caused millions of them to die, and where did the insect swarm come from."

To be honest, I am also puzzled, but after our finest intelligence personnel and researchers conducted investigations and analysis, we can learn that the strange phenomenon appearing on Fenris Star is a bridge linking our universe to another parallel universe, namely a Space Gate.

That's correct, parallel universes truly exist.

After detection, we can determine that the far end of the Space Gate lies within the Milky Way galaxy; its various star systems differ little from the coordinates we have, even matching them—for example, the Solar System that everyone cares about; yes, that universe might also harbor humanity.

However!

The insect swarm of that universe has already caused us to lose millions of compatriots; their actions are nothing short of challenging our bottom line and dignity! Therefore, they must pay the price!

Humanity has always embraced friendly races with open arms, while guarding against, retaliating against, and taking revenge on those with malicious intent! Therefore, I hereby announce that I will dispatch my four sons: OriginalBody Rus and his Space Wild Wolves legion to launch humanity's third expedition!

Although this is our first contact with a parallel universe, I believe Rus and all the warriors have the capability to exterminate the insect swarm and also secure for us even more vast territories!!

"Oh! Oh!!"

"Humanity will prevail!"

"Exterminate the aliens!"

This time, the crowd's shouts grew even louder, and people vied with each other to catch a glimpse of the golden radiance emanating from the Chairman.

Fortunately, police officers, army soldiers, and all the guards were working hard to maintain order; at the same time, Sui Bian also released Spiritual Energy imperceptible to the naked eye, enveloping the entire city, forcibly calming people down to avoid unnecessary stampede casualties.

——————

…

Meanwhile, far in the Oslo Star Region lies Fenris.

In the metropolitan District 19 at daybreak, hundreds of Zeus-class, Achilles-class, Gorgon-class, and other "old-style" warships gathered in the sky above.

Among the warship fleet, there was also the flagship Beowulf of the Space Wild Wolves' 13th Battalion, as well as the attendant escort ships Haefayot and Grendel.

At the forefront was the Zeus-class flagship that Rus had long disliked and discarded, now called the TotemGlory.

Inside the bridge.

After donning the Wolf King armor, Rus, whose height approached five meters, gazed through the porthole at the Space Gate before him and loudly commanded:

"Depart!!"

Humanity on the far side of the Space Gate underwent a certain degree of modification.

Surely they are no longer fighting the insect swarm in bulletproof vests and helmets, and moreover, the total population is measured in trillions.

This time, it serves to let humanity know of the existence of a parallel universe.

(End of chapter)