Chapter 6 - The General's Wife is an Illegal Resident in the Star System

Translator's Note:

Hello, I hope you've all been doing well.

Here you go, and I wish you a good read.

And, as I said before, if you wish to read ahead, you can head over to my Patreon to get early access to all the translated chapters.

Closer to the Truth

 

 

Back on Star MA01, Qin Yu gathered with his officers for a meeting. As a General of the Empire, his responsibilities extended far beyond eradicating insect beast plagues, which were more like an easy side quest.

 

Lu Li did not accompany him. Although he was Qin Yu's lawful partner, he was, after all, a Federation citizen. While relations between the Glory Empire and the Federation were not as hostile as with the Solo Empire, there were still confidential matters he shouldn't hear.

 

His self-restraint didn't seem to move An Ming, however. An Ming stayed close to him at all times. Even when Lu Li was in his room, An Ming would stand guard outside like a stone statue, his unblinking, vigilant eyes making Lu Li feel like a prisoner.

 

Two months ago, failing to unmask Lu Li's true identity left An Ming frustrated. Now, seeing that the General trusted him more, even bringing him on missions, An Ming could only bury his suspicions deep within, though not very skillfully. Whenever he and Lu Li were alone, his resentment would seep out.

 

Lu Li didn't understand why An Ming targeted him, and, after seeing it enough times, simply ignored him.

 

Closing his door, he logged onto the star network using his own credentials.

 

Though he was technically deceased, his information on the network wasn't erased. As long as the person remained identifiable, their account remained permanently active.

 

The last time he logged in, he only looked up his own information. Shaken by what he discovered, he'd logged off without completing other tasks.

 

For instance, informing his family and friends that he was still alive.

 

The star network had wide coverage, reaching all but the most remote planets. However, each star system had its own network.

 

In the Federation where he once lived, he had been most active on the Federation network, which only allowed searches within Federation data. Information on other nations was controlled and filtered by the Federation. Over time, however, all the major star systems linked their networks to meet demand.

 

The "Cosmic Net" emerged as a shared space created from the interconnected networks of various nations. Unlike a local network where users would only see virtual profiles from their own country, on the Cosmic Net, they could encounter people from across different star systems.

 

Since Lu Li was logging in from the Glory Empire's network, he would have to access the Cosmic Net to reach his family and friends back in the Federation.

 

The Cosmic Net was vast and far busier than the local networks. Upon arriving on a bustling virtual street, he was greeted by the familiar hum of the crowds.

 

Taking a deep breath, he opened his friends list, half expecting at least one person to be online, only to find every icon gray.

 

The Cosmic Net was more advanced than the local networks, especially when it came to skill training and simulations. Drawing on the collective wisdom of all star systems, it offered combat simulations and mech training beyond the capabilities of a single network. For this reason, he and his friends usually logged directly into the Cosmic Net, only using their local networks for specific searchs.

 

Perhaps they were busy. Lu Li didn't dwell on it and was about to log off when a notification sounded.

 

"Parting Sorrow?"

 

Lu Li clicked the message. The sender, without any introduction, simply asked, "Where are you?" The person wasn't on his friend list, and there was no signature.

 

His memory stopped three years ago, and he didn't recall anyone by that name. This person must have added him during the years he couldn't remember. Knowing himself, if they had been close, he wouldn't have left them as a stranger in his contacts. So, he probably wasn't particularly familiar with this person.

 

After a brief moment of curiosity, he ignored the message. But not even two minutes later, another message popped up. This time, it was tinged with impatience, even holding a faint resentment toward him.

 

"Lu Li, the General has been looking for you for the past two months. Why haven't you contacted us? Don't tell me that since you married a Glory Empire General, you've forgotten all about your mission?"

 

Lu Li was taken aback by this response. He'd expected some vague message, but this—how did they know his name? Who was this General, and how did they know about his marriage to Qin Yu? And what mission?

 

A sense of foreboding grew in him; perhaps this person held the key to uncovering the secret behind his amnesia—or rather, the mystery of his supposed death. After hesitating, he replied: "Who are you?"

 

The other person clearly hadn't expected such an unexpected response.

 

As they continued their conversation, the answers this person provided shattered the reality Lu Li had spent two months accepting.

 

Just as he had come to terms with being "dead" and having a husband appear out of nowhere, someone was now telling him it was all a lie.

 

Yes, all of it was a lie.

 

The truth of his "death" was that he had been executing a secret mission that began three years ago. To help him vanish from public view, General Zhang fabricated his disappearance and faked his death, stripping him of his identity so he could become an untraceable ghost.

 

For the years that followed, Lu Li trained in General Zhang's covert base, honing his skills to become a qualified spy. It was only a year ago that he began his mission to get close to Qin Yu.

 

Everything had gone smoothly—Qin Yu hadn't suspected a thing. General Zhang's orders were simple: win Qin Yu's trust and find a chance to steal some technical documents. To the outside world, Lu Li's identity wasn't that of a Federation citizen; he was a human from a distant, obscure planet in the R star system.

 

Remote planets often had a population of unregistered residents, individuals without formal identities. The R system even hosted some populations of Drahji, making it the perfect background for Lu Li's fabricated persona. Only this way would he be able to gain Qin Yu's trust more easily.

 

From there, everything unfolded as Qin Yu had said: they met, fell in love, and eventually married.

 

General Zhang hadn't anticipated that Lu Li would go so far. Originally, he'd only been told to gain Qin Yu's trust, but it turned out that being a wife was far more advantageous than being just a close confidant.

 

In those first two months of marriage, Lu Li, under General Zhang's orders, searched tirelessly for a chance to access Qin Yu's office and retrieve the encrypted documents.

 

But unexpectedly, Lu Li lost his memory at the critical moment.

 

For the past two months, they had tried to reach him, but every attempt had failed. Then, a little over a month ago, they detected activity on Lu Li's star network account. Each account was uniquely bound to its owner, so only Lu Li could use his credentials.

 

That day, just as they were preparing to contact him, Lu Li logged off, and they hadn't been able to reach him again—until today.

 

Following orders, Parting Sorrow waited on the network for Lu Li, prepared to contact him the moment he logged on. They usually communicated in this way, and to avoid detection, his name was left in the "strangers" list.

 

Though Lu Li knew Parting Sorrow's words were highly credible, he still didn't trust him easily. Throwing out a brief "I'll think about it," Lu Li logged off before the other could respond, vanishing before his eyes.

 

Parting Sorrow—Shen Yuanjie—cursed under his breath and quickly exited the Cosmic Net.

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