Chapter 965: Rebellion |
As if in this very instant, the people living in the capital of the Dark Star Civilization, within the Radiance, whether civilians or soldiers, all felt that something seemed to be somewhat different from before. An indescribable emotion of panic was spreading wildly here. Whether it was the abnormal personal computing terminals, or the nervous-looking people who occasionally appeared in the streets and alleys, or the weather in the simulated sky that seemed somewhat unusual, all of it was telling of this change.
Xiao Yu had infiltrated the Radiance for over thirty years. Under Xiao Yu’s deliberate manipulation and cooperation, these rebels had already dispersed into every aspect of the Radiance. Although not a single one of them occupied a relatively high position, the energy they could erupt with when united still could not be underestimated. This force was already enough to temporarily plunge the Radiance into paralysis. And because this force erupted so suddenly, with so little warning, it made the leaders of the Dark Star Civilization simply have no time to react. Even if they reacted, their orders could not be issued, because the communication network had already been temporarily cut off by Xiao Yu.
This would be the most chaotic three hours within the Radiance, and it would also be the three hours that decided the fate of the Radiance. Whether it would move toward survival or destruction, the answer to this question would be revealed in the next three hours.
The leader of the Ideal Heaven organization had several thousand soldiers in his hands. In the past several decades, he had already used all kinds of methods to establish absolute authority among these several thousand soldiers. So at this moment, after he issued the order, these several thousand soldiers did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately followed the organization leader forward.
They were advancing toward Area A. Xiao Yu had already given him intelligence in advance. Within Area A, there was a small port, and this port was the target Xiao Yu wanted to seize. Under normal combat conditions, although dozens of war stars could not destroy the Radiance, they could still inflict serious damage on it and open several breaches. But the current situation was different, because outside the Radiance at this moment, there were also tens of millions of escort ships. Although because of the previous order, these escort ships had generally already moved far away from the Radiance, Xiao Yu did not think that this order could hold them back for long. In fact, Xiao Yu’s plan was very simple. These dozens of war stars were not here to attack the Radiance at all. Their responsibility was only to protect those few small Village-Class spaceships, allowing them, under the encirclement and assault of many escort fleets, to hold out until the moment the port in Area A was opened.
The battlefield of this battle was inside the Radiance. The protagonists were the numerous rebels.
Xiao Yu had formulated a precise advance route for the soldiers led by the leader. Along this advance route, they needed to pass through dozens of checkpoints guarded by heavy troops. With this small amount of military force, they had no hope at all of forcing their way through, but that did not matter. Before they set out, many undercurrents had already begun surging in these places.
Without the slightest hesitation, Xiao Yu told most of the truth about the current situation to everyone living inside the Radiance. A message entered everyone’s mind in the form of a broadcast. “The Ideal Heaven organization has launched a rebellion! Garrison forces everywhere, do not panic. Simply hold fast to your own posts, pay attention to maintaining order, and guard against all riotous behavior!”
This order was very logical and extremely reasonable. It was also sent to the leaders of each garrison through legal channels. No matter what happened, maintaining order, holding fast to one’s own post, and guarding against possible enemies, there was nothing wrong with this command, right? So this order was immediately carried out faithfully.
A living area leader known for caring about people’s livelihoods stepped forward at this moment. “I have received reliable intelligence! Stronghold 358 in our district has already been occupied by the rebels. They have already controlled the garrison leader, and are inciting an even greater rebellion. They are inciting the destruction of our living area and the killing of all of us! At this moment, we have no possibility of obtaining external support. The only path we can take is self-rescue! We must save ourselves!”
When the incident happened suddenly, and when most intelligent beings still had no way to make a clear judgment, their psychology always tended toward following the crowd. Following the majority was the safest. This was an instinctive reaction formed over the long course of evolution. Under the incitement of the rebels mixed among them, chaos quickly formed. Large numbers of civilians left the living area. They gathered together like a herd of beasts that had lost their reason, their eyes red, and began setting out toward Stronghold 358. Along the way, some people began stuffing weapons into their hands. They did not think at all about where these weapons had come from. They merely instinctively accepted these weapons, then continued moving forward.
At the same time, within Stronghold 358, the soldiers also began to feel anxious and unsettled. The rumors spread by Xiao Yu had brought extremely obvious results. At this moment, they were discussing one after another.
“I heard that the rebel army has already begun besieging another stronghold. Our mission was originally supposed to be to go support them, but our leader seems to have already been bought off, so he wants us to hold fast here and not move out…”
“Nonsense! That’s impossible! I heard that rebels appeared inside our own ranks, so we were ordered to be stationed here and carry out a self-inspection…”
“…”
“Kill the rebels! Kill the rebels!” At this moment, the furious crowds who had come using all kinds of vehicles had already arrived here. No one knew who took the lead in launching the first attack, and then chaos began. The people simply did not know who was in front of them. They only knew that those people wearing uniforms were no longer trustworthy, and killing them would make themselves safe. The soldiers were also stunned by this sudden attack. Forced by necessity, under anxious and unsettled morale, they launched a counterattack. But their counterattack had no organization or discipline. More of it came only from their own instinctive reactions. So within a short period of time, they had no ability at all to calm the incident and drive back the mob.
The troops led by the leader, under this chaotic situation, smoothly passed through this heavily guarded stronghold. Ahead of him, there were still several places like this, but that did not matter. Chaos had already burned everywhere like a prairie fire, and fishing in troubled waters was precisely his specialty.
The chaos in this living area was only a microcosm. At this moment, chaos had already swept across the entire Radiance. Most of the communication system was paralyzed, and all kinds of orders simply could not be effectively transmitted down. This caused the armies in various places to be unable to coordinate effectively, leaving them able only to fight separately in their own areas. This successfully pinned them down. It was precisely this situation that gave the leader an opportunity.
At this moment, on another side, another group of people were also working hard. They were working hard to open another path. This path was the path from Area A to the core of the entire Radiance. Xiao Yu’s plan was exactly this: wait for the leader to open the port in Area A, then have his own forces follow that road and reach the core part of the Radiance, using this to control the entire situation.
At this moment, the Radiance was like a giant who had fallen gravely ill. It was paralyzed in cosmic space, unable to move. And the escort ships responsible for taking care of it had, at this moment, already been sent hundreds of millions of kilometers away because of that order. Although for the current Dark Star Civilization, a distance of hundreds of millions of kilometers was merely a small step, that order also said that no matter what happened, they were not allowed to return…
Dozens of war stars jumped out under these circumstances, quickly arriving at the exterior hull corresponding to the Area A port, then launching a fierce attack without the slightest hesitation. Xiao Yu knew that that order could not fool them for too long. Each moment gained was a moment gained.
“Those escort ships that were sent away must be very doubtful right now.” Xiao Yu silently thought, “I estimate that they are currently thinking about whether they should come back and launch an attack on me…”
The situation was this strange. Heavy troops surrounded the outside, yet they only quietly watched from there, and not a single spaceship returned to stop these external forces from attacking their own civilization’s capital. Dozens of war stars were undoubtedly a vast force, and this force was so vast that even the Radiance had no choice but to take it seriously. Let alone the fact that the current Radiance simply did not have much power to counterattack.
Space trembled, light flashed, and dozens of war stars were surrounding this strongest warship of the Dark Star Civilization, launching a fierce assault. Inside the Radiance, the team led by the leader of the Ideal Heaven organization was rapidly heading toward Area A, while in the other parts of the Radiance, chaos was spreading unstoppably…
“Rebellion has occurred inside the Radiance! All escort fleets, heed the order. Immediately come forward to protect the Radiance. One portion will eliminate these war stars, and one portion will dispatch personnel through the following ports to enter the Radiance and assist in suppressing the rebellion!”
At this moment, an emergency order was finally issued from the Radiance.