Earth Era

Part 42

The Air Defense Zone, Commander's Office.

Lu Yuan sat at his desk, brow furrowed. Xiaoya, Qin Feng, and Zhong Yuanjie sat quietly on the couch beside him, heads bowed.

No one spoke, and the atmosphere felt heavy.

After some time, Xiaoya was the first to break the silence, saying, "This is my fault, along with theirs—"

Lu Yuan waved his hand to cut her off. "That's enough, don't say anymore. Regardless of whose fault it is, let's not mention this matter again."

"But..." Xiaoya began.

"No buts, just leave," Lu Yuan interrupted.

The three looked at each other, then got up and left the room.

"I didn't expect him to be quite righteous," Zhong Yuanjie commented. "With such a big incident and so many casualties, he took the blame for us alone."

"Thanks to Xiaoya," Qin Feng added. "If it were someone else, he wouldn't have bothered."

Xiaoya rolled her eyes. "What does it have to do with me? He already said it—the United Coalition won't pursue this matter."

"Do you believe that?" Qin Feng asked.

The next day, the United Coalition announced that the incident was caused by an operational error by a staff member who accidentally shut down the prison's power supply, allowing the raider to escape, resulting in a tragic event. In desperation, they initiated the self-destruct mechanism. Fortunately, most of the staff had already evacuated at that time, and there were no major casualties.

A few days later, Lu Yuan was demoted from Commander to Staff Officer due to inadequate supervision.

Qin Feng went to help him pack up his office. "You don't need to, there's not much here. I can handle it myself."

But Qin Feng insisted on helping, and Lu Yuan reluctantly agreed.

"Aren't you training today?" Lu Yuan asked.

"I took the day off," Qin Feng replied.

"Specifically to help me pack?"

"Sort of," Qin Feng scratched his head and chuckled.

Lu Yuan smiled too.

While packing, Qin Feng picked up the badge on the shelf again and said, "You're quite impressive, earning so many honors at such a young age."

Lu Yuan tidied up the documents on his desk and said, "Those are all my father's. Mine are here." He pointed to his chest.

Qin Feng was surprised. "So these aren't yours!"

Lu Yuan shook his head with a smile and said calmly, "If they were mine, who would dare demote me?"

"True. With all these honors combined, your rank is probably higher than that of the highest leader of the United Coalition..."

The two laughed.

"By the way, what about your father? Did he work for the United Coalition?" Qin Feng asked.

After a pause, Lu Yuan replied, "He's no longer with us. Five years ago, when the raiders launched their first attack against us... he piloted a fighter jet and went into battle himself, but then... a laser beam... boom!" He gestured like a firework exploding.

"Oh... I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I've come to terms with it."

"No, what I meant to say was, I'm sorry for causing you to be demoted."