Chapter 8: The Eerie Dreamscape
...
Nightfall.
"So, the attacking rebels inexplicably retreated en masse?"
"No, they didn't retreat halfway; they fled entirely."
On the rooftop of the tallest building, everyone gathered around, igniting a fire to recharge the batteries of their laser rifles while engaging in casual conversation.
Gray recounted the reasons behind his and Qin Mo's arrival, though he deliberately concealed the existence of the gravity shield and Qin Mo's true identity as a psionic prisoner.
The other four surviving members of the 44th Infantry Division, seated beside Gray, silently agreed to keep Qin Mo's status a secret.
As for the reason...
Gray believed that the only ones aware of Qin Mo's identity and his continued survival were the survivors of the 44th Division.
Should the rebels be eradicated in the future, they could fabricate evidence of Qin Mo's death and report it to their superiors, thereby allowing him to live in the depths of the hive, a place beyond jurisdiction.
If the rebels were not vanquished, however, everyone in the depths would perish, rendering any report unnecessary.
"As the commander of the 47th Infantry Division, I salute you. I lament the loss of your comrades," the officer said, removing his cap to honor the fallen of the 44th Division.
All other soldiers and junior officers followed suit, bowing their heads in silence.
Three minutes later, the officer abruptly posed a question he had long contemplated: "That psionic... forgive me; I struggle to find a more respectful title for a psionic. Was he trained and certified by the Empire?"
"Certainly," Gray nodded. "Otherwise, do you think the double-headed eagle insignia atop his staff would be there?"
"That's reassuring," the officer sighed in relief. "Otherwise, should he lose control, it would spell disaster for the entire hive, if not the whole star system."
The speaker was oblivious, but the listener was attentive.
Gray furrowed his brow, lost in recollection of a childhood incident from the depths.
A psionic, under immense pressure, had gone berserk, accidentally killing his wife and daughter before wailing over their bodies. Within a single day, he had obliterated a total of eighty thousand soldiers from the planetary defense forces.
This tragedy had left the planetary defense forces in a state of disarray, significantly mismatched against the rebels.
Given Qin Mo's astounding power, if a psionic of his caliber were to spiral out of control...
The thought sent a shiver down Gray's spine.
"Speaking of which, I doubt he is prone to losing control," the officer continued. "His emotions seem remarkably stable. Was there ever an incident during his time with your 44th Division?"
"Of course not," Gray recalled Qin Mo's demeanor; he was indeed remarkably composed.
"What is his name?" the officer inquired.
"Hmm... an unusual name, Qin Mo," Gray replied.
"That rings a bell," the officer pondered. "My ancestor fought alongside an angel named Qin Xia. They attacked a space facility known as the Karim Gate, after which this angel, Qin Xia, ascended to the Golden Throne aboard the Heaven's Lance."
"Sir, I once encountered that story in a book. Wasn't the angel's fighting unit called the White... something?"
"No, no, no! My grandfather specifically told me it was a legion, not a unit."
"A legion? Are you joking? Your grandfather must have misremembered; after all, that was several hundred, if not several thousand years ago."
"Several thousand? Try several tens of thousands!"
"..."
The members of the 47th Division engaged in lively banter, while Gray and the few remaining soldiers of the 44th Division fell silent, feeling out of place.
Gray yearned to check on Qin Mo but feared intruding, so he remained quietly seated.
...
On the top floor of the building, Qin Mo lay on the only available mattress, lost in slumber, drifting through dreams.
He envisioned himself traversing the cosmos, soaring through the galaxy, visiting any star he desired.
He dreamt of molding a planet like a child with a toy, sculpting it according to his whims.
Such fantastical dreams had visited him before his crossing into this realm; they were merely flights of fancy.
However, as the ethereal dreamscape dissipated, Qin Mo awoke to find himself in a lavish bedroom.
This was neither a hive nor a battlefield; it was a resplendent room with golden splendor, and the bed beneath him was soft and spacious.
As Qin Mo surveyed his surroundings in astonishment, he suddenly spotted a girl in the corner of the room, sobbing on the floor.
Strangely, her appearance shifted constantly; sometimes she resembled a cat, other times an elderly person, and at times even a tank or a chainsaw.
"Traitor..." she turned to Qin Mo, accusing him with rage.
"What traitor? What are you babbling about?" Qin Mo asked.
"I don't even know what I'm saying... I've forgotten so much, yet I can't help but call you a traitor," she replied, confusion etched on her face as she gazed at her ever-changing form. "Why am I shattered into so many pieces while you remain whole?"
"What was your name again? Insight, Mimic, Engineer, or... I can't remember. Why have I forgotten these things? It seems I've lost so much."
"Regardless of what you were called, from the moment you betrayed me, you should be addressed as a traitor."
After uttering many incomprehensible phrases, she transformed into a nobleman, suddenly lunging at Qin Mo and choking him by the neck.
"You consumed my friend!"
"Return it!"
Qin Mo jolted awake, sitting upright, gasping for breath, realizing that everything had been a mere dream.
"Damn... I'm so exhausted that I'm losing my mind." He rubbed his temples in frustration before suddenly remembering something crucial.
Qin Mo searched the corner of the room for his staff, melting away the double-headed eagle emblem to extract a piece of paper.
This paper was the only remaining page from the diary that had been destroyed in the explosion; after creating the gravity shield, he had concealed it within the double-headed eagle.
He kept this page not merely as a memento but because he felt he might one day use science and technology to restore the entire diary.
After skimming the contents of the paper, Qin Mo once again tucked it back into the double-headed eagle.
At that moment, the door swung open, and a soldier stepped into the room. Upon seeing Qin Mo awake, he immediately performed the Eagle Salute. "The commander requests your presence for a meeting."
"Why should I attend a meeting?" Qin Mo inquired, puzzled.
"Uh... do you not wish to go?" The soldier seemed taken aback by the question.
"Fine, I understand." Qin Mo felt that being invited to the meeting was a sign of their regard for him, so he rose to follow the soldier to the meeting place.
As Qin Mo walked through the corridor, every soldier he passed stepped aside, bowing their heads in respect.
Seeing their demeanor, Qin Mo realized that Gray had not disclosed his status as a prisoner; otherwise, these men would certainly express disdain and discontent, even if they did not apprehend him.
It seemed those gravity shields had not been constructed in vain.
Qin Mo thought to himself.