After this period of training, Qin Yi was already very good at commanding.
He skillfully used the control panel to send instructions to the troops one by one. He communicated with AEEIS about the current battlefield information, got the entire human army to act according to his plan based on the data given by AEEIS and his previous commanding habits.
The human fleet and the Zergs were like fallen leaves in a storm, colliding together in deep space. The surface of the planet was being cleaned up by the heavy weapons of the spacecraft, but the Zergs would crawl out of the ground every time. The main force of the human army and the special forces that were carrying out the mission would attack the Zerg Queen from different directions, trying their best to find her.
All of a sudden, a red warning flashed across the entire space. AEEIS’s voice became serious. “Commander, a large number of Zergs are moving towards the command ship.”
Qin Yi quickly dragged his camera on the control panel. Soon, he saw the swarm of bugs in the dark starry sky.
This scene felt familiar.
Qin Yi had once made the same choice as the previous commander in a simulated battle. Now, the same situation was happening again.
The war mode between humans and Zergs was very similar. Humans tend to rely on Ansible Communication and AEEIS to allow the supreme commander’s instructions to reach every unit as quickly as possible and complete the fastest and most efficient commands. The Zergs had the consciousness of a Zerg nest. The Zerg Queen could directly command any Zergs through telepathy. The same principle applied to Ansible Communication.
The scale of the battlefield was too large, there was too much information, and it was ever-changing. Therefore, the traditional method of command for humans was no longer suitable for war with the Zergs. It was inevitable that the commander would be the only one to command, and the artificial intelligence would disassemble the command and transmit it directly to the base level of the army. The method of command for real-time Ansible communication became indispensable.
Under such circumstances, killing each other’s commanders was the best choice for both the Zergs and humans.
If the Zergs were to successfully decapitate the human commander, it would mean that all the commands would be taken over by AEEIS before the appointment of a new human commander. There would be no chance of a surprise victory and the possibility of better tactics. On the other hand, if humans manage to decapitate the Zergs’ queen successfully, they would be able to get a breather for a period of time and eliminate a large number of Zergs on a large scale.
Therefore, Qin Yi knew what he should choose now.
He quickly turned his vision and gave orders to every unit.
The frontline troops increased their attack speed and rushed to the top of the new Zergs nest; the fleet at the back of the planet held back the remaining Zergs; the frigate charged into the Zergs to self-destruct and stall for time after they depleted most of its weapons…
Qin Yi saw a huge amount of requests for reinforcements from other teams. He did not know these people and had not even heard of their serial numbers.
He could only see countless troops flashing and asking for reinforcements in the dark starry sky, on the surface of the planet and in the worm nests. They were reporting the situation of the battlefield like stars in the sky.
The battle this time was different from the previous simulation, but it felt familiar.
Qin Yi did not know if this operation would succeed. He only followed the previous training and made the choices he thought were right.
“Will my soul find peace in this starry sky after I die?”
No one answered, only AEEIS’ cold voice sounded. “Attention! The command ship is under serious threat. Once the command ship is destroyed, all units will be taken over by AEEIS. Commander, please make the appropriate arrangements!”
This time, Qin Yi had already made the appropriate arrangements without AEEIS’ reminder.
He zoomed in and watched as the frigates crashed into the densest part of the sea of insects one by one. He watched as the dazzling fireworks lit up and extinguished in the dark night sky. He knew that he would soon become the most brilliant among the fireworks.
“AEEIS, will I be the last commander?”
AEEIS did not reply to Qin Yi’s surprise.
Qin Yi pressed the final detonation button and closed his eyes in relief after the few remaining frigates approached the command ship.
The strange thing was that he did not feel much at that moment, even if it was the last moment of his life.
It was as if he had been waiting for this moment for a long time.
He had no idea what would happen next.
Perhaps the decapitation operation this time would be even more successful than the previous one. The Zergs’ life force would be dealt a heavy blow, and humans would easily welcome subsequent victories. Perhaps this decapitation operation would be just like the previous one, giving humans a short breather. Another soldier would become the new commander and take over Qin Yi’s command, continuing this cycle. Perhaps the war would ultimately fail, and humanity would perish…
However, Qin Yi would not know any of these. He could only risk everything and his life to fight for the greatest possibility of victory.
A bright light flashed, and the space where Qin Yi was instantly became snow-white. Then, it became endless darkness.
Qin Yi had already closed his eyes and waited for death. However, he suddenly realized that he was still alive after two seconds of coldness.
He could still feel his consciousness in the darkness.
All of a sudden, the light around them lit up again. The swarm of bugs and the human fleet disappeared, returning to the quiet starry sky before the battle.
AEEIS’ voice sounded. “Unfortunately, Commander, the final trial mission failed.”
“From an optimistic perspective, everything that happened before was fake. No one died.”
“From a pessimistic point of view, the chance of winning the final battle between humans and Zergs is zero.”
“Even the best case scenario would be for the commander to perish together with the Queen of the Zergs. They would then choose a new commander and prepare for the next decisive battle.”
“However, the following battles will only become more and more difficult because of the existence of the Zerg’s consciousness. The wisdom of the Zerg Queen will continue to increase, and the Zergs’ ability to replenish their forces will also be higher than humans.”
“If we can’t achieve a decisive result this time, mankind might be completely wiped out in the long drawn-out war between the Zergs.”
Qin Yi’s eyes were blank. He did not know how to react.
He had been prepared to die. He had done his best and given the best choice based on the battlefield data provided by AEEIS.
No matter what the outcome was, since he was already dead, there was no need for him to take responsibility.
He could finally get rid of this heavy mission.
However, AEEIS was now telling him that everything was fake. He was not dead, and this war had not really happened!
This also meant that Qin Yi was still the commander and had to bear the responsibility for the failure of this war.
After a moment of silence, Qin Yi asked, “What was the situation like after the war?”
Images of the battle appeared once again. It was the battle scene after Qin Yi ‘died’.
The plan that he left behind before his “death” did not work. The front team faced the huge sea of insects and could not reach the designated location. The fleet held back the swarm, but the team carrying out the decapitation operation was completely wiped out in the depths of the new nest. No one survived…
In the end, the remaining human fleets had no choice but to retreat in a panic and return to the endless starry sky. The human bases and human armies on the planet were completely wiped out. The Zergs would use this planet as their base to launch an all-out attack on humans…
After this battle failed, humanity’s hopes of defeating the Zergs would be completely extinguished. This was also why AEEIS said that the chances of winning the final battle between humans and Zergs were zero.
Qin Yi closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
After a long time, he said, “Start over.”
The surrounding images began to retreat rapidly. The battles that had happened before were replayed in front of Qin Yi.
He began to re-examine every decision he had made. The surrounding scenes kept stopping, rewinding, and replaying…
However, no matter how hard he tried to analyze and change his strategy, he could not change the fact that the final battle was a complete failure.
Qin Yi was on the verge of breaking down. His dark eye circles were getting worse, and his spirit was deteriorating. He was relying on his conviction to hang on. However, no matter what tactics he used, the end result was bound to fail.
To him, the most terrifying thing was not death, but the fate of mankind on his shoulders, and that fate was annihilation.
He did not know when this day would come, nor did he know if there was any meaning to what he had persevered on. This feeling was like suffering a torture that would never see the future. Even a warrior like Qin Yi, who was used to seeing life and death, could not withstand such immense pressure and despair…
Lu Zhiyao felt immense pressure after reading the script.
The previous script was already full of twists and turns. Qin Yi’s emotions had clearly fluctuated several times. Lu Zhiyao had been trying to figure it out every day in order to act out this emotional difference. Finally, he was almost done.
Lu Zhiyao had originally thought that the plot would most likely be the final battle. Qin Yi would sacrifice himself and defeat the Zergs. Then, there would be a few emotional scenes to commemorate the soldiers who died in battle. Then, the movie would end perfectly.
In the end, he did not expect that all his previous efforts were useless. The winning rate of AEEIS’ final deduction was zero. No matter how Qin Yi tried and how smoothly the previous battles went, based on the current fighting style, there would only be one outcome for the final battle.
In this plot, Qin Yi’s emotions had also changed a lot, and they were all different from before.
When he knew that the final battle was coming, Qin Yi’s reaction was very calm because he had already made sufficient mental preparations. However, after knowing that he was not dead and that this was only a calculation by the intelligent system, Qin Yi did not feel much relief after surviving the calamity. Instead, he felt a little disappointed because he had originally thought that his mission had been completed. Now, he realized that everything had not started.
After repeatedly reviewing and trying, Qin Yi realized that he could not win no matter how hard he tried. He had to bear the fate of mankind’s imminent demise alone. Even a warrior with strong mental fortitude like Qin Yi was oppressed to the brink of collapse.
Lu Zhiyao felt that Qin Yi’s emotional change this time was still testing his acting skills. He would probably have to fight the Fully-Automated Bickering Machine for another three hundred rounds when he returned back to the hotel.