Chapter 421: Chapter 207: Expedition Army Crisis (Part 2)
Gu Ningxuan embarked on a long journey, and at the same time, his second brother in the Gu Family, Gu Ningzhi, also entered a new round of exploration. According to his previous predictions, the round trip plus exploration would take at most five years. But after actually joining the Expedition Army, Gu Ningzhi realized he had thought too much.
Time flew by, and five years had already passed, but they still hadn’t found what they were looking for. The Expedition Army had explored several potentially barren planets, but found nothing. As time passed, the atmosphere within the team grew somewhat heavy.
"Sigh... isn’t it better if we don’t find anything..." Gu Ningzhi lounged nonchalantly in a chair in Li You’s office, his legs crossed. Even though he wore a sharp, dashing military uniform, he still couldn’t hide his rogue demeanor, "I just want to return home quickly. Continuing to search like this, who knows if there’ll be any results..."
Li You sat on the sofa with his eyes half-closed, feeling an invisible pressure from the lack of progress on the task. Hearing Gu Ningzhi say this, he frowned and said, "This is a mission, it must be completed! What is there to be happy about if the mission fails!"
Gu Ningzhi simply put his feet on Li You’s desk, his eyes vaguely staring at the ceiling, mumbling, "Anyway, it’s not a good thing... if we really find it, it will definitely be a disaster. Little Squid, don’t tell me you’re not a bit worried."
According to Su Jiameng, that dormant creature was very dangerous. Over the years, they hadn’t been able to find any trace of it, and Gu Ningzhi thought with some relief that perhaps the appearance of that creature was just a one-time coincidence.
"That’s something for the higher-ups to worry about; I just need to complete my mission." Li You said in a cold tone.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, Gu Ningzhi’s words had indeed struck a chord with him! He had escorted that thing to the research facility before and vaguely knew it wasn’t a good thing. When he first heard that it was destroyed, Li You actually felt a sense of relief inside.
But the higher-ups were stubborn, issuing orders to find a research substitute, and with "obedience" ingrained in him, how could he refuse?
He had already contacted the higher-ups, explaining that five years of exploration yielded no progress. Normally, they would have withdrawn the exploration order by now. But for some reason, this time, the higher-ups were unprecedentedly insistent, refusing to give up until they achieved their goal.
Moreover, from what he understood, besides the Expedition Army he led, there were two other exploration teams carrying out the same mission.
"So old-fashioned and not cute at all," Gu Ningzhi pouted and added, "Although I admire your dedication to the mission and loyalty to the Alliance, the stomach comes first. The warship’s supplies are running low, and if nothing is found in a month, we’ll have to return to the nearest supply station to replenish, or else... we’ll starve to death on the warship."
Li You tightened his lips. Besides worrying about the progress of the mission, another thing troubling him recently was the supplies issue. The universe was vast; although there were planets where life could survive, they were but a drop in the ocean for the universe. If they could luckily encounter a planet suitable for biological life, they could replenish supplies. If not, they would have to return to the nearest supply station planet!
It seemed Gu Ningzhi wasn’t satisfied with just that and continued to fan the flames, "If this Expedition Army and an Alliance Major General die not a glorious death but of starvation... tsk tsk tsk, it sounds really shameful."
Li You rolled his eyes at him and said, "I remember when you first got here, you were quite enthusiastic about the exploration mission. You always rushed to the front with great zeal, why have you changed now, losing interest instead?"
Gu Ningzhi awkwardly rubbed his nose; how could he tell Little Squid the truth? Back then, he was so diligent because he wanted to quickly find that thing and fulfill Su Jiameng’s entrustment. Now, after searching for years without a clue, it’s evident that the thing is either gone or hiding in a place they can’t find. Why continue wasting effort and energy?
"Different times, different circumstances," Gu Ningzhi said evasively, "Anyway, if we don’t encounter a planet where we can resupply or find the mission’s target in the next month, we’ll have to return!"
Li You looked complicated, closing his eyes, he said, "I understand that, I won’t gamble with the lives of people under my command."
