Chapter 62: Obtaining the Evidence

Before long, Shi Chan and his group arrived at planet LR236.

After properly settling the Jugu people, Xi Ming took Shi Chan and Liang Yongqing to find someone he had suddenly remembered—Luo Liang, the former deputy of the Sixth Prince.

During the 823 Incident, Luo Liang was on the front lines with the Sixth Prince and had witnessed the entire process of Wu Lidu framing Xi Ming.

In his past life, Xi Ming had been powerless to seek revenge, but he was unwilling to give up. Even though his memory had deteriorated due to radiation, he had persisted in browsing vast amounts of information every day.

With his declining memory, he could retain only a limited amount of information, and even less of it remained in this lifetime.

However, the memory fragments that surfaced due to his overloaded mental power on Jugu had brought back some forgotten memories. After the miraculous rain, even more memories gradually returned.

Xi Ming’s mind became filled with details about the war—past, future, those that aligned with his previous life, and those that differed.

Among the memories that surfaced during this period was information about Wu Lidu’s deputy. In his past life, Xi Ming had begun investigating the truth behind his wrongful accusation, but too many people had died in that battle. The royal family had repeatedly erased evidence to prove Wu Lidu’s innocence, making it nearly impossible for Xi Ming to make any substantial progress.

A year after the war started, an article praising Wu Lidu suddenly appeared on the interstellar network. It detailed his glorious achievements in reverse chronological order.

In the early stages of the war between the Empire and the Federation, Wu Lidu led his elite mecha troops into battle against the Zerg and had indeed secured impressive victories.

However, as the article progressed, it reached the crucial date—August 23, 5324. The writer had listed extensive evidence showing that Wu Lidu was on the front lines that day.

At the time, Wu Lidu was at the height of his reputation, and the people of the Empire hoped he would succeed to the throne and lead them to victory. Naturally, this article sparked an intense reaction—some believed it, while others doubted it, and fierce debates erupted across the interstellar network.

Ultimately, the royal family intervened, declaring that the so-called “evidence” in the article was fabricated. They presented other “officially verified” evidence proving Wu Lidu’s innocence and vowed to punish the instigators of this “rumor.” The Empire swiftly erased all traces of the article from the network.

Xi Ming had noticed that the movements of Wu Lidu described in the article matched his own memories, so he dug deeper. Unfortunately, by the time he identified the article’s author, the royal family had already executed him.

That person was none other than Wu Lidu’s former deputy, Luo Liang.

Xi Ming glanced at the date—there was only one month left before Luo Liang would lose patience, publish the article, and be executed by the Empire.

Luo Liang was no ordinary person. For the Sixth Prince to have chosen him as his deputy, he must have been highly capable. Though his family was not part of the elite noble circles of the capital star, the Luo family was still a prestigious clan from a secondary star system.

For years, the Luo family had taken great pride in Luo Liang’s achievements, celebrating his rise to the highest echelons of the capital star. Every time he spoke with his family, he could see the pride in their eyes.

Luo Liang believed his future would only get better. Once he successfully assisted the Sixth Prince in becoming the next ruler, he expected to be “assigned” to a regional post, perhaps as a “Sector Governor” in charge of dozens of residential planets.

However, after witnessing the full extent of the 823 Incident, Luo Liang was tormented by guilt. Seeing the desperate cries for help from the border residents before their deaths sent chills down his spine.

Wu Lidu, who was usually composed, was also in a state of panic, his face pale as he kept mumbling something under his breath.

Luo Liang focused his attention to listen, but all he heard were attempts to shift the blame.

“Your Highness,” Luo Liang suddenly spoke, startling Wu Lidu, who looked up in alarm.

“We’re going to face a military tribunal, aren’t we?” Luo Liang stared at Wu Lidu. The collapse of the Empire’s defenses was entirely their fault. Although all the orders had been Wu Lidu’s decisions, as his deputy and confidant, Luo Liang knew everything and could not escape responsibility.

“No, we won’t!” Wu Lidu suddenly raised his voice, frantically clawing at his hair. The dignified and shrewd prince was gone, replaced by a desperate, incompetent man. “This has nothing to do with me!”

Just then, Wu Lidu’s communicator rang, startling both of them. Wu Lidu glanced at the caller’s name, his expression flickering before he turned his back to Luo Liang. “I… I’ll take this in my room.”

Luo Liang didn’t think much of it. They were already on the starship heading back to the capital star. As he stared out into the seemingly eternal silence of space, his mind was filled with the echoes of desperate cries for help.

Some time later, Wu Lidu emerged from his room and walked directly to Luo Liang. “Luo Liang, we’re going to be fine. Remember, on August 20, we were already back on the capital star. After that, we were resting. This whole thing has nothing to do with us!”

Nothing to do with them.

Xi Ming’s coma had nothing to do with them.

The decision to remain stationed had nothing to do with them.

The Zerg invasion had nothing to do with them.

The collapse of the Empire’s border defense had nothing to do with them.

They had already returned to the capital star days before the incident.

In the silence of space, they repeated this lie to themselves again and again, convincing themselves that none of it was their fault—that they were innocent.

Luo Liang feared the cold halls of the military tribunal. And with Wu Lidu constantly reassuring him that there would be no consequences, he eventually accepted the fabricated story and, under Wu Lidu’s supervision, deleted all related evidence from his terminal.

Upon returning to the capital star, everything played out just as Wu Lidu had promised. The blame was placed entirely on Xi Ming, while Wu Lidu and his subordinates were declared uninvolved.

As accusations flooded the interstellar network, Luo Liang felt as though his heart had stopped. He knew that these scathing, venomous words should have been directed at them.

Wu Lidu granted Luo Liang an extended leave, but he withdrew from the network the next day. More than the relentless insults, what he feared most was seeing the footage of desperate border residents being torn apart by the Zerg.

He feared they would come for him in his dreams.

A week passed, but Luo Liang’s condition only worsened. He lost a significant amount of weight. Wu Lidu visited once, was shocked by his appearance, and immediately extended his leave, instructing him to recover before returning.

Luo Liang agreed in silence and tried to occupy himself by organizing his residence, forcing his mind to avoid unwanted thoughts.

While cleaning, he stumbled upon a backup terminal he had forgotten about. When he powered it on, he discovered a notification stating that a data synchronization had been completed days ago.

His hands trembled as he opened the file—it contained the very evidence he had deleted.

His first instinct was to delete it again.

But after a moment of hesitation, he removed the terminal’s chip instead.

He decided that if he remained safe for three years, he would destroy the chip.

At the time, he still trusted Wu Lidu, whom he had known since their academy days.

Yet he never got the chance.

Just three months later, men broke into his residence and force-fed him unknown drugs. The excruciating pain made him lose consciousness.

When he awoke, he found himself in a mass grave on his home planet.

And he realized—he had been marked for death.

Now, years later, as he lay in a cramped, filthy hideout, obsessively reading about Wu Lidu online, Shi Chan finally found him.

“Luo Liang, do you want revenge?”

Luo Liang’s confusion and shock quickly turned into burning hatred.

He left with them.

And he handed over the evidence.