Chapter 21: The Bold Proposal

Damn!

Those two words summed up exactly how everyone felt right now.

We’re here discussing tactics, and you just flip the table?

“Wait, are you really that ruthless, kid?”

That was Serena speaking, and she genuinely jumped—this wasn’t just for show.

The three fleet sub-commanders all turned to look at Lin Yu, nodding furiously.

It was clear they agreed with Serena.

“Alright, quiet down everyone!”

At that moment, Mu Qingxue spoke up.

She fixed her gaze on Lin Yu for a long moment, then…

“You have one hour. Write up a full report on this idea and get ready to explain the tactics.”

“Yes, Vice Admiral!”

From the looks of it…

Mu Qingxue clearly intended to push him right in front of the brass.

But honestly—that was exactly what he wanted.

Lin Yu stood and gave a sharp salute, silently thinking to himself.

He guessed right, too—because Mu Qingxue…

She really did submit the plan and set Lin Yu up to present the tactics in person.

As for the people sitting out in the audience, well…

They were all top commanders of the Federation Fleet.

——

Moon.

Federation Fleet Headquarters.

Inside a massive conference room, dozens of people already sat in their seats.

Aside from a dozen or so physically present, the rest were fleet commanders or staff who joined in remotely via holographic projection.

New faces kept appearing projected into the room every so often.

In one corner, a particularly young figure stood out.

He couldn’t be more than twenty, still with a hint of awkward youthfulness.

Yet judging by his insignia, he was already a lieutenant.

“George. Don’t speak—just listen!”

“Understood, Father.”

George nodded.

This was the third time his father warned him, afraid he might say something reckless and leave a bad impression with the Federation Fleet brass.

George knew exactly what he meant.

After all…

He was just a lieutenant for now.

Getting invited to a meeting on this level, just getting his face in front of all these leaders, was enough.

He wasn’t planning on doing anything foolish.

He had pride, sure, but he wasn’t stupid.

As he glanced around the room, George suddenly thought of that other man.

The one who held him down for ten whole years, but in the end lost his future because his innate brain development was only nineteen percent.

For a rival, George really did respect Lin Yu’s abilities.

But in the end, in their world, hard work only set the floor.

The ceiling—the max you could reach—was decided the moment you were born.

Lin Yu, you really were a worthy opponent. But unfortunately…

Looks like we won’t have the chance to meet again.

As George found himself reminiscing about someone from his past…

Several more faces flickered into view, filling up the last open spots at the conference table.

It was the seven officers from the Fifth Fleet.

George rubbed his eyes and blinked a second time.

He was completely stunned.

Right there was another young man, just as youthful as George himself.

But the other guy wore the clear insignia of a lieutenant colonel on his shoulders.

Who else could it be but Lin Yu?

George turned to his father—but to his shock…

He saw his father’s face twisted in even greater disbelief than his own.

Right then, George realized something.

His father knowing Lin Yu—that wasn’t strange.

After all, Lin Yu had overshadowed him for a decade. Of course his father paid attention.

But why, seeing Lin Yu here, would he look so shell-shocked, so much so that his expression started to twist?

Now that was puzzling.

George desperately wanted to ask what was going on.

But at a moment like this…

There was absolutely no way.

Because at that very moment, Mu Xingchen—seated in the center—stood up.

“Before we get started, let me introduce someone to everyone!”

“Lin Yu!”

With those words, Mu Xingchen threw the entire room into confusion.

Introduce someone?

Wasn’t this meeting supposed to be about the Homeworld defense?

Everyone followed Mu Xingchen’s gaze, looking even more bewildered.

Was the person the Commander wanted to introduce really… that kid who didn’t even look twenty yet, already a lieutenant colonel?

That can’t be right—even Mu Qingxue wasn’t a lieutenant colonel until she was twenty-two…

“Yes, Admiral!”

As soon as Mu Xingchen called his name, Lin Yu shot to his feet.

Mu Xingchen nodded.

“This is Lin Yu. He just graduated from the Federation’s First Military Academy and was assigned to the Fifth Fleet as a combat staff officer on the Warstar, Qiongxiao.”

“Recently, thanks to extraordinary achievements, the Federation Fleet’s high command agreed to an exception. He’s been promoted all the way to lieutenant colonel and will temporarily command a new special task force being formed in the Fifth Fleet.”

“As for what kind of achievements earned Lieutenant Colonel Lin Yu his rank, I can only say two words—truly immense. The details are classified, so that’s all you’ll get for now!”

“Finally, the real reason we called this emergency meeting is because Lieutenant Colonel Lin Yu proposed a new tactic. He’ll be the one to explain it from here!”

As everyone stared in disbelief…

Mu Xingchen sat back down.

Lin Yu left his seat and moved up to the podium at the front of the room.

He pulled up his files and projected them with a swipe across the holographic interface.

——

Half an hour later.

The enormous conference room had fallen dead silent.

Every single eye was locked onto the man on stage, each one filled with shock.

And suddenly, inside everyone’s mind, the same thought exploded: Damn!

Normally, this is where the question-and-answer—

Or, to put it bluntly…

It’s time to challenge the plan!

After all, the point of this session was to poke holes in the plan and make it as solid as possible.

But three full minutes after Lin Yu finished speaking,

Everyone was still too stunned to say a word.

None of the three highest-ranking officers spoke up either.

They just sat there, waiting.

After five minutes dragged by, some people finally snapped out of it…

One hand went up.

It belonged to Stephen Campbell, commander of the First Fleet.

“Commander Stephen, did you have a question?”

“You’re Lin Yu, right?”

“Yes, Commander Stephen!”

“Do you understand what you’re doing? You’re sending Io to crash into Jupiter? Are you really planning to destroy the sacred planet of Jupiter with your own hands? I can’t allow this!”

Huh?

The sacred planet?

For a beat, Lin Yu froze—then it hit him.

Just like how Mars is called Mars in the West, Jupiter has always held a special status. It used to be called Zeus, then later Jupiter.

For these people, Jupiter was almost holy.

Still, that didn’t seem like enough reason for such an extreme reaction.

After all, compared to the survival of humanity, a planet was just a planet.

Besides, even if this plan did affect Jupiter’s environment, it wouldn’t actually destroy the planet.

It’s not like you could destroy something with so much mass that easily.

So why was Stephen reacting so strongly?

He was clearly coming for Lin Yu, not the plan itself.

Lin Yu’s eyes went cold.

Even at humanity’s moment of crisis, this guy—

Still wanted to stir up internal conflict?