Chapter 43: Echoes from Europa: Secrets Beneath the Ice

A three-day leave.

These were the most relaxing days Lin Yu had experienced since joining the fleet.

Now, with those days behind him,

it was time to return to the fleet.

——

Roughly 420,000 kilometers from the Homeworld.

Io, one of Jupiter’s moons, also known as Europa.

Right now, more than twenty engineering ships lingered in its orbit while crowds of workers had already touched down on the surface.

The whole place looked like a colossal construction site, everyone working themselves to the bone.

In theory, knocking Europa off its orbit sounds simple—just apply enough force.

In practice, it’s anything but easy.

Only after countless scientific debates and hundreds of simulation models did a plan finally take shape.

And now tens of thousands of crew members followed the blueprints to the letter.

Their mission? Drill.

Not just one or two holes, either—they had to drill thousands, across varied locations and depths.

Afterward, all these holes would be grouped into five depth categories, each hiding thousands of nuclear warheads with immense destructive power.

Every warhead’s position and depth had been calculated with meticulous precision.

Once ready, the nukes would detonate in waves, each depth layer setting off the next, five times in succession.

That would be enough to shatter a chunk of Europa, forcing it from its orbit.

After that, Europa would continue looping around Jupiter for about three-quarters of a revolution, before finally smashing into its target.

When that happens, the Federation Fleet’s job will be to lure the Klein right where they want them at just the right moment—not too soon, not too late—and then pull everyone out before the shockwave and released energy spreads from Jupiter out into the orbital zone.

Every step of the plan must be calculated without a single error.

Move too early, and the Klein will figure out Europa’s falling, giving them time to escape Jupiter’s orbit.

Too late, and you might barely scratch them—or not hurt them at all.

Timing…

has to be utterly flawless.

“How’s the progress going?”

On the bridge of Warstar Tyr, Second Fleet Commander Jonas asked the question.

“Currently we’re at 48 percent. If all goes well, we should finish in two more months!”

“Two months, huh…”

“Commander, are you worried?”

“A little, but not about this. The Klein are still at least four months out—so time isn’t our issue!”

“Then what is…?”

The adjutant looked puzzled.

If there’s no problem, why does our commander look so grim?

But Jonas only shook his head, refusing to share what weighed on his mind.

At that same moment.

On the human Homeworld—Earth.

Eight hundred meters beneath Antarctica’s ice.

Anyone glimpsing the scene here would be left utterly speechless.

Because below the ice, a sizable laboratory had been constructed. Only…

Right now, not a single living soul could be found inside.

Suddenly, a holographic interface flickered to life, refracting in the air and casting a faint glow as data streamed rapidly across the display.

At once, the lab was bathed in a feeble light, breaking the utter darkness from before.

After about a minute,

the data flow stopped, and the hologram’s interface shifted.

Finally, an image coalesced.

A woman appeared, her form emerging as she slowly opened her eyes and swept her gaze around the room.

She seemed confused at first, tilting her head as if searching for clues.

But that hesitation only lasted a moment—maybe three seconds at most—before her whole presence shifted, memory and purpose returned to her in an instant.

At first, there’d been a trace of innocence, almost endearing.

Now, cold and distant, she radiated an untouchable aura.

“So, it’s been eighteen years?”

This was the first thing the woman said after regaining all her memories.

In the next instant, a cluster of virtual panels appeared around her.

Information of every stripe flashed across the screens at dizzying speed.

Suddenly, one panel stilled, displaying a single person’s data.

It was Lin Yu’s top-secret, classified SSS-level personnel file, sealed by the Federation.

But to this woman, the encryption meant nothing—she simply called up the file and opened it right before her eyes.

“So he’s an adult now?”

“And he chose the Federation Fleet over the scientific community?”

“Maybe that’s for the best. Perhaps this time, his path will lead to a completely different future.”

Murmuring as she scanned the file, the woman’s voice was quiet.

Just as she was about to pull up more data, her holographic figure flickered and rippled.

Her body distorted, the projection growing unstable.

“Sigh, out of time again.”

“Here’s hoping the next time I wake up, that problem’s already solv—”

Her words were cut off.

The woman’s image vanished.

The lab, once more, plunged into pitch black.

If Lin Yu had been standing there, he’d have recognized the woman at once—the very same person who’d greeted him with open eyes the day he was born.

She looked exactly as he remembered, untouched by time.

Her face, her youth—never changing.

The only difference was, back then she’d been real; the woman in his memory wasn’t a projection, she was flesh and blood.

She’d carried him to the test platform, gazing down with eyes full of pity.

Why had someone once so alive now become nothing more than a digital phantom?

Why was her body gone, her presence reduced to a holographic echo?

That answer…

is still buried, far from the light of day.

——

Lin Yu knew nothing of what transpired on Earth.

By now, he was back with the fleet.

There were still two shifts of crew scheduled for leave, so for the next six days, no new orders would be given.

Taking advantage of the lull, Lin Yu began compiling everything he’d learned in the asteroid belt drills over the past month, drawing together fresh ideas from his mind.

His goal? Write a tactical manual on fleet command in the asteroid belt.

This wasn’t the time for secrecy.

At first, Andrei wanted to pitch in.

But after a few hours he realized…

He was slowing Lin Yu down, not helping at all.

In the end, Andrei bowed out on his own.

Naturally, that didn’t stop George from poking fun at him.

Over the next six days, Lin Yu focused on the manual, while George and Andrei spent their days bickering back and forth.

It became their daily routine.

At last…

On the sixth day exactly.

Lin Yu’s tactical manual was complete, and the last wave of rested crew returned to their ships.

At the same time, Headquarters on the Moon broadcast an update—First Fleet had departed and would arrive at Mars orbit in twenty-three days, ready to rendezvous with Fifth Fleet.

After that, the fleets would cross the asteroid belt together and head for Jupiter.

Where, on the far side…

the preparations for war would truly begin!