Chapter 194: The Citizens in "Prison", A Brilliant Farewell

The hesitation in Yan Xia's heart was a thought that any human would have.

Just like when he faced the Olive Branch Civilization.

But back then, it was empathy for the Olive Branch Civilization, and now it's sympathy for the lives of the Federation citizens.

He knew that these citizens were surely going to die.

Or rather, if they didn't attack, would these citizens live?

The Silk Civilization was using these citizens to threaten him, to force him to stop the attack and give them time to recuperate.

As Yan Xia hesitated, Ella enlarged the video sent by the Silk Civilization. In front of a building, there was a person kneeling with his hands tied behind his back, expressionless.

The people around him were doing the same.

They were not being escorted; the Silk Civilization didn't care about such things. They didn't even bother to inform the Hengxing System of their demands. Instead, they gathered all the citizens together, creating a scene as if they were about to be slaughtered at any moment.

Then why were these Federation citizens acting as if they were imprisoned?

They didn't shout or beg for someone to save them; they just kned silently on the ground.

"They are in prison!" Ella said.

When Yan Xia heard these words, his body tremed.

Prison...

"Gazing at the door, I think of Zhang Jian;

Facing death, I wait for Du Gen;

I laugh at the sky with a horizontal sword,

My loyalty to the country is as high as the Kunlun Mountains."

This poem is called "Inscription on the Prison Wall." The original poem was written by Tan Sitong, who was imprisoned, hoping that his comrades would complete the great undertaking of the Hundred Days' Reform.

Here, Yan Xia saw the determination of these kneeling citizens.

It was as if they were saying with this simple action:

"Come on, step over our lives and eliminate these enemies!"

The Federation had repeatedly shocked Yan Xia.

"Yan Xia, you haven't deeply understood the Federation for a long time."

"The Federation is no longer the same as when it was first established. After 30,000 years of development, every citizen of the Federation, whether physically or mentally, has become firmly bound to the Federation."

"For them, there is no difference between the Federation and home."

Ella constantly monitored and collected information about the entire Federation, so she had the right to speak.

Yan Xia had long forgotten what it was like to be an ordinary member of a collective. He had even forgotten that feeling, but that didn't mean the concept of "patriotism" would disappear.

The Federation's citizens had clearly developed such patriotism for the Federation.

Therefore, the soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives, and the citizens were willing to do the same. They were maintaining the Federation as a whole, not just the individual lives of a few.

This selflessness came from the same thing.

That was cognition!

Although the Federation had diminished the importance of schools, it didn't mean that the Federation's education level was low. In fact, almost any Federation citizen who had never attended school could easily pass the entrance exams for Tsinghua or Peking University if placed on Earth.

Why?

It was because of their environment.

Just as an ordinary person living in the 21st century would have a broader knowledge base than someone living in ancient times, some knowledge that was common in the 21st century had become secrets that even the most prestigious institutions in ancient times would struggle to uncover.

Moreover, the Federation's citizens had long lifespans, easy access to knowledge, and the help of their secondary brains, which could even directly download some knowledge into the secondary brain.

The broad cognitive horizon of the Federation's citizens prevented them from naively believing that the Silk Civilization would spare them. They might have a glimmer of hope, but their rationality constantly told them it was impossible.

Among the hundreds of billions or even trillions of citizens, even if some citizens hoped for a miracle, most would not. They knew what the most correct decision for the Federation was at this moment.

So, they kned there.

How similar!

The soldiers and citizens alike!

The Federation had nurtured a great spirit and had thoroughly become a civilization.

What Yan Xia should do now was to be decisive and not give the Silk Civilization any time to recover.

The citizens were telling him not to hesitate, and yet he was still sighing over this minor matter.

This was the greatest disrespect.

"Give the citizens the most brilliant farewell," Yan Xia said, and then turned his back.

Ella understood Yan Xia's intention.

This time, the Kunlun didn't use any weapons. Instead, it sent out a signal.

The Federation's development of the Hengxing System was not limited to the surface; it also included the interior. Inside each star system were numerous structures absorbing the star's energy.

The signal sent by the Kunlun was to initiate the self-destruction of the machines inside the star.

Would the Silk Civilization intercept the signal?

Definitely.

However, this interception was ineffective. The Federation's information was directly transmitted through tachyons to the interior, unless the Silk Civilization had mastered cross-dimensional information interception technology.

The star exploded!

Yan Xia didn't know how many stars the Federation had destroyed, but this was the one that made him feel the most pain. It was the same before and after.

Because he would no longer allow himself to be in a situation like this.

"The Federation must become stronger!"

...

Upon seeing the destroyed star, the soldiers were stunned.

They could easily see that the Silk Civilization had not conducted a large-scale sweep of the Hengxing System. Even if they didn't know that the Silk Civilization had issued a statement using the Federation citizens as hostages, there were still many Federation citizens in the Hengxing System.

However.

They were gone!

The terrifying explosion was enough to destroy those star cities, leaving nothing behind.

They felt a strong sense of suffocation.

Their feelings changed at this moment; they felt sadness for the dead citizens, hatred towards the Silk Civilization, and also a lack of understanding of Yan Xia's decision.

It was too much to expect every Federation citizen to understand Yan Xia's determination at this moment.

Even if they knew that Yan Xia could make such a decision at this time, they still wouldn't understand.

There was nothing more important than life.

At least, Yan Xia couldn't make decisions for the hundreds of billions or even trillions of citizens in the Hengxing System.

This was a huge conflict between the decision-making level and the thinking of ordinary people, and this conflict was inevitable.

Yan Xia knew this, but he wouldn't make any explanations because of this lack of understanding. What was needed was not an explanation; any explanation would be nothing more than a hypocritical excuse.

What he needed to do was to win this war.

"According to previous observations, the Silk Civilization's warships should not have equipment to quickly absorb the matter ejected by the exploding star."

"Their energy should not have been fully replenished, and the warships themselves should not have been fully repaired."

"This is the time to press the advantage and annihilate all the Silk Civilization's warships."

Yan Xia issued the order.

All the warships began to move out.

Carrying the power of hundreds of billions or even trillions of lives.