Chapter 67: Sixty-Seventh Day of Being a Slacker

“Didn’t I tell you yesterday?” Goudan muttered, offering a half-hearted explanation for his reaction just now. He wasn’t entirely sure if this would be enough to fool Lu Yuan.

He wasn’t someone with a poor memory. More importantly, this had happened within the last two days; he shouldn’t have forgotten it.

However, since the words were already out and he couldn’t find a time machine, he had to try and patch the hole this way.

Then he added, “They said Ying Xun told them to do it. But as for the specific reason why, they don’t know either.”

He had discussed this with Siming. Lu Yuan was not an easy man to deceive; trying to trick him with outright lies would likely fail.

Therefore, the best approach was to give him as little information as possible. First, avoid telling him about the matter entirely. If he happened to ask, pin everything on Ying Xun.

Lu Yuan couldn’t exactly go to Ying Xun to verify the story. Thus, they could make up whatever motives for Ying Xun they pleased.

“That’s too contradictory,” Lu Yuan said, frowning. “The transport ships were carrying medicine to treat the Emperor. Hijacking them was meant to make the Emperor die faster.

“…But then, what’s the point of leaking the news that the Emperor is critically ill? It’s not like they’re trying to force Geshu Ming to provide the antidote, right?”

“We were thinking that there might be some conflict between Ying Xun—and Nan Yingzhe behind him—and Geshu Ming,” Goudan said. “They were indeed cooperating when they hijacked the transport ships, but that cooperation seems to have many issues.”

He added, “On one hand, Ying Xun clearly has a long-standing grudge against Geshu Ming. On the other hand, Geshu Ming’s behavior seems a bit abnormal. Siming said the combat power provided by the Geshu Family wasn’t enough to capture all six transport ships.”

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes, lost in thought.

Goudan continued, “If they hadn’t borrowed the strength of the Star Pirates, some of the transport ships would have definitely reached the Capital Star.

“This is very strange. Did they actually want the transport ships to reach the Capital Star or not? Did they miscalculate their strength? Or did they only want to intercept them on the surface, while secretly wanting them to get through?

“We speculate that, as you said, the Emperor’s illness is due to poison administered by Geshu Ming. But because the symptoms of this poison resemble other diseases, the doctors made a wrong diagnosis. That medicine might not actually be what the Emperor needs.”

This subsequent part of the explanation was entirely genuine.

When it came to lying, the most important rule was to mix ninety percent truth with ten percent falsehood. In the web of lies Goudan and Siming had spun, the only fake detail was the claim that “Ying Xun ordered Siming and the others to spread the news.”

Everything else consisted of things they had actually discussed and speculated upon.

After deciding on their course of action, they had reviewed the entire incident to figure out how to hoodwink Lu Yuan. In doing so, they had actually discovered quite a few suspicious points… and things they could exploit.

This point was one of them.

In fact, there was something even they hadn’t realized—

Their guess regarding the insufficient combat power deployed by the Geshu Family had, by sheer stroke of luck, hit the nail right on the head.

Consequently, Lu Yuan didn’t doubt the story at all.

Instead, he found it quite logical.

“That would make sense,” Lu Yuan said, pondering. “If that’s the case, Nan Yingzhe might have guessed someone was poisoning the Emperor, which is why he contacted the Star Pirates to hijack the ships. By doing so, the poisoner might assume they are allies and reveal their identity.

“And he did indeed learn Geshu Ming’s identity through this… he might even have leverage over the Geshu Family now.

“Spreading the news on StarNet was the first step to remove any resistance. Once this news broke on StarNet, neither Nan Xiao nor Geshu Ming would dare let the Emperor die immediately.

“After that, he could coerce Geshu Ming into curing the Emperor.”

Goudan was dumbfounded.

He had no idea how the blame had suddenly shifted entirely onto Nan Yingzhe and Ying Xun. But hearing Lu Yuan explain it, it sounded strangely plausible.

Lu Yuan smiled. “So, your previous guesses were completely off the mark. Although we still don’t know why Geshu Ming wanted to poison the Emperor, it seems Nan Yingzhe and Ying Xun have no intention of letting the Emperor die at all.”

He suddenly seemed to relax, looking as if a major problem had been resolved.

In a way, he seemed to be looking forward to finding perfect evidence to prove that what those people were doing had nothing to do with him.

Goudan curled his lip.

He didn’t know how Lu Yuan managed to constantly feel that he had no connection to that group of people, nor did he understand why Lu Yuan thought Geshu Ming had only fallen out with him because she misunderstood his actions…

But nine times out of ten, the process of filling in the blanks in his mind was likely not much different from what he was witnessing now.

Goudan strongly suspected that this “certainty that no one would care about him” was also related to the brainwashing Lu Yuan had undergone.

He had never met anyone else who had been brainwashed.

But judging from Lu Yuan’s behavior, the brainwashing didn’t completely rewrite his cognition or fabricate his memories. Instead, it simply “fixed” certain specific contents in place, turning them into firm, unshakeable beliefs in his mind.

For example, the need to exterminate the Zerg, the lack of personal desire, and the belief that he would not be cared about.

The human brain, however, has a natural function of interpreting and completing events. After the brainwashing, although Lu Yuan’s memories remained unchanged, he would use these brainwashed beliefs as a starting point to explain past events and his own memories.

He would explain his lack of desire as laziness, the extermination of the Zerg as fulfilling the dying wish of Marshal Lu Zhongli, and his belief that he wouldn’t be cared about as… simply the truth.

Everyone had their own goals, and those goals had nothing to do with him.

Lu Yuan’s current behavior only further supported Goudan’s theory.

“Then I wouldn’t know.” Goudan shook his head. “I don’t know them well enough to know what they’re thinking. But Siming did say…”

He paused, recalling his conversation with Siming.

In fact, they had considered whether they should just use the reason Lu Yuan himself had provided – that the issue of the Desolate Planet required an explanation from the Emperor.

However, Siming pointed out that the reason the “bugged” version of Lu Yuan had given that suggestion might be because he knew things then that his normal self did not.

Lu Yuan wasn’t the type to watch the people around him walk into a trap. Moreover, he cared deeply about the truth of the Desolate Planet.

If he felt that the Emperor’s survival was necessary to solve the mystery of the Desolate Planet, he wouldn’t have failed to find a way to remind Siming earlier.

But at that time, Lu Yuan had displayed a clear attitude of indifference, as if he were merely watching a play.

This meant that his state at the time didn’t consider the Emperor to be a key factor.

Therefore, if they turned that same reason back on Lu Yuan now, he might not necessarily accept it.

So they decided not to use it to persuade him. Instead, they used it to gauge Lu Yuan’s current state – to determine if he truly felt the Emperor’s life or death was unimportant in his present condition.

Goudan said tentatively, “They also thought that while they don’t know why Ying Xun is doing this, keeping the Emperor alive might actually be useful to us.

“I think the Emperor must be very clear on the matters regarding the Desolate Planet. You once said that the decision to designate this place as a Desolate Planet was made by the founding emperor.

“For all these years, Garbage Ships have been sending waste here, and occasionally ammunition from your First Legion appears among it… The Emperor must have authorized this.

“The Imperial family definitely knows more about this planet. Keeping him alive would give us a chance to ask him what he’s really thinking.”

“…You make it sound like he’d actually tell you if you asked.” Lu Yuan let out a short laugh. “Besides, it’s impossible that he’s the only one who knows.”

Goudan shrugged.

As expected, the current Lu Yuan didn’t feel it was necessary to keep the Emperor alive.

So, what exactly did his “bugged” state know?

Did he have some understanding of the Desolate Planet’s secrets?

If that were the case, was his arrival on the Desolate Planet also part of his plan?

Goudan suddenly felt a surge of unrealistic hope.

Even though he knew Lu Yuan probably hadn’t glitched into that state many times, and the duration of those bugs was very short, he still hoped that the Lu Yuan in that state was stronger and could make more arrangements.

What if he could?

This was Lu Yuan, after all.

“Why are you looking at me so strangely?” Lu Yuan became unexpectedly sharp at that moment.

Goudan pointed at the tablet. “So, what do you think? You came all this way to ask me about it… do you disagree with them?”

“Not really.” Lu Yuan shook his head. “They… you all have your own positions and your own choices. Who wins or loses… has nothing to do with me. I don’t really have an opinion on whether I agree or not.

“I just saw it and asked on a whim.”

He thought for a moment and suddenly smiled, taking the tablet and starting to log into the “Gehui” platform.

“Speaking of which, I almost forgot,” he said. “I logged onto StarNet today to upload the songs those kids recorded.

“I went straight to sleep after talking to you yesterday and forgot to do it. I have to make up for it today.”