Starting as a Wallfacer, his defection to the Three-Body Problem shocked the world.

Chapter 423 Recruiting Soldiers

"Commander Lu, urgent report from the front: the 105th Fleet has been attacked by enemy fire. Battleships T8-193, T8-195, and T8-190 have lost their mobility. Requesting the main fleet to cover the retreat."

"Commander Lu, the front-line fortress has been invaded by enemy landing forces. We request immediate reinforcements."

Lu Sheng leaned wearily against the sofa in the command room, the holographic battle reports scrolling and updating in front of him. He rubbed his temples and couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.

Because they lost control of the Chalong battle line, their radar had a large blind spot. The Gene Earth forces had not appeared on the front lines for almost four days. Lu Sheng could easily guess that the enemy was probably hiding on the Chalong battle line at this time.

If he hadn't grown up on a mechanical Earth, he would have even begun to doubt whether his stance was correct.

Although the Mind Earth practices an aristocratic autocracy, with pure-blooded families ruling over various continental regions, it is precisely this structure of feudal autonomy that makes their policy execution incredibly efficient—each family possesses absolute authority within its own territory, the decision-making chain is extremely short, and actions are swift as the wind.

In contrast, Mechanical Earth is constrained by the capital monopoly of three giant corporations, and its government has become a puppet of the financial giants' power struggle; Gene Earth, on the other hand, is going to the other extreme, with its over-centralized government sliding into the abyss of dictatorship.

Only the spiritual Earth has found a delicate balance between aristocratic privilege and administrative efficiency.

Lu Sheng stared at the flashing enemy ship markers on the star map, his knuckles unconsciously tapping the armrest. This was the third time already.

He could have trapped Fang Lin's fleet in the Mossers star belt, but the resupply approval process was delayed by 72 hours. By the time he finally obtained the authority to deploy troops across star sectors, Fang Lin's vanguard had already broken through the gravity trap.

This adversary seems to be able to foresee the future, always precisely seizing the gaps in the operation of the mechanical Earth's bureaucratic system and launching surprise attacks at his most vulnerable moments.

Lu Sheng pulled up the real-time situation map, and the red alert area was expanding at a visible speed—this was not a probing attack; the other side was clearly preparing a full-scale counterattack.

It is now an indisputable fact that Revelation III has been occupied by the Starfire Organization. However, the three major corporations and the government of Mechanical Earth seem completely unconcerned about this. After all, in their eyes, that planet has no real value, so losing it is no big deal.

But only Lu Sheng knew the terrible consequences that would result from allowing those communists to take root and flourish on the land of the mechanical Earth.

But now, he is still on the front lines. He sent his subordinates to handle the matter, but they were met with strong opposition from the internet censors, who said they would handle it.

But now almost half a month has passed, and control of Revelation III is still in the hands of the Starfire Organization. This makes Lu Sheng think of a possibility: that this planet is hiding some shady data from network surveillance.

"Damn it."

Lu Sheng grew angrier the more he thought about it. He slammed his fist on the table, veins bulging on his handsome face. With such a bunch of incompetent teammates, even a god would find it impossible to be in two places at once.

"Send another message to Fuling, saying that the front line needs Revelation No. 3 as a supply point, and hope that they can recapture it as soon as possible."

"Also... prepare a rapid response force for me. If the cyber police don't respond to this matter, then I will handle it myself."

Upon hearing this, the adjutant paused for a moment before quickly carrying out the other party's instructions.

If someone else made such a request, it would most likely be refused. After all, the risk of the commander-in-chief personally infiltrating behind enemy lines far outweighs the benefits. If the commander-in-chief is captured, the entire front line will collapse without a fight.

However, for the mechanical Earth, their greatest advantage is that they can be resurrected an unlimited number of times. For a national minister like Lu Sheng, his consciousness is naturally backed up in the core of the main machine.

If the infiltration behind enemy lines fails, he can instantly commit suicide to allow his consciousness to be re-copied.

This is the terrifying aspect of digital life. As long as logistics are stable, key figures on the front lines are not afraid of being assassinated suddenly. Therefore, the rapid reaction forces of Mind Earth generally only carry out sabotage and information gathering behind enemy lines. Situations like Lin Xuan and his group occupying a planet are extremely rare.

"Commander Lu, you need to rest. Seventy-two hours of high-intensity combat has pushed you to your physical limits."

As the Secretary General pushed open the hatch, the blue neurostimulant on the metal tray gleamed coldly.

These nanoscale stimulants can forcibly activate the cerebral cortex, at the cost of overdrawing the plasticity of neural synapses—even with biological repair chambers to counteract organic damage, that deep-seated fatigue will still linger.

When Lu Sheng took the tray, he noticed that the data stream in Secretary-General Ji Xiangyi's eyes had suddenly become disordered.

This detail reminded him of the crushing defeat three years ago, when the mental pulse from Mind Earth had plunged the entire mechanical legion into a collective hysteria.

Since then, the Supreme Academy of Sciences has had to admit that beyond the purely materialistic technology tree, there does indeed exist a dimension of consciousness that they have not yet understood.

Lu Sheng swallowed the capsule, and as his Adam's apple rolled, the bio-monitoring ring on his neck lit up red.

A new type of digital life is simulating changes in human neurotransmitters in quantum computers. This research was originally intended to combat mind control, but it has unexpectedly revealed a more terrifying fact—the deeper mechanical civilization penetrates into the realm of consciousness, the faster certain human traits disappear.

Therefore, the so-called immortality is not without its price. Lu Sheng doesn't remember how many times he has died. He is not even sure if his memories have been tampered with by the core of the machine.

After all, in order to better adapt to years of war, apart from hackers monitoring the network, most senior officers are implanted with a warm family or childhood experience to ensure that their mental state remains good and confident.

He stood up from his chair and followed the other person toward the hibernation pod. As he passed the adjutant, Lu Sheng seemed to remember something and slowly turned his head.

"By the way, could we conduct another recruitment drive from the various planets under our jurisdiction? I want to build a new fleet."