silence and stars

14 Meet on the Island

Yild stood by the door and listened to Leo, and was so surprised that he forgot to go in: "They took the initiative to make an appointment?"

"That's right. They are still on vacation in Tunan Island, and they will come back in four days. Please let us 'go and sit at home when we are free'" - the original words of □□ Nawai. I haven't talked directly to Puyang Izatura spoke up, but the husband and wife must have discussed such an important matter, and it is unlikely that she made the decision alone. Anyway, being willing to meet is a positive sign, right?" Leo saw Yi De nodded, somewhat proudly taking credit.

Elder asked, "It was so sudden, how did you get in touch with them?"

"Their daughter, Cassia, is my college classmate, remember? Cassia and I have been to her house, and there is something about the entertainment center ahead—"

"what?"

"Choose a site for the entertainment center." Leo reminded him, but Ild still didn't respond at all.This is the Carlo family's own business, not official business. Since Leo took over, the frequency of Ild's inquiries has become less and less. "You didn't miss the pile of things I sent you, did you?"

"I didn't read it," Yard turned and entered the room, admitting as he walked, "I was a little busy a while ago."

"Okay..." Leo said helplessly, "The location is set on 71st Street, Mudan District, where Izatura's family has an unoccupied lot. This is Cassia's matchmaker, and her mother □□·Nawai The board was approved. The area is slightly smaller than our two proposals in the Leer district, but they can spare a piece from the site where the near-Earth aircraft is parked next to it. It is still a 99-year lease, and the initial conditions remain the same. From a purely commercial point of view, it is not better than the plan in Lier District, but it is better to draw them in."

"good."

Every time he entered Ild's room, he felt guilty—Ild's sense of order was too strong, and the order in the room was a bit unnatural. "Casia said that her mother couldn't stand Jonas Merman's behavior for a long time, but her father has been backing down on several things. Judging from their attitudes against Cassia's entry into the fleet, it should be Willing to get involved in fleet battles."

Yild nodded: "Old Pujan doesn't want to directly offend Jonas Merman."

"But it's different now. He must have realized that the situation is becoming more and more intolerant of centrists, otherwise he wouldn't have offered to meet us, right?"

Ild pondered for a while and said, "Don't wait any longer, meet as soon as possible. Make an appointment directly on Tunan Island, and I'll ask Ellie for the time."

Leo was a little surprised: "In addition to Eli, it seems to be a demonstration. Wouldn't it be better for you to stand up for him?"

"I can't do it," Ilde shook his head. "Old Pujan has to trust Ellie to make things happen. The base and cargo port of the Fifth Fleet are all in the hands of the Izatullah family, but they are worried about Elenadi. The commander of the Fifth Fleet made the operation—until this doubt is dispelled, they will not stand in the same camp as us. Old Puyang is a smart man, since he has made it clear that he wants to cooperate, there is no need to go around in circles." Ild leaned against the window By the side, raised his hand to turn on the projector, and called up the communication interface.

Leo quickly took a step back and stood outside the projection area.Immediately, the image of Lin Ellie appeared—he was in a bathrobe and looked like he was going to sleep.Ild greeted without paying attention, but Leo felt palpitations.

Elder said: "Eli, there is a high probability that we can cooperate with Izatura. If your time is right, we will go to Tunan Island in the next three or four days and have a face-to-face interview with them."

He immediately replied: "I can do anything except tomorrow."

"Okay, I'll tell you after we've agreed on a specific time. As long as Old Pujan makes it clear that he is willing to join us in dealing with Jonas Merman, the rest of the matter will be easy," Yild said.

"No problem." Elli Lin nodded, but his expression was still a little confused. "How did you—did you contact them directly?"

Yild shook his head and denied, "It's not me, it's Leo."

Ellie Lin's expression at that moment made Leo chuckle all night.

He had made up his mind a long time ago, never to rashly reveal this almost stubborn feeling, in order not to give Lin Elli a chance to refuse.It just takes a little time now.Leo turned over, not feeling sleepy at all, and the white bathrobe he saw during the video call just now flashed past his eyes.

Regardless of deliberately approaching or looking for something to say, Lin Elli did not show any resistance, which gave Leo the courage to go further.The struggle between delusion and reason never stops.If Ellie Lin fell in love with someone else, he would have to give up; but since there is no "other", he is the closest one.Time is not an enemy, but a partner. It doesn't matter if it takes a year, two years or longer.

Tunan Island, east of the coast of Liel, has more tourists than residents on vacation on the island, just because it can bask in the sun.Although the clouds were artificially dislodged, the sunshine that Anson lacked most came in after all.

The meeting took place on a remote beach, and they came to a platform that jutted out into the sea, where Ild, Eli, and Leo sat opposite the Izaturas.

The view is so good, from where Leo is sitting, he can see the outline of the side of Tunan Island, and there is still faint mist around the far end.Old Pujan was talking to Lin Elli: "... I really didn't expect you to come. I heard that you have little leisure time."

Ellie Lin replied: "It's okay during this period. The laboratory reorganization can only be done step by step, and the rest are routine work. It's just that I really rarely come to Tunan Island. The last time I came here was for Yi An and Beihe's wedding."

Leo was startled.

"I'm sorry..." Old Puyang didn't ask carefully, obviously he knew about his friendship with Ian. "I remember they had a daughter?"

Elder replied from the side: "Mia is eight years old, she was brought up by her grandmother, and now she follows us."

Cassia's mother, Mr. Nawai, is still radiant despite her age.She smiled very bluntly and said: "Kids at this age are not easy to deal with. At Cassia's age, she can turn the whole family upside down."

Leo nodded deeply.Cassia obviously neutralized her parents' appearance, her face shape and complexion resembled her father's, and her facial features were more like her mother's. □□·Nawai’s attitude towards Leo is very enthusiastic: "Casia always mentions you. Thank you very much for helping her adapt to the school environment. I was so worried at first-she was too stubborn to listen at all into our words."

Leo smiled: "With her intelligence, she doesn't need to adapt at all."

"It's true that this child is smart, but she doesn't use it for serious things. It can be seen from the entertainment center some time ago that she is far worse than you." She shook her head, sincerely for Cassia's " I am ignorant" and sorry.

Leo said: "Don't forget that last year Cassia was only 16 years old when she entered Lehr Business School. At least all of our classmates were at least three or four years older than her. I am [-] years old. When I was seven, I only played tricks in Saint Laurent, and I just dealt with it in class, how can I compare with her!"

Cassia's mother said, "I get angry when I talk about going to school, and it's all because she went to that fucking fleet school, or—" She seemed to suddenly remember who was sitting next to her, and immediately stopped talking.

Leo snickered, but Lin Elli didn't care what they were talking about. He was talking to Pujan Izatula about the reorganization of the laboratory: "...the second-generation engine has been used for nearly a hundred years, and there is little substantive There are no breakthroughs, this kind of stagnation is too dangerous. With the status quo of the hyperspace laboratory, no amount of investment will yield results. The things that the seven laboratories do overlap with each other, and a lot of resources are spent in meaningless places."

Pujan Izatullah asked: "When you talk about danger, you don't mean the present, right? The Roma seem to be very difficult to pose a threat to us."

Lin Elli said: "Yes, what I am worried about is not the imminent crisis, but the possible future situation. The arms competition between us and the Roma over the years is only a contest of weapons and conventional power, but the key to victory It will always be the hyperspace engine, because the improvement of the jump accuracy can easily smooth out the existing gap, including the advantage in size. In this sense, the priority of reorganizing the laboratory is only lower than the actual combat preparations."

Old Pujan paused for a few seconds. "If I understand correctly, what you mean by reorganization is merger?"

Ellie Lin replied very simply: "Yes."

Old Puyang was a little stunned: "I shouldn't ask this question, but I really can't think of how to merge the seven laboratories of the seven fleets, which one will be withdrawn and which one will be kept? Based on what standards?"

"None of the existing ones will remain. My plan is to combine all resources and build a new hyperspace laboratory, with the authority of the head of the laboratory parallel to that of the fleet commander," Lin Elli said.

Leo glanced at Ild, and found him leaning back in his chair very relaxed, looking at the slowly churning sea in the distance.

After hearing this, Puyan Izatura showed a rather complicated expression on his face: "General Lin, I probably understand what you mean. Your focus is neither on the captain's meeting nor on the commander. You are going to The whole existing system gets started."

"Yes. At this stage, all efforts are directed at one goal - to realize the complete separation of the fleet management control chain and the combat command chain. The commander is the commander, not the manager of the fleet assets." Lin Elli's voice is very calm.The gentle sunlight fell on his shoulders, and the light gray shirt outlined the outline of his shoulders.Leo stared at him almost obsessively.How many undercurrents are turbulent, in his mouth is just a goal and a few steps.

Old Puyang thought for a while before nodding his head: "To be honest, I never wanted to get involved in the affairs of the fleet. But the problems left over from history cannot be solved by one generation. Anson has been like this since I was born—the fleet There are factories, cargo ports, and trading companies in the base, which are bound to real estate and taxation, which cannot be bypassed at all. Our family, Cassia, wanted to join the fleet at the beginning, and I and I couldn’t stop it—in fact, no matter what it was, As long as she wants, I am willing to pay any price, except for entering the fleet. How can she understand the twists and turns in it! I have known Nick for so many years, and I have seen everything about the Fifth Fleet. It's not easy."

It took Leo a few seconds to remember who the "Nick" he was talking about was Nick Egbal, commander of the Fifth Fleet.

Lin Elli said: "It is normal for you to pay attention to the situation of Lieutenant General Egbal. In my opinion, his command ability is only weaker than Petrova, comparable to Mawusi, and better than everyone else. If In the battle against Roma, Egbal must be my core fighter, and any off-court factors will not affect my judgment on him." He always looked directly at Old Pujan, speaking frankly and resolutely.

"General Lin, thank you for saying so."

"By the way, I have a chief financial officer, Anika, who has been in office for more than a year, and you are also an old acquaintance, right?"

Pu Yang nodded: "If it weren't for Anika, my firearms company would not be where it is today. At that time, she was leaving, and I tried my best to keep her, but she half-jokingly said, 'Don't stop me, I'm going Do something big.' No one can replace her after all these years."

Ellie Lin smiled: "I just became the commander of the Second Fleet at that time, and General Nasser said, 'If you tie something in a ball, you must first see how it is tied, and then use a knife to unravel it bit by bit. I will find you some who know how to do it. helper.’ And then Anika came.”

"It turned out that General Nasser poached her in person," Old Puyan laughed loudly after hearing what he said. "Then I admit it. I have nothing to say."

Yild said, "General Nasser is the person I admire the most in my life. I dare not imagine what would happen without him."

Pujan Izatullah immediately replied: "You are too modest. If it weren't for you these years, the entire Anson would have been named Merman."

His wife nodded beside him: "Jonas Merman really doesn't leave room for others. Have you heard about the Peony Square case and the series of subsequent lawsuits? We wanted to take a step back and settle the matter, but he did it too badly." !"

Yard nodded: "The matter is not over yet. I have a lawyer friend who is watching that group of cases. Merman is suspected of perjury. Regardless of the case itself, the association will not let this matter go."

The Izaturas were taken aback at the same time: "The Mining Association is full of their people inside and out, what else can we do?"

"It can only be said that they used to be all their people, but now it's different. You know Mrs. Sura, right? She's a family friend of our family," Erd explained, "With her here, we can mobilize a lot of resources. Of course One perjury case can't be expected to bring down Jonas Merman, but it will be in his name and he won't be able to get away when the final reckoning comes."

The meeting went better than expected—Leo thought drowsily on the way back, now that the most important centrists have also chosen a side, Jonas Merman may have a hard time.Just a little more time...

The porthole he was staring at was distorted, the originally smooth surface was torn apart, turned into countless light spots, and then rejoined to form a human face.

It was the face of Jonas Merman, with a prominent hooked nose.He didn't look at Leo, but stared in another direction, with a weird smile on his lips.Leo followed his gaze, almost suffocated - Ild sat in the armchair with his head turned to one side, as if asleep.

No, no.

"Ild?" he called tentatively.He wanted to walk over, but his legs didn't work at all.

"Ild! Let's go, go—anyone? Can someone help me—" No one helped.Ild was just asleep, it was only a few steps away, and he had to walk across.Why can't you move forward?

"Ild, go, I'll carry you. Ild! Ild!" he shouted at the top of his voice.

"Leo?"

Who is speaking?

"Leo!"

The voice seemed to come from far away, and he struggled to open his eyes, unable to figure out where he was for a while.

"I'm here, I'm here." Ild stood in the aisle and looked down at him.They were flying back to Leer from Tunan Island, and there were thick clouds outside the porthole, and the sea could not be seen at all.

Leo wanted to sit up in embarrassment, but the body's reaction could not keep up with the brain.He realized that both Captain Mars and Ellie Lin were looking at him worriedly, and the bad thing was that his face was full of tears.

Yard turned around and gestured to Captain Maas to tell him not to come over, then opened a bottle of water, inserted a straw and brought it to Leo's mouth.Leo wiped his face with the most inconspicuous gesture, bit the straw and took a few sips.

"Okay." Leo muttered.

Ild rubbed his hair: "Recovered?" Leo was relieved that he didn't ask what happened.

"Ah."

"Go back to sleep."

"Hmm." Leo didn't dare to look up at Lin Elli's reaction at all.What a shame.This is the aftermath of the attack on the Bolero bar. From the age of 13 to the present, he would dream of similar scenes from time to time-in reality, they all escaped, but in the dream, anything terrible would happen, and Happens with Ild all the time.

Leo closed his eyes and could feel Ild sitting on his side.

Of course it was impossible to fall asleep again, but Leo kept his eyes closed and kept quiet, pretending to fall asleep again.There was only a slight hum in the cabin, and the air was uncomfortably hot.After a long time, he heard Elly Lin say something in a very low voice: "It's cheap to kill Jonas Merman directly."