Chapter 1304: Plan

The third possibility Sheyan deduced was that the elite Ghost, Snake…was lying!

The highest level of lying was not to mix nine truths with one falsehood in ten sentences, but to tell ten truths in ten sentences! But the real meaning of these ten truthful sentences would only reveal itself by adding the eleventh unspoken sentence!

For example, a foreigner who is not familiar with the US entertainment industry asks you: Who’s the most beautiful actress in Hollywood? You answer, “Audrey Hepburn, of course!” but secretly added “60 years ago” in your mind….

Your answer isn’t a lie, but is it the whole truth? Not really. What would young actresses like Scarlett Johansson think?

Sheyan closed his eyes with suspicion rising in his heart, and recalled in his mind everything he had experienced so far. He found that the most suspicious thing was the mysterious message they received after they landed – the message which ordered them to gather at a designated place, with the authority of a Ghost. Sheyan had asked Kyrgyzna about the message. Kyrgyzna had confirmed that the message was not transmitted in a direct manner, but rather spread around like a net.

From this point alone, several facts could be deduced.

First, for some unknown reasons, human spacecrafts would often crash here. Otherwise, the continuous bombardment of radio signal would be meaningless.

Second, there should be no high ranking personnel in these spacecrafts that would often crash here from time to time. Otherwise, it would be considerably difficult for SNAKE to maintain his position as a leader with his unique status as an elite Ghost.

Third, according to Old Charlie’s study, to make the radio signal cover the entire Lost Temple planet, a high-power transmitting station must be used. That is to say, Snake must have built a considerably large base here. But if that was the case, it would be difficult to explain why Snake was fighting the Protoss patrol squad by himself when they first met.

Fourth, if most of what Snake had said was true, then Sheyan did not have much time left. The Protoss would never give up a powerful technology that could be placed on a par with the Carrier, while the Zerg and the humans would not just stand aside and watch. Sheyan could already imagine that the focus of the three factions would probably converge here in the near future! What a tragic scene it would be!

Various thoughts cycled through Sheyan’s mind. He came up with many countermeasures, but before he knew it, he found his whole body frozen stiff by the extreme cold. If it was not for the overwhelming might of his digitised body, he who lacked the experience of living in severe cold weather could really have died from being frozen alive.

He returned to the supply depot. The warmth inside immediately made him feel as if the season had suddenly turned to spring. The hot air that washed over Sheyan gave his skin a numb, prickling sensation. Perhaps because he opened the door a little too hastily, he caught the attention of an SCV operator named Pontin.

Pontin was a very important engineering SCV. After freeing himself of the heavy-duty SCV work attire, he was a rough, boorish man. Like most soldiers, he had a liking for liquor and tobacco. He also liked telling lewd jokes, and would often laugh heartily at his own jokes afterwards. As a result, he was often given a good beating by Kyrgyzna.

However, he had a decent character and was very loyal to his friends. The reason he was sent to the frontline in the first place was because he tried to fight against an injustice done to his friend. The other two rescued SCVs praised him endlessly.

Pontin raised his wrench when he heard the noise at the door. He was visibly shocked when he saw that it was Sheyan.

“Pardon me, sir, I didn’t know it was you. Oh god, your skin is frostbitten. Damn it, Ralph, get up and get some alcohol for Brigadier General Seaman to rub on his skin.”

Sheyan smiled and dismissed unconcernedly, “It’s all right. I only went out to relieve myself, but I thought I heard some strange noises, so I stayed out there for a bit longer.”

A man like Sheyan, even when he lied, he would be lying very skillfully, and certainly not without a purpose. He pulled out a bead that gleamed with phosphorescence from his pocket.

When Pontin saw it, he immediate exclaimed in astonishment, “Oh my god, this is the devil’s pearl, sir! Strange things often happen in this interstellar region, such as a person suddenly going missing while on patrol or something like that. It was later confirmed that all the incidents happened near this damn planet. Later, a study found that this thing you’re holding would only appear on this planet, so it was called the vengeful spirit of the dead. Another name for it is the devil’s eye. It’s a bad omen to find one.”

Sheyan grinned. “What nonsense.”

Sheyan pinched the pearl-like object with some force, crushing it into faint green powder, some of which leaked from the cracks between his fingers. The powder looked very beautiful. Sheyan suddenly had an idea when he saw this SCV operator who idolised him. He pointed to an empty room beside them and said, “Pontin? Get in there.”

The supply depot may look like a single chamber from the outside, but there were actually several rooms inside, so it was possible to find a quiet place to have a private conversation.

In the room, Sheyan stared at Pontin and told him seriously, “I don’t believe in ghosts or anything like that, but it doesn’t matter, because our enemies on this planet are probably more terrifying than ghosts. The chances of our survival this time are not very high.”

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Pontin was silent for a moment, but he then nodded. Sheyan continued, “But I’ve never given up hope under any circumstances, no matter how difficult. That’s the reason I can survive to this day. As for why I called you here, it’s because you’re an engineering SCV. Theoretically, you can build any buildings. When all hope is lost, you’ll be our last chance to turn things around. I have high hopes for you.”

Pontin’s spirit rose when he heard what Sheyan said. Meanwhile, Sheyan continued to look at him seriously.

“Although you didn’t participate in the battle today, you should have heard about it.”

“Of course! I heard you killed three Zealots and two Dragoons by yourself! That’s so amazing!” Pontin remarked excitedly.

Sheyan did not correct his mistakes. He continued seriously, “Yes, I’m powerful, but not because of high-tech equipment like the Ghosts. My power comes from this, and this.”

When Sheyan said “this, and this”, he patted Pontin’s large chest and bicep muscles. Pontin licked his lips, excitement and anticipation in his eyes. It was obvious that he often worked out. This was a guy who liked muscles and hard fights.

“I can make you stronger… so strong that you can easily kill a Marine with your cutting torch.”

“No way!” exclaimed Pontin in surprise, “Even if the Marine is under Stimpack?”

(TL: The Stimpack is an in-field chemical delivery system filled with a variety of stimulants {https://starcraft.fandom.com/wiki/Stimpack})

In Starcraft, an SCV’s default HP was 60 points, while a Marine’s HP was only 45 points, because the former’s armour was judged to be thicker. The two sides had almost similar attack power, with 5 points for the SCV and 6 points for the Marine, but the latter’s attack speed was twice as fast as the former even without Stimpack!

But more importantly, the Marine was a long-range unit. The SCV would lose half his HP before he could get close.

Therefore, it was not difficult to understand Pontin’s surprise.

Sheyan replied confidently, “Definitely. Like the way I tear the Zealots and Dragoons apart. But I must warn you, my strengthening method carries a risk, a great risk. You must think about it carefully.”

“How great is the risk?” asked Pontin with hesitation.

A wry smile appeared on Sheyan’s face as he shook his head. “I don’t know. However, if you can endure it the first time, the risk of the subsequent strengthening attempts will slowly reduce.”

Pontin’s eyes almost jumped out of their sockets. “The strengthening can be performed multiple times? That means one day, it’s even possible for me to kill a Zealot with my beloved cutting torch like you, sir?”

“That’s right, just like what I did on the battlefield,” Sheyan nodded earnestly.

“Let’s do it, then!” shouted Pontin with bloodshot eyes. Yes, he’s not a powerful person, but he’s a gambler who’s willing to put his life on the line to fight for a brighter future!

Sheyan took out the Protoss spirit crystal from his personal storage. Although he was not required to do so, Sheyan still felt that he should explain everything to Pontin properly like a doctor would to a patient before surgery, so as to reduce Pontin’s inner fear and resistance as much as possible. That should help increase the success rate.

“Come here.” Sheyan nodded to Pontin, then placed the light blue Protoss spirit crystal in his hand. “Try rubbing it and see what happens.”

Pontin looked at the crystal as if he was looking at his own soul.

Sheyan smiled and patted him on the shoulder.

“This is the gift left by the Protoss I killed during the day. I have a special way to deprive them of a part of their power and condense it into this item. You can try absorbing the power into your body. Whether the power will resonate with you would depend on your luck. But don’t worry, I’ll control it so that the power is slowly released bit by bit. Although doing it this way might reduce the effect of the strengthening, at least your life won’t be threatened.”

But Pontin waved his hand dismissively and told Sheyan with firm conviction, “There’s no need. Go straight to the maximum. I have confidence in myself!”

Sheyan took a good look at Pontin. He instantly felt that if the guy could survive this, he could give Sheyan a real surprise!