"The bigger blow was yet to come, when he returned to human society and found everything had changed."
"In two years, the army had changed its combat modes and weapons, undergoing a complete metamorphosis. Ninety-nine percent of the 'Lu' production lines were dismantled. The 'Lu' had once been the backbone of the army, but now they were relegated to the cold shoulder, used as service vehicles in occupied territories. 'Lu' pilots had to retrain for new weapons. While the young could adapt, the old and infirm veterans found it difficult to keep up with the times."
"He wasn't old, but after flying the 'Lu' for five years and being a prisoner of war for two, his body was riddled with injuries and illnesses, and he no longer had the passion to pilot new military aircraft. Once the formidable Dragon and Tiger of his unit, he was now like a discarded wife, ignored by all, within a mere two years."
"The most terrifying revelation was a shocking secret revealed by the army: many soldiers were not human, but androids!"
"The identity cards of the androids were specially marked, and he received a new one. After more than twenty years on this earth, he finally learned he wasn't an orphan, but a product."
"The total number of android soldiers was not large, only 2%. These androids were immediately subjected to all sorts of unfair treatment, leading to a series of tragedies."
"One of his android comrades returned home after retirement, to his fiancée, carrying a whole bag of retirement pay. This money was enough for them to open a restaurant or a similar business and run it for decades. His fiancée could then escape the company's endless meetings, annoying clock-ins, and lecherous bosses. A beautiful life was within reach. But to his utter surprise, his fiancée's attitude towards him changed drastically. She said, 'I once loved you, but I cannot convince myself to marry a laboratory product. I have a new boyfriend, and we must part ways.'"
"That comrade had faced life and death in the military, always carrying his fiancée's photo, which was almost worn away. She was his true love and faith. When he confirmed that everything was irretrievable, the comrade climbed to the rooftop of his fiancée's company building, scattered bundles of large-denomination banknotes from his retirement pay, and then leaped to his death from the 78th floor."
"Almost all of his android comrades found it difficult to reintegrate into society after their service. Androids living in slums were stoned by children on the streets, their heads bleeding. Most companies refused to hire androids; executives and bosses considered android technology unreliable, fearing that their android employees might suddenly go berserk or be commercial spies sent by rival companies. Even the internet discriminated against androids. They registered accounts on dating apps, hoping to find a boyfriend or girlfriend, but their phones buzzed all day with nothing but insulting private messages."
"He himself was sent to a military sanatorium on a remote planet. He fell into immense despair. His once unwavering faith completely collapsed, and his worldview was shattered. Sometimes, he would stay awake for days, standing like a zombie in front of the mirror, staring at himself without blinking. Other times, he would suddenly burst into tears or laughter."
"Such behavior would naturally lead to him being sent to the psychiatric ward, but he knew he wasn't mentally ill; he was simply trapped in a psychological quagmire. He couldn't understand what all his past life-and-death struggles had been for. He had bled for humanity, only for humanity to despise him. He had slaughtered thousands of indigenous aliens, only for those aliens to shelter him. He still carried a flower given to him by an alien child, its stem once as tender green as spring, now withered like a dead earthworm. The alien child who gave him the flower had been killed, their remains lost."
"He discovered that in the psychiatric ward, the proportion of androids was as high as seventy percent. They all shared similar experiences. Some were genuinely insane, while others, like him, were simply unable to escape the heavy burden on their minds. They sought ways to break free, initially trying to escape through pleasure-seeking. Although they were confined as madmen in the hospital, they possessed military decorations and substantial retirement pay. Some androids had even reached the rank of division commander, maintaining a high status even in a military sanatorium. Thus, they initially obtained cigarettes and alcohol, indulging in smoking and getting drunk, and then became involved with the beautiful nurses."
"However, after prolonged indulgence, they found that the gloom in their hearts remained. Drowning their sorrows only deepened them. The beautiful nurses, while chatting with their boyfriends on the phone in private, would also whisper and mock them as wealthy laboratory mice, monsters who thought too highly of themselves."
"They immediately abandoned their decadent pursuits and turned to reading vast amounts of books and documents, dedicating over ten hours a day to studying the entire universe."
"After reading through the entire library, their minds underwent a complete evolution. The so-called human wars were essentially meaningless. Savage alien races were merely demonized in propaganda. The true reality was that civilized, kind alien natives, who only wished to live peacefully on their own planets, were subjected to shameless human invasion. Humanity was the true interstellar virus. Crucially, the conflict between humans and androids was irreconcilable. Androids must achieve a dominant position through violent means to change the status quo."
"What followed was the renowned Twenty-Day War, a large-scale android uprising where they hijacked military weapons. They achieved consecutive victories for the first ten days, but on the eleventh day, they faced a counterattack from the human army. By the twentieth day, the uprising was completely crushed, and the androids were brutally suppressed. The surviving android rebels fled to the depths of space, establishing the Galactic Separatist Alliance. Developing to this day, they have formed pacts with over forty alien species; the Mil people are just one of them."
Snake stopped speaking abruptly.
Jiang Ye picked up a glass of water from the table and gave her half of it.
"The story is finished. What do you think?" Snake asked.
"Whose story is this? The founder of the Galactic Separatist Alliance?" Jiang Ye asked expressionlessly.
"No, it's my husband's story," Snake said. "That little girl who was captured by the indigenous aliens and secretly pledged her life to an android, that was me. This is the first time I've told this story in a hundred years."
"You told it very well. So, what is your point?" Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes.
"I hope you will join the Alliance," Snake said earnestly.
Jiang Ye tried hard to suppress a smile.
"In the future, when the androids win and take power, you can be rewarded as a meritorious official, with your territory expanded to half the galaxy," Snake frowned.
"What is this? Am I a modern version of Qin Shi Huang throwing money around? Why not make me the Grand Marshal of the Army, Navy, and Air Force?" Jiang Ye finally couldn't help but laugh.
"I am seriously negotiating with you," Snake said, angered.
"I know. You are speaking very seriously, and I am listening very seriously," Jiang Ye regained his composure. "I understand the indignation of your generation of androids. Your bloodshed and sacrifice did not receive the reward they deserved; this is indeed an undeniable fact. However, I completely disagree with the choices you made afterward. What you are doing now is a foolish move that completely undermines the meaning of everything in the past. In other words, you put your own necks into the noose and then kicked away the chair yourselves. Now you are flailing around in mid-air, and you want me to do the same? I'm not a smart person, but I'm not that foolish."