After this period of training, Qin Yi had become proficient in commanding.

He skillfully used the console to send orders to each troop, communicated with AEEIS about current battlefield information, and based on the data provided by AEEIS and his previous commanding habits, he directed all human forces on the battlefield to act according to his planning.

In the depths of space, human fleets and insect swarms collided densely like falling leaves in a storm; the planet’s surface was swept again and again by the heavy weapons of the ships, but each time the insects would re-emerge from underground; the human main forces and special task forces each launched attacks on the insect hive from different directions, striving to locate the position of the insect queen.

Suddenly, red warnings began to flash throughout the entire space, and AEEIS’s voice seemed to become serious: “Commander, large numbers of insect swarms are moving toward the command ship.”

Qin Yi quickly dragged the view on the control panel and soon saw that swarm in the pitch-black starry sky.

This scene felt somewhat familiar.

Qin Yi had previously made the same choice as the former commander in the simulated battles, and now the same situation was simply playing out again.

The warfare pattern between humans and the insect race was highly similar. Humans needed to rely on Ansible communication and AEEIS to ensure that the supreme commander’s orders could be delivered to each troop as quickly as possible, completing the most expedient and efficient command. The insect race, on the other hand, possessed hive consciousness, allowing the insect queen to directly command any insect through telepathy, which worked on a principle similar to Ansible communication.

The battlefield was too vast, information too abundant, and changes too rapid, so traditional human command methods were no longer suitable for war against the insect race. The command method of a single commander directing, AI splitting orders and directly transmitting them to the grassroots level of the troops, and Ansible real-time communication became inevitable.

In this situation, for both the insect race and humans, decapitating each other’s commander was inevitably the best choice for both sides.

If the insect race successfully decapitated the human commander, it meant that until humans cultivated a new commander, all commands would be taken over by AEEIS, with no possibility of unexpected victories or developing better tactics. If humans successfully decapitated the insect queen, they could gain a breathing opportunity and eliminate large numbers of insect troops on a large scale.

So, for Qin Yi, he knew what choice he should make now.

Quickly rotating the view, he issued orders to each troop.

The frontal troops accelerated their offensive, rushing to the top of the new hive; the fleet on the far side of the planet held back the remaining insect swarms; the escort ships, after depleting most of their weapons, charged into the insect swarm and self-destructed to buy time…

Amid the snowflake-like abundance of information, Qin Yi saw many reinforcement requests from other squads. He didn’t know these people and had never even heard of these troop numbers.

He could only see that in the pitch-black starry sky, on the planet’s surface, and in the hives, countless troops were flashing reinforcement requests, reporting the battlefield situation, like countless stars twinkling in the sky.

This battle was not the same as the previous simulated scenarios, yet it gave a sense of déjà vu.

Qin Yi didn’t know if this operation would succeed. He was just making what he believed to be the most correct choices based on his previous training.

“After I die, will my soul find peace in this starry sky?”

No one answered, only AEEIS’s cold voice sounded: “Attention! The command ship is under severe threat. Once the command ship is destroyed, all troops will be taken over by AEEIS. Please make the appropriate deployment, Commander!”

This time, without AEEIS’s reminder, Qin Yi had already made the appropriate arrangements.

He zoomed in the view, watching as escort ships, one after another, crashed into the densest part of the insect sea, watching as brilliant blooms of fireworks lit up and then extinguished in the pitch-black night sky, knowing that he too would soon become the most brilliant of those fireworks.

“AEEIS, will I be the last commander?”

To Qin Yi’s surprise, AEEIS did not answer.

After the few remaining escort ships drew close to the command ship, Qin Yi pressed the final detonation button, then closed his eyes with a sense of resignation.

Strangely, at this moment, he didn’t feel much, even though this was the last moment of his life.

It was as if he had been waiting for this moment for a very long time.

He had no way of knowing what would happen next.

Perhaps this decapitation operation would be more successful than the last one; the insect forces would be heavily hit, and humans would sweep to victory afterward. Perhaps this decapitation operation would be just like the last one, giving humans a brief respite, with another soldier becoming the new commander, taking over Qin Yi’s command authority, continuing this cycle. Perhaps the war would ultimately fail, and humanity would perish…

But Qin Yi would never know any of this. He could only give his all, staking his life to secure the greatest possibility of victory.

A flash of intense light passed, and the space where Qin Yi was instantly became pure white, followed by endless darkness.

Qin Yi had closed his eyes, waiting for death, but after two cold seconds, he suddenly realized that he was still alive.

In the pitch-black darkness, he felt that his consciousness still existed.

Suddenly, the light around him lit up again. The insect swarms and human fleets filling the sky all disappeared, returning once more to that serene starry space before the war began.

AEEIS’s voice sounded: “I regret to inform you, Commander, that the final trial mission has failed.”

“From an optimistic perspective, everything that happened earlier was false, and no one died.”

“From a pessimistic perspective, after simulation, the probability of victory in the final battle between humans and the insect race is zero.”

“Even in the best case scenario, the commander and the insect queen perish together, then a new commander is selected to prepare for the next decisive battle.”

“But the battles to come will only become more difficult because of the existence of hive consciousness. The insect queen’s wisdom will continuously improve, and the insect race’s ability to replenish forces exceeds that of humans.”

“If decisive results cannot be achieved this time, humanity may completely perish in a prolonged war of attrition against the insect race.”

Qin Yi’s eyes were bewildered, and for a moment, he didn’t know how to react.

He had originally been prepared to die resolutely. For him, he had done his best, making what he believed were the most correct choices based on the battlefield data provided by AEEIS.

No matter what the outcome of this battle, since he was already dead, he no longer needed to bear the responsibility.

He could finally be free of this heavy mission.

But now, AEEIS was telling him that it was all fake, that he hadn’t died, and that this war hadn’t happened!

This also meant that Qin Yi was still the commander and still had to bear the responsibility for the failure of this war.

Qin Yi was silent for a moment, then said: “What does the scenario look like after this war?”

The war images around him appeared again, showing the war scene after Qin Yi’s “death.”

The plan he had left before “dying” had not worked. The frontal troops, facing the vast insect sea, had failed to reach the designated location. The fleet had held back the insect swarm, but the squads executing the decapitation operation had all been annihilated deep in the new hive, with no survivors…

In the end, the remaining human fleet had to hastily withdraw back into the vast starry space, while the human bases and armies on the planet were completely wiped out. The insect race would use this planet as a headquarters to launch a general offensive against humanity…

After the failure of this battle, humanity’s hope of defeating the insect race would be completely extinguished. This was why AEEIS said that after the simulation, the probability of victory in the final battle between humans and the insect race was zero.

Qin Yi closed his eyes tightly and took a deep breath.

After a long while, he finally said: “Start over.”

The surrounding images began to rapidly rewind, and the scenes that had occurred replayed in reverse before Qin Yi.

He began to re-examine every decision he had made, with the surrounding scenes constantly zooming, pausing, rewinding, playing in slow motion…

But no matter how he racked his brains to analyze and change strategies, he could not change the fact that the final battle ended in complete defeat.

Qin Yi was on the verge of collapse. His dark circles grew heavier, his mental state worsened, and he was barely holding on through sheer willpower. But no matter what tactics he employed, the final result was predestined failure.

For him, the most terrifying thing wasn’t death, but the fact that he bore the fate of all humanity on his shoulders, and that fate was extinction.

He didn’t know when this day would come, nor did he know if what he persisted in doing had any meaning. This feeling was like enduring an endless torture with no future in sight. Even a warrior like Qin Yi, who was accustomed to life and death, could not bear this enormous pressure and despair…

…

Lu Zhiyao finished reading the upcoming script and felt the pressure mounting.

The previous script had already been full of twists and turns, with Qin Yi’s emotions fluctuating several times. To portray these emotional differences, Lu Zhiyao had been contemplating them every day and had finally more or less grasped them.

Lu Zhiyao had originally thought that the upcoming plot would mostly be the final battle, with Qin Yi sacrificing himself to defeat the insect race, followed by a few emotional scenes commemorating the fallen soldiers, and then the movie would end perfectly.

But unexpectedly, all the previous efforts turned out to be in vain. AEEIS’s final simulation showed a zero probability of victory. No matter how Qin Yi tried or how smoothly the previous battles went, with the current approach, there was only one result for the final battle: failure.

In this part of the plot, Qin Yi’s emotions also underwent many changes, all different from his previous emotions.

When he learned that the final battle was approaching, Qin Yi’s reaction was very calm because he had made ample psychological preparation. But when he realized he wasn’t dead and this was just the intelligent system’s real-time calculation, Qin Yi didn’t feel much relief for having survived. Instead, he felt somewhat lost because he had thought his mission was complete, only to find that it had all yet to begin.

After continually reviewing and trying, Qin Yi discovered that no matter how he tried, he couldn’t win. He had to bear alone the fate of humanity’s impending extinction. Even a warrior like Qin Yi, with extremely strong psychological resilience, was pushed to the brink of collapse by the oppression.

Lu Zhiyao felt that Qin Yi’s emotional changes once again heavily tested his acting skills. He would probably have to engage in three hundred rounds of battle with the fully automated debate machine after going back.