The behemoth sprawling on the asteroid had awakened, raising its long, elegant neck and slowly opening its eyes. Within its eye sockets, no distinct pupils could be seen; they were a unified whole, like two unquenchable stars. The light of the stars swept across its dark scales, seeming to transform into a brilliant galaxy flowing within its majestic body.
It propped up its upper body, spread its sky-covering armored wings, and stood proudly surrounded by the stars.
It certainly had the right to do so, because with just its magnificent dragon scales, it could effortlessly withstand a concentrated volley from an entire fleet. Even the main cannons of a Titan could hardly penetrate its defenses.
In front of such a colossal creature, Yu Lian, piloting his Emblem Machine and wielding a photon spear and Dawn Blade, was as tiny as an ant—no, a bacterium… But if he was a bacterium, shouldn't he be ignored? Yet, It continued to stare at him, unmoving.
It seemed to let out a sneer, but in the vacuum of space, sound could not travel.
However, Yu Lian could feel the other party's sneer, and its undisguised disdain.
It casually opened its mouth, and gamma rays began to converge into a beam—a terrifying power capable of burning the surface of an entire Earth-like planet into crystal.
Yu Lian knew he could not evade or stop it; he could only await death.
To be obliterated by a star-destroying gamma-ray burst, for a transmigrator, it would be a rather grand finale, wouldn't it?
“This stage is too early for you,” a voice seemed to say to him in a daze.
“Go find me,” the voice added.
Why should I find you? While I don't dislike spiritual energy users, I absolutely hate your mystical type!
In other words, you are an incorrigible idealist fool!
Yu Lian wanted to laugh, and so he did. And then, the Star Dragon King that covered the galaxy, the destructive gamma rays, that mystical voice, and the faint figure flickering in the endless void, all vanished.
His laughter turned into a violent cough, and then he awoke from the cough, the first thing he saw being the soothing blue light of the overhead lamp.
“Unfamiliar ceiling… Well, actually, it’s still familiar.”
This was the 12th Garrison Station of the New Yumen Star Ground Defense Guard, located over a hundred kilometers from Tulon Port, the capital of the colony. Its main functions were to ensure the Governor's Office's surveillance of the wilderness and to provide protection for surrounding plantations and mines. Of course, this was only in theory.
This colony planet had been developed for a short time, and currently, the total number of Commonwealth and other Galaxy citizens was less than 700,000, with as many as 650,000 living in Tulon City. It was easy to imagine how vast and sparsely populated the wilderness was. It was also easy to imagine what kind of people dared to open plantations and mines in such a place; calling them armed thugs would be an understatement, and their equipment might even be better than that of the guard's riffraff.
Moreover, the local Sand People natives were generally quite compliant and were happy to work in farms and mines opened by Earth people. A small number of more unruly ones became bandits, but they were not considered a serious threat.
At least for the Past few decades, the Commonwealth Central Government and the Governor's Office had believed this to be true.
As for me… Yu Lian felt a bit lost, as his memories became clearer and clearer. For a moment, he didn't know whether the future rogue Yu Lian had taken over the body of the military academy student Yu Lian, or if the military academy student Yu Lian had gained the memories of the future rogue Yu Lian.
He slowly propped up his upper body and saw his “own” face in the mirror on the wall. It was a young, delicate, and handsome face, one that wouldn’t flinch even if he debuted immediately. It was about half as handsome as his previous life.
This is good; observers from beyond the grand universe will feel more immersed.
Of course, he just felt a bit younger than his actual age, looking like a greenhorn who hadn't been through the wringer.
Moreover, his features and physique were generally a bit on the delicate side, but thankfully not to the point of being effeminate, probably because he didn't have bangs. Of course, this type of boy, if his personality was also softer, would easily be influenced, but if he was a true man at heart, he might, with effort, still be able to pursue the path of a white horse, silver spear, and jade-faced young lord.
Overall, compared to the pirate face he had in his last life, he certainly looked more like a protagonist.
Alright, from today onwards, I am Yu Lian. I am just Yu Lian, born on September 17, 808, Galaxy Common Era, and grew up in an inland city in the capital of the Blue Star Commonwealth, Earth. My parents died young but left me some inheritance, and the uncle and aunt who raised me were good people who treated me as their own, and my younger brother and sister are also very cute.
I've always been the 'child of others' from a young age, but since I grew up in a restaurant on a food street, I couldn't get recommendations from any important figures, nor could I have any fancy holiday internship experience. Naturally, I couldn't apply for scholarships to prestigious universities. However, the high tuition fees of higher education were not something an ordinary family could easily afford. To enroll, I either had to sell the property my parents left me or take on a heavy student loan.
My uncle and aunt wanted to take out their savings, but Yu Lian didn’t accept. He was an adult after all, and he had to be responsible for his own future. Besides, wouldn’t his younger brother and sister need money in the future?
So, was he prepared to spend his entire life paying off student loans? Or sell the house? Or not go to university and work?
In the end, Yu Lian chose none of them. Then, at the urging of the girl from the dojo across the restaurant, his childhood Miss, they both applied to Central Defense University and both got in, once again leaving an overly splendid legacy for the “child of others” legend.
Military academies are free, as long as one is willing to serve in the military after graduation.
And then, it was the year he was about to graduate.
As future pillars of the Commonwealth military, graduating students were obligated to intern in various military departments for a period of time, partly to gather material for their theses and partly to get up to speed quickly. Moon Surface Military Academy had always had this tradition, and it was indeed considered an excellent one.
However, for a top student from the most elite strategic research department of a prestigious super academy to be thrown into a small garrison station of the colonial guard was a bit baffling.
Well, apparently, this kid… uh, me, was a bit stubborn and a sworn enemy of the “Blueblood Brotherhood,” a traditional school bully organization that had been entrenched in the Moon Surface Military Academy for decades. And it seemed I had also offended the school administration, even confronting the principal and the head of the instructor department, by standing up for several unjustly punished classmates?
Uh, well done! But not smart enough, still too young!
Rogue Yu Lian expressed admiration for student Yu Lian, but then suddenly realized that now was not the time to think about these things.
The major event at Tulon Port that would trigger everything that followed: the siege by a million-strong Sand People army. The reinforcement order from the Guard Command HQ, and the current situation of Eleanor, who was still in the city… Well, according to historical development, Eleanor would not only be fine but would also make a big splash, but she was an Eleanor who took good care of him during his student days, so it was impossible not to worry.
After all, Ina’s team was attacked, wasn’t it? The butterfly effect had already appeared; the “history” of his previous life was truly unreliable.
Also, just like in his previous life, he was still a spiritual energy user, which meant he was an incorrigible idealist fool.
…And, more importantly, what he had said before he fainted: this was a trap!
“Idiot! Guard riffraff are just riffraff! Haven’t I made myself clear enough?” Yu Lian cursed as he got out of bed.
He now recognized that he was lying in the garrison station's infirmary. The wound on his lumbar spine had been re-treated, and the craftsmanship was clearly much better than that of Nurse Belinda, who was mediocre in all aspects. This was also the first time since his rebirth that he felt the existence of his body below the waist, though he always felt a bit of a disconnect. It seemed the nanomachines were working, but they couldn't completely replace the function of natural nerves. But no matter what, he could now walk, run, and even fight normally.
He held onto the bed rail and climbed down, but stumbled. The movement seemed to make quite a bit of noise, and then the infirmary door opened, and a technical Sergeant in his thirties and Miss Belinda scurried in.
“It’s alright, walking around can help your body adapt to the rhythm of the nanomachines faster. Just be careful.” This male technician was very scholarly and smiled kindly; he looked very suitable to be a doctor.
He was Sergeant Banks Shazabi, the legitimate military doctor of the 12th Garrison Station.
“You’re recovering very well now… Oh, truly worthy of a spiritual energy user’s physique! And you can eat now. Youyou gave us… Warrant Officer, Warrant Officer?”
Yu Lian knew it was rude, but he still ran Past the doctor and dashed into the fragrant, chattering mess hall.
About a dozen people were sitting in the mess hall, and Yu Lian's familiar faces were all there. Lieutenant Mondeson and Baka sat at one table, heartily devouring their meals. Ina sat at her own table, with two extinguished cigarette butts in her empty plate, and two empty wine bottles beside her.
Everyone looked at Yu Lian, who had rushed in, a little stunned—his demeanor was not at all like someone coming to eat, but rather like someone coming to flip tables.
Lieutenant Mondeson stood up, forced a smile, and clapped his hands: “Ha, our Moon People are here!”
The Bear-man Sergeant showed a simple, honest smile, stood up, and began to clap. Everyone else also clapped, some even cheering.
Yu Lian remembered that when he first arrived here to take up his post, there was a similar ceremony where everyone gathered to applaud his arrival, but it always felt very routine. This time, however, everyone was clearly sincere.
“Warrant Officer, how would you like your steak done?” Youyou poked out a dark, rough, and rather unpleasant grinning face from behind the kitchen counter, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.
Ina, as a matter of course, patted the chair at her table and pointed to another full plate—beans, meat soup, cake, and pasta with meat sauce, all laid out lavishly on the plate.
Yu Lian was a little touched. Humans are social animals, and being accepted and respected greatly satisfies psychological needs. If it were normal times, he would definitely enjoy everything in front of him immensely.
However…
“Eat, eat, eat! Eat your bubble teapot!” Yu Lian rushed over, swallowed the cake in one bite, and then darted to the Lieutenant.
“Where are the others?”
“…They’re, they’re sleeping.”
“Sleeping my ass! All of you, get up and party! Grab your weapons, on the wall!”