Engines roared.
Artillery boomed.
Explosions raged.
He Ming's eyes reflected the flames raging throughout the streets, filled with collapsing buildings, tattered signboards, bodies buried under rubble, and the rumbling sounds from above.
How did he, who was still preparing for his first solo flight, suddenly find himself in this intense battlefield in the blink of an eye?
“Welcome to the Starry Battlefield! You cute and pitiful rookie! Your life will change here! But before that, you must face death!”
“Oh, ignorant rookie!! This will be your Starry Battlefield!!”
At that moment, a ethereal and cold voice revealed the truth behind the booming artillery fire.
“Oh, timid rookie! Your actions, your choices, will determine your life or death! So, for survival, struggle to your heart's content in this cruel Starry Battlefield!!”
“Main Event Dynamic Update! Assist the Earth Human's last warship, the MACROSS, SDF-1, to return to Earth!”
Starry Battlefield?
This was clearly a world from He Ming's memory, a world named MACROSS.
In this world named MACROSS, humanity's home planet, Earth, was attacked by a massive Gerati fleet, and humanity was almost completely wiped out, with only one warship, codenamed SDF-1, coincidentally escaping to the outer Solar System, near Pluto, using a jump engine.
Ultimately, the SDF-1, completely unaware of the fact that Earth Humans had already perished and that the planet was occupied by the Gerati Main Fleet with tens of thousands of warships and countless battle pods, embarked on this cruel and desperate journey home from the edge of the Solar System towards Earth.
That was a war of one against ten thousand, against hundreds of thousands, or even millions, both literally and figuratively, with an absolutely overwhelming disparity.
This was despair, a nearly certain-death Starry Battlefield!
“So, that means I have to survive this war between Humans and Gerati? They sure think highly of me, a flight cadet still preparing for his solo flight!”
He Ming scoffed, pulling at the corner of his mouth, and continued to run cautiously and quickly towards the shelter.
Suddenly, a harsh roar, and the building in front collapsed with a crash.
Amidst the rolling smoke and dust, a massive figure soared into the sky, attracting more than ten dark figures trailing white smoke, chasing madly like a pack of wolves that had caught their prey.
“Buzz!”
“Boom!!”
The sound of gunfire and explosions roared like thunder, shaking this small world.
In the roar of the explosions, countless large and small fiery debris rained down like a storm, forcing He Ming to turn back and take another path.
So He Ming, amidst the roaring sounds, walked step by step towards the shelter on the streets that were often half-buried by collapsing buildings.
The distance that used to take only a few minutes to traverse now felt incredibly difficult.
Just as the shelter was within sight, a tearing pain suddenly erupted, causing He Ming to stumble and almost fall to the ground.
Strangely, amidst the tearing pain, a high-pitched shriek came from above, crashing heavily to He Ming's left front.
Amidst the rolling smoke and dust, He Ming, clutching his head, saw the white airframe.
VF-1 Variable Fighter!!!
The white variable airframe was reflected in He Ming's eyes, but his thoughts raced like lightning.
And on the other side of the variable fighter was precisely the shelter.
Entering the shelter would certainly allow him to survive the upcoming battle.
This conclusion was based on the current situation and He Ming's memories of this world.
However, would that strange and cold voice truly allow him to proceed so smoothly?
And the reason he appeared here, that voice probably couldn't escape responsibility, could it?
A strange yet familiar voice echoed in He Ming's mind, loud like a bugle urging soldiers into battle.
“Option One: Board the VF-1 and engage the enemy.”
“Option Two: Find a way to enter the shelter.”
He Ming remembered that during his first year as a flight cadet, an instructor once said this:
“To become a knight of the sky, soaring and fighting enemies above the heavens, you must face desperate situations without fear! Without retreat! Without hesitation, in despair and amidst life and death, seek that sliver of a chance to live, and then seize it to defeat the powerful enemy!”
He Ming took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and straightened his body.
Behind him, a chain of fire swept in, engulfing the street behind He Ming in a continuous sea of flames.
The flames devouring the buildings were so intensely hot, surging forward, yet they could not stop He Ming's steps towards the airframe that had crashed to the ground.
“To survive the upcoming battle, simply staying in the rear probably won't be enough! Even if I could hide in the back, that strange voice wouldn't let me get through this war so easily! Moreover, in MACROSS, where is there a safe place?”
He Ming clearly remembered that in the brutal final battle where MACROSS almost suffered complete annihilation, even those inside MACROSS experienced a significant number of casualties.
In the flickering light of the flames, He Ming saw the airframe lying amidst the rubble.
As his gaze fell upon the airframe, the ethereal and cold voice indeed sounded again.
“Scanned a pilotable airframe.”
“Confirm target airframe information: VF-1.”
“Confirm target airframe status: Transformation device damaged, can only maintain G Form (GERWALK, Ground Effect Reinforcement Form, semi-humanoid flight mode) for combat.”
VF-1 Variable Fighter.
This was a fantastical airframe, whose design prototype came from a modern fighter jet He Ming greatly admired, the F14 Tomcat, which possessed transformation capabilities, and was then further refined by the designer's ingenious inspiration.
As an air combat enthusiast and a flight cadet, He Ming had once fantasized about one day piloting this variable fighter that only existed in fantasy.
But he never imagined that his dream would come true under such a “clever” coincidence.
Perhaps with the help of that mysterious voice, He Ming didn't take much effort to open the cockpit of the VF-1 Variable Fighter that had fallen from the sky, and rescued the injured and unconscious pilot from it.
After carefully moving the pilot to the shelter entrance and notifying the people inside to come out and assist, He Ming quickly returned to the cockpit of the VF-1 Variable Fighter.
“Confirm target airframe is pilotable!”
“Confirm… airframe piloting skills!”
“Confirm boarding target airframe! Reward confirmed! Starting load!”
“Loading piloting skills… Confirmation complete!”
Looking at the screen and numerous buttons in front of him, He Ming suddenly had a feeling of innate knowledge.
The buttons, screen, and joystick that felt unfamiliar a second ago.
The next second, He Ming already knew their purpose and their functions.
“Engine start! System self-check initiated!”
After a series of operations, He Ming began to start this variable fighter that had crashed from the sky.
A tremor came from behind him, and as a feeling of “it's alive” rose in He Ming's heart, the cockpit lights and screens progressively lit up, and began to enter self-check.
Before long, the self-check results were indeed as He Ming had heard.
This VF-1's transformation function was damaged.
It could only operate in G Form.
Although regrettable, it was enough for He Ming to experience the power of this fantastical airframe.
As the roar of the thermonuclear engine grew louder, the VF-1, which had crashed to the ground, once again lifted off and flew forward.
“Is this the power of the VF-1?”
He Ming felt this instinctive connection, piloting this damaged VF-1 through the streets destroyed by battle.
Suddenly, a call came through the communication channel.
“This is the Second Defense Force! Requesting support! Requesting support! Aliens, Gerati battle pods are invading the ship!! Invading the ship! Situation critical!! Requesting support!!”
Several huge figures appeared in the sky, they were Gerati battle pods!!
“Assist the Second Defense Force in eliminating the enemy, survive, or die!!”
A mission?
He Ming's eyes flickered a few times, locking onto the target's location.
“A battlefield where a moment of slackness means death?”
From the first day of becoming a flight cadet, instructors had taught this principle to many flight cadets, including He Ming, through various means, and etched it into their minds.
However, no matter how much the instructors thought, they probably never imagined that He Ming would appear in such a cruel battlefield, where he could at any moment become space debris, in such a way.
The VF-1, maintaining its G Form, flew over the sea of fire, rushing towards the area of the Second Defense Force.
Along the way, He Ming clearly saw several huge figures falling from the steel dome above him.
“Battle pods!”
The familiar green,
The familiar giant-like shape,
Made He Ming almost instantly recognize the identity of those massive figures.
Immediately after, He Ming did not hesitate, nor did he have any doubt, controlling the fighter to raise the Hughes GU-11 Three-Barreled 55mm Gatling Gun in its hand, locking onto one of the massive figures whose landing point was closer to He Ming's position.
Trigger pulled!
Amidst the whistling sound of bullets leaving the barrel,
A series of flashes of fire streaked across the sky, piercing and tearing through that massive figure in a flash.
“Boom!!”
Amidst the flickering fire, a huge fireball exploded into the air.
“Next one!”
Having succeeded with one strike, He Ming did not linger, swiftly piloting the VF-1 into the shadow of a nearby building, and promptly sent a support signal to the Second Defense Force.
However, He Ming did not answer the communication request from the other party.
Ultimately, He Ming was piloting the VF-1 without authorization, participating in this battle.
If he were exposed at this moment, even if he wasn't shot down on the spot by the Second Defense Force, it would cause a commotion.
He Ming's gaze swept over the constantly flashing communication signal lights, deciding to ignore them.
Due to He Ming's successful sneak attack, the Gerati battle pod team, which had originally attempted to assault the Second Defense Force from high altitude, was forced to divert some of its attention to be vigilant against potential attacks.
Therefore, it also incidentally alleviated some of the pressure on the Second Defense Force's defensive line.
In the shadow of the building, a ghost-like figure followed closely, appearing behind a Gerati battle pod cautiously searching the street.
The ghost's gun barrel lifted, and as fire flashed, an explosion followed closely.
In the fire, the ghost disappeared again.
The Second Defense Force, engaged in fierce combat, suddenly found that the pressure they faced seemed to have significantly decreased.
“Those aliens seem to be looking for something?”
The captain of the Second Defense Force recalled the scene just now and quickly asked his subordinate in charge of communications.
“The identification code is Salmon Team's ID, but we can't contact them.”
The result was nothing.
Communication requests had been continuously sent, but the other party had not responded.
“Who exactly is supporting us?”
After a moment of thought, the Second Defense Force captain pushed these doubts to the back of his mind.
“Full attack! Since someone is helping us attract the aliens' attention, then we shouldn't fall behind!”
“Yes!!”
The sound of gunfire seemed to intensify, making He Ming, hidden in the shadows, aware of the change in the battlefield.
“Is it time for a full-scale assault?”
He Ming took a deep breath.
If that were truly the case, he might be able to survive this battle, right?
Then, full power ahead!!
In G Form, the VF-1's maximum speed could be maintained at 500km/h.
Of course, this was data only applicable to an unobstructed plain environment.
However, the current situation was a complex urban battlefield environment with building debris everywhere.
A complex environment where, with the slightest carelessness, a ridiculous accident could happen at any moment, where you might crash into a wall and die before the enemy even kills you.
But even so, He Ming still did not slow down the VF-1's speed.
At 100KM,
200KM,
300KM per hour,
A normal human brain would completely lose the ability to process the external environment, only able to react instinctively.
Yet, He Ming, in a state he couldn't even explain himself, piloted the VF-1, shuttling like lightning through this complex urban street.
“I can see it!! I can see it!! I can see the enemy's position!!”
It was as if, in the unseen, a force was guiding He Ming to make precise responses again and again, like a prophet, locking onto the Gerati battle pods appearing behind buildings, hidden in the shadows at the end of the street.
Then, He Ming pulled the trigger.
“Boom!”
“Boom!”
“Boom!!”
As several explosive fireballs rose one after another, the Gerati battle pod team invading this area suffered huge combat losses, and at the same time, was pursued and annihilated by the long-prepared Second Defense Force.
He Ming's battle here was over.
But the battle outside was still ongoing.
Especially since, in order to annihilate the enemy, the warship He Ming was in was about to transform, to utterly destroy the enemy with the incredibly powerful MACROSS Cannon.
“That VF-1 over there, retreat quickly! The MACROSS is about to transform!!”
As soon as the Second Defense Force's warning was issued, a series of booming sounds of gates either rising or lowering echoed from afar.
The surrounding debris and rubble piles even began to slowly move.
No!
That was not movement, but the entire small world beginning to turn upside down!