Humanity's Epic Is an Epic of Resistance

Cheng Xing's squad relayed the news back to the Shelter.

Jia Xianglan frowned when he heard it.

Was Xu Lingqu out of her mind? Fighting the Zerg alongside those worthless ordinary NPCs out there? It was ridiculous, delusional—pure fantasy.

"She's a lunatic with a broken brain," Jia Xianglan said, glancing at Cheng Xing. "Fine, if they want to court death, let them. We'll stay here with the thirty thousand and wait for the Zerg descent to end before going out. Maybe we'll win halfway through and those idiots from Moye will just die off."

He caught himself mid-sentence, realizing he'd slipped into his usual sarcasm again, and quickly backpedaled: "I think we should be realistic. Keeping thirty thousand people alive is what matters. Dragging two hundred thousand out there to make a scene is the real irresponsibility."

Cheng Xing stared at him for two seconds. He dropped his sniper rifle on the ground, thinking of what that blonde girl from Moye had said back in the building.

"Get back to your Shelter now. After all of us with some spine are dead, you can come out and enjoy the spoils of victory. Ordinary people can't fight—hiding in there is normal. But I never expected Federation soldiers like you to feel so comfortable about it." She'd moved her cannon away and looked at him with disgust. "You soft-boned cowards can stay curled up in that Shelter forever."

Her words still echoed in his ears like a curse, making the ground of the Shelter feel scorching beneath his feet—he couldn't sit, couldn't stand.

"I'm going out again." Cheng Xing clenched his fists and spoke to Jia Xianglan.

"What for?" Jia Xianglan was irritated. He'd just ordered everyone to stay put, and now this Cheng Xing was defying him. Annoying.

Cheng Xing pressed his lips together. "I need to confirm something. I'll be quick... very quick."

Hopefully you die out there, Jia Xianglan thought, though his mouth curved into a smile. "Go ahead. The Zerg descend in two hours. Hurry back."

Cheng Xing felt like he'd lost his mind, but he left the Shelter anyway, moving steadily toward the center of the northern district.

A bullet landed at his feet. He immediately set down his rifle and raised both hands in surrender.

Xu Xiqin had been keeping watch on Jia Xianglan's group the whole time. The moment Cheng Xing emerged, she knew. Watching him move alone toward the northern center, she decided to intercept him and ask directly what he wanted.

Seeing that dazzling blonde hair, Cheng Xing let out a breath. "It's you. Thank god."

Xu Xiqin looked bewildered. "What do you want?"

"I want to ask you something," Cheng Xing said sincerely. "If the weapons you have now can't actually stop the Zerg descent, would you think you've done the stupidest thing in the world?"

"No. Even without any weapons, we'd still stand here and flip the invaders the middle finger." Xu Xiqin raised an eyebrow. "Anything else?"

"Yes." Cheng Xing said earnestly, "Can I borrow that line?"

In the Qingjun comm channel, Jia Xianglan heard Cheng Xing's voice come through. Assuming it was just a report on the outside situation, he didn't stop him.

"I'm a man with spine, so I'm going out there to fight those invading bugs alongside them—even if all I can do is flip them the middle finger with a K-899. You all can keep living comfortably in the Shelter, especially you, Jia Xianglan."

Cheng Xing yanked off his Qingjun earpiece and stomped it to pieces. He looked at Xu Xiqin. "Count me in. I'm a Federation Qingjun student, but I've got a backbone."

One hour before the Zerg descended, Cheng Xing watched everyone at Moye Military Academy scramble. The ground fire network was already organized; Xu Lingqu was directing every person to assemble line after line of humanity's firepower defense before the end came.

The ordinary humans seemed to have found their true souls. They gathered with weapons in hand, leaning on each other, supporting each other. They were no longer civilians begging for protection—they were soldiers defending their home.

Cheng Xing finally met Xu Lingqu. This time, not through a sniper scope. She was inspecting the city's five remaining fighter jets.

"You're one of Qingjun's best fighter pilots, right?" Xu Lingqu glanced at him. "To deal with the Zerg, we have to eliminate their nest. End them at the source."

Those five fighters needed to go to people with real combat experience, because they had to push through the surging swarm to find the nest.

By the sound of it, Cheng Xing was part of this daunting mission.

Cheng Xing hesitated as he looked at Xu Lingqu. "You really trust me? Aren't you afraid I'm a spy sent by Jia Xianglan?"

"Unite all forces that can be united. I said it, so I mean it. Since I've decided to use you, there's no point doubting you." Xu Lingqu replied. "If you were truly determined to kill me, your sniper bullet wouldn't have come that late."

Cheng Xing stood frozen, not knowing what to say.

Xu Lingqu turned and walked away. Truth be told, she didn't strictly need this sudden defector from Qingjun—mainly because—

Jin, Moye's fighter pilot with the most combat experience, had gone green the moment he entered this simulation map. He was afraid of bugs.

Someone needed to take his place. Moye had searched internally, but no one fit, so Xu Lingqu had simply picked Cheng Xing.

Jin sat in the command room, pale. "Commander, Qingjun people can't be trusted. Maybe I should—"

"I'm afraid you'll faint mid-flight and crash the plane. Forget it." Xu Lingqu pushed a glass of water toward him. "Your job now is to pilot the drones later. Try not to vomit while you're at it."

—

One minute until the Zerg descended.

The ordinary humans raised their heads in unison, counting down in their hearts. The once clear blue sky suddenly split open with a massive, squirming circular Zerg nest.

At the nest's core, the first Zerg was born. It shrieked as it stared down at the human city below, and behind it, hundreds of thousands of its kin.

They blotted out the sky, converging into a single mass that swallowed all light, plunging the ground into darkness—a silent mockery of tiny, insignificant humanity.

And at that moment, Liu Zheng fired the first shot against the Zerg from the ground's anti-air heavy cannon. That single blast erupted in the sky like a roaring fire dragon, instantly obliterating nearly ten thousand Zerg and punching a hole through the sky-covering swarm.

Light poured back into the city.

Following her fire, the ordinary humans roared, raised their weapons, and threw themselves into desperate combat against the Zerg surging toward the streets.

Gunfire thundered everywhere. These weapons, originally made for humans to slaughter each other, now roared in fury at the Zerg invaders on behalf of the city's survival.

Whether from Earth or the stars, tens of thousands of years of evolution—from an ape lifting a branch to a mech soldier raising their primary weapon—

Humanity has always fought. Fought in struggle, killed in struggle, united in struggle, died in struggle, and been reborn in struggle. Humanity's epic is an epic of resistance.