Joining the Army

The tide of alien beasts swept across the beautiful planet. Countless star beasts descended from the sky, and the people who had once lived in peace were forced to bear the brunt of war.

The army arrived in an instant, yet months later, unable to withstand the beast horde, they retreated in full.

Rose Star was abandoned.

The teleporters built by humanity were all destroyed, and the humans who failed to escape in time were completely trapped on the war-torn planet, eking out a miserable existence under the trampling hooves of the beasts.

Roses turned to mud, and thus Wasteland Star was born.

In the early years, there were still people who managed to repair teleporters and escape from Wasteland Star, but in recent years, no living soul had come out of Wasteland Star.

Yet the beast tide grew ever more rampant. After Rose Star, two more planets had successively fallen to become Wasteland Stars.

Those humans lost in the wasteland stars had become the pain of the remaining three planets.

"How did you escape?" Liu Wan's voice was choked with emotion.

"I went out to look for food as usual, saw something glowing under some rubble, and went over to check. It turned out to be a teleportation device, and I got sent here."

Having read the memories, Tu Ran responded with complete composure.

Liu Wan asked her a few more questions, and Tu Ran answered them all, cementing the pitiful image of someone who had escaped death through tremendous hardship to the very end.

At one point, Liu Wan even wiped away tears several times.

In the end, he pulled out a key and unlocked the handcuffs on Tu Ran's wrists.

Just as Tu Ran thought she could leave without a hitch, she was transferred to the Ideological Mobilization Department.

Yes, the Pre-War Ideological Mobilization Department.

Mobilized alongside her were two young people about her age.

"Children, our Haendeng Galaxy has reached a critical moment of life and death! Three beautiful planets have fallen to wasteland, hundreds of millions of our comrades have died under the hooves of alien beasts—isn't that enough to awaken your hatred, your will to fight?!"

The one stirring them up was the department head, her voice impassioned, her eyes full of hope, her entire demeanor positive and uplifted, free of the oppressive gloom Tu Ran had sensed from everyone else.

"You are in the prime of your youth, the finest years to serve the Haendeng Galaxy, the most promising age to defeat the alien beasts. Your bodies are agile, your minds are sharp, and you can pilot the most invincible mechs! Your love for the Haendeng Galaxy should also be fervent! Join us, and become someone who has made a contribution to Haendeng!"

Her impassioned speech moved the two young people standing with Tu Ran. They clenched their fists and raised them to the sky.

"Reclaim the Wasteland Stars!"

"All for Haendeng!"

"Reclaim the Wasteland Stars!"

"All for Haendeng!"

The two stood on either side of her, their shouts full of vigor.

Tu Ran shrank between them. The circle of Ideological Mobilization Department staff around the room looked at her with expectation, so she felt she had to shout along. She mixed in with the two, making a show of shouting a few slogans without actually meaning them.

The Ideological Mobilization Department head took a satisfied look at the three of them, picked up three sheets of paper from the table, handed them over, and gave them a pen.

The first two scribbled their signatures in a flash. When it was Tu Ran's turn, she stared at the paper in front of her, feeling enormous pressure.

It was a conscription consent form.

If she signed her name, it meant she voluntarily contributed forty years of her life from age sixteen to fifty-six. During that time, she would be deployed to various places—to the front lines to kill alien beasts, to the rear to join the mech assembly line, or to mine, farm, or manufacture weapons. In short, wherever she was needed, she would be moved, without wasting a single day.

Seeing her hesitate and not put pen to paper, the head personally walked over to her. "What are you hesitating about? We can help you with anything. Your parents, your children—we'll take care of them for you. You can leave without any worries."

Tu Ran was about to speak when a staff member behind the head leaned close to her ear and whispered, "Head, she just escaped from Wasteland Star today. Her parents have both passed away."

Tu Ran pressed her lips together. Perhaps the head, seeing how pitiful she was, would let her rest for a while. After ten or fifteen days, the "gate" would probably open, and she could leave.

She didn't want to wait until she had blended in and then suddenly disappear. That would draw too much attention, and the gap she left behind would need someone else to fill. This world was already miserable enough; she didn't want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Upon hearing Tu Ran's story, the head's eyes first showed shock, then excitement. She looked at Tu Ran and her tone shifted. "Then you should join all the more! I'll make the decision—direct enlistment into the army, straight to the front lines, to avenge your dead parents!"

Tu Ran: "???" What was going on? Not what she had imagined at all.

"Oh, right," the head clapped her hands, "I just remembered, General Ye just came back from a victorious battle. She's been urgently recruiting people these days. You can report directly to her!"

Tu Ran felt like crying but had no tears. She was practically forced to write her name down, her hand being guided.

The head tucked away the three consent forms with satisfaction.

Next, Tu Ran boarded a vehicle headed for the training grounds of the so-called undefeated General Ye. The head had personally arranged for someone to escort her.

Tu Ran simply couldn't resist her enthusiasm.

The training grounds were desolate. The vehicle drove along solid yellow earth the whole way. After more than an hour, a towering building finally came into view.

This building was completely unlike the gray, rundown structures she had seen before.

It was shaped like a sword pointing straight at the heavens, standing on the bleak and barren land. The blade was covered in black crystal shards, and against the backdrop of the setting sun behind it, it had a grandeur and magnificence of a hero facing death without flinching.

This world was not backward. This world had once conquered space, found five planets suitable for human habitation, and transformed originally barren land into homes where roses could bloom.

This world had once been prosperous, powerful, and ambitious.

Unfortunately, all its grand plans had turned to dust with the appearance of the alien beasts.

Their appearance dealt a heavy blow to this budding space overlord.

To resist the alien beasts' assault, the Rulers of the Haendeng Galaxy immediately concentrated the full strength of all six planets to develop mechs capable of resisting beast attacks, and mass-produced them, carving out a path to survival—but at the cost of consuming too much of the planet's resources.

With the beasts reproducing rapidly and their high mutation rate, humans had to continuously upgrade the mechs, dig for more energy, and expand their ranks just to have a fighting chance.

Energy consumption grew ever higher, front-line casualties increased, and the birth rate plummeted. The Haendeng Galaxy had reached a state of total mobilization. All resources were prioritized for the front lines, leaving only the elderly and children in the rear safe zones, and infrastructure was only maintained if it didn't waste resources.

That was what had created the scene Tu Ran had witnessed when she first arrived.

Standing on the hard earth, looking up at this unsheathed sword, Tu Ran felt the weight of this world.