"The old man's gone?" Inside the largest automobile repair factory in New Phoenix City, the mechanics gathered around the television set, their faces filled with disbelief. Some of them had watched Jike Chenxing grow up, while others had grown up alongside him. Over the years, Jike Xinghe had often visited the repair factory with his father, Jike Xinghe, who not only worked there but also imparted knowledge to his son. However, Jike Chenxing had never been keen on learning automobile repair. It wasn't because he couldn't learn; the older folks at the repair factory knew that Jike Chenxing was only interested in learning to drive and repair mechas. Unfortunately, none of the workers at the repair factory were knowledgeable about mechas; they only knew how to fix cars. To address this, Jike Xinghe had begun self-studying how to drive and repair mechas. However, having only theoretical knowledge didn't convince Jike Chenxing to learn from his father or the other workers at the repair fac
Inside the New Phoenix City Stadium, one young person after another verified their identity and collected their numbered tags, then lined up in orderly queues, ready to begin today's physical fitness test. The test involved running, but the location was not within the stadium itself. The stadium served merely as a gathering point; the finish line was located ten kilometers away from the New Phoenix City Gymnasium, along a road that had been cleared for the event. Four batches of young people had already run out of the stadium, and now it was the turn of the fifth batch, who slowly made their way out.No one would sprint or dash madly right from the start of the ten-kilometer run; doing so would result in elimination. The young people who had registered online a week ago and had now arrived at the test site were determined not to be eliminated. As the five hundred young people ran out, several drones closely followed them overhead. After leaving the stadium, they saw the spectators on
One by one, young runners were overtaken by Ji Xinghe. Initially, their gazes toward him were filled with resentment. And their resentment was not unfounded. If it weren't for Ji Xinghe chasing them from behind, they wouldn't have exhausted themselves in a frantic run, only to lose their stamina before completing the full course.As the resentful looks gradually faded, Ji Xinghe caught up with the leading pack. These young individuals, who usually engaged in rigorous physical training, adjusted their pace and conserved energy on the more forgiving stretch of the track after initially sprinting ahead and distancing themselves from others. They needed to complete the test within the designated time frame.One kilometer, two kilometers...When they reached the five-kilometer mark, exhaustion set in. Everyone was drenched in sweat, even the athletic students among them. This wasn't just a five-kilometer jog; they could easily do ten kilometers under normal circumstances. But jogging ten k
"Dad, I can't run anymore.""Hold on a little longer.""But I really can't run anymore, can I take a break and then continue?""When you're on the battlefield, do those imperial gorillas let you take a break?""I wouldn't run if I were on the battlefield. I'd smash those imperial gorillas' heads.""You have to run. When it's necessary to run, you must run.""No, I won't run. I'll kill them.""But if you die, then there won't be anyone left to kill them.""But if I run, then no one can stop them."...If time could return to those years, every morning when Ji Xinghe would have tried harder to persuade his son Ji Chenxing during their run together, but time cannot be turned back, and his persuasion would surely have been futile, because Ji Chenxing's temperament was stubborn and full of heroism."You should run, son."Ji Xinghe's heart kept repeating this sentence. He didn't care about holding onto any specific position, nor did he care about who would win or lose between the Federation
"Little girl, my knife."Initially, Pei Jing thought she misheard due to the surrounding cheers being too noisy, assuming that Ji Xinghe was too tired to speak clearly. But when she handed him the bag, and Ji Xinghe opened it in front of her, she knew she hadn't misheard.Inside the bag she always carried were two knives, Ji Xinghe's knives.This sixty-five-year-old man, intending to join the army to avenge his son, carried two knives with him. After running ten kilometers in thirty-five minutes, he didn't collapse from exhaustion, but stood tall like a pine tree, demanding his knife.Yet, what use did knives have on the frontlines of an alien war? The Imperial gorillas piloted mechs, towering at an average height of 4.5 meters. So, what was the difference between these easily pocketable knives and toothpicks?Perhaps, it was merely a spiritual anchor.Just as everyone knew that Ji Xinghe's journey to the alien frontlines was meaningless, but he still insisted on going.Pei Jing had a
"You have a grandfather."Inside the Federation's Base 6 on a foreign planet, a woman lying in a hospital bed looked at the little girl before her, her face full of reluctance."Grandfather?""Yes, you have a grandfather.""What is a grandfather?""A grandfather is your father's father.""Can he help me see my daddy?"The woman on the bed was speechless. She didn't know how to explain it to her daughter. Not only was this kind of thing hard to explain to a six-year-old, but the clearer the explanation, the more painful it would be.The most challenging thing for her was that she was about to do something even more cruel. Although it wasn't her intention, it was indeed very cruel."You should ask him this question.""Who is he?""He is your grandfather.""Will he answer me?""He will. He will answer any question you ask, as long as you are obedient.""I'm always obedient."This is a somewhat clichéd story.The front lines on the foreign planet were not just battlefields. The vast dista
For the first time, Ji Xinghe saw a Federation spaceship in person. Previously, he had only seen them on TV, in games, and on his phone. Unlike the spaceships in sci-fi movies, this one looked more like a somewhat bloated airplane. In reality, most Federation spaceships were upgraded space shuttles that needed the help of reusable rockets to reach space.There were indeed cars that could fly directly into space and single-soldier starships that could travel from Azure Planet to the alien front line, but both had limited payloads. Like climbing a mountain, an ordinary person carrying a thousand-pound load couldn't reach the summit, but those who traveled light could reach the world's highest peaks. Sending a two-ton object into space was vastly different from sending a twenty-thousand-ton object.Essentially, the Federation's engine technology hadn't made a leap forward, but none of this mattered to Ji Xinghe. As long as it could get him to the alien front line, that was enough.After
The three-month space journey was long. The spaceship, fully loaded with supplies and passengers, had no extra space for activities, but this didn’t mean the passengers had no entertainment. In the quiet cabin, passengers put on helmets provided by the spaceship and entered a virtual world. Compared to advancements in space technology, the Federation’s immersive virtual reality technology was far more advanced.Even though it was just the local network of a spaceship, the world within was vast, with clear blue skies, boundless land, oceans, forests, mountains, and more. The physical device hosting this data world looked no different from a desktop computer case from 65 years ago, which was nothing for a spaceship where every bit of cargo space was maximized.Ji Xinghe appeared in this world. Unlike the zero-gravity environment of space, he was much more familiar with this world because he had been playing the virtual reality game "Interstellar Glory" for over ten years. Essentially, t