Jiang Jianming woke up in a desolate chill.
When he opened his eyes and his senses gathered, he first noticed that it was no longer as dark around him.
The already dilapidated interior of the fortress now had several holes torn open in the ceiling due to the power unleashed by the crystal bone ring.
Night had fallen, and the twin blue moons of Alpha Alien Star hung high in the sky. Moonlight poured through those holes and reflected off the snow on the ground, illuminating the surroundings.
Not far away, the mountain of corpses and sea of blood from the alien creatures still remained.
Jiang Jianming was leaning in a small corner formed by the automatic door and the passageway. He was first wrapped in his own military coat, and then cradled in Ryann’s arms.
Most of the snow that fell from the ceiling had accumulated on the Crown Prince’s body.
His eyes were closed, his cheeks pale blue, his cracked lips devoid of any color, his breathing even weaker than when Jiang Jianming had fallen unconscious.
“…Ryann?”
Jiang Jianming shuddered.
After a snowfall and nightfall, the surrounding temperature had plummeted. Blood loss and illness left him unable to resist this cold, and he instinctively wanted to curl up.
Those fragmented memories he had received were like puzzle pieces, slowly being pieced together in his mind.
The ring… the Crystal Nest… blood and last words… meteor showers after a rainy night.
Shivering from the cold, Jiang Jianming pulled Ryann closer, brushed off the accumulated snow on him, took off his own clothes again, and draped them back over Ryann.
After some thought, he gathered some clean snow from nearby, melted it in his mouth, then held up the unconscious Crown Prince and fed him some water mouth-to-mouth.
Jiang Jianming vaguely felt that before the crystal bone ring erupted, the one who had embraced him should have been his original self after merging memories. But now this person was unconscious again.
If not for this, he would have countless questions to ask.
About the past and future, about the dead and the living; about love, and all the unbearable pain.
Chaotic emotions collided randomly, unable to find an outlet. But Jiang Jianming’s body could no longer withstand successive emotional outbursts. He began coughing incessantly again, his cheeks flushed with a sickly red.
Stand up…
He had to stand up and take Ryann out.
If this continued, Ryann’s condition would only worsen dangerously, and as for himself…
Jiang Jianming used his hands to support his knees and stood up shakily.
He could already feel a new wave of pain germinating deep within him. The tranquilizers were all used up, and he didn’t know how long he could hold out until the next crystal disorder attack. Perhaps the next one would be his death.
But he felt no fear in his heart, and was even indifferent.
Jiang Jianming endured a bout of blackness before his eyes and weakness, paused for a few seconds to ensure he wouldn’t fall, then lifted Ryann onto his back again.
–He knew that from now on, no external force in the world could ever make him waver or force him to retreat.
The black-haired youth lowered his eyes to look at the palm of his right hand, then turned it over to look at that beautiful ring.
“Look at you…” he suddenly smiled and said softly to the crystal particles inside him, “This is all you’re capable of.”
…
Jiang Jianming walked forward step by step.
In the distance, the screams of alien creatures and the sound of cannon fire could be faintly heard. The war between the Silver Big Dipper and the Crystal Cult was still ongoing.
After losing most of their followers and one of their strongest bishops, this could be said to be the Crystal Cult’s final counterattack.
All the more reason to get out quickly.
With the Empire’s Crown Prince directly in a state between life and death, the people outside must be as anxious as ants on a hot pan.
However, about half an hour later, Jiang Jianming frowned as something strange happened.
He had mentally prepared himself to encounter large groups of alien creatures again on the way ahead, but for a long stretch after that, there was almost no enemy activity.
The occasional alien creature appeared before him, easily slain by the power of the crystal bone ring, but no more than that.
Unease grew in Jiang Jianming’s heart. He absolutely dared not consider this good luck.
To say that the power unleashed by the crystal bone ring earlier had frightened off the Crystal Cult… was even more absurd. If the Crystal Cult were such an easy enemy to deal with, would the Silver Big Dipper still be fighting without withdrawing troops?
Soon, the mystery was solved.
Before setting out, Jiang Jianming had quickly gone over the map and route in his mind. His memory was still reliable for important matters, and even after such emotional turmoil, he hadn’t forgotten the direction.
He walked for about another quarter of an hour, reaching the first expected supply point – the communal dormitory area for ordinary Silver Big Dipper soldiers.
The supply area was too far away for Jiang Jianming to even consider that direction, but normal people would keep essential items by their bedsides.
The Silver Big Dipper’s First Army had evacuated hastily, so the soldiers likely didn’t have time to take all their scattered supplies with them.
So there was a high probability of finding some food, water and medicine in the dormitory area. With luck, there might even be tranquilizers and communication devices.
Jiang Jianming planned to catch his breath here briefly before going to find a mecha.
But when he pried open the automatic door with the crystal bone, the dormitory area that met his eyes was in complete disarray.
The surroundings were dimly lit, with signs of alien creatures’ rampage everywhere. Everything had been destroyed.
“…”
Jiang Jianming’s face turned deathly pale, his pupils black and eerie as his gaze swept across the floor. A syringe of tranquilizer lay shattered there, its liquid still meandering.
Freshly broken.
Intelligent alien creatures had just been here.
So in this devastated dormitory area, not even a tiny bit of the supplies that could save their lives would be found.
But why?
Jiang Jianming fell into this question again.
He had been careful enough to conceal his tracks along the way, and would certainly have killed any intelligent alien creatures he encountered. How on earth did these things predict his direction of movement?
After all, what exactly were these intelligent alien creatures? The Empire still hadn’t figured it out.
As for Jiang Jianming, he had too many mysteries to explore before and hadn’t seriously put his mind to this one.
Boom…
A tremendous explosion hurt his ears, probably a shell landing nearby, causing debris to fall from the ceiling.
Jiang Jianming retreated step by step, leaving the dormitory area in a vigilant posture.
Then start thinking now, he thought to himself.
Only thinking was a power that belonged entirely to himself.
****
East Zone.
In the temporary medical area, chaos reigned. Carts piled with medicines and instruments were running, lightly wounded soldiers carrying heavily wounded ones on stretchers, those who could still move supporting each other – this place was evacuating.
Interspersed were sounds of violent vomiting, coughing and gasping, painful groaning, as if at the scene of a spreading plague.
The Crystal Cult’s desperate struggle had caused the crystal particles to go completely berserk. Most people could still hold on, but the wounded were not faring well.
Especially the soldiers who had been on the brink of crystal disorder in recent battles, or even those who had already suffered attacks and been saved by third-generation tranquilizers, were now in critical condition.
“Careful…”
In a corner of the chaos, Tang Zhen’s forehead was covered in sweat as he helped the medics put an unconscious wounded soldier onto a mobile stretcher. Suddenly he heard someone calling from behind.
“Tang Zhen–Tang Zhen!”
Bei Man’er ran over, panting, “Heavens, why are you still here? I’ve been looking for you for so long!”
Tang Zhen grabbed her arm anxiously, saying, “We’re short-handed now, all who can still fight have gone to the front lines, most of the medics have left too, it’s mostly lightly wounded soldiers assisting the heavily wounded to evacuate on their own… I still need to wait a while before I can leave.”
However, when they said evacuate, where could they actually evacuate to?
Now the Silver Big Dipper was contracting inward, but the crystal particle concentration in the entire fortress area was rising. Sooner or later it would exceed the threshold, unless the wounded were sent outside the universe… But there were also starships battling in outer space!
“Can we use mechas?” Bei Man’er asked anxiously. “With mechas, the targets wouldn’t be as conspicuous as starships. We could open smaller jump wormholes and send everyone directly back to the second fortress…”
Tang Zhen was also extremely anxious. “No way, how many mechas would that take! And the number of wounded will only increase. Using mechas to transport the wounded, damn it, wouldn’t that be a bottomless pit?!”
After saying all this in one breath, he suddenly realized something and stared wide-eyed. “Wait a minute, you’re not wounded, what are you doing here!?”
Bei Man’er: “The alien creatures are about to arrive. Major General Xie deduced that the wounded couldn’t be evacuated in time, so he sent some troops over to hold them off… Ah! Hurry up, hurry up!”
As she spoke, she didn’t hesitate to act, joining Tang Zhen in supporting another severely wounded soldier.
“…You two, don’t worry about me.”
A familiar hoarse voice came. Bei Man’er looked down and was surprised to see it was Lieutenant Raymond.
He had been severely injured in the mission to recapture the main cannon. Now his entire body was wrapped in bandages, and crystalline bleeding was already appearing on his exposed skin.
Raymond smiled bitterly. “In this state, I’m probably about to…”
“Oh come on,” Tang Zhen said, unceremoniously hoisting him onto a stretcher. “Didn’t Little Jiang say before? If we die from crystal disorder, we’ll just become nutrients for the Crystal Nest. None of us are allowed to die – we all have to survive, not one less!”
Just then, the ground beneath their feet shook.
“Enemy attack! The alien creatures have started ramming the outer wall. Form ranks and repel them–”
Someone shouted in the distance. “Mechas take off, be careful the defense net above doesn’t get destroyed!”
Bei Man’er’s face turned pale as she turned to look outside. “It’s an enemy attack, I have to go.”
Tang Zhen: “I can still move, I’ll go with you!”
The two rushed out of the temporary medical area. They saw that the night sky above was so oppressive it was hard to breathe. Black shadows circled under the moonlight, constantly crashing into the blue defense net above the fortress.
Below, swarms of alien creatures were ramming the outer walls of the fortress and attempting to climb up.
This was bad…They came so quickly.
Bei Man’er and Tang Zhen exchanged a nervous glance, about to rush to their own mechas.
Suddenly, Tang Zhen halted his steps. From the corner of his eye, he saw a figure slowly walking to the edge of the outer wall, one arm hidden under his military coat, craning his neck to peer down.
He shouted. “Hey you over there, what are you doing? We’re evacuating!!”
The figure turned his head at the sound.
Tang Zhen immediately recognized him. It was Old Liu. He was an old communications soldier who had worked in the watchtower for several decades. He liked to smoke, liked to chat idly with new recruits about history, but had never made a mistake while on guard duty.
Just yesterday, his stomach had been pierced by an alien creature, and one of his arms had been burned in the bombardment. Even the medics shook their heads in private when they saw him.
With injuries like that, once there was even a slight fluctuation in the external crystal particles, he would certainly be among the first to succumb to crystal disorder.
Old Liu was also clear that he had become a burden. For the past two days he hadn’t eaten or drunk anything, just lying there listlessly.
But now, with a great enemy before them, he seemed to be possessed, walking out on his own!
“Oh, it’s Lieutenant Xiao Tang.”
In the moonlight, Old Liu’s wrinkled face looked somewhat mysterious. “…Actually, these past two days, I’ve been thinking about a question.”
“They say these cultists are formidable because they’re not afraid of death, right?”
The old soldier’s cloudy eyes were very bright. He slowly grinned, revealing somewhat yellowed but very clean teeth. “But we’re not afraid either.”
At the same time, he also revealed the arm that was intact. Hidden under his military coat was a cold, oval object with a pull ring on top.
A bolt of white lightning seemed to strike through Tang Zhen’s mind.
“You! You want to…”
The wounded old soldier stood at the edge of the alloy rampart, quietly looking down at the alien creatures climbing up.
Using one arm, he brought the grenade’s pull ring to his mouth, while shakily raising his other charred hand in a military salute.
“No!!”
Tang Zhen shouted and tried to rush forward to stop him, but the movement aggravated his wound, causing excruciating pain in his broken bones. He stumbled a step, his fingers grasping at empty air.
The next second, the gaunt figure leapt.
The intense light made it impossible to keep one’s eyes open. Old Liu suddenly opened his mouth, the pull ring falling from between his teeth. A foul wind rushed towards them, swallowing the old soldier’s final hoarse words.
“Long live — the Empire —”
Boom!!
A wave of fiery explosion surged skyward.
Four or five alien creatures that had already climbed halfway up were flung away, falling towards the ground with agonized screams.
Tang Zhen’s legs went weak and he fell forward. Bei Man’er grabbed him in an embrace, then lost her balance as well.
“Old… Old Liu…”
Both of their knees hit the ground hard as they stared in disbelief at the empty broken wall.
Suddenly, Tang Zhen’s teeth began to chatter. He sensed a strange silence spreading throughout the temporary medical area.
A hint of panic rose in his heart. He quickly looked back to find many of the severely wounded soldiers staring fixedly at the spot where Old Liu had jumped.
Yes. These severely wounded soldiers were coming to a realization one after another.
As long as they didn’t die from crystal disorder, as long as they ended things before the disorder overtook them, they wouldn’t burden the army anymore, and they wouldn’t benefit the Crystal Nest either.
Bang!
A gunshot.
A few steps away, a medic was anxiously taking out what little tranquilizer remained.
The female soldier he was escorting was severely wounded, had lost a lot of blood, and her lower body was paralyzed. Now she was about to succumb to crystal disorder.
But suddenly her holster was empty, followed by a gunshot. When the terrified medic turned back, the bullet had already pierced the female soldier’s temple. She wore a serene smile as the gun slipped from her hand.
More gunshots rang out, more explosions sounded.
Severely wounded soldiers with no weapons at hand used their own crystal bones to slit their throats. Medics who couldn’t stop them in time wept in remorse.
The night was shattered into countless fragments.
…
“Report to Major General Xie.”
“This is the eastern zone of the fortress, temporary medical area. No need to dispatch more cover forces to our location.”
High above the fortress, cannon fire raged continuously.
In the command room of the Silver Big Dipper flagship “Tianshuhao”, Xie Yuduo supported his forehead with one hand, his brows furrowed as he stared at the intense battle situation, deep in thought.
Hearing this report, he raised his head slightly, “Hm? All the wounded have been evacuated, so quickly?”
“Yes, the light and moderately wounded, as well as one-third of the severely wounded in the temporary medical area, have all completed evacuation.”
“The remaining 300 plus severely wounded chose to end their own lives, or to perish together with the alien creatures.”
“Please be assured, none of them succumbed to crystal disorder. Not a single one.”
A blank expression appeared on Xie Yuduo’s face for two seconds. He supported himself on the command console, stiffly standing up, “Wh… what?”
……
At the temporary medical area, on the edge of the outer wall.
Raymond, wrapped in bandages, sat there, struggling to breathe. He squinted his eyes into crescents, smiling like that young, simple lieutenant he was.
A few minutes ago, he had firmly refused the medic’s pleas for him to evacuate. He showed everyone his arm that had already started growing crystals, and finally got his wish for a crystal particle explosive.
“Take care, Major General. If there’s a next life, I’d like to serve under you and Commanding Officer Huo Lin again.”
After saying this, Raymond ended the communication and grasped the explosive in his hand.
He looked towards the direction of the Empire, murmuring—
“Dad, Mom, your son will become a white bird and fly home.”
Then, he took aim at the alien creatures below, chose the largest one climbing the fastest, bit open the pull ring, and jumped.
……
There were no more wounded to be sent away.
Within the fortress of the Silver Big Dipper, there were also no more twisted, ugly crystal disorder corpses produced.
Only sparse fragments of fire scorched the snow. A few wisps of gunsmoke rose lazily beneath the blue moon, like heroic spirits reluctant to leave this night sky before dawn arrived.
The wounded and soldiers settled in at the new stronghold. Tang Zhen knelt on the ground, weeping loudly. Beside him, Bei Man’er bit her lip as she trembled, shedding silent tears.
Where does hope come from? Hope comes from death.
Where does tomorrow come from? Tomorrow comes from bidding farewell to tomorrow.
