Changing Identities

"It's easy to dodge a spear in the open, but hard to guard against an arrow in the dark."

Wen Yuan's voice carried a hint of coldness.

"The front lines are a melting pot of people, and their hearts are unpredictable. For military merit and resources, fratricide is commonplace. And what's more..."

No one can guarantee that our internal affairs are absolutely clean.

Chen Fan's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly.

He understood.

Seeing that Chen Fan had already grasped the deeper meaning, Wen Yuan didn't elaborate further and directly proposed a solution.

"Therefore, you cannot go as Chen Fan."

"From this moment forward, Chen Fan, Gold Star Level student of the Star River Martial Academy, will undergo a three-year period of intensive seclusion. The purpose: to attempt to break through to the Immortal Realm."

"And you..." A glint flashed in Wen Yuan's eyes, "Your Senior Fellow Apprentice will use the highest authority of the school to forge a completely new identity for you."

Before he finished speaking, Wen Yuan had already started working rapidly on his Personal Computer.

A highly encrypted command stream bypassed all regular departments and was instantly sent through the highest network at the vice president level of Galaxy Martial Academy.

The entire process took only a few breaths.

Incredibly fast.

Soon, a brand new file was secretly transmitted back. Wen Yuan waved his hand, and Light Screen unfolded in front of the two of them.

[Name: Chen Feng]

[Background: Tianshu Star System, No. 78 Subordinate Martial Academy, recent graduates.]

[Resume: Average grades, neither good nor bad. Due to decent physical attributes, he was specially recruited into the army and assigned to the Third Defense Line War Zone 450.]

An unremarkable background that would be completely forgotten in a crowd within three seconds.

Even the photo was a randomized system-generated image that bore a seven-tenths resemblance to Chen Fan, yet lacked any distinctive features—a generic face.

"This file was personally signed by the Vice Dean and is stored in the highest Federation database, possessing the highest level of encryption access."

Wen Yuan handed a brand-new Standard Military Merit Insignia to Chen Fan with an extremely solemn expression.

"Unless Martial God personally intervenes and uses the Federation's supreme authority to forcibly investigate, no one can see through your true nature."

"Junior Fellow Apprentice, remember this."

"Hidden beneath the nine earths, yet moving above the nine heavens."

Chen Fan accepted the brand-new badge representing Chen Feng, feeling the unremarkable energy fluctuations on it, and then looked up at his Senior Fellow Apprentice's expectant eyes.

He nodded slowly.

"I understand, Senior Fellow Apprentice."

Without any further words, he directly pinned the badge to his chest.

The next moment.

A miraculous thing happened.

Chen Fan's appearance began to subtly change, moving closer to the generic face on the Light Screen.

His innate transcendent aura vanished like the tide, disappearing without a trace.

Instead, there is an ordinary boy who looks somewhat thin, about to step onto the brutal battlefield, and filled with anxiety about the future.

He bowed deeply to Wen Yuan once again.

Then, he turned around.

With a single step, the space in front of him silently cracked open, revealing a teleportation portal leading to the War Zone 450 on the Starry Sky Frontline.

Chen Fan didn't hesitate at all and went straight inside.

The portal closed, and the figure vanished.

In the courtyard, only Wen Yuan remained, quietly watching the spot where Chen Fan had disappeared, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, he finally picked up the cup of tea, which had long since gone cold, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Junior Fellow Apprentice..."

"Don't eat too much of the food at the front."

"And don't... smash the pot."

The slight tearing sensation from the spatial teleportation subsided.

A heavy stench, a mixture of burnt energy, dried blood, and rusty metal, washed over us like a tangible wave.

Chen Fan's brow twitched almost imperceptibly.

He was standing on a huge and cold Alloy teleportation platform, surrounded by countless taxi soldiers hurrying around, wearing various tattered Battle Armors.

Their eyes were mostly numb, their faces were full of exhaustion, and they exuded the rusty smell of someone who had just crawled out of Corpse Mountain and Sea of Blood.

The piercing alarms and the roar of machinery intertwined to create a never-ending background sound.

This is the Third Defense Line, War Zone 450.

A war meat grinder that never sleeps.

"The new guy?"

A one-armed officer approached, his voice hoarse.

Chen Fan immediately handed over the badge that represented his identity.

The officer took it, scanned it on the portable Optical Brain on his wrist, and emitted a monotonous confirmation tone.

"Chen Feng, new recruit, assigned to the Pioneer Team Seven. Follow me."

The officer spoke concisely, without a trace of superfluous emotion. He glanced at Chen Fan one last time with his remaining eye before turning to lead the way.

Chen Fan followed in silence.

The corridor was made of cold steel, and the walls were covered with scratches of varying depths and black marks from burning energy.

Every now and then, stretchers carrying mutilated wounded soldiers would rush past him, the heavy smell of blood mixed with the stench of disinfectant making him want to vomit.

Every soldier here is like a string stretched to its limit.

He was taken to a logistics distribution center and given a brand-new black combat suit that smelled of cheap synthetic materials, along with a standard-issue energy rifle.

The officer in charge of the assignment didn't even look up; he simply coldly recited a coordinate.

"Pioneer Team Seven Barracks, Zone B 307. Report to duty immediately, don't get in the way."

Carrying all his belongings, Chen Fan quickly found Zone B 307, following the simple map on his Optical Brain.

The door was tightly shut, and a hastily written character for "seven" was scorched on it with energy beams, the edges of which still bore traces of battle.

He took a deep breath, perfectly concealing his vast, Star Sea- like life force into that of an ordinary young man who had just broken through to the Undying Realm and was filled with anxiety about the future.

Thump, thump, thump.

He raised his hand and knocked on the door.

"Who is it? Damn it, are you trying to kill me?"

The door was suddenly pulled open from the inside, and a burly man, as tall as an iron tower, blocked the doorway, his furious roar accompanied by a strong smell of cheap alcohol.

The burly man had a full beard, and a hideous Scarface ran down his left forehead, piercing through his entire eye socket. In its place was an electronic prosthetic eye that flashed an ominous red light.

His single, intact One-Eye scrutinized Chen Fan from head to toe, his gaze undisguisedly appraising.

"The new guy?"

"Reporting, Captain! Recruit Chen Feng, reporting for duty!"

Chen Fan stood at attention.

The burly man, Lei Kun, the captain of the Pioneer Team Seven, chuckled and stepped aside to let him into the house.

"Another one coming to die."

The barracks were not spacious; besides Lei Kun, there were two other people inside.

A woman with a voluptuous figure and a cold expression leaned against the wall, meticulously wiping a menacing Sniper Rifle that was taller than her. She glanced at Chen Fan out of the corner of her eye, then paid him no further attention.

The other was a thin young man who was squatting in front of the Optical Brain in the corner, his hands moving like afterimages as he muttered a series of incomprehensible code.