Peerless Fierce Man

The Ma Ran that everyone at Caolu Academy knew and understood wasn't the real Ma Ran, but merely an persona he had created.

The real Ma Ran wasn't a cold, poker-faced guy.

He would laugh heartily when happy.

And feel upset when unhappy.

Ma Ran had actually done quite well in the recent alien invasion incident.

Compared to the casualty figures from his past life...

Thirty seemed like a trivial number.

Setting aside emotional sentiment, Ma Ran's efforts had indeed been effective.

Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda.

It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say Ma Ran, who had saved over six hundred lives with his foresight, had accumulated immeasurable merit.

But he still felt unhappy!

If possible, he wanted to save all his compatriots.

However, as anyone could tell with a little thought, that was impossible.

"Next time, I'll do better!"

Ma Ran took a deep breath, a faint light flickering in his eyes, as he silently cheered himself on.

A week later, a disaster broke out in Area A3.

The number of casualties then would be no less than in this alien invasion incident.

Area A3, located between Suizhou and Jingmen, was a safe zone. Ma Ran, who held a certificate as an official researcher of supernatural phenomena, was indeed qualified for free passage.

"Want to go for an on-site investigation and adjust your mood at the same time?"

Director Huang Weiguo thought he understood Ma Ran's intentions.

After a moment's consideration, he decisively approved Ma Ran's leave request: "You can. I'll give you half a month off. Get some good rest and don't overthink things."

"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are natural parts of life. Every second, people are passing away somewhere in the world."

"Perhaps you'll feel better once you've seen more..."

As he spoke, Director Huang felt his words were problematic and wouldn't be comforting.

But a young man like Ma Ran already knew what he needed to know; there was no need for him to babble.

After contemplating for a long time, Old Huang sighed and patted Ma Ran's shoulder.

A thousand words were conveyed in that gesture.

"No matter what happens in the future, no matter how the world changes..."

"Remember, Caolu Academy and I will always support you!"

Ma Ran nodded with an extremely slight movement: "If I'm taking leave, a week will be enough."

Of course, he knew that people died on Earth all the time due to car accidents, illnesses, starvation, cold, natural disasters, and other reasons!

Moreover, Ma Ran had personally witnessed more casualties than everyone at Caolu Academy combined!

But he just couldn't get used to it!

From this perspective, Liu Huadie's assessment of him before his transmigration was quite accurate.

"Xiao Ran, you're good at everything, but your heart is too soft. You always want to save everyone."

"But sometimes, you have to make difficult choices, sacrificing the few to save the many."

"With your current level of awareness, you won't be able to protect the Earth!"

This assessment, filtered as it was, was clearly not entirely fair.

Soft-hearted?

Those people Ma Ran had sent off to reincarnate certainly wouldn't think so.

Now, he believed Sister Die's words were true in some aspects.

Ma Ran wasn't a saint, nor did he suffer from savior complex.

When encountering ungrateful individuals who might even betray him, not helping them was the norm, and even kicking them while they were down was a common practice.

However, Ma Ran believed...

Everyone who deserved to be saved had the right to live!

He felt a pang of pain for every survivor who radiated the brilliance of humanity amidst the darkest and most desperate doomsday crisis.

No matter how many times he witnessed it, no matter how much he experienced, he could never get used to this.

Or rather...

Ma Ran refused to face everything like a numb, walking corpse.

It wasn't about being noble and righteous, nor was it about being dark, tragic, and deep.

He was just an ordinary guardian of Earth civilization, diligently fulfilling his duties.

"This matter is temporarily concluded."

Ma Ran rubbed his slightly throbbing temples, several complete You scripts glowing faintly in his mind: "Next, I need to start dealing with the trouble in Area A3..."

The batch of alien invaders that had just been dealt with were relatively easy to handle.

With the current technology and weapons of Earth civilization, they could be perfectly resolved at a certain cost.

But the real world isn't an electronic game.

The invaders eyeing Earth won't keep sending low-level monsters for humans to slowly level up.

Otherwise...

People like Su Qiangwei wouldn't have died so early and so tragically in their previous lives.

Thinking of this, Ma Ran immediately began packing his bags and preparing to leave.

Area A3 was originally a unique tourist village. Due to the appearance of a naturally awakened superpowered individual, all the residents of the village became displaced, taking their compensation and heading to other cities for a good time.

Now, Area A3 has been converted into a research base for supernatural phenomena, with all major entrances sealed off.

As an dispatched researcher from Yingchuan Academy, Yang Guangzhao had been stationed here for over twenty days.

Although he was provided with good food and drink every day, the uneventful life made him feel extremely uncomfortable.

Having served in the military, he found it difficult to adapt to a peaceful life.

Without fierce squad leaders or morning drills, Yang Guangzhao felt his joints were about to rust.

But if he were to train on his own...

He felt something was missing, and the atmosphere wasn't quite right for him to exercise.

"Brother Yang, I heard a peerless fierce man is coming to our Area A3 today. Do you know who it is?"

The person speaking was in his early twenties, standing tall and straight like a pine tree, walking with a gust of wind, exuding a military demeanor.

As a senior veteran, Yang Guangzhao was accustomed to calling the other person Little Wang.

"The term 'peerless fierce man' is a bit much."

He rubbed the stubble on his chin and said in a deep voice, "That person was still studying before..."

"But..."

"When he arrives, you brats better show some respect!"

"Did you hear me?"

Comrade Little Wang was the type to learn his lesson the hard way. After hearing this, he actually retorted with his head held high, "Why should I! He's just a student who hasn't even fully grown..."

Yang Guangzhao slapped the top of his head, interrupting him: "Hey, you new recruit! Arguing with your brother!"

"He made a great contribution!"

"Yesterday's 'temporary exercise' in Jinshui Town, you know about it?"

Little Wang, who had been grinning playfully, immediately became serious: "I know. They call it an exercise to outsiders, but we all know it couldn't have been an exercise."

"I heard quite a few people sacrificed..."

Yang Guangzhao sighed and patted Little Wang's head: "It's good that you know."

"Let's put it this way..."

"If it weren't for the 'fierce man' we just mentioned..."

"At least this many would have been sacrificed!"

As he spoke, Yang Guangzhao held up his right hand and made a six.

"Hiss..."

Little Wang gasped: "Whoa! Double the amount?"

"Heh heh."

Yang Guangzhao said with a fake smile, "Sixty? Six hundred!"

"This is the number the staff department calculated after repeated simulations."

"How about that?"

"Are you convinced now?"

Actually, this was a misunderstanding.

The casualty figures mentioned by Ma Ran...

Were actually a total number, and the staff department's calculations were similar.

Yang Guangzhao had misinterpreted the scope of this number.

However, no one explained these details to him.

Hearing this, Comrade Xiao Wang, who had been a bit unhappy, instantly deflated.

Although Yang Guangzhao liked to beat people, had a bad temper, and a whole basket of bad habits, he had one virtue: he detested people who bragged, and he never bragged himself!

Therefore, Yang Guangzhao's words were highly credible.

After agonizing for a long time, Xiao Wang finally spoke, "What's that peerless fierce man's name?"

Yang Guangzhao didn't answer.

He just looked up, squinted, and gazed into the distance, "He has arrived."

Wu Di: Yes, the man I acknowledge, he... has come!