Forty Billion People

Shane hovered in mid-air, the biting wind carrying the chill of the high altitude across :he's face.

:His usually calm and unwavering eyes were now churning with complex emotions.

The obscurity of touched, sealed memories, and a trace of bewilderment that even :he couldn't quite discern.

:He didn't immediately respond to Diana's question, but slowly lowered :his head, :his gaze passing through the thin clouds, landing on the endless city skyline below.

The afternoon in Salem City was particularly peaceful, the sunlight like melted gold leaf, scattered and spread over the rooftops.

On the streets, vintage-style vehicles moved smoothly, raising fine dust that quickly dissipated.

But in Shane's eyes, another scene from the past quietly emerged.

Those planets burned by war, the smell of burning permeating the air, the constant cries and roars in :his ears, instantly broke through the sealed barrier.

It formed a dazzling contrast with the tranquility before :him.

Shane's fingers curled unconsciously, :his knuckles slightly white, :his chest feeling blocked, heavy and panicked.

"Teacher Prince."

After a long while, Shane slowly opened :his mouth.

:He turned :his face slightly, :his gaze returning to Diana, :his tone carrying a hint of imperceptible hesitation.

"Do you know about the Viltrumite coming-of-age ceremony?"

Diana was stunned, and subconsciously shook :her head.

:She knew about the coming-of-age ceremonies of many civilizations in the universe, whether solemn blessings or strict trials, but :she had never heard of any related rumors about Viltrum.

:She could feel the heaviness in Shane's tone, and subconsciously held :her breath, :her eyes fixed on :his figure.

"In Viltrum, seventeen is the legal age of adulthood, but only those who pass the coming-of-age assessment are truly recognized as warriors and are qualified to stand on the planet."

Shane's gaze became empty, as if :he was seeing that planet torn apart by war and hegemony once again.

"But you would never imagine that the so-called coming-of-age ceremony is never a ceremony symbolizing growth, but a naked massacre."

:He slowly raised :his right hand, :his palm facing the sunlight above :his head, golden light leaking through :his fingers, casting mottled light and shadow on :his face.

"The instructors will throw us, these teenagers about to come of age, directly onto a planet that they have just targeted and have not yet completely conquered, and the natives of that planet, regardless of their age or gender, become our 'trial targets'."

Shane's voice was unusually calm, without the slightest fluctuation, as if :he was telling a trivial matter that had nothing to do with :him.

But this calmness made Diana's heart sink suddenly, and a chill slowly climbed up :her spine, instantly sweeping through :her whole body.

:She subconsciously clenched :her fists.

"No rules, no bottom line, and no mercy whatsoever."

Shane withdrew :his gaze, :his tone still flat, but with a suffocating cruelty.

"There is only one requirement for the assessment—to survive, and to kill all the natives who are defined as 'rebels'."

"Rebels?"

Diana's voice became uncontrollably dry.

:She stared at Shane, :her eyes filled with disbelief.

"Those unarmed civilians, those old people and children who have no ability to resist at all, are also considered rebels in your eyes?"

"In the eyes of Viltrumites, as long as the natives are still alive, as long as they have not completely surrendered and given up the idea of resistance, they are all rebels."

Shane's mouth twitched, as if :he was mocking.

"A simple and bloody logic, and Viltrum was in the middle of a civil war that would last for hundreds of years, and some people's nerves had become even more insane than before."

Luo Star was the most special and cruel training ground in Shane's class assessment.

No one would question this choice, after all, it was the Viltrum high-level officials who were completely ignited with the desire to conquer by the tenacious resistance of the natives of that planet that included Luo Star in the assessment criteria.

"Luo Star is three times the size of Earth, and the natives have lived on this planet for thousands of years."

"Their technological level is roughly equivalent to that of Earth in the twentieth century, without the ability to travel in space, and with very few heavy weapons."

But unlike Earth in the twentieth century, the cultural core of Luo Star was engraved with the persistence of :her homeland and zero tolerance for aggression.

"When the Viltrumite advance troops first set foot on this planet, trying to force them to surrender by force, more than eighty percent of the Luo Star natives did not choose to back down."

A complicated emotion flashed in Shane's eyes.

"The army picked up crude guns and built defense lines on the edges of various cities; ordinary people waved cold weapons passed down from their ancestors, and they used their flesh and blood to build fragile but tenacious defense lines, fighting against invaders with overwhelming strength."

This tenacious resistance, bordering on stubbornness, completely angered the Viltrumites.

In their eyes, the natives of such a primitive and backward planet should have surrendered like ants.

Resistance was a blatant desecration of Viltrum's majesty.

It made them have a strong obsession to completely tame this planet and trample it under their feet.

Therefore, the conquest of Luo Star was directly designated as one of the Viltrum coming-of-age assessments.

And Shane's team was the team that participated in this cruel assessment.

The team had a total of ten members, in addition to Shane, the rest were seventeen-year-old teenagers, led by two experienced Viltrum instructors with blood on their hands.

He floated before Diana, slowly recounting this memory he had previously guarded so closely.

"Teacher Prince, Luo Star had a full forty billion people."

Diana's breathing grew more and more rapid, her chest heaving. She could even clearly imagine the cruelly appalling scene based on Shane's description.

A group of unarmed civilians were so small and helpless before the Viltrumites, who possessed earth-shattering power.

Their resistance was like throwing eggs against rocks, each charge meaning the withering of life.

"No... this is impossible..."

Diana subconsciously took a few steps back.

She had seen the cruelty of war, the bloodiness of slaughter, and had even personally beheaded many heinous villains.

But she never imagined that there would be a civilization that would treat the slaughter of an entire planet's lives as a coming-of-age trial for teenagers.

This cold, inhuman rule completely subverted her understanding.

Silence spread between the two for a long time, so long that even the wind in the high altitude seemed to quiet down.

Diana slowly raised her head, looking at Shane with a complex gaze, with shock, pity, disbelief, and a hint of imperceptible scrutiny in her eyes.

After a long time, she finally spoke again, her voice with an undisguisable tremor.

"On Luo Star, in that massacre of the natives, what were you... what were you thinking?"

Hearing this question, the corner of Shane's mouth lifted slightly, revealing a smile with obvious weariness.

"At that time, I only felt that in the past ten years, there had never been a more suitable opportunity for me to escape Viltrum."

He paused, his gaze drifting into the distance again, as if he saw the smoke billowing on the battlefield of Luo Star, saw himself suspended in the air at that time, overlooking those who still aimed their weapons at him as the massacre neared its end.

"At that time, all I felt was the tension of whether I could successfully escape, and the urgent expectation for freedom—besides that, there was no room in my heart to think about anything else."

"Boom—"

These words were like a thunderclap, exploding in Diana's mind.

Her mind was shaken, her whole person completely lost her composure, her originally straight back shook uncontrollably, and the color on her face faded instantly, becoming extremely pale.

Most of Diana's face was shrouded in the shadow against the sun, leaving only a pair of pupils surging with unbelievable emotions.

Shane did not miss her gaffe, he quietly looked at Diana, with a hint of imperceptible probing.

"Teacher Prince?"

Diana did not respond, just maintaining that stiff posture.

After a moment, she slowly lowered her head, her eyes falling blankly on the city below, exuding a very unnatural sense of alienation.

That aura was like an invisible barrier, instantly severing all connection between her and Shane.

Between the two, suddenly there was a thick, insurmountable wall.

Shane looked at her like this, his lips moved, originally wanting to say something, but finally swallowed it back.

Silence spread between the two again, time passing by minute by minute.

Shane sighed softly, no longer staying.

Taking one last look at Diana, who was still maintaining a stiff posture, he turned and flew straight towards the distant horizon, and soon disappeared into the clouds.

Leaving only Diana alone, standing there for a long time.

And in the sky above Salem City behind them, the golden tower-shaped building constructed by magic was slowly becoming transparent, and finally completely disappeared.

Doctor Fate's figure stood in the center of the tower, quietly watching the direction Shane left through the invisible magic barrier.

The eyes under the golden helmet were complex and incomprehensible, with doubt and a hint of imperceptible pity.

"God Nabu..."

He spoke slowly, his voice low and hoarse.

"The massacre was not his intention, is such a person really beyond redemption?"