The Huaxia Second Base, the highest command center.
Inside the office, two cups of hot tea were steaming.
Wan Changzheng picked up the thermos cup printed with "[Serve the People]" and blew on the floating tea leaves.
As the head of the Huaxia Second Base, he had just finished his performance review meeting at the Central Base in China and rushed back here overnight.
"Chief Engineer Shen, it's been a while."
Wan Changzheng took a sip of tea, looked at the white-haired beauty sitting across from him at the desk, and asked with a smile.
"How is the operation of our Huaxia Second Base going lately?"
Shen Lian, chief engineer of the Think Tank.
Her aloof face remained expressionless as she began to report.
"Reporting, Chief."
"Since you and Staff Officer Zhao Yan left the base for the central government, everything within the base has been rebuilt and is thriving."
All indicators have reached their highest historical levels.
No unusual adverse conditions were observed.
"Pfft! Cough cough cough!"
Wan Changzheng choked until his face turned red and he coughed repeatedly.
He recovered and looked at Shen Lian, who was still expressionless, his lips twitching.
This white-haired girl still has such a sharp tongue!
The implication is that the base has actually thrived without the military leaders Wan Changzheng and Zhao Yan, right?!
"I absolutely cannot let my son marry someone like her!"
Wan Changzheng thought to himself, "This personality is too cold; I can't control her at all!"
Wan Changzheng awkwardly put down his thermos, wiped his mouth, and quickly changed the subject, which had put him in an embarrassing situation.
"Um... well, let's not talk about that now."
"How's the progress on that portal to Blue Star?"
When it came to serious matters, Shen Lian typed rapidly on the virtual keyboard, bringing up rows of top-secret data.
"Chief, the Central Committee has already sent you the highest directive on your way back."
"This opening of the portal is a joint operation with the Su Country."
"The Su Country Union spent enormous resources to purchase the right to use the teleportation portal once from us."
Shen Lian pushed the light screen toward Wan Changzheng.
"In this operation, both sides will each send a group of elite Reinforced Human units as advance troops to explore the Blue Star."
"These soldiers all achieved A-Class physical fitness level."
"The teleportation operation will officially begin in about ten minutes."
"In addition, this operation was of extremely high importance."
"Our China Xing Wu elders and Su Country elder Novsky have both personally arrived at the base."
Would you like to go and see it in person?
"Both elders have arrived?!"
Wan Changzheng's expression turned serious. "Alright! Let's go take a look!"
Five minutes later.
The Huaxia Second Base, the square.
The Blue Star Teleportation Gate stands in the center of the plaza, emitting a faint blue spatial glow.
The entire square was heavily guarded by layers upon layers of fully armed soldiers, so much so that not even a fly could get in.
Directly in front of the portal stood two conspicuous figures.
The man on the left is a handsome young China man dressed in a retro long robe and holding a three-foot-long sword. He has striking features, with sharp eyebrows and bright eyes.
The person on the right is wearing a thick, cold-weather mask and Su Country cap.
The Su Country youth, who was even carrying an old-fashioned Mosin–Nagant Rifle, had eyes as sharp as a hawk's.
But...
The appearances of these two people are merely illusions.
In fact, both of these Old Ancestor figures are already in their eighties and nineties!
It was simply because they broke through the threshold of [Special Grade] that their physical attributes triggered a leap in their life level.
She has achieved rejuvenation, which is why she looks so young.
"Oh, Xiao Wan's here."
Xing Wu, carrying a long sword, turned around, looked at Wan Changzheng striding towards him, and walked straight up to him.
He touched Wan Changzheng's balding head.
"Pfft..."
The soldiers on guard duty nearby couldn't help but stifle a few laughs at the sight.
The supreme commander of the Huaxia Second Base was patted on the head and called Xiao Wan by a young man who looked to be in his early twenties.
The scene was truly comical.
Wan Changzheng blushed and helplessly slapped Xing Wu's hand away. "Uncle Xing!"
"With so many soldiers in front of me, can you please stop messing with me?"
"Looking at you like this, people will say you're my grandson if I take you out!"
"Oh! What's there to be embarrassed about?"
Xing Wu waved his hand dismissively and laughed heartily, "When you were naked, I even helped you pee!"
"What, you're looking down on the old man now that you've become the base commander?"
As he spoke, Xing Wu's eyes sharpened, sweeping across the entire room.
"Who was laughing just now? If they dare laugh again, I'll rip their tongue out!"
Upon hearing this, the surrounding soldiers immediately realized that they had overstepped their bounds.
The man before me is a renowned China statesman, a ruthless and infamous Living Yama!
Everyone immediately fell silent, standing ramrod straight, no longer daring to show the slightest hint of a smile.
At this moment, Novsky, a Su Country elder who was standing to the side, also came up.
He stroked the Mosin–Nagant Rifle.
"Xing... let's end this small talk here."
"When will the portal open? I can't wait to get back to my home in the frozen tundra..."
"There are some important things waiting for me to go back and confirm."
Xing Wu put away his joking expression and solemnly patted Novsky on the shoulder.
"Old friend, don't rush."
"Since your Su Country has spent such a large sum of hard-earned money, I guarantee you won't have wasted it."
"The portal can now be opened."
Then, Xing Wu turned to the white-haired chief engineer beside him. "Chief Engineer Shen, the auspicious time has arrived, let's begin."
"Yes, Chief!"
Shen Lian nodded and picked up the microphone for the full-frequency broadcast.
"Blue Star Exploration Vanguard, all troops line up!"
"Whoosh!"
Twenty fully armed A-Class Reinforced Human soldiers formed a square formation in front of the teleportation portal.
Shen Lian's cool voice echoed in the square as she began to read out the weighty list.
"The China Vanguard consists of ten people."
"Position number one, firepower, Li Tie."
"A former low-level miner in the Jiangbei mining area, the second oldest in his family, with an older brother and twin brothers."
"Position number two, scout, Wang Zixuan."
"A former top student from the capital's most prestigious university, the sole legal heir to the Tiansheng Group, and has a younger sister born of the same parents."
"Voluntarily relinquishing inheritance rights to enlist in the army."
"Position 3, Defensive, Chen Dazhu."
"Born into a peasant family in the former Central Plains War Zone, with three older sisters and one younger brother..."
Shen Lian read out the names and family backgrounds of the ten China soldiers.
Among them were laborers from the lowest rungs of society, as well as children of high-ranking officials born with a silver spoon in their mouths; they represented all walks of life.
However, with a little attention, it becomes clear that these ten people all share a common trait.
They are all not only children!
This is a true suicide squad!
Ahead lies the unknown Blue Star!
Facing the Abyss, these bravest warriors never imagined they would return alive the moment they stepped through the portal!
Therefore, the military excluded all only children when selecting personnel!
They preserved the last thread of their bloodline and lineage for their family.
"The China Vanguard is personally led by a top-tier extraordinary individual, Elder Xing Wu!"
Shen Lian announced loudly.
She then read out the list of the Su Country team.
The same configuration, the same non-only-child squad, and finally led by Su Country superhuman elder Novsky himself.
After the list was read aloud, the entire square fell silent.
Shen Lian put down the roster in her hand, glanced at the twenty-two warriors who were about to step into the Abyss, and bowed.
Please wish them a safe return.
"Clap clap clap..."
On the square, Wan Changzheng led the way, and all the soldiers spontaneously applauded.
This is the highest respect for those who die for their cause.
Amid applause, Shen Lian pressed the red button on the command platform.
"Buzz!"
The Blue Star Teleportation Gate erupted with a blue beam of light that shot straight up to the dome, and the spatial passage opened!
Xing Wu and Novsky exchanged a glance across the distance, without uttering a single unnecessary word.
"Set off!"
The two senior veterans took the lead, each leading ten suicide squad members, and stepped into the spatial vortex!
Wan Changzheng stood still, watching the light from the teleportation portal gradually fade away.
He prayed from the bottom of his heart that the children were alright, that the two old men were alright, and even more so...
That home planet that holds all of humanity's memories is fine.
However, in this cruel universe, the miracles that people hope for often manifest themselves in the most desperate tragedies...
The feeling of weightlessness during spatial travel disappears.
When these twenty-two elite humans once again set foot on this land that was once called "home".
Everyone, including Xing Wu and Novsky, had their pupils shrink and stood there dumbfounded.
There was no familiar breeze.
The skyscrapers of the past are gone.
There were no mountain villages with birdsong and fragrant flowers.
What was presented to them...
It was a completely collapsed, scorched, blackened land!
The ground was covered with bottomless rifts and disgusting, pus-like slime.
The sky is lifeless.
No sun...
There was no moon...
Not even a single star could be seen; there was only endless blackness!
And in the very center of that dark Sky Curtain...
Hanging there was an enormous fleshy ball, its edges emitting an eerie white light!
At that moment, a crack appeared on the surface of the fleshy ball.
It is laughing, laughing at this group of [returning travelers] who have just stepped into this place...
Blue Star...
It has already been destroyed.