Young People Shouldn't Always Try to Make Big News

Tarsonis is the heart of the Terran Confederacy, a dazzling jewel, and a beacon of human civilization.

Mike Liberty used to hear his colleagues, who were keen to curry favor with the powerful and the government, praise the land they stood on, but now, Mike would call what was happening in Tarsonis a jewel in the dust.

No, Earthlings are throwing this pearl to the ground, smashing it to pieces with hammers, and then grinding it into dust.

Warships swarmed above the main city of Tarsonis, and the pedestrian overpasses and transportation hubs that spanned the city became dividing lines between battlefields. The roar of sentry machine guns, anti-aircraft pulse cannons, electromagnetic railguns, and cluster laser cannons could be heard from all over the city, and bright orange barrages spread out in a crisscross pattern over the city's vast airspace.

Even during the day, the sky was filled with exceptionally bright shooting stars, like falling flames. They could be unburnt wreckage of an orbital space station that had fallen into the Tarsonis atmosphere, or they could be giant UED landing ships.

The last time Tarsonis was in such turmoil was during the year of the rebel uprising, but back then the rebels merely sent several landing forces to the ground to force the Confederacy Fleets to return to their aid. Now, the Earthlings' objective is clear: they must take over the capital planet of the Terran Confederacy, even if it means destroying it.

In the first few hours of the war, Mike and his colleagues from the news department, who were working overtime, were trapped in the UNN Universe News Television headquarters building under continuous artillery fire and had nowhere to escape, running around like headless flies.

Some say that the UED, or Earthlings, have already landed on the surface of Tarsonis. Their landing craft and troop transports have landed in the city center of Tarsonis, and soldiers from various factions are exchanging fire in front of the UNN headquarters building. It's chaotic, with corpses strewn everywhere.

When UED launched its attack, the Tarsonis hemisphere was still in the throes of dawn. From that moment on, the incessant gunfire never ceased, as if every corner of the city was at war, with people of different backgrounds, bloodlines, and faiths shedding their blood on the streets, highways, and even on the train tracks in the sky.

As the Sunset that day, Mike and his colleagues were still waiting for someone to rescue them from the crumbling building.

Communication was completely cut off from the beginning, nothing was of any use, and later even the power was cut off.

Even under such circumstances, Mike maintained the composure expected of a former UNN reporter. Amidst the chaos, he still had the leisure to grab a few bottles of Coke and hot dogs from the vending machine in the fourth-floor lobby, and stuff his pockets full of snacks as well.

Since the war broke out outside of working hours, there weren't many people in the UNN headquarters building. Now, most of them were scattered across different floors or had fled despite the fighting between the two sides outside, so there weren't many people left.

"Won't you have some beer?" Mike said, taking a can of beer from the vending machine glass he had just smashed with the fire hammer. "Why are you being so polite with me? Old Mili entrusted me with taking good care of his proud son."

"Mr. Liberty, I'm not really in the mood for beer right now." The young journalist, Donny Mili, loosened his uniform jacket and tossed his blue tie aside.

Nevertheless, Donnie took the bottle of wine from Mike's hand. Mr. Mike Liberty was a senior figure he greatly respected, who was said to have been on the front lines of the war as a journalist when the rebels were active in Korhal.

Doni hadn't originally planned to work for such a large company so soon, but with the increasing activity of the rebels on the Edge World of the Confederacy in recent years, the UNN Universe News Network urgently needed to send more reporters to various previously neglected planets, so it recruited new people from recent graduates with high salaries.

For Doni, who was new to the industry and had little fame, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Tarsonis is the largest and most prosperous city in the Terran Confederacy, but living here is incredibly stressful. Unless you're a noble or their relative, everyone in Tarsonis has to work incredibly hard to earn a place in this bustling city.

"Donnie, you look terrified." Mike opened a bottle of Coke and sat down with his back against the damaged vending machine.

"I'm not scared at all. As a UNN employee, this is nothing." Donnie sat down next to Mike, but his words sounded more like he was encouraging himself.

Just then, accompanied by a deafening roar, a lot of debris fell on Donny's head amidst the violent tremors. The young man with thick, bushy black hair immediately clutched his head and screamed involuntarily:

"What should I do? I have family outside, my brothers are still in the city. Will the Earthlings kill them?" He couldn't help but feel regretful.

"I really shouldn't have come to work this overtime!"

Donny had been living in fear in this empty building for over ten hours, and it was almost dark outside. However, the continuous shelling outside showed no signs of abating; in fact, it seemed to be escalating.

It must have been a nightmare. After being yelled at by the editor-in-chief with his tie yesterday, poor Donnie worked until he fell into a deep sleep. When he woke up, he heard that the Earthlings were bombing Tarsonis.

Earthlings don't care about the centuries-old cultural heritage on Tarsonis, because even the youngest building they've constructed in the Solar System is older than that.

"Things are already like this, there's no use worrying about it anymore." Mike patted Donnie on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Instead of worrying about others, worry about yourself."

"Earthlings and government troops are fighting right next to our building, you hear that? I bet the nearest heavy artillery support point is only about 1,200 yards horizontally away from us. If you've been through the Guild Wars and the Korhal Rebellion, you should recognize the distinct sound of Tarsonis Defense Force Gatling guns." Mike's Coke bottle clinked against Donnie's beer bottle.

"This weapon is more than enough to deal with ordinary CMC Power Armor and can tear a person apart. I can't even imagine what would happen if it fell on a civilian?"

For about ten minutes, they remained silent, with only the roar of the outside world filling the hall. The sound of artillery fire showed no signs of stopping, not to mention the other railguns located far outside the city of Tarsonis. The intensity of this battle was unimaginable.

In this war-torn city, two ordinary UNN employees sit in a dark corner, waiting for the war to end or for something worse to happen.

"Don't scare me." Donnie wiped his nose after a flash of light from an explosion outside the window.

"Don't worry, it's absolutely safe here." Mike finished a whole bottle of Coke and immediately felt much better. "The UNN headquarters is much safer than your home—unless someone breaks in."

"Stop your whining. Once I'm in the editor-in-chief position, you'll take over my job one day."

"You?" Donnie seemed to have calmed down a bit, his expression slightly sarcastic. "Does Anson know about this?"

"Anson is about to be fired, and his position will be mine sooner or later," Mike said with a smile.

"You're right, Mr. Liberty, I've always thought you had that talent!" After all, Donny liked ambitious and capable people.

"Thanks." Mike handed Donnie a tissue, gesturing for him to wipe his dirty face. "I'll definitely get you a prime-time TV segment. I know your strengths, Donnie; nobody's better at reading scripts than you."

"That sounds good." Donnie opened his own beer, not taking it seriously.

"When the time comes, I will definitely be like you, bravely exposing the inside story of the corrupt government and confronting the darkness within the power structure!"

"I advise you not to do such a thing," Mike said with a chuckle. "The powerful and wealthy people I've angered have tried to hire hitmen to kill me more than once. The only reason I'm still alive is because I have many people protecting and helping me."

"What a fool. You don't really care about these things; all you want is to get ahead," he said.

You are destined to be a different kind of person from me.

"You're absolutely right." Donnie downed half a bottle of beer in no time. "You always see through everything in this world too clearly. Everyone is like they're standing naked in front of you; there are no secrets at all."

As someone who can lie through his teeth without batting an eye, Donny Mili is by no means a cynical hothead. Or rather, UNN needs someone like him, a talent capable of easily turning falsehood into truth and truth into falsehood.

"I'm the kind of troublemaker those in power see," Mike said. "I live to expose the truth and reveal the Confederacy's dirty little secrets to the public."

"But now UNN is controlled by the assets behind the shareholders. The influence from the Confederacy and the Old Families forces us to shut our eyes and say things against our conscience, just to survive."

"And isn't this the foolish nature of us Tarsonis? They say they never believe things they haven't seen with their own eyes, yet they treat reports that have been filtered, edited, and abridged by the Confederacy as the only way to know the truth," he said.

"The Tarsonis are most interested in the fighting on the Edge World, so they can show off to their friends, family, and colleagues as if they're right at the center of it all. Those days won't last much longer. As you're seeing, the Confederacy is doomed."

"Compared to Earthlings—frankly, I'd rather Augustus Mengsk's Korhal rebels were in power. They're treacherous, but at least they're Terrans," Donny said, leaning out of the window next to the vending machine.

By then, the sky had darkened, and the flashes of flares and tracer rounds replaced the bright stars in the sky.

He only glanced up briefly, but he could see several meteors of varying sizes streaking across the city sky. In the past, these bright meteor showers were part of Tarsonis's dreamlike night sky, a magnificent spectacle that only those living in high-rise buildings could appreciate. Now, they were real messengers of death from hell.

Colorful clouds filled the sky, and flashing orange orbs of light indicated a battle far more intense than the one on the ground was raging in the sky and even in high orbit. Every piece of shipwreck that fell to the ground set off a raging fire in Tarsonis City, and the once beautiful and prosperous city buildings were covered with a thick layer of black dust.

"Oh? I thought you didn't like the rebels?" Mike looked at Donnie in surprise.

Mike was also a revolutionary; he voluntarily joined the organization in pursuit of something they called justice and freedom.

"I don't like it. Do you know how much big news the rebels have generated? Thanks to Augustus Mengsk, every show related to him is a hit, even the most ridiculous talk shows get a piece of the pie." Donnie clicked his tongue.

"That Mengsk is my lucky star; thanks to him, I won a huge prize for writing," he said. "To thank him, I named my cat Augustus, what do you think?"

"It's best not to tell the person involved this," Mike laughed.

"If Augustus sees those materials you used to criticize him, you're likely to suffer a lot. A notorious rebel leader, a bloodthirsty madman who kills without restraint, a butcher who preys on the elderly, women, and children—he'll be furious."

"As expected of you, Donnie."

"I only report the truth. If Augustus is truly innocent, then he won't resent me." Donny was a logical genius.

"Or will he notice me amidst all that criticism? That's impossible. I'm just a nobody. Or is there something unusual about my name?"

"It's better to be careful. I've heard the Revolutionary Army Marshal is petty," Mike said. "But I think the Earthlings shouldn't be able to take down Tarsonis yet."

"Between Tarsonis ' orbital defense platform and the atmosphere lies a massive Confederacy Fleets, an epic Fleets that the Confederacy is proud of, composed of multiple naval squadrons, and it is not so easily defeated."

Just then, the sound of Gauss Rifle fire came from outside again, sounding very close.

Doni Mili got up, ran to the window behind the vending machine, and cautiously peered out from the edge of the window.

In his view, several soldiers in gray Power Armor were running quickly past a bus stop in front of the headquarters building, swiftly crossing the temporary bunkers of the Confederacy army that had been turned into reinforced concrete ruins.

A colossal Goliath Combat Robot strode across the road from the other side, its sharp-edged cockpit edge bathed in flames from its machine guns. The insignia on its flag indicated that it belonged to the Spartan Company of the United Earth Directorate Expeditionary Fleet.

Donny swore that this Goliath Combat Robot was much larger than any he had ever seen in the Confederacy army; perhaps only the mad mechanics of Kel-Morian could build such a thing—compared to this Goliath, the Confederacy's were dwarfs.

"If we could broadcast live footage of an Earthling invasion, the viewership would definitely be the highest in history."

Thank you for voting.