Heaven Dou Empire border.
Scorching heat waves, mixed with the crackling of burning wood, the pungent stench of charred matter, and the smell of blood, flooded Ju Zi's nostrils.
Ju Zi sat up amid the ruins, coughing so violently that she nearly hacked up her lungs.
"Where... is this?"
She raised her head. What she saw was no longer the warm lighting of Origin Internet Cafe, but a living hell.
The once-peaceful village was now being swallowed by raging flames. Collapsed walls and shattered buildings lay everywhere, while cries, screams, and the whinnying of warhorses intertwined.
[System identity confirmed: Heaven Dou Empire border civilian (war orphan)] [Current situation: The Star Luo Empire army is conducting a "mopping-up" operation. Your parents have died in battle.] [Mission objective: Survive.]
"Star Luo Empire..."
Ju Zi watched as several Star Luo soldiers in iron armor, armed with spears, slaughtered unarmed villagers nearby. Blood dyed the earth red—and stained Ju Zi's once-clear eyes as well.
This was more than just a game scenario. For Ju Zi, whose past was already tragic, the sight viciously tore open the deepest wound in her heart.
In reality, her father had also died in war, at the hands of the White Tiger Duke's army from the Star Luo Empire.
"Why..."
Ju Zi clenched her grimy little hands.
"Why, whether ten thousand years later or ten thousand years ago, are these two damned empires always fighting? Always making common people bleed?"
A Star Luo soldier spotted Ju Zi in the ruins. With a savage grin, he raised his bloodstained spear and approached.
"Well, well. There's still a little runt that slipped through the net."
Ju Zi did not run. She merely glared at the soldier, the hatred in her eyes making even the grown man's spine turn cold.