Time was like sand between the fingers: the harder you tried to hold on to it, the faster it slipped away.
In a Parallel World, a long line of men and women in Rescue Team uniforms walked beside scorching lava. Wu Ka, now nearly fifty, wiped away his sweat, reminded the teammate beside him to watch his footing, then continued toward the distant mountain.
When Wu Ka was young, he had always believed he was different. After all, Nameless, the Rescue Team's commander-in-chief, had rescued him. He had also eaten a miraculous fruit and gained a special ability.
At the academy, he had looked up to Ni Jing, Feng Qiuhuang, Bai Mo, Luo Xi, and the others, believing that one day he, too, could become a respected senior like them.
Reality had been cruel. After ten years of training, he graduated with unremarkable results.
He later teamed up with friends from the academy, hoping to take on missions as a squad. Their very first mission ended in a crushing defeat. He nearly lost his life, and one of his friends lost a leg.
The Rescue Team's medical technology could easily heal a severed leg, but the ordeal made them see reality clearly: they simply weren't capable enough to take on missions.
"Before I knew it, I'd been in the Logistics Group for almost thirty years."
Wu Ka walked on slowly, a faint sigh stirring in his heart. He had never had his moment to shine. He was just an inconspicuous nobody in the Rescue Team's Logistics Group, and he had become the leader of one of its small teams only because he had plenty of experience.
"I wonder what Commander Nameless is doing now?"
Wu Ka tightened his grip on his trekking pole, his thoughts full of admiration.
Nameless had