"Ajie, can these few crooked melons and rotten dates really protect Earth?
"One is a street thug who spends all day extorting people, one is a punk who roams the streets talking nonstop about brotherhood, and one is a loser who stays in his dorm all day without learning a thing. People like them... I'm truly worried about Earth's future."
In the car, Qiangwei read through the files while complaining. She was genuinely filled with concern for Earth's future.
Dukao's assignment for them today was to recruit this group into Xiong Bing Lian, no matter what.
Their enrollment date was next Monday.
To be honest, Qiangwei had no confidence at all. If they had to rely on this lot, they might as well rely on the military. Even knowing their firepower could not harm the enemy, soldiers would never retreat a single step. But this group? That was anyone's guess.
They had no faith, no conviction like theirs—the conviction to never retreat and defend their homeland.
People without faith were often the first to collapse and retreat on the battlefield. Disrupting morale was what they did best. They might even defect to the enemy.
That was why Qiangwei looked down on them completely. They were already a scourge upon society—how could they possibly defend their country?
"Qiangwei, you can't put it that way. Who says thugs, punks, and losers can't defend their country? Thugs and punks can turn over a new leaf. You have to believe in them. In the future, they'll be comrades you can entrust your back to.
"Galaxy Power, the future supreme god of the Milky Way; Nuo Star God of War, Galaxy Power's future lieutenant; and the Spear of Deno, the deputy commander of the two. They need to grow. They need time."
Ajie smiled as he comforted Qiangwei, then changed the subject. "Besides, we might not necessarily lose the war in the future. Isn't there a time traveler from the future? Based on what we've gathered so far, Earth in the future doesn't seem to have been destroyed."
Ajie was full of confidence in the future. He believed Earth would definitely win this confrontation and advance into a Space-faring Civilization.
Earth's goal was the sea of stars.
Although Ge Xiaolun and the others were currently somewhat useless, a bunch of crooked melons and rotten dates, they just needed time. Train them properly, and they would naturally improve.
"Sigh, we've searched Juxia City for so long and still haven't found any trace of him. Should we say Juxia City is too big, or too small?
"To be honest, I don't really believe the evidence that he's from the future. Tell me, if he really were from the future, and the future war had been won, why wouldn't he have gone straight to the government? That way, we could have prepared better defenses and evacuated the people."
Qiangwei scoffed at the claim that Long Qian was from the future. Still, judging from the meeting that day, Elder Huang seemed to know something. But since the old man would not say anything, they could hardly press him for answers.
In fact, she suspected Long Qian had not traveled through time at all, but was something else entirely. Back then, she had sensed an extremely terrifying presence there. Or rather than terrifying, it had been soul-stirring.
Standing there, she had felt herself beginning to doubt herself. Fortunately, it had lasted only one night. By the next day, the feeling had disappeared completely.
Besides, Long Qian had angels behind him. Who knew whether he was really from Huaxia? Who knew whether he had concealed his identity?
Although the genetic test showed that Long Qian's genetic sequence was indeed identical to that of Huaxia, she still had her doubts. She had investigated countless records and turned Deno Three's detection system upside down, yet found no trace of Long Qian's existence. There was not even any Dark Data, as if this person had never existed at all.
"If I said I was from the future, from ten years later, would you believe me? Even if I told you a few things, wouldn't you think I was a lunatic and lock me up?"
Hearing Qiangwei say that, Ajie burst into laughter.
People were selfish. They would naturally consider themselves first. Who knew whether they would get captured and sliced up for research?
Besides, time travel itself violated the laws of physics. With so many civilizations in the universe, once it was exposed, he probably would not live to see the next day.
"Pfft, are you insane?!"
Qiangwei snapped at him, then went back to reading the files.
"Qiangwei, what you need is a team. Galaxy Power has an indestructible body—he's a perfect tank. Zhao Xin is the assault fighter. Liu Chuang is the warrior. You are a team, one that complements each other in every aspect. Individual heroism cannot determine the course of future wars. What decides victory or defeat is the group. Team combat is more effective and can inflict the greatest damage upon the enemy."
Ajie patiently explained it to Qiangwei. He knew she had a strong streak of individual heroism; she had been that way since childhood.
Though he looked like a carefree slacker, he had graduated from the command department of Huaxia's top military academy. He was also among the first soldiers in Huaxia to use genetic serums, and his talents had been recognized by the higher-ups.
"Alright, alright, I get it. You're just like my old man, always nagging. Just drive."
Qiangwei naturally understood what Ajie meant, but she still acted impatient.
"We're here. Look, that kid is already waiting there. He even knows to arrive early. Isn't that a good trait? Punctuality is a soldier's principle. I believe he can become a qualified soldier."
The moment he got out of the car, Ajie spotted Ge Xiaolun sitting quietly in the café across the empty street.
He had not expected Ge Xiaolun to arrive early, and he felt greatly relieved. The boy was teachable.
Inside the café.
Long Qian, who had eaten something and packed some desserts for Kayle, was preparing to leave when he noticed two vaguely familiar people.
"Red hair, leather jacket, skintight pants. 'My name is Qiangwei, remember it.' But was there a scene like this in the story? Why don't I remember it? Maybe I should listen to what they're going to talk about!"
Long Qian's curiosity was overflowing. He really wanted to hear what they would discuss.
So he sat back down and leisurely began drinking tea.
At the neighboring table, they had already gotten to the point.
"Ahem, Ge Xiaolun, I'm sure you've noticed that you're different from ordinary people."
Ajie took a sip of coffee, cleared his throat, and spoke.
The atmosphere was a little awkward right now. Ge Xiaolun was not paying attention to him at all—his eyes were practically glued to Qiangwei.
The three of them sat at one table, making him seem like the third wheel, a lightbulb.
He should have chosen a hotpot restaurant instead. They could have chatted while eating and settled lunch at the same time.
Most importantly, he had talked for so long that his mouth was dry, yet he did not even know whether the other guy had heard a word.
But he probably had not.
After all, with a gorgeous woman sitting beside him, it would have been stranger if Ge Xiaolun had listened to him.
After that brief interaction, Ajie had already come up with a way to sweet-talk Ge Xiaolun into the Super Seminary, and into Xiong Bing Lian.
After all, Elder Huang and General Dukao's exact instruction had been to find a way to recruit him. Once he was in, handling him would be easy.
"Ah... uh... yeah!"
Ge Xiaolun had not heard what Ajie was saying at all. Ajie's cough jolted him awake, yanking him out of his fantasies, and he hurriedly gave a random response.
All his attention was on Qiangwei. This girl attracted him too much. It felt like love at first sight—he had liked her from the very first moment he saw her.
Ever since they had parted that day, he had kept wondering when he would see her again. He had not expected to meet her today.
"Come with us. Join Xiong Bing Lian and become a super soldier who defends the country and protects Earth. Then you'll be a hero, admired by everyone on Earth. What do you say?"
Ge Xiaolun finally shifted his gaze away from Qiangwei and spoke seriously. "This is my personal ability, okay? Why should I become some kind of panda warrior? Defending the country—isn't that the military's responsibility? Doesn't the country already have soldiers? I'm just an ordinary student. I only want to live an ordinary life."
"We're super soldiers of Xiong Bing Lian, not panda warriors," Ajie corrected irritably.
"Oh, Xiong Bing Lian..."
Ge Xiaolun nodded obediently and repeated it.
"Right. Do you think you can live an ordinary life when you have special abilities? In movies, have you ever seen people with special abilities act alone?"
"Ah, I guess that's true!"
Before you continue