Translator: CinderTL
The moonlight filtered through the dense forest, casting shifting shadows across the ground.
In the silent wilderness beyond Future City's supply zone, a group of several hundred soldiers moved swiftly through the rugged terrain.
Their destination was a Domain Field located over a hundred miles away.
This Domain Field, situated near Future City's supply zone, was one of the many barrier fields blocking passage between Future City and Star City.
The soldiers were equipped with highly advanced technology.
As they advanced, reconnaissance drones scanned the terrain ahead, transmitting real-time data to the group leader's tablet.
Each soldier wore custom-fitted exoskeletal armor, which significantly reduced physical strain as they traversed the complex forest terrain.
Night vision goggles allowed them to see clearly in the dark.
After a sustained march, the group leader, Lu Changkong, suddenly halted. The rest of the Wolf Pack Battle Group immediately stopped behind him.
"Replenish energy!"
At his command, the soldiers quickly retrieved compressed energy pills from their utility pouches, swallowed them, and waited for the effects.
The pills rapidly dissolved within their bodies.
A cool surge of energy swept through them, quickly dispelling fatigue.
After a brief rest, the Wolf Pack Battle Group resumed their rapid advance toward their target.
As they moved swiftly, Lu Changkong constantly scanned the terrain ahead, his expression grave.
This mission had come with startling suddenness, giving him only three days to prepare.
The Lord's orders were to ambush a domain combat team that had already entered the Beast Heart Domain Field, annihilate them, and seize any spiritual resources they carried.
The intelligence he had on this mission was severely limited.
All he knew was that during their last operation, this domain combat team had apparently uncovered some secret, which was why the Lord wanted them eliminated.
In truth, Lu Changkong didn't believe it mattered whether the domain combat team actually knew the secrets of the Technology Research Institute.
The mere possibility of a potential threat was enough to trigger the Lord's murderous intent.
After years of loyal service, he knew all too well how ruthless the Lord could be.
Yet despite all his years of relentless toil, he harbored no resentment, even knowing that the Lord was a domain creature who stood in opposition to humanity.
His thoughts drifted back to that day.
Years ago, after graduating from Winterfrost Academy, he had joined the front lines with the same hopes as his fellow graduates—to contribute his strength to humanity's future.
On the front lines, he witnessed true cruelty, yet he harbored no regrets.
Until one day, he received devastating news.
His younger sister, who had been his sole companion since childhood, had fallen critically ill and been urgently admitted to Future City Hospital for treatment.
For Lu Changkong at that time, it was like a bolt from the blue.
His sister had been his anchor through countless hardships. Every penny he risked his life to earn on the front lines, beyond what he needed for equipment, was sent back to her in Future City.
He knew she had always dreamed of becoming a spirit pharmacist.
He wanted to fulfill her wish.
Spirit pharmacists didn't have to go to the front lines; they could remain safely in the rear, a prospect that eased his worries.
Whenever he returned to the battle group's base from the front lines, he would immediately retrieve his stored packages, eager to see what his sister had sent.
His room at the base was plastered with her award certificates.
These were Lu Changkong's only solace, proof that his sacrifices were worth it.
During their video calls, watching his sister grow up filled him with contentment.
But he never imagined she would fall so gravely ill—with a terminal illness that defied all existing medical treatments.
In that moment, the sky seemed to collapse.
Without hesitation, Lu Changkong took a leave of absence and returned to Future City.
When he saw his sister again, her face was deathly pale, her body emaciated, and she lay listlessly on the medical bed, her eyes dull and lifeless.
Unable to accept this fate, Lu Changkong frantically began searching online for ways to save his sister.
He first contacted the Future Research Institute, hoping their advanced technology could solve her condition.
But after reviewing her medical records, the institute staff regretfully informed him that they had long abandoned medical research projects and could offer no effective assistance. They suggested he try the United Military Hospital.
Clutching at this last straw, Lu Changkong rushed to the United Military Hospital for help.
The doctor who received him was a woman.
After examining his sister's medical records, she spoke frankly, and her words pierced him like a thorn:
"The United Military Hospital does have a special medicine that could save your sister," she explained, "but its production is extremely limited—only six vials per year—and it's reserved exclusively for human warriors who have been awarded the Humanity's Distinguished Service Medal."
These words shattered the last of Lu Changkong's resolve.
He understood that the United Military Hospital's decision was made with the greater interests of humanity in mind.
Those who received the Humanity's Distinguished Service Medal were pillars of Human Civilization, pathfinders who paved the way for its advancement.
Yet he couldn't accept it.
If she could be saved, why wasn't she? He refused to let his sister, in the prime of her youth, fade away like a withered flower.
To help his sister, he returned to the front lines.
He pleaded with his group leader and the influential members of his battle group, begging for their assistance.
They all tried, but tragically, they failed.
Finally, at the group leader's urging, Lu Changkong dejectedly retreated to his quarters.
That day, the harsh sunlight streamed through the window, illuminating the wall covered with his medals and commendations, yet failing to pierce the gloom that shrouded his heart.
In the end, Lu Changkong returned to Future City, back to the hospital.
Leaning over his sister's bed, watching her still unconscious, his heart twisted with pain.
He had dedicated his life to humanity's rise.
Yet he couldn't even protect his own sister. How absurd, how tragic.
Compared to all of humanity, he wanted nothing more than for his sister to live, healthy and whole.
He would gladly forsake any grand cause for her sake.
Consumed by grief and rage, his heart died.
His sister was his only family in this world. With her gone, he felt he had no reason to live.
The brutal life on the front lines had never broken him, but this shattered him completely.
His younger sister was the dawn in his heart, the very source of his drive to keep moving forward.
But in just a few days, everything crumbled.
His beautiful fantasies of the future shattered like dream bubbles, leaving nothing but emptiness.
This man, who had never wept even while battling to the death on the front lines, couldn't help but sob aloud, the despair in his heart growing ever more profound.
It was at this moment that the black shadow appeared.
This was Lu Changkong's first encounter with it.
Completely shrouded in darkness, its voice seemed to possess some kind of magic, bewitching his mind.
But years of frontline combat had forged Lu Changkong's will into steel, rendering him immune to mental bewitchment.
Realizing that the entity before him was a domain creature from beyond the Domain Field, he instinctively reached for his weapon, ready to strike.
But the black shadow's words made him waver.
Lu Changkong still remembers those words vividly, like a shooting star piercing the darkness and bringing him light:
"I can save your sister, but you must pledge your loyalty to me from now on!"
Lu Changkong understood that choosing this path meant there was no turning back.
His years of study had also taught him that choosing this path would make him a human traitor, perhaps forever nailed to the pillar of shame.
But when he glanced back at his sister, unconscious and with her eyes closed, he hesitated.
Once the seed of hesitation was planted, it took root in his heart, sprouted, and gradually grew stronger.
(End of the Chapter)
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