C.E.61, Summer
Four in the morning, and the sky was still dark.
Eleven-year-old Nangong Wentian quietly climbed out of bed without disturbing anyone. Xiao Guang in the neighboring bed was still fast asleep, a trace of drool at the corner of his mouth, dreaming of who knows what.
He put on his faded old tank top, pulled on his shorts, and stepped barefoot onto the cool floor, silently slipping out of the dormitory.
The courtyard was quiet. The moon still hung on the horizon, and stars twinkled sparsely. The sea in the distance was a sheet of black, with only the occasional sound of waves proving the world was still breathing.
Nangong Wentian walked to the old locust tree in the backyard and took a deep breath.
This was his eleventh year in this world.
For eleven years, he had been preparing. Observing the world, acquiring knowledge, constructing the "Star Core," developing alloys, completing his first transaction. Those were all preparations on the mental level.
But what about the body?
He looked down at his thin arms. The body of an eleven-year-old Natural was no different from any ordinary child. Not fast at running, not high at jumping, and pitifully weak in strength.
What if one day, he needed to face danger?
What if one day, he needed to protect others?
What if one day, he needed to oppose those genetically enhanced Coordinators?
The body of a Natural was far from enough.
He recalled the knowledge from the 00 Era in his mind—Innovators, a new type of human born through the evolution of human cells catalyzed by GN Particles. They possessed superhuman perception, reaction speed, and even a lifespan twice that of ordinary people.
But the birth of an Innovator required a foundation.
It required a body strong and resilient enough to withstand the baptism of GN Particles. It required sufficient cellular vitality to survive the fusion process. It required enough mental fortitude to harness that power beyond the ordinary.
He had none of that now.
So, he needed to train.
Nangong Wentian stretched his limbs, then got down on the ground and began doing push-ups.
One, two, three…
The muscles of an eleven-year-old body were not yet developed. By the tenth push-up, his arms were already trembling. At the fifteenth, he gritted his teeth and persevered. At the twentieth, sweat dripped from his forehead onto the ground.
"Not enough," he told himself in his heart. "Still far from enough."
He stopped, caught his breath for a few moments, then continued.
Twenty-one, twenty-two…
By the thirtieth, he finally couldn't hold on anymore, collapsing flat on the ground, gasping for air.
But he didn't rest for long. After thirty seconds, he got up and continued.
After the push-ups came squats. Fifty squats; by the last ten, his legs felt as heavy as lead. Then came sit-ups, also fifty. Then stretching, pulling every muscle to its limit.
An hour later, he was drenched in sweat, as if he had just been pulled out of water.
The horizon began to lighten with the first hint of dawn. In the distance, a rooster crowed from the village.
Leaning against the old locust tree, Nangong Wentian looked at the gradually brightening sky, breathing heavily.
"Day one," he whispered. "Continue tomorrow."
Dragging his exhausted body, he quietly slipped back into the dormitory and lay down on his bed. Xiao Guang was still asleep, unaware of anything.
But Nangong Wentian knew this was only the beginning.
Over the next few days, he woke up promptly at four in the morning every day to train in the backyard. Push-ups increased from thirty to forty, then to fifty. Squats went from fifty to eighty. Sit-ups rose from fifty to one hundred.
Each time he finished training, he felt as if he had died once.
But the next day, he would appear in the backyard again, right on time.
On the seventh day, just after finishing a set of push-ups and preparing to do squats, he suddenly heard movement behind him.
He turned sharply.
Xiao Guang stood at the entrance to the backyard, staring at him blankly.
"Wentian..." Xiao Guang's voice was hoarse. "You... you do this every day?"
Nangong Wentian fell silent for a moment, then nodded.
Xiao Guang walked over, crouched down in front of him, and stared at his face. Under the moonlight, Nangong Wentian's face was covered in sweat, but his eyes were as calm as deep water.
"Why?" Xiao Guang asked. "Why are you torturing yourself like this?"
Nangong Wentian didn't answer. Leaning against the old locust tree, he gazed at the waning moon on the horizon and remained silent for a long time.
"Xiao Guang," he suddenly said, "do you think this world is safe?"
Xiao Guang was stunned.
"What I mean," Nangong Wentian continued, "is do you think our orphanage, this village, this country of Orb, is safe?"
Xiao Guang scratched his head, not quite understanding why he was asking this.
"It should be... safe, right?" he said. "Isn't Orb a neutral country? It doesn't go to war."
Nangong Wentian shook his head.
"Neutrality isn't safety," he said. "Neutrality just means not actively participating in war. But if war really comes, even neutral countries can't avoid it."
Xiao Guang opened his mouth to argue but didn't know what to say.
Nangong Wentian looked at him seriously and said, "I've seen the news. The conflict between PLANT and the Earth Federation is deepening. Sooner or later, they'll go to war. When that happens, what will Orb do?"
Xiao Guang fell silent.
"If war comes," Nangong Wentian continued, "no one will protect us. So I have to protect myself, protect all of you."
Xiao Guang looked at this child five years younger than him, and a complex emotion welled up in his heart.
The things Wentian talked about, he had never considered. He watched the news too, but only for entertainment, never thinking about how those distant conflicts might relate to him.
But Wentian had thought about it. And he had thought about it for a long time.
"Wentian," he suddenly said, "I'll join you."
Nangong Wentian was taken aback. "What?"
"Training," Xiao Guang stood up, rolling up his sleeves. "I'll train with you. It's more fun with two people."
Nangong Wentian looked at him, and a slow smile spread across his lips.
"Alright," he said.
From that day on, there was one more person in the backyard.
Xiao Guang was five years older than Nangong Wentian and somewhat stronger, but training was just as grueling for him. On the first day, he collapsed after twenty push-ups, panting even harder than Nangong Wentian.
"I... I can't go on..." he said weakly, lying on the ground.
"Get up," Nangong Wentian stood beside him. "There are still ten more."
Xiao Guang groaned but still got up and continued.
Twenty-one, twenty-two...
On the thirtieth one, he finally finished, collapsing on the ground like a dead fish.
Nangong Wentian looked at him, smiled, and then continued with his own.
Days passed one by one, and the two boys' training became more and more regular. Every day at four in the morning, before dawn broke, the two youths would appear in the backyard and begin an hour of training.
The moon bore witness to their sweat.
Summer passed, and autumn arrived. The leaves began to turn yellow, falling and covering the backyard floor. The two continued their training, stepping on the fallen leaves.
Push-ups, squats, sit-ups, stretches. Repeated every day, persisted in every day.
Xiao Guang's body had clearly grown stronger. The muscles on his arms bulged, and he could run much faster than before. But what he admired most was Wentian—the boy five years younger than him, who trained more seriously each time, pushed himself to the limit every session, and never slacked off.
"Wentian," he couldn't help but ask after one training session, "aren't you tired?"
Nangong Wentian leaned against the old locust tree, panting, and said, "I am."
"Then how can you keep going?"
Nangong Wentian fell silent for a moment before replying, "Because I have to."
Xiao Guang didn't understand, but he didn't press further.
One day, Nangong Wentian pulled out an old tablet from under his bed—something he had scavenged from a junkyard earlier but had hardly used. He turned on the Star Core and opened a file.
Inside were video clips—martial arts instructional videos he had watched in his previous life. Bajiquan, Sanda, Qinna… Although his memories were somewhat hazy, the Star Core helped him reconstruct most of the content.
He handed the tablet to Xiao Guang. "Take a look at these."
Xiao Guang took it, glanced at it, and his eyes widened.
"W-what is this?" he asked, pointing at a person on the screen practicing a punch.
"Martial arts," Nangong Wentian said. "For fighting."
Xiao Guang paused. "You have to learn how to fight?"
Nangong Wentian looked at him seriously and said, "Not just ordinary fighting. The kind that can protect you."
Xiao Guang nodded, half-understanding, and continued watching the videos. Although he didn't grasp the meaning of the movements, he could sense that these things were powerful.
"Wentian," he suddenly asked, "are you going to learn this?"
"Yes."
"Then I'll learn it too!"
Nangong Wentian smiled. "Alright."
From that day on, their training routine added new elements. Based on the videos, Nangong Wentian broke down the movements into their most basic components and taught them to Xiao Guang one by one.
Horse stance. Straight punch. Kick. Takedowns.
At first, their movements were as clumsy as two penguins. Xiao Guang often tripped over himself, and Nangong Wentian frequently lost his balance and fell to the ground.
But they didn't give up.
Every day at four in the morning, the two would appear in the backyard on time, starting with physical training before moving on to martial arts practice. They trained until dawn, then quietly slipped back to their dormitory, pretending nothing had happened.
Xiao Guang improved quickly. He had a natural sensitivity to movement and learned things exceptionally fast. In less than a month, he could already perform a set of punches with decent form.
Nangong Wentian wasn't far behind. Although his physical condition wasn't as good as Xiao Guang's, he had memories from his past life, giving him a deeper understanding of the movements. What he practiced wasn't just for show—it was something truly practical.
Once, during a sparring session, Xiao Guang threw a charging punch. Nangong Wentian sidestepped it, then swept his leg out, tripping Xiao Guang to the ground.
Xiao Guang lay there for a moment, stunned, then burst into laughter.
"Wentian, you're amazing!" He scrambled to his feet. "Again!"
Nangong Wentian looked at him and smiled too.
This feeling was really good.
That night, after training ended, Nangong Wentian didn't return to the dormitory right away. He sat alone under the old locust tree, gazing at the star-filled sky as distant memories surfaced in his mind.
Bajiquan. Sanda. Chin Na.
Those were things from his past life, things he thought he would never use again. But now, they had become his weapons to protect himself and others.
He thought of the boy named Kanade from the files. The boy who had been hunted for two years, living like a wild beast. If he really was in Orleans, if he really needed help...
Nangong Wentian clenched his fist.
He needed to become stronger.
Not to defeat anyone, but so that when someone needed him, he would have the ability to do what he wanted.
"Wentian." Xiao Guang's voice came from behind.
Nangong Wentian turned to see Xiao Guang walking over and sitting down beside him.
"What are you thinking about?" Xiao Guang asked.
"About the future," Nangong Wentian said.
Xiao Guang was silent for a moment, then asked, "What will the future be like?"
Nangong Wentian looked up at the stars and said softly, "I don't know. But whatever it's like, we'll face it together."
Xiao Guang grinned. "Okay."
The two sat side by side under the old locust tree, gazing at the starry sky.
The night was deep, but their eyes were bright.
Because this was the starting point of an Innovator.