Chapter 202: The Past

Chapter 202: Chapter 202: The Past

"Shi Zhile!"

"Miss Shi!"

"Zhile!"

...

One call after another echoed in her ears. Shi Zhile’s brow furrowed. She wanted to wake up, but she couldn’t.

In her dream, there was a pristine white hospital, but it lacked the smell of disinfectant. One by one, futuristic, self-contained pods opened.

"Vice-captain, there’s something wrong with her leg."

"Hmm, she was probably injured when the ship was shaking. Put her in a treatment pod."

"But... our ship wasn’t..."

The other voice grew louder, tinged with impatience. "Then she was hurt by a weapon fired from Earth. In any case, she needs treatment in a pod. Go tell Captain Wang that the treatment pods here are full. Don’t send any more wounded over."

"Roger that!"

The voices faded into the distance. In the haze, Shi Zhile thought she heard Chuyi’s disdainful voice.

"Sending a kid over is one thing, but to send a... I really don’t know what they were thinking."

...

"What’s your name?"

"Shi Zhile!"

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"Alright, Shi Zhile. Remember, you are a soldier in the First Vanguard Squad. Your code is XXXXX. The treatment pod shows you have a concussion and will need another month of treatment."

’A head injury. That gave her an excuse for her memory loss.’

’One month was enough time for her to adapt to this life and familiarize herself with the environment and its rules.’

...

"The War Faction fought two consecutive battles and lost both. And after Commander Lu Ting’s big talk, saying he’d conquer Earth in a single day. He sure talked a big game, but he still couldn’t take it, could he?"

"Two battles, ten ships blown up, nearly a hundred mechs damaged. The losses aren’t that great, but Earth was damaged. We were counting on growing fruits and vegetables on Earth. After his attacks, I’m afraid the planet will be useless."

...

"It’s been a year. The battles are getting more frequent. That Dog Thief Lu Ting must have forgotten why we started this war. If he actually blows up Earth, no one benefits."

"Isn’t our commander always for peace? Why doesn’t he try to talk some sense into him? Letting things get ruined for no reason..."

"Shh! Our commander never likes to get involved in these things. To put it nicely, he’s the leader of the Peace Faction. To put it bluntly, he’s a coward. Dog Thief Lu’s subordinates laugh at us all the time."

"I heard someone from the First Squad defected to Dog Thief Lu’s side and even became a major. Is that true?"

...

"The War Faction has deployed more than half their forces this time. The Light Brain has hacked their systems, and they’ve brought remote DDs. They have over ten thousand large-scale mechs alone. They should be able to win this time..."

BOOM—

"Holy shit, was that... Did Dog Thief Lu just blow up Earth?"

"It’s over, it’s all over. Universal pollution was already severe, and now the only relatively pure planet, Earth, has been detonated. The pollution will only get worse. We’re all going to die from it sooner or later."

...

"The Light Brain in the Interstellar Building is connected to this entire star system. Destroy it, and we can blow this place up. Our home is gone. Our families are gone. They all died in the explosion that day."

"Since we have nothing left, let’s take all the interstellar people down with us to join them."

"Twenty years, only to watch our families killed and our homes destroyed with our own eyes. I’m with you. I just don’t know if we can return to the underworld after dying in a foreign land. Wearing these bodies... I wonder if they’ll even recognize us."

...

BOOM—

...

"Has Miss Shi woken up yet?"

"Not yet. I don’t know what she was dreaming about, but she was covered in sweat just now."

"You old fool, she’s been unconscious for three days and she’s dreaming? Could the sweating mean she’s sick? Didn’t Wen Changming find two doctors to watch over her? Where are they? Hurry up and get them to take a look!"

The voices of the two seniors rang in her ears. Shi Zhile’s throat felt dry and her eyelids heavy. She squeezed her eyes shut a few times before managing to lift her weary lids.

Unfortunately, the two seniors were so absorbed in their conversation that they didn’t notice her at all.

"Yesterday’s test results came back. There’s nothing physically wrong with her, she just won’t wake up from her coma. I had them run the tests again and draw more blood for analysis."

Senior Sun frowned slightly. "More blood? She’s already unconscious, and you’re drawing more blood... Hey, why are her eyes open?"

Senior Sun took two steps forward and looked down at Shi Zhile.

Shi Zhile had barely opened her eyes when, before she could even speak, Senior Sun pushed them shut.

Shi Zhile: "..."

Senior Sun: "...Wait a second, Miss Shi. Are you awake?"

Shi Zhile nodded slowly.

She hadn’t eaten for three and a half days, and the constant dreaming had left her mentally and physically exhausted. She had no strength at all.

"Hungry! Water!"

"Oh my, she really is awake. Wait, I’ll get you some water."

As Senior Sun went to get water, the other senior left the room. A moment later, a large group of people came in.

At the head of the group was Ms. He, who had personally cared for her during the three days she was unconscious.

Two doctors also rushed over. After confirming that Shi Zhile was fine, they hurried away again.

Shi Zhile sipped her congee and casually opened a Teleportation Gate, allowing the two base commanders from Huaxia Base and Jiuzhou Base to enter.

The three base commanders were gathered, along with Mr. Wen and the two seniors. Shi Zhile recounted what Chuyi had told her.

One of the base commanders clenched his fist and asked, "What about Chuyi? You came back. Where did he go?"

Recalling the final scene as she left the garbage planet, she closed her eyes. "He’s dead!"

’Suicide!’

He used his own energy to send her into the game.

The coordinates Jiang Yuxing had originally set for her weren’t on the garbage planet. He used the Energy Ball to change her destination and forcefully teleported her there.

And the only way to send her into the game was with the energy from his body.

Finally, he said that interstellar people all get one chance to experience the game. If they die in the game, they can just exit it without any real consequences.

For players from Earth, the game is a matter of life and death. For interstellar people, it’s just an immersive gaming experience.

Not only can they enter the game to experience it, but they can also send items into it.

And the message in a bottle she had found back then was just something tossed in by an interstellar kid.

"The Energy Ball is in my hands now. I called everyone here to discuss our next move. Keeping the world frozen is like pausing the game, but supplies and treasure chests will become more and more scarce."

"Likewise, unfreezing the world will let us get more supplies and chests, but the abundance of energy will also make the monsters stronger."

[It’s not just the monsters that will get stronger. Host, have you forgotten? The system announced that the next regional merge will combine the islands. The players on the islands will be brought together. The rule about killing other players to take their supplies still applies.]

The system’s reminder made Shi Zhile suddenly remember.

She quickly relayed the information. "Most of the players from Huaxia Base are from the same region, but after the regions merge and the islands become a single landmass, there will be many more players. Not everyone is a pacifist. We need to be prepared."