Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
At 1 AM, Shengfeng Village was completely silent. On summer nights, a few unknown insects could be heard softly buzzing. Although every household had turned off their lights, the scene of Liu Xuan's mother being abducted by aliens, along with the young men who bravely tried to save her but lost their lives, cast a dark shadow over the entire village. It felt as if a black blanket had been draped over everyone, causing the villagers to blink and toss and turn, unable to sleep.
One light remained lit in the village. Inside Liu Xuan's home, he sat exhausted against the wall on the floor, feeling utterly defeated. He weakly sprayed a medical aerosol from Nars onto his wounds. However, the pain from the medication sticking to his injuries and the cold sting kept Liu Xuan wide awake when he desperately wanted to sleep. Frustrated to the point of wanting to scream, he suddenly leaned back, and the back of his head thudded against the wall.
Since he couldn't sleep anyway, he decided to keep himself awake. Liu Xuan struggled with both physical and emotional pain, which continuously eroded his spirit and left him feeling hopeless.
He longed to lie down for a while but had no strength left; he wanted to sleep but was repeatedly jolted awake by the pain from his wounds. He even contemplated suicide but remembered that he still carried a life on his shoulders and had two precious lives that needed saving. His life felt overwhelmingly exhausting; he had saved others but could not save his own soul.
Liu Xuan tilted his head back and let out a long sigh.
"Creek..."
It seemed tentative as the front door pushed open slightly but did not fully enter. Seeing this, Liu Xuan immediately summoned his handheld cannon and aimed it at the doorway, his nerves once again on edge.
"Creek."
After hearing the sound of energy charging from the cannon, the unlocked door was pushed open. Uncle Li poked his head in and glanced around. When he saw Liu Xuan aiming a weapon at him, he quickly stepped back and pointed at himself.
Although Liu Xuan was still afraid that it might be some disguised mechanical soldier, he chose to trust Uncle Li and lowered his weapon, closing his eyes and tilting his head aside.
Uncle Li knelt before Liu Xuan with deep remorse and said, "Xuan'er, we are all very sorry for what happened to your mother during the day. We wanted to save her too, but anyone who rushed in would have been shot; they had guns..."
"I know, Uncle. I don't blame you; I just came back too late."
Uncle Li fell silent for a moment, staring at Liu Xuan's weapon-clad hand before asking, "Child, it's been some time since we last saw each other. What have you been through? You don't have to bear it all alone; our village is a community. The Liu family has always been our pride; your mother Liu Wen is kind-hearted and honest. You are her only son and one of the few college students in our village. If your family is suffering, we will do everything we can to support you."
However, Liu Xuan chose silence. He kept his eyes closed as if avoiding Uncle Li's question. He understood Uncle Li's good intentions but truly did not want to drag more innocent people into his troubles.
Seeing Liu Xuan's silence, Uncle Li sighed and gently placed his hand on Liu Xuan's arm where it had been cut: "I know your family is not well off, and now your mother is in trouble; you’re just a kid, and everyone in the village is very worried about you..."
Before he finished speaking, he had already reached into the waist pouch he used for his stall during the day and pulled out a stack of cash, gently placing it in Liu Xuan's hands.
"This is a small token of appreciation collected by the entire village for you. Seeing your mother taken away by bad people weighs heavily on our conscience. Please accept this six thousand yuan. Good child, go to sleep now. If there's anything troubling you, don't keep it to yourself. You can call me anytime; I'm always here for you."
Just like when he was a child, Uncle Li gently stroked Liu Xuan's hair before quietly leaving. As he stepped out, he glanced back and turned off the lights in Liu Xuan's home.
Liu Xuan did not refuse the money, but knowing it was the hard-earned money of his fellow villagers, he accepted it with a sense of obligation, promising to repay it in the future. He touched the topmost bill and felt grateful for those who cared about him, but he was too exhausted to utter a word of thanks.
After squinting for a while, Liu Xuan felt his pain ease a bit and picked up his phone. He looked at the sweet messages from Ma Yihan from days ago, feeling a sharp pang in his heart. They had just confirmed their relationship when she was taken away, and now it was uncertain whether she was even alive.
Nars had made it very clear that they were up against an entire internal Human Fleet. No matter how strong Nars was or how advanced their technology was, two fists could not fight against four hands.
On this planet, Liu Xuan was Nars's only comrade.
With all his family and loved ones captured, it was time for Liu Xuan to take responsibility. In his mother's eyes, he had always been a grown man; sorrow would not save anyone nor bring them back to life.
Moreover, as Nars's partner on Earth, he could not bear everything alone.
"Don't be sad; we need to find a way," Liu Xuan told himself, trying to comfort himself.
"I'm sorry, Xuan," Nars cautiously apologized when he saw Liu Xuan wouldn't fall asleep.
"It's fine; this was bound to happen... it's fine." The more he said "it's fine," the more it revealed Liu Xuan's grief.
If it weren't for Nars, Liu Xuan wouldn't have gone through so much. To say he didn't regret saving Nars would be a lie. But the reality was here; Liu Xuan had to take action.
"Nars, I think we can infiltrate their battleship and then..."
"No," Nars denied, "relying on us to deal with an entire Sun system army, we probably wouldn't make it out alive."
"Then..."
Two lines of tears helplessly streamed down Liu Xuan's face, leaving trails of sorrow—was it really just going to be a matter of letting the enemy do as they pleased?
"But have you considered that there might be another us?" Nars changed the subject, "I mean, allies to fight alongside us."
Yes! Liu Xuan's eyes widened in realization; he thought of someone—his brother An Xiaotian was at the strongest military base in the country. If they were willing to lend a hand...
Yet Liu Xuan still felt it was unlikely. After much internal struggle, he finally dialed An Xiaotian's number. An Xiaotian could hardly believe he was receiving a call from Liu Xuan at this hour; he sat up in bed and said, "Xuan, why are you calling so late? Is something wrong?"
"There's... an urgent matter."
"What urgent matter?" Hearing Liu Xuan's weak tone, An Xiaotian sensed something was off. "Just tell me how much you need? Or is it something else..."
"It's not about money."
Liu Xuan's words sounded very fragile, gently interrupting An Xiaotian: "Xiaotian, I need to tell you a secret. Please don't laugh at me."
"How could I? When have I ever laughed at you? Just say it; maybe it'll help to get it off your chest."
"Actually, I... I'm a patient with schizophrenia. I have two personalities."
An Xiaotian was momentarily stunned; having grown up with Liu Xuan, he had never heard that he was a schizophrenic: "Oh dear, mental issues need mental remedies. Take some medication and talk to me more often. Once you untangle your heart's knots, getting better is just a matter of time."
"But... do you believe that the other him is a Moon Person?"
"I—" An Xiaotian was at a loss for words. Once he processed it, he asked seriously, "Liu Xuan, don't joke about things like this."
"Did you know?"
"I don't know, I'm not a Prophet, but there is already a lot of evidence pointing to you being that man in black. I just didn't dare to voice my thoughts publicly. Everything that's happened recently has been too strange, and the locations of the incidents are all places you frequent. This is no coincidence. The repeated facts force me to pay attention to you... Xuan, I don't want you to get caught up in this turmoil."
"But I have no other choice, Xiaotian. I saved a Moon Person; he's a good person, so don't worry. It's just that I can't escape anymore... Brother, please help me. Did you see the news? My mom and Ma Yihan have all been taken away. What happened in the news is happening to me. I'm so sad; I want to save them but I'm scared, and they've already started targeting innocent civilians... Xiaotian, please help me, I'm begging you..."
Liu Xuan choked up and cried on the phone. He always thought his identity would create a barrier between him and An Xiaotian, but just a few short exchanges had resolved everything. He no longer had to pretend to be strong; during his weakest moments, An Xiaotian was always there behind him.
"You..." An Xiaotian stood up from the bed and paced in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. "You should sleep now and take care of yourself for the night. I promise I'll find a way to help you rescue them."
The next day
General Jiang was reviewing documents in his office when the doorbell rang. "Come in."
An Xiaotian entered and placed the holographic smart watch he had found on the desk. "Report, General. I secretly kept an unapproved electronic device while training at the new barracks. I'm returning it now and am willing to accept punishment."
General Jiang looked at him with some surprise. "Jiao An told me she lost a watch; turns out it was with you. Haha, I didn't expect you to make mistakes too. No worries, since this happened during your time at the new barracks, we won't pursue it further. I'll return it to her."
"Thank you, General, but—" An Xiaotian said, "I have something to ask."
"Please go ahead."
"Did you see last night's news? The woman who was abducted is my good friend Liu Xuan's mother. I'm worried that Liu Xuan might also get into trouble out there; he called me for help yesterday. So, I hope to—"
"Bring him over?" General Jiang asked. "I'm sorry, Xiaotian, but this is your personal matter. I understand your feelings, but we cannot use public resources for private matters; that's a major taboo in official circles."
"I understand, but..." An Xiaotian wanted to argue further when he noticed General Jiang's gaze wasn't on him. Following the general's line of sight back, he saw a strange figure with two horns replacing the advertisement on the television hanging on the office wall—this person was Xiu Sha, a first-tier leading general of internal humans from the Sun faction.
"Dear Vamulel people, we sincerely apologize for interrupting you. We mean no harm; we just want to talk."
At this moment, major media channels across the country, computers, televisions, and even the screens in department stores were all occupied by a video from Internal Human. Countless eyes were fixed on Xiu Sha, eager to hear what he had to say. Not only was the nation watching, but this live broadcast was being viewed worldwide; strangely, each country received the broadcast in its own official language.
"This time, we can say we have encountered your planet. Here, we have two women; they are our bargaining chips, quite openly, right? And the conditions we want are as follows: first, we want to exchange them for another person of yours—he is Liu Xuan from City S in China, with the national ID number 33022620360815001X."
At that moment, Liu Xuan was sitting in a chair at home, his brows furrowed as he watched the television screen. He saw Ma Yihan and his mother tied up behind Xiu Sha, their faces pale. Liu Xuan felt a sigh of relief in his heart. At least they were still alive, he reassured himself.
"However, this is just one of our conditions. The other condition is that we hope to cooperate with your planet and share water resources."
"What?!" General Jiang stood up.
Meanwhile, Liu Xuan remained silent at home, watching.
"Don't worry; we won't overuse your freshwater resources. We only need ocean water resources. Your planet is rich in resources and its people are happy; it truly is a pure land. If you can agree to our conditions, we will immediately release these two women and arrange a meeting with your noble representatives for a transaction at the National Forest Park in City S. Can you do that? Please respond within three days; otherwise, we will consider it an acceptance."
"Oh yes, there's one more thing: our supreme leader will visit your planet in three years. We sincerely wish to cooperate with your planet to create a better new era together."
After finishing his speech, Xiu Sha disappeared from the television screen, and the advertisements resumed playing as if the pause button had simply been pressed.
General Jiang's face turned pale with anger as he commanded An Xiaotian, "Go to Shengfeng Village immediately and bring Liu Xuan here!"
"Yes!"
In the conference room,
"How outrageous! Do they think they have two lives in their hands? How dare they propose so many conditions!" an officer slammed the table angrily. "What do they mean by sharing water resources? This is outright robbery!"
"Exactly! We cannot let them run rampant! General, we cannot hesitate like the United Nations did. I urge you to report to higher-ups; we are already in a state of war with them!"
The atmosphere in the conference room was filled with outrage, yet General Jiang remained silent. Finally, he tapped the table twice.
"Alright, everyone, settle down! As the saying goes, 'Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' We don't even understand the strength and motives of our opponent; how can we talk about going to war? Furthermore, declaring war is not something we can decide unilaterally. We will definitely rescue those two women, and I believe our superiors, including the United Nations, will not agree to such absurd conditions. My only question is, why do they dare to make such outrageous demands based on the lives of just two people?"
"Because of their military strength."
At that moment, An Xiaotian entered with Liu Xuan, startling everyone with Liu Xuan's glowing left eye.
"Hello everyone, I am Nars, the leader of the Inner Beings. I am the target that the enemy has set their conditions for in pursuit."
Everyone was both surprised and confused. General Jiang gestured for them to take a seat.
Once Nars sat down, he recounted the history of the Inner Beings and internal Humans in detail as per General Jiang's request, leaving everyone in awe.
"Such a magnificent civilization—why was it destroyed?" Jiao An asked Nars tentatively.
"Because of a monster," Nars replied. "His name is Ban Sa, known as the Godslayer. He has slaughtered half of the Divine Realm; his power is unimaginable. He also commands an advanced army and a formidable intelligence team. So if war truly breaks out, Earth will face utter devastation. My suggestion is to accept their conditions for now."
Everyone was shocked. Qin Weishan suddenly became alert: "You’re not an undercover agent sent by them, are you?"
Nars shook his head vigorously. "No! I'm speaking the truth. You cannot sustain a long-term struggle against them. What they want is my head and your planet's resources. A temporary compromise can buy you a brief peace, but it cannot guarantee lasting peace; there is too much they desire from Earth. Even if you don’t go to war now, they will invade sooner or later."
"In that case, what use is a brief peace?" Qin Weishan retorted angrily. "We might as well fight to the last!"
"I said we shouldn't go to war, but I never said we can't win a battle," Nars replied. "We should superficially accept their conditions; on the day of the transaction, we strike them hard! Show them that Earthlings are not to be trifled with. I suggest mobilizing your most advanced forces to form an alliance; what we need now is a team."
Comment 0 Comment Count