Chapter Four: Farewell

The sudden news shattered Liu Shaoyu’s original plans. “It’s true what they say—plans can never keep up with changes,” he thought to himself.

Originally, Liu Shaoyu was supposed to graduate officially in two months, after completing a formal military report. But with this sudden transfer order, he had to hastily pack up and prepare to report to General Hu.

The Seventh Army—true extraterrestrial warfare, at the very forefront of the Earth Federation’s interstellar fleet. It was the dream assignment for trainees, the coveted destination for years past. Every year, the number of enemies eliminated by the Seventh Army could circle the Earth countless times.

Liu Shaoyu lived in a dormitory assigned by the academy. Ordinary cadets were grouped together according to their initial training squads, but having just earned the rank of Captain this year, he was allotted a private room.

Speaking of rank, not everyone at the academy could achieve the title of Captain. Earning this rank meant the cadet had qualified for a provisional captain’s position. Out of fewer than a thousand graduates worldwide each year, only a mere hundred were assigned to formal units as captains right after graduation.

On one hand, appointing a captain meant entrusting the lives of the entire crew to one person. On the other, the Federation simply didn’t have that many fleets.

“Communications, contact Xu Meng,” Liu Shaoyu murmured.

“Connecting… awaiting response,” intoned the AI in the room.

“Shaoyu, is it over?” came a familiar voice—it was his first mate, Xu Meng.

“Yes, it’s over. But I won’t make it to tonight’s mecha duel. I just received orders—I have to report to the Seventh Army right away, leaving tonight.” Liu Shaoyu’s tone was subdued, his emotions complex. After all, these were brothers who’d been together for seven years, and now there was no time for a proper farewell. For Liu Shaoyu, an orphan, friends were his only attachment.

“What? Wait—hold on, I’m coming to find you.” Without waiting for a reply, Xu Meng abruptly ended the call.

Liu Shaoyu didn’t have much luggage. Having moved in less than half a year ago, the room was sparsely furnished except for a few picture frames, pristine and white.

Inside the frame were two ten-year-old boys, one slightly chubby and the other taller—Liu Shaoyu and Wang Weifu. In an age dominated by holographic technology, such old-fashioned printed photos were nearly extinct.

“Brother, are you alright?” Liu Shaoyu wiped the frame, gazing at the photograph, lost in thought.

“Requesting entry. Identity confirmed: Second Lieutenant Xu Meng,” the AI’s voice interrupted Liu Shaoyu’s reverie.

“Granted.”

Immediately, Xu Meng burst in from the hallway, beads of sweat still rolling down his forehead.

“In such a rush! Wipe your face first,” Liu Shaoyu smiled at his friend.

“My god! What’s going on? Wasn’t graduation still two months away? Why so suddenly—and the Seventh Army, of all units…” It was understandable that Xu Meng reacted strongly to the Seventh Army. It wasn’t prejudice, but his father had been a fleet commander in the Seventh Army. Although alien battlefield operations were now mostly handled by cloned troops and machines, fleet command was still entrusted to humans. Xu Meng’s father had been completely wiped out in an alien domain operation due to a strategic error—no survivors.

Perhaps lost in painful memories, Xu Meng’s mood turned somber, his once animated expression now calm.

“Brother! You can’t go. You still have two months before formal graduation—you can refuse this transfer order. I’ll file a complaint right now—no way should you be sent to the Seventh Fleet!” Xu Meng’s sorrow quickly turned to agitation; he leapt to his feet, ready to leave.

“Sit down!” Liu Shaoyu’s voice grew stern. Seeing his brother like this, Liu Shaoyu felt a surge of worry. Xu Meng was flawless in tactical command, except for one thing—he was too impulsive. And that could be fatal.

The root of it lay in a lower-year simulated battle, where Xu Meng, as fleet commander, ordered the flagship to abandon its escort and logistics units in pursuit of total enemy destruction. Though he wiped out the enemy, the flagship suffered seventy-five percent damage, left as the lone survivor—a true “bare-bones commander.” Afterward, the military academy’s administration issued a severe warning and a disciplinary action. That’s how Xu Meng earned his nickname. But as Liu Shaoyu knew, the real reason was that the simulation mirrored the battle where Xu Meng’s father had been surrounded and destroyed.

Driven by rage, Xu Meng charged in alone, exterminating the enemy.

It wasn’t that Xu Meng’s strategy was poor—the simulation was an academy-level A-grade scenario, with an eighty-five percent completion rate achieved by only a handful of students. Failure wasn’t grounds for punishment; he was penalized for sacrificing the safety of his entire fleet. The academy considered it a grave error, temporarily demoting him from provisional captain status. That’s why, in Liu Shaoyu’s recent military exercise, Xu Meng served as first mate.

Liu Shaoyu not only passed the battle simulation but achieved a ninety percent completion rate, meaning that even if the enemy wasn’t destroyed, he ensured his own survival—the fate that Xu Meng’s father’s fleet could have achieved. Yet the real outcome had been total annihilation. The reasons behind this were worth pondering.

Calmed by Liu Shaoyu’s rebuke, Xu Meng realized that even if he complained, it would likely be futile.

“I’ll meet you at the Seventh Fleet,” Liu Shaoyu said in farewell, knowing that his brother would ultimately make the same choice to join him. It was the aspiration of every interstellar fleet cadet.

“Though the cold stars do not heed, I offer my blood to the legendary land.”

The full name of the Seventh Fleet was the Earth Federation’s Huaxia Republic Interstellar Seventh Army Fleet, under the independent command of the Huaxia Republic. Its honor was forged in blood by every soldier of the Seventh Army.

The vastness of space was boundless.

The Seventh Fleet’s independent military training base was built on an artificial station outside Earth.

“Preparing for liftoff. Five, four, three, two, one. Propulsion module leaving the atmosphere. Please note changes in gravity.”

The sudden sensation of weightlessness marked Liu Shaoyu’s entry into space, leaving Earth behind. Thanks to simulated zero-gravity training since his first year at the academy, the feeling was familiar, almost comforting.

“Gravity system adjustment complete.”

The renewed pull of gravity brought Liu Shaoyu’s thoughts back down. Through the window, he saw the blue planet where he had spent eighteen years—Earth. The oceans now covered more than eighty-five percent of its surface, making it look more like a water sphere.

“Farewell, Earth,” Liu Shaoyu silently intoned. He felt little nostalgia for this place, save for his few brothers. With neither parents nor attachments, the concept of home was less meaningful to him.

Like a drifting duckweed, he floated between heaven and earth, left to wander as fate decreed.