Chapter Fifteen: Home

In truth, even now, Liu Shaoyu’s understanding of “home” remained vague. All his life, he had believed that home simply meant a place to rest one’s head. That was why he couldn’t comprehend Qingyi Shen’s frown upon seeing the location.

After a wild, thirty-minute drive, the car finally slowed down. From the bottom of his heart, Liu Shaoyu was certain that half hour had been the most thrilling ride of his eighteen years. Of course, if you’d ever seen Qingyi Shen piloting a drone on the battlefield, you’d know she was being exceedingly gentle with this car.

The car rolled to a stop in front of a three-story townhouse. There weren’t many houses on this street; two towering rows of ancient trees lined either side, their dappling leaves scattering sunlight across the old-style villa’s facade. Compared to the modern preference for contemporary architecture, Liu Shaoyu found himself drawn to this design that had endured a thousand years.

Qingyi Shen stepped out as well. Clearly, someone who dared to fly recklessly even over military zones did not worry about parking illegally or attracting police attention—if, that is, the police even bothered coming to such a remote place.

“Welcome home, Major Liu Shaoyu.”

Though the building’s exterior was old-fashioned, it boasted all the conveniences of modern living. As Liu Shaoyu entered the sensor range, a smart security system performed an automatic scan, transmitting his ownership information to the house’s computer.

“Unknown individual detected. Please confirm authorization,” the AI’s voice intoned again.

Thanks to the Personal Rights Protection Act, private property was inviolable. When the system detected Qingyi Shen, it naturally asked its owner for permission.

The AI’s announcement earned it a dramatic eye-roll from Qingyi Shen. “Stranger, huh!” she muttered under her breath—quiet, but not quiet enough to escape Liu Shaoyu’s ears.

He was bewildered. Why get worked up over an AI?

“Miss Qingyi Shen, welcome to my home,” Liu Shaoyu said, suddenly spinning around as he stepped through the door. He offered her a gentleman’s bow.

Ice-queen just a moment before, Qingyi Shen was caught off guard by his gesture and burst into laughter. She tried to keep a straight face, but the smile broke through anyway, dimples appearing on her cheeks.

Peaceful moments like this were rare. For some reason, Liu Shaoyu was suddenly struck by the thought.

On missions, everyone kept their faces taut, the tense atmosphere forcing these young men and women to show a resolve far beyond their years.

War made ordinary moments astonishingly precious. For all his eighteen years, Liu Shaoyu had only known life as a soldier, but now, it seemed something more had taken root in his heart.

As they stepped inside, the lights switched on automatically. The advanced cleaning system kept the house immaculate. Directly upon entering, the living room was surrounded by bookshelves, rising so high they took up almost half the villa’s height.

Shelves crammed with books testified to the villa’s previous inhabitants. For reasons unknown, it had become abandoned and was allocated to Liu Shaoyu after he applied.

He walked straight to the shelves, pulling out a beautifully bound volume: “War and Peace” by Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy. Paper books had all but vanished in this era; now, anyone seeking reading material could simply search the public network. Only a few devoted enthusiasts collected physical books, and the state had banned their sale, designating all such treasures for national museums. As a result, paper books fetched astronomical prices on the black market. The economic value of a roomful of such books was incalculable.

Liu Shaoyu was one of those enthusiasts, but his only steady income until now had been his military salary and a little side business—hardly enough to buy a single sheet of paper.

Happiness had come so suddenly; that was all Liu Shaoyu could think. If not for Qingyi Shen’s presence, he might have locked himself indoors for three months just to devour these works.

But since the books weren’t going anywhere, he decided he should first take a proper look around his new home. Carefully, he returned the book to its shelf. Turning around, he realized Qingyi Shen had disappeared. Just as he was about to look for her, a voice drifted in from outside.

“Come quick—there’s a courtyard out here!”

He followed her voice to the back of the villa and found, just as she’d said, a small courtyard.

He’d noticed during their landing that the villa perched atop a seaside mountain, with fewer than ten houses sharing the summit. Standing in the yard, the adjustable light-screen wall allowed a clear view of the sea not far away. Next door, the neighbor’s courtyard had its camouflage system activated. Qingyi Shen stood at the edge, gazing out at the distant waters.

Opposite them, the man-made island “Jiuzhou Island” loomed, its great bulk made ghostly by a veil of sea mist.

“I checked out the rooms—third floor, third door on the right is mine. I’ll have my things moved in soon. From now on, the third floor belongs to me and Peach. You men are strictly forbidden upstairs without permission,” Qingyi Shen declared in one breath, still facing the sea.

“Huh? What?” The sheer amount of information in her words left Liu Shaoyu momentarily stunned.

“What do you mean, ‘huh’? I already talked it over before I came. This is going to be the Earth headquarters for our Young Dragon Squad. Everyone’s moving in. I’m here on their behalf to inspect the place.”

Only then did Liu Shaoyu’s mind catch up to what was happening, and for a moment, he just stood there, dazed.

“Don’t just stand there. They’re coming right after a quick trip home—you’d better go pick out a good room before it’s too late.” With that, Qingyi Shen darted back inside, off to survey her own territory.

“Oh, and Peach says we’re taking you out to experience the capital’s nightlife tonight!”

Liu Shaoyu’s heart was a tangled knot of emotions. Though this city was unfamiliar, it was still infinitely brighter than the endless blackness of space. Spending three months somewhere with more than just darkness would surely pass quickly, and then he could return to the stars. Yet, this news made him feel a faint, unexpected anticipation for life on Earth in the months ahead.

As dusk fell, the capital’s commercial districts remained as bright and bustling as ever, lights glimmering in streams. Countless stories unfolded in the shadows.

Progress did not mean the darkness would diminish; rather, the more advanced society became, the more the ugliness of human nature was laid bare.

In a private residence, a corpulent tycoon was violating a beautiful young girl, her throat torn with hysterical screams, her eyes filled with despair.

In a restaurant, two gangs of garishly dressed youths brawled, blood flying, police sirens wailing in the distance.

In a narrow alley, two robbers brandished knives, forcing a young woman to take off her wedding ring, her husband lying in a pool of blood beside her.

Scenes like these played out not just on Earth, but across the vast universe—in every star system, every solar system, every planet.

The law of the jungle prevailed everywhere.

Yet for this moment, none of this had anything to do with the Young Dragon Squad gathered in celebration. For now, they were just a group of carefree youths, indistinguishable from ordinary young people once they shed their uniforms.

But when the day came that they donned their uniforms again, they would shoulder the fate of all humanity, fighting and bleeding light-years away from home.

Not for that tycoon, nor for those gangs, nor for those two thieves.

“For all humankind,” Liu Shaoyu declared, raising his glass.

“For all humankind!” The squad echoed, their glasses clinking, flinging droplets of shimmering wine through the air to land in a perfect splash upon the table.