Chapter Seven: The Tragedy of the Seventh Company

Chapter Seven: The Tragedy of the Seventh Company

“Heh, super soldier? God of Earth? Is that all? You’re only worthy of breathing in God Karl’s farts.” The Gluttonous scout sneered with disdain, tossing a mocking remark at Rose before stepping onto his personal flight device, prepared to make his escape.

But things would not go as he wished. Suddenly, a faint blue sphere with a five-meter radius appeared around him as its center, and he found himself unable to move. This was the power of the untimely watch—once a day, absolutely unstoppable.

The ability did not freeze time, but rendered all intelligent beings incapable of doing what they wished. Now this Gluttonous scout desperately wanted to move, to board the flight device and retreat, but his body refused to obey. Only if he stopped trying could he move, but that was impossible—no one could remotely control his body.

Seeing that the watch truly worked, Rose hurried over to the pale blue sphere, hesitating at its edge. She didn’t dare enter, suspecting the effect did not distinguish friend from foe. She stared for about ten seconds, the atmosphere growing awkward; the scout wanted to move but could not, wanted to speak but was mute. In truth, it was little different from time stop. Rose dared not step inside.

Suddenly, inspiration struck. A ripple shimmered behind her as micro-wormholes opened, and gleaming throwing knives shot toward the immobilized Gluttonous scout. With a series of crisp metallic clangs, the scene only grew more awkward—the scout nearly wanted to laugh. Not even bullets could pierce his exoskeletal armor, and yet this woman tried knives?

Rose sensed the awkwardness as well. It wasn’t that she doubted the knives, but firing them from micro-wormholes lacked enough force. It seemed she’d have to throw them herself. Since becoming a super soldier, she hadn’t used her hands for knives in ages—she wondered if she’d grown rusty.

The wormhole flickered again, depositing a handful of knives into her palm. She weighed them; they felt the same as ever.

She took careful aim, gathering all her strength in her arm. With a flick of her wrist, three knives flew out in a flash. This time, the Gluttonous armor failed to protect its wearer.

After three sharp strikes, a knife was embedded in the scout’s forehead, throat, and heart respectively, just the handles visible. His consciousness faded rapidly, and with a thud, his towering body collapsed straight to the ground. Once awareness was gone, he was no longer a sentient being—the watch no longer applied to the dead.

Despite their haste, the soldiers dispatched from the camp arrived at the battlefield only to find two dead alien hounds and five survivors in the wooden hut.

Upon questioning, they learned Rose had gone after the remaining alien. The arriving soldiers arranged for the survivors to return to camp, then pressed on—once again, they’d missed the fight.

Rose had just finished dealing with the Gluttonous scout’s corpse—after all, that exoskeleton armor was quite useful—when she heard engine noise behind her. Turning, she saw headlights slicing through the dense forest: the soldiers, back on the road.

When the soldiers arrived, they found Rose resting beneath a large tree. They quickly dismounted and inquired, “Sergeant Rose, where’s the enemy?”

“Taken care of. Time to head back.”

“Er…” The soldier felt awkward, apologizing, “Sorry, we were late and couldn’t help much.”

“It’s fine, no problem. Now I’ve got a ride back—saves me the walk,” Rose replied indifferently.

“All right, all right, back to camp.”

Returning to the medics’ hut, they found the previous soldiers still there—one was wounded, and the medic was doing what he could. The injury was severe—a stab wound to the abdomen. The soldier was surviving by sheer will, but without treatment, he wouldn’t make it back to camp.

After some more effort, they began the journey home. Rose and Wei Qi sat together in a vehicle. The very soldier who’d faced aliens without flinching now sat with tear-filled eyes, his voice heavy with grief.

“I lost all my brothers of the Seventh Company… one hundred and twenty men, plus fifty civilians, all gone, all gone! Damn alien bastards ambushed us—two missiles and the camp was gone.

Only Xiao Wu and I, along with Luo Luo’s family, made it out. Over a hundred lives, snuffed out in moments. I swear I’ll make them pay in blood! Ahhhhh…”

Wei Qi could no longer hold back his tears. A man does not weep easily, but only because he has not yet reached the depths of heartbreak. His fists slammed into the armrest, blood trickling from his knuckles, but he seemed not to notice, pounding again and again.

Rose listened, feeling an ache in her heart, but she could not reveal it. She was a soldier of the Heroic Company, the embodiment of courage in the people’s eyes; she had to show her strongest face. Seeing Wei Qi’s bloody fists, she grabbed his arm, halting him, and shouted:

“You’re a soldier! The nation and the people still need you to protect them! Your military status is not a license for cowardly tears. A soldier may bleed, but may not weep—do you understand?!”

Wei Qi paused at her words, then replied softly, “Yes.” He wiped away his tears, streaking blood across his face, but seemed not to notice. He continued quietly, “This is the last time I’ll cry. From now on, there will only be blood.”

His tone was more resolute than ever, as if speaking to himself, or perhaps to his fallen comrades.

Rose was touched by his words. Her own father had died to a demonic sniper, her comrades aboard the Juxia were missing or dead. What should she do? She thought of the giant cross floating above Juxia City, of the reborn little demons running rampant below. She felt powerless.

Her nose stung; she, who had just been lecturing others, nearly burst into tears. She quickly raised her head, refusing to let Wei Qi see.

Cloudsun, who had been sleeping, was awakened by the thunderous cheers outside. The soldiers had returned, bringing news that lifted everyone’s spirits—they had slain three alien scum.

With only one soldier wounded, the camp was swept into a victorious celebration. But among the revelers, the noncommissioned officers were silent. They knew the tragedy that had befallen the Seventh Company, their faces smiling yet speechless.

The people and the soldiers needed hope for victory; after all, courage is eroded by repeated failure. Someone must bear the burden—let the soldiers fight with the certainty of triumph.

Rose sought out the sentry—she’d been wanting to ask Cloudsun about his mysterious ability ever since the battle. He was definitely not ordinary, perhaps not even from Earth. Earth’s technology could not immobilize a Gluttonous warrior with a sphere of light.

She resolved to have a proper conversation with him. She could not allow a potentially dangerous, unknown figure to stay in camp unchecked.

She entered Cloudsun’s tent to find him sitting on the bed, looking somewhat dazed—clearly not yet asleep (in fact, he’d just been woken). Rose spoke first.

“Hey, you’re still up?”

Cloudsun shot back, “No, I was asleep—until I was woken up.”

Everyone gets a little cranky when woken.

Rose’s expression froze. Annoyed, she retorted, “It wasn’t me who woke you—why take it out on me?”

“Sorry, sorry, just some sleepiness talking—don’t mind me, I’m not mad at you,” Cloudsun explained awkwardly.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Nothing much, just wanted to discuss something with you,” Rose’s tone softened.

“Discuss what? Did you use the ability from the watch? Well? Did it work? Tell me!” Cloudsun sounded eager by the end.

“Hm? You’ve never used the ability yourself? Yet you swore to me it worked? You made me your guinea pig?” Rose’s keen senses picked up on his urgency, and a suspicion dawned on her. She spoke, incredulous.

Cloudsun grew even more embarrassed, but forced himself to reply, “No, I trust my own tech. I just wanted to know how well it worked.”

“So you’ve never tried it yourself. You may trust it, but I don’t. I put my faith in you, and you gave me a prototype?” Rose’s tone now carried genuine anger—she truly was furious at being treated as a test subject.

Seeing her anger, Cloudsun decided to drop the topic. He awkwardly changed the subject: “It’s already late. I need to get some sleep—don’t you think?”

“Think what? I still have questions. You’re not sleeping until you’ve answered them.” The blunt topic shift and the not-so-subtle hint for her to leave nearly made Rose explode.

“What do you want to know? Ask quickly, I want to go sleepy-bye.” Cloudsun deliberately feigned cuteness to annoy her.

To be honest, Rose was revolted. In all her years in the army, she’d never heard such childish words from a grown man.

Yet her sense of duty kept her there. She straightened, adopting an interrogator’s stance.

“Tell me, what kind of black technology is that watch? I know the brand, but I don’t believe that K*mo has developed anything like this.”

“It’s a branch of my quantum mechanics research. It can control human intent, preventing them from doing what they wish. In short, it separates body and mind.” Cloudsun recited the story he’d prepared—when in doubt, blame quantum mechanics, a plan he’d made when he handed Rose the watch.

Rose hadn’t expected such a shameless explanation. She knew a little about quantum theory—it was indeed a universal excuse.

She could not refute it, so after a moment of hesitation, she got to the point: “Who are you, and what is your purpose on Earth?”

Cloudsun was caught off guard, quickly realizing she suspected him. But he was unfazed: “What’s this, an inquisition?”

“Who are you, and why are you here? Speak.”

“My name is Cloudsun, I’m Earthborn, with a pure lineage—eighteen generations from Huaxia.”

It wasn’t the same Earth, but it was Earth all the same.

She stared into his eyes for a long time. Seeing the sincerity in his gaze, Rose decided to trust him—for now.

“I’ll trust you for the time being, but don’t try anything. Your watch is still with me—any sign of danger, and you’re finished.”

“What? Don’t joke. You’re so annoying. Aren’t you afraid I’ll take advantage of you, alone together like this?”

“You can try—if you think you can take me.”