Chapter 1#

Secret#

The scorching sun was like a cruel giant eye, glaring down at the parched gravel desert.

In the barren desert, a dark shadow moved swiftly among withered bushes, leaving a thick, winding trail in the sand. Occasionally, it let out a strange, hissing cry that sounded unlike any animal.

Ning Feng lurked in a nearby cool cave.

He chewed gum, beads of sweat rolling off the tip of his nose. The magnetic gun in his hand pressed firmly against his abdomen, and his silver-white combat suit made his sturdy, tall figure flicker in and out of visibility under the sunlight. Silent, his sharp black eyes locked onto the shadow until it shrank into the nearest patch of grass. Only then did he grip his gun and dart out silently.

Crouching low behind a large rock, Ning Feng steadied his gun and took careful aim at the shadow.

Bang!!

A muffled explosion, followed by a piercing shriek. The next moment, the shadow swelled into a massive sand mound, from which countless insects and snakes burst forth. A grotesque creature erupted from the mound.

Hiss!

A centipede-like alien insect straightened up in the dust, its two ugly claws like scythes, its enormous shadow swallowing the man whole.

“Whoa—a Hydralisk,” Ning Feng licked his lips excitedly. He spat at the Hydralisk’s face, the gum sticking to it.

The monster flew into a rage, letting out a thunderous roar as it swung its claws at the man.

Ning Feng rolled on the ground, dodging the strikes with ease, and in a few evasive moves, he had created distance.

A swarm of alien insects surged out like a tide, relentlessly biting at his heels. He immediately activated his stealth device and quickly withdrew from the battle zone. Slipping into the shadow of a massive rock, he unhurriedly tossed a thumb-sized bomb. As it landed, he raised his gun and aimed.

“Boom,” Ning Feng smirked as he lightly pulled the trigger.

Boom!!

The deafening explosion erupted, and a massive shockwave swept across the desert. In the murky sky, fluorescent green words reading “Complete” suddenly flashed.

“Perfect.”

Ning Feng stood up lazily, blowing on the gun’s muzzle. His black short hair seemed to glow in the sunlight.

Just then, a mechanical female voice came through his optical comm.

[Target eliminated. Training complete.]

[Closing virtual simulation.]

Instantly, the surrounding scene shifted rapidly, and a rumbling sound reached his ears. The desert, the sun—everything before him turned into countless data points, beginning to crack and shatter.

In no time, Ning Feng was back in the training room.

The walls of the training room were all metal structures, surrounded by monitoring instruments. A large screen floated in the center, displaying the moment Ning Feng had detonated his grenade with a single shot. A scoreboard was attached, densely packed with names. The name at the very top had changed from [Yin Beichen] to [Ning Feng].

“Amazing, Feng!” a uniformed ground crew member said, checking various data on a tablet. “You took down a Hydralisk with a swarm in one shot, and that’s a sixth-tier alien insect!”

“Correction: two shots,” Ning Feng said, shouldering his gun as he glanced at the second-place score, his brows furrowing slightly. “Only this much higher?”

“This is a record set by the Major General, and you’re still not satisfied?” the crew member laughed as he uploaded the data analysis to the server. “You pay so much attention to General Yin, I’d think you have a crush on him.”

“I do like him, but no one believes me,” Ning Feng looked up at the digital clock above the room, which showed 6:05. He took off his gear and wiped his sweat.

“The base record has been broken by you again,” the crew member marveled, looking at the updated data on the panel. “If only I could be as strong as you. I really want to go to the front lines and blow up the Zerg.”

Ning Feng paused.

“Heh, trust me, you don’t want to face them.”

“Huh? You’re not training anymore?”

“Time to wake up Sleeping Beauty.”

The man pointed at the giant digital clock above and strolled into the locker room.

The icy cold water washed away the last traces of fatigue. By the time Ning Feng walked out of the shower in just his shorts, he felt refreshed. His black hair was covered in water droplets, and his skin glowed with a honey-like luster under the white light. Ning Feng put his hands on his hips and let out a sigh of relief.

“Awesome!”

Humming a tune, he paused in front of the uniform mirror by the door to admire himself, striking several muscle poses. When his gaze reached the back of his neck, he froze.

On the back of Ning Feng’s neck was a scar.

This scar was as long as a finger and looked quite gruesome.

Three years ago, Major General Yin Beichen had led the main forces to fight against the Zerg army. As his adjutant, Ning Feng had participated in the battle.

In the final stage, the Zerg Overlord self-destructed, intending to take everyone down. The explosion’s power affected the entire star system, even shaking the command ship in the star field. In a critical moment, Ning Feng had shielded Yin Beichen but was severely injured by the Overlord’s body fragments.

This scar was left from that incident.

Rubbing the uneven skin on the back of his neck, Ning Feng pursed his lips.

Actually, a scar was a minor issue. The serious problem was that he had been infected with Zerg venom. If anyone else found out, while he wouldn’t be forced to retire, he would definitely be demoted and transferred. Staying was absolutely out of the question.

So harsh.

Thinking this, Ning Feng wrapped himself tightly in a towel, ensuring not a single bit of his neck was exposed.

The place where Ning Feng was located was a large military base on the edge of the empire’s star system, belonging to the Sixth Military District—Nola Base.

The Nola Base was built inside the hollowed-out belly of a mountain, far from the other major planets. Above it stretched a vast galaxy, and in the farthest spiral nebula, layers of blue-purple dust clouds overlapped, showing different cosmic dust interacting with each other.

Daylight here was very short. By the time the optical comm showed 6:30, it was still pitch black outside the corridor, but the base’s sentries had already changed shifts.

Ning Feng leisurely walked to the senior officers’ lounge, checked his appearance, and pressed the electronic bell.

“Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.”

After waiting a while with no response, Ning Feng listened for a moment before pressing his fingerprint on the lock.

A short beep followed, and the heavy door opened accordingly.

Inside the dimly lit room stood a man who was just putting on his clothes. His features were delicate, his posture upright, and his golden hair cascaded like a waterfall over his shoulders. The massive floor-to-ceiling window reflected the vast galaxy, and starlight brushed his brows, exuding a faint sense of detachment and coldness.

Yin Beichen, the empire’s youngest Major General and Ning Feng’s commanding officer.

“Good morning, Little Chenchen,” Ning Feng said, his eyes curving like crescents, stars sparkling within his black irises.

Yin Beichen turned to look at him without saying a word, his blue eyes showing no emotion.

Ning Feng ignored this. With two quick taps, he turned on all the lights in the room, picked up a comb, and began tidying the other man’s long hair. “Today is Stardate 1648, October 26th, the tenth year, nine months, and five days since we met. Eighty-seven days until your 28th birthday, and 47 days until my 28th birthday—”

“I don’t recall you having the clearance to open the door,” Yin Beichen’s voice was low.

“As your adjutant, I have clearance to enter any part of the base—except the women’s restroom.”

“Who set that?”

“Commander, it’s my duty to provide you with the most timely support,” Ning Feng said, carefully selecting a black hair ribbon and tying it to the golden hair. “Of course, if you’re willing, I could offer other services, such as a morning hug or a goodnight kiss—”

“Ning Feng,” Yin Beichen snapped coldly.

“Here!” Ning Feng barely straightened up.

“Write a self-criticism or carry a five-kilo load for five kilometers. Your choice.”

Ning Feng raised an eyebrow. “Little Chenchen, how about you choose first—breakfast either in the cafeteria or takeout?”

Arriving at the cafeteria early, there were only a few people besides those who had worked the overnight shift. Many who saw Ning Feng started to greet him, but as soon as they spotted the expressionless Yin Beichen beside him, they immediately snapped to attention and saluted.

Ning Feng returned the greetings with a grin, his handsome smile making several female crew members blush. After Yin Beichen picked a spot and sat down, he slipped off to the food area to choose his meal.

As soon as they saw him, the cafeteria aunties beamed. “Isn’t this Feng? What would you like today?”

“Aunty, that’s a tough question for me,” Ning Feng tilted his head, a troubled look on his handsome face. “Every dish you make smells so good—how am I supposed to choose?”

“Kid, you’ve got a silver tongue,” one auntie laughed until her body shook. “Try this stir-fried rice noodles with beef—the beef just arrived this morning at the spaceport, so fresh!”

“Alright, I’ll have that, as you say,” Ning Feng winked, making the aunties’ hearts bloom. They even cured their hereditary shaky hands, giving him an extra big ladle of sauce. “Oh, I saved you a slice of durian mango mille-feuille last night. It’s freezing in the fridge—I’ll bring it to you later.”

“Really? Thanks, Aunty!” Ning Feng flashed a bright smile.

“And the Major General? What does he want?”

“An even harder question,” he said with a wry smile.

As Yin Beichen’s adjutant, Ning Feng was responsible for his daily needs.

Serving such a picky commander wasn’t easy. The man wandered around for a while, choosing several dishes, before placing the tray in front of Yin Beichen. The latter looked at it seriously, and when he noticed the purple-red fruit, his brow twitched.

“Commander, dragon fruit is rich in nutrients,” Ning Feng, knowing exactly what the other was thinking, said coolly. “Eating it occasionally is good for your health—it can prevent con—”

The last word died under a sharp glare.

The two ate and chatted. Mostly, it was Ning Feng rambling, while Yin Beichen remained cold and distant, only occasionally responding with a brief word or two, mostly staying silent.

Soon, it was fully daylight. The cafeteria gradually filled with people, and service robots bustled about. Thanks to Yin Beichen’s aloof aura, they maintained a certain radius of empty space around them.

But there were always exceptions.

“No wonder the cafeteria’s air conditioner felt so cold today—turns out General Yin has graced us with his presence,” said a handsome man in a white robe, sitting down beside Ning Feng with his tray.

Yin Beichen didn’t react, still elegantly sipping his soup, while Ning Feng broke into a cheerful smile.

“Yo, morning, Professor Qu.”

“Please, call me Qu Yan.” Qu Yan adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, dark circles under his eyes.

Qu Yan, head of the base’s research department, specialized in biological experiments and such.

He and Yin Beichen couldn’t stand each other.

Ning Feng never quite understood why. Two people with completely unrelated roles, yet they’d never gotten along since the first day they met.

If he’s here, that means…

Ning Feng subtly glanced behind him.

“Don’t worry, we stayed up all night analyzing Zerg genes. That kid Qiao Xi hasn’t woken up yet,” Qu Yan said expressionlessly, taking a bite of his meat bun.

Ning Feng gave a dry laugh. “Any breakthroughs with the antidote?”

Lately, for some reason, Yin Beichen had issued a strict order for the research department to develop a cure for Zerg venom within a deadline. This had made Qu Yan’s team miserable, with almost everyone practically living in the lab.

“Not a breakthrough, just some small progress,” Qu Yan said, smoothing his long, tea-colored curly hair. “If things go smoothly, we can start clinical trials this week.”

“Oh?” Ning Feng’s black eyes lit up, and he sat up straight. Even Yin Beichen across the table paused slightly in his soup-drinking.

“How many tiers can it handle?”

“Up to six. With more samples, the progress would be much faster.”

Hearing this, Ning Feng pursed his lips.

Only six tiers.

In truth, for the military, they mostly encountered third- or fourth-tier Zerg, so a sixth-tier antidote was more than enough. But the Overlord was a fifteenth-tier Zerg King—its venom would certainly far exceed six tiers.

As an extraterrestrial alien insect, Zerg venom was extremely harmful to carbon-based lifeforms. In the current galaxy, there was no specific cure for Zerg venom—only medication to control it. Though effective quickly, long-term use increased the body’s drug resistance.

Three years ago, he only needed the medication once every few months. Now, after just three years, he had to inject it intravenously every ten days or so.

If even the injections stopped working…

A flicker of irritation crossed Ning Feng’s mind.

“You seem disappointed,” Qu Yan raised an eyebrow.

“Not at all. I’m super happy,” Ning Feng said with a grin, throwing an arm around the other’s neck. “Thanks for your hard work, Professor Qu.”

Blue eyes fixed on Ning Feng’s hand on his shoulder, Yin Beichen wiped his mouth.

“Ning Feng.”

“Huh?”

“Compile the battle records from the entire galaxy’s engagements with the Zerg over the past year. I want a detailed combat analysis.”

Ning Feng’s face twitched. “The entire galaxy? This—”

“Have it on my desk by this afternoon.” Yin Beichen then turned to Qu Yan. “As for the antidote’s development, please expedite it.”

With that, he stood and left the cafeteria, not even clearing his leftover tray.

“Such an arrogant bastard,” Qu Yan said disdainfully, glancing at Ning Feng. “Why would you ever become someone like that’s adjutant?”

Mentally preparing to analyze and compile records from nearly a hundred battles, large and small, Ning Feng’s head throbbed. He scratched his head in frustration.

“Who knows? Maybe I’m blind.”

Why? What else could it be?

Because he liked him!