8- 15

Chapter 8: Ambush

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

To Wang Tong's dismay, bloody lessons didn't stop coming. Instead, they followed one after another. Over the month, Wang Tong had been injured more than twenty times; almost an average of once a day. Like many other things in life, Wang Tong found that fighting Zergs without getting wounded was harder said than done. In a real life situation, anything could go wrong. Nevertheless, Wang Tong had survived and had since then acted more mature during a fight.

The lower tier Zergs that were scattered around the mine cave had been picked off cleanly by Wang Tong. A few days ago, Wang Tong even killed an airborne Zerg, the kind that liked to scoop a human high up into the air, and listened joyfully while falling humans screamed in despair. This particular one was on patrol while it was skewered by Wang Tong with an iron rebar.

The vicinity of the mine cave, an area of about one mile from the mine in all directions, had become a safe zone. With his increased ability and clear understanding of the Zergs' capabilities, Wang Tong would be able to fight his way out even under an ambush of five to six Zergs.

Wang Tong was lectured by Wannabe for his mistakes after almost every single battle, although Wang Tong felt indignant at the time, he knew Wannabe was right, and that Wannabe was looking after him in his own way.

Once, Wang Tong was injured at the same spot for the same reason, Wannabe furiously scolded him: "Humans make mistakes from time to time, but only idiots make the same one!"

Wang Tong wanted to talk back, after all, he was a human, not a machine, he would not be able to follow Wannabe's instructions meticulously without any errors, especially when he was under immense pressure on the battle ground. But as soon as Wang Tong saw Wannabe's blackened face that had irritation and anger written all over it, he swallowed his pride and didn't dare to speak up against him.

If one is determined to succeed, he will always find a way.

Wang Tong had never easily given up on anything ever since he was little. Other's criticism never deterred him but only served to motivate him to try even harder.

Once, when Wang Tong was still a little boy, he was scolded harshly by Old Fart for not trying his hardest while practicing the tactic. To Old Fart's surprise, his scornful actions didn't scare nor deter little Wang Tong; it only stirred up more ambition and determination in him.

Wang Tong refused to make excuses for himself; he believed that he could do anything if he put his mind into it.

Wang Tong had defeated all of the surrounding Zergs and had created a safe zone around the mine; however, this had only given Wannabe an excuse to sneer at him for being overly confident after a few triumphs over bottom tier enemies. Wang Tong had hardly felt the urge to celebrate after Wannabe repeatedly doused Wang Tong's inflated ego with ice cold smirks. But occasionally Wang Tong boasted about his victory to Charcoal; he was a young boy after all and needed someone to celebrate and commemorate his achievements.

To be fair, Wang Tong had already achieved the unthinkable. He had neither GN power nor METAL suit, with only his bare fists he had slaughtered Zergs with ease. It might seem like a morning stroll to a grand master, but not to a boy who was only a fifteen and a half years old.

Wang Tong patrolled his territory every day, and the size of the safe zone had been increasing. Charcoal had taken on the duty of tending to the communication radio. There had been no signals from the orbital space, only violent explosions in the sky indicating that the conflicts between the humans and the Zergs had become a stalemate.

This day Wang Tong was on his routine patrol inside his safe zone when he suddenly sensed danger and stopped. As he took the time to study the situation with the aid of all of his six senses, he quickly realized that he had walked right into an ambush.

He had finally paid for his continuous killing spree. The airborne Zerg Wang Tong had skewered a few weeks ago must have been a member of a scout team. After the scout team detected Wang Tong as an immediate threat, with the price of one of its members, they quickly swung their forces towards the mine to eliminate this menace once and for all.

There were too many Zergs for Wang Tong to count; Wang Tong estimated roughly in his mind that there were at least a few hundred Zergs surrounding him. He was doomed unless he started running right then.

The Zergs seemed to have sensed Wang Tong's fear, and they swarmed towards him. Before Wang Tong was able to take his first step towards the mine, he found himself already surrounded by Zergs in a quickly shrinking circle.

Mr. Wannabe emerged out of the crystal, and bawled out: "I told you to always be on high alert, you idiot! Even I had to do that, never mind rookies like you!"

Although the Zergs were large in number, Wang Tong knew that he would be able to escape thanks to his speed. The ambush must have been well planned; the Zergs had set their ambushing parties far away to avoid detection, and that explained why Wang Tong had not noticed them.

Charcoal could not run as fast as Wang Tong, and he fell far behind Wang Tong seconds after they started running.

Wang Tong turned his face back and saw the swarm of Zergs behind his fumbling companion. He regretted bringing Charcoal out with him; he had indeed grown overconfident like Wannabe had said:

"Remember always to expect your enemies' unexpectedness and act unexpectedly."

Wang Tong finally understood the meaning of one of Wannabe's lectures that had seemed like gibberish at the time. In light of this new insight, he stopped and turned around to face the swarms of bugs.

"Hold on Kiddo, what are you doing? You're not gonna-" Before Wannabe finished his sentence, Wang Tong bolted towards Charcoal and the Zergs behind.

"Hold…Hold on, you moron! Charcoal is just a robot, you are gonna get both of us killed!" Wannabe shrieked angrily in disbelief, "You are acting like a little fool. A professional soldier would know the rules of the battlefield: 'do not risk your own skin for anyone on the battlefield, not even a sibling, let alone a useless robot'."

Wang Tong shut off the space crystal with one flick of his pinky finger; he had no time for squabbles.

Although Charcoal was a low tier robot, he was still equipped with basic AI, such as the AI that mimics human emotions. The AI program "fear" had been called into Charcoal's mainframe since the ambush party appeared, under the effect of the program "fear", Charcoal ran as fast as he could. But when Charcoal saw Wang Tong was running towards him, he fumbled and almost fell to the ground.

"Master, the other way! Danger! Danger!"

Charcoal waved his set of mechanical arms strenuously in the air; he acted according to the first law of robotics: "To warn and to protect humans in times of danger".

Wang Tong didn't say a word; he was too focused on his current task: to save Charcoal. What Wannabe had said about Charcoal, that he was not worth saving had irritated Wang Tong. Wang Tong knew that without Charcoal's care and attention, Wang Tong would have already been dead by now.

Screw the rules of the battlefield, the only rule he followed then was to let Charcoal live.

"Zushhh."

Wang Tong leaped towards a Zerg and hit its head. Before he had fully retracted his fist out of the rice bowl sized hole, he had thrown his body against another Zerg and punched another hole; brain matter splattered out from the hole. "Charcoal, run as fast as you can! This is your order!"

Wang Tong figured that as long as Charcoal could break out of the encirclement, he could then easily outrun the Zergs himself.

Charcoal wanted to help Wang Tong, but he had to obey his orders as well.

Leap...punch...leap...punch... with every punch, Wang Tong delivered a Zerg to its maker. But after having repeated the process ten times or so, Wang Tong felt his EMF starting to respond sluggishly.

There were simply too many of them.

"Czennn..." A giant claw nearly grazed Wang Tong, two more followed immediately. Wang Tong had been pushed into a corner, defending against only frontal assaults. Wang Tong saw from the corner of his eye as two shadowy claws hacked towards him from the side. Wang Tong wanted to dodge but felt like his body was too heavy to move. His EMF must have been drained after the continuous intense outbursts of soul energy.

He realized it was then too late to avoid the attack. He only managed to maneuver his body to the side hoping the angle would deflect some impact from the vital parts of his body.

"Khommm."

Wang Tong's body flew a few paces away at the impact; he felt excruciating pain as he thudded on the ground. His body stiffened, and he couldn't even lift a finger.

Without GN power, he had to use only soul energy from his EMF, which under normal circumstances, was mainly used as stimulation for GN power. Soul energy alone was enough to handle only a few Zergs, but it fell short in combat with Zergs in such large numbers. Wang Tong knew that he had reached his limit.

The Zergs sensed the location of the immobilized Wang Tong as they closed in on him in a circle. The Zerg who had attacked Wang Tong from the side raised his two claws again, this time they were not at Wang Tong's side, but raised high up in the air pointing directly at Wang Tong's eyes.

Chapter 9: Manliness is Impulsiveness

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

"Czennn..."

The Zerg's attack pierced through Wang Tong's right thigh. As the Zerg retracted its limb, it took Wang Tong with it and left him hanging upside down in the air. The pain caused Wang Tong to react as he delivered a palm strike towards the limb that was partially inside of him. His attack was accurate and sliced the Zerg's leg in half, while Wang Tong fell to the ground with the claw still sticking out of his right thigh.

Wang Tong thought that this would be his last moment.

"Raaarhhhh."

Charcoal let out a cry that sounded both courageous and unnatural. He clutched a wooden stake under his arm and charged towards the Zergs that had surrounded Wang Tong. His display unit that was usually dimly lit was then flashing with bright colors.

"Kommm."

The stake rammed into the Zerg and sent it flying before the rest of the Zergs were able to grasp what had happened. Charcoal quickly picked Wang Tong up into his mechanical arms and ran away as fast as he could.

The Zergs immediately started to pursue them as they howled and roared along the way. Charcoal could almost see the entrance to the mine from where he was, but their way out had been cut off by the surrounding Zergs.

"Put me down Charcoal!" Wang Tong yelled at Charcoal after he figured that the Zergs were only interested in him and not Charcoal.

To Wang Tong's surprise, Charcoal ignored his order for the first time. Charcoal did not reply; instead, he continued carrying him while trying to find a way out.

Suddenly, Charcoal stopped moving. His body slowly rose until it was hovering above the ground. Charcoal released his set of mechanical arms and freed Wang Tong from his cradling.

"Master, run...run...away."

Wang Tong tumbled to the ground and turned his head, he saw Charcoal's chest had been penetrated by a sharp claw that now protruded from his back. Charcoal hung on the claw tip limply and wiggled his body in attempts to break free of the claw tip. The Zerg showed no interest in a robot, it raised its other arms and hacked at Charcoal as if it were trying to finish him off as fast as possible. Charcoal fell on the ground in broken pieces.

A Zerg with dark red skin clawed its way out of the throng of Zergs, Wang Tong had never seen a Zerg like it. The dark red-colored Zerg seemed to have taken a particular interest in Wang Tong as it strode towards him. As it walked over Charcoal's tattered frame, it stomped on one of its limbs on top of it and crushed Charcoal into shreds. The Zergs were well known for their appetite for torturing and playing with their captured prey. This red-colored Zerg must have done this intentionally to satisfy its sadistic need.

Wang Tong's fury re-ignited, a knot of fire burst inside his belly. His body and mind surrendered to a rage which wiped clean all thoughts and emotions save one:

"Kill! Kill! Kill!

The tactics resumed itself; rage-imbued GN nodes whirled around each other with increasing speed which turned everything on their path into furious burning lines. A gust of soul energy shaped like a whirlwind slid out of Wang Tong's EMF. As a slew of energy blasted from the eye of the whirlwind, Wang Tong's body levitated into the air.

Two hundred and fifty-six GN nodes suddenly ignited from the overpowering volatile energy while releasing the GN force that was stored within. As GN power started to fill up Wang Tong's Dantian—an internal nexus of GN powers located near the navel—they condensed tighter as more and more GN power was forced in. A few moments later, the immensely tight knot of GN force reached its limit and finally burst spectacularly.

"Konnnn."

Wang Tong rushed into the throng of Zergs and attacked in berserk madness. His body movements were not at all coordinated, but every strike carried a deadly and unstoppable GN force. Wang Tong ended most of Zerg's lives with a single punch while some less fortunate Zergs were torn to shreds by Wang Tong's bare hands.

Wang Tong could not think of anything else except for retribution and, soon, even that thought had begun to fade away with his consciousness. He delivered a strike but could not feel the warmth of the green blood that splattered all over his face. He struck another one, this time he couldn't even remember why he was fighting. His rage returned, and he delivered the third blow without understanding why he did so.

His consciousness was enslaved and trampled by the raw and untamed GN force. His pupils had disappeared and left a pair of lifeless whites set motionless in the socket. He was on the verge of becoming a "Deranged".

Cultivating one's EMF was an intangible matter that relates to one's soul, careless training could cause severe disruptions to one's mental balances, forcing the trainee to become a so-called "deranged"- A person who fell in an irreversible state of madness with an uncontrollable inclination toward violence.

Every year there were reports of hasty training that inflicted derangement to trainees. Once they became inflicted, some trainees had become vegetables, but most were dead soon after falling into madness.

A very few of the deranged had benefited from the unstable mental state which caused their EMF to grow exponentially. However, without their consciousness, they often went on a killing spree before they were inevitably hunted down by the Confederation.

It is, therefore, easy to see why the number one priority of any EMF cultivation method on the market was to maintain a proper speed of progression. People naturally avoided the tactics that were too "effective" and instead, they favored ones that were less effective. This had led to the popularity of the current version of the Tactics of the Blade, thanks to it having little to no effect on EMF.

In his current condition, Wang Tong was very close to the state of derangement if he was not already there. Filled with rage, he had started a mindless killing spree and, in the blink of an eye, a few hundred Zergs had been slaughtered by him.

Wang Tong slumped to the ground after he could no longer find a target. The wind rustled his thatched hair as his pupils returned, but his face was deprived of any emotion. The booming battleground had suddenly fallen into complete silence; sadness permeated the blood tinged air. Wang Tong sat on the ground like an empty husk.

For the first time in his fifteen and a half years of life, he tasted real sadness in his mouth.

A streak of bright light brought the apparition of Wannabe out of the crystal. He saw Wang Tong sitting still on the ground, and turned to look at the piles of Zerg corpses. He sighed slightly and said, "What a reckless but genuine fool, no wonder the power in the crystal chose him. Lad, there's a long way ahead of you, be strong."

Wang Tong saw the sun that heated his face as he opened his eyes, the bright light brought back his consciousness. Without saying a word, he stood up to look for the remains of Charcoal. He crawled on hands and knees on the ground to examine cracks and gaps in a giant pile of Zergs corpses. Finally, out of a metal box, he found Charcoal's central mainframe which was miraculously unharmed. Wang Tong blew off the dust and tucked it under his arm very carefully.

"Ouch!" Wang Tong felt a sudden shock of unbearable pain as if he had fractured every piece of bone in his body.

"Kiddo, you should thank the gods for still being alive." Mr. Wannabe's apparition drifted into Wang Tong's view.

Wang Tong cracked a broad smile, and said, "What happened? Am I still alive?"

"If you knew that Charcoal could be revived using his well protected main frame, then why did you risk your own life? You almost paid for your recklessness with your life! And mine too!"

Wang Tong scratched his head and said: "My bad, I should have thought twice." Wang Tong felt that Mr. Wannabe always seemed to overly stress about his own life, Wang Tong had never heard of an Einherjar as cowardly and selfish as him.

"Anyhow, you have to understand that battles like this happen all the time in a war and you cannot save everybody-You are not an Einherjar! You were lucky this time to be able to unlock your GN force in a fluke. You were even luckier to be able to pull back from your unbalanced mental state, and by the way, your GN power was not impressive at all, you need much more training in order to use it properly."

Wang Tong sometimes wondered if hurting his pride would bring Mr. Wannabe joy.

"Yeah, Yeah, I got it."

"Fine, I'll give you a day-off from training tomorrow," Mr. Wannabe disappeared into the crystal after he had finished talking with Wang Tong.

At the relief of his day-off, Wang Tong suddenly felt Mr. Wannabe was more approachable. Wang Tong patted Charcoal's mainframe tucked safely underneath his arm. He would never regret saving his friend, even if it meant to risk his own life.

A man is gonna do what a man is gonna do. At least now he wouldn't have to feel bad about leaving his friend to die.

"...Ouch!"

Wang Tong stumbled limply towards the mine gate; he counted himself fortunate to still have four limbs attached to his body.

This hellish day had seasoned Wang Tong in the art of battle. He had gained many insights and wisdom from this miraculous journey to the very edge of life.

It took Wang Tong thirty minutes to eventually reach the mine. All the while, he had been on alert for any more Zergs - he had learned it the hard way to never let his guard down, like a real soldier. He then thought it was ironic that he had always wanted to become a scientist, but now it seemed that he was much better at punching Zerg's brains out than squeezing pipettes.

After Wang Tong had reached the inside of the mine, he sat down immediately to practice the tactic. He knew that he could only bring out his full potential after he was utterly exhausted so he could not waste such an excellent opportunity.

While practicing the tactic, Wang Tong felt that his body had gained an additional singularity of energy in addition to the EMF. This new center node was called Dantian, a nexus of free-flowing GN forces inside of his body. It seemed that his near-derangement had led him towards the first step in unlocking the full power of his GN force.

To Wang Tong's amazement, he had finished one round of tactics in just five hours, a process that usually took him nearly a day to complete since he learned it from Wannabe. He felt famished and started munching handfuls of nutrient pills. He carefully stored Charcoal's mainframe into the space crystal. He decided to revive Charcoal after he returned to Earth, no matter how slim that chance was.

Without Charcoal, Wang Tong's life started to become lonely. Although Mr. Wannabe was still around, he was just a shadow in the light after all, and unlike the obedient and quiet Charcoal, Mr. Wannabe had high expectations and was never happy with Wang Tong's progress.

Wang Tong knew that Charcoal's tragedy was partially his fault, guilt and shame had motivated him to train even harder. He had become absorbed in Mr. Wannabe's hellish training program.

Mr. Wannabe never provided any specific instructions on the matter of the tactic itself, he had never learned the tactic himself after all; instead, he often provided insights on the battlefield based on his own experiences. Wang Tong appreciated the value of these lessons. No matter how contemptuous Mr. Wannabe's criticism sounded, Wang Tong knew deep in his heart that Mr. Wannabe no, the honorable Einherjar was right about everything.

Chapter 10: Please Don't Miss Me

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

Time sure flies, it had been a year since Wang Tong first landed on Norton. His skin had become swarthy, his shoulders grown broader, and his chest firmer. Norton was no longer a strange and unfamiliar planet; instead, it had become his home.

He had made many new enemies on his new home planet, and all of them were Zergs, all kinds of Zergs. He had killed almost every single kind of Zerg, but he didn't even know the proper names for most of them; instead, he called them the big bug, the small bug, the colorful bug and the flying bug. Their names didn't matter to Wang Tong; they had all become dead bugs after all. Wang Tong had also discovered an incredible usage of these bugs; they served as excellent sources of food.

One year ago, even the thought of eating these disgusting bugs would have made Wang Tong cringe, but under extreme circumstances, Wang Tong had to eat them or else he would starve to death. These bugs' external shells were extremely hard and were not suitable for eating, but their innards were soft and juicy. With the aid of the Nutrient Transformer and a little bit more imagination, Wang Tong enjoyed a well-balanced diet consisting of vegetables and meat. He was not sure if there were side effects to eating the Zerg's meat, although he had been pretty healthy since he started eating them.

Wang Tong had thought about the day he would finally leave the planet, he had even begun to sort his inventories and had gotten ready for packing. The situation on the front line was unclear to him. He had since heard fewer explosions in the sky which meant either the Zergs or the Confederation were retreating. He also noticed lately that the number of Zergs had been dwindling, perhaps it was time for another adventure outside, he never liked the feeling of sitting by and waiting.

This day he sat atop a ruined building and was studying the blue sky above. He noticed that clouds hung in the sky that looked just like a hamburger. Wang Tong liked hamburgers; especially the ones that came with bacon. He salivated at the cloud, and almost forgot that he was on Norton.

Suddenly a soft whir broke his daydream and wondered: "Am I hearing things? I must be hallucinating."

He then saw a small investigation ship gliding across the sky in the distance and exclaimed: "Gods! I wasn't hallucinating after all! It is indeed a Confederation ship."

Wang Tong sprung to his feet and climbed up to the top of the makeshift flagpole which hung a crude Confederation flag. He made these landmarks all across the base, hoping that one day they would attract the attention of rescuers.

Wang Tong stood on top of the pole, flagging the ship down with a piece of tattered shirt. Unsure if the ship had noticed him, he became anxious, he screamed at the top of his lungs "S...O...S..., S...OS!"

He wondered if he should use his underwear instead since it was a brighter color.

It seemed his effort was in vain, the spaceship glided further away. Wang Tong felt so depressed that he almost fell off the flagpole but, to his surprise, the shuttle turned 180 degrees in the air and headed towards him. It hovered above his head for a while and then descended slowly.

The roller coaster development made Wang Tong felt like that he needed a moment to contemplate what had just happened.

When he had finally grasped the reality, he almost fell into a trance. He had been living here by himself for an entire year. He was surrounded by bugs without a single human to be seen, Wang Tong for a time had felt that he perhaps would eventually turn into a bug as well.

The spacecraft whirred and landed steadily beside Wang Tong. As soon as the ship's landing pad was released, Wang Tong advanced in, tears of excitement trailed down his cheeks, "Thank gods, you are finally here!"

Two soldiers, one male, and the other female walked out of the spacecraft onto the landing pad. They both looked very young, the man was about twenty-five or so, and the girl looked even younger. A handsome military artier further concealed her age. Both of their faces held an expression of astonishment because they weren't expecting to find any survivors let alone such a young boy.

"Hi there, I am Lieutenant Rios, and this is second lieutenant Zhang Jing, we are from the—"

Wang Tong cut him short with a forced hug, "Thank you, thank you! Thank gods, I thought I would have to spend the rest of my life with the bugs."

Second Lieutenant Zhang Jing cracked a smile and said, "We have won the battle, the Zerg were defeated. We were sent here to search for survivors. We have been searching for ten days, and you are so far the only survivor we have found. You have my congratulations."

"Ha-ha... Congratulations to you for your victory." Speaking with a real human made Wang Tong feel like normal again, he no longer needed to talk to himself again.

"How did you survive? This is unbelievable," Rios asked curiously.

"Ha-ha! I hid in the mine; you won't believe how sturdy that gate was. I had a Nutrient Transformer with me too, that's how I made my food. I thought the loneliness was going to eventually drive me crazy, I am lucky that you guys came before that happened."

The two lifted the corner of their mouths as if moved by Wang Tong's joy. "Let's move out now, our mission here is over, the demolition party will soon arrive."

Zergs were excellent at hiding in half ruined structures. Every time after a gruesome battle, humans deployed a large number of troops to demolish existing buildings in order to drive out the remaining Zergs and annihilate them. Although it meant the effort of later re-development would be increased, it, however, was very necessary to ensure the extermination of the Zerg on a planet.

The spacecraft rose slowly as the ruins of Norton underneath became smaller, Wang Tong was relieved at the fact that he was finally going home.

Suddenly, a throng of Zergs emerged on the ground, all of them screamed at the spaceship with malice and hatred. They all wanted Wang Tong dead. Wang Tong looked down at them through the windowpane and mumbled:"Goodbye Buggies, please don't miss me."

Most people weren't lucky enough to survive the horror, but Wang Tong was not the only one that had been rescued. All of the other survivors were well equipped; most of them were METAL fighters. Some even had the luxury of time to prepare for the long wait. It was only natural for the rescuers to assume that Wang Tong was a METAL fighter as well, albeit a very young one.

The rescuers let the survivors clean themselves up, and conducted a thorough health check up before sending them on a ship back to Earth. Almost all of the survivors were given a handsome compensation in order to seal their lips. Although the Zerg Invasion was a well-planned surprise attack, the Confederation was not entirely innocent either. The politicians could always afford to spend more cash than their reputation, even if it meant a lot of cash.

Wang Tong didn't ask for any money as compensation, he asked for an admission letter to a Military Academy instead. The government officer agreed his term without any hesitation. He even wrote a referral letter for Wang Tong and promised him that if his life became troublesome in the city, the letter would instruct the local authorities to help him out.

The officer smiled broadly and patted Wang Tong on the shoulder, praised him as a model citizen of the Confederation for not blackmailing the government like the others had. Wang Tong did not care about the cheap praise, he wanted to go home.

The trip to his home was much more comfortable than the trip to Norton. There was no need to sleep through the quadratic speed; instead, there were movie theaters, coffee bars, pool houses and many other entertainment facilities aboard the ship. The entire trip back to Earth rather felt like a vacation, with beautiful space stewardesses at his service at all times. Wang Tong felt like an important person for the very first time.

Everyone aboard the ship was in a good mood, they rejoiced not only at their miraculous escape, but also the handsome compensation that the Confederation had promised them. Many of them had also received phone calls from the media for interviews; it seemed that the Confederation wouldn't pass up on such a good opportunity to show off their dedicated rescue efforts. Wang Tong wasn't interested in helping the Confederation's propaganda at all.

For some unknown reason, Wang Tong felt an emptiness in his belly as he left Norton. He had lived on that planet for an entire year, and he had since grown up a lot, both physically and psychologically. His gut told him that he might go back to that accursed planet again.

"Are you Wang Tong?" a female's voice drifted into Wang Tong's ear. It sounded delicate and pleasing to the ear, unlike Mr. Wannabe's raspy and sometimes high-pitched yelp.

"You are?" staring at the attractive girl in front of him, Wang Tong could not help but feel light headed, he found that her beauty was beyond the capability of words.

The girl couldn't help but to laugh, "I am Zhang Jing. We just met down there, am I really that forgettable?"

Wang Tong felt a sudden embarrassment. He was too excited to see humans again after one year of solitude; he barely remembered any details of that encounter.

Chapter 11: Rises and Falls of History

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

"Ahh. Right! You are Second Lieutenant Zhang Jing; I didn't expect you to be here as well."

Zhang Jing smiled, "I am only a student, not a Confederation officer yet. That's why I'm going home to Earth with you guys." Wang Tong couldn't help but notice that Zhang Jing had a pair of wide and charming eyes, a pool of calmness that shined a keen light from deep within.

"What are you staring at?"

Wang Tong realized that he was gawking at her; he shifted his eyes away and apologized, "I'm sorry, I was looking at your eyes, they are gorgeous."

The military had strict hierarchies; Wang Tong found it implausible that a student could be promoted to a second lieutenant. However unknown to Wang Tong, Zhang Jing was simply an officer-in-training.

"Thanks, that was very sweet of you."

"Are you an Ivantian?"

"Yes, are you from Earth?"

"Yes, do you live on Earth as well?" Not only were there only a handful of Ivantians who lived on Earth, but they were almost identical to Earthlings. Unlike the Ivantians in the old ages who had put great effort into preserving their bloodlines, the Ivantians nowadays favored genetic modifications which made them look more like Earthlings.

"No, I live on the Moon, our ship is going to make a stop there, if you have never been there before, you should go visit while we are stopped there."

"The Moon?" Wang Tong cracked a smile, "That is an expensive place to visit, I think I'll pass." Although the Earth was the mother planet of the human race, the Moon instead had become the center of human's technological innovations. Human's development had reached every comer of the Moon, including its dark side. In fact, the artificial lighting that sprawled all over the dark surface had made it the side of the Moon that never sleeps. Space had quickly become a precious commodity on the Moon to the point that only the social elites and the richest could afford to immigrate there.

"Are you always so pretentious?" Zhang Jing asked curiously.

"Where did you get that from? You might have misinterpreted me." Wang Tong could smell the faint perfume from her body and it relaxed every single muscle in his body as he got lost in his mind: "Thank gods! Living in the human world is so much better than living in that bug sack."

"Jinny, I've been looking for you everywhere, the—hey, isn't this ... Wang Tong?" Rios had a good memory, "Nice to see you here again."

"Same here, thank both of you for saving me from that hellish sh*t-hole," Wang Tong said sincerely.

"You're welcome, but that was our job. Jinny, the captain was looking for you." Rios looked at Zhang Jing; his gaze was soft and tender, full of untold feelings.

It was highly unlikely that a girl like Zhang Jing lacked admirers.

Although Zhang Jing seemed to want to spend more time talking to Wang Tong, knowing that the Captain was looking for her; she stood up and left the cabin. Rios showed Wang Tong a smile before he started bustling about his own business. Rios carried a certain air around him whose quality made Wang Tong think that Rios had never lacked prestige in his life.

Wang Tong was then surrounded by a group of prattling middle age men. He found it hard to blend in, so he left the cabin for his living quarters.

He was very impressed with his living quarters, nothing like the coffin-like bunkers he had to endure on the way to Norton. It even came with a separate bathroom. Wang Tong could have never imagined himself holding a boarding pass to a spaceship that offered so much comfort and indulgence.

"Hey kiddo, that girl seems nice, are you gonna think about your next move?"

"Shut up!" Wang Tong had promised Mr. Wannabe that he would let him out from time to time.

"Aww... are you being shy? You are still a virgin, aren't you? C'mon, girls are meant to be chased. Haven't you ever heard of the tale about the man who...Da*n... how could I forget such an enticing story?"

"I know you haven't done it for a long while, why don't you leave me alone and blow your load somewhere else?"

"You little b*stard, how dare you make fun of me! You just wait there, I am gonna come out right now to smash you into a pulp." Feeling like his ego was hurt Mr. Wannabe suddenly threw a tantrum at him. Wang Tong was already used to his outbursts; he looked at Mr. Wannabe's attitude like watching a show.

"Save your energy, I have turned the TV on for you, watch it or not, I don't care, but I'm going to finish one more round of tactics so be quiet."

Cultivating his inner energy had become Wang Tong's habit. Mr. Wannabe nodded in approval, and he said soberly, "Good, it seems that you have noticed your inadequate aptitude, don't worry, more practice will make up for it."

Whether Mr. Wannabe's verbal abuse was inadvertent or not, Wang Tong had gotten used to it; otherwise, he would have already gone deranged.

"Jinny, you seemed to be very interested in that guy?" Rios asked softly, unlike the way of a higher ranking officer talking to his subordinates. Even the captain had to talk up to her because of her family background let alone Rios.

"Fellow brother, don't you think it was strange that he survived?" A light shone in Zhang Jing's eyes; she seemed to want to dig deeper than what meets the eyes.

"Why? He seemed pretty ordinary to me. He hid in the mine cave the entire time, didn't he?"

"That's what he told us. Haven't you noticed the scars on his arms? Those were combat wounds. He wasn't just hiding."

"That is indeed strange. I first guessed that he was a METAL fighter, but that won't explain the wounds; and if he was fighting Zergs without any protection, he should have been dead by now." Rios clicked his tongue as if he was impressed by Zhang Jing's observations, "Incredible attention to details. You are truly a Zhang, the house of the Iron Curtain."

Zhang Jing smiled and said, "I was just guessing. It doesn't really matter to our mission here even if I am right."

"That's right as well." Rios decided not to give the issue too much thought. After all, it would be easy for him to survive the attack as long as he avoided the mass Zerg Army.

Zhang Jing swept a few strands of loose hair off of her forehead and revealed her elegant face. Rios wouldn't stop staring at her. It was his uttermost honor to serve as a bodyguard to Jing from the House of Zhang.

House Zhang of the Iron Curtain was one of the five most prestigious human families. Their lineage could be traced far back into history, and their names were respected across the entire Confederation. It was little to no wonder that Zhang Jing was escorted by a personal guard on this mission. She had also acquired the title of Second Lieutenant right before this mission. This title, although unimportant to her, would provide legitimacy to her participation in a military mission as a student.

"Thank you for looking after me during this mission, fellow brother. I think I am going to head back to my room now; I need to review what I have learned on this mission."

"Of course, please let me know if you require anything else." Rios knew that members of the Zhang family had the special ability to read one's mind. Zhang Jing did not seem to be interested in him so any of his further efforts in wooing her would be in vain.

Families and dynasties rise and fall throughout human history, but five had stood the test of time and became the so-called Five Families of the Confederation. They had spread their influences throughout the human society over the last few hundred years. Members of the five families all served important posts in the government, forming an elaborate web of power. Their influence over the society made them untouchable even by the newly risen super powers.

The Li Family held a special meaning to the entire human race thanks to one of their family members, General Li Feng, who had led the humans to their victory in the Great War against the Zergs.

General Li Feng's descendants didn't simply sit on their glorious past, the "Tactics of the Enchantress" and the "Tactics of Vayu" (or called the "Tactics of the wind-god") were two of the five tactics that were considered the most powerful in the entire world. The "Tactics of Vayu" was said to be created by General Li Feng himself, while General Zhou Zhi created the "Tactics of the Enchantress". The "Tactics of the Enchantress" were said to be the most powerful tactics when used by a female.

The Ma family use to be a loyal companion and the most trusted adviser of General Li Feng. Having gained control over the very fabric of human society- Economy and Technology, the Mas prospered over the last four hundred years. They were the owner of technology hegemony FFC Corporation. Although the Mas did not have any tactics of their own, they were allowed to study either one of Li's deadly tactics, thanks to the close ties between the two families.

Out of the Five Greatest Families of the Confederation, two were from earth, and another two were from the moon.

Chapter 12: I Will Find You

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

General Rilangalos Dower, whose reputation was on par with General Li Feng, was the one that created the "Tactics of the Valkyrie", and it alone had made the Dower family prosperous for centuries. The Dower family also became the only family that could be compared to the Li family.

The Zhang family had always been the most influential power in the government, which gave them their nickname "Iron Curtain". Their status in the Confederation was unshakable despite the political turmoil of their homeland, the Moon. The Zhangs also had their own powerful tactics called the "Tactics of the Conscious Heart" which had been passed down for generations by the core members of the family.

The fifth of the Five Families was the Lie family from Mars. The Lie Family rose to power on Mars during a bloody political struggle, some four hundred years ago. Their family tactics, which was said to have been imbued with the power of the tianshi—the celestial sage—was called the "Tactics of the Blaze".

The established prominence of the five families may be irrevocable, but they were not the most powerful existence in the known universe. None of the five families would dare to compare their might to those who resided in the Sacred Land. The Sacred Land was a place of incomprehensible power, but details of this place had always been shrouded in mystery.

The Sacred Land was a place for commemorating the Blade Warriors, whose mysterious legends still heavily influenced the humans today. Although in the hundreds of years after the great war the Blade Warriors had faded into the history, leaving only their names to be remembered.

The Sacred Land had always remained a neutral force; however, their neutrality never undermined their influence, because the only passage to the Hall of Valhalla lay within it. People believed that the Hall of Valhalla hosted the Blade Warriors' most deadly last reserve, because of that, each of the five houses had sent their elite METAL fighters to guard the passage, thus effectively preventing each other from learning the secrets in the Hall of Valhalla. The presence of all five houses had formed an intricate balance of power within the Sacred Land.

Zhang Jing always liked to record her findings at the end of the day; she found that it was an effective way to further analyze the facts beyond what was apparent. She had written down the details of her encounter with Wang Tong a while ago, but Wang Tong's face kept on popping out. She started to wonder why her subconscious would remind her constantly of this seemingly unimportant boy as if there was a force inside of Wang Tong that had kept on drawing her attention.

After Zhang Jing had failed to figure out why an ordinary boy like Wang Tong had distracted her, she allowed a corner of her mouth to rise a little and tried to undermine her curiosity – a defect in humans' emotion, so that she would practice the "Tactics of the Conscious Heart" in peace.

The luxurious life on the space liner meant nothing to Wang Tong since practicing the tactics had already become his life. Survival instincts had driven him to learn the tactics in the first place, but as he practiced and improved along the way, he had learned and experienced things that he had never been able to before. He started to understand why there were so many individuals, like the one that was trapped in the crystal, who had become obsessed with tactics and martial arts.

To most people who were aboard the ship, it had been seven days of wild parties and celebrations for their close escape, but to Wang Tong, it was no more than an ordinary trip back home. He hadn't seen Zhang Jing again since their last encounter.

As soon as they landed on Earth, a group of journalists swarmed towards the survivors. Wang Tong didn't talk to any of them; instead, he found an opportunity to sneak out of the spaceport and headed directly towards home. He had been away from home for over a year now, so he really wanted to see how Old Fart was doing.

He arrived at his house located in the Hope District, a nicer word for the ghetto. Many of the residents of the Hope District received social welfare from the government. Without a deep pocket, this place was the best the poor folks could get. The real-estate industry had continued its boom and had caused the housing prices to skyrocket.

"Old Fart, I'm back! Aren't you dead yet?" Wang Tong yelled at the door while his powerful kicks sent the door rattling, but no one answered the door, Old Fart must have gone to drink in the bar again.

He pressed the finger scanner by the door; his fingerprints smudged the glossy surface. Wang Tong was happy to be home again, regardless of whether Old Fart was at here or not.

"Cannot match fingerprint, please re-enter again."

Wang Tong was baffled by the consul's mechanical reply and pressed on the scanner a few more times, but the door didn't move an inch.

"F*ck, I've only been away for a year, is this really necessary?" Wang Tong cursed, thinking that Old Fart must have changed the lock as soon as he had left Earth.

The door opened a crack, and a middle-aged woman with an unfamiliar face emerged from behind the door. She asked: "Mister, who are you looking for?"

"Hum... Who are you? Why are you in my house?" Wang Tong asked with confusion and surprise written all over his face.

"Ah, you must be the one he was talking about. Excuse me, but this is my house now, the previous owner said if a young boy like you came to ask for him, he wanted me to tell you to go to the information hub, he left a message for you there."

Wang Tong walked over to the information hub with a mind full of questions and punched in his password to the information terminal. A message from Old Fart popped up which Wang Tong opened with anticipation.

"Little S*it, I guess I owe you congratulations if you are able to see this message alive and well. Now let's get down to it, I wanted to tell you that I have decided to move out, a brighter future and prettier women await me elsewhere. Please do not worry about me; I am doing better than you.

"How did the training go, have you used my tactics to its full potential yet? Well, if not, I hope you would have at least realized by now how badass my tactics is. Ahh...as for the space crystal, I forgot to mention that I had slipped it out of a rich person's house many years ago, if you found anything valuable in it, please do not hesitate to share with me. I wouldn't mind some cash for my reward, my bank account is ... But, if you found trouble instead... then do not contact me ever again."

Looking at the apparition of the eccentric Old Fart on the screen, Wang Tong felt mixed feelings of warmth and anger. The Old Fart inside the screen seemed to have finished his recording as he bent down to turn off the recorder, but he paused for a moment and continued recording: "I have already sold my house, and I left some credits for you in your account. You have grown up now, go out there and live an independent life. No need to thank me for what I did for you."

As Old Fart finished his last words, Wang Tong's frustration erupted inside of him as he felt like he would have smashed the information terminal if not for the fine that he would have to pay. Old Fart seemed very determined to be left alone, so much so to have sold his house.

Old Fart's house had always been a cozy, albeit dilapidated, home, but now without a home to go to, Wang Tong had to look for another place to stay. If it was the Wang Tong of one year ago, he would have fallen into a panic attack and wouldn't know what to do, but Wang Tong had matured quickly on that hellish planet, he now feared nothing.

Wang Tong went to the bank and checked his credit. He counted the zeros in the number, "One, two, three, four… what?! Calm down now... calm down..."

Wang Tong was never good at being calm; his frustration eventually erupted into a heart-wrenching cry after seeing that Old Fart had left him only thirty grand. It might be a lot for pocket-money, but this was all that Wang Tong had now, plus a new jacket that was given by the Confederation as a gift.

"What kind of life is this? How can I live on only thirty grand for the rest of my life?

"Damn you Old Fart! I swear I will find you and you will pay for this!"

Wang Tong's rage exploded in a devastated shriek without noticing that many passersby were staring. After gaining some control of himself, Wang Tong regretted that he hadn't brought anything back from Norton for some quick cash.

Wang Tong knew that it didn't matter what had happened to him, the Earth still moved; therefore he had to face reality and find a place to stay as soon as possible. As he wandered around the streets, while hoping to find cheap accommodations, he stumbled upon a burger place. Wang Tong's tummy reacted with an angry growl.

Wang Tong was not a sophisticated person; therefore he didn't like the delicacies provided by the Confederation on the spaceship. Instead, he favored hamburgers down here on Earth in a ghetto district. He rushed into the shop without any hesitation.

One hour later, everyone in the burger restaurant, customers and workers included, were staring marvelously at Wang Tong. He had since eaten thirty full-size burgers, a feat that could not even be repeated by a pig.

Wang Tong could not care less about the insulting looks he had attracted, he rubbed his belly and burped then said complacently, "Not too bad, I am almost full now."

Everyone was stunned by what Wang Tong had just said. The waitress who had kept a particularly keen eye on Wang Tong wondered if this boy had just been released from a detention center, and if so, the Confederation must have used starvation as a means of torturing inmates.

The waitress was correct, in a way. Wang Tong had been starved by the Confederation not in a detention center but on a luxurious spaceship. The food on the ship looked fancy but lacked quantity. Since Wang Tong had received these expensive foods for free, he'd felt ashamed to ask for more. Not only because he felt like it would be taking advantage of the tax payer's money, but especially because he was aware that if he had eaten as much as he could, the whole ship would have starved to death on the first day of their journey.

However, here in this burger shop, he had bought these hamburgers with his own money; therefore he was comfortable eating as many burgers as he wanted. Wang Tong agreed that burgers were the best kind of food because it has both meat patties and vegetables; it was "delicious" in its simplest form.

"It will be three hundred credits in total." Although the waitress's face shivered in disbelief at Wang Tong's appetite, she maintained a passable smile.

"Three hundred?" Wang Tong furrowed his eyebrows, "Gosh, in one day I've already spent one percent of my life savings." Wang Tong really wished that his math was worse so that he would be less aware of his financial situation.

The waitress started to get nervous after she saw Wang Tong's deeply furrowed face. She hoped that this newly released juvenile criminal would not harm her. Judging from the amount he just ate, she believed that his punch would be deadly.

Wang Tong suddenly flattened his furrow and drew his teeth in an amicable smile. "Can you give me a discount, please?"

The waitress's mind fumbled after its misjudgment. "Ehm...Sorry, you ordered the specials, they don't have discounts."

"Greedy b*stards." Wang Tong mumbled as he reluctantly swiped his credit card while feeling sorry for his three hundred credits.

As soon as Wang Tong stepped out of the burger shop, bright sunlight made him quickly forget about the guilt of his splurging. He looked around at the familiar scenes of his hometown and cherished the fact that he was finally back.

Wang Tong found a public information terminal and searched for rooms for rent. As he scrolled down the list of available houses, his sunshine like mood quickly turned gloomy as he realized that the housing prices had doubled since he left. With the current price, it was almost impossible for him to find a place that would last long.

He quickly found a potential solution - school residence. He was planning to go to school anyways, it just seemed that his plan had to start earlier than he thought, but the question then was that of which school should he attend?

The best academy on Earth was no doubt the Capth Academy. This S-class Academy was the pride of the entire human race. But after Wang Tong considered his funding and his chance of being accepted, he immediately gave up his hope of entering that school.

Old Fart always told Wang Tong, "Man should not be too greedy." Right then Wang Tong absolutely agreed with that.

He figured that he did not need to attend the S-Class schools; an A-class school would be more than enough. There were many A-class academies in Shangjin, and one was particularly "famous," the Academy of Ayrlarng, because General Li Feng had graduated from there. However, it was solely because of its connection with General Li Feng, Ayrlarng was able to sustain its A-class status.

The status of the Ayrlarng Academy had been in a downward spiral after the incident stirred up by the General Rilangalos Dower, while that of the Capth Academy had risen. Capth Academy was originally founded by General Li Feng to train soldiers in new and innovative military tactics and technologies. Over the centuries, many generals and elite scientists had graduated from Capth, and Capth itself had become a shining example of higher education on Earth.

To someone like Wang Tong who only wanted to get a degree and graduate, Ayrlarng Academy was more than enough. It also had another advantage that no other academy did: It was very close to where Wang Tong had lived.

Wang Tong still kept a glimmer of hope that Old Fart would one day return to his old house, perhaps after he lost all of his money in a drinking game since it had happened before; Wang Tong figured that it was likely to happen again. Therefore Wang Tong decided to stay close to Old Fart's house and wait him out.

Wang Tong had successfully entered Ayrlarng despite the fact that he had been late for registration by two weeks. The slack administration was a sign that the academy still indulged itself in its glorious past, despite the fact that over the last few hundred years, most reputable people had graduated from Capth and none had graduated from Ayrlang.

Despite its lazy administration and backward technology, Wang Tong was thrilled with this school. The quality of the school did not matter to Wang Tong anymore since he had already learned the Tactics of the Blade, but what was paramount was that the academy offered a place for him to receive a large amount of fundamental information and a positive environment to improve himself.

Mr. Wannabe still yelled and cursed at Wang Tong from time to time, but Wang Tong did not want to talk back, partly because he felt sorry for Mr. Wannabe's dementia. However, he still wondered if Mr. Wannabe was really as bad-ass as he said he was, perhaps he would find out the answer after he learned more at the academy.

Wang Tong liked to think about his future life in Ayrlang Academy. This marked a new start in his life and the beginning of his colorful youth. Wang Tong laughed from the bottom of his heart and felt like the sunshine on his face was exceedingly vibrant and pleasant.

"Hey boy, watch where you're stepping," a good samaritan on the street said to Wang Tong. This passerby had never seen anyone so happy after they stepped in a pile of dog poop.

"Ahh... pick up your pet's s*hit people! My shoes! This is my only pair! Ahh..."

On Wang Tong's way to his first day of school, he ushered in this new episode of his life with a saddening wail.

Chapter 13: Frugal Living

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

Wang Tong knew that the dog poop was a bad omen. As soon as he finished paying his tuition at the registration office, the admin assistant immediately informed him that all of the dorms were already taken because Wang Tong was late for registration.

The admin assistant put fake regrets on her face, but she could not feel pity for him after seeing his equally fake expression of helplessness. She had eventually agreed that she would try her best to arrange accommodations for him in three days.

With nowhere to go, Wang Tong walked the streets in a melancholic mood.

"What a s*itty school, I paid five grand in credits without event getting a room." Wang Tong wouldn't mind living out in the open since he had done that on Norton all the time, but now he was in a civilized city; he could not sleep just anywhere on the streets.

He asked the price for the hotels around the school, but to his dismay, they were way above his budget. The cheapest one was five hundred a night which was too costly for Wang Tong who did not have an income.

"Curse these greedy landlords, do they expect students to be millionaires?"

To be fair, the astronomical cost of living on earth was not entirely due to greed, it was also because of Wang Tong's old nemeses, the Zergs. Thanks to their extraordinary ability to survive in harsh environments and expertise in guerrilla warfare, the Zergs were practically everywhere. Their complete extermination was extremely costly, if not impossible.

Humans were forced to focus their limited resources on densely populated cities. The housing prices had skyrocketed as people fled into the city to avoid the Zerg army's raid. The increase in prices had slowed down over the last few years thanks to a series of legislations passed by the Confederation, but these new policies still failed to bring the housing prices down.

Wang Tong did not care, nor did he have the time, to attend the school orientation where the teachers boasted about the rich history of the school. His priority right now was to find a place to stay.

He walked on the street until it was done; he stopped at an entrance to a shop that was decorated with bright flashing neon lights. A light bulb suddenly lit up in Wang Tong's mind.

"Yea, I can stop over here for a few nights."

Tong waited outside until midnight so he would be able to pay the discount price for the overnight rate of fifty credits.

This place was called Dream-Heaven. It was not a bar, nor were there any drugs. In the ancient times, people would call it an internet cafe, later it was called the VR entertainment center and many other different names similar to that. In other words, it was a place where people go to enjoy the world of virtual reality. This was where the Blade Warriors originated from.

The specific store Wang Tong stayed at was called the Dream-Heaven, Branch D-187, one of the many under the largest VR entertainment company-DREAM, formally known as Yu Zhan. One of the seemingly ordinary workers from this company named Galber was eventually elected as a Councilor of the Confederation thanks to a game developed by DREAM. Galber remained as the Councilor for three consecutive terms, and many said that his quick ascent to power was largely due to his connection with the Blade Warriors, similar to General Li Feng who also had an intimate tie with the Blade Warriors before he entered the center stage of power. After the great war, The Blade Warriors disappeared from the public, and Galber's descendants didn't remain in politics, they instead focused on their family business and grew the company DREAM into one of the largest enterprises of the Confederation.

Technology had progressed pretty far since the days of the Blade Warriors and given birth to many new forms of entertainment, but DREAM still invested heavily in the gaming industry, after all, the success of a game relied more on luck than advanced technologies.

There had been no revolutionary developments in the VR industry since the time of the Blade Warriors who had re-defined the entire industry.

History could mean little to the humans who were still alive. Although many great individuals had changed the course of history, their impact was intangible to the living, albeit being real. Memories of recent legendary heroes might still take form in tales and stories, but those who belonged to even older ages, like Confucius or Einstein, memories of these great humans were shapeless and blurred.

Wang Tong wasn't here for games, neither did he have the interest. He laid down on the sofa and was getting ready to sleep. He decided to go to the school tomorrow again to make sure the admin assistant wasn't slacking at her job. It was his life after all; he could not count on anyone else to be responsible for his own life.

Wang Tong knew that he could afford to revive Charcoal with the savings that Old Fart had left for him, but without any income, Wang Tong decided to delay his plan.

"Kiddo, get up! I know you haven't fallen asleep yet."

Mr. Wannabe emerged out of the crystal; he had made an agreement with Wang Tong to come out only when Wang Tong wasn't busy with other matters.

"I want to sleep, I'm tired after being busy all day long."

"Well too bad, I am not tired. Do you want me to watch you sleep? C'mon, I want to watch the TV."

"Dear master, this place is called Dream-Heaven, a place for VR entertainment; they don't call it TV here," Wang Tong said inattentively.

"Entertainment? Wahaha, where are the busty girls? I want one!" Mr. Wannabe turned his head on his shoulders to look around, but to his disappointment, he saw only a tiny white room and no girls.

Wang Tong was speechless at the pervert ghost. It seemed like some things will never change in a man, regardless of whether they're dead or alive.

"Why are you staring at me like that? I was just kidding, you know that I am only interested in martial arts, it was you who was so easily distracted by girls."

"Well, I wanted to be distracted, but I don't have any opportunities," Wang Tong said helplessly.

"You are right, it must be hard for you," Mr. Wannabe studied Wang Tong for a second and said, "Look at you, you are poor and ugly, no wonder you don't have any opportunities." Mr. Wannabe rubbed his chin as if he was reminding Wang Tong that he had been much better looking when he was Wang Tong's age.

Wang Tong felt disgusted after he tried to imagine what Mr. Wannabe might have looked like when he was younger. He didn't believe that Mr. Wannabe had any better chance than he did then. He decided to go to bed without arguing with Mr. Wannabe about who was more handsome, heated conversations would make it hard to fall asleep, and he needed sleep badly.

Sleeping had become crucial to Wang Tong ever since he started practicing the tactics thanks to its ability to boost the effect of the tactics. While he was cultivating inner energy using the Tactics of the Blade, he would be able to stay up for a few consecutive days. However, this had also made him sleep longer while he wasn't practicing.

"Fine, I will open the VR terminal for you. Watch whatever you want, just don't bother me." Wang Tong spoke to Mr. Wannabe as he pressed a button. The tiny white room suddenly expanded in front of their eyes into a panorama view of a VR page.

Vibrant pictures of VR games and augmented reality shows filled up their entire vision. VR entertainment, like other forms of entertainment, filled the empty spaces in human's materialistic life thus it had never faded out of history since the day it was invented.

The menu scrolled at Mr. Wannabe's command. He was utterly amazed by the technology that allowed him to interact with the interface despite being an intangible ghost.

"Holly bananas! I can interact with it! This is awesome! Now now, quickly kiddo, tell me how to play my selections." Mr. Wannabe swung one of his fingers at Wang Tong, it was shaking in his excitement.

Wang Tong shook his head and joked, "I knew Wannabe was a fitting name for you, a real Einherjar would be able to hold his marbles at a gimmick like this."

Jokes aside, Wang Tong knew that his life in the crystal wasn't the healthiest form of living, even for a ghost. Mr. Wannabe was lucky to still have his sanity after so many years of imprisonment. Out of pity for Mr. Wannabe, Wang Tong got himself up from the sofa one last time to register a username called "Wannabe Einherjar" so that Mr. Wannabe would be able to play the VR content.

"You can figure out the rest, but don't wake me up again."

Wang Tong huddled back on the sofa to enjoy his sweet dreams. Unlike a normal sleep where one simply slept, Wang Tong also practiced tactics while sleeping. This was a habit that he had developed while he was on Norton where he really needed more than the usual amount of training in order to survive.

Wang Tong slowly drifted off; GN nodes whirred softly inside of his body. In the same room, Mr. Wannabe's loud roars and battle cries filled up the tiny white room.

What was Mr. Wannabe playing? As an Einherjar, the choice was quite obvious.

Chapter 14: Tactics of Sympathy

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

Wang Tong woke up in a room filled with sunlight, and he saw the space crystal laying quietly beside him. He figured Mr. Wannabe must have had a blast last night; therefore, he didn't even have the energy to bother Wang Tong like he always did in the morning.

Wang Tong stretched his body and inhaled a few large gulps of fresh morning air as he felt well rested from last night's sleep. Although the process he had been forced to endure in order to get used to the sleep-practice had been painfully slow and strenuous, thanks to Mr. Wannabe's supervision, he had finally gotten used to it and ever since, it had been hard for Wang Tong to rest well without practicing the tactics.

For a human being, getting used to things was the answer to many conundrums in life.

Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a set of bloodshot eyes appeared right in front of Wang Tong and assaulted him with its bleary gaze. Wang Tong was startled and yelled at Mr. Wannabe, "You scared me you a*shole!"

"There is something that I need to talk to you about," Mr. Wannabe said with a drab and stern voice, which to Wang Tong's knowledge, had never matched with the topic that he was about to bring up.

"Ya, ya, what is it?" Wang Tong said inattentively while laid languidly on a sofa.

Mr. Wannabe narrowed his eyes and asked, "Wang Tong my friend, and do you know what it is that you need the most right now?"

"Money." There was not even the slightest delay in Wang Tong's reply as he had understood the importance of money ever since childhood, thanks to the greediness of Old Fart.

"Wrong! Young men like you should not be burdened by such worldly possessions. What you need the most right now is more sparring practice. Here, I have found a PA sparring program in the system. It looked great, but for some reason, I could not play. I've been itching for it restlessly for an entire night. Why don't you give it a try right now? I will watch."

Since Mr. Wannabe had never been a reserved person or a ghost, he started forcing Wang Tong to play the program before he even had a chance to reply. Being helplessly obsessed with martial arts, Mr. Wannabe desperately needed Wang Tong to help deal with his anticipation.

"Excuse me, I, as an excellent student of the Ayrlarng Academy, do not have the time to waste on virtual games. The reality tells me that I need money really badly, so my time is better spent finding a part time job instead."

Wang Tong had no interest in continuing the conversation and was ready to shut off the space crystal.

It was a new day and time for a brand new start in his life, as he remembered last night, he had many things to attend today.

"Wait! Is there no other way?!" Mr. Wannabe rounded his eyes and roared as if wanting to smack Wang Tong's head.

"No way, unless you can pay me for it, otherwise, no means no!" Wang Tong uttered a voice command to shut off the crystal since he did not have the time to argue with Mr. Wannabe. He had to go to school and figure out his accommodation situation. Just like what folks always said, "Only the poor kids know how to look after themselves."

While there were still many who had engrossed themselves in the game at Dream-Heaven, Wang Tong had already squatted in front of the school entrance to wait for the teachers to come.

Wang Tong snacked on a sandwich as he mulled over the most moving words he'd ever known, which he would then deploy to inspire the teacher's sympathy towards him. It was clear that not only had he learned a lot of street smarts from the hooligan like Old Fart, the experience of living with the piteous Old Fart had also attuned him to any rising opportunity so that he would not starve to death.

The students who came here to attend their Monday classes watched Wang Tong curiously as they passed by. They wondered who this young beggar squatting at their school entrance was.

"Dear Mr. Simon, you have finally arrived!" Mr. Simon was not punctual at all; actually, he was late by almost an hour.

"Who are you?... Ah... you are… Wang Tong? What are you doing here at the entrance?" Mr. Simon was puzzled to see Wang Tong waiting for him here.

"Mister, I am here because I want to report something about myself to you. I still haven't gotten accommodations yet, and I don't… bakhh... To tell you the truth, I was an orphan and was adopted by my grandpa, but after I had come back from a labor camp on Norton, I had learned that even my grandpa had passed away recently. I really have nowhere to go. I checked the hotels around the school… they are too… I… I..."Wang Tong's eyes seemed to have lost focus, he thought to himself, "Sorry Old Fart that I had to say you are dead, but I know you are tough plus bad guys never die."

Mr. Simon felt immensely sorry for the fifteen years old boy in front of him. He really wanted to help Wang Tong, but the financial situation of the Academy had been difficult, to say the least. The Confederation had been spending less and less of the budget on them due to the mediocre performance of the students, and the astronomical cost of keeping up the appearances as an A-class institution had been draining to the school's coffers. It was so challenging that they nearly failed to start this new semester and likely would have if not for the new principal's arrival.

Mr. Simon looked at the miserable Wang Tong, he felt sorry for such a young boy being sent to Norton, a desolate planet where only the most desperate would go to try their luck. Unable to fathom the treacherous condition Wang Tong had endured on Norton, Mr. Simon felt heart-wrenching pain to see any more burdens being added on to Wang Tong's young and fragile soul. Mr. Simon looked at Wang Tong then as if he was obligated to help him.

"Don't worry Wang Tong, I'll see to it that your problem is resolved. Let's talk inside, follow me."

Simon felt an inexplicable warmth pouring out of his heart as he extended his helping hand to Wang Tong. It was then clear that Wang Tong's carefully mulled over words and expression had worked wonders without Wang Tong even having to create any false facts. Wang Tong felt that he was getting closer to having his accommodations.

Simon led Wang Tong into his office and then immediately, Simon buried himself in documents to search through the room records. Unfortunately, he couldn't find any open rooms even after a few minutes of struggle, then suddenly, Simon's eyes shined as he had come up with an idea.

"Wang Tong, you have arrived at a very inconvenient time, all of the old dorms have been filled up while the new dorms haven't finished construction yet. That being said, there is a small room by building number 5 which was originally intended for the concierge. Would you be willing to move in there for a few days before you move into the new dorms after they're built?"

"Mister! Thank you so much! I am speechless now; I will repay your kindness with my hard work and good grades!"

Simon laughed as he was happy at Wang Tong's positive attitude, "No worries, but your room is a bit special."

"That's fine, as long as I can live in there."

"That goes without saying since it was a standard worker's room. What I meant was that the building number 5 adjacent to your room is a girl's dormitory. I hope you won't stir up any trouble there," Simon said as he grinned at Wang Tong.

Wang Tong saluted Mr. Simon and said seriously, "Yes Sir, I won't even look at them."

"Ha ha, I was just teasing you, you won't be able to see anything even if you wanted to. Carry your baggage, don't let them slow you down."

"Sir, I don't have any baggage with me."

"Excellent, you have a superb attitude, I like it!" Simon patted Wang Tong's shoulder in joy. Wang Tong had made Mr. Simon not only feel good about himself but also impressed by Wang Tong's ability to handle himself during such difficult times. "Feel free to let me know if you ever need anything else. I will do what I can as the head of the school's logistics department."

Life had taught Wang Tong the skill of maneuvering around and manipulating people's emotions when he had to, like how he did it with Mr. Simon just then. However, Wang Tong was still very grateful to Mr. Simon, but he had a feeling that Mr. Simon was genuinely a nice person who would extend a helping hand to him even without Wang Tong having to take advantage of his sympathy.

Chapter 15: A Bad Apple

Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Tehrn

Simon led Wang Tong to a room about a dozen feet away from the girl's dormitory and quickly disappeared. This place used to be a grocery store and later was converted into a bedroom for a concierge who quit his job due to labor disputes with the school which, fortunately for Wang Tong, was then available for him to stay in.

After Wang Tong had scanned the furnished room, he found out to his surprise, that this room was more than what he had expected; it even came with a standalone bathroom.

Wang Tong threw his body onto the bed out of happiness, "Ha ha, Mr. Wannabe, this is going to be our new home! You aren't still mad at me, aren't you?" Wang Tong was in a pleasant mood after securing his accommodations.

"Huff... you are so mean! I only wanted you to play that game for me, was that too much? Do you know how hard it was for me to lose all of my memories, why are you making this more difficult? Have you already forgotten who taught you the Tactics of the Blade? And who had advised you on your battles with the Zergs?" Still disgruntled with the fact that Wang Tong had refused to play the game, Mr. Wannabe poured out his discontent and assaulted Wang Tong with a plethora of questions in a harsh tone.

"Fine, fine, you win. I will play the game for you tonight, okay? But only one round. Now, leave me alone, I have other things to see to, I can't be distracted."

"Ha ha, that's more like it! I will help you in your fight; you know fighting against humans is an entirely different story than fighting the Zergs," Mr. Wannabe was elated by Wang Tong's compromise. Wang Tong watched him as he was dazzled by a colorful halo radiating out of Mr. Wannabe. "Perhaps he was not a wannabe after all," Wang Tong thought to himself as he felt a flow of energy carried by the light.

However, that thought quickly fled his mind as soon as he remembered Mr. Wannabe's true bearing: a mean and arrogant bumpkin. As for his advice on the battlefield, it was more like him trying to tease out Wang Tong's rage, in other words, Wang Tong had learned to fight on his own through countless hard battles with different kind of Zergs rather than learning it from Mr. Wannabe.

"Wang Tong, the principal wants you in her office," a boy wearing a student union's armband huffed and puffed his way to Wang Tong's dorm room and delivered the message.

"The principal? Why would someone so high up want to see me?" Wang Tong moved his body out of his comfortable bed and went straight towards the Principal's office, as he did not dare to doddle.

Principal Samantha had been working on a pile of paperwork, burying her face deeply within the large pile. One might be surprised to find out her young age of twenty-three considering her high position at the Class-A Institute; however, it was not entirely because of her family background but also thanks to her superhuman talent as she was an expert in eighteen different fields. She had never been mind opened, but neither was she worried because she always believed that practicing tactics dulled one's mind and senses. As the direct descendant of Galbert and heir of the DREAM Corporation, she had set her expectations high after hearing the glorious past of her ancestors while growing up.

Samantha had not graduated from Ayrlarng; instead, she had graduated with an honors degree from Capth. Ayrlarng was merely a testing ground for her ambitions as she was determined to bring it back to its former glory.

The reason behind her quick ascension to the title of principal at this young age was not only her intimate ties with the Li family but also thanks to the funding she had brought with her, totaling one billion credits. The smell of the money had quickly turned negative "nays" into welcoming praise. That being said, there were still quite a few teachers waiting to see her failure due to her lack of experience, after all, no one had heard that money alone would be able to save the reputation of a school.

Not until Samantha started her first day as Principal, had she begun to realize that the school's condition was even grimmer than it had appeared. Not only was the school equipment outdated, but it also lacked good teachers and brilliant students.

After pinpointing the areas where she could focus on improving, she started purchasing newer equipment while hiring more responsible teachers. However, Samantha was well aware that advanced equipment and good teachers did not guarantee good students, to achieve that, she would also need to improve the quality of the students that they admitted, and expel the bad apples. Over the course of a few months, Samantha had been developing a plan that would do precisely that.

Even with a good plan up her sleeve, she could not help but get frustrated after seeing what she had seen today- a student dressed in ragged clothes who was wandering around the campus instead of focusing on his studies. She soon learned his name and looked up his high school grades which only confirmed her belief that this student was a bad apple. She decided that she had to meet with this student and give him a warning.

To be fair, it was hard for Wang Tong to have good grades in high school because Old Fart's persistent supervision of his tactics practice had taken most of his time after school. Despite his low grades, Wang Tong was still admitted to Ayrlarng not entirely because of the slack administration of the school but also thanks to the recommendation letter from the Confederation; even Samantha could not revoke his student status, which was a fact that had really started to bother her.

"Come in," Samantha furrowed her forehead as she heard knocking on the door.

Wang Tong walked into the Principal's office, only to see a young and gorgeous fellow classmate. He asked, "Hi fellow sister, have you seen the principal?"

Wang Tong watched her as she laughed at the, albeit unintentional, compliment, Wang Tong's question seemed to have melted her anger away. In her smile, Wang Tong thought she looked drop dead gorgeous.

"I am the Principal, Samantha, sit, I only have a few quick questions."

Despite his thick skin, Wang Tong still felt a bit embarrassed, he sat down following her gesture and said, "You are so young."

"Thank you, Wang Tong. I want to ask you why you have chosen our school?" Samantha asked in a tone of slight indignation as she had believed that this bad apple had come to screw up her great plan of restoring the school's reputation.

"It's close to home..." Wang Tong said as he scratched his head, but immediately, from the corner of his eye, he sensed that Samantha's face had turned stern, he waved his hands and changed his answer, "Just kidding, I always liked Ayrlarng ever since I was little, I want to be a useful resource to the Confederation, I want to fight for the humans and kill every Zergs! "

Samantha looked at him with a cold face, thanks to which she had earned the nickname of "Cold Hearted Beauty". To some school workers, she was not only a beauty but also cold hearted because she had never hesitated when she had to fire employees who were not pulling their weight.

Wang Tong had been used to getting cold shoulders and cold hearted stares from the "wonderful" people around him; therefore he wasn't scared by Samantha's look. Instead, his mind had drifted itself to focusing on Samantha's body — her lush curves and huge bosom, all fit for a sexy movie actress instead of a stern principal.

"Okay, that will be it, you can leave now." Samantha gestured the way out inattentively as she had already occupied herself with the paperwork, burying herself in the pile again.

Wang Tong left the office feeling unsure of what to make of this meeting, it seemed like he had failed to affect the principal with his great personality and positive attitude in the same way that he had affected Mr. Simon.

However, the outcome of this meeting was clear to Samantha as it had once again confirmed her suspicion that Wang Tong was a bad apple. For the sake of the school, Samantha made up her mind to remove Wang Tong as she crossed his name out on a name list.

Samantha was about to roll out a student ranking system which would help to eliminate the students like Wang Tong who were not up to snuff, despite his referral letter from the Confederation.

Unknown to Wang Tong, he had already been labeled a bad apple by the gorgeous looking young principal. He wouldn't care about it even if he learned her intentions then. Wang Tong only lived his own life, never caring about what others might think about him.

With a place to stay, he had finally gained a peace of mind. He started to look around the campus and paid specific attention to its terrain and building layout, such as useful covers in the time of conflict. This was another habit he had adopted while he was fighting with the Zergs, ironically, Zergs had this habit as well.