Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

When Gao Huan woke up again, he found himself in a light tank, which was crowded with smelly soldiers, making the cabin smell like a can that had been sour for half a month in a hot summer.

His itching skin reminded him of what happened just now. Infuriated, the captain shot him with a water gun for half an hour and finally washed the filth and the drunkenness off from him.

Gao Huan was finally back to himself now, and he could more or less distinguish the fuzzy faces of the companions next to him now: Bug, Leech, Black Leopard, One-eyed Tiger… All of them were his comrades who had been fighting with him.

Their clothes were ragged and sloppy, making them look more like beggars than the elite soldiers of the fourth regiment, but the same tattoos on their chests spoke of their toughness in silence. It was a burning saber that pierced through a black heart, with “Never To Forgive” engraved on the saber.

It was the emblem of their battle unit.

Gao Huan had the same emblem imprinted on his chest too.

Of course, there was also their beloved boss, Song Jingang, the captain of the team who had been secretly addressed as “gorilla king”.

“Cheer up, you a*sholes! Where’s your spirit! Now, listen to me!”

The captain roared. As a matter of fact, occasions were rare when the gorilla king did not roar.

“The Unchaotic Valley used to be the largest city on this planet hundreds of years ago. It was razed to the ground last time the Covenant Alliance invaded, and when we reclaimed the Thick Soil Sector, it was sabotaged and completely ruined by the Covenant Alliance again!

“Not only has the Covenant Alliance destroyed everything in the Unchaotic Valley, but they also planted infinite landmines and automatic defense rune arrays in the place. There might even be the remaining soldiers of the Covenant Alliance in the city. It can’t be helped. We’ve been marching too fast to examine every inch of land on every planet. God knows if the lunatics of the Covenant Alliance are still active in some of their hideouts!

“Anyway, the Unchaotic Valley is the most dangerous place on this planet. The military department had been ignoring the place until a fog rose there a week ago.

“The uncanny fog covers hundreds of square kilometers and blocks all kinds of probe magic equipment. It cannot be driven apart with weather weapons. The military department suspects that someone is behind it.

“Given that the garrison of the Thick Soil Sector is short of hands, and they’re busy in political struggles, no large starships can be deployed to investigate the fog. So, they can only send a team of unlucky b*stards to figure out the cause of the fog!

“Yes, bingo! We’re exactly those unlucky b*stards. It’s us again! It’s always us! I believe that you’re all used to it. So, no more complaints. Just shut up!

“Right, there’s a piece of good news. Oh, maybe it’s a bad one. Anyway, the Drunk Cat is back. Are you sober, Drunk Cat?”

“Yes, boss.”

Gao Huan said, “I’m wide awake. What about you? Is your nose still at the right place?”

“Ohhhhh!”

The soldiers chuckled. Some raised their thumbs at Gao Huan, and some whistled at him. “Welcome home, Drunk Cat. Hitting the gorilla king the moment you’re back, you do have balls!”

Even Song Jingang laughed at him. “You f*cking… Forget it. You can read the details of the mission on the report. All in all, don’t play a hero, and don’t do anything stupid. Nothing is worth dying for, do you understand?”

“Got it!”

The soldiers of the team roared crazily.

Smelling the stink, Gao Huan felt that his every cell was waking up. For a moment, he did forget his wife’s face. He put on a smile while he took the blocking agent.

“Drunk Cat, what are you taking? Sh*it. Is it medical alcohol?”

“Flea”, his life-and-death brother, approached him and smelled the blocking agent in his hand. His eyes bulged. “You’re still drinking?”

“It’s fine. The medic gave it to me. The gorilla king knows it too.”

Gao Huan said, “You know my conditions. The stimulation of such an extent cannot affect my brain at all right now. It will only keep me refreshed so that I can carry out my talents as a Supersensitive Agent.”

After a brief silence, Flea asked prudently, “Drunk Cat, you still haven’t forgotten… Jiang Xue yet?”

Gao Huan grinned. “How could I? I can accept if she were killed on the battlefield, but she was captured by the Covenant Alliance. She must be alive. I have to save her. I will save her!”

“But…”

Flea couldn’t help but suggest, “You know what will happen to the prisoners of the Covenant Alliance. She must’ve been deprived of her humanity even if she’s alive!”

“That’s fine. I’ll remind her of everything.”

Drinking up the medical alcohol, Gao Huan leaned against the cold wall and mumbled, “I’ll save her and help her remember everything.”

Flea sighed and smiled bitterly. “You should be called ‘Love God’ instead of ‘Drunk Cat’. I finally understand why Jiang Xue fell in love with you, of all people in this team.”

Gao Huan smiled. Unwilling to continue the topic, he asked, “What has happened outside when I was in the hospital? Our brother troops seem to be in a low morale.”

“That’s right. Too many things happened in the past year.”

Flea said, “The reformists and the four families have been fighting vehemently and the situation is capricious. Today, the people from the four families may get control of supplies and try to starve the troops that are not loyal to them, but the next day, the reformists may defeat them and decide to purge all the officers that are from the four families. A week ago, our captain joined a defection group of the four families in his stupidity, hoping to escape back to his hometown with his trusted subordinates and the military secrets of the Thick Soil Sector, only to be caught by the reformists right on the spot. As a result, many people in our team are now kept isolated for investigation.

“All in all, the gorilla king is not wrong. The emperor is an a*shole. Soon, the Imperium will have two emperors, so double a*sholes! How can you keep a high morale when you don’t know who you’re serving?

“The situation in the Thick Soil Sector is not the worst. I was told that the troops of the reformists and those of the four families even attacked one another in other Sectors, completely forgetting that they were both parts of the expedition army.

“Thankfully, the Covenant Alliance has been crushed by us. Otherwise, if the Covenant Alliance sends an army back, the Imperium will have to give away the hundred Sectors that it has swallowed in the previous counterattack, and the whole expedition army will be wasted!

“Forget it. None of that is our business. For the soldiers like us, we better seize the day while we’re still alive and make sure that we kill at least one enemy before we die!”

Flea laughed innocently, and so did Gao Huan.

He did not really care about bulls*it like morale, reform, Kurfürst, or the emperor. He was just making a conversation with Flea.

He wasn’t scared of death either. Having been in the expedition army for so many years, he had already turned numb.

The only thing that he cared about was Jiang Xue, his wife.

Jiang Xue must be alive, whatever she had turned into.

So, he could not die. He must rescue Jiang Xue, or die together with her.

“Wait for me, Jiang Xue. I’m sober now. I’ll get you out soon.”

Gao Huan rubbed the mini jade chip on his neck that stored the videos and photos of him and his wife. If possible, he really wanted to implant the jade chip into his flesh.

Boom!

The dull noises of air currents came from the outside.

Gao Huan finally realized that the light tank they were on was actually loaded on a flying carrier.

“Hurry up, you gutless maggots! Inject buffer gel to your butts!”

The captain roared, “We’ve arrived at our destination, and we’ll land for reconnaissance in ten seconds!”

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

The deck of the carrier was slowly opened, and fifteen light tanks fell like dumplings. The dazzling exhaust flames that they spurted out tore the intense fog apart and lowered their speed, until they landed in the hazy Unchaotic Valley.

Without any instruction from their captain, the lazy soldiers suddenly turned into the most vigilant wolves and tigers. They put on crystal suits the moment they jumped out of their tank as they protected the tank and pressed into the fog.