The Scum Shou’s Survival Guide

As soon as Veronica said these words, everyone fell quiet.
You could hear a pin drop.

This name, Saen, would always be the hero in everyone’s hearts.
Harvey, meanwhile, was a despicable traitor in their eyes. 

Now, someone was saying that they were the same person.

If it were anyone else saying these words, they would only receive merciless ridicule, even angry counterblows, because everyone would take it as an insult to their hero.
It would be unbearable, as if the idol they most adored and revered were being tarnished.

 

 

If it weren’t Veronica saying these words right now, these angry soldiers wouldn’t have hesitated to tear her to pieces and teach her the price of speaking nonsense.

But it was precisely Veronica who had said them. 

Saen’s twin sister, his blood relative, his closest family…

 

Someone who absolutely would never lie or joke about this.

No one spoke for a long time.

They knew rationally that Veronica would never lie about this.
If Harvey was an infected, that meant he was once human.
And His Highness Saen’s body had never been recovered, so why wouldn’t it be possible that Harvey used to be Saen?

 

But…for them to acknowledge that this traitor they’d hated for three years was their revered prince…They didn’t want to acknowledge this fact.

Standing in the back the group of high-ranking officers, Brody, a colonel, was very unremarkable.

He was initially very worried, but his worry completely dissipated right after Veronica spoke.

He didn’t doubt Veronica at all.
Her Highness Veronica would never recognize Harvey as her brother unless he really was His Highness Saen.
And since Harvey was such a good and remarkable person, why wouldn’t it be possible for him to be His Highness Saen? 

On the contrary, Brody had a sort of feeling of enlightenment.

Only someone like His Highness Saen could, after becoming an infected and losing all of his memories, still remember his mission to protect humanity, never lose his human heart, and stick to his beliefs all along…Only His Highness Saen could do something like that.

Because he was one of a kind.

Brody gazed intently at the young man standing next to Veronica from the back of the crowd.
The young man stood there, ramrod straight, not the slightest bit scared or timid.
He looked calm and confident. 

He had one purple eye and one gold eye.
He had an ordinary, pretty-ish face that perhaps wasn’t very eye-catching, but his dignified bearing and the dazzling glimmering of his eyes practically stole away all of his attention…

At that moment, Brody could plainly feel the gap between them.
This gap kept on growing.
From now on, he would probably only be able to gaze up at this person, but he was fine with that.

Brody suddenly said loudly, “I believe Her Highness Veronica! He’s His Highness Saen!”

This clear, distinct voice broke the frightening silence. 

Brody strode out from the crowd and looked back at them resolutely.
His voice loud and clear, he said, “Her Highness Veronica definitely would not lie to us.
Are you guys doubting her words?”

Brody’s words snapped everyone in the crowd out of their shock.
One after another, they looked at Ye Ming with alarm, suspicion, joy, and surprise, with all sorts of conflicting emotions in their hearts.

 

They suddenly remembered that Marshal Cossen had already said before that Harvey wasn’t the traitor.
Plus, there was Roy’s testimony.
If Roy was telling the truth…then perhaps it could make sense for him, the sole infected that didn’t betray humanity, to have originally been His Highness Saen …

Since even the marshall and Her Highness Veronica believed in him, then why couldn’t Harvey really be innocent? 

Maybe they had all blamed him wrongly.

Veronica’s keen gaze fell onto General Monroe.
She said slowly, “We would like to see Marshal Cossen right now.
Please take us to him.”

General Monroe started in surprise.
His expression kept changing rapidly.
In the end, he didn’t obstruct them again.
Instead, he said, his voice deep, “Please come with me.”

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

He brought Veronica and Ye Ming all the way to Cossen before leaving. 

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One after another, they replied, “Of course we don’t doubt Her Highness Veronica.
It’s just…”

General Monroe paused for a moment, then said, “We’ll regard him as His Highness Saen for now.
Only…regardless of who he used to be, he’s still been transformed by Xicks, so we should still be cautious first and foremost.
Send someone to protect the marshal and keep an eye on Harvey.
Don’t let him wander around.
As for the rest…wait for the marshal to wake up and allow him to make a decision.” 

Everyone thought about it.
Indeed, that was the best course of action to take at the moment.

And if Harvey really was Saen and remained himself, then…that was great.

………………

Ye Ming and Veronica entered the treatment room together.
The marshal’s personal treatment cabin had been opened up, and Cossen was right inside.
The doctors watching over him saw Veronica coming over and saluted respectfully, saying, “Your Highness.” 

Ye Ming was worried about Cossen’s injuries.
He took a step forward and asked hurriedly, “How is he?”

The doctor stared at him blankly for a moment, but then replied, “He’s heavily injured, but he was rescued just in time, and his life isn’t in danger.
He’ll be fine after he wakes up.”

Now Ye Ming finally relaxed.
He turned to look at the treatment cabin with concern in his eyes.

Veronica was also very worried about Cossen, actually.
If Cossen really died, it would be a huge blow to the Human Federation.
Xicks would be even more unstoppable.
Fortunately, Cossen was okay. 

Ye Ming thought for a moment and told Veronica, “I’ll stay here and watch over him.
If you have matters to attend to, you can leave first.
I won’t be in any danger, and Brody’s here to help too.”

But Veronica wasn’t reassured.
“I’ll stay with you.”

 

Ye Ming looked at her resolutely and said seriously, “Right now, Cossen’s injured, and the people are uneasy.
They need moral support…There are still a lot of things you need to do.
You must help keep the situation under control while Cossen’s not there, so go and do what you need to.”

Veronica pursed her lips, her eyes displaying her grievance.
But she said obediently, “Okay.” Her brother’s words made a lot of sense.
She shouldn’t act on impulse all the time… 

Ye Ming gave her a small smile.
His eyes were warm.
“You’ve been doing very well, even when I wasn’t here…I feel very proud for you.”

They were clearly very ordinary words of encouragement, but Veronica’s eyes suddenly went red.
She nearly started crying again.

These past years, she’d carried on her brother’s mission to fight, wanting to be just like him…It was just too bad she would never be able to hear her brother’s encouragement or see his smile again.
No matter how much she accomplished, her brother wouldn’t be able to see it anymore…That had always been her greatest sorrow.

But now, she no longer had that sorrow… 

Because just like she’d imagined, if her brother was still alive, he would be proud of her.

Veronica watched Ye Ming intensely, gave him a hug, then turned around and strode out.

Only when Veronica completely disappeared from sight did Ye Ming finally look away from her and back at Cossen.

[888: Your words just now were pretty touching, but I still want to know why you sent Veronica away?] 

[Ye Ming: (⊙v⊙) What did I do? How did I send her away? She obviously left on her own!]

[888: Hehehe.]

………………

Cossen slowly regained consciousness.
He opened his eyes to see someone lying next to him. 

The one he loved dearly.

The young man was lying quietly on his side next to him with his eyes closed.
His eyelashes cast shadows below his eyes.
His pale pink lips were like flower petals at dawn.
His fair skin looked soft under the light of the setting sun.

The sight was tranquil and beautiful.
It made Cossen feel like he was in a dream all of a sudden.

He’d dreamed before of a time when the alien beasts were no longer a threat, and the human world was at peace.
When he no longer had to be strung up all the time because of the war, when he no longer had to put his life on the line, he would take Harvey back to his vacation planet in the distant Lanluo star fields.
It had plentiful sunlight, which would shine on him and his beloved as they woke up in the same bed… 

This was the future he had dreamed of.

Later, a lot happened, and he nearly forgot about this future he’d imagined for them.

 

His heart used to be flooded with grief and helplessness.
He was overcome by the hatred and anger of betrayal.
Xicks closed in on them little by little, and the humans were losing their territory steadily…

He lost his lover.
He lost many, many people he cared about.
He lost too much. 

He’d already stopped dreaming of a day like this.

But he never thought he would still be able to see this sight.
It was like waking up on an easy, carefree morning with his lover right next to him.
There was nothing more mundane but beautiful in the whole world.

Gently, Cossen shifted to face Ye Ming.
He couldn’t bear to wake him.
He just wanted to watch him sleep…Just by watching, the contentment in his heart was indescribable.

At least he didn’t really lose him. 

He was still fighting, but there was no longer only pain and helplessness in his heart.
It had become full and rich, because he had someone he wanted to protect.

Ye Ming had stayed by Cossen’s side for all of the past two days, until Cossen finally came out of the emergency treatment cabin.
Then Ye Ming was so exhausted he couldn’t keep himself awake anymore and fell asleep next to him.

When he blearily opened his eyes, he saw Cossen, already awake.
He could see his reflection in those dark red eyes on that solemn face, within arm’s reach.
He didn’t know how long he’d been watching him like this…

Ye Ming stared blankly for a moment, then broke into a pleasantly surprised smile.
His voice was languid from just waking up.
“You’re awake.” 

Cossen gazed profoundly at Ye Ming.
In a deep, low voice, he said, “Sorry for making you worry.”

Ye Ming shook his head.
Quietly, he said, “Don’t apologize.
I know you’ve worked really hard.
It’s good that you could come back.”

Cossen gazed passionately at the person in front of him.
Suddenly, he really wanted to kiss him and hug him.
And so he did.

The kiss was tender and affectionate, and their hearts were in harmony.
They lost themselves in each other…Cossen reluctantly let go of Ye Ming and sat up.
He said, “I was probably unconscious for several days.
How’s the situation outside?” 

Although he really wanted to have this person right now, it wasn’t the time to indulge.
Xicks had its eye on them, and the infected were rising up everywhere.
He still had a lot to do.

Ye Ming understood Cossen’s concerns.
If this were before, he definitely would encourage Cossen to leave, but today, he wrapped his arms around Cossen’s waist from behind and implored, “They have Veronica, you don’t need to worry.
Stay with me a little longer, okay? I…almost thought I’d never see you again…”

As he spoke, his voice carried stifled tremors…

Cossen could hear it.
Immediately, his heart began to ache terribly.
Although Ye Ming always prioritized the big picture, never minded what difficulties he had to endure, and never made excessive demands, he was still worried and scared… 

He cared about Cossen.

Cossen could feel Ye Ming’s hands holding onto him.
This person’s tender actions were harder to shake off than the sturdiest cage in the world.
They bound him firmly under his control and made him most willing to walk through fire or water for him.

 

Cossen turned around and embraced Ye Ming.
He said, “We will never be apart again.”

Ye Ming looked down, yet avoided Cossen’s eyes.
He said quietly, “Let’s do it.” 

Cossen stared blankly.
He hadn’t expected Ye Ming to ask for something like that.
He was happily surprised.
They hadn’t been so intimate for a long time now…

Before they parted previously, they had only just established their relationship and made their feelings known.
They maintained propriety and did not become more deeply intimate.

Three years later, they were reunited.
Because of misunderstandings and the desire for revenge, Cossen had hurt this person in such a way.
Even their first time, which should have been lovely, was steeped in the flavor of humiliation.
Cossen had always felt guilty because of it, and it became a knot in his heart that he couldn’t undo.

So he never made such a request or acted inappropriately again. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be intimate with this person.
It was that he didn’t want to hurt him, didn’t want him to be reminded of those unpleasant memories.

What should’ve been the most beautiful experience shared between lovers became clouded by misunderstanding, becoming a permanent scar in his heart.
And for Ye Ming, that scar would only be deeper and heavier…and more painful.

But now Cossen lowered his gaze and only saw Ye Ming’s gently quivering eyelashes and faintly flushed face.
Below his straight nose, his light pink lips parted and closed.
“Do you not want me? Or do you feel awkward about my current identity?”

Cossen’s gaze immediately darkened, an intensity flaring up in his eyes.
He embraced Ye Ming tightly.
His voice was low and husky.
“No, I just…” 

Ye Ming pressed his face to the side of Cossen’s neck.
He said softly, “Call me Harvey.”

The one who knows and loves you, and is known and loved by you, the one who underwent all those wonderful experiences with you, the one who shares those memories that can be called our own—his name isn’t Saen or Kevin.
It’s Harvey.

I have no regrets about any of the decisions I made for myself or anyone else, but I was too cruel to you alone.

If I have no other choice, I hope that the last memory I can leave to you is that I love you. 

Cossen’s chest heaved.
He listened to Ye Ming’s quiet voice.
His breath swept past his neck like feathers, reaching his heart and making all of the blood in his body seem to boil.

Yeah…to me, you’re just Harvey.
No one else.

Just the one I love.

There was a passionate excitement in Cossen’s eyes.
He pressed Ye Ming onto the bed and kissed his lips hard. 

………………

It was a tender yet intense coupling between lovers in harmony with one another.

 

They put aside misunderstandings and discarded barriers.
The two of them tightly embraced each other.

The beautiful affair seemed to finally wash away the last wisps of haze between them.
They were the most intimate lovers, the most trustworthy comrades.
Nothing and no one could ever come between them again. 

Cossen kissed Ye Ming’s lips and reluctantly got up off the bed.
He gazed deeply at Ye Ming for a long while before finally turning and leaving.

Ye Ming slept all the way until midnight.
By the time he woke up, Cossen was no longer by his side.
He lifted his blanket and slowly put on his clothes.

[Ye Ming: The allotted ten days are almost over.
It’s about time to leave.]

[888: You should’ve left a long time ago.
So you specifically sent Veronica away and delayed for so long just for this breakup lay?] 

[Ye Ming: How could you say that about me? I’m not that kind of person (*/ω╲*)]

[888: …]

[Ye Ming: But I really am quite satisfied with Cossen.
Yep…an SSS-grade human…You won’t be able to experience that in other worlds…]

[888: Hehe!] 

Xicks’s attacks became more and more intense, one after another.
This was humanity’s last fortress.
If Fort Müller were taken, Xicks’s alien beast army would wreak merciless havoc on human territory.
Humans would be reduced from the masters of the universe to food, marking the start of an endless, bitter struggle.

Fort Müller absolutely must not be defeated, and Xicks must die.
If Xicks were gone, the masterless beasts would no longer pose their current threat. 

Ye Ming put on a crisp military uniform, stepped into a pair of boots, and walked out of their room.

It was already very late at night, but the base was still brightly lit.
Every day, there were more casualties.
In the face of this great danger, the humans stopped infighting and fought fearlessly against the alien beasts.

 

 

Cossen was a marshal—he could not rest for even a second.

The event just a moment ago was a rare indulgence. 

Ye Ming left the base and returned to Veronica’s manor.
Given his identity, he had complete freedom to enter and exit at will.

 

But Ye Ming didn’t go see Veronica.
Instead, he arrived at the vacant grounds of the manor and stared at the huge silver-white mech in front of him.
This was his Zhuria.
He reached out and stroked it.
Just when he was about to go up, he suddenly heard a sad voice coming from behind him.

“Gege, where are you going?”

Ye Ming stiffened.
Slowly, he turned around and saw Veronica standing not far away with a look of surprise in her eyes.
Her lips were trembling a little, and she looked very breakable.

 

The sight sent a stab of pain to Ye Ming’s heart.
Because of the connection between their blood, he could almost feel Veronica’s pain…

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to say goodbye to her.
Rather, he couldn’t bear to.

Veronica understood the emotions in Ye Ming’s eyes, and the last glimmer of hope in her heart disappeared.
Her voice shook.
Her fists were clenched tightly.
She bit her lip.
“You want to leave us again?”

Ye Ming sighed quietly.
He looked up and said, “I’m the only person who can get close to Xicks.” 

Veronica suddenly became agitated.
She exclaimed, “We can kill it! We can win! We don’t need you to go off and sacrifice yourself alone! I forbid you from going.
I forbid you from leaving me again!”

“Is that so…” Ye Ming looked momentarily distracted, following which he broke into a smile.
He said, “I’m very glad I was able to know who I am and that I got to meet you…really…”

“Although I don’t have memories of the past, I’ve never forgotten what my heart desired or what my mission was…Vera, if Saen were still alive, if he’d never left, he would make the same decision I’m making.
Do you understand?”

The rims of Veronica’s eyes were red.
She wouldn’t accept this kind of outcome! They had only just been reunited! 

Ye Ming gazed at her tenderly.
All of a sudden, he leapt forward, quickly rushing toward Veronica.
Before she could react, he struck her neck with his hand hard!

Veronica didn’t expect Ye Ming to suddenly come at her and didn’t have the chance to react at all.
She just felt dizzy and collapsed bonelessly.

Ye Ming quickly reached out to catch Veronica.
He gently rested her on the ground and kissed her forehead, his eyes sad and his voice gentle and low.
“Sorry.”

But if Saen were still alive, he would also rather die for the human race…If the meaning behind his existence was to kill Xicks, then he wouldn’t hesitate at all either. 

Veronica weakly, slowly shut her eyes.
She wanted to reach out and grab hold of the person in front of her, but she couldn’t grab him.
She could only watch as he walked further and further away.
She cried silently, despairing and helpless.

Ye Ming climbed into Zhuria.
He lightly touched the gear stick, and the screens all around him lit up in an instant.

 

“Your Highness Saen, do you require my service?”

The corners of Ye Ming’s lips tugged into a small smile.
He said, “Yes.
This will be our last battle.
Are you afraid?” 

“I am not afraid of anything because I do not possess the emotion of fear.”

Ye Ming burst into laughter.
He piloted the mech, flying away.

[Ye Ming: I’m off to save the world now, oh yeah!!!]

[888: …] 

[Ye Ming: So exciting, so thrilling.]

[888: Calm down.
After all, you’re saving the world.
Watch your image.]

[Ye Ming: Right right right.
I have to pay attention to my image! Let’s go!]

……………… 

Cossen and the other high-ranking officers were in the largest command room at the base.
The groups of alien beasts outside of Fort Müller kept growing, their overwhelming attacks coming at them over and over.
All kinds of alien beasts divided up their work and acted in concert with each other.
They were very well-organized.
And their large bodies put immense pressure on the human army…The situation was not looking optimistic.

The officers all wore grave expressions.
At a time like this, none of them were in the mood to argue with each other anymore.
Their only concern was to keep this horde of alien beasts outside of Fort Müller! If they forced their way inside, the tragedies of Fort Laris and Fort Frederick would repeat themselves, and their chances of survival would be less than one in ten thousand.

But that wasn’t even the most important thing…The most important thing was the boundless fertile territory behind them, where their families and friends lived.
It would all be ravaged by the alien beasts.

In the huge screen in the middle of the command room, several huge sky beasts were ramming into the defensive perimeter ferociously. 

Lieutenant General Cassius’s eyes went red as he watched.
Suddenly, he exclaimed, “Marshal, I propose we activate our ultimate weapon.
We won’t be able to hold on for much longer!”

Xicks’s attack this time was fiercer than its previous two.
It was clear that it was absolutely determined to overtake this last standing fortress.
Once it defeated this place, the humans would no longer be able to fight back, so it was using up its final trump card.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection.
If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

Even if there weren’t any infected, it would still be very difficult for Fort Müller to fend Xicks off.

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Once Xicks realized, this weapon would lose its purpose.
It was completely pointless to kill only a fraction of the alien beasts because there was no end to them.

Cossen slowly spoke, “Wait a little longer.” 

The atmosphere was solemn.
Everyone watched the screen, unblinking.

Just then, in the midst of the fierce battle, a conspicuous silver-white mech flew forth! Her huge wings painted a smooth arc against the darkness of the universe.
She rushed headlong into the horde of alien beasts with the momentum of a hot knife cutting butter, beautiful and brave!

Everyone widened their eyes, watching in disbelief.
Despite how beautiful and formidable the mech was, it seemed so tiny in the midst of the horde of alien beasts.
She wouldn’t be able to kill all the beasts.
This was a suicide mission!

Cossen also watched the scene, unable to believe it.
Then his expression changed dramatically, and he yelled, “Your Highness Veronica! Come back quickly!” 

Was she crazy? Didn’t she know she would die? Back then, he watched on helplessly as Saen, in order to hold off the alien beasts while others escaped, was engulfed by them…Did he have to watch his sister die fighting for humanity, just like him, several years later?

One single person’s blind sacrifice was completely pointless.

And even just for Saen, he definitely couldn’t let Veronica throw her life away!

Cossen pressed his hand firmly on the table in front of him, complexion ashen.
“Your Highness, you are acting against military orders.
I am currently the highest ranking officer here.
I command you to return! Now, immediately!” 

But no matter how much he shouted, that mech would not turn back.
Just when Cossen couldn’t bear it any longer and was about to personally rush out and stop her, they finally got through to the mech’s communicator, and a figure appeared in the video feed.

But it wasn’t Veronica.
It was Harvey.

The officers stared at the screen in a daze, with their jaws dropped.
After receiving surprise after surprise, they practically couldn’t snap out of it.

What was going on?! 

The young man was wearing a neat black military uniform.
Even his collar was buttoned up perfectly.
There was a smile on his delicate, pretty face.
His eyes were warm and confident, his bearing easy-going but also innately dignified.
He was enchanting.

He smiled a little.
His voice was clear and distinct.

At that moment, the huge command room was completely silent.
Only his voice reverberated throughout it.

“Xicks values me a lot, and it kept telling me to return…I definitely don’t think it would let go of any opportunity to recapture me and absorb me into its body. 

“I’ve already injected a nanotracker into my blood.
As long as Xicks swallows me, you’ll be able to locate it and annihilate it in one go.

“But it’s important to note that once it swallows me, it’ll quickly figure out that something’s wrong, so there will only be a very short span of time during which you can respond.
This is the only…chance to find it and kill it.”

 

Now the young man was about to end the call, and the attacks he was facing were becoming fiercer and fiercer; his body swayed.

Countless alien beasts began to rush at him, as if just as he’d predicted, Xicks would try to recapture him at all costs. 

He put his hand on the button to end the call.
Before he did, he turned and glanced at them again, but his gaze seemed to pierce through the space and time of the universe, landing on one single person.
That gaze seemed to be saying something.
It seemed to be telling that person to trust him, to trust that he wouldn’t let him down.

He said, “Please be sure to win.”

Then he cut off the call.

Although it was only one sentence, in that moment, everyone in the room understood that it was not directed at all of them, but only to that one person… 

He wanted to tell him that for the sake of humanity, he must win.

Cossen stared rigidly at the screen in front of him.
The call was over.
The young man’s figure was completely gone.
And the white mech, in the blink of an eye, was already so far away he could no longer see it…

No! You can’t! You’re not allowed!

You want to go off by yourself and die again! You want to sacrifice yourself for humanity again! You’re always so selfless, so admirable, but have you ever thought about me? The ones who’ll still be alive and still love you? 

You only just came back, and you’re leaving us again?

At that moment, Cossen had lost all reason.
His only thought was to rescue him, to stop him, and to bring him back! His eyes wide, he turned and rushed out!

Why do you have to selfishly make this kind of decision?! Why are you leaving me again?

Just yesterday, we were just fine.
I even dreamed of our future together…Everything was just fine yesterday… 

When they saw Cossen about to charge out of the door, the officers finally reacted.
They rushed over to stop Cossen with all their might.
Right now, any one of them was more cool-headed and rational than Cossen.

If they could kill Xicks and obtain victory by sacrificing only Harvey, then that was undoubtedly a fortunate thing for humanity.

For Harvey…no, for His Highness Saen, it was too cruel, but that was his wish! He hoped they could win!

But Cossen’s eyes were red, through and through.
He had already gone mad.
He was an SSS-grade human, the strongest fighter present.
The officers crowded around him and were almost unable to stop him.
Lieutenant General Cassius grabbed Cossen’s arm and was flung away.
General Monroe blocked Cossen from the front and received a punch that broke a rib. 

But still, despite broken limbs and coughed-up blood, they did all they could to stop Cossen.

“Let me go! I have to go save him! There has to be some other way!” Cossen’s eyes were blood red.

 

Just then, there was the sound of sharp footsteps.
A tall, silver-haired, violet-eyed woman walked over, raised her hand, and slapped Cossen’s face.

Cossen’s head turned to the side.
He looked at the woman in front of him and was suddenly unable to move and unable to do anything to her. 

Veronica had tears in her eyes.
She bit her lip.
She said distinctly, “It’s already too late.”

Cossen listened, his eyes pools of deathly stillness.
This sentence seemed to drag him out of some deranged dreamscape he was unable to break free from, and it hauled him into another lifeless hell, telling him that by now he could no longer do anything about it.

No matter how much it hurt, there was no point anymore…

Because it was already too late.
He’d already lost him. 

Veronica lifted her chin obstinately, tears pooling at the edges of her eyes, though they refused to flow down.

She turned to look ahead at the screen.
Her voice was hoarse.
“Look.
That’s the visual feed from Zhuria.”

They followed her voice and turned to look at the screen.

Zhuria was already utterly wrecked and could no longer fight.
She was swarmed by the alien beasts and flown into the depths of the universe.
Gradually…an untamed planet appeared in front of them. 

That planet was hidden amongst a cluster of meteorites, utterly inconspicuous.
Its surface was littered with craters, like there were many cave mouths spitting and swallowing.

As they got closer and closer to it, people realized that the surface of the planet was actually made of flesh, and what seemed to be tentacle-like objects from a distance were actually multiple huge tentacles.
Suddenly, a huge crack split down that fleshy surface, and an enormous, golden, vertically slitted pupil appeared—in the next second, the image completely disappeared, leaving only darkness.

The people, however, were still immersed in that shocking scene.

After a long time, someone said shakily, “That…was Xicks’s body…” 

Xicks was actually a planet, a living planet.

A horrifying planet with countless tentacles and eyeballs.

Its body was infinitely bigger than any giant sky beast.
Any human or alien beast was miniscule in comparison to it.
This was why it had such tremendous power of consciousness that could control those hordes of beasts, and why it could synthesize the infected inside of its own body…

Cautious and careful, it camouflaged as an untamed, inconspicuous planet, so no human had ever discovered it… 

Just then, the tracker on the screen flashed a bright red.

Veronica’s eyes were very red and her voice hoarse.
She turned to Cossen and said, determined, “Gege trusts you.
Are you going to let his sacrifice go to waste?”

 

Cossen’s hands shook.

Xicks had already swallowed Ye Ming.
They were fused together…Killing Xicks meant killing Ye Ming. 

Veronica’s tears finally spilled out from her eyes, but her gaze was nevertheless determined, as if through the universe she could see that person who would never return again.

My brother, this is your wish?

General Monroe and all the other officers looked at Cossen.
They said, “Marshal, please activate the weapon.”

The ultimate weapon required Cossen’s highest authority to launch. 

And only the ultimate weapon could annihilate Xicks, which was the size of a planet, all at once.
This was the closest they had ever been to victory, and the one time they had hope of winning.
If they let Xicks get away this time, they would never be able to find it again.

Instead, a horrible catastrophe would befall humanity.

Saen was already dead.
Xicks must also die.

Cossen stared fixedly at the already blank screen.
He couldn’t see that person, couldn’t hear his voice.
But his last words echoed in his ears. 

He said: Please be sure to win.

You trust me so much.
You trust that I’ll definitely follow your will and preserve your wishes.
You trust…that I won’t let your sacrifice go to waste.

Because we used to have such a deep understanding of each other.
We weren’t only lovers, we were also comrades that could trust and rely on each other.

But right now, I would rather not be able to understand your expression and your words, abandon all righteousness, and just be an obstinate person. 

Because sometimes it’s truly very exhausting and painful to persevere. 

But…how could I bear to let you down? How could I bear to not even let you rest in peace?

Finally, Cossen slowly lifted his hand.
His body felt like it weighed thousands of catties.
But he kept telling himself that this was what his beloved wished for.
He should abide by his wishes…

His hand rested on the launcher.
Right at the moment before the light of the tracker disappeared, he pressed down. 

A huge, bright beam of light penetrated across the entire universe! The beam of light shot through any alien beasts in its way, turning them into dust.
Finally, it shot through that planet.
Dazzling, brilliant rays of light bloomed in the cosmos like stars shimmering in the night sky, brightening the endless darkness with their starlight.

This scene was so magnificent and majestic, everyone held their breaths.

 

Cossen kept his hand pressed down on the button, motionless.
That one gentle action seemed to have taken away his soul, spiriting him away along with that person.

I once vowed to protect you with my life.
I once vowed never to let Xicks get its hands on you again.
But I couldn’t do it… 

I couldn’t do anything at all.

I couldn’t save you in the past, and I couldn’t save you today, either.
Instead, I killed you with my own hands.

Just because it was your will.

Everyone in the command room was staring fixedly at the beam of light.
When it finally disappeared and everything became calm again, everyone remained motionless. 

Was Xicks dead? Had they succeeded?

None of them dared to be certain.

An indefinite amount of time later, a colonel in one corner suddenly yelled happily, “The alien beasts’ attacks have weakened! They—they’re starting to become disorganized!”

Now, everyone else finally began to pull out of it.
The command room began to bustle again.
One after another, the officers contacted the front lines. 

“Hello? How are you guys?”

“Groups of alien beasts have fled? Really?”

“They aren’t working together anymore? They’ve exposed weaknesses? Attack! Quickly attack!”

“Xicks is dead! Xicks is really dead!” 

Veronica watched the scene in front of her.
Suddenly, she turned around and left.

Cossen bowed his head and looked down at his hand.
Something seemed to want to spill out from his eyes, but he was so anguished that it dried up before it could spill out.
Finally, it felt like only one drop of wetness fell onto the back of his hand, but he also couldn’t tell if it was real.

He had won.
But why did he feel even more sorrow and despair?

……………… 

Because Xicks had died, the alien beasts no longer knew how to work together, and they didn’t fear death.
These beasts were quickly either killed off or fled in terror.
Although there was still much to take care of, and the alien beasts couldn’t be completely exterminated, the fatal crisis was now over.

A few days later, a video appeared on the universe’s internet.
Everyone in the Human Federation could see the young man with one purple and one golden eye in the video.
He piloted a silver-white mech and rushed toward a horde of alien beasts like a god.
Before he was swallowed up by Xicks, he said one last thing.

 

The confidence in his gaze, the smile on his lips—the way he looked was engraved in everyone’s hearts.

His words echoed in everyone’s hearts. 

This person had a completely different voice and appearance from Saen…but they had the same heart.
Whether or not he was human, whether or not he had his memories, he always held onto his desire to protect humanity.

That was a genuine, everlasting soul…Even though he was dead, he would still live on in everybody’s hearts.

No one would forget him.

Everyone who’d once vilified him now felt ashamed and unable to show their faces. 

For three full days, the human race mourned for him.

The name Harvey was engraved in everybody’s memories and engraved in human history, just like Saen was….but he was no longer a spurned traitor.
Instead, he was a true hero.

He brought hope and victory to the people.

Three months later, Roy was transported to the capital star and was sentenced to death in front of the entire universe. 

It was said that before he died, he had already become delirious from the torment he’d suffered, but no one felt any sympathy for him.

Xicks was dead.
The alien beasts had been defeated by the humans.
Fort Müller was saved.
People were jubilant…but Cossen refused to return to the capital star to receive honors.
He just issued a statement, saying that the victory should not be credited to him…It should be credited to His Highness Saen and everyone else who died in battle.

Many years later, he still never left the borderlands.

Although they had won the war and his beloved was gone, he still had many things to do.
He wanted to recover their lost territory.
He wanted to kill every last alien beast.
He wanted to remain where the one he loved had disappeared and to continue carrying on his legacy. 

He didn’t want him to feel lonely in the dark, vast universe, so he would stay here with him.

Forever.