A World Worth Protecting

“Son! Son!” The black donkey seemed happy to see one of its kind for the very first time. As it dashed forward, Kong Dao’s white donkey raised its head arrogantly and with a sudden burst of speed, sent its leg kicking.

It was so quick that the black donkey barely had time to react. The kick landed on its body. With a loud sound, it was flung back…

The black donkey fell to the ground with a loud thud. It wasn’t injured. However, it looked dazed. It didn’t expect the other creature to kick him.

“White Phoenix!” Kong Dao chastised his donkey. The white donkey instantly stopped in its steps. It gave the dazed black donkey a disdainful look and returned back to Kong Dao’s side, nuzzling Kong Dao’s leg obediently. Kong Dao cupped his fists and saluted Chen Feng. Then, with the arrogant white donkey and its raised head, he left.

Wang Baole was furious when he saw the scene. He stared at his donkey. It looked dazed and had that innocent look on its face. He couldn’t say a single word. This was, after all, a military base. His own donkey had been the one that had charged at someone else, as if asking for a beating.

He pretended as if the entire incident didn’t happen and continued talking to Chen Feng about the Baole Cannon. Before long, they reached the campsite where the assembly was to take place. He made his excuses and left for the washroom when they did, which was when he grabbed the donkey and headed inside…

As soon as they stepped inside, Wang Baole turned and leveled a furious glare at the donkey. Its ears were drooping. He was angry at how useless it was.

“Where are your amazing skills when you need them? Don’t you find yourself an embarrassment? You were kicked aside by a female donkey! Look how awesome and invincible you usually are at home. You even dare to bite me! How about now? Where did all that go?”

The donkey seemed to understand Wang Baole’s words. It shuddered, and its eyes grew red.

“I, Wang Baole, am charming and talented, ferocious and invincible, have no equal amongst my peers, have never been taken advantage of by others, and have always been the one to take advantage of others. But you stupid little donkey can’t even handle a female donkey. You were even beaten up. Are you still part of the male species? You’re a disgrace!”

Wang Baole lamented and sighed. He was alright with Kong Dao’s donkey being powerful, but his own donkey had slid close and practically asked for a beating. If this hadn’t been the military base, he would have struck back.

The donkey heard what Wang Baole said and saw the scornful look in Wang Baole’s eyes. Its breathing grew uneven, and its eyes red. For the very first time in its life, the innocent look in its eyes transformed into fury. It turned its head abruptly. It was as if it could see through walls and could sense where the white donkey was. It glared in its direction for a very long time as it gnashed its teeth.

The grudge it was feeling had intensified and become an obsession.

“What’s the point of swearing? When you become stronger in the future, you can go beat it up. Grab it and take it down. That’s what you should do! Show it what you’ve got!” Wang Baole snorted. He was done with his reprimand. Before he stepped out, he couldn’t help but sigh again.

“You’re an embarrassment!”

Wang Baole didn’t notice the donkey’s burning red eyes as he stepped out from the washroom. It stared in the direction of where the white donkey was. The fury in its eyes was laced with violence, seeming to promise vengeance.

Wang Baole shoved down the unhappiness in his heart when he left the washroom and returned to the task of advising and supervising the assembly. A Baole Cannon was swiftly assembled with his instruction, and they tested the cannon and collected some data. General Chen was all praises and admiration. Wang Baole didn’t hold himself back as he personally advised the consultants from the Martian military.

After busying with the assembly for more than half the day, Wang Baole finally shared with the consultants all that he knew about the assembly and the encrypted inscriptions. Both he and Chen Feng personally supervised the process. After making sure that there were no problems, Wang Baole prepared to take his leave.

“General Chen, if there is nothing else, I’ll…” Wang Baole turned and spoke to Chen Feng. However, before he could finish his words, Chen Feng’s voice transmission ring suddenly vibrated.

The expression on Chen Feng’s face changed suddenly after he read the transmission.

“Baole, you can leave first. I still have some matters to attend to, so I won’t be seeing you off.” Chen Feng turned and left after saying that. He had a solemn expression on his face. Wang Baole could sense that something serious must have happened. He had wanted to ask about Lin Tianhao, but it seemed like this wasn’t an appropriate time for that. Just as he was about to leave, his voice transmission ring rang suddenly.

“Wang Baole, I’ve just received news. Something happened to Lin Tianhao’s team. I’m not sure what exactly. I’ll let you know when I have more details.” The sender was Li Wan’er.

Wang Baole froze when he heard Li Wan’er’s transmission. The look on his face grew serious as he recalled the somber look on Chen Feng’s face earlier. He suddenly lifted his head abruptly and stared at Chen Feng, who was hastily walking away. He decided to throw caution to the wind and shouted suddenly.

“General Chen, my vice dean, Lin Tianhao, took my place and joined one of the military teams on a mission. Do you have any news of him?”

Chen Feng, who had been hurrying off, froze when he heard what Wang Baole had said. He turned around and gave Wang Baole a deep, meaningful look. He was about to speak when Wang Baole hurried over and said hastily.

“I’ve spoken to Lin Tianhao’s father. He knows that his son had been called to serve in my place. General Chen, I have a responsibility to Senator Lin You for this matter!”

Wang Baole’s words were timely. If it had been for purely personal reasons, Chen Feng wouldn’t have shared anything with Wang Baole. Despite Wang Baole’s strong and close working relationship with the military in the Federation, the Martian military was a separate and relatively autonomous entity.

But now that Senator Lin You was included in the picture… even he had to deliberate and weigh his decisions. Finally, he gave Wang Baole a long, meaningful look.

“I don’t know the details as well. Follow me!”

After Chen Feng said that, the soldiers at his side immediately approached Wang Baole and checked his person. After that, he was brought up to Chen Feng’s cruiser. It took off and sped towards the command center in Zone Thirty-Six.

Chen Feng didn’t speak to Wang Baole during the entire ride. He attended to the numerous transmissions he kept receiving during the trip. Wang Baole found it difficult to start a conversation as well. He had a bad feeling about this. Amidst his growing anxiety, they soon reached the military command center. The two got out of the cruiser and walked into a large room with a giant spirit screen. The room was bustling with people busy with their own work. Someone approached Chen Feng hastily and reported to him.

“Sir, we confirmed that we’ve lost all communication with Team Six and Team Seven… everyone in the team, including the Array Formation cultivator, the Dharmic Armament cultivator, our military personnel, as well as the priest, have all disappeared!

“Our array formation can no longer sense the blood-colored village. It has vanished into thin air!”

“The blood-colored mist has also dispersed… we can’t find any trace of the mist in all zones in the entire Martian planet!” The reports followed one by one. Chen Feng attended to them immediately. The expression on Wang Baole’s face grew more serious, and the sense of foreboding inside him intensified.

Li Wan’er’s transmission arrived at this moment. She told Wang Baole that the military had sent out seven teams to handle the blood-colored mist incident. At present, five teams had returned. Teams Six and Seven had to travel to locations further away from the base, which was why their projected time of return had been estimated to be later than the rest.

Everything had gone according to plan. All seven teams had dug up invaluable information and resources for the colony. However, an hour ago, they had lost contact with Teams Six and Seven suddenly. After a scan via the array formation, the military had found that the teams had disappeared into thin air!

The Martian Colony was giving this due attention. The Governor, Deputy Governor, as well as the various department heads soon arrived at the command center. Li Wan’er was one of them as well.

Many noticed Wang Baole and nodded at him. However, there was no time for small talk. Everyone was concerned about the latest development of the sudden incident. The Martian military had sent out a rescue force as soon as they could to investigate the matter. The Martian Colony Governor also activated her access rights to the array formation for another scan.

Hours passed and evening arrived. They didn’t find anything new, regardless of how hard they searched. The rescue cruiser arrived at the scene where the teams had gone missing and found nothing. The blood-colored mist, the village, and the missing teams seemed to have vanished without a trace. It was as if they had never appeared in the first place.

There was dead silence, no one spoke. Everyone had come to the same conclusion. It was likely that the missing people… were all dead.

Wang Baole couldn’t remember how he had made it back to the academy. He seemed to still be in a daze. His brain had stopped working. He sat in his residence silently, staring at the four walls without speaking.

He still couldn’t believe it. Lin Tianhao had just… disappeared. Just like that…

Lin Tianhao had taken Wang Baole’s stead. If Wang Baole hadn’t been trapped in the cave with Li Wan’er, the list of missing persons wouldn’t include Lin Tianhao.

From how he saw it, Lin Tianhao had taken Wang Baole’s place and suffered what should have been his fate. Wang Baole couldn’t begin to untangle the web of complicated emotions he had regarding that.

However, he was powerless to do anything. When Lin You had found out about this matter, he set everything aside. He was now on his way from Earth.

Amidst the silence, the bitterness and the complicated, mixed feelings, Wang Baole found himself unable to train. He continued waiting silently while seeking more information. Two days passed.

No clues had surfaced regarding the missing persons… On the second day, late in the night, Wang Baole pulled out a bottle of wine and took a huge gulp from the bottle. He was filled with anxiety and guilt. His eyes shone with resolution. He intended to conduct a search personally. He wouldn’t be able to ease the guilt and worry he was feeling if he didn’t do so.

As the thought flashed across Wang Baole’s mind, suddenly, in the dead silence of the night, his voice transmission ring started to vibrate. A familiar voice rang out. It was the faint, feeble voice of Lin Tianhao!

“Save me…”

Wang Baole’s eyes widened when he heard the voice. His breathing quickened instantly, and he turned and stared at the voice transmission ring.