Forty Millenniums of Cultivation

The breakfast was over ten minutes later, and the teenagers had gathered in classes again after putting on the suits that could allegedly resist germs, viruses, and extraterritorial devils, ready to reenter the battered town that was haunted by extraterritorial devils.

It was also the first time that Li Yao saw the purge troop nearby through Tang Ka's eyes. He saw teams of fully-armed soldiers in crystal suits, supersonic shuttles in the sky, and floating fortresses that looked like black mountains. They were monitoring and keeping all the ruins under control.

In the meantime, Li Yao sensed that many of the thousand teenagers had rapidly increasing breathing patterns or heartbeats.

"I'm more and more positive that something is wrong with this ultimate test."

Li Yao said casually, "Last night, you told me that the students, including you, were put into a real-life operation because there weren't enough soldiers for that, which agrees with my intelligence. As far as I know, there are not many troops on this planet.

"However, when you already have insufficient soldiers, such a massive troop is still deployed next to you to do nothing but watch over you for seven days. Isn't it too wasteful?

"Even though the commander of this purge troop is hoping to recruit new soldiers, there is no need to keep his whole troop here. A few officers should've been more than enough.

"So, the purge troop must be here for other purposes, say, to deal with potentially dangerous situations, right?"

Tang Ka looked at the station of the purge troop and said in confusion, "It's impossible for the Imperium to take back the Thick Soil Sector any time soon. Even if they can, I don't think there is anything valuable here that is worth the defense of such a huge troop!"

"That's right. I don't think the purge troop is defending against the Imperium's army either. So, there can only be one answer."

Li Yao said calmly, "They're defending against you?"

"Us?"

Tang Ka found it hard to believe. "But why? We're future Purgers! I dream to be one of them!"

"I'm afraid that's the problem."

Li Yao sighed and said, "As far as I know, few people in the Covenant Alliance 'dream', and the requirements for the Purgers will only be higher. How can they let someone who dreams to become a Purger?"

"But… But it's the vocational requirement of a Purger!"

Tang Ka's feelings surged like a tsunami again. "We must have certain feelings and thoughts, or the ability to dream, in order to identify dangerous items!"

"No, you're wrong. With detailed lists and descriptions on dangerous items, 99% of them can be recognized by programs."

Li Yao said coldly, "The Purgers do not need to know what 'art' is at all. All they need to do is to destroy it when they see a colorful painting. Wouldn't that be convenient and reliable? Even though some Purgers who have thinking abilities are needed, not everybody has to have the ability to think."

"What are you getting at?"

Tang Ka mumbled, "What do you mean? What's this if it's neither our graduation test nor the recruitment of the purge troop?"

"I don't know. I need more information for further analysis."

Li Yao said, "I only know that the thousand kids here mostly boast fiery feelings and lightning-like thoughts just like you do. Even though I'm hiding in you, I can tell that they're different from the regular people of the Covenant Alliance. The ice in their heads is cracking.

"It's actually understandable. You've been living on boring starships for a decade faced with nothing but walls. Your desires and your thoughts are pressed down to the limits like a spring.

"But all of a sudden, you're dropped to a habitable planet faced with a… rather resourceful town of the Imperium. Although this town has been ruined by war, the remaining resources in this town are still enough for you to unleash your nature and have fun for seven days and seven nights.

"For the seven days, you can do anything you want in this city, and all the adults simply observe you from a distance away. What's this? It's like throwing a man who has been hungry for three days to a buffet restaurant where he can eat anything he wants!

"If this is the way to test the Purgers, I have to say that it's too wasteful and complicated."

Tang Ka was silent for a long time.

"I…"

He sobbed silently, "I want to be a Purger! That's my dream!"

"Don't be excited. The more excited you are, the further away you will be from your dream."

Li Yao calmed the young man down. "The only good news is that you're not the most excited and 'abnormal' kid of the thousand students here. Actually, after you practiced the trick I taught you, you appear quite calm. Other people are even worse than you!

"I thought that you were the only 'weirdo' who had abundant thoughts and feelings. However, it turns out that all of you are the same. It's possible that the thousand students, including you, are screened out according to a certain standard. Or maybe…"

"Or maybe what?" asked Tang Ka.

"Nothing. Let's continue and see what's next."

Li Yao was going to say that those kids who were too emotional to be the children of the Covenant Alliance's people were probably "manufactured" according to a certain standard.

But then he decided not to say it out in case the young man was even more disturbed.

Led by their monitor, the teenagers in Tang Ka's class came to the edge of the town in their mentors' crystal tanks, before they entered the purge area on foot.

There was no telling if it was because of Li Yao's psychological hint, but Tang Ka did feel that a lot of people were different today.

When they entered the city the previous day, they were like cold machines that were only carrying out the purge operation as instructed.

However, today, their eyes, their breath, their faces, and their gaits were all unnatural.

Tang Ka thought for a long time and realized why they were unnatural.

Just like him, they both looked forward to the town and dreaded it. Or rather, they dreaded themselves in their hearts.

Crossing the statue they broke the other day, they pressed forward more deeply and reached a three-floored building with a yard. Inside the yard were a carousel and a slide.

"This is…"

Tang Ka's eyes were glued to everything he saw. "A kindergarten? The place where the Imperium people raise their offspring, like our nursery?"

"Yes."

Li Yao said, "This is a 'Palm Tree'. All the kids are supposed to cover their hands with colorful pigments before they press their hands on the wall. The marks they leave will be like the leaves of a tree."

"… I don't get it."

Tang Ka said, "What's the purpose of such lousy training?"

"Nothing."

Li Yao said, "It's only for fun."

"They seemed to have had a lot of fun."

Tang Ka focused his eyes on the wall in the empty kindergarten. Hundreds of paintings of the kids were stuck to the wall, depicting their happiest moments and their childish hope in the most glamorous colors and the worst techniques.

"Yes. They had every reason to be happy."

Li Yao explained, "The first batch of colonizers who participated in the reconstruction of this planet had mostly been bankrupted back in their hometown. Their kids were not capable nor qualified to go to a kindergarten back there.

"But in this new paradise that was full of hope, their kids had a chance to live a happy life that they did not dare to imagine in the past. I think that's why the colonizers named the city 'New Joy'.

"However, those colonizers did not consider the risks of their option. Or maybe, they did not have any other options, and this was their only land of hope.

"Where are the kids in this kindergarten now?"

"I don't know."

Tang Ka suddenly lost the courage to look at the things around him, particularly the colorful tree of hope that the kids painted with their hands. "There were no massive engagements in the city. The kids should be fine. They must've been sent to the rear…"

"To be purged?" Li Yao asked.

For some reason, Tang Ka did not even have the guts to say yes. The word "purge", filled with venomous magma, burned his soul.

Tang Ka and Li Yao fell silent. In their silence, they heard the heavy breathings and heartbeats of the teenagers, or big kids, near them.

"Level-one hazardous area!"

The monitor roared, "This is the lair of extraterritorial devils where they proliferate. Purge this place at once!"

Nobody moved. All the "Children of Holy Light" stood in silence and stared at everything around them, deep in thought or confused, wondering about the lifestyles of the other human beings.

"What are you waiting for? Did you not hear me?"

The monitor raised her voice and shrieked, "Purge! Purge! Purge everything in this place!"

"Ah!"

Liao Meng, the deputy monitor, roared, and sweat dripped from his pale face. More ruthless than ever, he raised his flamethrower and fired at the palm painting, the toys, and the carrousel of the kids.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!"

All the Children of Holy Light pulled the triggers and destroyed everything they could see. Very soon, the kindergarten was mired in an ocean of fire and smoke.