Starlight of the Apocalypse

"Woo~ ah woo~~~~~~~" A continuous alarm cut off Yuwang's thoughts.

This was the highest-level alarm, signaling that the city's defense forces were in crisis and that reserves had to be deployed. It had been four years since this kind of situation occurred. Yuwang exchanged glances with Boyi, and they both quickly stood up and ran out of the classroom, with two 16-year-old girls following behind.

Yuwang led the way, sprinting at full speed. Boyi, panting heavily as he chased, shouted, "Stupid fishing net, are you trying to throw yourself into danger? Why are you running so fast? Are you hoping for a fatal end?"

The two girls chasing behind couldn't help but shout in unison, "Then why are you still chasing?" They exchanged glances and laughed, "Hahaha..."

"I won't argue with you little girls," Boyi retorted, throwing a signature eye roll.

The underground city wasn't very large, and after passing through a few tunnel districts, they arrived at the city defense military headquarters square. Though called a square, it could barely hold 500 people standing. At this moment, over 100 people had gathered, mostly 16-year-old youths.

Yuwang and the others took their positions and stood silently. Apart from the continuing alarm, there was no sound, and the atmosphere grew increasingly tense.

After about a minute, the officer on stage assessed that the children had gathered, and signaled for the alarm to stop. Then he declared in a loud voice, "Brave children, you have trained hard for many years. Today is the day you fight to protect your companions, defend the underground city, and fight for survival! If anyone is afraid, step forward and transfer to logistics."

He paused and scanned the group.

"With my blood, I defend the holy spirits!" Yuwang shouted the soldiers' battle cry.

"With my blood, I defend the holy spirits! ...With my blood, I defend the holy spirits!" The square erupted in fervor.

The officer nodded slightly and gestured for everyone to quiet down. "Children, you are the pride of the 'Starfire' (The Starfire Alliance, a nation formed by the surviving humans and some bio-synthetic beings)!" He then signaled for his aide to step forward.

The aide clenched his right fist and lightly struck his left shoulder in salute, then stepped forward and said, "The situation is urgent. Now, we assign tasks!"

At the command, everyone stood at attention.

"Eagle Eye City's surface defenses are under heavy attack by the mechanical army and require immediate reinforcements. Although none of you have been to a real battlefield, I believe you will live up to expectations. After receiving your weapons, head to the northern exit of the Red Sand Tunnel District, the eastern exit of the Central Tunnel District..." He went on, outlining the tasks for 9 different districts.

After hearing their assignments, the youths quickly headed to the military supply warehouse on one side of the square to collect their weapons and rush to the front lines.

Only Yuwang and the other three from the Yingtian District remained. The aide took a deep breath, looked at them seriously, and said slowly, "Your mission is to exit through the secret passage and head northwest to the nearest Blackstone City for reinforcements. This is the most dangerous and the most glorious task. If the enemy does not retreat easily, you are our only hope."

"With my blood, I defend the holy spirits! We will complete the mission!" the four of them shouted in unison.

The aide nodded and handed Yuwang an envelope and a military supply voucher. After securing the items, Yuwang led the group into the supply warehouse. With the voucher, the supply officer handed each of them a magnetic storm rifle, a set of desert survival gear.

The four of them quickly put on their gear. The supply officer handed Yuwang a map, a compass, and a survival backpack, saying, "This contains supplies for three days. Use them according to your training methods."

They accepted the items, saluted, and left, boarding an underground transport vehicle to embark on their first journey.

"This is so stingy. We'll need at least four days to reach Blackstone City, but they only gave us enough supplies for three days. They're obviously setting us up to starve for a day!" Boyi grumbled on the vehicle.

"Like you ever get enough to eat. At least I've learned to maintain my figure. Not like someone who gains weight just by drinking water!" one of the girls retorted. The two girls laughed, "Hahaha, hehe..."

At this, Boyi rolled his eyes again.

Yuwang, glancing at the map for a while, soon realized they had arrived near the surface tunnel. The four of them disembarked from the unmanned transport vehicle and approached a rusted ladder. The taller girl looked up and exclaimed, "Oh my, it's so narrow! So high! It really is a secret passage!"

Boyi, seeming to have found a topic for revenge, grinned and said, "I told you, Sofia, girls are always girls. When it comes to key moments, you still need to rely on my skills!"

Sofia, of Russian descent, stepped aside with a playful flick of her silver-white wavy hair and replied, "Whitey, I'm worried you'll get stuck in the middle, haha!" She then laughed with the other Chinese girl, Chang Xi.

At this, even Yuwang, who had been frowning, couldn't help but smile.

Boyi, unbothered, peeked at the narrow ladder leading up. He then stuck out his tongue and quickly retreated, now worried that he might indeed get stuck himself. He joked, "Didn't they consider my awesome build when assigning tasks?"

Yuwang patted his shoulder and said, "As usual, I'll go first." He stepped forward, looked up, and saw that the ladder was about 20 meters high and extremely narrow. He quickly retrieved a dagger from his bag, bit it in his mouth, and began to climb rapidly, using the dagger to carve out gaps in the narrow sections, sending sand and dust falling.

Boyi, peeking up, immediately stepped back and yelled, "Yuwang, are you jealous of how handsome I am and trying to get me all dusty?"

The two girls cast him a contemptuous look, and Chang Xi said, "Yuwang is just being considerate of your big frame. Don't be ungrateful!"

By the time they were speaking, Yuwang had already reached the top. He made a silencing gesture and cautiously peered out. From the observation tower, he judged that the distance from here to Eagle Eye City was about 2,000 meters. In the distance, over a hundred mech warriors were attacking several entrances to the defensive fortifications and watch towers. Laser beams and explosive shells were flying everywhere, and in just moments, one of the watch towers collapsed. Meanwhile, the city's defenders were putting up a fierce fight, using the tunnels to their advantage.

Judging from the current situation, Yuwang believed Eagle Eye City wouldn't hold out for three days, let alone the eight days it would take for them to return. As he was quickly formulating a plan, a spider-like mechanical soldier quietly approached him.

Suddenly, Yuwang noticed that the mech units that had been attacking the west entrance now redirected their fire toward him, rapidly approaching. He realized that an AI from the mechanical army had detected him, as the AI's collective consciousness coordinated the forces as if they were one mind, directing them like fingers on a hand.

His mind raced as he thought: If I hide, the four of us won't be able to hold this entrance. So he made a quick decision to jump out and sprint in the opposite direction, hoping to draw the mechs away.

But after running a few steps, his vision blurred, and a large metallic spider appeared right in front of him, standing a meter tall, tapping its legs on the sand, seemingly not in a hurry to attack.

Yuwang's mind recalled what Teacher Dingding had taught him: when AI calculates that a prey cannot escape, it usually waits for the right moment to strike in the most efficient way possible. A sense of despair flashed through his eyes, but as a soldier trained all his life, he quickly raised his magnetic storm rifle, ready for a desperate fight. The mechanical spider's eyes (laser emitters) lit up...

Just then, the mechanical spider suddenly flew into the air, and half a second later, its laser fire missed its target. Yuwang instinctively fired at the airborne mechanical spider, hitting it with a precise electromagnetic pulse. It fell heavily to the ground, and after struggling for a few moments, it stopped moving.

From behind the sand dunes, a figure appeared. Dressed in a white robe, with fiery red hair, pale skin that complemented a face of unsurpassed beauty, and holding a short staff that glowed with mysterious light, she looked like a true celestial being.

Although Yuwang had grown up surrounded by beautiful women (as the underground city used genetic selection during reproduction, ensuring everyone had exceptional appearances—except for him, of course, and the bio-synthetics were even more perfect), at this moment, when his eyes met the "celestial's" gaze, it felt as though he had been struck by lightning, not just physically, but in his very soul.

The girl looked at him with the same shock in her eyes. At this moment, another figure rushed out from behind the dunes, urgently calling, "Princess, please retreat to a safe place!"

Yuwang, still in a daze, muttered, "Princess...?"