Epoch of Twilight

In the days that followed, Luo Yuan visited the Gobi Desert more often to practice the Earth Fountain. He woke up before dawn to begin, and he returned home as soon as the sun came up.

At his level, the duration of each battle lasted only a few moments. It could have been a few seconds or even less than a second, to a point that all ordinary people would see were blurs of attacks and blood, followed by death and destruction.

But, it was almost impossible to execute a massive attack, like the Earth Fountain in high-speed battles. If he wanted to use the attack in such a fight, he would have to train tirelessly until he could produce the attack without a second thought.

Luo Yuan spent the rest of the time at home with his family to recuperate.

He did not know if the mission to come would be his last, and what life would be like if he would never get the chance to come home again. Even now, he had no idea what was happening outside his surroundings. He had not ventured beyond his home and training ground a long time, and even longer still since he left the forest. What if the dangers outside had not awaited his time of training, and grew worse by the day?

Ever since he came to the Reconstruction Area, he had only been to the wilderness a few times. He had only been to a distance of at most 500 to 600 kilometers away. To be more accurate, those places that he had reason to be. The entities further on were much stronger. All their activities were recorded, closely monitored and documented.

The ’dragon’ he had discovered earlier had been part of the records as well.

The nuclear weapons available at Reconstruction Area were limited and only sufficient for defense. Most of the top level mutated beasts usually had supernatural intelligence and they would never challenge others with nuclear arsenals. They had witnessed the power of nuclear weapons before and knew that a deterrent like that never ended well for anyone or anything.

It was a long journey for this mission. He had no idea how disastrous and dangerous the place would be and what terrified him the most was the knowledge he had of the top level mutated beasts. Furthermore, after it all, he would be encountering one of the most dangerous extraterrestrial civilizations upon his arrival.

He suffered and was under a lot of pressure, but he maintained a brave face when he was with his family.

......

15 days later, Luo Yuan came back from Gobi Desert as usual. The officer who was usually still asleep at this hour, was awake and sitting up, awaiting his return.

"General Luo, I am here to inform you about the new training."

Luo Yuan nodded his head and answered coldly, "Lead the way!"

The officer, Wang Jing, had intentionally approached Huang Jiahui and Wang Shishi. These days, they spent most of the time together and were as close as biological sisters.

But, Luo Yuan and she were still like strangers, as he deliberately distanced himself from her.

......

As both of them walked along the underground street, Wang Jing looked at Luo Yuan’s face and suddenly bent her head and asked softly, "Do you hate me?"

"No, I don’t!" Luo Yuan replied coldly and picked up his pace.

"Or is there anything that I did wrong!" Wang Jing asked again.

"Isn’t this just a job for you? Stop asking questions." Luo Yuan said, the anger in his voice escaping with the fierce tone of his voice.

Wang Jing felt lost. According to the information provided to her, this soldier had an insatiable appetite for sex, and he lusted upon and was sought after by most women around him. She believed it to be true as she saw the 3 women at his house. She now realized that it was not at all easy to seduce him.

Perhaps I am not the type of girl he liked? Wang Jing wondered.

Should I report this?

They remained silent as Wang Jing did not speak and Luo Yuan did not complain.

In a matter of moments, both of them had reached the 11th floor. The soldiers on duty checked their passes and allowed them through.

This was the place where they grew agricultural produce, as this was the main source of food for Hope City. For that reason, there was always a team stationed there to ensure it was safe and protected from any danger that sought to destroy it.

The Agricultural Produce Cultivation Area was brightly-lit and under the illumination of an incandescent lamp, were the growing lush colored plants that thrived. The growing crops were planted using the technique of soil-less cultivation. This method was clean and effective and at the same time. It could also prevent the breeding of mutated organisms in the soil that might threaten the plants.

The growth of the plants was influenced by the environment of the apocalypse, a land of decay and death. Although, within these conditions, they grew luxuriously. They were harvested after 10 days and ready to sell at the market soon after.

All kinds of vegetables lay before Luo Yuan’s eyes, the crops from a fresh harvest.

These vegetables were very different from those before apocalypse. There were many more new species discovered, with stronger genetic strains to allow them to grow faster and withstand the climate. Every one of them looked huge and juicy.

After walking for a few hundred meters, they saw groups of people were planting a kind of tuberous plants.

The branches and leaves were small but the tubers were as big as mandarin oranges. The tubers were filled with starch or what seemed to look like a glutinous powder. Luo Yuan had eaten a lot of food made of this powder and they were delicious. The glutinous powder was quite pricey and available with the welfare of the Sword Unit.

As they walked further, there were large areas of cactus plants lining their path. The cacti were huge and as tall as 11 to 12 meters off the rock wall. However, these were just the early stages of growth. The cacti would be well over hundred meters tall once matured.

The ground starch consisting of coarse fiber was what the people at Reconstruction Area would normally eat. Almost half of the crops here were these types of genetically altered plants.

A man who was wearing a military uniform came up to them when they were on their way. He greeted them respectfully. In his hands, he held a lead box.

They handed over their phones and other electrical devices and he put them into the lead box. The soldier used a device to check them again, saluted him and said, "General Luo, this way please."

Luo Yuan nodded and followed the soldier to a huge military tent.

"General Luo, please come in." The soldier standing right in front of the tent said.

Luo Yuan glanced around. He saw that the tent was heavily guarded as there were rows of troops at attention, stationed near the tent. He shifted his gaze and did not think any further. He believed that it was necessary to do so as the mission was of a highly confidential nature.

Luo Yuan had no fear. Even if they were planning a conspiracy against him, he was able to predict within two seconds ahead of time, so he’d literally be a few steps ahead of them.

Luo Yuan and Wang Jing walked side by side into the tent. The first thing they saw at the center of the tent was a model of a mountain. The entire model was around 20 meters long with a width of 17 to 18 meters. A building model of extraterrestrial civilization was located at the most central position.

There arose a heated debate among the soldiers.

It was apparent that the model was a hologram created with satellite imagery. The trees that were blocking the sight had been removed, roughly revealing the original topography.

"General Luo, you are here! We have been waiting for you. I am Yu Zheng, the staff officer from the Operational Intelligence headquarters, codenamed 125. I am here to explain the mission to you."

125? Operational Intelligence?

Luo Yuan immediately recalled from memory and understood that ‘125’ was referring to the fusion device explosion that happened on the 5th of December the year before. "Thank you!" Luo Yuan replied when he returned to his senses.