Voosh.
A plane took off. Han looked at his other squad members, Johnny Schwartz and two other regular soldiers. Herald was a Private First Class from America, and Zhai was a Corporal from China. They were joking around with one another and seemed familiar with each other.
"Squad Victor will go to the Southern Qinghai Palace. There will be a psychic research center there. It will be found in the secret third basement; currently an Elu has taken control of the center. The special forces sent in before are still unaccounted for. China has submitted a formal request for Ark to dispatch troops."
Schwartz expertly briefed the squad .
"What are the enemy numbers?" asked Private Herald. Schwartz looked to each squad member and then answered.
"According to the Chinese authorities, there is only one Elu. However, it seems to have higher battle prowess than normal. We speculate that the two special forces trained by Damien have been annihilated. "
"Don't we need more support troops? It sounds like this will be more dangerous than we originally thought," mumbled Corporal Zhai as he munched on peanuts.
"Our enemy can probably maintain a psychic shield; this is the most probable reason the special forces were annihilated. If the enemy maintains a psychic shield in a narrow research center hallway, there is no way for them to survive. However, we're different. Don't you think so? Chan."
"It's Han," Han always corrected. However, Schwartz only laughed in amusement. Han equipped the dragon gears. The spear which was wrapped in a special leather material could deal a blow against the enemy's psychic shield.
"This shouldn't be your first time in real battle, but this should be your first official assignment in third year, right?" Private Herald said.
"That is so," Han nodded.
"You don't look nervous at all. How boring. Let's take care of this quickly and return." Most of Ark's military operations were not difficult. Normal squad soldiers would not be able to inflict even the smallest scratch, but Ark's psykers and soldiers can easily take care of them.
When other nations request for support from Ark, it is because they're too lazy to figure out how to deal with it themselves, or the Elus can manifest psychic shields.
"Chan, think of this as a job shadow and let us do the work. There won't be a need for you to deal with this firsthand. If something were to happen to us, your survival is our first priority." Schwartz patted Han's shoulder and said.
Han nodded. Upon hearing these words, a memory he did not want to remember flashed through his mind. It had been his fault that Sergeant Red was missing a leg.
"It will be good for you to get some sleep, though it might be hard." Corporal Zhai said. The squad leaned against the wall and closed their eyes. Han wanted to get some sleep as well, but sleep wouldn't come as easily as it did just a moment ago. Schwartz peered toward Han.
"Chan, do you know why Ark sends you out in dangerous missions?"
"I heard it was for us to gain experience."
"Yes, that's right. But the most important thing you should learn is how not to die out there. Whatever that may happen, you guys must not die- ever. Even if it means that your peers will all die, you must not attack in the heat of revenge. You must retreat and then promise to return."
"I know."
"When the next wave of aggression begins, we don't have any soldiers who can take your place. Nobody will be able to pilot your psychoframes either. Psychoframes and second generation psychic soldiers– we can't do without a single one."
"Put simply, if we plan to die such a pitiful death, it will be better to die early on," Han bitterly chuckled.
"You understand quickly."
Schwartz raised his thumb and laughed. Han couldn't sleep, but he kept his eyes closed. He would be able to rest somewhat by just keeping his eyes closed. All sorts of thoughts and memories flashed past his mind.
Han suddenly remembered the dragon energy he felt at the dimensional crack. Just the thought of the time made his body tremble in fear. It felt as if he had met his natural enemy.
'Such hatred against humans…'
Dragons killed humans. Minions were the tribes that had been subjugated by dragons.
Humans did not fall under the wide umbrella of Minions. The dragons didn't even consider enslaving humanity for a second. However, it seemed that humans were a special existence to dragons.
'Why do dragons want to kill humans? Invasion and conquest?'
Ark did not teach this one aspect. To be more precise, it's highly likely that Ark themselves were unaware of the exact reason. Dragons were an existence hidden behind a veil.
'So far, seven dragons have appeared. Humanity was nearly exterminated with just these numbers. Nuclear bombs didn't affect them at all either.'
Han opened his eyes from his half asleep state. His other squad members stretched and yawned and began to equip all their gears. The plane would land soon. The pilot was busy communicating with the stealth tower. Corporal Zhai walked over to the pilot. He said some things to the control tower, and both parties became quiet.
"Is that the psychic research center? It just looks like flat land on the outside."
"Lots of confidential information is kept in the psychic research center. Every nation around the world has their own active psychic research center. They are always in danger of being attacked by the True Group."
"The True Group…"
Han frowned at the name. Many people had died. The day of madness still frightened him to this day.
Humans easily killed one another without hesitation. His peers which he shared meals with died one after another, and the youths gradually turned into murderers themselves. There wasn't a shred of noble justice or any form of morality.
"Don't worry. Those are the adults' problems. Nothing can be done about what happened to Ark. There is no other way to go about it. Originally, we do not command you guys to kill humans. You must not become used to killing humans." Schwartz put his hand on Han's shoulder and said.
The youths of Ark must not become used to killing humans. This treatment was not for the sole sake of the youths alone. The ethics instilled during childhood would last through their adulthood. Adults who have strong mental strength and personal ethics are not easily swayed by madness even with military training.
'If these youths were to kill other humans like they were chopping down trees, then humanity must face another kind of enemy all together.'
The current Ark had been formed after much failure. When Ark had been founded, they made many mistakes, and even produced psykers who had been dubbed monsters.
At the start, Ark only trained the elite of the elites in their institutions, so the overall cost was not much compared to now. However, Ark decided to recruit all the psychic children of the world for a grand selection.
Children quickly adapt and improve. They were different to adults who had already matured. The most talented child may become a monster, and the least talented child may become the strongest soldier of the army.
'Everything depends on potential. Children have infinite potential.' Schwartz peered to Han. It seems he won't need to wait too long. The longest would probably be two or three years. At that point, Han would already become a superhuman soldier that surpasses Schwartz.
He had already surpassed Silence, a first generation psyker. With outstanding battle skills and his blink ability, Silence is almost invincible in the mock battles.
"The person in charge is coming over there. Wait here, Chan."
Chinese soldiers marched toward them from far away. Schwartz went to meet them first. He seemed to pressure the other side's highest in command.
Schwartz scratched his head as if he was feeling troubled by something. At that point, Corporal Zhai decided to intervene.
"Attention! Salute!"
The Chinese soldiers lined up in perfect order and saluted the corporal. The officer in charge who looked down on Schwartz, regarded the corporal with nothing but respect.
"Corporal Zhai is a Chinese war hero. Their hero is a mere squad member, and a strange foreigner is the squad leader, so the other side was displaying their dissatisfaction. People of China regard pride very highly."
Once Corporal zhai took control of the situation, the Chinese soldiers began to cooperate. The soldiers of Ark were all regarded as heroes in their own countries.
The war, which lasted three years, birthed many heroes. They gave up all possibilities of wealth and honor offered by their home country, and went to Ark to be the defenders of humanity.
The Chinese researchers dressed in white appeared from behind the Chinese soldiers. It seemed the soldiers had been forced to come here by the researchers.
The Chinese soldiers and researchers didn't look like they were getting along too well. From the short exchange of words, it seemed the researchers hadn't explained what happened in the research center with clarity. The Chinese commissioned officer thought that his men died a meaningless death because of the other party.
Now it was time for adults to commence psychological warfare to extract as much information from one another while pretending to smile. Han sat by himself and waited for the command by the squad leader.