The captain of the Tyrant class battlecruiser had overestimated the capabilities of his ship. Unlike our opponent, the Crusader still had his full complement of weapons and was charging forward with an unscathed engine. In contrast, the enemy was limping, and having lost the advantage of its previously superior speed and maneuverability, it could do nothing but be picked apart from range, my ship keeping his distance and maximizing the strengths of our weapons.
Less than an hour later, I left the crumbling hulk of the enemy vessel behind, the once enormous ship breaking into countless pieces and disintegrating in the void. The Templar surged back toward Earth, bruised but victorious.
"Excellent work, Commander. You have far exceeded our evaluations. That was an impressive display." Aegis couldn't keep the surprise out of her robotic voice. "This is strange. Commander, you did not receive any formal military training, and so I am curious as to how you were able to defeat the enemy in such convincing fashion."
"What about informal military training?"
"I beg your pardon, Commander?"
"Nah, never mind." I rubbed my cheek, embarrassed. "My hobbies include reading military science fiction novels and playing sci-fi real time strategy games. Not sure if you've heard of a certain universe set in the far future of the forty-first millennium where there's only war. They have a lot of Black Library novels. Also, Ian Douglas is one of my favorite authors, and he wrote the Star Carrier series. I also tend to play a lot of games where I play as the human faction mustering armies and space armadas against alien enemies. That's where I had all the ideas from."
"…I see. That's also why you seem somewhat familiar with the Templar's weapon systems, armaments, and why you were so confident in issuing orders. I had originally surmised that it is because of the unconscious memories embedded within your soul, but there are…discrepancies. I had anticipated you to be more confused, hesitant and indecisive like a typical youth of your age suddenly thrown into an unfamiliar situation, but you are unusually calm and your judgements are sound."
"Well, according to an experienced web novelist named Xiang Yan who wrote Mages Are Too OP, the most popular protagonist personality type is the cool and calm type, the kind of person who remains unfazed even when the world is crumbling all around him. I'm just conforming to that personality stereotype to appeal to the masses."
"…"
Aegis probably didn't know how to respond to that and decided to pretend that I hadn't just hammered down a hole in the fourth wall.
"Anyway, uh…what happens now?" I turned toward the growing image of Earth. "Are we supposed to go on an intergalactic journey to recover all the relics and recover the scattered ships of the Holy Terran Armada? If we are, can I at least return home one last time to say goodbye to my family?"
"We are not going on any intergalactic journeys," Aegis replied. "You are to remain on Earth. Despite your impressive victories, I will feel more comfortable if you complete your training. Additionally, I believe there are strategic advantages and morale purposes for you to remain on Earth. It will give you more motivation to defeat the enemy, otherwise there will be emotional repercussions if your home planet is destroyed while you are away trying to collect the others."
"Thanks for understanding," I muttered.
"As such, I believe you should return home before your family is worried."
"Okay, so how…?"
I hadn't finished my sentence when there was a bright flash of light and suddenly, I found myself at the doorstep of my home. I sighed and scratched my head.
"So that's how."
Then my smartphone rang. Picking it up, I saw that it was my mom. With another sigh, I swiped the screen and answered the call.
"Mom? What's up?"
"Tian Xing! What happened!? I heard there was an attack on your school. Are you and your brother safe? I called Tian Yang earlier, but he says he doesn't know where you are!"
"Oh, I was busily running and hiding. But yeah, I'm safe. I just got home."
"Thank goodness." I could hear the relief in her voice.
"Sorry for making you worried. It's all right now."
"What happened? There are all sorts of contradicting news on television and social media, and it's so confusing. Some say it's a terrorist attack, but a few online videos claim it's…a monster? An alien? And the videos showed you right in the center of it."
"Oh…yeah, I was just unlucky. But I'm fine. I don't know what happened either. I ran away."
"I see. I'll ask you more when I get home, but don't do anything stupid, okay? Stay at home and keep yourself safe. Check if your brother comes home safely too. Tian Yang says he's currently with his friends, taking shelter at a nearby facility, but he'll be returning soon."
"I will. I guess I'll let dad know I'm safe too."
"Please do."
After hanging up, I groaned and rubbed my forehead. Online videos? Damn, this wasn't going to be good.
*
Just as I expected, the videos uploaded onto social media had exploded into popularity and sort of made me famous, though not in the way I thought it would. When I went to school the next day – after the police had cordoned the area and ensured that it was safe – there were schoolmates whispering and staring at me from a distance.
How uncomfortable.
"You all right, Tian Xing?"
Liu Zhi Yong, as usual, appeared to check on me. I snorted.
"Yeah. For someone who calls himself my best friend, you ran away pretty fast yesterday."
"Hey! What do you expect me to do? That was an alien monster, you know! And I saw that you had everything well in hand, so there wasn't anything for me to do, unless you're asking me to die for no reason."
"Yeah, yeah."
"But you're a hero, man! Did you see all the comments on the videos? Most of them were taken down by the government, but they keep popping up and getting reuploaded everywhere. You're a celebrity!"
"No, I'm not. I was just…" I trailed off when I caught sight of Huang Xiang Jun. I was about to wave at her, but I halted my greeting mid-gesture when I saw the guy beside her.
Hui Zhang.
He had his arm around her shoulders and they seemed pretty close, with Xiang Jun blushing and intertwining her fingers with his. Zhi Yong followed my gaze and then he placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder.
"Oh, that? I saw on their social media page. Apparently, Hui Zhang saved Xiang Jun during the attack yesterday, pulling her to safety and shielding her body with his own. After that, they got close and are apparently dating now."
"…right." My heart sank in my chest, but somehow, I kept a stoic expression. With a sigh, I continued walking toward the classroom. Even without the events of yesterday, I had always expected this to happen. Huang Xiang Jun was the vice president of the student council, and one of the most beautiful and popular girls in our high school. It was only a matter of time before she had a boyfriend.
In contrast, I was just a…nerd with a low profile. Even with the popularity from the videos uploaded yesterday, that would just be a fad that faded away in time. She wouldn't be dating me because of one heroic moment, and even if she did, that would be because of a single action as opposed to my personality. It wouldn't last.
Hui Zhang and Xiang Jun caught sight of me and they came over, with the latter having her usual bright, friendly smile.
"Thanks for your hard work yesterday, Li Tian Xing," she said. "That was very brave of you."
"Huh? No…"
"Now I see why you've been training every morning for the last few months. It really paid off yesterday!"
"Oh, uh, thanks." I scratched my head, flattered. "I'm just glad that everyone is safe." Well, given that I was the real target, it was my fault that the Saurian attacked our school in the first place, and it was unlikely that he would have struck the other students because he was too occupied with chasing me, but I didn't intend to tell them that. It wasn't a matter of honesty, but more like they wouldn't believe me. Either that, or that would get me locked up in a psychiatric ward despite my heroics. I was actually relieved that Lin Xue and her organization hadn't swooped in and abducted me from my own house in the middle of the night.
"Good job." Hui Zhang was beaming as well. But then he leaned over and placed a firm hand on my shoulder to whisper in my ear. "I really have to express my gratitude to you. While you were busily saving everyone, you gave me the opportunity to personally rescue Xiang Jun and win her affection. I need to pay you back for playing our Cupid."
He then squeezed my shoulder so hard it almost hurt and pulled back with a malevolent smile. I said nothing and calmly watched as he stalked off with Xiang Jun, the two of them linking arms and chatting happily.
"What's the matter?" Zhi Yong asked, noticing my stiff expression. "You look like you are about to murder somebody."
"Nothing," I replied, forcing myself to relax. "I'm just wondering how to placate the readers raging about NTR after finding out that the heroine has been stolen from me."
"Huh?"
"Never mind, don't worry about it." I tried not to sigh. "Anyway, let's get to morning assembly before we're late."
"We still have plenty of time," Zhi Yong protested, despite there only being fifteen minutes or so left. I rolled my eyes and ignored him, proceeding forward. I didn't want to stick around for a moment longer and be forced to watch Hui Zhang and Xiang Jun flirting like a newly wed couple. It made me sick to my stomach.
"Let's just go."
"Okay, okay. Wait up!" Zhi Yong understood my mood and decided not to argue anymore. Unfortunately, before we could get far enough, there was a commotion at the school gates. We turned and watched as a long, black limousine plowed past the security checkpoint and skidded to a grinding halt near the assembly square.
The doors slammed opened and a red carpet unfurled out. Two rows of bodyguards marched out, burly men in suits and sunglasses, and stood on either side of the carpet, their hands behind their backs and their postures rigid. Then a pair of people strode out of the limousine, a father and son.
I recognized the son. Fu Er Dai was strolling across the lush red carpet, one step behind the older middle-aged man dressed in super expensive branded clothing. He had patrician features, his face set in a permanent scowl and a cropped beard. Unlike his son, he hadn't bothered to dye or gel his hair, though there were streaks of gray across the dark strands.
"That's Fu Gang!" Zhi Yong whispered. "The CEO of the Fu Corporation, and Fu Er Dai's father!"
"I guessed as much," I said drily. "But why did Fu Er Dai's dad come to our school for?"
My question was answered a few seconds later. Fu Gang strode toward the end of the red carpet and stopped, scanning the assembly square briskly. Then his gaze rested upon me.
"You are Li Tian Xing." It wasn't a question.
"That's right, sir. How can I help you?"
Despite feeling immensely intimidated under his stern stare, I composed myself and put on a neutral expression. Fu Gang continued to glare at me for a few more seconds before he snapped his fingers and bade his men in black forward. Presumably bodyguards, they surrounded me and a panicking Zhi Yong.
"This…this is a public high school!" My best friend blurted out. "You…you can't do this!"
For the first time, Fu Gang smiled, though his expression looked like it belonged more to a shark than a CEO.
"Watch me."