"Armor reactor?" "Inspection completed."
"Auxiliary power system?" "Inspection completed."
"Jet thrust system?" "Inspection completed."
"Backup energy pack?" "Inspection completed."
"Blue light quantum shield?" "Inspection completed."
"Flame wedge rifle?" "Inspection completed."
"Plasma knife?" "Inspection completed."
"Very good, check the [Sunset II] mechanical gene sequence." "Checking completed, starting [Sunset II]."
"[Sunset II] has been activated, and the [Short Distance Space Jump], [Operationing Code Shutdown], and [Gravity Push] abilities have been activated."
"Start the [Zhu Rong] mecha, we're going to catch some small lizards for barbecue!" "I wish you good luck, Major General! May mankind never back down!" The excited voice of the system [Arna] echoed in the cockpit. The armor reactor and auxiliary power system started to emit a faint blue light. The thrusters on the soles, knees, waist, and shoulders began to operate slowly. As the energy reached its peak, the entire machine body shook, and a golden light appeared under the thrusters. A dazzling light lit up the underground base, and the 50-ton heavyweight mecha flew into the air. The thick concrete ceiling was easily broken by the huge force, and countless dust and stones were splashed away.
The bright gold, lazer-winged Zhu Rong mecha broke through the ground, and in an instant, it had reached hundreds of meters high. It continued to rush up at a rapid speed, breaking through the dense clouds above the ground one after another. Within a few seconds, it broke through the ozone layer.
With the help of the atmosphere, the Zhu Rong mecha shot into space like an arrow. Its eyes were full of stars.
"Ha ha ha ha... I've returned! This time, the sun will rise again!"
In the darkness of the universe, the golden figure of the Zhu Rong mecha appeared out of thin air. A bright smile hung on the pilot--Shawn Mei's face, as he laughed out loud. The starry sky was filled with his laughter, which contained endless hope and confidence.
"Determine the scope of battlefield, Arna." "Yes, sir. Proceeding... area found, orbit of planet 'Gulliver'. Distance, 2.011 light years. Calling headquarters for long range space jump, calling... authenticating... authentication complete, space jump proceeding... jumping in 3... 2... 1..."
In a faraway corner of the universe, the light of stars dimmed suddenly. Zhu Rong arrived at this part of the battlefield, Debris of meteorites and mechas floated all aruond. Blood and body parts of different species frozen to ice, smashing on to the nearby boulders.
Just then, a dark gray beam of light cut across the vast expanse of space at a terrifying speed. In less than 5 seconds, it arrived in front of the Zhu Rong mecha.
It stopped a short distance away from the mecha, blocked by the quantum shield, while the Zhu Rong mecha noticed its existence.
The golden mecha slowly raised its head. It is another mecha, but not of mankind's shape. It looked like a head of a fish, but its body eight energy cannons sticked out, pointing at Zhu Rong. It was a strange sight.
"What? There are other enemies?" The pilot was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect to meet the enemy at such a critical juncture. That was not from those lizard-like pests!
"Alert! Unknown object has approached within 50 meters!" The system gave a warning. The mecha immediately reacted, and the quantum shield instantly became thicker and brighter.
A cold light flashed in the depths of the dark gray mecha's eyes. At the same time, the four energy cannons opened fire.
Four beams of energy shot toward the golden mecha. It quickly dodged, but it was still caught in the midst of the explosion. The shield was instantly penetrated and corroded. The intense impact caused the golden mecha to tremble violently.
"Argh... This is a big deal! Who is it?" The pilot exclaimed.
The system quickly responded, "Unknown enemy! It's definitely not from the lizards! Scanning now!"
"You can scan it?"
"Affirmative!"
"How strong is it?"
"Confirming... The main energy system is estimated to be at least a level 7, but the estimated attack power is beyond our range of detection!"
"So powerful... No wonder why it was able to penetrate the quantum shield. Is there a way to avoid it?"
"Negative, the enemy's main energy source is a level 7 armor reactor! We only have a level 5 energy source, so there is no way to escape! It will break through the shield in two seconds each touch!"
"Then, we can only fight it with the last strength!" The pilot's eyes became more serious. Just as Shawn prepared his flame wedge rifle, the enemy mecha retreated.
"Huh? What's going on?"
The system also did not understand why the enemy would suddenly retreat. After a short scan, it replied, "Unknown... Wait... there is a second mecha approaching!"
"What?"
The next moment, another ray of light shot across the starry sky.
"Error anouncement... scanning again... the approaching enemy consists of 3 fish-head mechas, and 5 lizard [Gliders]."
"This is the worst comeback show ever."
"I agree."
The enemy mechas rushed over at high speed. Shawn immediately turned on the main thrusters, ready to retreat.
At that moment, the mecha system made another announcement, "Alert! A large-scale attack incoming in 10 seconds!"
Shawn gritted his teeth and exclaimed, "Shit, you damn alien pests!"
A cold, arrogant voice rang out from the fish-head mecha. The system translated it into human language:
"Human, welcome to the world of death!"
...
In a dark corner of the universe.
A large spaceship slowly moved forward. It was shaped like a soda can, and at the rear of the ship a black ring spun endlessly.
A huge figure stood inside of the ring, staring at the view of endless black. His hair was long and messy, and his face was covered in thick, white beard, whiskers of catfish sticked out of his facial hair. He does not have a nose, but only two nostrils. His skin was azure-blue.
He wore a purple and gray pilot suit, scales could be seen vaguely on it, and his arms and legs were thick and sturdy. He had a pair of eyes, but they were completely black without irises.
"Your Majesty! I have an important report!"
The old man raised his head. Xottyp Renw'ld, the emperor of the Renzungg Stellar Empire, stared at his subordinate with his cold, abyss-like eyes. "Speak."
"Yes! According to the information transmitted by our reconnaissance team, the enemy seems to be preparing to send a fleet of spaceships to attack our subordinate planet [Patnkre]. We don't know what they're going to do, but we can be sure that they will come in 2 'Ren' weeks!" The subordinate reported respectfully.
Xottyp nodded and waved his hand. "I see. Prepare my flagship. I will personally go to the battlefield."
"Yes, your majesty! My lord!" The subordinate replied excitedly, "Is there anything else?"
"There is."
"Yes?"
"Prepare a space mecha for me."
The subordinate's expression changed. "Your Majesty, it's not suitable for you to go into battle anymore. The war is becoming more and more intense. Your presence is very important to our empire, and it is our duty to protect you..."
"I know, but I am also the strongest combatant of our empire."
"But... The other party's mecha are much stronger than ours. If you meet one of their top fighters, even if you, my majesty, the best warrior in our empire, won't last too long--"
"Order is an order, Tlitce!" Xottyp shouted.
The subordinate shuddered and hurriedly replied, "Yes! My lord!"
Xottyp looked out into the darkness of the universe with his eyes, and then turned around and said to the other working subordinates, "Remember, the fate of the empire is in your hands. We, the Renzunggs, will acquire the [Tree]!"
...
"Ha ha ha ha... Human, welcome to the world of death!"
The arrogant laughter of the alien echoed in the universe, while Shawn gritted his teeth and sneered, "Damn pests, ha! Nasty pile of junk!"
The lizards--the Ksyazs-- were very proud of themselves, being the pets of the Renzunggs. They believed that they would become one of the main race of the universe one day, after the Renzunggs conquered the whole universe and replaced those colonized planets of the humans.
The mechas slowly surrounded the golden Zhu Rong. Shawn knew that he was in a dead end.
"What should I do now? Arna, scan for a breakthrough!"
"Yes sir!" After a moment of silence, the system responded, "The enemy is blocking all possible escape routes. There is no way out, but there is an abandoned planet behind the enemy's flagship."
"What?"
"It's a planet which is about to die, so there will be no living creatures on it, but the planet itself has many resources. We could try to move towards that place--"
"Since when the pests flagship arrived?!"
"They have been there since we left our planet."
"..." Shawn stared at the fish-head mechas with anger. "Then it seems they were waiting for us!"
"Affirmative. The enemy was planning to kill us from the beginning."
"Why is it? Because my great, brilliant, wonderful debut 5 years ago? I only killed two fleets!"
"Two fleets, consisting of 10 fortress ships and 22 battleships, 10 frigates and 11 cruisers."
"But I-- oh, Arna, call for help! I don't want to waste time quarreling with AI."
"Yes sir. Contacting now..."
"Wait... You said there are no living creatures on that planet?"
"Yes."
"Is there a possibility that they're lying to us? Like, hiding the information?"
"It is unlikely. The planet's atmosphere is rapidly degrading."
"But there may be some energy sources on that planet."
"I detect no such thing, it is full of iron, zinc and titanium ores though."
"Try to call our headquarters, tell them to provide assistants. I want to take down that resource planet."
"Okay..."
While the AI was still talking with the headquarters, the enemy mechas opened fire. The golden Zhu Rong moved quickly, and the shield was instantly corroded again.
Shawn yelled, "Argh! We got little time, Arna! Let's break through their defenses, and then go to that planet to hide!"
The AI replied, "Yes sir! The coordinates have been set, and the quantum shield has been reinforced. In 5 seconds, the system will start to make calculations, and the space jump will begin after 5 seconds."
"Alright!" Shawn set up his flame wedge rifle, and opened fire. Numerous energy beams hit the dark gray mecha fleet, and made them tremble. At the same time, the Zhu Rong mecha started to shake violently, and its shield was broken again.
"Warning! The quantum shield has been broken. Enemy's energy cannon will reach the core of our body in 7 seconds... space jump operating in 3... 2... 1..."
"Eat my dust, pests!" Shawn shouted, as the golden mecha disappeared into thin air.
At the same time, the dark gray mecha fired four beams of energy. Three of them missed, but one of them was precisely aimed at the empty space, where the Zhu Rong mecha had been. The mecha was slightly hit, thanks to the space jump-- it let little of the attack in along side with Zhu Rong.
"We got hit?" asked Shawn. He felt a slight bump coming from the mecha.
"Yes, but it doesn't matter much. Mecha damage level is: 2%."
"Good. Let's keep on going."
The golden mecha flew towards the abandoned planet, while Shawn's voice echoed in the cockpit, "Ha ha ha... You want to catch me, pests? Well, too bad, you can't. I'm too fast, too awesome! You want to find me? No you can't, because I'm already on your planet, taking your resources and eating them up! I'm a starved lion, I need food!"
"Quit your trash talk, general." The AI's cold voice interspersed with Shawn's passionate shouts.
"Oh, sorry, I was too excited."
"I understand, but the enemy will not give up so easily. There are fleets of Ksyazs chasing us right now."
"Huh? What's the distance?"
"200,000 kilometers."
"Okay, they're far away. We still have time."
"Negative, they have activated their space jump system. They'll arrive in 10 seconds."
Shawn stared blankly. "Wait, how many Ksyaz fleets are there?"
"There are 6 fleets, consisting of 10 cruisers, 15 frigates and 10 battleships, 3 fortress ships, 20 destroyers, accompanied with 200 of those fish-heads."
"And how many lizards are there?!"
"It's impossible to count them. They're a swarm, sir."
"This is the worst comeback show ever."
"You said that a while ago."
"Let me say that again, Arna."
A cold smile appeared on Shawn's face. "Well, I guess we're going to fight. Call our headquarters and tell them to prepare more reinforcements for us."
"You speak like you'd win."
"We will win! Starting right now!"
"Alright, contacting headquarters..."
As the golden Zhu Rong rushed towards the planet, the Ksyaz fleet quickly caught up with it.
In just a few seconds, a fierce battle between the two forces took place. Zhu Rong opened fire and dodged the incoming attacks. Torpedos, missiles and lazers went flying all over the place, but none touched a single metal scrap of Zhu Rong.
Shawn's battle concept was that using the [Sunset II] Mechanical gene sequence, particularly the [Operationing Code Shutdown], he could temporarily open a hole on the enemies energy shield and rush in, so that he could shoot the major parts of the ship. The [Gravity Push] ability also played an important role, as it could move the meteors and the machine debris, making up for the lack of heavy firepower.
"Argh! That pile of junk! You hit me!"
The golden mecha danced around, moving unpredictably and swiftly, while the enemy ships were unable to respond to his moves. The lizards cursed as Zhu Rong wreaked havoc on there ships.
Zhu Rong retreated while battling, making time for his collegues to enter this war.
"The reinforcements have arrived. We have a total of 8 mechas." The system announced.
"What? Only 8?"
"Affirmative."
"They have 6 fleets. Then where's our fleet?"
"We don't have any information."
Shawn looked at the sky in a daze. "Is our planet in danger?"
The system paused for a while, and then answered, "Negative, they are only preparing to send out one small fleet of 10 ships to assist us. They will be arriving in 1 minute."
"Then where's the rest of those? Are they fighting somewhere else?"
"We have no information."
"..." Shawn suddenly had an ominous feeling.
He didn't have much time to think, because the Ksyazs were still chasing him.
"Hah! It's useless! You can't catch me!"
"Don't get too confident! Death, is hovering above you!" Yelled the lizards.
Shawn's voice echoed in the cockpit: "You pests are all the same, always complaining! Ha ha ha ha ha ha..."
After he finished his laughter, he noticed something strange. The Ksyazs were retreating.
"What the... Why are they leaving so soon?"
The system quickly scanned the area. After a while, it said, "I found a large spaceship heading towards us."
"A large spaceship? Does it belong to them?"
"Affirmative. According to the information on the Renzungg Empire's-- the fish-heads' headquarters, I have just picked up the information-- database, this is a level 5 battleship. It is equipped with multiple level 7 energy cannons, and 2 level 8s."
Shawn suddenly remembered the powerful energy cannon that could corrode the quantum shield of his own mecha. He shivered. "This is bad news."
The system replied, "It will arrive in 30 seconds."
"How many fighters can it carry?"
"At least 400 mechas."
Shawn was stunned for a second, but then he continued to fight. A moment later, he saw 200 mechas coming out from the spaceship.
He sneered, "Arna, calculate our win rate."
"Calculating now... the probability of victory: 1%. The probability of retreat: 6%."
"Oh, I see."
Shawn's face was gloomy. His Zhu Rong mecha was a bit damaged. The Renzunggs have proven to be a tough and powerful opponent, but with all the encounters he and the fish-heads made, the Earth headquarters stayed eerily silent. It is either that they didn't know about this civilization, and were spending time searching, or--
"Arna, who are in those mechas that are appointed to assist me?"
"Luka Damien, Gondor Hollyson, Mikawa Kinichiro, Doppo Raigan, Carl Freiz..."
"Jail inmates... some of them are even on a death sentence... this is an execution!"
Shawn felt a sense of crisis, as if he were standing on a precipice.
"Warning! The spaceship is approaching us and is preparing for a saturation strike. The reinforcements has now arrived too."
"Where are they?"
"Which one?"
"Luka..."
"The distance is 2 kilometers. The coordinates is now shown to you."
"And how far is the enemy fleets?"
"The distance is 52 kilometers... now 51."
Shawn frowned. "Arna, help me set up a short-distance space jump."
"Roger."
The golden mecha stopped moving, and the shield became thicker and brighter. The Ksyaz fleets moved closer and closer, as Shawn waited patiently.
Patient... yes.
"Since when I lost my patience?"
***
Shawn joined the military 6 years ago. He participated in war just after a year of training. That war, which he called as his "debut", is one of the biggest victory mankind had had in 20 years. It was that time he got promoted as Major General.
But while he obtained huge success for his homeland, the Alien-Friendly Factions see him as a nail in their toes.
It was no secret that the Aliens-Friendly Factions, also known as the AFFs, had always wanted to get along with the aliens, and even cooperate, then become one of them. It was said that the leader of the AFFs had already started some talks with the lizards.
The reason why the lizards had not completely wiped mankind off the universe was because of the AFFs. The lizards knew that they could not conquer mankind easily, for the humans were stronger, and the Earthlings would never admit defeat.
However, if the AFFs, which were an enormous political party on the Earth, helped the lizards, the Earthlings would have no chance to survive.
But there was a problem, Shawn, the hero, the hope, the symbol of mankind, was fighting with everything he had. He was fighting the aliens and the AFFs at the same time, and he won.
The lizards hated him. And the AFFs wanted him dead. There was even a time that Shawn went on "Reward for Wanted Man" poster, which was famous in the black markets back then.
However, his popularity was growing larger and larger. There were many people who supported him, and the Aliens-Friendly Factions didn't know what to do. If they were too obvious, their plans would be exposed. If they were not obvious enough, their plans would not succeed.
So, the AFFs were forced to use indirect methods. They secretly planted agents into the military. The agents' job was to destroy the image of the Major General.
It was a long time ago. Shawn was 22 years old back then, and his life was still young. But now, his life was ending soon.
The Ksyaz fleets arrived at 21 kilometers near.
"Arna, tell them to hurry up!"
"I am."
"And ask them what the hell is going on in the headquarters!"
"Roger."
At that moment, a cold laughter echoed through the cockpit.
"Humans, this is a gift from the Aliens-Friendly Faction. See you guys soon... in a graveyard! Ha!"
A ray of light came flashing towards the golden mecha.
"Ah..." Shawn stared at the attack with wide eyes.
The laser beam was very powerful, and the shield was instantly broken. The golden mecha's armor was pierced through, and the cockpit was shaken violently.
"General, are you alright?"
"Arna, the reinforcements, how far are they?!"
"7 kilometers."
"How long till the spaceship arrives?"
"20 seconds."
"What about Luka and the others?"
"4 kilometers."
"Okay... the spaceship has arrived. Calculate the chance of survival."
"Calculating now... 0.1%."
"I see. Then prepare a space jump."
"But what about--"
"I know, Arna. I've calculated it. Now hurry!"
The spaceship had already reached 2 kilometers away, and the lizards were ready for a saturation strike.
"Arna, start the space jump!"
"Yes, sir."
While the quantum shield was still operating, the Zhu Rong mecha was preparing for its last attack.
"Activate the gravity push and the flame wedge rifle. Fire all the torpedos."
"Roger."
"Activate the short-distance space jump, and start the space jump after the attack!"
"Yes, sir. The calculation is complete, the space jump now starting."
The mecha trembled and started to move. Its thrusters lit up, and the golden light shone. The torpedos and lazers fired towards the lizards, and the Ksyaz ships shook violently.
But Shawn was not satisfied yet.
"Activate the gravity push! Send those pieces of scrap metal towards the lizards!"
"Roger."
A ray of light flashed, and the pieces of the destroyed ships flew towards the lizards.
The Ksyazs were in shock. Some of their smaller ships were destroyed, and their own attacks were coming at them. The shields were corroded, and the energy cannons were melted.
"Shit! What's going on here?! We need help!"
The lizards yelled desperately. They could not see that a small golden mecha had been approaching them quietly.
"Fire the main cannons! Kill that thing!"
The mechas on the spaceship began to shoot. But they were late. The golden Zhu Rong jumped right in the middle of the lizards, and the short-distance space jump began.
"Now, Arna!"
"Starting..."
"Hurry! I can't afford to die now!"
"Yes, sir. The calculations is done, and we are ready to jump."
"Ha ha ha, this is awesome! We will go down together, lizards, you and I! To hell together!"
Shawn laughed and yelled. He felt his heart racing. He was not afraid of dying, he was just excited, and he couldn't wait to get this done.
The Ksyazs cursed. "Damn it!"
Then, a large number of beams of energy, missiles, torpedos and lazers hit the golden mecha.
Just when the mecha's quantum shield was about to break, it disappeared.
The lizards were taken aback.
"Huh?"
"What the..."
"Did it... Did it run away?"
"Impossible!"
"No, look! It's over there! Shoot it! We can still kill it!"
"Hurry up, damn it! This is our only chance! If we can kill this human, we'll be promoted!"
"Yeah, I can't wait to become one of the emperor's men."
"Hah! Look at it, running for its life. How stupid--"
That lizard, before he could finish his taunt, was shot, along with the other lizards in that command room, by Shawn.
"Hahaha! Every man dies – but now I live!"
The golden mecha rushed out from the dark. Its gold flashed, it seemed to sneer at its enemy, to tell them they wasted all that energy and power, and still let it survived.
The lizards were stunned. They could not believe what had just happened.
"How is it possible?!"
"I thought it's already dead! Damn it!"
"What's going on? What the hell is going on?! How is it possible for a human to break through our quantum shield and dodge our attack?!"
The Ksyazs cursed. However, their anger and frustration did not help much, because they were being shot at again, again, and again...
Shawn would like to take away one more, and his greed told him to do so, over and over again.
Shawn thought in his head, while sitting in the soon-to-break mecha. He wasn't greedy; he hadn't been greedy since when he was 4 years old, begging his mom to give him another piece of cake. That night, he couldn't finish his dinner, and was scolded by his father, while his mom talked soothly, calming down the man.
"Why am I thinking of...?"
That's right. Shawn thought. When did his dad passed away? He couldn't remember. He couldn't even remember the man's face.
His dad was a pilot too, and a very good one, and his mom was the head scientist of the research institute.
That was the only thing Shawn knew about his family.
When did his parents passed away? Was it because of the war? Or was it because of disease? He didn't know.
He knew, but he chose to forget. And now, he remembered, and never wanted to forget again.
"Sir? You ok there?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure? You didn't talk for 5 minutes."
"Yeah."
"You don't seem too well. Are you hurt?"
"No, I'm fine."
"Alright then."
"Arna, what's the situation?"
"The enemies' ships have been reduced to 50%. The rest of the lizards are trying to escape."
"Good, prepare for the last attack. Let's make a grand ceremony-- a closing ceremony!"
"Roger."
The golden Zhu Rong opened fire and headed for the center of the fleet.
Shawn gritted his teeth and shouted, "I've been a liar. I've always been a liar. But I never lied to myself. Because I'm not afraid to admit what I really am. And I'm not afraid of dying. Because I've always known that one day, I'll die. I'll die in a battle.
"I'm not afraid, because I'm not alone. The whole humanity will be with me--
Now I am Prometheus, the sacrifice for worlds!"
With a flash, the golden mecha charged forward, and the final battle was begun.
The lizards fought hard, and tried to stop the mecha. But it was all in vain, because the Zhu Rong was unstoppable.
Shawn's eyes were full of madness and anger, and his hands were full of blood.
The mecha rushed into the swarm of ships, and the quantum shield was constantly being corroded.
The fish-heads fired at them. Shawn opened fire. The lizards tried to avoid. Shawn was not avoiding.
"Hahaha! Come on! You want me? Well, here I am!"
He laughed and shouted. His voice was like thunder. He was mad, he was angry. He was the devil, the devil who will kill every pest in his sight. This was his last dance of blood and iron.
Shawn planned to blow himself, the ZhuRong mecha, and all the things around him up.
This is revenge.
"This is a revenge, for my family.
"For my homeland.
"For the fallen soldiers.
"For the people who have died.
"For the people who are in pain.
"This is my revenge, and my death, the death I have chosen."
Shawn looked up, his eyes fixed on the starry sky. He smiled, at last.
***
On Earth, in the spaceships, humans, lizards, and the Renzunggs, they all saw a grandiose ball of extraordinary light, suddenly bursted out of the battlefield.
The light was bright, and the energy was tremendous. The whole universe seemed to shake.
Then, the light gradually faded.
The darkness of the night came back, the starry sky returned.
After that, silence.
No one moved, no one breathed. Everyone was stunned.
There were tears in their eyes.
The golden star had vanished, and black had replaced it.
The lizards cried, the humans cried. Xottyp, the great emperor of the Renzungg Stellar Empire, also hold tears in his eyes.
"That was the most glorious, the most honorable death a soldier can have."
The Emperor bowed deeply and sighed.
"What will happen next?" said the men on Earth
"We don't know." said those people nearby.
"We can only hope.
"Hope... is the only thing we have left."
In the darkness, far from Earth, and all those mess, a star was born. It was gold, and very bright... and near the star, alien species had found a meteorite, upon it some language was written, and it said:
"Farewell! God knows when we shall meet again."