At that moment, the forward base of the Gacharin Empire's army was in complete chaos, like a scene of chickens flying and dogs jumping, everything in disarray. The patrolling sentries quickly made their way toward the base.
Opportunity knocks but once.
The heavyset man's hands moved like laser beams, manipulating the mecha at lightning speed, racing northward at a pace of ten actions per second.
Their luck was favorable; they encountered a patrol team not far from the edge of the jungle, heading toward the base. Before the patrol team, composed of two Imperial single-soldier mechas and several soldiers, could detect them, the heavyset man swiftly turned around, adopting the posture of someone heading toward the base.
The patrol was deceived. They assumed the mecha speeding toward the base was one of their own patrol units, and without hesitation, they passed by him. In reality, if they had inspected the trembling mecha, they would have uncovered the quivering, awkward figure inside.
Struggling to steady his trembling hands, the heavyset man maintained his composure and steadily distanced himself. Soon, he veered northward to a small hill. Ten minutes later, seeing no one around, with the mecha radar showing no enemy units nearby, he deployed the remaining six mechanical legs. After twenty minutes, they had covered nearly thirty kilometers across the plains and entered the dense forest of the northern mountains.
After making their way deeper into the jungle, the mecha halted. The heavyset man lay back in the cockpit to rest for a while before finally stepping out. On the grassy patch outside the cockpit, two beautiful female soldiers were embracing each other. Their joy from narrowly escaping death made them both tear up and cheer. Without hesitation, the heavyset man eagerly rushed over, his face full of foolish delight, attempting to embrace them and join in their celebration in a rather crude manner.
Two fierce glares stopped him in his tracks. Unfazed, he turned away, leaping and cheering as if that was his intention all along.
With tears still glistening in their eyes, the two girls couldn't help but laugh.
"Stupid fat man," they chuckled while scolding him.
Their shared experiences in peril had built an unspoken bond with the heavyset man, who, despite his lewdness, proved to be capable and, in some ways, endearing. His wild and unpredictable thoughts left them wondering whether to laugh or scold him.
As the sky gradually lightened, the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, casting a fiery red glow on the clouds, like fire, like blood.
The fresh air of the jungle and the crisp calls of unknown birds made the place feel like a fairytale world.
Tian Kaiwen fell asleep, exhausted from the night's rush. The constant tension he'd felt all night finally dissipated as he relaxed under a tree and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.
Niya and Meidu sat beside him, whispering and occasionally swatting at the mosquitoes that buzzed around the fat man.
When the fat man awoke, the two female soldiers were no longer beside him. The mecha stood silently in place without any signs of movement. Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the canopy, casting a serene and vibrant green over the jungle, evoking the feeling of a fairytale world.
He listened intently, catching the sound of running water and laughter amidst the birdsong and insect chirps.
He stood up and walked toward the sound.
He stepped carefully over the thick dry branches and fallen leaves, ducked under vines hanging between trees, and slid down a small dirt slope covered in grass and wildflowers. The sounds grew clearer. It was Niya and Meidu's laughter, accompanied by the splashing of water, lighthearted and melodious.
Around a few large trees, a small, beautiful lake came into view.
What a mesmerizing lake it was.
The water was so clear it seemed to contain no impurities, revealing a variety of colors beneath—deep blue, light green, and golden hues. Several natural tree trunks lay submerged at the bottom of the lake, their branches crisscrossed. Vibrant fish swam in circles around them.
Meidu and Niya were bathing in the crystalline waters.
Their graceful, curvaceous bodies resembled mermaids in the lake, half submerged in the water, while the other half exposed to the cool morning air. Glimmering droplets of water rolled off their delicate skin, so pale and smooth it shimmered like silk, translucent as though one could see faint blue veins beneath.
There was something inherently pure about beautiful things; their holy forms seemed to meld perfectly with the fairytale-like lake.
The fat man felt an involuntary hesitation to disturb such a breathtaking sight. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with a strange sense of familiarity, as though he had already lived through this moment in a dream or another life. It was an uncanny resonance, a mysterious echo within him.
Shaking his head quickly, he felt embarrassed by his brief loss of composure in the presence of these two beautiful figures.
"Help! A rat! There's a rat!" the obnoxious man yelled, filled with mock terror. With two loud cries, he tumbled headfirst into the water.
Rolling and scrambling toward the two alluring bodies, the fat man's flesh trembled as he drooled, his eyes sparkling. The two female soldiers had barely enough time to disguise their modesty before the fast-moving fat man pounced on Meidu, his other hand grabbing Niya's shapely backside. As he shamelessly took advantage of the rare opportunity, he cried out like a frightened child, "Rat! A rat is chasing me!"
Slap!
Slap!
Two loud slaps rang out, one on each cheek.
Meidu and Niya, furious and embarrassed, didn't care about exposing themselves as they began to punch and kick him.
The fat man, with his thick skin and stout frame, groaned with each blow, but inside he was gleeful, watching their movements as they smacked him around.
When they returned to the jungle, the fat man carried a few fish he had caught from the lake. He walked ahead, trying to look indifferent, as though the earlier incident had nothing to do with him.
The two female soldiers, glaring at him in disdain, exchanged a glance and quickly turned away, their faces flushed with a mixture of shame, anger, and something else—perhaps a hint of something more complex. How could there be such a despicable man in the world?
After eating some fish, the three continued on their journey. According to the mecha radar, there were no signs of Gacharin Empire mecha activity nearby, and the northern mountainous region was devoid of human settlements.
The reliance on resources and economics in space warfare made it impossible to conduct guerrilla tactics effectively far from the cities. Without supply lines, ammunition, reinforcements, and air support, guerrilla forces were doomed to fail. In space warfare, only the strong can survive.
Carefully choosing their route, Tian Kaiwen piloted the mecha through the jungle. After modifications, this single-soldier mecha, which was already excellent in off-road capabilities, now boasted even better wilderness maneuverability, aided by six additional mechanical legs and jet propulsion.
After crossing several mountain ranges to the north, confident they had evaded the Gacharin Empire's transport fleet, Tian Kaiwen started heading east.
Two weeks later, after narrowly avoiding several combat zones and using his reconnaissance training, Tian Kaiwen led Meidu and Niya through several thousand kilometers of hazardous terrain.
When the mecha's energy reserves were nearly depleted, the three arrived at the outskirts of the Three-Lake Plain, near the capital city of Milock Star, Garipalan.
....
Due to insufficient forces, the Gacharin Empire did not launch an attack on the heavily fortified Garipalan but instead stationed some defensive troops several hundred kilometers outside the Three-Lake Basin.
Ahead lay the Federation's defensive zone. To avoid being shot by Federation soldiers, the fat man once again began stripping of his uniform without warning, leaving only his underwear.
The two female soldiers had lost all hope in him. Despite their best efforts to appear unaffected, they could see through his feigned modesty, and he looked as though he was trying to make them pity him. Meidu and Niya were at their wits' end, frustrated and angry at his disgraceful behavior.
The Federation's 109th Armored Division patrol quickly noticed the strange trio, led by a fat man wearing only underwear, heading toward them.
Despite the lack of clothing, the fat man's underwear bore the black bear insignia of the Gacharin Empire.
As the Federation patrol closed in, the fat man raised his hands, and Niya, holding the modified gun, struck a pose as if escorting a prisoner.
In the face of the soldiers' guns, the fat man trembled, afraid any wrong movement would result in a fatal misunderstanding.
The squad leader, after some whispered conversation with Meidu, ordered the soldiers to take the Imperial soldier, Tian Kaiwen, back to the camp.
Confused, Tian Kaiwen was about to explain when an automatic energy rifle was shoved into his back. Alarmed, he raised his hands again.
Despite his repeated attempts to communicate with the two smiling female soldiers, they ignored him and continued chatting with the Federation squad leader.
Halfway to the camp, the fat man realized: better to offend a fool than a woman. Retribution had come.
At the camp, battlefield records confirmed his identity, and the fat man was sent aboard a transport ship with the two female soldiers to the frontlines of Garipalan.
The 109th Division's comrades, not showing any mercy towards the man who had fled twenty-one times, didn't even provide him with a full uniform, making him travel to the transport ship in just his underwear.
Minutes later, the small transport ship landed at the military academy of Garipalan City. It had been requisitioned for war, and its students had all been turned into reserve officers, with some joining the army's armored divisions and others assigned to the local space fleet.
The fat man grinned as he saw dozens of other men also dressed only in their underwear. Before he could even wonder, a major officer rushed over, kicking him into the group of shirtless men, scolding, "What are you staring at, you idiot? The assembly's been waiting for a minute!"
Just as he was about to explain, an elderly officer dressed in white rushed over and grabbed the fat man's mechanical arm, saying to the major, "You've made a mistake. He's not part of the selection group." The elderly officer then pulled the fat man away.
As the fat man followed the old man toward a building, he glanced back to see Meidu and Niya being escorted away by female medics. Sighing, he followed the officer without protest.
Little did he know, as he was leaving the transport ship, a confused medic watched and asked, "No one's here. Didn't they say there was a fat guy?"