Chapter 47

Volume 2: Frost Plains

“Horne!!!”

A furious roar.

The sharp beak pierced his body, withdrew, and blood splashed out.

Horne painfully clutched his shoulder, staggered back a few steps, and immediately steadied himself.

“Bang!” A gunshot rang out, and the Alien that had attacked him disintegrated in an instant.

On the Frost Plains, white expanse spread like a wilderness, and on the vast ice and snow, only Horne’s figure stood alone.

Dozens of Aliens gathered in mid-air, twisting into a cluster, bound together by an invisible net. The one that had just attacked Horne was the lucky escapee, and in the few seconds while he was injured, another broke free and charged toward him.

He clutched his wound and had no time to react.

“Bang!” A sharp whoosh cut through the air, arriving instantly from a hundred meters away, tearing through the atmosphere. The Alien dissipated.

On Tower 3, Wen Yu’s expression was tense as she quickly reloaded and opened the sniper scope again.

At the city gate, Han Ya shouted angrily: “Matthew! Where is Matthew?! Bombard from the Main Control Tower!”

Another Alien broke free. If they didn’t bombard soon, Horne would be in even greater danger. The man standing beside Han Ya furrowed his brows, and two seconds later, he drew his gun and rushed out of the city.

Han Ya’s eyes turned red with rage. He stomped his foot hard and roared: “Ben Yian! Don’t go out!” But right after shouting, he cursed and charged out himself.

A minute later, the massive electromagnetic net in the sky flickered twice and erupted with a huge noise. The dozens of Aliens trapped in the net vanished instantly, and the few that had escaped weren’t far when laser sniper shots exploded their heads one by one.

Fresh red blood splattered across the pure white snowfield. Through her sniper scope, Wen Yu saw the three men supporting each other as they slowly entered the city gate. She breathed a sigh of relief and put away her gun.

In the Military District’s Command Room, silence reigned, broken only by pained grunts and the metallic tang of blood filling the air.

Horne sat on the sofa, brows tightly furrowed, teeth clenched until his lips turned pale. He watched as a tight tourniquet was applied to his shoulder and fastened. He closed his eyes for a long while to recover from the pain before turning his head to look at the person beside him.

Ben Yian had protected him, taking two attacks in his place, and had lost even more blood.

“Are you okay?” Urgency flickered in Horne’s eyes. He felt Ben Yian shouldn’t have rushed out so impulsively to block for him. If anyone had to, it should have been Han Ya.

Ben Yian’s face was bloodless. After enduring the pain of bandaging, he shook his head and said softly: “I’m fine.”

The pain-numbing anesthetic in the tourniquet quickly took effect, numbing their nerves, and both men gradually recovered.

“You shouldn’t have come out to save me.” Horne’s tone carried a hint of reproach as he slowly lowered his sleeve to cover the bandage. “Fortunately, the Aliens’ main target was me.”

“But I wanted to do something for you.” Ben Yian explained. He had been anxious on two fronts: first, seeing Horne under siege, and second, proving he could keep pace with the other three.

Horne felt a bit helpless, and his voice softened: “You don’t need to do that for…”

Before he could finish, Han Ya’s muffled voice exploded from outside: “Do you know you almost got the lieutenant colonel killed today!”

“Bang!” The door was kicked open, noise flooding in as chaotic footsteps stumbled right up to them. Han Ya shoved a man in military uniform in front of Horne and Ben Yian, forcing him to his knees with a thud.

Han Ya’s voice sharpened. The flush on his face hadn’t faded, and his chest heaved violently. He was furious.

“Why didn’t you bombard after the order was given?!” With that, Han Ya kicked him squarely.

Matthew sprawled on the ground, trembling all over: “Sorry, sorry, sorry, I-I was operating the control tower for the first time, I was so panicked, afraid I’d press the wrong button, I-I…”

“Enough, we’re all fine.” Horne spoke up to stop it, his voice gentle. He raised his head, met Han Ya’s glaring red eyes, and smiled weakly. “How did you turn our place into a bandit den?”

Han Ya shot Horne a glare too, then punched the wall and snapped: “What bandit den? I’m done with you all!” His voice was so loud that soldiers outside kept peeking in, which infuriated him further. He planted himself at the door and cracked his knuckles: “Still looking? I’ll come check your training soon!”

The onlookers scattered instantly. Han Ya slammed the Command Room door shut, the impact making Horne’s head buzz.

“Could you go easier?” Horne rubbed his ear, speechless.

He was testing a new tactic: when Alien swarms attacked, lure them into the electromagnetic net’s coverage, trap them like fish in a real net, then use the electromagnetic wires to wipe them out in one go. This reduced the net’s load and conserved air force resources.

If too many people acted as bait, the Aliens would scatter in flight, so Horne had decided to risk it himself. For safety, Han Ya guarded the gate with troops and forbade leaving the city unless absolutely necessary; Wen Yu set up sniper on the best vantage tower to cover Horne; Ben Yian hadn’t needed to be there at all, but he insisted.

Matthew was a volunteer soldier who had never operated a control tower to launch electromagnetic wires. Han Ya had initially refused, but Horne thought every new recruit deserved a chance.

No one had expected this glitch. Fortunately, though delayed, Matthew had successfully deployed the wires to the electromagnetic net.

The injuries weren’t severe. Ben Yian thanked the doctor and began teasing Han Ya: “We’re a bandit den, and Han Ya’s the bandit boss.” His voice was clear and bright, pitched a bit high, like clear mountain stream water.

Then he pointed toward the control towers and said: “If the wires had failed today, it’d be all my fault.”

Of course, he was just joking. Though he had designed the electromagnetic wires, he couldn’t control who pressed the button.

Han Ya was stunned with anger, and as another round of cursing loomed, Wen Yu pushed the door open. She took the sniper rifle from her shoulder and set it by the door. Her gaze swept from the man on the ground to Horne, and she said flatly: “The leader and the general want to see you.”

She had overheard the conversation from outside. Now she looked at Han Ya, sized him up, and said seriously: “Anyway, it was a victory. Everyone’s safe, and we all worked hard. Don’t be mad. You’re no bandit.”

Han Ya took a deep breath to steady himself, his expression turning tragic. He was about to say only Wen Yu was the best when she added coolly: “No bandit gets red as a carrot from anger all the time, right?”

Han Ya’s face went white, then red, then green.

Horne stood up, patted Han Ya’s shoulder reassuringly as he passed—unable to suppress a smile—and said: “Alright, bandit boss, I’m heading out first. Don’t eat too many carrots, carrot.”

The door closed behind him. Horne had just taken a step when Han Ya’s wail erupted inside: “Am I even your vice officer?! I’m done!!”

Horne’s lips curved up, and he laughed out loud.

The army training ground continued operating smoothly: long runs, hand-to-hand combat, shooting drills, never slacking. Horne glanced as he passed and felt relieved.

In the government building’s conference room not far from the Military District, the meeting had just ended. Horne knocked, entered, and over a dozen government officials hurried out. The last was Bai Yin.

A name as soft as a woman’s, but in reality, an air force colonel with an extremely stern appearance, from a different sector than Horne. As they met, Bai Yin gave Horne a meaningful smile: “My hero lieutenant colonel, I heard your test today had a little hiccup. Next time you have a similar small experiment, remember to call me. I might be able to help.”

“Thanks, no need.” Horne brushed past him and pushed open the conference room door.

It was much quieter here than in the Military District—too solemn and restrictive for Horne.

Three middle-aged men sat inside: government leader Ganal, deputy leader You Wangwang, and General Leon.

Horne didn’t salute, just nodded to them.

After Ganal briefly asked about the day’s events, he got to the point: “You’ve worked hard. Go back and rest well soon. The main reason we called you today is to ask your opinion.”

He paused, looking at the rigidly upright Horne, and lowered his voice: “We met today to discuss sending a ceasefire signal to the Aliens. First, as you’ve probably heard, Aliens have a kind of particle inside them that promotes rapid body repair, even achieving immortality. That’s why their wounds heal slowly without laser weapons. We speculate this particle might combine with human bodies—though unproven. Second, the Aliens originally wanted to integrate into human life. We think continuing this fight benefits no one. Better to ceasefire, help each other out, and try coexistence.”

Horne stood there, fists clenched at his sides before quickly relaxing. His expression didn’t change, but his voice grew colder: “This is my second and final response on this. Humanity doesn’t need immortality, and I won’t agree to peaceful coexistence with Aliens. My agreement doesn’t matter much, but I’ll stick to my stance. If you decide this anyway, I’ll leave the Military District directly.”

After he spoke, dead silence fell over the conference room. All three men looked at him, but he just stood firm, unyielding. The room’s yellow-green tones made the air feel icy and thin.

Immortality raised too many ethical issues, all uncertain—just a fledgling idea. But on peaceful coexistence alone, he would never yield.

He could never forget what happened two years ago.

After a moment, You Wangwang sighed, his voice mild: “We’ll discuss it later, lieutenant colonel. You have injuries; go rest.”

Horne grunted in acknowledgment and turned to leave, but remembered something and asked: “I submitted the new supply approval form half a month ago. Why hasn’t the review come down yet?”

Ganal leaned back casually: “Supply reviews take time, and factories need time for raw materials. These two years, your requests are three times what they were before. Lieutenant colonel, humanity isn’t just about exterminating Aliens. So many people—they all want to live.”

“Then why must military supply requests go through government approval?” Horne pressed. It was an overstepping question, and the three seated men fell silent.

There hadn’t been this step before. The Military District once operated independently, decisions unchecked by government. But after his parents—General Al and General Yaro—died, even supplies required applications: first to General Leon for approval, then to government for layers of review before issuance.

Ganal lifted his water cup and took a slow sip, explaining curtly that it was for better city-wide expense tracking, and the lieutenant colonel shouldn’t overreach.

The door closed, and Horne’s firm footsteps hadn’t gone far when Ganal’s aged voice rose again in the conference room: “Lately, I’m more convinced than ever that reclaiming military authority was the right call. The former two generals considered everything comprehensively, but Lieutenant Colonel Horne doesn’t. Colonel Bai Yin included.”

The new generation was growing harder to control.

Mentioning Bai Yin made You Wangwang straighten up, serious: “Leader, no need to consider my relation to him.”

“Of course. Colonel Bai Yin never leverages being the deputy leader’s son.”

With higher-ranking officers still in the Military District, nearly all ground defense and Alien assaults fell to Horne. It was his choice and the military’s default. For two years, he’d hunted Aliens like a madman: kill one on sight, wipe out swarms, head north to nests when they quieted.

Yet Loch City had plenty of militant extremists backing Horne, insisting humans and Aliens couldn’t coexist, that Aliens had no redeeming qualities.

At that thought, Ganal frowned: “These two years, Lieutenant Colonel Horne has repelled countless Aliens, on par with—or surpassing—when General Al and General Yaro were alive. Hatred has truly driven him mad.” Approval and disapproval mingled in his tone, indistinguishable.

You Wangwang watched Ganal’s face and conceded judiciously: “He has indeed inherited all the fine qualities of the two generals: brave, resolute, clever, decisive.”

“Except he’s too much of a lone wolf, childish even.” General Leon added, shrugging with a downturned mouth. “Public opinion on him is always polarized. If he left the Military District now, it’d cause a stir.”

“Mm.” Ganal stood, picking up his cup. “In the Frost Plains era, no one has a choice. Loch City still needs him—for now.”