Don't Look Back

Go home. They had said that this redemption concerned the entire Antarctic battlefield, the lives of over a million human soldiers, and even the future and hope of all humankind... And so, Stream Blades chose to fight to the death, marching from what was originally the safest sector of the entire front—the eastern coastline—all the way to the foot of the tractor field. On that long raid, they breached sixteen battle lines. Along the way, more than half of their soldiers fell. Dead and wounded approached nearly two-thirds. Behind those pale, cold numbers were vivid, familiar faces. Every single one of their names or nicknames, Wen Jifei could call aloud. As the commander of this battle, and as the person who had made the decision back then, truth be told, Wen Jifei had long been on the verge of emotional collapse. He had merely gritted his teeth and held on with all his might, embracing a resolve to die and forbidding himself from letting his mind wander. Until moments ago, when his psychological pillar, Han Qingyu, had been forced off the battlefield, life or death unknown, and a breach opened in their defensive formation during their self-rescue attempt, allowing a swarm of Red Shoulders to surge into their ranks. Uncle Shiliang had led sixteen soldiers forward in a column, meeting the Red Shoulders head-on in a sacrificial charge just to save him... He had survived, and the very first order he gave afterward was to personally dispatch Wu Xu and Weize to their deaths. And immediately after, he had asked Uncle Shiliang for his last words. That choice and farewell, which seemed to carry no hesitation or sentimentality, had inflicted an agony and guilt beyond measure. Wen Jifei was only twenty-four years old this year. Right now, he might already possess ample military talent and strategic acumen, but he was still far from developing the corresponding hardness of character. He was simply not mature enough, not rational enough, and not cold-blooded enough. So when the redemption was accomplished, when a glimmer of survival unexpectedly presented itself like a lifeline... Wen Jifei made the decision to retreat without the slightest hesitation. The moment he shouted the order to go home was the very first time on this battlefield that he truly let his emotions out. Wen Jifei had not consulted anyone regarding this decision. He had not notified Azure Command, nor had he notified the Rejectors. Even so, the Rejectors' satellite imagery still captured the scene of Stream Blades breaking through: a triangular formation driving into the Great Spike horde like a sharp arrow, steadily piercing its way across. By this time, the Great Spike horde on the flanks of Stream Blades' battle formation had thinned out considerably. At the same time, Pegament, serving as the spearhead of the formation, was razor-sharp... And the soldiers' will to return home sustained them, enabling these spent, battered remnants to unleash their fiercest offensive yet at the very end of their tether. "They're out..." "They broke through!" "Roar!" "Report! Antarctic battlefield, beneath the tractor field, Stream Blades... surviving remnants, approximately three thousand, have successfully broken through!" "They are moving away from the tractor field!" As the battle report was dispatched, everyone in the Rejectors' observation room burst into cheers, applause, and celebration—for this scene, and for that remnant army. And then, all of humanity began to cheer and celebrate... as if this were not a flight, but a victory. In this moment, no one cared that the tractor field was still standing there, nor did anyone care about the Great Spike horde gathered beneath it. The emotional strings of every soul had long been tied to that lone force, doomed to die yet still refusing to give up. *** Stream Blades had broken through. Not a single person questioned this sudden operational move. No one had the standing or reason to question Wen Jifei's decision. "We made it out." "We broke through!" The warriors of Stream Blades shouted aloud, looking around eagerly, as if desperate for confirmation from their comrades just to prove that this wasn't an illusion. Sprint! The shouts of their comrades ringing in their ears and the vast, open ice field ahead told them that this was no hallucination. They had truly broken out. Wen Jifei glanced over his shoulder as he ran. He saw the high-tier combat group holding the rearguard, including Wu Xu and Rusty Sister, finally carve their way out of the Great Spike swarm as well. The Great Spike swarm pursued them for about two hundred meters before breaking off the chase. Finally reassured, Wen Jifei withdrew his gaze, unwilling to look back upon that hellish battlefield for another second. Sprint. "Don't stop, keep running, keep moving!" "Stay combat-ready, be prepared to fight at any moment!" Even while sprinting at full tilt, Wen Jifei and the Little Prince continuously shouted to the soldiers, urging them to maintain formation as they pushed onward. Great Spike forces from the outer battlefield were encircling back toward the center; the path ahead would not be easy, and they had no time to spare. Yet—"Roar!" Even if their feet could not stop, even if their formation could not break, the soldiers still couldn't hold back a roar of raw emotion. "We're out! We're alive!" After that brief surge of joy, someone suddenly began to weep. Looking back on everything they had just endured was even clearer and more terrifying now than while living through it. The bodies of some soldiers began trembling uncontrollably as they ran. They had not trembled when facing the Great Spike swarm beneath the tractor field, yet now, on the road of their successful breakthrough and narrow escape from death, they couldn't help shaking, and even crying. Because of lingering terror. They refused to admit it, yet they could not deny that it had been an unprecedented, suffocating dread. Because of overwhelming emotion. In this band of violent outlaws known for their utter fearlessness, who had just resolved to march straight to their deaths, not a single person truly wished to die. Now, they were unashamedly, undisguisedly elated and moved to tears because they could finally live... when each of them had believed death was certain. "Look, we're going home, Na Wang," A Chai said, looking out toward the vast, boundless ice field ahead as he raised a hand to slap the arm of the comrade running beside him. He didn't know how to express what he was feeling right now. The comrade turned to look at him, his eyes equally bloodshot. He froze for a second, then broke into a wide grin and clapped A Chai on the arm as well. Two grown men from different nations who belonged to different sub-regiments weren't really that close. But if they could stop right now, he would gladly embrace A Chai with a loud cheer... including embracing the body of the fallen comrade strapped to A Chai's back. The first minute after breaking through ticked past. In just one minute, the joy and excitement gradually subsided. Amidst the silent thud of footsteps, sorrow began to spread... They were heading back. But far too many people would never return. They had fallen on the ice plains on their way here, fallen beneath the tractor field, fallen along the path of this final breakthrough. The money and source energy blocks they owed would certainly never be repaid. And the boasts they had made would now become eternal truth, because no one could ever disprove them... *** Amidst the sorrow, their frantic sprint never ceased. By now, Stream Blades had put more than two kilometers between themselves and the tractor field. Suddenly—"Vrrrrmmm..." A colossal drone resonated, its long reverberation echoing ceaselessly. The acoustic wave rolled in from behind them. A tremendous wave of energy stirred the ground. Shattered ice and snow whipped up like a sudden storm, slamming into the soldiers' backs from behind and sweeping past them to the front. *Clatter, clatter, clatter...* Fragmented ice and snow swept down in disarray, striking the bodies of Stream Blades' warriors and pelting the icy plain before their eyes. The pattering sound showed no sign of stopping. The lingering drone showed no sign of fading either. Still running, the footsteps of several soldiers began to falter. Some cast hesitant glances, wondering whether they should turn their heads to look back. "Don't stop, don't look back, keep running!" Wen Jifei roared with every ounce of strength he had left, trying to dissuade the soldiers from doing so. Then he repeated it, and repeated it again. "...Don't stop, don't look back." In the end, without Wen Jifei even realizing it, his voice grew softer and softer, until it was reduced to a murmur audible only to himself. "Run... run... why aren't you running?" Stream Blades had come to a halt. No one knew who had slowed down first, or who had stopped first. Perhaps it had been Wen Jifei himself. They stood on the ice field with their backs to the tractor field, not one of them looking back yet. Wen Jifei did not look back. The soldiers did not look back either. Because they all knew what had just happened behind them. *The tractor field has activated.* At the South Pole, that super tractor field had just activated. According to Azure's prior assessments and deductions based on Daie's command logic, it shouldn't have been completed yet. But following Daie's death, it had activated in an unfinished state. Perhaps Daie had originally intended to use this super tractor field to bring down a Great Spike force guaranteed to wipe out humanity, perhaps including Puta'er, or even Miwang. That was why humankind had to stop it, which was what had spurred this Lost Continent Expedition. Before, Daie held the upper hand on the battlefield, so it was in no rush. It could patiently wait until this battle was won before resuming construction and completing it. Yet now, Daie was dead. In accordance with its arrangements, the Great Spike horde had abandoned further construction and directly activated this unfinished tractor field. The super tractor field was incomplete. Even so, it was still colossal, possessing immense energy. No one knew what it would bring if it completed its attraction—perhaps a Great Spike force even larger than the current one, perhaps several thousand ships and dozens of motherships just like the vanguard before, and perhaps even more Daies, maybe one, maybe two... "Don't look back. No one look back," Wen Jifei said stubbornly, childishly, standing there. This bore no resemblance whatsoever to the rational, decisive man he had been moments ago. No one looked back. All three thousand survivors of Stream Blades had halted, yet not a single one turned their head. They didn't want to look back. "Whoosh!" Amidst the roar of source energy, a shock of pink hair arrived from the distance. Pegament, who had carelessly dashed far ahead on his own earlier, had finally realized that no one was behind him and doubled back. As he ran, he kept his chin tilted up, staring in the direction of the tractor field. "Fuck! The tractor field activated!" Bringing himself to a stop in front of Wen Jifei, Pegament pointed his war saber toward the tractor field. Wen Jifei stared at him. He watched him for perhaps two seconds without making a sound or looking back. "What is it?" Pegament was momentarily baffled, then gestured again. "The tractor field—" "Get the hell out of here!" Wen Jifei suddenly bellowed at the top of his lungs. And then, breaking down completely, he sank onto the ice, burying his face in his hands.