Earth Era

Part 5 Meet

Saitan (Mars) Calendar: April 9th, 2732.

After three years of post-disaster reconstruction work, it was nearing completion, and Qin Feng had successfully advanced to become a regular member of the Marine Corps during this period.

During these three years, the aliens did not launch another attack, but people remained vigilant. The Universal Research Bureau sent out a large number of space probes around the sun to observe their every move.

Strangely, the aliens never actively attacked those probes, leading researchers to boldly speculate that their main targets might be living organisms! It was proposed that if tools or instruments could be developed to shield vital signs, perhaps they could evade alien attacks!

However, since this theory could never be verified, it eventually faded away.

The group from the Second Universe who had contacted them years ago never responded. It was as if they had never appeared at all. In fact, it seemed they truly never did...

From this, it was evident that rather than placing hope in others, it was better to find solutions oneself. Compared to that, the Beyond Plan proposed by the United Coalition seemed more reliable. Construction of one thousand Beyond-class colonization ships was already underway with great intensity.

Qin Feng often found himself staring at these massive ships. Once, he asked his commander (his father), "Since we're leaving Saitan Star, what's the point of rebuilding our homeland?"

His father replied calmly, "Hope! Having a home means having hope. These behemoths are also our last hope, and Beyond Star is our new hope."

"It's been so long. They shouldn't come anymore, right?" Qin Feng asked.

His father looked up at the sky. "Soon."

Qin Feng fell silent.

In the 22nd central district of Silver City, a sandstorm had just passed, and dark clouds suddenly swept in, enveloping the city in a moment.

At this moment, there were only three people on the deserted main street: Zhong Yuanjie, Ruan Xiaoyu, and Qin Feng. They were all members of the Marine Corps, just tasked with heading to District 16 because the Shield Mountain Generator there had malfunctioned.

This had been one of Qin Feng's main tasks for the past three years. He just wanted to finish it before the storm arrived.

Ruan Xiaoyu looked up at the sky and sighed. "Ah, I told you it was going to rain. You didn't believe me, and now we're caught without our protective suits. What should we do?"

"What's there to be afraid of? It's not raining fire," Qin Feng said.

Ruan Xiaoyu replied, "brother, that's acid rain! It's really bad for the skin..." As she spoke, she gently touched his fair hand.

Qin Feng chuckled and glanced at Zhong Yuanjie. "I regret bringing him along."

Zhong Yuanjie shook his head helplessly. "Let's go."

Sure enough, as soon as they crossed a street, the heavy rain arrived as predicted. The downpour instantly made them feel bone-chillingly cold...

With no other choice, they sought shelter under the eaves of a house, waiting for the rain to stop before continuing on. Due to the reconstruction, most of the city now consisted of small houses, limited to three floors at most and used solely for residential purposes. This provided the three of them with excellent "shelters" as each small house had a large protruding eave in front of its door.

Even though these upscale, villa-level small houses were provided for free to everyone, many still preferred to live in the bunkers rather than here. Because nobody could guarantee that the aliens wouldn't suddenly launch an attack one night, leading to homelessness at best and possibly even loss of life at worst... Compared to this, the bunkers felt safer, at least allowing for a more peaceful sleep.

The three of them peered out the window and saw the empty house. Obviously, it was an uninhabited villa.

Ruan Xiaoyu attempted to open the door but failed. They stood under the eaves for nearly half an hour, but there was no sign of the rain letting up.

While they could wait, and even sleep here for a while (although it was a bit cold), the mission couldn't wait. A malfunction in the generator meant that the Shield Mountain was likely to malfunction, and a malfunction in the Shield Mountain would jeopardize the lives of thousands upon thousands of people on Saitan Star!

"No, we can't wait any longer, we have to go!" Qin Feng said, leading the way into the pouring rain.

Zhong Yuanjie and Ruan Xiaoyu exchanged glances before following suit.

Fortunately, they hadn't run far when they spotted a vehicle ahead. It was a patrol car from the air defense zone, as indicated by the airplane logo on the door.

The three of them waved their hands, and the car stopped. Qin Feng was stunned.

Zhong Yuanjie stepped forward and saluted. The window rolled down, and a man inside asked, "Are you from the Marine Corps?"

He nodded, but before he could explain, the man nodded back and said, "Get in!"

Zhong Yuanjie and Ruan Xiaoyu got into the car, but Qin Feng didn't move.

They urged him, "Get in the car! What are you doing? Are you going to get drenched in the rain?"

Qin Feng seemed to not hear them, staring blankly at the girl sitting in the passenger seat. The girl was Xiao Ya!

He never dreamed he would encounter her here, let alone that their reunion after years of separation would be in such a setting.

He had imagined countless times what it would be like to see her again, perhaps in a café or a flower shop... but certainly not on this rainy street.

For a moment, Qin Feng felt a bit disoriented. All the fantasies he had about this moment vanished in an instant, replaced by countless question marks swirling in his mind: 'How could she be here? Isn't she supposed to be in the air defense zone? Oh right, this is the air defense zone's car, so who is this man? How did they end up together?...'

It wasn't until Zhong Yuanjie walked over and pulled him, asking, "What are you doing? Why aren't you getting in the car?" that Qin Feng snapped back to reality.

"Oh! It's nothing. What's up?" he said.

Zhong Yuanjie smiled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that? Why are you standing there like you've lost your soul?"

"It's nothing. Just remembered something."

"What's that?"

"Nothing, let's go," Qin Feng said, getting into the car.