“Scarlet Dawn Lotus?”

The moment he heard the name, the Colonel burst into raucous laughter.

“The legendary mech. The epoch-making weapon that’s supposed to change humanity’s fate…” He laughed so hard tears welled up in his eyes, eventually collapsing limply onto the sofa. “I’m just the owner of a fighting arena. How would I have any news about something like that?”

Chi Zhou looked at him helplessly.

“I’m being serious.”

The Colonel’s laughter stopped abruptly.

Silence settled over the office, filling the room with an awkward stillness. Only the candles continued to burn, their wicks occasionally snapping with soft crackling pops.

The Colonel looked around as though he had discovered an entirely new continent. After a long pause, he finally asked, “You’re…asking me?”

Chi Zhou took the wineglass away from him.

“That’s enough.”

He really was starting to get a headache.

The military had always been suspicious of the Colonel. Since he had stormed out of the military in anger, they were convinced his loyalty to the Alliance had gone with it.

When the Alliance Strategic Administration bypassed the military entirely and worked directly with the Colonel to establish an underground Sentinel unit, the military had been even less pleased.

And now Scarlet Dawn Lotus had appeared as the grand prize at an underground fighting arena.

The higher-ups were practically furious. Although Chi Zhou had been sent as a negotiator, the military’s orders had been uncompromising:

Recover Scarlet Dawn Lotus by any means necessary.

Chi Zhou trusted the Colonel’s loyalty. If Scarlet Dawn Lotus truly were in the Colonel’s possession, he would unquestionably return it to the Alliance.

The fact that he hadn’t done so meant there was only one possibility.

It was still missing.

Chi Zhou carried the whiskey back to the liquor cabinet.

He had no desire to quarrel with an old friend; he simply disliked talking to drunkards.

“You won’t let me drink, but I still can’t tell you anything.” The Colonel looked utterly shameless, as if nothing could faze him. “That thing really isn’t with me.”

Chi Zhou frowned slightly.

“Then why use it as the prize?”

The underground arena had announced the previous year that Scarlet Dawn Lotus would be the championship reward for the current season.

At the time, Chi Zhou had been away on a mission in another star system and had only recently returned to the Alliance. Otherwise, he would have come much sooner.

“Someone asked me to,” the Colonel replied mysteriously. “That person told me to spread the word. Once a champion is crowned, Scarlet Dawn Lotus will be delivered.”

Chi Zhou was momentarily speechless.

“…And you actually believed that?” The Colonel collapsed back onto the sofa with a long sigh.

“What else was I supposed to do? Might as well treat a dead horse like it was still alive. Who knows? Maybe it’ll really show up.”

Chi Zhou folded his arms.

“And can you guarantee the champion will be one of your people?”

“I can…” The Colonel paused dramatically. “…not!”

He suddenly leapt to his feet and staggered drunkenly toward the door.

“Ban Lei!!! I spent three years training him, and then he got beaten just like that!”

Under the arena’s rules, anyone who lost in the first round was eliminated immediately.

Ban Lei was the Colonel’s ace. Originally, the Colonel had intended to keep him hidden for another two years before unveiling him to draw crowds and fill the arena’s coffers.

But for the sake of Scarlet Dawn Lotus, he had decided to take the gamble early. He had never expected ‘Fang Qi’ to appear out of nowhere and completely derail his plans.

“That kid’s definitely no ordinary fighter!” the Colonel shouted as he stumbled toward the exit. “There aren’t even three people in the entire Alliance’s underground circuit who could beat Ban Lei. There’s no way he came out of some backwater arena!”

“He did,” Chi Zhou lied with a perfectly straight face. “I’ve seen him in District Ten.”

Then he asked, “Where are you going?”

“Really? With skills like that? Doesn’t seem like something you had develop in an underground pit…” The Colonel stopped in his tracks and eyed him suspiciously. “I’ve got to bring him back. Otherwise, who’s going to win Scarlet Dawn Lotus for me?”

Chi Zhou pressed him back onto the sofa.

“I’ll go.”

The Colonel blinked. “You’re helping me chase him down?”

“In your dreams.”

Chi Zhou casually shut the office door. “Stop worrying about things you shouldn’t.”

There was no way he was going to look for Xia Ye now.

Chi Zhou could accept Xia Ye appearing in the arena for the sake of Scarlet Dawn Lotus.

After all, it had been Dr. Xia’s life’s work. It was only natural that it held special meaning for him.

But what Chi Zhou couldn’t accept was Xia Ye following the Colonel into underground fixed matches.

He deserved a bright future.

In the span of a few moments, a plan had already taken shape in Chi Zhou’s mind. One that would allow Xia Ye to obtain Scarlet Dawn Lotus without becoming a target of the mysterious person the Colonel had mentioned.

—

Bright moonlight bathed the spotless asphalt road, giving it a pearlescent sheen.

Once they had left the arena, Lin Kezhi finally let out a long breath.

“I was scared to death back there.” He looked back at the underground fighting arena.

Beneath the pitch-black night sky, the ancient Roman-style structure resembled a slumbering beast, as though it could swallow anyone who ventured too close.

“I honestly thought the Colonel had figured out we cheated.”

Opening his star credit account, Lin Kezhi admired the balance with unconcealed delight.

“I’ve never seen this much money before.” As he spoke, he tapped a few buttons and transferred the winnings into Xia Ye’s account.

“What a shame,” he sighed. “None of it’s actually mine.”

“Some of it is.”

Lin Kezhi jumped when his communicator erupted with notification chimes.

Opening his account, he stared in surprise.

“Why did you send me so much? All I did was sit there and place a bet.”

“Not everyone is willing to trust a friend.”

For once, Xia Ye’s voice carried a trace of warmth instead of its usual cool detachment.

“Thank you.”

Lin Kezhi scratched his head awkwardly. “I can’t possibly accept this for nothing. After tomorrow’s lecture, pizza’s on me.”

“What lecture?” Xia Ye asked.

At the start of the semester, he had carefully memorised every class on the schedule along with every major school event.

Outside those hours, he had personal matters to attend to. For example, visiting his younger sister at the neighbouring school.

Xia Zhi had lost her eyesight during the extraterrestrial contamination.

She had often been bullied at the orphanage before, and now that she had been placed in an unfamiliar environment, Xia Ye worried she might have trouble adjusting.

“Instructor Chi’s lecture, of course,” Lin Kezhi replied casually. “The notice went out in the group chat a few days ago.”

Xia Ye fell silent for a moment.

“I’m not in the group.”

Only then did it occur to him that he had been excluded. The military academy was merely a reflection of society. The wealthy students from the Upper Seven Districts naturally formed their own circles and left him outside them.

Meanwhile, students from the Lower Four Districts generally performed poorly and assumed that someone like Xia Ye—who had taken first place several times in a row—didn’t belong with them either.

Every spare moment of Xia Ye’s time was already consumed by the library and looking after his sister.

Now he had added another commitment: regularly competing in underground fighting arenas.

He had neither the time nor the inclination to browse StarNet, so he hadn’t even understood Chi Zhou’s joke earlier.

Naturally, he knew even less about the class group chat.

“You’re not?” Lin Kezhi looked genuinely surprised. “Oh… You never come to any of the gatherings. They probably just forgot about you. I’ll add you.”

Before Xia Ye could stop him, Lin Kezhi had already pulled him into the military academy’s StarNet discussion group.

The chat had been lively moments before, everyone discussing tomorrow’s lecture.

[Is it really Instructor Chi tomorrow? I thought he was just an honorary name on the faculty list. They say he hasn’t shown up at the academy in ten years.]

[The situation’s getting serious this year. Signs of contamination have already been detected in three nearby star systems. The prophecy might actually come true.]

[Does that mean our class will be heading straight to the battlefield after graduation? No wonder they’re bringing Instructor Chi in as soon as the semester starts.]

The moment Xia Ye joined, a simple notification appeared in the chat announcing his arrival.

Almost immediately, the lively conversation died away.

The silence was telling that these people didn’t welcome him.

Without drawing attention to it, Xia Ye glanced at Lin Kezhi.

Lin Kezhi hadn’t noticed a thing. He was still enthusiastically introducing Xia Ye to everyone. When no one responded, he merely muttered, “They’ve probably all gone to bed.”

Still holding his communicator, he continued chatting with Xia Ye. “They’re really interested in Instructor Chi.”

“Instructor Chi?”

Before enrolling, Xia Ye had looked up information about the military academy. With his level of clearance, he could only access publicly available files.

Chi Zhou’s name had never appeared among them.

“Yeah, the guy we met in the Colonel’s office.” Lin Kezhi explained, “You’ve seen him on TV, right? Chi Zhou—the Light of the Alliance. The one who piloted Prometheus and tore extraterrestrial lifeforms apart. He’s an honorary professor here.”

Then, remembering Xia Ye came from District Twelve, where people probably weren’t familiar with Upper Seven District gossip, he added, “It’s… kind of a long story.”

Xia Ye spoke softly. “You can take your time.”

“You’re actually interested?” Lin Kezhi brightened immediately. He had always struggled to find common topics with his friends.

“Should’ve said so earlier! I know all the gossip from the Upper Seven Districts.”

Xia Ye nodded quietly, allowing Lin Kezhi to continue.

“You know about the extraterrestrial contamination in District Twelve, right? After that happened, both the Colonel and Instructor Chi were investigated by the military. It was a huge deal. Pretty much everyone in the Upper Seven Districts knew about it.”

“The military claimed the District Twelve disaster was their responsibility. My dad said the Colonel left the military after that and opened his underground fighting arena. He even went to the opening.”

“As for Instructor Chi…” Lin Kezhi continued, “his military record was too outstanding. The military couldn’t really do anything to him, so they tried transferring him to the academy instead. But he was so popular that before the transfer order was even issued, people across the Alliance protested.”

“In the end, the Alliance stepped in. Instructor Chi was reassigned to the Strategic Command Bureau, reporting directly to the Alliance itself. That finally settled everything.”

Shaking his head, Lin Kezhi clicked his tongue.

“The military really got slapped in the face over that one.”

Xia Ye simply murmured, “…Mm.”

He had lived through the District Twelve contamination himself.

He had met Chi Zhou there, and he had always assumed Chi Zhou had left without saying goodbye.

He hadn’t realised there had been so much more behind it.

Investigated…

Chi Zhou had been seriously wounded. Yet before he had even recovered, he had been recalled to face questioning.

The thought filled Xia Ye with anger.

“How could they…” he said quietly. “…treat him like that?”

“Pretty normal, honestly.” Lin Kezhi shrugged, looking entirely unsurprised. “People in power taking advantage of the situation. Instructor Chi’s always been the symbol of the Alliance. They’ve disliked him for ages.”

“Then this latest recruitment drive serves the same purpose.”

Thinking back to the conversation in the Colonel’s office and the wistful look in the Colonel’s eyes, Xia Ye connected the pieces one by one.

“They want to build a stronger military force, one that overshadows Chi Zhou.”

Lin Kezhi stared at him in surprise. “My dad mentioned something like that before. How did you know?”

“I guessed.” Xia Ye answered calmly.

He didn’t believe such a foolish plan would ever succeed.

T/N:
Since September is my month, let me try to add up more release this month lol
Also I hope you guys don’t mind because usually I used indents for the start of paragraph right.. but this novel.. have too many short convo? That I feel all the indents gonna make it kinda not good looking..

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