Don't pretend, everyone knows you're the villain!

Two months later, Yin Zhaoshu was sent to the battlefield by Xie Yuan's men. Only upon arrival did he learn where he was to survive.

Xie Yuan's words were: "To reach my position, it's not enough to accumulate military merits. Without a background, you have to wait your time. You can afford to wait, but I won't allow Xie Sicen to throw herself at you and wait for you. My child is stubborn and single-minded. The battlefield I'm sending you to is the border of alien beasts. There, you'll face enemies that aren't human, but as long as you survive for five years, the Empire's reward after five years will be enough for you to fulfill your wishes."

Yin Zhaoshu had no reason to refuse. Five years was indeed a shortcut.

Upon arriving at the border of the alien beasts, Yin Zhaoshu discovered that most of the people here were trying to atone for their crimes, while only a few were accumulating military merits to wait out the time before leaving.

The border of the strange beasts is located on the outer edge of the forest. According to the senior people who have lived here for a long time, no one who has stepped into the forest has ever returned alive.

These guardians are there to prevent the strange beasts that burst out of the forest from leaving the defensive line.

"Brother, don't follow any complicated rules here. There's only one rule: you can't be a deserter." Chang Xian, who had been here for almost three years, patted Yin Zhaoshu on the shoulder and struck up a conversation in a very familiar manner.

There is no specific time for battle here. As long as a strange beast leaves the forest, even in the dead of night, a group of people must immediately get up and enter the battle.

So even when sleeping, you have to wear clothes properly. Except for changing clothes or when it's too hot and you're willing to go naked, everyone wears a full set of clothes regardless of whether it's comfortable or not.

Yin Zhaoshu wasn't interested in rules or regulations; he was already used to his old way of life and didn't need to change it deliberately.

Even standing ramrod straight all day is the most comfortable state.

Yin Zhaoshu casually raised a question, "What would happen if they ran away?"

"See this? This thing can be targeted for explosion. The blast radius isn't large, but it's enough to kill you."

Chang Xian chuckled and pointed to the communicators on everyone's wrists. These were the means to contact each other at the border of the alien beasts, and they could only be removed when it was time to leave.

Messages cannot be transmitted to the outside world from the border of the alien beasts; if you want to send a message, you have to go to a watchtower far away to send it out.

The watchtower was very high, and the guards could use telescopic equipment to observe at any time whether the alien beasts on the border had breached the defenses, so there was no need for the guards to travel so far to deliberately deliver messages.

Therefore, before coming, Yin Zhaoshu told Xie Sicen that he might have to undergo special training and wouldn't be able to reply to messages for a long time.

So much so that Yin Zhaoshu didn't even receive Xie Sicen's reply after he stepped into the border of the alien beasts.

The only message displayed is "The other party has lost contact".

Xie Sichen assumed that the special training location was well-secret and didn't think much of it.

Chang Xian showed Yin Zhaoshu around the various daily necessities in their area, emphasizing the pristine natural environment and keeping everything simple.

After getting to know each other better, Chang Xian suddenly remembered something and asked Yin Zhaoshu, "By the way, brother, how many years are you going to stay here?"

Yin Zhaoshu calmly replied, "Five years."

Chang Xian looked strange and muttered something.

"You don't look like someone who's committed a crime to be here. Who would want you to die and put you in this place for five years?"

"I want a promotion."

Chang Xian raised an eyebrow. "If you stay here for four years, you'll be able to walk around the army with your head held high. Do you want to become a marshal?"

"almost."

Chang Xian sighed deeply.

"You're really young. If you want to get promoted, you have to be alive to get promoted. Do you know the longest you can stay here? Three years and seven months plus five days and ten hours."

"There are always more newcomers than veterans here. The death and injury rate is too high. If someone dies, they just find a place to be disposed of. If someone is injured or disabled, there is nowhere to get treatment. It's a relief to keep going until you die with your injuries."

Chang Xian had no interest in Yin Zhaoshu; no one wanted to associate with someone who couldn't even cross the boundaries of the alien beasts.

All the previous enthusiasm was just a pretense, a facade put on to prepare for leaving this place.

"You're probably going to be stuck here forever."

The person walking away let out a long sigh, which was clearly heard by everyone else, but their expressions were all numb.

It's already difficult enough for them to survive here; the lives of others are of no concern to them.

Chang Xian could talk about this and that because this person was leaving in another month and would never have to go back to this miserable place again.

Yin Zhaoshu spent his days in a daze at the border of the alien beasts. As time went on, only the desire to live and go back to see Xie Sicen sustained his will.

Every time the monsters attack, several people in the area are killed. Newcomers come one after another, while old acquaintances leave one after another. Many newcomers are also attacked by monsters within two days of arriving, and they are simply buried wherever they find a spot, since there is no shortage of corpses here.

While Yin Zhaoshu was at the border of the alien beasts, Xie Sicen served as an airborne soldier in various legions.

They went wherever support was needed. They accumulated a lot of military merits, but some of those merits were also pocketed by certain legions.

When asked why, they would be told with righteous indignation: Xie Sicen disobeyed orders, broke away from the team, and disrupted the tactics; they were simply dealing with the situation appropriately.

Xie Sicen remained silent, her teeth clenched, while Chu Yanfeng and the other two were seething with anger. Especially after Gu Feiyang had once rushed up and overturned the table of the legion's major general.

At that time, Chu Yanfeng and Chu Han were dumbfounded. The person who overturned the table had a higher military rank than several of their elders. Gu Feiyang was so angry that he lost his mind.

It's not entirely Gu Feiyang's fault for flipping the table; Xie Sicen had saved him several times on the battlefield. There was even an instance where Gu Feiyang, due to his own recklessness in piloting the mecha, was nearly surrounded and annihilated by the enemy. Thanks to Xie Sicen's chivalry, she single-handedly piloted the mecha and skillfully saved him.

Who would care if Gu Feiyang lived or died if it were anyone else? Losing one mech or one person wouldn't matter.

After fighting so many battles, everyone has matured a lot. Gu Feiyang can tolerate being wronged himself, but he can't stand seeing Xie Sicen being wronged.

But after flipping the table, Gu Feiyang immediately realized he had been reckless. Even so, he still didn't think he was wrong. If he was wrong, it was that he hadn't smashed the table on the hateful face opposite him.

Finally, Xie Sicen stepped forward and said he accepted the punishment, admitting that he was the one who overturned the table, and that if the major general wanted to pursue the matter, he could go and reason with Xie Yuan.

The major general naturally wouldn't go to Xie Yuan, and the matter was left unresolved.

After a year without any response from Yin Zhaoshu, Xie Sicen couldn't hold back any longer and went to ask Xie Yuan.

Xie Yuan said that Yin Zhaoshu had gone to the battlefield, and the signal was bad in some areas.

It can't be considered a lie, but Xie Yuan didn't explain how different the battlefields Xie Sicen and Yin Zhaoshu were on.

Cold winters and hot summers come and go, year after year.

Lieutenant Xie had already established his merits in various corps and become Major General Xie.

There is no battle that Xie Sicen cannot win. Those who have seen Xie Sicen command and operate mechs in various war zones, even if they are dissatisfied, cannot find fault with his promotion.

Moreover, Xie Sicen's promotions were always personally promoted by His Majesty, not by Xie Yuan or other generals or marshals.

Over the course of three years, Xie Sicen spent a considerable number of time in the hospital, the most outrageous of which was Gu Feiyang's confession.

They all knew that Xie Sicen liked Yin Zhaoshu, and that Yin Zhaoshu was an alpha.

When Xie Sichen was in the hospital one time, Gu Feiyang hesitated for a long time before finally speaking to her, saying, "Yin Zhaoshu has been gone for several years. I am also an alpha, and I have pheromones. If the Major General doesn't mind, I can do it very well."

Xie Sichen, who was already pale and weak, sat up after hearing this and said coldly, "How much better? Are you more obedient in bed, or do your pheromones smell better?"

These words sounded more like sarcasm to the alpha, but since Gu Feiyang had already said them, it didn't matter if he said a few sarcastic remarks, since the other party was Xie Sicen.

"I promise I'll do a better job than Yin Zhaoshu!"

Xie Sicen grabbed an apple from the bedside table and threw it at Gu Feiyang, nearly tearing off all the pipes on her body from the force of the movement.

"Get out. Yin Zhaoshu is Yin Zhaoshu. I don't care about pheromones or alphas. I want that person. Everyone else can get lost. Gu Feiyang, if you mention this to me again, I'll cripple you."

After dodging the attack, Gu Feiyang quickly left to find someone to check on Gu Xie Sichen, and didn't dare to show up for a long time. Perhaps he understood what had happened afterward, because he never mentioned it again.

Xie Sicen had tried to find out anything about Yin Zhaoshu over the past three years, but he wasn't stupid. If he wanted to find Yin Zhaoshu, he would have to ask Xie Yuan.