Super God Academy: Kabuto

On Earth, in a desolate mountainous region, a camouflage tank slowly made its way along a rugged mountain road, its wheels crushing gravel. The crew soon discovered Ge Xiaolun, half-buried in the rubble, unconscious.

"Wake up! Comrade, wake up!" The soldier's shouts pulled Ge Xiaolun back to reality from his daze. He opened his eyes and saw several young but weathered faces, and a tank covered in dust.

"I...I am..." Ge Xiaolun struggled to sit up, his voice hoarse.

"You almost got buried here. We're from the Central and Southern Front Army." A soldier with a hearty smile stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "In today's terms, we're 'new-era guerrillas.'"

A capable-looking soldier next to him began to introduce himself: "My name is Liu Dong, this is Wang Hao, and that is Luo Wei. The one who just spoke to you is Hao Xiangyang."

Ge Xiaolun struggled to sit up, but the movement aggravated his wounds, causing him to wince in pain. He lowered his head, his voice filled with undisguised disappointment and self-doubt: "My name is... Ge Xiaolun. I used to be a... Heroic... Heroic Soldier Company..." He paused, the title that once symbolized glory and power now sounding like a cruel irony. He finally corrected himself, "No, I used to... just an ordinary soldier."

Liu Dong noticed his dejection, patted him hard on the shoulder, and said in a loud voice, "What are you afraid to say?! Buddy, it's not you guys who lost! The problem is," he suddenly raised his voice, looking at his comrades, "brothers, did we lose?!"

"We didn't lose!" Wang Hao and Luo Wei shouted in unison, their eyes burning with excitement.

"We can still fight!" Lieutenant Hao Xiangyang added with a smile.

Liu Dong turned to Ge Xiaolun and held out his hand: "Come on, buddy, stop lying down, get in! This 'mobile fortress' won't be crowded with just one more person!"

Looking into their eyes, filled with unwavering determination and optimism, Ge Xiaolun felt a rift being torn open in the gloom within him. He hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Where...are you going?"

Lieutenant Hao Xiangyang laughed heartily and answered him with a simple yet powerful statement:

"The bricks of revolution, we'll move them wherever they're needed!"

Ge Xiaolun was eventually pulled onto the tank. This steel vehicle, carrying five soldiers, continued its journey through the vast mountainous region.

The scenes along the way were shocking. Once peaceful villages had been reduced to ruins, and the roads were crowded with refugees, young and old, their faces filled with fear. They were ragged, their eyes filled with uncertainty about the future and terror of war.

However, when these displaced people saw the tank painted with the August 1st Army emblem and carrying soldiers, a glimmer of hope ignited in their eyes. They gathered around, not begging, but stuffing their meager remaining food—perhaps a hard, dry bun, a handful of fried rice, or a still-unripe wild fruit—onto the tank and into the soldiers' hands.

"Here you go, PLA comrades, eat this on the road!"

"You've worked so hard, you must win!"

The soldiers, with tears in their eyes, resolutely refused again and again:

"Fellow villagers, we can't take them! You keep them!"

"Thank you! We brought some dry rations! Please take care of yourselves!"

Watching these scenes unfold, Ge Xiaolun, sitting atop the tank, was deeply shaken. He recalled Angel Yan's oath of protection and her death; the shadows of failure and sacrifice had almost crushed him. But now, looking at these ordinary people who, even in the deepest suffering, still chose to believe, to support, and to hand over their last survival supplies to the guardians, looking at his few poorly equipped but spirited comrades who called themselves "guerrillas"... he silently clenched his fists.

As night fell, the chill of the mountains was dispelled by a small, flickering campfire. Five figures sat together, the firelight casting shadows on their young yet resolute faces.

Wang Hao rubbed his stomach and joked, trying to make the best of a bad situation, "I'm starving! Does this mean we're going back to the days of gnawing on tree roots?"

Liu Dong added a piece of firewood to the fire, laughing as he replied, "What's wrong with tree roots? Can't you eat tree roots? Didn't your grandfather's generation eat them?" He raised an eyebrow, displaying a revolutionary optimism, "Who knows, maybe one day some scientist will develop it, and this stuff could become a deluxe meal at McKinsey!"

His words drew laughter from everyone, and the fatigue from the days of fighting seemed to temporarily dissipate in the laughter.

Liu Dong noticed Ge Xiaolun, who was silent to the side, and gently nudged him with his elbow: "Hey, Ge Xiaolun, right? Don't be so gloomy."

His voice calmed down, his gaze swept over each of his comrades present, and finally settled on Ge Xiaolun, speaking earnestly:

"Once we're here, we're each other's support, comrades who would risk their lives for each other."

He paused, his tone becoming incredibly certain, as if stating a fact:

"Don't feel sorry for us now. When it comes down to it, the few spears we have are not as useful as the greatsword you carry."

"I don't……"

Ge Xiaolun's voice trembled violently, and he curled up as if trying to hide himself in the shadows.

"I'm just a... coward..." he choked, tears finally streaming down his face. "They took me to that... Frazier... but I lost... utterly defeated..."

He abruptly raised his head, his face a mixture of tears and mud, his eyes filled with shattered light:

"Yan...she died right before my eyes! I watched her being knocked down, again and again...I just lay there on the ground...like a worm...I could only watch!I couldn't do anything!"

His voice suddenly rose, filled with a heart-wrenching accusation: "Why did they choose me?! I'm a fucking loser! A piece of trash! I'm not some super soldier! Now we've even lost our team... Who's going to save us?! Who's going to save us?!"

Liu Dong stared intently at Ge Xiaolun's broken state, his chest heaving violently. He suddenly grabbed Ge Xiaolun's collar, his eyes like red-hot irons, his voice forced out through clenched teeth:

"Do you even remember you're a Chinese soldier?!"

He practically shouted it out:

"Have you ever heard of the Red Army's Long March of 25,000 li?!"

He forcefully shoved Ge Xiaolun away, pointing a finger at his nose with exasperation:

"With your current cowardly and spineless appearance, do you even deserve to take the flag from our predecessors?! Huh?!"

Enraged, Liu Dong slammed the half-eaten piece of dry rations he was clutching in front of Ge Xiaolun, abruptly turned to face the dark night sky outside the cave, and, breathing heavily, uttered a deep, guttural "Fuck!"

"Think about it, actually... you Super Soldier Company members are also human, and I'm a coward too."

"If I wasn't a coward, I would have knelt down long ago." He clenched his fist, his knuckles turning white. "We fought a monster together, and in the end, that son of a bitch was killed by my brothers. But what about me? I only got grazed on the arm by shrapnel, a tiny injury, but I've been lying in the mud, too scared to move."

"Then the brothers were scattered, some died, some were lost..." His voice suddenly choked up, and he wiped his face hard. "It wasn't until later that I realized, so what if it hurts? Some of the brothers didn't have wives or families, but they still charged forward. They weren't afraid to die, so why should I be afraid?! Damn it!"

Ge Xiaolun looked at Liu Dong, his back ramrod straight, his eyes red-rimmed: "I'm sorry, Captain."

Liu Dong shoved his shoulder away with considerable force, his voice trembling, "I'm scared too! What do you know!"

"I've been stomped on the ground by monsters, I've been scared out of my wits! I was blown into the air by a bomb along with a bunch of brothers, and when I woke up I was the only one left!" He pointed to his chest, his voice suddenly rising, "I...you...fuck you!" The words caught in his throat, and only a rough curse escaped his lips, "Fuck!"

The firelight danced in Ge Xiaolun's eyes as he looked up at the encouraging gazes of Hao Xiangyang, Wang Hao, and Luo Wei around him. The loneliness and frustration that had lingered since his return from Frieze seemed to be somewhat dispelled by the warmth of the campfire and the simple camaraderie of his comrades.

He didn't say anything more, but his clenched fists and refocused eyes said it all. He reached out and broke off a thicker, dry branch, throwing it into the fire to make it burn brighter.

In the firelight, the five figures drew closer. Under the cold night sky, the faint campfire not only warmed their bodies but also quietly melted a heart that had once been frozen. The road of revolution was long, but as long as their comrades were there, hope would never be extinguished.