In the Central Region of Planet Yuanling, within the Imperial Library of the Royal Command Academy in Lingcheng—the capital of the Eastern Spirit Empire—a young soldier had been sitting in the same spot for half a month. Aside from quick breaks for meals or the restroom, he never left his seat.
He was frantically scouring through records, obsessing over every scrap of historical and geographical data he could find.
“Dammit, it really isn’t Earth!” The young man cursed, slamming a book shut. “Why can’t I just stay dead? What is the point of all this?”
He couldn’t wrap his head around it. This was his third life.
His first life was on Earth, spanning the late 20th to the early 21st century. As an officer in a peacekeeping force, he had been blown apart by an explosion—only to wake up in the 1930s.
That was the era of the Second Sino-Japanese War. He joined the resistance, starting as a mere private and clawing his way up the ranks. He managed to survive for over a hundred years, and just when he thought he was finally heading for the grave, he died on Earth only to find himself on an entirely new planet.
This world felt like Earth in the late 1990s; the technology was strikingly similar. The only major difference was there is no nuclear weapons.
“To think that I, Hu Hao, a man of my standing, would end up as a mere cadet here! What kind of cosmic joke is this?” Indeed, his name had been Hu Hao, but in this life, it had shifted slightly to Hu浩 (Hu Hao).
“Hu Hao? Hu Hao! My god, have you lost your mind? Graduation is literally today and you’re still buried in books? Where was this energy during the semester?” A young soldier marched into the library and called out to him.
“Oh, Wang Yao? What’s up?” Hu Hao looked up.
Wang Yao was his roommate. Hu Hao knew this because when he transmigrated, he had inherited the original owner’s body and memories. For all intents and purposes, he was Hu Hao now.
“What’s up? They’re about to announce our postings! Move it! Once the assignments are out, the graduation ceremony starts this afternoon,” Wang Yao said, tugging at his arm.
“Right, hold on. Let me put these books back.” Hu Hao realized the five-year grind of military academy was finally coming to an end.
As they walked out, Wang Yao lowered his voice. “Look, Hao-zi, you need to brace yourself. I heard some bad news.”
“How bad?” Hu Hao stopped in his tracks. Wang Yao noticed the lag and turned around.
“Walk and talk, we’re out of time!” Wang Yao urged. Hu Hao picked up his pace.
“You know how the nations in the South and East Regions are eyeing us because of the oil crisis? There’s talk they might invade the Eastern Spirit Empire. If they do, they’ll land in the southwest. Because of that, nobody wants to be stationed there.”
Wang Yao was referring to the geography of Planet Yuanling. Over the last few days, Hu Hao had learned that this planet was ten times larger than Earth, boasting a population of over 50 billion.
The landmasses were divided into five regions: East, West, South, North, and Central. The Eastern Spirit Empire sat in the southeast corner of the Central Region, covering 19.22 million square kilometers with a population of 1.9 billion.
The empire’s geography featured high mountains in the north and lower elevations in the south, surrounded by sea on three sides. The heart of the country was a massive basin rich in oil and fertile land that allowed for three harvests a year.
While the country only ranked seventh in total area, its per capita income was the highest in the world, and its military strength sat comfortably in the top three.
Right now, the world was starving for oil and grain. The other superpowers had been eyeing the Empire for a long time. Negotiations had repeatedly stalled, and the threat of a military solution was looming.
Planet Yuanling hadn’t seen a massive conflict in over a hundred years, but now, a world war felt imminent.
“The East and South Regions want to take us on? Doesn’t our empire have alliances with the Central and North Regions? What’s there to fear?” Hu Hao asked dismissively.
“What’s to fear? Are you stupid? If you’re sent to the Southwest Combat Zone, you’re on the front lines of a potential war. Do you even get that?” Wang Yao looked at him with pure disdain.
“Oh. Haha!” Hu Hao actually chuckled. He wasn’t afraid. He might not have fought in decades, but he was a veteran of a much more brutal era.
“You’re laughing? Let’s see if you’re still laughing when you hear you’re going to the 87th Division of the 27th Army in the Southwest,” Wang Yao snapped.
“What? My posting to the Southwest is already set? How do you know?” Hu Hao was stunned.
“Keep laughing! Come on, give me another smile!” Wang Yao rolled his eyes.
“Quit playing. Postings are supposed to be confidential until the ceremony. How did you find out?” Hu Hao nudged him.
“How? Because you’ve been rotting in the library! Zhang Liangqiang has been running his mouth. He’s making sure everyone knows you’re going to the Southwest—because he made it happen.”
“That son of a bitch,” Hu Hao spat.
He knew Zhang Liangqiang. They were rivals—romantic rivals, specifically. They had been feuding over a woman for three years. He never expected the guy to pull strings to ship him off to a potential war zone.
“Now you’re cursing? We told you a thousand times to leave Liang Wanyu alone. She’s pretty, sure, but she’s out of your league. We don’t even know her full background, but seeing how the school staff kisses the ground she walks on, you should’ve known better.
And you tried to go toe-to-toe with Zhang Liangqiang? With what? His dad is a Major General and his grandfather is a Lieutenant General! Your dad is just a small-time businessman. Now look at you—you didn’t get the girl, and you’re headed for the Southwest.”
“He really said he did this?” Hu Hao asked.
“The whole class knows! Normally, graduates from the Royal Command Academy spend their first year as staff officers at army headquarters. After that, they’re sent down to be company commanders. Two years later, you’re a deputy battalion commander. But you? You’re being kicked straight to the 87th Division. You’ll be in the dirt, and likely in a war.
Dammit, Zhang Liangqiang is ruthless. We’re classmates, for god’s sake. Neither of you ended up with Liang Wanyu, so why go for the throat?” Wang Yao complained on Hu Hao’s behalf.
Hu Hao, however, was cursing his own luck. Was the original guy an idiot? Instead of studying, he was chasing girls? Now I’ve just arrived and I’m already being sent to the front.
“Hey… that night… did you really bust his balls?” Wang Yao asked suddenly.
“Huh?” Hu Hao blinked.
“I’m asking you! That night his crew cornered you—did you actually crush his nuts? You got knocked unconscious. If we hadn’t heard and come looking, you might have died there.”
“Bust his balls? I… I don’t know. I blacked out,” Hu Hao said, rubbing his head. He genuinely didn’t remember. He had woken up in a hospital bed with his three roommates staring at him; that was his first memory of this world.
“Forget it. He probably claimed you did it just to avoid getting in trouble for beating you into a coma,” Wang Yao reasoned.
“Screw him. If I’m really going to the Southwest, I’ll finish the job and bust his balls for real tonight,” Hu Hao snapped.
“Yeah, right. He’s always got four or five bootlickers tailing him. We’d have to jump him as a group to stand a chance,” Wang Yao laughed, shaking his head.
“You guys are a bunch of cowards,” Hu Hao teased.
“Shut it. We aren’t as reckless as you. Look at his family versus ours. Fight him? He might not be able to touch us now, but once we’re in the service, he can ruin us. He’s a future General. What are you? You’ll be lucky to make Lieutenant Colonel before they force you into retirement to run a grocery store. Actually, now that you’ve crossed him, even if there’s no war in the Southwest, you’ll probably rot as a Captain until the day you’re discharged.”
It was harsh, but Hu Hao knew it was the truth. The Empire hadn’t fought a war in a century. The military had become stagnant—Generals’ sons became Generals, while commoners, no matter how talented, usually retired as Colonels without ever seeing a star.
They reached the classroom. Their commander would arrive shortly to announce the orders.
The moment Hu Hao walked in, heads turned. Everyone knew he had spent every waking hour in the library since getting out of the hospital. The rumor was that the beating had scrambled his brains. Between that and the news of his Southwest posting, he was the class laughingstock.
Hu Hao spotted his other two roommates, Dong Qipeng and Mo Qin, sitting in the back. As he and Wang Yao sat down, Zhang Liangqiang strolled in with his entourage.
“Yo, look who’s back. Brain finally working again?” Zhang Liangqiang smirked, heading straight for Hu Hao.
“You looking for another fight?” Hu Hao stood up. Wang Yao and the others stood up with him.
“What? You all want a ticket to the Southwest too? I can arrange that,” Zhang Liangqiang said with a light chuckle, eyeing the roommates.
“You’re sure I’m going to the Southwest?” Hu Hao asked, a calm smile playing on his lips.
“He’s lost it. You see that? He’s gone mental! Hahaha!” Zhang Liangqiang pointed at Hu Hao and burst out laughing.
“I asked you a question. Are you deaf? Is it true?” Hu Hao’s expression went cold.
“You’ll find out in a minute. I guarantee you’re going to love it,” Zhang Liangqiang grinned. He was triumphant. He had successfully buried his rival in the most dangerous, dead-end assignment possible.