As time passed, more and more people gradually filled the memorial museum.
Lian Qiguang stood frozen in a corner, stiffly staring at the object suspended above a metal display platform.
The people moving around him gradually became blurred and incomplete in his vision.
Their low conversations turned into meaningless buzzing in his ears.
In that instant, Lian Qiguang felt dizzy.
It was a painting.
A painting nearly two meters tall.
Painted using specially made post-apocalypse pigments, later sealed with crystal core powder, it had been preserved exceptionally well.
Lian Qiguang could clearly see every fine detail.
In the painting, a young man dressed in camouflage sat cross-legged on sandy ground, expressionlessly looking ahead.
A boy around ten years old clung to the young man’s back, grinning happily.
His arms were tightly wrapped around the young man’s neck as he affectionately pressed his cheek against the young man’s head.
Golden sunlight spilled around them.
The child’s bright smile glowed in the light.
And on the young man’s usually expressionless face, there seemed to be the faintest trace of warmth.
“Brother Guang, come play with me! Come play with me!”
“I need to train.”
“Don’t train anymore. I’ll go tell Grandpa, okay?”
“No.”
“Brother Guang.”
“Let go.”
“No! No! Brother Guang, play with me.”
…
Looking at the sunlight in the painting, the young man’s barely noticeable tolerance, and the child’s smiling face—
Lian Qiguang’s memories returned to that distant afternoon.
How could he not remember this painting?
The younger version of himself.
And the little crown prince who used to cling to him all day.
Back then, the little crown prince was carefree.
Having never truly encountered death, he was naively laughable.
Yet Lian Qiguang had shown him rare patience.
Maybe because of the life-saving debt.
Or maybe because of that warm innocence and carefree nature.
But later—
The little crown prince changed.
He became cold.
Cruel.
Violent.
Filled with murderous aura.
The warmth from before could never be found again.
This version of the little crown prince satisfied him.
Because only someone like that could survive in this man-eating apocalypse.
Yet beneath that satisfaction, there was also emptiness.
When exactly had the little crown prince begun to change?
He couldn’t remember anymore.
By the time he noticed—
The boy had already become like that.
The little crown prince had saved his life.
The little crown prince’s grandfather had shown him kindness.
So he accepted the dying old man’s final request—
Protect the little crown prince for life.
He helped him kill those coveting Wolong Base.
Helped him ascend to the position of ruler.
He taught him martial arts.
Taught him how to kill.
Taught him how to survive in that horrifying apocalypse.
He led troops for him.
Cleared cities for him.
Completed one deadly mission after another for him.
Helped him stabilize his power.
Gradually—
He stopped calling him Brother Guang.
Instead, he called him—
Master.
He was the ruler.
And Lian Qiguang was the servant.
This painting—
He remembered it had been destroyed.
Burned by the little crown prince himself.
He had said—
He didn’t like that smile.
Why…?
“What’s wrong with this painting?”
Feng Qingyang had somehow appeared beside him, looking curiously at the painting.
“You’ve been standing here for ages.”
Lian Qiguang withdrew the emotions from his eyes.
He glanced at the painting one last time, then turned away expressionlessly.
“Let’s go.”
“That painting just now was a replica.”
Feng Qingyang followed after him and explained,
“One of the people is Lord Dark Light, but nobody knows who the other one is. Whoever made that must be pretty bold, putting themselves in a picture with Lord Dark Light.”
No.
Not a replica.
A strange ripple flashed through Lian Qiguang’s eyes.
There was an ability fluctuation on it.
His own.
Back then, after endless pestering from the little crown prince, he had personally applied the crystal core powder to preserve it.
There was no way he could mistake it.
But with today’s technology, there was no way they could fail to identify it as authentic.
So why…?
A chill crawled up the back of Lian Qiguang’s neck.
This feeling.
Every time danger approached, he felt this.
It had saved his life countless times.
Vaguely, Lian Qiguang felt as if he had stepped into a vortex—
And was slowly being pulled deeper and deeper inside.
“Can things here be bought?”
Lian Qiguang suddenly looked up and expressionlessly asked Feng Qingyang.
Feng Qingyang grinned as if hearing something amusing.
“This is a memorial museum. Everything here is non-sale.”
“Besides, even if they did sell them, aside from those in District One, who could even afford them?”
Lian Qiguang fell silent.
His gaze drifted once more to the painting.
…
For the rest of the visit, Lian Qiguang was clearly distracted.
Though because of his eternally blank expression, neither Mi Xiaobao nor Feng Qingyang noticed anything unusual.
But considering how he got lost for the nth time, it was obvious he was absent-minded.
Thinking he was tired, Mi Xiaobao reluctantly said goodbye to the unfinished museum tour.
He claimed a twenty-centimeter commemorative Dark Light statue and happily hugged it to his chest.
From the hovercar ride all the way back to the academy, Mi Xiaobao chattered nonstop.
He held the statue tightly and refused to let go.
Lian Qiguang kept both hands in his pockets, expressionlessly staring at the ground while the painting replayed over and over in his mind.
Something felt wrong.
But he couldn’t figure out what.
“Ku Mu, there’s only one month until field training. Have you decided who to team up with?”
As they neared the dormitory, Mi Xiaobao suddenly asked.
What training?
Lian Qiguang snapped back to reality and looked at Mi Xiaobao expressionlessly.
“Y-you don’t know?”
Mi Xiaobao stared in shock.
“……”
“The Combat Department, Command Department, and Rescue Department all form teams. Ten people per team go out for training. The top three teams get rewards.”
“This affects post-graduation placement too.”
Wilderness survival training?
Lian Qiguang looked up at the sky expressionlessly.
“Ku Mu, you’re so strong. Tons of people will want to team up with you.”
Don’t want teammates.
His mind drifted again.
“Ku Mu, work hard.”
Mi Xiaobao looked at him seriously.
“Your ability is really powerful. If you perform well in training, you might get transferred to District One and be specially admitted to Dark Light First Military Academy.”
“……”
Dark Light First Military Academy?
Wasn’t that where he was originally supposed to go?
No wonder the name sounded familiar.
It was literally named after him.
“Ku Mu, you don’t know about Dark Light First Military Academy, right?”
Mi Xiaobao continued enthusiastically.
“That’s the best military academy on all of Blue Planet. Everyone who graduates from there becomes a top-tier powerhouse.”
“Marshal Xiahou and Major General Xiahou both graduated from there.”
“And it’s the only academy on Blue Planet named after Lord Dark Light.”
“……”
So it really was named after him.
“Ku Mu…”
Mi Xiaobao was about to continue when the sound of the optical computer interrupted him.
Lian Qiguang lowered his head and expressionlessly looked at the flashing word on his screen:
Pig.
He calmly accepted the call.
The moment the connection opened, a thin young boy appeared on the virtual screen.
Don’t know him.
Thinking that, Lian Qiguang expressionlessly reached out to hang up.
“Second Brother!!!”
The boy suddenly roared.
His face was flushed red with panic, tears glistening in his eyes.
“Second Brother!!! Hurry over!! Xiaoxiao—Xiaoxiao is in trouble!!”