Chapter 63: The Storm Approaches
A year after obtaining the mecha, no particularly urgent situations had arisen.
Although sacrifice still accompanied them, after the last incident, she was no longer so reckless because she knew that momentary rashness could put her comrades in greater danger.
She followed orders and trained even harder…
She studied like crazy…
She had grown a lot.
She was now able to face the alien creatures of the small waves without getting hurt…
But Chen Yuan dared not let his guard down.
Now, Leia seemed like a tightly strung bow, ready to snap at any moment, perhaps during the next battle…
…
That day did not come late; it arrived quickly…
On the day Chen Yuan celebrated her birthday…
“Happy birthday to you~”
“Happy birthday to you~”
“Happy birthday to you~ Happy birthday to you~”
Chen Yuan carried the cream cake he had procured from the residential area, topped with the numbers 1 and 5; she was only 15 this year.
He slowly walked out of the kitchen~
Actually, today was not Leia’s birthday, or rather, even they themselves did not know when their real birthdays were.
It was just Chen Yuan taking the initiative to celebrate this birthday for her.
Every child here had such a birthday celebrated by Chen Yuan.
“Wow… it’s cake!”
Because the front lines were far from the residential area, these children, who were war weapons, had no chance to enjoy such treats, making it particularly precious.
A little boy in casual clothing No. 7 reached out to touch the cake, but was stopped by a glare from Chen Yuan.
“Bia, wait until your birthday.”
“Oh… the Commander is so biased!”
“Hey~ you little brat! Didn’t I get you a game console for your birthday?!”
“Hahahaha…”
Leia was still a girl, and no one had ever celebrated a birthday like this for her before.
Watching the Commander bring the cake in front of her and let her blow out the candles to make a wish, the girl’s cheeks turned slightly red as she nervously grasped the hem of her clothes. “Thank you… Commander.”
“Make a wish,” Chen Yuan smiled.
Since she was the oldest, Chen Yuan celebrated her birthday last.
The other children had already had their birthdays; it was Leia’s turn…
So Leia blew out the candles under everyone’s wishing and envious gazes.
“I hope…”
“That we can all live well…”
“Oh no! If you say it out loud, it won’t work!!” Chen Yuan hurriedly waved his hand, trying to retract her words, and relit the candles: “Quick, make a new wish, don’t say it out loud!”
“Ah? I can redo my wish?”
“Don’t worry, the god in charge of wishes must be a soft-hearted god; any food that falls to the ground for less than three seconds can be eaten, and this wish hasn’t been out for three seconds, so it definitely counts!”
“Hahahaha…”
And just as everyone was immersed in the joy of celebrating the birthday…
The alarm suddenly sounded!!!
“Strange, there shouldn’t be any disaster level today…” Chen Yuan felt confused, but did not panic.
At the same time, the group that had been laughing moments ago instantly trained themselves to run to the mecha field, putting on their weapons and charging toward the front lines.
Chen Yuan connected to the command center while maintaining communication with all the children.
“What’s going on? Why did they suddenly come?” A wave of unease rose in Chen Yuan’s heart.
“It’s the highest disaster level… the Storm…” his superior Ronanis said with some regret.
Where the Storm passes, no one survives.
It comes without a trace and leaves none.
No wonder the disaster level couldn’t be detected…
“But this is the Inner Continent, right?! A new breed?!”
“The Storm Sand appeared 37 years ago, but it hasn’t been seen since; after all these years, it happened to occur for you…”
“What?! Should I order them to retreat?!”
“No! You are the closest defensive line; if you retreat, what will happen to the residents of the Hysterna area behind you?!”
“But we don’t even know the enemy’s intelligence! How can you ask us to block them?!”
“Delay! Delay until the residents evacuate…”
“With what to delay?!”
“With your lives!” Ronanis ordered, taking a deep breath, “Lyann! Hurry and retreat; this is their mission as weapons, and the Storm cannot be defeated.”
“Don’t think about using the mecha to resist…”
“d*mn…”
What a joke…
…
Front lines.
“Lila!”
“Vina!”
“Pearce!”
“Meji!”
Leia roared in the center of the battlefield while piloting the mecha, turning back to find no one surrounding her, only countless alien creatures like sand…
“Retreat!!” Seeing the tragic state at the front lines, Chen Yuan could no longer care about anything else and decisively announced a retreat…
Just moments ago, these children were still laughing and playing in their rooms, and now, they had been swallowed by the Storm, leaving only mecha wreckage…
Continuing to sacrifice a few more lives wouldn’t prolong the time much.
“Lyann! The residents haven’t finished evacuating! Keep delaying!”
“Delay what?!!”
“Lyann!! You’re disobeying orders!”
“How long can we keep delaying? There are only three left! They are just three kids! What can they do?!”
“Lyann! They are just weapons.”
“No… they are not!”
Chen Yuan struggled to control his emotions; there was nothing more painful than watching comrades d*e right before his eyes.
Even if they were still just children.
“Lila is No. 47, a little girl with yellow hair and brown eyes, who talks cutely and loves candy.”
“Vina is No. 18, she is a moody pale-skinned girl who talks tough and always likes to play with Bia.”
“Pearce is No. 29, shorter but very mischievous.”
“Meji is No. 98, a bit chubby boy; like his name, he’s very unlucky, but he looks like a Chihuahua, and he seems to bring good luck when he is around.”
Chen Yuan spoke to himself, remembering the personalities and hobbies of these children…
Like he was explaining to those who looked down on them that they were people, not weapons…
Suddenly, a voice came through the earpiece again.
“Kotos!”
Leia chased after Kotos, who was swept away by the Storm!
“Commander!! Leia!” The remaining Bia couldn’t care for himself, watching Leia desperately chase after Kotos, trying to grasp the hand that was reaching out…
Just a little more, just a little more…
Just out of reach…
“Leia!! Retreat!!”
“Leia!!”
…
“Why… why…”
Leia held back tears, wanting to curl up…
“Why, despite my hard training and efforts in controlling the mecha, I still can’t save everyone…”
“Why… I was so close, but I couldn’t save them…”
“Why…”
“What do I have to do to have a normal person’s life…?”
“I just want to eat a cake…”
“I just want to have a simple home with everyone…”
Leia lost control once again…
Did not follow orders again…
The tightly strung bow had already snapped the moment her comrades began to d*e one by one, facing an enemy that was utterly impossible to defeat…
…
“Lyann! Lyann!”
In the command room, the abandoned earpiece was still ringing with Ronanis’s voice.
“Lyann! This is an order! Do you hear me?!”
“Lyann!!”
