Future Masters in Modern Times

Chapter 1: Destruction

Volume 1: City of Sin From military bases across the Federation, massive transport ships, their holds packed with mechs, took off from their bases and headed into the boundless cosmos. A war was about to begin. Yet the enemy consisted of just one man. This was a man who had been a thorn in the military’s side for a decade. Countless mop-up operations had been launched against him over the past ten years, yet not a single one had succeeded in eliminating him, and the losses incurred in each operation were incalculable. In the first half of his life, he was a hero of the Federation; in the second half, a traitor to the Federation. Fang Quan was born on the Titan Star. It was a planet ravaged by war, where humanity struggled constantly in dire straits. Fang Quan was born in the planet’s largest slum—and yet, it was precisely this slum that gave rise to a man like him. At the age of 19, he enlisted in the Federation Army. The following year, during operations against the Case Alliance, he was awarded a First-Class Merit for his exceptional bravery in battle. Two years later, he was deployed to the Rebellion System to resist the Zerg invasion, where he distinguished himself once again. Upon returning to the Federation four years later, he was appointed a hand-to-hand combat instructor for the Federation Army. Over the next decade, he trained countless outstanding soldiers who went on to excel within the Federation military system; as a result, Fang Quan came to be known as the Federation’s finest instructor. However, unexpectedly, at the pinnacle of his career, he defected from the Federation. From that moment on, the Federation lost its finest instructor and gained a bloodthirsty demon. As for the demon, he must naturally be eliminated; otherwise, he would remain a destabilizing factor for the entire Federation—these were General Case’s exact words. The battlefield was the desolate Planet Mosku, a world that had been abandoned for a century. Viewed from space, the planet was a sea of gray, symbolizing utter stillness. The planet had been uninhabited for over a century. Half a month ago, an unmanned spacecraft landed there—a survey vessel belonging to the Federal Mining Group. Its mission was to assess whether Planet Mosku was suitable for mining. Just as a robot drilled through the surface to retrieve rock samples, it inadvertently detected Fang Quan’s presence. When this news reached the Federation, it immediately caused a huge uproar. It had been ten years since Fang Quan had rebelled against the Federation. During those ten years, whenever traces of Fang Quan were discovered, the Federation would dispatch large military forces to hunt him down, but each time they suffered heavy losses. They were powerless against Fang Quan, yet they refused to give up. So, each time, they dispatched even more troops, creating a vicious cycle: sending out large forces resulted in heavy losses, which led to sending out even more troops, resulting in even heavier losses—with the consequences growing more severe with each attempt. Planet Mosku, a vast, desolate plain. Countless mechs have already gathered here, representing the Federation’s strongest infantry combat force. From time to time, large military transport ships fly in from the sky; they land on the planet, their hatches open, and more mechs disembark. These mechs are about three meters tall and entirely black. They are made of a special alloy capable of withstanding attacks from weapons of mass destruction. The entire plain was a sea of black, brimming with a sense of impending doom. At the forefront of these mech forces stood a man. His appearance was unremarkable, with nothing particularly striking about him. Yet it was precisely this man who had prompted the Federation forces to launch one counterattack after another against him—and each time, he inflicted heavy losses on the enemy while emerging unscathed. That man was Fang Quan. “How many times has this been? Are you here to die again?” Fang Quan gave a cold smile, his expression calm, showing not the slightest sign of panic in the face of the endless army before him. He was like a towering mountain, and though the mechs were numerous, they seemed so insignificant in the face of Fang Quan’s imposing presence. In front of the monitor, several major general-rank officers stared at the figure on the screen, momentarily falling silent. Someone finally spoke up, “The instructor is still the same as ever—he hasn’t changed a bit all these years…” As he spoke, his voice trailed off, and a complex expression flashed across their eyes. This was their instructor—once the Federation’s strongest instructor, the very man who had personally trained them—and yet today, they found themselves standing on opposite sides. A window suddenly popped up on the screen, revealing a general with an air of arrogance. “Issue the order: launch the attack. Fang Quan must be eliminated today!” “Yes, sir!” Moments later, all troops received the order to attack, and a massive war was about to begin. With a thunderous roar, countless mecha units advanced forward, kicking up clouds of dust that swirled through the air like a surging tide. The vanguard advanced to within 100 meters of Fang Quan and suddenly launched an attack. Shells fired from the mechs rained down on Fang Quan with tremendous force. He casually shifted his body to the side, dodging the fierce barrage. The shells exploded not far behind him, but the shockwave from the blast had no effect on him whatsoever. The onslaught grew fiercer with each wave; as the shells rained down, they virtually sealed off all of Fang Quan’s escape routes. Facing a wall of unrelenting fire, Fang Quan simply stopped dodging, allowing the shells to strike him directly, and at that very moment, he launched a counterattack against the mech forces. Boom… Boom… Countless shells struck Fang Quan, and as they exploded, the entire ground trembled. Yet, from the smoke and dust created by the explosions, a figure suddenly burst forth—it was Fang Quan. His speed was so fast it was impossible to see clearly; in the blink of an eye, he had arrived right in the midst of the countless mecha. With a “BOOM,” Fang Quan slammed his fist into the hull of a mech, which exploded violently, sending sparks flying in all directions. A powerful kick sent another mech flying; it fell apart in midair, and the intense shockwave destroyed several more mechs at the same time. Amid this vast army of mechs, Fang Quan moved as if no one were there; every time his figure flashed into view, it meant the destruction of several mechs. He—Fang Quan—was unstoppable! At the Federal Military Headquarters, Admiral Case watched the battle footage on the screen, a look of deep malice flashing in his eyes. His grandson had died at Fang Quan’s hands. Although many years had passed, not a single day went by that he could forget it; he longed to tear Fang Quan to pieces. But things had not gone as planned. Although he had launched numerous campaigns to wipe out Fang Quan, not a single one had succeeded; on the contrary, each had resulted in heavy losses, causing many in the Federation to grow dissatisfied with him. Therefore, this operation had to succeed—failure was not an option. On the battlefield, what had just moments ago been a neatly assembled army of mechs was now scattered to the four winds by Fang Quan acting alone. Not a single… not a single mech could stand up to him. The mechs, which seemed invincible to ordinary people, were dispatched by Fang Quan with nothing but his fists and feet. With every punch and kick, a series of explosive cracks rang out. Even the wind sweeping across the plains seemed to wail in anguish. The entire battlefield lay in shambles, littered with the wreckage of mechs… The seemingly vast number of mechs were as fragile as paper in Fang Quan’s hands—easily torn apart. No matter how many there were, they only served to increase the Federation’s losses. At Federal Headquarters, the white-haired admiral watched the events on the battlefield with a grim expression. Finally, he made a decision. He extended his finger and entered an extremely complex password on the display screen, his eyes filled with a cruel smile. Beep… beep… Hearing the alarm, the Federation President, who was in the middle of a meeting, paled and immediately adjourned the session, leaving the conference room and leaving the remaining attendees to murmur among themselves. The electronic gates of the Federal Command Headquarters slowly opened, and the President hurried toward the command center, already harboring a bad premonition. Sure enough, when the President arrived at the command center, he immediately spotted the countdown on the screen. Frantic and furious, he exclaimed, “A singularity bomb! General Case, have you lost your mind? Stop what you’re doing—now!” “It’s too late,” Case said, his voice eerily calm. “Soon, that planet will cease to exist. Fang Quan, no matter how powerful you are, what can you do? Do you really think you can survive the force that will destroy this planet?” After saying this, he actually let out a hollow laugh, his state of mind clearly unstable. The President stretched out a trembling hand, his anger boiling over. “Case, do you realize the consequences? Singularity bombs cause spatial disturbances and instability—even the entire Interstellar Alliance strictly prohibits their use. We’ll face the Alliance’s judgment, and everyone will suffer because of you.” “I don’t care. As long as I can avenge this, I’ve fulfilled my one wish!” Case’s laughter grew louder and louder; finally, he clutched his chest—he was having a heart attack. His face turned from green to purple, and with a thud, he collapsed to the ground, never to move again. The President didn’t even glance at him, but stared blankly at the countdown on the screen. On the screen, the countdown was drawing to a close. The gravity beam propelled the singularity bomb straight toward Planet Mosku. This singularity bomb was, in fact, a miniature black hole; as it was propelled forward, it continued to grow, forming a vortex. It gradually drew closer to Planet Mosku. Fang Quan stood on the desolate battlefield, watching the massive black hole appear on the horizon, and sensed its terrifying destructive power. “A singularity bomb—you old bastard, Case, you really dare to use one! But my life has been worth it—even in death, I’ll have an entire planet and such a vast army of mechs to be buried with me.” Facing death, Fang Quan showed no fear; he possessed the audacity to scorn everything, even in the face of death itself. Decades of his life flashed before Fang Quan’s eyes like fleeting glimpses. At eighteen, he accidentally discovered he possessed the ability to absorb the living souls of the dead. After absorbing a certain number of living souls, he underwent his first physical enhancement. He realized that each subsequent enhancement required far more living souls than the last—but where could he possibly find so many? The battlefield, of course. So he resolutely enlisted in the military. On the battlefield, he gathered vast quantities of living souls and underwent several enhancements. While the battlefield was hell for others, for him it was undoubtedly paradise. He also discovered that the quality of living souls varied; those from alien races, such as the Insectoids, were far superior to those of humans. This significantly accelerated his accumulation of living souls, especially given the massive casualties caused by weapons of mass destruction, which yielded an especially large number of living souls. After being enhanced, he became the most powerful individual soldier on the battlefield. And so, his military career reached its zenith. Years later, when the war ended, he returned to the Federation having achieved great success and fame, where he met his beloved, Yushi. Unexpectedly, Yushi’s beauty caught the eye of the heir to the Case family. Once, while he was away, the heir attempted to assault Yushi. Yushi refused to yield even in the face of death and was ultimately driven to her death. This became the catalyst for his defection from the Federation. In a fit of rage, he disregarded the Case family’s heavy security and shot the young master dead right there on their estate. After settling the matter, he declared his defection from the Federation. From that point on, he faced one relentless campaign after another launched by the Case family in the name of the Federation. Yet these campaigns only served to supply him with the living souls he needed for enhancement. Over the course of a full decade, Fang Quan had grown to an unimaginable level of power. Given his strength, he naturally disregarded this latest assault—but he never expected the Case family to resort to this ultimate move. The matter of Planet Mosku was constantly being pulled by the black hole, tugged from countless directions until it finally converged at a single point, bursting into a dazzling light. As Fang Quan’s body continued to disintegrate, a strange thought suddenly flashed through his mind: “After I die, where will my soul go?” In the boundless cosmos, the entire Planet Mosku burst into an incredibly dazzling light, vanishing along with a mighty warrior into the ancient, boundless universe…