Sit up!
Tianxiao awoke abruptly from a nightmare.
The excruciating pain of a star beast's claws piercing his combat suit still lingered vividly in his mind, and the image of blood spraying from his body was burned into his memory.
A bead of cold sweat ran down his forehead.
He looked at the damp palm of his hand and felt as if he were still trapped in that death-filled dream, beneath the crushing, towering claws of countless star beasts, each as colossal as skyscrapers.
A whole battalion—each soldier with full C-class combat capability—was utterly annihilated.
Recalling the nightmare, watching one familiar-yet-strange figure after another shredded by the star beasts, Tianxiao involuntarily drew in a sharp breath and threw off the covers.
The blanket, made from nanomolecular materials, was light yet effectively insulated.
Stepping onto the floor, he felt the sudden drop in body temperature.
A neutral, standard voice sounded in his ears:"Master, body temperature has dropped. Please ensure self-protection."
Tianxiao frowned slightly.
According to his memory, the chip was supposed to automatically regulate his temperature, preventing colds, fevers, and other issues caused by thermal fluctuations. Yet his own physical systems had long since disabled this basic function.
Strange.
He turned his head, looking around.
The environment was at once unfamiliar and strangely familiar.
He was no longer on the frontlines, surrounded by star beasts.
Here…
It was safe. Quiet.
The room was a standard hundred-meter living space, clean and bright. The centerpiece, naturally, was a twenty-one-meter-long, three-meter-tall alloy craft painted with the markings H-3, number 3377, lying patiently in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, gazing at the stars like a well-behaved dog.
The living space had clearly been designed for this craft.
Tianxiao immediately recognized it:"H3-class mining drone? Number 3377? This isn't… the operational craft assigned to me by Feiying Corp, a subsidiary of Yunzhong Group, after graduation? This means…"
His pupils constricted slightly.
The word reincarnation leapt into his mind.
After graduation, he had indeed worked for Yunzhong Group's subsidiary for half a year, and the drone he was assigned then bore exactly the same number: 3377, H3.
The smooth walls reflected a familiar yet younger face.
A clean-cut, well-proportioned young man with a touch of handsomeness—but his eyes, sharp and calculating, betrayed a deep confusion.
"How did I end up here?""I should be dead."
"Qinglong! Report the time!"
Tianxiao gave the command to his AI assistant.
Qinglong was the name he had given his intelligent chip. It had been his companion for twenty-seven years, responsible for daily life, calculations, battle support, and more—a continuation of the ancient "smartphone" concept, evolved over centuries.
A steady, neutral voice responded:"New Calendar Year 777, July 7th, 07:10 a.m."
"Self-check!"
"Name: Qinglong. Model: H2 National Chip. Computing capacity: 3.7 units per second (one unit = 300 million calculations). Current energy: fully charged, 1,000 units."
Tianxiao frowned.
H1 chips were for minors.H2, a standard adult chip on Earth.
As expected, Qinglong had reverted to three years prior.
He… had been reincarnated back to New Calendar Year 777, July 7th.
The dissonance of time and space left Tianxiao in disbelief.
He really had come back.
But!
As a soldier of the Earth Heavenly Army, with C-class combat experience, C2-level comprehensive strength, and experience acting as a deputy battalion commander for three days, Tianxiao knew how to remain calm in emergencies. He walked to the window, inhaled deeply, and began identifying familiar star points, matching each to its astronomical designation, while clearing his mind of distractions.
This was the battlefield's method of rapid composure.
Each glowing star in the sky sketched invisible star charts in his mind, gradually growing more complete.
Tianxiao's breathing slowed, his thoughts steadied. He murmured to himself:"The star systems near the Pegasus Constellation… yes.""This was my first posting with Yunzhong Group. My current identity: a newly hired miner."
He looked down.
Outside the window, the base city gleamed with lights. Rows of standard living quarters formed perfect grids, and towering buildings loomed above.
The base was originally designed for ten thousand people. To save costs, the executives at Yunzhong Group reduced the population by half while increasing miners' profit shares by three points—boosting efficiency and morale while cutting expenses.
Tianxiao shook off the scattered thoughts.
He inhaled deeply, calming himself completely. Memories from his past life surged vividly—every detail of his time at the company.
He remembered that his stint as a miner was brief. A failed transport mission led to casualties in the security team, creating vacancies. He was selected for the security team, trained on the semi-combat H6-class drones, and rose from a lowly miner to a semi-combat operative.
Over two years, he traveled to more than a dozen planets aboard the company's transport ships, escorting excavation teams, eliminating local star beasts, alien predators, and insectoid threats—gaining considerable combat experience.
His performance earned him recognition, eventually joining the Earth Heavenly Army.
Faced with relentless insectoid invasions and technologically advanced alien species, humanity suffered massive casualties.
But now, with memories of his previous life intact, Tianxiao could act with foresight.
He thought of the comrades who had died under the star beasts' claws—now alive once more—and his eyes glinted coldly.
"Qinglong."
His voice rang with authority:"Display the current area map.""Retrieve the past seven days of work logs.""Retrieve company mission progress on this planet."
"Yes, Master."
Although a standard National Chip, Qinglong processed information quickly, projecting all requested data onto the wall.
Tianxiao studied it carefully.
Armed with three years of future memory, he now held a treasure trove of resources.
Used wisely, he could upgrade his chip faster, unlock new abilities, command greater resources, and enter the Earth Heavenly Army ahead of schedule—reuniting with his past comrades to prepare for the coming invasions of the insectoid and alien species.