After Noid awoke, it was already the middle of the night. Despite the late hour, he could still faintly hear sounds outside. It seemed the aftermath of the battle was not yet fully resolved.
Most of the people in the room were asleep. He sat there blankly, staring at the ceiling, trying to calm his heart rate.
His emotions were a little better than before. Still lying motionless in bed, he didn't know what to do. After much thought, he finally activated his authority to review the background information.
Noid's understanding of this world was too limited; if he continued to be ignorant, his chances of dying would increase significantly.
Background Summary:
In 2016, humanity successfully developed a spaceship capable of long-distance space travel.
In 2017, a spaceship carrying 19 astronauts set off for Mars. With advanced technology, they only took six months to land on the planet. There, the crew discovered the remnants of a Martian civilization. Scientists confirmed that this civilization had existed 65 million years ago, based on the remaining ruins.
Tens of millions of years ago, Mars had an extremely advanced civilization that had expanded beyond the solar system. The technologies discovered and brought back were 150 to 200 years ahead of Earth's.
But that wasn't all. Deep underground, they also discovered a gigantic spaceship. While the technology of the Martian civilization surpassed humanity's, humans could still decipher and apply it to improve their current science and technology. The technology within this spaceship, however, transcended everything they knew, almost touching the realm of "gods."
At the time, some people speculated that this spaceship likely came from a third, unknown civilization, and not from this solar system.
Upon learning this, Earth was determined to bring everything back at all costs. In 2019, a fleet of 10 large spaceships, carrying 50,000 personnel, undertook the task of transportation. What they didn't know was that the combined life signals of so many people had unintentionally awakened a terrifying species.
In 2021, all the spaceships and ruins were successfully moved. That was also when the creature awakened deep within Mars. Humans later named this monstrous species Doom. The Doom Lord woke up and, along with its own kind, followed the fleet to Earth. All the Dooms, including the Doom Lord, clung to what would later be named the War Machine by humans—a Doom the size of a small island that could travel through space. This was the first sign of the apocalypse.
On February 18, 2022, the Doom War Machine landed on Earth's surface, marking the beginning of the invasion.
The current year is 2032. After ten years of war, the Doom army has grown increasingly terrifying. Humanity has suffered continuous defeats but has also managed to fully digest the Martian civilization's technology, creating a stalemate. However, the final battle for humanity's survival will inevitably begin soon.
Current Location: Earth, Karj City.
Kill Rewards:
Doom Fetus: 1 accumulation point.
Doom: 5 accumulation points.
Elite Doom: 20 accumulation points.
Aerial Doom: 10 accumulation points.
Elite Aerial Doom: 30 accumulation points.
Doom Commander: 500 accumulation points.
Doom War Machine: 6000 accumulation points.
Doom King: 10000 accumulation points.
Doom Lord: 10000 accumulation points.
The summary was complete. Noid organized the information in his mind. Although it was lengthy, the core content could be summarized in two sentences: humanity's first long-distance space flight accidentally awakened the Doom species, which likely destroyed the Martian civilization 65 million years ago. It also caused the Dooms to follow them back to their home planet.
He currently had 5 accumulation points because he had killed one Doom. Not bothering to check his other authorities, Noid turned off the information in his mind, got out of bed, and went to the bathroom.
In the glaring blue LED light, he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was messy, his clothes were dirty and disheveled, and his body was thinner than an average person's due to not eating properly for many years. He cupped his hands, splashed water on his face to wake himself up, and then walked outside.
In contrast to the bustling military area, the outer city had become deserted. It seemed all the residents had been evacuated.
Noid had heard some people whispering that if this place couldn't be held, the 17th defense line would be left with only the major city of Rorgh. This would seriously threaten the 17th defense line and significantly shrink the safe zones. If they won this battle, humanity would likely launch an immediate counterattack and rebuild the 17th defense line. However, Noid still shivered at the thought of the Dooms sweeping in like a flood in their thousands and tens of thousands. Could humanity truly win?
He stood there in a daze for a long time until the assembly announcement sounded. Despite it being nighttime, no one continued to sleep. All 24,627 people in the military district, including him, watched the announcement intently. Tomorrow, with the outer city as the battlefield and the military zone as the boundary, they must absolutely protect the civilians and supplies in the inner city, and buy time until everyone could be moved and evacuated to Rorgh City. It seemed that whether they won or lost tomorrow, the fall of Karj City was inevitable.
"Everyone, do not despair too much, because tomorrow, troops from Rorgh will arrive to provide reinforcements. Therefore, we just need to hold on until the Rorgh City troops arrive to deal with the situation."
The commander's words had a decent effect, and morale was salvaged slightly. After all, the two words "reinforcements" in this situation truly lifted people's spirits.
"Everyone here, no matter who you are, when you are willing to put on armor and face those disgusting creatures, you... are all heroes."
With that said, the commander bowed his head. Everyone's fighting spirit was ignited and burned fiercely. Only Noid stood there dumbfounded.
He... a hero?
What a joke.
He faced the Dooms not out of courage, but because he was frozen with fear. What kind of hero is so cowardly?
A hero...
A hero is not him, Noid! Absolutely not!
Memories of the shipwreck were like sharp thorns piercing Noid, causing a constant, aching pain. There were many times he had fantasized, fantasized that a real hero would appear, to save him and his parents.
But no, all he saw was his father and mother giving him the last remaining seat on the lifeboat. Afterward, he was helpless, watching as the fruits of his parents' hard work were torn apart and divided like a sweet cake. He was helpless as he watched in the courtroom, where the villains who had indirectly caused the shipwreck walked away freely. He could even clearly hear the laughter of those scoundrels behind the courtroom doors.
The entire world, in the eyes of a child, had become that dirty.
There was no light, and there were no heroes to protect justice.
From then on, he hid from the world, locking himself in his own space. He was afraid to face the world, like a wounded animal running away to a small nook to lick its wounds.
Noid had grown up and become an 18-year-old young man, but in reality, he was still the same child from that day, helplessly watching his parents die to save him.