Chapter 1: Mu Changge

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[Brain Storage]
New Calendar Year 20XX, Month XX, Day XX.

The LXZ space probe launched by the United States was intercepted by a rogue alien fleet. The aliens, having lost their homeworld, targeted Earth for invasion.

In response, Earth’s five major powers united for the first time to resist the alien assault.

...

Ten years later.

Earth, Long Nation, Demon City, Comprehensive University.

The school bell rang, teachers left the classroom, and students began packing their books to go home, the rustling sounds filling the room.

At a spot by the window, Mu Changge lay on his desk, intending to wait until most classmates had left before moving. Tomorrow marked the start of a long holiday, so there was no rush.

“Hey, Changge! Why are you still lying there? Not being proactive after school—something’s wrong with your mindset.”

Mu Changge glanced up; it was his classmate Xiao Shang approaching.

“Just don’t like the crowd, I’ll leave soon.”

“A little crowding is healthier. If you keep lying down like that, you’ll turn into a turtle.”

“Got something to say?” Mu Changge, feeling bothered, shifted the topic.

“Changge, are you free tomorrow?”

“No plans for the holiday, I’m on call anytime.”

“Great! I’m heading out first; I need to find some others.”

Watching Xiao Shang walk away, Mu Changge thought it might be quicker to message via WX, but he didn’t bother reminding him.

Mu Changge was somewhat good-looking, and one reason Xiao Shang sought him out was to more easily gather the girls in their class. Still, Mu Changge was always just slacking off.

When most classmates had left, Mu Changge got up and left the classroom.

Though the afternoon sun wasn’t blazing, the stifling heat easily stirred restlessness, yet it couldn’t dampen the students’ joy.

Outside the school gate, Mu Changge boarded a bus, found a window seat, and pulled out his phone to browse online news.

On internet forums, many netizens debated whether Earth’s governments demanding school closures and entertainment venue shutdowns signaled another alien invasion.

That discussion had even climbed to the forum’s trending topics.

Over the past decade, Earth and the alien fleet had clashed in six battles, some lasting over a year, others just over a month. United by the five powers, Earth had repelled wave after wave of alien offensives.

Though the aliens’ arrival caused numerous tragic losses, their ships’ alien energy stimulated Earth’s spiritual energy, awakening latent powers. Humanity’s capture of alien weaponry also advanced Earth’s technology.

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After Earth’s spiritual energy revival, humans awakened potential special abilities. Some could activate and inherit mythic legacies, others possessed divine-invocation physiologies, bringing legends to life again.

The United States had angels, Europe the Valkyries, and in Long Nation, as far as Mu Changge knew, there were figures like Zhou Chu, Wu Song, Zhong Kui, Ao Guang, and Jiang Ziya.

These were all publicly manifested through divine invocation; whether others existed secretly remained unknown.

There were also those who soared by inheriting mythic legacies. For example, in Long Nation, Ye Chen of Lanxiang University inherited the legacy of the Shu Mountain Sword Immortal, Xiao Yan of Xindongfang University inherited the ancient god Kuafu’s legacy, and Tang Shan of Hundo University inherited the sorcerer Xu Fu’s legacy.

Those with divine invocation abilities or mythic legacies either joined Long Nation’s specialized agencies or enrolled in its designated schools.

Mu Changge, unfortunately, was an ordinary person. In Long Nation’s nationwide testing, he showed neither divine invocation potential nor favor from mythic legacies. Recognizing he lacked a protagonist’s fate, he lamented that all his prior cramming on Chinese mythology was a waste of youth and simply gave up.

Without a protagonist’s destiny, why not live as an ordinary person, eating and waiting for death? Pursuing thrills? Mu Changge felt that simply chanting “My fate is mine, not heaven’s” and “Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west” was enough contribution to Long Nation.

“My fate is mine, not heaven’s—what if the next moment brings a thunderbolt from a clear sky?”

“Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—what if misfortune crowns the dead king?”

Mu Changge got off the bus and headed for the subway station. Passing through the underground passage, he saw a cleaner scrubbing red graffiti on the wall promoting doomsday prophecies.

He averted his gaze. This wasn’t the first time. The alien arrival had stirred fanatics who worshiped aliens and others who believed humanity faced impending apocalypse, disrupting social peace. The United States had its “Shoe Cult,” and Bluebird even had people shouting to become “Star Traitors.”

“Star Traitors” referred to those who sold out Earth to become alien collaborators. Mu Changge thought such oddities weren’t surprising; before the aliens appeared, those dreaming of earning 500,000 online were common. Some people simply had too much time on their hands, forgetting whether their water meter was broken or if the community was about to pay them a visit.

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In outer space, inside the flagship of the alien fleet,

The alien leader looked toward the alien priest ahead, respectfully saying, “High Priest, all fleets ordered to assemble are converging here. Once united, we will perform a spatial fold jump to reach Earth’s frontline.”

“Hmm. At that time, I shall borrow the power of our great and exalted God to grant earthly life redemption.”

“Our God has agreed to my petition. I will open the gate so that Earth’s life may praise the greatness of our God.”

“Praise our God!” x2

The alien priest revealed a lock-shaped mark on his forehead, filled with unfathomable mysterious power.

Outside the flagship, more and more alien ships arrived, quickly surpassing one hundred thousand. The aliens were preparing their final major assault on Earth—not only for a new home but to better spread the gospel of their supreme God.

“All life is one; all returns to the One.”

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Back in Residential Block C, Mu Changge passed facial recognition at the entrance, took the elevator to the 17th floor.

As he prepared to open his apartment door, he saw his childhood friend had just returned.

“Yo! Long time no see. How’s it going at Zhongnan University?”

“Changge, long time no see. Thanks for asking. Things are going well at Zhongnan.”

“Your school has strict restrictions, no contact with the outside world. That must be tough?”

“Well, it’s a bit troublesome, but you get used to it.”

The petite girl smiled faintly, so cute it made one want to scoop her up.

About 1.5 meters tall, often mistaken for an elementary student, she was actually the same age as Mu Changge—18.

Fair-skinned, short black hair, round face, big eyes, slim figure, legs wrapped in black stockings—her cuteness wasn’t hidden even by the school uniform.

This lawful loli was Mu Changge’s neighbor, childhood friend, and once a classmate: Luo Qinxian.

Unlike Mu Changge’s destined ordinariness, Luo Qinxian had a special divine-invocation physiology as revealed in Long Nation’s national test.

She currently studied divine invocation at Zhongnan University, one of Long Nation’s special schools.

Zhongnan University had two departments: Divine Invocation and Legacy. The Divine Invocation department had a thousand students; the Legacy department had seven thousand. Although a thousand had divine-invocation physiologies, the success rate of summoning a deity was extremely low, with most ultimately returning to normal life. Legacy students all had some degree of mythic inheritance, making them stronger than ordinary people despite varying levels.

Luo Qinxian was home on leave to get something and was delighted to meet Mu Changge by chance. Apart from graduation and leaves, students rarely left school; leaves were limited in frequency and duration. Successful summoners directly obeyed Long Nation’s higher-ups.

Seeing Mu Changge, Luo Qinxian recalled their shared past, especially the time when both their parents had died in the alien invasions and they comforted each other’s wounds.

For ordinary city dwellers of Mu Changge and Luo Qinxian’s generation, “distant relatives are less reliable than neighbors” was evident. Relatives only visited during major holidays; unless very close, a plain relationship was normal.

This was also one reason why Mu Changge and Luo Qinxian began independent lives after losing their parents.

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Outside Earth, a massive spatial gate suddenly appeared. Countless alien warships poured out, their eyes fixed on Earth.

The final decisive battle between Earth and the alien fleet was about to begin.