Dark Moon Era

No one could escape from their own memories. It would always start with something like— It was a summer night…

Indeed, memories would always start with words like “endless passionate sunlight”, “blood-like sunset’, ‘fluttering warm wind that carried the scent of the earth”, “a sky full of stars that shone brightly in the summer”, “natural color that painted the night sky colorful”, and so on. It would always be the most memorable part and usually how stories or memories began.

This upcoming story also started on a summer night.

The Purple Moon had risen, but the sky had yet to darken. The sunset was like an abstract painting that dyed the deep blue sky a soft red.

The wind whistled and carried the bloody scent of mud that was unique to the Hope Barrier coupled with heavy humidity.

Vian stood on the edge of the Patrol Ground. She had her magnetic arm device equipped on her left arm and beneath her feet was the robust iron belt. After she zipped through the iron belt, it would be her first time on the battlefield.

It had been almost a month now. Vian managed to wash away her nervousness and discomfort towards the battlefield. She was not the girl that she used to be. Instead, she was calm, especially when Tang Ling’s back was reflecting from her eyes.

The wind quietened down.

Tang Ling was standing in front of Vian. His black hair was reaching his neck since he had not cut his hair for two months and it was slightly messed up by the wind.

He was arranging his equipment: his magnetic arm device, three grenades, a Desert Eagle with seven rounds of bullets, grade C alloy brass knuckles on both hands, a Wolf Crunch, and a grade C alloy longsword.

Everyone else in the Fierce Dragon Squad was given the same equipment as well, except for Wolf Crunch.

Other than the weapons, every one of them was also given protective gear, a special glass fiber tactical protection vest plus two vials of bacteria control potion each.

“It should be safe enough,” Tang Ling muttered to himself. He actually got all the items and equipment from Tony, the black market trader, by trading in all his savings.

However, he distributed the equipment and items to his friends in Yu’s name, not his own.

“Can I trust you, Yu? Like completely?”

“Have you never trusted me before?”

“I do, but everyone has their own secrets. My secret is big and bitter. Do you want to know?”

“Not interested, just tell me what you want.”

“Follow me to the left forest. I’m getting a bunch of equipment back for us to prepare for the group mission, but I need you to tell everyone that you provided the equipment and not me.”

“Why me?”

“Actually, I can pick either you or Orston. Given both your backgrounds, no one would suspect anything even if you get something even better for us. But Orston is too stupid. He’ll leave traces behind and people might find out that the equipment and items aren’t from him. You, on the other hand, are different. I know you won’t leave any traces behind if you say you won’t.”

“I’ll tell Orston how you think of him.”

“Yu, are you trying to pick a fight?”

“I’ve always had that idea.”

The short conversation happened before Tang Ling and Yu went to the north forest and traded with Tony for the second time.

As a matter of fact, after stepping on the Summit Squad’s tail, everyone who was related to Tang Ling had been staying inside their own cave for the past few days.

They were oppressed right away. No missions were given to them and the other seniors came by every day to extort resources from them or simply start an argument.

In the end, it was Yu who figured out a way to contact one of his family members within the high ranks of the Hope Barrier. Only then the awkward situation was put on pause.

Yu was not concerned about asking for help. He even joked that if he did not come into the First Reserved Camp, he might not even have known that his uncle was one of the high ranking officers in the Hope Barrier.

Nevertheless, Tang Ling was very concerned as he never wanted to rely on his squadmates’ family resources or influence. Because of his existence, he seemed to have dragged everyone into a vortex of trouble and they were sinking quicker than ever.

Unfortunately, he still had to drag Yu into his shady deals, hence the conversation with the latter. He could not just sit back and do nothing. He could not just bring his friends into the group mission without being prepared.

A bad premonition rose in his heart and it got stronger on that day of the mission. However, Tang Ling could not put them into words. All he could do was spend his entire savings to provide a little bit of safety for everyone.

Yu followed Tang Ling to the north forest. The two of them had to make three rounds to fully deliver all the equipment and items back to the cave, and after all that, Yu said to Tang Ling, “I always knew you are more than meets the eye. The secret that you’re keeping must be big. I’m curious, but I still don’t want to probe. All I want to know is can I trust you?”

“You can leave your back to me,” Tang Ling assured Yu.

Bonds were not forged through time but through experiences together.

There are many tiny moments in life like catching a bug or drinking a bottle of water. All the tiny moments were the key to deepen the bonds until one could entrust his life to the other person.

It was a strange feeling for Tang Ling. When he realized that he cared for everyone in the Fierce Dragon Squad, it was too late for him to stop.

“All ready? Let’s go.” Tang Ling put the brass knuckles in his pocket before he turned around to his squad.

At the bottom of the Cliff of Hope, those who were joining the mission were already in line.

Vian immediately lowered her head bashfully when Tang Ling turned around. Blushing, she did not know whether Tang Ling noticed her looking at him or not.

As for the others, they were laughing and playing around. Some of them were very confident.

Yu’s generosity increased everyone’s confidence and provided an extra sense of safety. However, Tang Ling, who was usually the troublemaker, was extra careful before the mission.

Did the conflict with the Summit Squad pressure him?

“I’m all done! Let’s go!” Orston said excitedly.

“Remember, even if it’s just a tiny scratch, don’t hesitate to use the bacteria control potion. It’s Yu’s Hope credits anyway,” Tang Ling joked for the one last time before he activated the magnetic arm device on his left.

Tzzzz! The magnetic arm device generated a strong magnetic force after he turned it on. Then, he jumped up and latched himself onto the iron belt.

A propulsion force was then generated in between the iron belt and the armguard to push Tang Ling towards the bottom of Hope Barrier.

“You little cheater! How dare you head out before me!?” Orston grumbled before he followed Tang Ling. Unfortunately, his body was a little too buff and he was not as graceful as Tang Ling when he jumped.

Again, Yu managed to beat Orston to it. With Orston’s complaining in the background, everyone else jumped on the iron belt with laughter.

At the bottom of the cliff, Andrew was fixing Hank’s bright semi-long blonde hair with a pitiful look. His gaze quickly landed on Tang Ling who had just slid down the iron belt.