Chapter 260: Escaped Death
Translator: Oneshotwonder Editor: Hitesh_
Wang Tong heard the countdown on the mini nuke, and then something else.
"Level one alert, master's body has sustained 70% damage. External threat: 100%... Request permission to access back up energy pack."
"Permission granted. Initiating back up energy pack."
The mini nuke swooshed away from Wang Tong's palm as a golden light started to emanate out from Wang Tong's body, until it was about ten meters in circumference, and then rose swiftly above Wang Tong's head and stretched out into two magnificent wings.
As soon as the eerie shadow among the Zergs saw the mini nuke, it sank into the ground. The rest of the Zergs swarmed to the end of the mini nuke's trajectory, trying to shield as much damage as they could.
After a thunderous rumble, a shockwave rushed, and eventually came the agonizing fire; the world was reduced to ashes.
What did life look like after one died?
Old Fart always babbled about how the enlightened had a second choice called the "divine path" after their physical bodies perished from this world. Could Wang Tong be presented with the second choice?
The so-called "divine path" was the ultimate state sought after feverishly by the disciples of the Divine Master sect and the Templar's court. They believed that General Li didn't die. Instead, he had chosen the divine path, which led him to immortality. Whenever Old Fart talked about these seemingly illusory stories, Wang Tong noticed a haze in his eyes as if he was yearning for something to come.
The divine path?
Although Wang Tong couldn't quite grasp the full meaning of the words, he knew that this was something beyond one's combat strength. Therefore, even a real Einherjar could not enter the divine path without specific prerequisites. That being said, Wang Tong reasoned that without the same soul energy as an Einherjar, the divine path would still be elusive to the holiest man in the known Universe.
Back on the battlefield, Wang Tong had conceded to his doom and was ready to die, but his lingering consciousness caught him by surprise. His surprise was followed by the feeling of being folded, tucked and jammed into a tiny container like a ball of yarn.
Slowly, Wang Tong found his consciousness, and it was followed by a sharp pain in his chest.
"Wang Tong, Wang Tong! Can you hear me? If you can, please move your finger."
Wang Tong moved his finger and heard a wave of cheers.
Outside the large can where Wang Tong was lying, people cheered and applauded for the miracle. Wang Tong had survived the nuke while standing in the dead center of the blast. Was it sheer luck? If not, what else could it be other than the will of the God?
Although the mini-nuke had limited power, it was deadly for anything within two to three hundred meters. God had been generous that day, as not only had Wang Tong survived, so did three of his comrades.
Jansining had lost an arm, Third had lost an eye, and Big O had lost a brother. Little O had protected Big O with his last reaming strength. Like he always did, Little O was one step ahead of Big O, even on their way to death.
These three survived mainly due to the rolling hills that provided some sort of a shelter. Plus, the three were situated relatively further away from the center of detonation. When the rescue team found them, they had passed out among fallen limbs, and charred Zerg carcasses that looked no different than piles of collapsed lumps.
The ninth platoon had finished yet another impossible mission. Members were rewarded greatly, and the military spared no expense in saving their lives. Due to the lack of medical equipment on Norton, they were transported back to earth for better treatment.
The three soldiers' injuries were manageable so as long as the military kept their medical bill up to date; they would be back to a normal life in no time. Jansining had permanently lost his hand, so the medical experts installed a cyborg arm for him. They had also replaced one of Third's eyes with a cyborg eyeball. Big O didn't lose anything on his body, but he had lost his brother that he had sworn to protect.
It was tragedies like this that kept the feud between the Zergs and the human going for centuries. There should be only one survivor between the two rivals.
Wang Tong had been lying in the medical bay over 20 days, and at this point, many next of kin would have already given up. Even if Wang Tong woke up, he would very likely become a vegetable.
However, not only had Samantha and the military handled all the medical bill, the Li family had also flown in a soul energy recuperation expert from the moon to help Wang Tong.
When Wang Tong moved his finger, among the people who watched and cheered stood Li Ruoer with a wicked smile on her face. "I won't let you die so easily."
The servants' hair stood on their ends after hearing Li Ruoer's words as they lamented over the cruel heart of their young lady.
After Wang Tong lifted his finger, sleepiness came over him and he quickly fell asleep again.
In his dream, time seemed to have lost its meaning. When he woke up again, he heard the voice of Jansining.
"Wang Tong, hey kiddo!" Jansining shouted at the half-conscious Wang Tong as he pounded on the transparent cover of the medical bay.
"You are finally awake! Time to get up!"
Wang Tong recognized the three familiar faces, and he noticed the cyborg's eyeball on Third's face. It was a grim reminder of what happened that day, and it made Wang Tong feel melancholic.
Jansining felt for Wang Tong. He had been like Wang Tong when he was at his age, but soon, Jansining reasoned that Wang Tong would see the war for what it was and accept the reality.
Jansining knocked on the cover again and said, "Be strong kiddo. If you miss the others, then you need to live, and one day. you might seek revenge for them."
The three outside the medical bay had since long learned to bury their sorrow deep down, lock it up, and throw away the key.
As the three plastered a joyful expression on their faces, Wang Tong felt slightly relieved. He had only one question, "Where is Ma Xiaoru?"
"We didn't see her name on the survivor's list. Only four of us got sent back to earth."
The smiles on the three's face faded away. They remembered that Ma Xiaoru had the chance to break through the encirclement by herself, but she stayed nonetheless.
Wang Tong felt a pain start from his heart, and it shot through his entire body. His vital readings began to destabilize as the pain increased intensity.
"Don't worry Wang Tong, it’s too early to say anything. We survived, didn't we? Can you remember the relative location of Ma Xiaoru to the nuke when it went off? Was there any cover?"
"Yea bro, I think she's fine. We didn't hear anything on TV. I say no news is good news. You need to focus on your recovery, and we will ask around for you." Big O said.
Wang Tong's vitals started to stabilize as the pain slowly dissipated. He reasoned that if he had survived, given the proximity between him and Ma Xiaoru, the girl should be fine as well.
Wang Tong finally gained a measure of hope.
The other's heart ached at the sight of Wang Tong's hopeful expression. What if they were wrong and Ma Xiaoru was indeed dead?
Wang Tong called out to Goldie and Mr. Wannabe, but neither answered him. As he searched deeper into his sea of consciousness, he realized why his call was unanswered. His sea of consciousness had turned into a desert. He realized that he was in deeper trouble then he had thought. He cleared his thought and decided that the most critical task right then was to recover and regain soul energy.
Samantha watched Wang Tong through the window pane of the emergency room. She felt excited and relieved at Wang Tong's recovery. She knew that Wang Tong and Ma Xiaoru had gone through a lot on Norton, and she understood that true love was not about being joined at the hips. But when she saw that Wang Tong's first thought after recovery was Ma Xiaoru, she could not help but feel bitter.
"Principal Samantha, Wang Tong's condition has been stabilized. As long as we have enough stem cell supply, he should recover back to full health pretty quickly, except for..."
"Dr. Andrew, if you have anything you need, just let me know," Samantha demanded.
"The resources are not the issue. It's just that his soul energy was depleted and we are not having any luck in recharging it." Andrew sighed as he felt sorry for this to happen to a young boy with a promising future.