Running for Their Lives, No Time for Life Dreams

Serena Feng might not have martial arts skills, but close-quarters combat is her specialty. With a gun in hand, she was especially deadly at short range—so once their trio broke into the encirclement, it was Serena who left the most bodies behind.

"Well, look at you—turns out you’re actually useful." Zuo An watched Serena shooting and still handling soldiers at close range with her fists and feet, and offered another backhanded, sour compliment.

He couldn’t help it. Lord Zuo was in a foul mood, and realizing he was losing out to a woman only made it worse.

Whether Zuo An saw it or not, Serena still shot him a glare, just in time to notice a soldier trying to sneak up behind Zuo An. Serena knew Zuo An could dodge easily, but just to spite him, she shot the would-be attacker anyway.

Bang—a shot rang out, the bullet drilling right into the soldier’s brow. His arm froze mid-swing, and as Zuo An turned, he saw the man collapse. Zuo An was annoyed and snapped at Serena, "Serena, who said you could kill my target?"

"Your target? Since when did you two have some special relationship? Why didn’t I know about this?" Serena deliberately twisted his words, putting extra emphasis on the word "special."

"Serena, what goes on in your head? You’re scary. What do you mean, I have a special relationship with him?" Zuo An was furious, stormed over to Serena, and, venting his frustration, cleared out all the enemies around her.

Seeing someone else do the dirty work, Serena didn’t bother with the nearby soldiers anymore. She aimed straight for the distant cavalry and fire battalion.

There were so many people, packed so tight—even at a distance, Serena’s shots never missed. She was faster than both Zuo An and Ninth Royal Uncle.

But Serena had one fatal weakness: her bullets weren’t unlimited. Click, click—she pulled the trigger again, but not a single round came out.

"Hahaha, Serena, you’re out of tricks now!" Zuo An crowed, triumphant.

Serena’s hidden weapon was powerful, but against true experts, it wasn’t much help. The real flaw was how long it took to reload—worse than lighting a thunder-blast grenade.

"Charming." Serena couldn’t be bothered to argue with Zuo An and simply swapped out the empty magazine.

"Don’t get caught up in the fight." Ninth Royal Uncle, silent until now, finally spoke up to remind Zuo An and Serena they needed to get moving.

"Got it. Cover me while I reload." Serena knew whatever Nolan and Zuo An had set up earlier was about to take effect. She didn’t dare linger and risk getting blown to bits, but swapping in a fresh magazine was absolutely necessary.

"All right." Nolan moved closer to Serena, originally planning to shield her in his arms, but she was quicker—choosing to stand back-to-back with him instead. Whenever a soldier got close, even without her gun, Serena handled them herself.

She might be a woman, but on the battlefield, no one would show mercy just because of her gender. She had to be able to protect herself.

Reloading didn’t take long. After Nolan dropped six soldiers, Serena snapped in a new magazine. "Ready."

"Zuo An, go!"

With a swish, a flash of silver shot out from Nolan’s sleeve. Instantly, a matching silver wire flew from Zuo An’s sleeve as well.

This time, the commander sent by the Emperor reacted quickly. Seeing what was happening, he immediately ordered, "Archers, ready! Don’t let Ninth Royal Uncle escape!"

But even with quick reflexes, he was still a step too slow. Nolan scooped up Serena, tapped his toes, and launched them both into the air. At that exact moment, the silver wire from Nolan’s sleeve snapped against the mountain wall with a loud crack.

"Quick, fire!" The commander didn’t care if his own men might get hit—he ruthlessly gave the order.

Whoosh—arrows filled the sky, all aimed at Nolan and Serena. The arrowheads were about to strike their backs, when suddenly—a thunderous explosion drowned out every other sound...

A wave of heat surged, flames roared up, and in an instant, everything was swallowed. In the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield was transformed.

Just moments ago, all the soldiers had the pair surrounded, but in a second, they were at the explosion’s epicenter—blown so senseless they couldn’t tell east from west, limbs flying through the air, screams echoing everywhere.

"Run, run!" someone shouted, and the entire battlefield erupted into chaos. Soldiers packed together, shoving and jostling—lost in the smoke, they couldn’t tell directions anymore. Most just spun in circles, some burned by the blast, others by the heat.

Nolan and Serena had already leapt clear of the blast, standing in a safe zone, watching the fiery hellscape. Serena was frozen, her mind blank, eyes unfocused—as if she was staring through the smoke into another world...

It was as if she’d returned to the battlefield she once knew—the era of smoke, airstrikes, and bombs, when people could fall at any moment. An era where you couldn’t afford to care about those beside you, because... you never knew if they’d survive the next second.

She wasn’t sure what she was remembering, but tears slipped down her cheeks, cold and unnoticed.

"Serena, what’s wrong?" Nolan asked, worried—why was she suddenly crying?

"Why do humans start wars?" Serena’s eyes were vacant, her voice tinged with sorrow. She hadn’t heard Nolan at all—just voiced the question that had always haunted her.

Why? Why do we start wars? If humans can’t even live peacefully with each other, how can they live peacefully with anyone else?

Why must there be war? Why must so many die because of it?

Nolan looked at Serena, baffled by her question. Seeing her dazed expression, he thought for a moment before answering, "Breaking before building—war is to pave the way for a future golden age."

He didn’t really believe that answer himself. What he truly thought was that war only satisfied people’s lust for power; no matter the reason, it always ended with a new regime.

"Is that so? Breaking before building—I get it now." Serena had come back to herself. She wiped away her tears, her eyes no longer lost or hollow.

She gave Nolan a long, meaningful look, then smiled faintly and turned away. She knew he didn’t really believe that wars were fought for peace, either.

She remembered someone once told her: war is just the powerful seizing more power. No matter the reason, it’s always ordinary soldiers who die, and the rulers who profit.

Some things everyone knows, but you can’t say them out loud. The official reasons always have to sound noble.

Nolan looked at Serena, and seemed to understand her thoughts. They exchanged a smile—no words needed.

Zuo An was completely frustrated. The enemy was regrouping and coming to kill them, but Nolan and Serena weren’t running—they were just standing there, lost in thought. Had they gone mad...?

Zuo An cursed, "What are you two doing, seriously? Discussing philosophy at a time like this? Have you forgotten we’re running for our lives?"

Big brother, big sister, we’re fugitives in Eastlyn right now—this is no time to talk about life and ideals...