Chapter 45

45 Cadet Han

Zi Han stared blankly at the neatly pressed cadet uniform hanging in his closet as he stood there with a bath towel wrapped around his waist. All his life he had dreamt about this moment but being a boy from the surface slum of Saarilia that dream seemed far fetched.

At best he thought he would enrol at the pre-enrolment training base in Saarilia. As to whether he would be able to make it to Scylla Military Academy in Capital Star would depend on his ability to stand out. Never in a million years had he thought he would be doing his pre-enrolment training at Scylla.

His eyes stung as he traced the silver coat with his fingers. He closed his eyes as a thought crossed his mind. Would his father be proud of him at this moment? Would he be helping him put on his uniform while encouraging him?

This thought made his chest twist painfully as he dropped his fingers to his side. Shaking off his emotional feelings he took the trousers off the hanger and put them on. When he walked out of the closet he had already put on the white long-sleeved shirt and he was buttoning the buttons on his cuff.

As he walked to sit down and put on his socks and boots his bedroom door was pushed open and his grandfather walked in with the old steward. Zi Feiji froze when he saw his grandson looking so dashing in his cadet uniform.

“Wah!” exclaimed the steward. It was like looking at a younger version of Zi Feiji when he joined the pre-enrolment training. Everything about them except height was similar. It was as though they had gone back in time and re-lived the same moment again.

Zi Feiji got out of his stupor when his grandson stood up having put on his boots. “What are you standing there in a daze for Old Lu? Hurry up and take some pictures while he is still in a good mood,” said Zi Feiji as he rushed over to help him button up the top button of his shirt, “And don’t forget to take a picture of his coat, service cap and gloves.”

Zi Han, “???”

“It’s not like this is a wedding photoshoot where they take pictures of the bride’s shoes, dress and accessories. You are making a big deal out of nothing,” said Zi Han but his grandfather took his tie and began to tie it for him.

.....

“You only get to wear this uniform twice in your life. One, on the first day and two, on graduation day. Oh, and when a special dignitary comes to the academy. After graduation you will have a different uniform so yes, this is a big deal,” said Zi Feiji as he pulled the knot of Zi Han’s navy blue tie.

The steward who was freelancing as a photographer walked over to the walk-in closet and brought back the neatly pressed coat. Zi Han stood still as his grandfather helped him put on the coat and button it up. The old man tried to hold back his emotions by pressing his lips into a straight line but his eyes still became watery.

He handed him the service cap and white gloves before he took a step back. Seeing his grandson put those gloves on he saw himself... he saw his daughter. His emotions overcame him like a rushing tide. He had to swallow down his feelings otherwise he might end up tearing up.

Zi Han finished putting them on and with his service cap in between his arm and side of his body he saw the heavy emotions in his grandfather’s eyes. He didn’t know what took hold of him in this moment that he raised his hand.

With his thumb pressing down his pinky finger he performed the perfect three-finger salute resting at the side of his temple.

Zi Feiji who didn’t expect him to do this couldn’t hold back anymore. His eyes teared up and he didn’t return the salute. Instead, he chose to walk out before his grandson witnessed a tragic scene which is grandpa crying.

He knew that he shouldn’t be this emotional but he couldn’t help it. One minute the kid was kicking in Zi Xingxi’s belly and the next thing he was a cadet enlisting. It was too much for this old man to take.

He still hadn’t even recovered as they drove in the hovercar to Scylla Military Academy. On the way, he was sending a myriad of pictures to Zi Xingxi so he wouldn’t have to suffer alone.

At that time Zi Xingxi was in an abandoned building with a man hanging upside down by his legs with bruises on his face and chest. In her hand, she was holding a blood-stained dagger while asking the man some questions.

Crouching down before him while wearing six-inch heels she said, “Now come on Lance.... I know you know something about those portals otherwise, why would everyone be naming you... Is it just me or every planet you visited in the past three months was attacked by those beasts a short while later?.... Either it’s deliberate or you are the unluckiest son of a bitch alive.”

“You bitch! This is illegal. You fucking Bloodgarde are just fucking criminals running dirty deals with the Marshal under the table,” yelled the man with blood dripping down from his lips.

“Tsk.....,” she tsked as she got up with a dark expression, “he is of no use to me. Since he called me a bitch then I will be one. Finish him off.” After she said that the corner of her lips quirked up as Secretary K walked over and held up a laser shotgun pistol.

Before he pulled the trigger panicked cries came from the man’s lips but Zi Xingxi couldn’t hear his pathetic sobs. She was walking in slow steps with her finger swiping down the screen of her light brain. When she saw pictures of her baby dressed up for his first day of school a radiant smile appeared on her face.

“Clean up this mess,” she said to Secretary K before she leapt out of the building through the windowless opening and dove down like she was about to fall to her death. Her body disappeared into the cloudy mist making one have their heart in their mouth.

Two seconds later Chronos emerged from the clouds with its yellow and silver armour shimmering under the morning sun before it vanished into thin air after having camouflaged itself from the Capital Star’s prestigious surveillance AI.