“That’s the situation,” the instructor said, his arms crossed over his black uniform. He looked at the frail youth before him, a flicker of sympathy in his eyes. “You should prepare yourself when you get back.”
“I’ve been… included in the conscription quota?” Wei Chen’s expression froze.
He had only just crossed into this world, and he still hadn't had time to adapt. Before he could even get his bearings, this bolt from the blue had struck him down.
For ordinary students like him, conscription wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. The government was always generous with its military spending, and even a conscript received decent treatment.
But that was during peacetime.
Now, rumors were spreading of alien invasions in the border star systems. Many speculated that the entire purpose of this draft was to bolster the reserves on the front lines.
In the 2,600,000th year of the Void Voyage Era, the Star River Human Federation had carried out a fervent interstellar expansion, occupying countless star systems and, inevitably, making contact with other civilizations. Resources were finite, and in the ensuing scramble, human civilization had initiated a series of brutal wars.
The alien civilizations that had been driven from their homes now watched humanity from the shadows, waiting for any opportunity to strike back.
“This is trouble,” Wei Chen’s mood sank.
He was well aware that while human civilization held the absolute upper hand in most conflicts, the situation on any specific battlefield was far from guaranteed. The alien civilizations from the depths of the starry sea were ferocious and brutal, their individuals possessing unimaginable strength.
Tearing warships apart with their bare hands was no mere boast.
In combat against these aliens, even fully-armed human soldiers suffered an average mortality rate of twenty to thirty percent. And due to the classified nature of the war, all soldiers involved in these extermination campaigns were forbidden from communicating with the outside world.
The average localized war in the stars could last for a hundred, or even several hundred, years. That was nothing out of the ordinary. In other words, now that he’d been selected, even if Wei Chen managed to survive, he would likely spend the rest of his life aboard a cold spacecraft.
He might never again feel the soil of a living planet beneath his feet.
Wei Chen took a deep breath. “Director, can we talk about this? My parents are counting on me for support, and I have a younger sister…”
The instructor tapped a finger on his desk. “Don’t worry,” he said, his tone serious. “By actively responding to the government’s conscription policy, your family will be properly taken care of. Your father’s current position will be raised by one level, and your mother will receive a respectable job in the district. Your sister will have all her tuition fees waived from now on, and after she turns eighteen, she’ll be granted one opportunity for advanced study at a higher education institution.”
“…So, you’ve already worked out the arrangements for after my death?” Wei Chen pursed his lips, an indescribably complex feeling rising in his chest.
In truth, the terms were generous. His father was at a career bottleneck that most people never broke through. His mother was unemployed, and a respectable job would dramatically improve their family’s quality of life. As for his sister… a chance for advanced study at a higher education institution was something money couldn’t buy. If she seized that opportunity, her future would be limitless.
But why did it all have to come at the cost of his life?
Wei Chen had only inhabited this body for a few days. Although he had inherited all of its memories, the idea of ‘sacrificing one for the happiness of the family’ stirred a profound resistance within him.
“I still prefer life on a planet…” Wei Chen said after a long silence.
Once he became a soldier, his entire life would be subject to militarized management. By then, it would be far too late to refuse. Not that refusing now would make much difference.
“Wei Chen, serving the government is a duty every citizen should fulfill,” the director said patiently. “Besides, this is a mandatory policy. If your name comes up, you go. There’s no use fighting it. And look at it this way, young man. What’s wrong with getting out there and making your way in the universe? You’ll get to see alien species that only appear in textbooks. That’s something most ordinary people will never experience. If you manage to distinguish yourself, you might even be reassigned to a military position back home. It’s a rare opportunity.”
The director offered his placating words for a few more moments.
Wei Chen opened his mouth to argue, but the director cut him off with a sweep of his hand. “Alright, you can go now. Spend the next few days with your family.”
Under the director’s steady gaze, Wei Chen stood and left the office.
Outside, over a dozen students about his age were lined up, waiting. As Wei Chen emerged, the next one in line was called in.
“Hey, classmate,” a student with dark skin grabbed Wei Chen’s arm, whispering urgently. “What did the director want to see us for?”
“You’ll know soon enough,” Wei Chen sighed. He pulled his arm free and walked away without another word.
Before the meeting, he never would have expected to be included in the mandatory conscription quota. He had first learned about the policy from a broadcast by an authoritative media outlet on his planet, but he hadn’t taken it too seriously at the time.
The scope of the draft included the entire Feiyun Star as well as dozens of nearby habitable planets. Feiyun Star alone had a permanent population of fifty billion, yet its conscription quota was only in the hundreds of thousands.
Statistically, the chance of any given citizen being selected was roughly one in a hundred thousand. Such a minuscule probability hadn't concerned Wei Chen in the slightest.
But reality, it seemed, was full of cruel surprises.