Fang Yushan died in her second year of university.
When Fang Yushan died, she didn't feel particularly regretful. If anything, she was proud. After all, she had congenital heart disease, and when she was born, the doctors said she wouldn't live past the age of three.
Before closing her eyes, Fang Yushan thought that it was a shame she had never once been able to run to her heart's content.
When she opened her eyes again, the air around her was filled with a cacophony of voices: screams, cheers, and roars, all ringing without end.
She looked around and realized she was in some kind of arena. Rows of spectator stands rose around her, and countless people looked down at her from above.
"Kill it!"
Fang Yushan thought sluggishly: Kill who?
A deafening roar came from behind her. A creature of indescribable appearance was snarling at her from inside a gate, its entire body covered in jagged spikes.
The next second, the gate slowly began to open. The grinding of gears sounded like the tolling of a death knell.
*
Konia, the world's top military academy, was home to elite soldiers with supernatural abilities. It was said that every person at Konia could take on a hundred opponents alone, sharp and unstoppable.
By the time Konia's Vanguard Squad rescued Fang Yushan, the monster's claws had pierced her heart.
The sharpest, bravest, and most formidable Vanguard Squad never imagined that the tiny, frail girl could survive such a fatal wound.
Even less did they imagine that this tiny girl would become their schoolmate, their comrade-in-arms, and eventually their commander.
*
During a mission, the entire Konia force was betrayed by its superiors. Their warships withdrew ahead of schedule, abandoning them on a desolate planet teeming with monsters.
No reinforcements. No supplies. No hope.
In the deathly silence, someone raised her blood-soaked right hand. "It wasn't hope that abandoned us. It was our shackles."
As she spoke, she was neither composed nor dignified. She looked as wretched as a ragged beggar, and blood poured steadily from the wounds covering her body, dropping to the ground one bead at a time like a pulsing heartbeat.
"We'll fight our way back."
"Together."
In the endless darkness, Fang Yushan stood among the ruins like a god. The elite soldiers, who had never bowed to anyone, willingly lowered their heads. "Konia Vanguard Squad One, at your service."
Reader's Guide:
1. All-female world, with female villains (if this bothers you, please don't read)
2. A cast-focused novel, beloved by lzk
3. Sci-fi setting, my take on the genre, with lots of original worldbuilding
4. I'm really going to write this as my next novel, so please add it to your collection! (Winks)
Theme: Fate may bend my spine, but I insist on being this lone eagle, fearless and striving to become the mightiest of all
