Suddenly, the scene shifted. He found himself in an entirely unfamiliar place, surrounded by bizarre plants he had never seen before. A group of soldiers in strange camouflage uniforms moved cautiously ahead, and Xu Ze was among them, holding an oddly shaped weapon.
Without warning, the lead soldier raised a hand, signaling everyone to stop. They all raised their weapons, scanning their surroundings. Soon, a rustling sound emerged from the strange vegetation, and out leaped a pack of ferocious, monstrous creatures, charging straight at the soldiers.
The soldiers opened fire, their weapons emitting strange beams of light that struck down the creatures one by one. Some of the monsters managed to evade the shots and closed in on the soldiers. In response, the soldiers drew short cylindrical handles from their sides, which extended into glowing blades resembling lightsabers. They engaged the creatures in close combat.
Xu Ze, too, wielded one of these blades, darting through the battlefield. He tended to the wounded soldiers while deftly cutting down any monsters that dared to approach him.
Then, the scene changed again. This time, Xu Ze was dressed in a sharp military uniform, standing at a formal ceremony. A stern-looking elderly officer in uniform stood before him, holding a box. The officer declared in a solemn voice, “In recognition of Medical Officer Tao Jun’s outstanding contributions during the recent exploration mission and his successful advancement to the sixth level of the Super Medical Soldier System, he is hereby promoted to the rank of Colonel and awarded the Second-Class Galactic Medal of Honor.”
“Tao Jun? Super Medical Soldier System? Sixth level?” Xu Ze suddenly caught a glimpse of his own face in the dream. It was a face he didn’t recognize—dark-skinned, honest, and upright, but definitely not his own.
In an instant, Xu Ze’s eyes snapped open, his face filled with terror. It took him a moment to realize he was staring at the familiar ceiling in the darkness of his room. He let out a sigh of relief—it was just a dream. But why had he dreamed something so strange? And why did it feel so real?
Xu Ze’s mind wandered back to the strange voice he had heard when he saved that child. That voice had felt real too. If it weren’t for the fact that it defied explanation, Xu Ze might not have dismissed it as a hallucination. Could this dream be connected to that incident?
He pondered for a long time but couldn’t make sense of it. Eventually, he shook his head, deciding to push the matter aside for now. However, sleep eluded him as his mind continued to race, dredging up memories and thoughts he had long buried.
As the first light of dawn crept into the room, Xu Ze lay in bed, half-asleep and unwilling to move. But soon, the sound of firecrackers outside jolted him awake.
Amid the noise, hurried footsteps approached his door. His mother’s excited voice called out, “Xu Ze, get up! Someone’s brought you a banner of honor!”
“A banner? For me?” Xu Ze blinked in confusion. Though he had no idea what was going on, he quickly got out of bed and started getting dressed, his mind racing to make sense of the situation.