To some extent, from Fish Soup Noodles’ first book until now, there had never been a truly earth-shattering knife where a character died.
So when readers opened the seventh volume of “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King”, they were completely unprepared. Without a second thought, they eagerly dove into the story.
What’s more, the plot of the seventh volume was shocking right from the start. The long-awaited encounter with an old enemy from the past life played out in a way that was entirely different from what everyone had imagined.
In the previous volume, Lin Mu had spotted Allen, the comrade who had betrayed him in his past life, at an interstellar supply camp. His tense and wary expression was immediately noticed by Commander Bol.
However, even after repeated questioning from Commander Bol, Lin Mu remained silent. After all, in this lifetime, Allen had never betrayed him, nor did he even know him.
Lin Mu was only temporarily stationed at this camp with his legion. In secret, he kept an eye on Allen, his former comrade from the previous life.
[[However, as Lin Mu sat alone in a corner dressed in plain clothes, drinking in silence while watching Allen from a distance, he was suddenly targeted by a group of wanderers who couldn’t find a seat.
This group of wanderers at the bottom of the food chain saw Lin Mu was alone and thought he was an easy target, so they arrogantly demanded that he get lost and give up his spot.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
But before Lin Mu could even reach for his weapon, his former comrade, Allen, looked over and frowned, directly scaring off the group of wanderers.
Lin Mu looked at Allen with a complicated look in his eyes.
Allen assumed Lin Mu was simply frightened and even flashed him a bright, cheerful smile. He was about to ask where this unfamiliar guy had come from, but in the next second, Lin Mu silently pulled up his hood and left without a word.
Allen’s companions all thought he had wasted his kindness on an ungrateful weirdo.
But, as Allen watched Lin Mu walk away, an inexplicable, unshakable feeling lingered within him.]]
[What!? This guy actually helped Lin Mu in this life?]
[Could it be that he’s just pretending? An expert at deception? Otherwise, Lin Mu, who had been a mercenary in his past life, wouldn’t have trusted him so easily, which gave him the perfect chance to betray him.]
[+1. This is driving me crazy. I need to know where this plot is going!]
The interstellar readers were completely baffled by Allen’s unusual behavior right from the moment he appeared in Volume Seven.
Wasn’t this guy just a canon fodder villain?
He should hurry up and do something bad so Lin Mu could make him go offline quickly.
However, as the story progressed, Allen’s actions only made Lin Mu hesitate more and more. Because Allen seemed exactly like the comrade in arms Lin Mu had once trusted with his life. There was no sign of the darkness or betrayal he had expected to find.
But every night, when Lin Mu closed his eyes, he was tormented by the memory of Allen’s expression and final words from his past life.
He subconsciously clutched his chest, the phantom pain of a blade piercing through him still seared into his bones.
He had sought revenge. But in this second life, his old enemy had been left behind in the past. Now, only he remained, wandering alone in memories that refused to fade.
Even if he were to kill this Allen, could he truly call him the same person as the Allen from his past life?
Perhaps, before making a move, he needed to determine whether this man was merely putting on an act or if he truly knew nothing at all.
During an exploration deep within an alien territory to search for mineral veins, Allen and his fellow mercenaries followed behind the main military force, hoping to scavenge whatever was left behind.
This had always been the way mercenaries survived. What the military deemed worthless could still bring mercenaries a hefty profit.
However, Allen never expected that they had misjudged the danger of their surroundings. Just as they were on the brink of annihilation, a military mecha, piloted with extreme skill and cold precision, suddenly arrived and repelled the rampaging star beast.
With his vision blurred with blood and tears, Allen struggled to open his eyes, only to see that the pilot stepping out of the cockpit was none other than that weirdo from the tavern.
He was actually a soldier?
Why would he frequent a cheap tavern visited only by mercenaries and wanderers? And how could he be so well-versed in the jargon of their world?
“Tha–ahem! Ugh!”
Just as Allen tried to express his gratitude, Lin Mu grabbed him by the throat expressionlessly, his eyes filled with a cold killing intent that was far from a mere act.
But when had he ever offended this man?
As his breathing grew weaker, Allen thought he was about to die at this man’s hands. But, at the last moment, Lin Mu suddenly released him, letting him collapse to the ground, violently coughing up blood.
Even so, after learning from the standard military mecha about the stark difference in status between them, Allen didn’t dare to feel any resentment. Instead, he cautiously racked his brain, trying to figure out when he had ever provoked Lin Mu.
“Do Linda and the others know what you’ve become now? Have you saved enough money in this lifetime to rescue them?”
It was precisely Allen’s fearful and panicked reaction at that moment that left Lin Mu with an indescribable sense of numb disinterest.
In his past life, he had even held Allen’s frail little sister in his own arms, and he knew why Allen was so desperate to make money.
“…!”
Allen, who was kneeling on the ground, was shocked and his pupils contracted rapidly. He had never expected Lin Mu to know everything about his terminally ill sister and mother.
Who exactly are you?
But before Allen could voice this question, Lin Mu had already turned away, stepping back into the mecha and leaving without another word.
A military mecha’s interstellar jump speed was beyond the reach of any human pursuit.
At the same time, Commander Bol excitedly informed Lin Mu of some good news–he had become the first newly enlisted Soldier among the Seven Great Legions to earn a Second-Class Star Medal for Military Merit!
Next month, upon returning to the Central Star, he would accompany Commander Bol to the Federation Government for the medal ceremony.
Amid the congratulatory encouragement of his comrades, Lin Mu stared at the Second-Class Star Medal in a daze.
To earn military merit at this pace, unless something went terribly wrong, he was destined to rise to ranks that countless others could only dream of in the decades to come.
For an orphan from Garbage Star, this was the peak of what life had to offer.
“Even Marshal Hilton has heard of your achievements. Why do you still look so down?”
Commander Bol patted Lin Mu’s shoulder with a smile, asking in a puzzled tone.
Lin Mu knew in his heart that he was convinced after observing for so long, the Allen of this lifetime showed no signs of being the same person as before.
The answer he had sought for so long might have disappeared with his rebirth.
Moreover, as the day arrived when the S-rank bounty of his past life should have appeared, Lin Mu realized that in this lifetime, there was no record of such an order in the mercenary system at all, and he fell into a long silence.
Had his rebirth caused a butterfly effect that changed the original course of events?
“Kid, I’ve always felt that an S-rank bounty mission like the one you described would never be issued through an ordinary mercenary hall.”
Although God Of War Hachir, who had accompanied Lin Mu, didn’t know about his rebirth, he had been asked about S-rank bounty missions before.
That level of mission would more likely involve official military intervention, why would they let mercenaries take part?
Hearing this, Lin Mu lowered his head in silence.
Maybe in his past life, he had already made a name for himself as an ace mercenary, becoming someone well-known across the interstellar frontier.
“As long as the price is right, that weirdo without a star core can complete any mission.”
That was what people used to say in every mercenary camp across the interstellar border.
But all of that was now in the past.
Could he believe that this lifetime might truly offer a new beginning?
As he boarded the battleship bound for the Central Star, Lin Mu glanced down at the land that had once been so familiar to him before finally turning away and sealing the hatch behind him.
—–
“This plot development is completely unexpected… but the more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Still, I can’t help but feel a little melancholic.”
After the release of “Rebirth of the Interstellar Soldier King, Volume 7”, it wasn’t just ordinary fans rushing to buy copies, even Secretary Hals and many military personnel from the military department were also devouring it eagerly.
After the extremely refreshing leveling up plots in the first few volumes, no one had expected that when Lin Mu finally encountered the old friend from his past, many of the obsessions he once held had already faded with his rebirth.
“Logically, I know the Allen from the past life was despicable, but seeing him kneeling in gratitude after being saved in this life… it just feels oddly hollow. So strange.”
“Yeah, it’s like the person you wanted revenge on isn’t even this Allen anymore. Tsk.”
As discussions about this bittersweet development continued, the topic also ignited widespread debate on the star network.
The readers who had been waiting for Lin Mu’s revenge the most eagerly were undoubtedly the ones who could most keenly empathize with his current confusion.
[Maybe it’s because even though we know Allen betrayed Lin Mu in the past life, the clear class disparity between them now makes it feel completely different?]
[Seriously, it’s like crushing a lowly insect. Frustrating and infuriating. Allen isn’t even on Lin Mu’s level anymore, there’s just no comparison.]
