So a few days later, news of Gus’ suicide in fear of punishment once again dominated the headlines. Rumors spread that he had once bullied a classmate in school and secretly arranged to have their star core swapped. As his father, Hilton, was forced to step forward and apologize.
However, no matter how dignified and well-crafted his speech was, Hilton, who had always been very popular, failed to quell the public’s anger and doubts.
Could he really have been unaware of the plundered star core his son carried?
But through this incident, Hilton finally confirmed Lin Mu’s true identity.
A plundered star core could never harm its original owner, it would always backlash instead.
If Gus hadn’t acted on his own to engage in a mental confrontation with Lin Mu, he might have remained in the dark for much longer.
Now severely weakened, the furious Hilton attempted to order a hunt for Lin Mu. However, at this crucial moment, his old enemy, Frick, decisively filed a request to reinvestigate the destruction of the Seventh Legion.
At first, Hilton sneered at the idea.
But, to everyone’s shock, Lin Mu, who had vanished from the battlefield, unexpectedly reappeared as the sole survivor of the Seventh Legion, presenting evidence before the military court.
The entire interstellar community was stunned.
The Seventh Legion, thought to have been completely wiped out, actually had a survivor? And he had also brought proof to clear their name?
As the official investigation unfolded and the causes and consequences were fully revealed, all those who had once condemned the Seventh Legion fell into silence, and white flowers were sent in droves to their memorial site.
The disgraced Hilton sat in an armchair in his study, watching expressionlessly as the army surrounded his Marshal’s Residence.
Just as they were about to restrain him with mental force cuffs, Hilton suddenly sneered at Lin Mu.
“Don’t you want to see your parents?”
At that moment, both Lin Mu and everyone present were caught off guard.
Seizing the opportunity, Hilton quickly broke free and made a swift escape.
He had already stashed away substantial funds and safe houses beyond the Federation’s reach. If he could just board a private starship and seek political asylum in enemy territory, he could trade some classified information for a fresh start.
As for Lin Mu’s parents, Hilton had never intended to reveal the truth.
Hilton’s defection to the enemy sent shockwaves across the interstellar community.
Even his most die-hard supporters were forced to acknowledge the truth: their once-revered Marshal had personally handed the knife to those who had slaughtered countless of their own.
With Hilton gone, his marshal’s residence was torn apart. Its archives were thoroughly searched and a mountain of incriminating evidence was found. Along with it, clues about Lin Mu’s parents surfaced.
Years ago, a big fire at a top research lab had supposedly claimed the lives of the renowned star core researchers, Lin Wei and his wife Linda, along with their newborn son.
But in fact, they had not perished.
Instead, Hilton had held them captive in a highland laboratory, using their infant son as leverage to force them into developing drugs that could accelerate the awakening and fusion of plundered star cores. These were meant to help Gus assimilate Lin Mu’s star core as quickly as possible.
Desperate to save their child, Lin Wei and Linda had no idea that Hilton had already dug up Lin Mu’s star core and thrown him on Garbage Star.
“We never gave up on you. How could we ever sell your star core for money?”
When Lin Mu was hugged by his parents after they woke up on the hospital bed, he tried to hug them back for the first time with awkward movements.
After their rescue, Lin Wei and Linda continued their research and eventually developed a specialized mental power serum that shattered the inherent inequality created by differences in star core potential.
With the right medication and arduous training, even those born with weaker star cores could now bridge the gap.
Five years later, with the support of Frick and other elders, Lin Mu activated the Heart of the Soldier King during a critical moment of a decisive battle against the enemy. With the shocking power of an army concentrated in a single soldier, he completely crushed the enemy’s forces and drove them into the depths of space.
Hilton, who had been tracked down, was found in an unexpectedly wretched state.
It turned out that even the enemy looked down on traitors who betrayed their own country. Stripped of his former status, he had once attempted to act high and mighty, only to be beaten into submission and was now barely clinging to life.
A far cry from the proud and graceful Marshal he once was.
This decisive war ultimately brought an unprecedented peace to the galaxy’s borders for the first time in hundreds of years.
*
A Garbage Star, hundreds of years later.
Inside a bright and clean academy, students in a military history class gazed in awe at the holographic display their teacher was presenting.
“He was the first commander in history to hail from a Garbage Stat and the first Awakener to successfully form a second pseudo star core after having his original one stolen…”
Printed on the textbook in their hands was a photo of Lin Mu looking handsome and heroic in military uniform.
The remnants of his first-ever fortune made from scavenging on Garbage Stat, the wreckage of the makeshift glider he built when he fell off a cliff, and the old BU19 robot he always carried…these had all become legendary relics later generations associated with this commander.
Even the dilapidated shack where he had once lived was now a famous historical site.
Every day, countless admirers of Lin Mu visited to pay their respects.
“But as the saying goes, ‘’The movement of heaven is vigorous; a gentleman should constantly strive for self-improvement.’”
“As long as you remain steadfast, kind-hearted, and unyielding, with a heart that embraces the universe and all its beings, even a destitute, wandering commoner can possess the true Heart of the Soldier King.”
“I believe this is the invaluable lesson left to us by Marshal Lin Mu. Each and every one of you has the potential to cultivate such a heart in the future.”
The teacher’s gentle yet firm words marked the conclusion of the lesson, just as the bell rang for dismissal.
[“Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” – The End]
As Soldier King fans outside the book reached the final chapter, a wave of deep emotion and an indescribable melancholy filled their hearts.
“How wonderful… Hundreds of years later, everything became better, and Lin Mu finally fulfilled his original dream…”
Under the golden bedside lamp, the glow of the light brain illuminated Meigrit’s brows and eyes, revealing a complex expression beyond words.
Perhaps it was because she had been following this novel for far too long, that now, at the moment of its true conclusion, she found herself uncomfortable.
The joy of reading just a moment ago had gradually turned into a sour sensation.
But, as she flipped further, she was surprised and delighted to discover that in this physical edition, Teacher Fish Soup Noodles had included a total of seven extra chapters!
“Great! There’s still more to read!”
Meigrit, dressed in her nightgown, instantly bounced up from the bed and eagerly buried herself in the extras.
And indeed, these seven extra chapters were nothing short of fascinating.
The most astonishing of them all was undoubtedly the first one; it was God Of War Hachir’s extra story.
Not only did it fill in the gaps of Teacher Hachir’s past and present life, but in the end, he even managed to reconstruct his body after ten thousand years, thanks to the mental power feedback from Lin Mu’s “Heart of the Soldier King.”
Moreover, Teacher Hachir turned out to have been a very handsome man during his youth, and the scene of him grinning as Lin Mu supported him was simply delightful.
This first extra chapter alone left countless Soldier King fans amazed.
But the most tear-jerking of all was undoubtedly the final extra…an extended “IF” storyline of Lin Mu’s third rebirth.
In this extra chapter, Lin Mu actually underwent a third rebirth.
In this third life, with full knowledge of all past events, Lin Mu achieved an almost godlike foresight.
He prevented his old comrade Allen’s betrayal, ensured the survival of Commander Bol’s legion, and after the downfall of the villain Hilton, he was finally able to reunite with his parents and mentors.
It was, in every way, a flawless and perfect ending that provided closure for many Soldier King fans who had lingering regrets. It was so overwhelmingly positive that it made people cry in reverse.
[Wuuu, if only all of this had happened in the second life! My male god, Commander Bol, is finally back, ahhhh! But to think it only happened in an extra chapter! TAT]
[Honestly, this storyline is so perfect that it lacks the breathtaking tension of the main plot. But then again, as an extra chapter, this IF version of Lin Mu’s third rebirth absolutely deserves full marks! FULL MARKS!!】
[Finishing a binge-read all the way to the grand finale… It feels like I’m saying goodbye to yet another story by Teacher Fish Soup Noodles. Who understands this feeling? Wuuu…]
It wasn’t just the star network drowning in melancholy. Even inside the Dwarf Tavern, when Boss Fos read out the final words of the main text and extras, the entire tavern fell into complete silence.
Everyone craned their necks, as if trying to force Fos to conjure more lines out of thin air.
“It’s really over? There’s actually a day when this would have a proper ending!?”
“It really ends here? Boss, are you sure you didn’t buy a misprinted version? This extra should have been at least 100,000 words longer!”
Even the usually carefree regulars found themselves caught off guard, feeling an unfamiliar sense of emptiness and helplessness.
They had long been accustomed to the routine of working hard to earn their wages during the day, then coming to the Dwarf Tavern at night to order a mug of cheap beer and listen to tales of Lin Mu’s latest adventures in the vast universe.
They felt proud of Lin Mu’s victories and anxious over his losses.
They relished the chance to mock Hilton and the other villains for their arrogance and stupidity, eagerly anticipating the day these bastards would meet their downfall and land in prison.
But now that the day had truly come, those who had followed the story for so long suddenly realized…
“Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King” had already become an old companion, keeping them company through the monotony of life on the desolate outer stars.
And this, perhaps, was precisely the mysterious charm of Fish Soup Noodles’ stories.
#Goodbye, Lin Mu!#
This peculiar hashtag soon climbed to the hot search list, marking the end of the long serial “Rebirth Of The Interstellar Soldier King”.
