Qu Xiaoqing continued, "When I was 12, I awakened my origin ability. Our family business also started to improve, and Anvil Corporation was registered. My father and the others decided to train me with all their might. Sister Zhong was my father's old classmate. Our family spent a lot of money to hire her to teach me. On the surface, she was the housekeeper of the Qu family, but in reality, she was my personal teacher."
Ding Meng said, "You did grow up very quickly."
Qu Xiaoqing said, "I needed a lot of resources to awaken my origin ability and cultivate. All of these couldn't be done without financial support."
Ding Meng frowned and said, "But this is strange. You awakened your origin ability so early when you were 12, but you were only 21 when I met you. After nine years, you still haven't broken through to become a beginner warrior. Isn't this a bit unreasonable?"
Qu Xiaoqing smiled and said, "I often asked my parents for money. In fact, I secretly gave most of the money to my third brother."
Ding Meng suddenly understood. Based on the relationship between the two siblings, as the younger sister, she must have fully supported her brother's hobbies.
Qu Xiaoqing said seriously, "Actually, my third brother was a genius. At that time, ordinary toys and machines could no longer satisfy him. He studied all kinds of strange fields and covered a wide range of topics. He often used optical computers to move around on the international space network, the Black Gold Web, and the Dark Web. At that time, our family also established contact with the government and the military. My third brother liked to deal with the observers on the patrol fleet. He often described the strange phenomena and principles in the depths of the universe to me. I was largely influenced by him..."
Ding Meng looked at her and said quietly, "I'm afraid your father must have been very opposed to his hobbies, right?"
Qu Xiaoqing let out a long sigh. "Yes, you guessed right. That Krypton Gold Ancient Sword was bought with a huge sum of money. Only something like that can satisfy his appetite. Dad often yells at him. Big Brother and Second Brother are busy with their careers and don't agree with him. He slowly becomes isolated and doesn't like to talk to strangers. He doesn't even talk to his family. Only I can communicate with him normally."
Ding Meng sighed and said, "Third brother Qu must have loved you very much when he was alive."
Qu Xiaoqing suddenly turned around. She did not want Ding Meng to see her expression.
"Yes, he didn't support me joining the army. He wanted me to be like other normal girls, grow up happily and smoothly graduate from school. He didn't want me to participate in the family business, get married, help my husband and raise my children, and live a simple life."
Ding Meng smiled bitterly. "I also want to live like this, but unfortunately, things don't go as I wish."
Qu Xiaoqing turned around again. "In order not to distract me, he gave up a lot of academic research and devoted himself to only one field, which is the Norse Empire's enemy, the Black Frogs."
Ding Meng's heart sank. He had a bad premonition.
Qu Xiaoqing said, "The Frogmen Kingdom is the biggest threat to our dynasty. At that time, the dynasty spent a lot of money to collect all kinds of methods to deal with the frogs, from the development of starship technology to the disintegration of the frogs' skin. As long as it was practical, the dynasty would adopt it."
Ding Meng frowned. "What did Third Brother Qu come up with?"
Qu Xiaoqing suddenly looked up. "Don't be surprised if I tell you. The result of his research was — the reconstructed warriors!"
It would be strange if Ding Meng was not surprised. "Third Brother Qu came up with the reconstructed warriors?"
Qu Xiaoqing nodded. "It should be the first generation of reconstructed warriors. At that time, the dynasty's army suffered a lot of casualties. He designed a metal model specifically for soldiers whose organs were completely damaged and could not be recovered. He made them fit perfectly with the metal and put them back on the battlefield. These first generation warriors still exist on the frontlines of the Fertile Chalk System to this day."
Ding Meng's face sank. "But today, not only have the reconstructed warriors been upgraded to the seventh generation, they are also being used by the frogmen on a large scale. Is there a reason behind this?"
Qu Xiaoqing nodded. "I can confirm that Third Brother Qu came up with the first generation warrior's model. Using this model as a prototype, the subsequent generations of warriors could not be separated from the design principles of the first generation warriors. Back then, he contributed his research results to the government for the use of the army. Our Qu family was rewarded by the dynasty because of this. During that time, the relationship between father and Third Brother Qu eased a lot, but Third Brother Qu fell sick."
Ding Meng was curious. "Sick?"
Qu Xiaoqing said, "In my memory, there were a few months when he said that he had been cheated of his research results. He locked himself in this room all day, not eating or drinking, only muttering to himself. He lost a lot of weight in a short time."
Ding Meng asked, "Who cheated him?"
Qu Xiaoqing shook her head. "I don't know, and he never said anything. It was only when I went to the frontlines of the Fertile Chalk System that I was able to confirm one thing. The dynasty's military did not keep the first generation warrior's model well, and it fell into the hands of criminals. After being sold, it flowed into the hands of the Black Frogmen. The Black Frogmen used advanced biotechnology to upgrade several generations of reconstructed warriors. These reconstructed warriors killed the dynasty's soldiers until not even their bones were left."
Ding Meng was dejected. "Third Brother Qu must have taken this very hard!"
Qu Xiaoqing said, "Yes, he was very remorseful. He even asked the patrol fleet to send him to the frontlines. He wanted to personally investigate the frogmen's reconstructed warriors."
Ding Meng asked, "Did he go?"
"He went!"
Qu Xiaoqing nodded slowly. "He begged father bitterly. In the end, Sister Zhong came forward and contacted the military. Her condition was that he was only allowed to collect fragments from the battlefield and bring them back for research. He was not allowed to enter the war zone and get involved in the battle."
Ding Meng asked, "What happened in the end?"
Qu Xiaoqing revealed a sad expression. "He was 20 years old that year. After he came back, he mysteriously contracted a strange disease. All the medical devices and medical cabins could not cure him. Father and mother spent a lot of money to hire the best doctors in the empire, but none of the doctors could do anything."
Ding Meng was shocked. "What disease did he have?"
Qu Xiaoqing shook her head. "All the cells in his body were withering, and his organs were failing. There were no signs, and they could not find the cause. From a medical point of view, this is a very complicated natural atrophy of the human body. He slowly became thin, withered, and died in extreme pain …"
Qu Xiaoqing's voice choked. "At the end of his life, he even wanted to transform himself into a reconstructed warrior, leaving only his brain and replacing the rest with a prosthetic body or metal."
Ding Meng's face became expressionless. "That's strange. With the current medical standards of the Federal Empire, it's impossible that such a strange disease could not be cured. Perhaps there's only one explanation."
He did not specify what this explanation was, but Qu Xiaoqing agreed with him. "Yes, everyone thinks that he was infected when he went to the Fertile Chalk Star System, but I definitely do not believe that he was infected by accident."
Ding Meng said, "If it was man-made, with your current status and ability, you should be able to find out the truth."
Qu Xiaoqing shook her head. "I can't find anything. This incident happened more than 20 years ago. I've checked all the information in detail. The people, things, and things related to this incident are all gone now. All that's left is this room full of relics."
Ding Meng looked at her. "I believe that Brother Qu was the biggest motivation for you to join the army, right?"
Qu Xiaoqing said, "To a large extent, that's the reason. I don't want him to die without knowing the reason."
Ding Meng was silent. He understood this feeling. When your family and friends passed away, you knew that they died unjustly, but there was nothing you could do.
Qu Xiaoqing's tone changed again. "But ten years ago, things changed again."
Ding Meng was immediately interested. "Oh?"
Qu Xiaoqing said, "Do you still remember Gu Yu?"
Ding Meng of course remembered. That was the expert who fought against him outside the Rainbow Planet. Of course, with his current experience, that person was not even a novice.
Qu Xiaoqing said, "He defected to the Federation and flew to the Divine Wars Star System. There's information that shows that he's related to the incident back then because he was active in the frontline of the Fertile Chalk Star System. He was in charge of the area that Brother Qu went to back then."
Ding Meng sighed. "No wonder the Conqueror Starship chased after him for hundreds of light years. But it was too difficult for you, Xing Yi, and Brother Jie to take him down back then."
Qu Xiaoqing said, "In the end, he died at your hands."
Ding Meng smiled bitterly. He did not know if it was a blessing or a curse.
Qu Xiaoqing seemed to know what he was thinking. "You're not to blame for that. I was too young and underestimated the complicated situation in space. I didn't expect that it would attract so many forces from the Swallowing Frogman Kingdom. If you hadn't killed Gu Yu's group, Xiaoyi, Brother Xin Jie, and I would have all died outside."
Ding Meng said, "But this lead is gone."
Qu Xiaoqing said seriously, "But three years ago, after we returned from the Divine Wars Star System, many strange fifth-generation warriors appeared in the frontline of the Fertile Chalk Star System."
Ding Meng asked, "What kind of strange?"
Qu Xiaoqing explained, "You should know that both the frogmen and the Noroxing Empire have reconstructed warriors. However, there is a clear distinction between the two. The frogmen use the memory neurons of the frog monsters, and they use biotechnology. Our empire, on the other hand, uses the spirit bodies or brains of humans, and we use crystal technology."
Ding Meng nodded. "The difference between the generations is in terms of weapons and functions, right?"
Qu Xiaoqing said seriously, "But the fifth-generation warriors that appeared three years ago were actually a combination of humans and frogmen. Their internal devices were a perfect fusion of biological technology and mechanical metals. In other words, these warriors can combine humans, frogmen, technology, and biological technology. This is unprecedented in the history of war between the two empires."
Ding Meng's face darkened. "That's exactly what happened to Professor Zhao."
Qu Xiaoqing waved her hand and said, "That's one of the reasons. We also found that these warriors are very strong individually. Most of them are at the Warlord or Warlord level. We didn't even find a single one below the Warlord level. They are very few in number, and they appear and disappear like ghosts. Most importantly, they don't belong to the armed forces of the Norse Empire, nor do they belong to the frogmen. They are completely independent existences. What's even stranger is that after our detailed investigation, they don't belong to any space forces …"
Hearing this, Ding Meng knew that these were most likely mercenaries from the Hidden Front. He didn't expect this mysterious organization to finally surface on the frontline.