True death was still the end.

Just then, Hammer’s next message arrived, making Qin Feng’s eyes light up.

[However, sir. For heroes who have made great contributions to the Empire and are exceptionally loyal, death may not be the end.]

[If you are loyal enough, after you die in battle for the Empire, your soul will have the chance, under guidance, to return to the Golden Throne. There, it will be purified and remolded, and finally, be reborn through reincarnation.]

[With this method of Rebirth, you will not retain any memories of your past life, but your soul’s essence will be preserved.]

"The Golden Throne..."

Qin Feng’s heart skipped a beat. He asked subconsciously, "Is that the Emperor’s throne?"

[Yes, Master.]

Hammer’s voice carried an indescribable, supreme reverence, as if it were etched into the very depths of its core programming.

[Our greatest and most sacred Emperor, in order to protect all of human civilization, voluntarily sacrificed His freedom, seating His body and soul upon the Golden Throne for all eternity.]

[It is because of the Emperor’s great sacrifice that His boundless Spiritual Energy, as vast as the cosmos, formed an indestructible "reality barrier." This barrier prevents the true Will of the four Evil Gods deep within Subspace from ever truly projecting their corporeal forms into our physical world.]

[It is also because the Emperor sits upon the Golden Throne that He can use His own Will to control the immense Subspace Network spanning the entire human Empire. This allows us humans to perform safe and convenient Subspace Teleportation anywhere within the Empire’s territory. Meanwhile, the Alien Races can never conduct any large-scale, strategic Subspace Jumps within our borders.]

[This... was a forced, helpless choice.]

Hammer’s voice grew somewhat somber.

[The Emperor sits enthroned, having turned Himself into both a cage and a beacon. By accepting His own confinement, He has ensured the human Empire’s territory remains impregnable, a security that has lasted for hundreds of millions of years.]

[In truth, Master, across the entire cosmos, the human Empire’s situation among the Cosmic Ten Thousand Races remains dire. One might even say it is precarious.]

...

Listening to Hammer’s account, Qin Feng fell silent.

A profoundly solemn yet heroic emotion stirred in his chest.

It was as if he could see, on the distant and Holy Terra, upon that cold yet glorious Golden Throne, a lonely Saint who, for ten thousand years as if it were a single day, used his own body to hold up a crumbling sky for an entire civilization.

’So, peace and tranquility were never things to be taken for granted.’

’It only exists because someone, in a place you cannot see, is shouldering all the darkness and hardship for you.’

Qin Feng slowly exhaled, his gaze becoming more resolute than ever before.

’I have to get stronger.’

’Much stronger!’

’Only with enough power can I protect everything I want to protect! Only then can I contribute my strength to this precarious Empire!’

Just then, a series of urgent beeps interrupted his thoughts.

[Captain, your team recruitment is complete!]

["Linzhou" (Life Force Index: 1510) has joined your team.]

["Carlo" (Life Force Index: 1550) has joined your team.]

["Yu Lin" (Life Force Index: 1580) has joined your team.]

[The team is now full. Please contact your team members as soon as possible to discuss the mission.]

Looking at the three notifications about his new members on the light screen, a satisfied smile appeared on Qin Feng’s face.

The strength of these three new teammates was quite impressive, completely meeting his expectations.

He didn’t delay and immediately sent a group message to his three new teammates.

[Hello, teammates. I am the captain, Qin Feng. Let’s meet in half an hour at the plaza in front of the ’Fearless Warband’ headquarters. Any problems with that?]

Soon, their replies came in one after another.

["Linzhou": Roger, Captain.]

["Carlo": Roger, Captain.]

["Yu Lin": Roger, Captain.]

Seeing their replies, Qin Feng didn’t hesitate. He stood up, turned, and walked toward the Teleportation Array outside his dorm.

’It’s time to meet my new teammates and begin my first battle after coming out of seclusion!’

...

At the same time Qin Feng was departing for the Fearless Warband headquarters, Xiong Yanfu, Lei Meng, and Tie Mu, who had just finished their gathering, returned to their team’s dormitory.

Xiong Yanfu plopped down on the sofa, chugged a large mouthful of water, and then excitedly opened his personal terminal to send a message to Shi Dang.

"Brother Dang! How’s the rest going? When are we gonna go for another big score? I just saw another extermination mission on the list with a super-rich reward!"

After he sent the message, a long while passed before Shi Dang’s reply finally came.

"Sorry, brothers. I’ve made huge progress recently and need to go into seclusion for a few months to adapt to my explosive increase in strength. I probably won’t be able to go on missions with you all for a while."

Seeing this reply, Xiong Yanfu was a little disappointed, but more than that, he was happy for his brother.

"..."

He quickly replied, "No worries, no worries! Important stuff comes first! You just focus on your seclusion! We’ll wait for you! When you come out, we’ll go kick some ass together!"

"Alright!"

After that simple reply, Shi Dang’s profile picture went completely dark.

Xiong Yanfu chuckled, closed the communication link, and said to Lei Meng and Tie Mu beside him, "Brother Dang is improving at lightning speed. Looks like we’ve gotta step it up too. We can’t let him leave us too far in the dust!"