Hunting the Stars

“Hold them off! Hold them off! Eliminate all these bugs! We can’t let them get through!” A man was shouting angrily, directing those in strange outfits to run to the metal wall ahead. These were buildings and clothes that Elian Hawk had never seen before, looking like something straight out of a sci-fi movie. Elian Hawk, still coming to his senses, didn’t know what was going on. Below the metal wall where he was standing, dozens of fierce 'monsters' appeared—beasts he had never seen before. These 'monsters' were screeching loudly, swinging their sharp forelimbs, and climbing on top of each other, charging towards the metal wall, one on top of the other. Fortunately, the metal wall was thick and solid, and despite the monsters' brutal attacks, it didn’t budge. Their terrifying limbs only left scratches on the metal surface. “Damn it! What the hell is going on?” Elian Hawk cursed reflexively. “Smack!” Elian Hawk felt a hard slap on the back of his neck. Turning around, he saw the fierce-looking man who had been directing the others. “Where did you come from? I’ve never seen you here at the outpost?” The man was Captain Caron, the commanding officer of the 1st Infantry Battalion, 3rd Fleet of the Shenyiao Empire, stationed on this small planet, 50 light-years away from the Empire’s borders. “Damn it! We just took over this shitty outpost, and now this happens! No wonder no one wanted to come here. This planet has no value and is ridiculously dangerous.” Ignoring Elian Hawk's confusion, Caron kept mumbling to himself. Suddenly, he looked up and stared at Elian Hawk. “From your outfit, you’re not a soldier, right? Didn’t you leave with Squad 12 when they retreated?” Elian Hawk didn’t know how to respond, so he instinctively nodded. Caron flashed him a grim smile. “Well, you’re really out of luck!” Caron said. “No matter what you were doing before, I’m ordering you to join my 3rd Infantry Squad right now. Go to the armory, grab a weapon, and get to the wall and fight!” Caron noticed that the confused, seemingly clueless, fat man in front of him hadn’t moved. “Where’s the director? Are you filming a movie or something?” To Caron’s surprise, Elian Hawk actually asked this. “These monster special effects are really well done! I was almost scared for a second,” Elian Hawk added, sticking his head out to look at the bugs attacking below. “i***t! Don’t you understand the situation? Whatever you were doing before, you have to listen to me now! Grab a weapon and fight! If those bugs get through, we’re all dead!!” Caron grabbed his laser gun from behind and shoved it into Elian Hawk’s hands. “Whoa!” The moment Elian Hawk held the black laser gun, he felt the weight in his arms. “Damn, this thing is heavy!” Elian Hawk mimicked the soldiers around him, slinging the laser gun onto his shoulder and pulling the trigger. “Bang! Bang!” He lightly pressed the trigger, and two eerie green laser beams shot out. Unfortunately, Elian Hawk’s aim was terrible, and the beams missed the monsters, landing in a sand pile far away. The powerful recoil of the gun knocked Elian Hawk to the ground. Caron saw Elian Hawk fire two shots and then fall flat on his back. “Oh my god! What kind of person is this? Even an Imperial child would know how to use a weapon better than this!” But at this moment, Caron couldn’t waste time dealing with this i***t. Several bugs had already climbed the metal wall, and after a close-quarters battle with the soldiers, casualties were mounting quickly. The bugs were incredibly resilient, and even four or five soldiers firing at once needed a long time to kill one. This was a headache for the already understaffed infantry squad. As the bugs climbed over the fallen bodies of soldiers, more swarmed onto the wall. Caron had no choice but to order a retreat. The soldiers quickly pulled back and abandoned the wall. Meanwhile, Elian Hawk, knocked down by the recoil, hit his head and lost consciousness. So, from that point on, he had no idea what happened next. ... ... Boom! A bolt of lightning flashed across the sky, followed by heavy raindrops that ‘pitter-pattered’ onto the ground. The camp was eerily silent, with only the steady rainfall filling the air. The camp was a scene of devastation, with bodies scattered everywhere, severed limbs and blood mixing on the ground, bearing witness to the violent clash that had taken place. The entire camp was devoid of life. Captain Caron’s half-body was found not far from the camp’s entrance. In front of him was a black bug’s body, riddled with holes. It seemed that Caron had died with the monster. After wiping out the humans in the camp, the bugs left without further incident. The rain washed away the blood, mixing with the green slime of the bugs, covering the entire floor of the camp. Fortunately, the rain helped dissipate the awful stench that filled the air. “Ugh~~” Amidst the corpses, a faint voice was heard. Lei Tianyao struggled to push the heavy debris off his body and sat up, rubbing his sore neck. “Ouch, that really hurts! Feels like I have a bump on the back of my head. That wasn’t a dream, was it?” Thinking back to what he had just experienced, Lei Tianyao thought, “No, this isn’t a dream!” His pupils contracted, and his face turned pale. The bodies and remains scattered around him, as well as the dismembered limbs and organs, made it clear that everything was real. “Ugh~~” Lei Tianyao turned to the side and vomited. “I was just playing Sengoku Lances at home, almost finished the game. I remember that old computer—it was leaking electricity. I got electrocuted and passed out, and then woke up to this...” Elian Hawk, or Lei Tianyao, was a typical otaku who spent his days eating, sleeping, and playing games. He rarely left his house unless absolutely necessary. However, unlike some otaku who just wasted time doing nothing, Lei Tianyao was a skilled techie who earned extra money online by doing freelance graphic work. This allowed him to support himself and indulge in his hobbies. Due to his sedentary lifestyle, his weight had ballooned to 200 pounds. Luckily, his height of 6 feet made him look less overweight. But his friends still affectionately called him “Lei Baozi” (Lei the Bun). Lei Tianyao was content with his life and had no desire for major changes. As long as he had enough money each month for food and the latest games, he was happy. In other words, Lei Tianyao was someone with no grand aspirations. He had been living like this for three years. But then, fate took a strange turn. That old computer of his finally malfunctioned. ... ... After vomiting everything out, drenched in the rain like a drowned rat, Lei Tianyao barely gathered the strength to think seriously about what to do. In this unfamiliar place, he realized that he had likely ‘traveled’ to another world. Staggering to his feet, he raised his hands. “Grant me strength! I am He-Man!” The sky remained unchanged, with only the rain falling. Lei Tianyao stood alone on the metal platform, his chubby body drenched in water. “Wait, isn’t the whole point of traveling to another world that I should gain powerful abilities?” Being an otaku, Lei Tianyao had read plenty of reincarnation and isekai novels. So he had some idea of what kind of abilities the protagonists typically get. He looked down, unbuckled his pants, and checked... “It’s impossible! As a transmigrator, I should have a ‘heroic template’!” He muttered to himself. “Could it be that my transmigration template is ‘kingly aura’?” He smirked to himself. Looking around, aside from the piles of corpses, there were no living creatures around to test the mythical ‘kingly aura’ on. “Well, since I’m here, there’s no turning back. The most important thing now is to figure out what this place is.” Lei Tianyao slowly descended from the metal platform, carefully stepping over the corpses and severed limbs. Occasionally, he would step on someone’s intestines or other organs. The entire camp was made of metal, with 20-meter-tall metal walls surrounding it. The thick walls could withstand any attack. If it hadn’t been for the bugs using their bodies to create a ramp, the camp wouldn’t have fallen so quickly. This was also due to the lack of soldiers in the outpost. The camp was supposed to have 500 soldiers stationed there. But when the bugs attacked, there were fewer than 60 soldiers. So, the fall of the camp was inevitable...