Captain Xianglan’s Past

“From now on, your name will be Xianglan. Your mother’s name is Youlan… You must remember this name, do you hear me?”

“Your names are very similar, so you’ll surely remember it, won’t you?”

The man before her, with a haggard face, disheveled beard, and messy hair, spoke these words, forcing the brightest smile he could manage.

The slightly older infant sat on the bed. She stared with innocent, wide eyes, gazing blankly at the man who tried so hard to appear cheerful.

After a moment, she suddenly burst into tears, wailing loudly.

She was hungry.

It wasn’t fear that made her cry, but hunger.

The man fumbled about in a flurry, finally managing to gently place the steaming pacifier into the baby girl’s mouth, then settled the bottle into her tiny hands.

The baby girl stopped crying. She clutched the bottle, gulping down the milk with vigorous, contented slurps.

The man, however, watched the baby girl drink, then couldn’t help but turn and walk out.

The baby girl, unaware of his departure, continued to happily drink the milk from the bottle cradled in her arms.

Xianglan floated in the brightly lit deep sea, silently observing the series of images unfolding before her.

One second she had been fighting for her life, yet upon waking, she found herself here.

She understood this was a dream, a subconscious realm, an illusion, not reality.

Those vivid images were memories from her past.

But her teammates were in danger. She struggled, desperate to wake up quickly, yet no matter what she did, she couldn’t.

She could only drift, helplessly, in the deep sea.

Then, two particular memory scenes captured her attention.

She found herself drawn to them uncontrollably, her gaze deeply absorbed by the images in her memory, momentarily forgetting her urgent need to awaken.

One of them was the scene currently before her eyes.

The other was a memory she usually buried deep in her heart, one she had never shared with anyone.

After becoming a captain, she had been busy for too long, constantly rushing between hunting fierce beasts and maintaining city security. She had almost forgotten that memory entirely.

She only remembered protecting her home and nation, guarding its citizens, and had forgotten the original intention for which she had strived.

A very simple reason to become stronger.