Top edge chapter 1

Disguised identity

Opening his eyes, the blurry vision gradually focused and finally settled on the dazzling white light.

His brain began to function normally, but the speed of receiving information was unusually slow, like an outdated operating system struggling to process vast amounts of data.

Moving his fingers, he found no discomfort in his body.

Shen Siwei slowly sat up from the cryogenic chamber, his actions sluggish. As his brain started processing information normally, he finally asked himself the most pressing question—

Where am I?

“You’re awake.” A familiar voice was heard by his ear, and the world around him instantly became clear.

The man speaking wore a black military uniform, the uniform Shen Siwei was most familiar with. He glanced at the military rank on the man’s shoulder and hesitantly moved his lips, unsure, “Captain Moran?”

His hoarse voice was muffled by the oxygen mask, obscuring the reality in front of his eyes.

Shen Siwei instinctively reached out to remove the mask, but Moran held his wrist. “I’m a Colonel now.”

After correcting his rank, Moran withdrew his hand and added, “You’d better not take off the oxygen mask.”

A stranger standing not far away behind the control panel continued, “Your respiratory tract was damaged in the explosion, and combined with the long-term cryogenic preservation, your cardiopulmonary function is extremely fragile now.”

The chubby figure of the unfamiliar man, wearing a white coat, indicated that he was in charge of this laboratory.

—Right, the explosion.

Shen Siwei’s memory froze at the moment of the bomb explosion. The powerful shockwave and scorching heat engulfed him, and he thought he was doomed.

Thinking of this, Shen Siwei lowered his head and discovered that he was completely naked, yet there were no ugly burn marks on his delicate skin as he had imagined.

“What about my team?” He looked up at Moran.

“Don’t you remember?” Moran covered Shen Siwei with the white cape resting on his elbow. “During the last mission, your entire team was wiped out, and you’re the only survivor.”

His temple throbbed inexplicably, and Shen Siwei furrowed his brow, trying hard to remember. “What was the last mission?”

“It doesn’t matter if you can’t recall,” Moran comforted softly. “It’s been twenty years, and what happened before doesn’t matter anymore.”

Twenty years?

Shen Siwei was momentarily stunned by this information.

With the advanced level of medical technology, human lifespan had significantly increased. Twenty years could be considered short or long, depending on how one looked at it.

Moran’s appearance hadn’t changed much, except for a cluster of white hair cascading down his forehead. He didn’t appear old; instead, he had a touch of maturity.

Glancing around the laboratory, Shen Siwei noticed several instruments he had never seen before, as if they didn’t belong to his previous era.

“According to the original plan, I was supposed to wake you up after Dr. Chen repaired your cardiopulmonary function,” Moran’s voice brought Shen Siwei’s attention back. “But now the situation has changed, and we need you to carry out an urgent mission.”

Being assigned a mission right after waking up truly lived up to the term “urgent.”

However, as the captain of the special operations team, executing missions was a routine for him.

Shen Siwei asked, “What mission is it?”

“Dr. Chen.” Moran nodded towards the chubby man at the control panel, and several video clips immediately projected in mid-air.

In the intense street battles, the police were in constant retreat, and the city was occupied by a group of rioters.

Shen Siwei involuntarily furrowed his brow,  “Where is this?”

Moran answered, “Z City, Lower West District.”

The lower district.

An area within the Tree of life belonging to civilians.

Over a hundred years ago, as the Earth’s environment deteriorated and humanity faced an energy crisis, they constructed a massive Life Tree.

The Life Tree wasn’t shaped like an actual tree, but more like a champagne tower, with a total of four levels.

The bottom level was the living area for common people, the second level was the military center, the third level was the administrative center, and the top level was the core energy station that supported the operation of the entire Tree of Life.

The bottom level was then further divided into four regions: southeast, northwest, southwest, and northeast. The cities in each region were sorted alphabetically according to their geographical locations.

The captured cities had names starting with “Z” because they were located on the edge of the Tree of Life, adjacent to the harsh desert outside the tree.

 energy was extremely precious, which is why there were no prisons within the Tree of Life.

All criminals, regardless of the severity of their crimes, were banished outside the tree to fend for themselves until their sentence was over, at which point they could return to the tree.

Those criminals were called “flowing people,” and from the videos, it was not difficult to see that the group of thugs who captured the cities on the edge were the flowing people who should have been living outside the tree.

“How did they manage to break through the outer defense system?” Shen Siwei withdrew his gaze from the video.

The defense system around the bottom level was even more rigorous than the top level, and Shen Siwei found it hard to imagine how a group of simple-minded criminals could have breached it.

“Take a look at this.”

Moran brought up another video footage in mid-air, showing an extremely agile man whose movements even surpassed the speed of bullets.

After the defense system ran out of ammunition, the man aimed at the camera and pulled the trigger, and the short video ended there.

The guy was truly incredible.

Shen Siwei stared at the frozen frame at the end of the video and asked, “Who is he?”

“Klet,” Moran said, “the leader of the flowing people, his real identity is currently unknown.”

Shen Siwei furrowed his brow slightly, “No criminal record for him?”

Moran shook his head, “it’s like he appeared out of thin air, there’s no trace of him anywhere in the records.”

The man in the footage stared straight into the camera, emitting a fierce aura that seemed to transcend through the screen. Shen Siwei had come into contact with many ruthless criminals, but he rarely encountered someone with such a strong presence.

“Emergency mission,” Shen Siwei paused, “is it to assassinate him?”

As soon as he said that, Shen Siwei felt something was wrong.

His cardiac and pulmonary functions were impaired, and his combat capabilities were certainly not what they used to be. Unless there was no one left in the military center, he wouldn’t be assigned any missions.

“Not an assassination,” Moran interrupted Shen Siwei’s train of thought, “it’s an investigation.”

A projection of the Tree of Life’s structure appeared in mid-air, with the fallen areas marked in red.

Moran zoomed in on the red-marked portion and said, “It’s not a big deal if the flowing people invade; as long as we shut down the local energy station, we can quickly drive them out. But the problem is…”

At this point, Moran zoomed in on a building in the air, and his expression turned grave, “The energy station in the western district of Z City in the bottom level can’t be shut down.”

The distribution of energy within the Tree of Life follows the principle of “top-level advantage.” It’s like a massive champagne tower where energy only overflows downwards when the demands of the upper levels are met.

The upper levels control the energy supply to the lower levels, and this is the basic operating principle of the Tree of Life.

If the energy station in the lower level can be detached from control, the ruling power of the aristocrats in the top level will be threatened.

If the energy station in the lower level was to be detached from control, the ruling power of the aristocrats in the top level would be threatened.

Compared to driving out the flowing people, it was indeed more important to investigate Klet’s background thoroughly.

“Colonel,” Shen Siwei understood the mission, and for the first time, he felt a certain pressure, “Are you sure I can accomplish the mission?”

“Not certain,” Moran turned off the projection in mid-air, “but you are the best candidate.”

Shen Siwei couldn’t understand how he could execute the mission with such a broken body.

Dr. Chen on the other side seemed to sense his doubt and continued, “Captain Shen, you are not an ordinary soldier. Your skin is fused with ultra-high molecular materials, and no bullet can penetrate it. Your muscles have also been enhanced, stronger than mechanical prosthetics.”

Shen Siwei said, “But what about the oxygen mask…”

He couldn’t possibly carry an oxygen cylinder on his back to perform the mission, could he?

He instinctively looked for an oxygen tube but found that the mask was independently attached to his mouth and nose, with no tube below and no straps behind his head.

“I added micro magnetic particles to your face. The magnetism can hold the metal mask in place,” Dr. Chen explained, “When the oxygen is depleted, you just need to replace the compressed oxygen capsule inside the mask. Of course, when you’re not active, you can remove the mask. But once you feel difficulty in breathing, make sure to oxygenate in time…”

Shen Siwei patiently listened to Dr. Chen’s “precautions,” but Moran beside him clearly didn’t have the same patience.

He completely ignored Dr. Chen and said to Shen Siwei, “Before you, I sent two teams to investigate the situation, but none of them returned. Those flowing people are extremely ferocious. Even though you’re currently the most advanced weapon in the military, I still can’t help but worry.”

Shen Siwei subtly raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t thought that Moran would define him as a weapon.

“So, this time you need to disguise your identity.”

Shen Siwei asked, “Disguise as a flowing person?”

Moran replied, “No, disguise as a negotiator from Marg.”

• Marg nobles, living at the top level of the Tree of Life, are the actual controllers of the Tree of Life.

Shen Siwei immediately understood Moran’s intention.

If there was any identity that could make the flowing people wary, it could be that of a Marg noble. If any flowing person dared to harm a Marg individual, the entire area might be razed to the ground.

But on the other hand, they couldn’t really send Marg people to such dangerous places, so they had to let someone impersonate a Marg identity.

With Shen Siwei’s modified body, ordinary soldiers couldn’t protect themselves like he could. Coupled with the protection of the noble identity, even if any unexpected situation arises, he could be kept safe.

“You don’t have to worry about the disguise,” Moran added, “I have made the necessary preparations.”

He snapped his fingers, and an AI robot brought a dressing mirror. It was only at this moment that Shen Siwei saw his own appearance clearly.

His once black hair and black pupils had turned into golden hair and blue eyes. His fair skin was delicate, and his handsome features had gained a touch of softness.

The face was still his, but the temperament was completely different from before.

“Your hair and eyeballs have also been fused with ultra-high molecular materials, allowing you to change your hair color and iris color at will,” Dr. Chen explained as he twisted a knob on the console. The beauty in the mirror immediately transformed into green-eyed.

“Do you prefer blue or green?” Moran rubbed his chin, his eyes filled with interest. “The choice of hair and skin color was my idea. Among the Mages, there are many with golden hair, and white skin makes them appear more delicate, which can make the refugees lower their guard against you.”

Shen Siwei had undergone various undercover missions and was already accustomed to changing his appearance. But looking at the delicate beauty in the mirror, he still felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He had a strange feeling that his body no longer belonged to him and had become military property.

“I’m fine with both,” Shen Siwei replied.

“In that case, let’s go with blue. I like blue,” Moran said, letting Dr. Chen adjust the iris color back. He then extended his hand towards Shen Siwei. “I’ll take you to the room to rest first, and you can leave in the afternoon.”

As Shen Siwei looked at Moran’s outstretched hand, a sense of strangeness flashed through his mind.

Just because he looked fragile on the outside didn’t mean he needed someone to support him after leaving the cryogenic chamber.

Just as Shen Siwei hesitated whether to ignore his superior’s kindness, something unexpected happened.

Moran unexpectedly took a step forward and held him horizontally.

“Colonel?” Shen Siwei’s eyes widened in shock and quickly jumped out of Moran’s arms.

The white cape fell to the ground, exposing Shen Siwei’s entire body.

Since waking up until now, Shen Siwei had been able to adapt to all situations, except for Moran’s actions, which left him confused.

“What’s wrong?” Moran’s lips slightly stiffened. “Don’t you remember anything about us?”

Shen Siwei tried hard to recall what had happened between him and Moran that would make him naturally carry him like this.

But no matter how much he tried to remember, in his understanding, he and Moran were just ordinary superior and subordinate.

“We’re lovers, don’t you remember?” Moran’s gaze burned into Shen Siwei’s eyes, making him doubt his own memory.

—How could he be in a romantic relationship with his superior?

“I’m sorry,” Shen Siwei said puzzledly, “I seem to have no memory of that.”

Moran sighed helplessly. “It’s alright. It’s normal for you not to remember after the explosion.”

His eyes filled with disappointment, Shen Siwei pursed his lips, not knowing how to respond.

“You follow the AR guide to the room first,” Moran adjusted his mood and pointed with his chin in the direction of the elevator door. “There are clothes prepared for you in the room. I’ll chat with Dr. Chen for a while.”

Shen Siwei nodded and tightly gripped the edges of the cape, walking out of the laboratory barefoot.

After Shen Siwei’s figure disappeared behind the door, Moran withdrew his expressionless gaze, as if the disappointment in his eyes had never existed.

He looked coldly at Dr. Chen. “Why didn’t the implanted false memories work?”

Sweat dripped from Dr. Chen’s forehead, and he wore a troubled expression. “Colonel, this is still a new technology. Give me a little more time.”

“Get this matter resolved as soon as possible.” Moran’s brow furrowed in impatience. “Shen Siwei is a person who acts independently. Make sure he listens to me and remains loyal to me.”

The face mask has a metallic texture and directly adheres to the face, similar to an Alpha’s muzzle. There are character design illustrations on Weibo