Zhu Da and Cai Bao’er looked up when they heard this and called out, “Commander Zhao! You’re awake! When you passed out that day, you nearly scared the three of us to death. If anything had happened, those women back home would have eaten us alive. We only calmed down after the doctor said you were just overtired. Why have you brought two madams out for a stroll? How come you can’t go anywhere without women? How come we don't have your kind of luck with the ladies?”

I proudly pulled Elena and the Dragon Girl into my embrace. “Because I’m too handsome and you two are too fat. Lose some weight, and stop eating ‘chicken wings’.”

“I’m not fat.” The concise and cutting reply came from Xia Huren. He was taller than me and looked just as good, but he didn’t have a girlfriend.

I released the two women and stepped forward to shake Xia Huren’s hand. “Tiger, you arrived just in time. I experienced a sudden evolution just now. If the three of you hadn’t shown up, I probably would have been the one getting roasted.”

Thump, thump, thump! A pile of heads was tossed onto the ground. Xia Huren stated blandly, “Good thing it didn't spoil the mission. They deserved to die, and now they are dead.”

Elena was gradually getting used to dead bodies, so she didn't feel too uncomfortable. She whispered to me, “He really doesn’t like to talk, and he’s so cold.”

I said to Elena, “But we are best friends. He and I were comrades-in-arms for five years. We shared bunk beds when we were new recruits.”

The Dragon Girl paid close attention to the severed heads. After examining them, she remarked, “These are all key leaders of the rebels. It seems everyone is here except for Kang Hui.”

“Then he’s either not human or he can burrow underground,” Xia Huren replied. “The entire rebel camp is completely surrounded by us. The troops began closing the net from a hundred kilometers away, not even letting a fly escape.”

I said to the Dragon Girl, “Tiger never exaggerates, so it seems Kang Hui truly is quite capable. His escape fits the historical development. We should remain cautious.”

Elena pulled the Dragon Girl’s arm. “Come with me to look over there.”

The Dragon Girl was a little reluctant. “It’s so nice being with Zhao Qian. Why don’t you go by yourself?”

Elena ignored the Dragon Girl’s reluctance and pulled her away. “You know, sometimes men don’t want women interrupting their conversations, even if you are the woman he loves most. Understand?”

From a distance, we could still hear the Dragon Girl murmuring quietly, “Oh, thank you for the reminder, Sister Nana. I’ll pay attention to that in the future.”

Xia Huren chuckled. “These two are even more unique—one is extremely beautiful, the other is extremely large. Both are beyond the conventional model.”

Zhu Da and Cai Bao’er tossed their thighs into the fire pit and came over. “You damned Tiger! You never say more than a few words around us, and you never joke. Why have you dropped all your guards just seeing Commander Zhao?”

I laughed. “Because I’m handsome.”

The four of them laughed heartily for a moment and squatted down near a wall. They hadn't seen each other for almost two months, and they needed a good long talk. This world from six thousand years ago was extraordinary; the stories they had to share could easily take up half a day.

I started by explaining how I was teleported significantly off target, landing on a mountain in the Siberian Plain. Then I told them how I tumbled down the mountain and landed right in the middle of a primitive tribe’s campfire—of course, I conveniently left out the part about all my body hair being burned off. But I vividly recounted castrating the two primitive individuals who tried to bribe me into becoming their husband, and then how I discovered Elena in the pigsty, and finally, our journey down, encountering giant locusts, men-faced snakes, colossal insects, centaurs, the Princess, Hass, Kang Hui...

Zhu Da exclaimed, “You’ve been to so many places! Do you know where Cai Baozi and I were teleported? We landed in the Americas! Damn it, he established dominance in the south, and I set up my own kingdom in the north. Our armies met, and we fought for half a month. In the final great battle, I lost my temper and instantly wiped out Cai Baozi’s ten thousand Great Apes. Cai Baozi finally got furious and agreed to fight me to the death. But when we looked at each other across the battlefield—damn it, we were brothers who had been fighting for half a month!”

Cai Bao’er looked utterly dissatisfied. “Big Potato, you still have the nerve to say that! My ten thousand Great Apes! You son of a bitch, you’re truly ruthless! You didn’t even spare their dicks! My poor ten thousand ape soldiers!”

Zhu Da scoffed, “Enough crying poverty, you fool. Didn’t I compensate you with ten thousand wild horses? Plus fifty beautiful women.”

“Pah! If those were truly beautiful women, you’d give me one, and I’d thank you. After the first glance at that caliber of woman, I never paid them any mind again.”

I interrupted their argument. “Alright, you two, stop distracting. What’s the situation in the Americas, and how did you sail across the ocean to get here?”

Zhu Da began, “Commander Zhao, you won’t believe this. Though I didn’t study history or geography hard in school, even with my eyes closed, I know the Americas six thousand years ago shouldn’t have looked like this. From south to north, it was all grassland, inhabited everywhere by two-meter-tall Great Apes and wild horses, plus a few primitive tribes that looked quite like prehistoric Native Americans—speaking in clicks and whistles that we couldn't understand a word of. You know I hate it when people speak foreign languages; if someone speaks a language I don't understand in front of me, I beat them up. By now, they’ve all become mutes. But these guys were formidable fighters. After I was transported to the northern Americas, I quickly took control of their leadership and then marched south with the army to find you. Unexpectedly, we were blocked by the southern apes, so a huge battle ensued. The result? You know it—the conflict of mistaken identity; we fought our own people! There was no way around it; communication in this damned era was too backward.”

Cai Bao’er continued, “My initial experience was the same as Big Potato’s. After we reunited, we decided to cross the sea to Asia to find you. Initially, we planned to build ships, but one day we noticed several islands offshore where a type of giant bird was produced. So, Commander Zhu and I captured several hundred and tested them out—hey! They were perfect as airships. We then mobilized the army to capture birds from island to island along the coast, preparing for an aerial route to Asia, since this method was much faster and safer than sailing. But who knew that after only a few days of capturing birds, those bird-people organized forces and attacked us? Thus, the battle between men and birds began! Damn it, do you know how it ended?”

I said, “Damn it! It must have been our own people fighting each other again.”

Cai Bao’er replied, “How are you so smart? No wonder you always attract beautiful women. Those bird-people had actually been subdued by Tiger. He was transported to an island in the Pacific, and it turned out all those islands were inhabited by these birds. So, Tiger became the Bird King—the so-called ‘Bird-man’! Finally, our three armies converged, fifty or sixty thousand troops descending like a tidal wave. We originally intended to give that man in black a show of force, but it turns out you haven’t found him at all yet.”

I asked Xia Huren, “What about the rebel situation?”

Xia Huren replied, “We found a large army besieging Dragon Mountain City. At first, we didn’t know who was good and who was bad. Later, Commander Zhu said that any aggressor attacking a city couldn't be a good guy. So, the three of us unanimously decided to place another cordon around the rebels. Once the cordon was set, we took tens of thousands of troops and decided to check the situation at Dragon Mountain City first. Later, we saw…”

Zhu Da interrupted eagerly, “Later we saw you lying in the arms of a beauty, resting your head on her large chest, positively glowing with happiness! So we knew our guess was right—the attackers were truly no good. The three of us got furious. Did they think we had no one else? So, we gave the order and slaughtered all those bastards.”

Xia Huren apologized, “Those Giant Ape soldiers were too savage; we couldn’t take prisoners. They killed every one they saw. They completely wiped out the besieging rebels. I personally dealt with those rebel leaders. Dragon Mountain City is safe now, but the other rebels are scattered all over the world, and it will probably take a long time to clean them up.”

With the whole story clear, I kicked a nearby clone corpse into the fire pit. “So that’s how it was. It was lucky you arrived just in time; if you hadn't, my little life would have ended.”

Zhu Da said, “Why be polite between brothers? But you are truly ferocious. I suspect you aren't human, but a slaughterhouse machine. According to incomplete statistics, before and after arriving at Dragon Mountain City, you killed nearly four hundred thousand people—four hundred thousand, Commander Zhao! How long would it take you to count them all? I believe it would take days and nights! I don’t know how you managed it; the three of us are completely awestruck by you. That kind of stamina is beyond us. I spent a whole day and night fighting Cai Baozi’s ten thousand Giant Apes, and I even stopped to eat and rest in between.”

I unhooked the laser sword from my waist and flicked it on with a hum, letting the three watch while they observed. “If you want to talk about a slaughterhouse machine, this is it!”

Zhu Da took it and jumped. “Holy crap, why is it so heavy!”

Cai Bao’er quickly tried it. “Wow, it really is weighty.”

Xia Huren swung it a couple of times. “The feel is good, but I couldn't use it for long. Just holding it up would exhaust a man.”

I explained, “But its power is immense. Those rebels didn't fight with formations; they relied entirely on sheer numbers to win. But the more concentrated their forces, the greater the power of this laser sword. With one swing, at least dozens of people die. In one minute, I can kill several thousand!”

Zhu Da casually sliced a few times at a corpse on the ground. “Satisfying! It really is a fine sword. This would be absolutely amazing for butchering meat or killing a chicken back home. Too bad my strength is still a bit lacking. If I carried this thing around every day, my pants would fall off from exhaustion.”

“Since waking up, I haven’t felt any weight from this laser sword,” I noted. “It seems my physical condition has indeed taken another leap. I killed those more than three hundred thousand people relying on this. If I had used just my bare hands, I probably couldn't have killed even a hundred thousand before collapsing from exhaustion.”

Xia Huren asked me, “What’s our next move? Elena has been found. Should we go back, or continue searching for the man in black? You need to give the instructions.”

Zhu Da and Cai Bao’er chimed in, “Commander Zhao, please don’t rush back! It’s been incredibly exhilarating here in the time of six thousand years ago. You know, we two were involved in the underworld—the kind of guys who kill without batting an eye. But in our own time, it’s almost impossible to do that openly. Here, we achieved it! Six thousand years later, we have to fight wars stealthily, and the most we mobilize is tens of thousands of troops. But here, it’s different—hundreds of thousands or millions in one go! Waving banners and beating drums with such grand fanfare is thrilling! Let’s stay and have some fun for a while before returning. Besides, you can’t bear to leave those two beauties, right? Enjoy yourselves here for a bit. Since the agreement with home is a six-month limit, just treat it as a long business trip. Being apart briefly makes reunion all the sweeter; staying together every day would make even immortals bored. Stay here for a while longer, and we guarantee they’ll treat you like a treasure!”

I said, “Since you two have given so many reasons, we’ll stay here for now. First, we need to look for the man in black, and second, there’s an even more important thing to do.”

“What?” the three asked, puzzled. One of our two goals for coming here—finding Elena—was complete. The only remaining objective was finding the man in black.

I stated, “We’re going to build the Moon!”

“What!” The three jumped up, even the usually calm Xia Huren couldn't control himself. “Commander Zhao, have you been muddled by the beauties? Even your wife six thousand years from now wouldn't guarantee something like that.”

I insisted, “But we must do this. I ask the three of you: is there a Moon six thousand years from now?”

“Yes, even a one-year-old child knows that.”

“But have you seen one here?”

The three shook their heads. “We’ve been here for quite a while, and we haven’t seen the moon any night. We were wondering about it and planned to ask you when we met.”

I said solemnly, “Since there definitely is a Moon six thousand years in the future, we must build it now and launch it into the sky. Otherwise, many things six thousand years from now might change.”

The three nodded. Zhu Da agreed, “Commander Zhao, we know you always have great ideas, so give the orders. In six thousand years, there’s nothing we can’t accomplish. Six thousand years ago, we beat everyone in the world senseless. If there’s no Moon, we’ll build one!”

Cai Bao’er led the charge with a clap of his hands. “When brothers are united, their sharpness can cut through metal!”

The four hands slapped together. There were countless things we couldn't imagine back then, but in the end, didn't we make the US and Japan cry for their mothers? Is building a Moon harder than having children? Even if it is harder than having children, we will build it!

Four young hearts beat closely together. Nothing in this world could stump them. Three smelly cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang, and we are certainly smarter than smelly cobblers. We managed to defend Dragon Mountain City, which seemed indefensible; surely we can launch the supposedly unbuildable Moon into the sky!

The four talked by the wall near the fire pit for a long time. Although the stench of burning corpses was foul, the entire Dragon Mountain City smelled the same way now, so there was nowhere to escape it. I told them about Hass’s interstellar spaceship. Zhu Da was utterly shocked. “A vessel that large? That is truly rare in this world.”

I countered, “But there are ten such spaceships. Our next task, besides finding the man in black, is to locate the other eight interstellar vessels. We gather these ten ships, Hass’s and the Long family’s two, and then find a way to assemble them into the future Moon! Then we use the ships’ power systems to send it into its orbit six thousand years from now!”

“Great idea!” The three agreed. “With Commander Zhao in charge, never mind building a Moon; we could build a Sun if you told us to! Let’s quickly find out the locations of the remaining eight interstellar ships, take control of them one by one, and then figure out how to start and connect them.”

I said, “We must ask the Dragon Girl about the other eight ships. Come on, brothers, let’s have a proper reunion today. Commander Zhu, Commander Cai, bring the roasted chicken wings along. Let’s have a couple of drinks at noon.”

The two let out a couple of dry heaves. “Do you think we didn’t eat human flesh when we were first transported to the Americas? We couldn’t find anything to eat then, so we roasted apes. That taste was truly sour. We never want to smell that again in all our future lives.”

The four walked over to meet the Dragon Girl and Elena. Zhu Da said to the Dragon Girl with ill intent, “Sister-in-law, you should call me Brother Da. I’m older than Commander Zhao; when he was little, he had to call me ‘big brother’.”

The Dragon Girl was very obedient. She seriously said to Zhu Da, “Brother Da, I’m just getting familiar with your world. You must guide me more in the future.”

Zhu Da shot me a smug look and then told the Dragon Girl, “Of course. Since a fairy as beautiful as you calls me Brother Da, if I don’t help you, who will?”

Cai Bao’er hurried to say, “Sister-in-law, you should call me Brother Bao too. Don't forget I’m not younger than Commander Zhao.”

I quickly stopped the Dragon Girl. “No, at most you can call him Brother Bao. This guy is my little brother-in-law; his sister is my unofficial wife. Technically, he should be calling me brother-in-law.”

Cai Bao’er’s face flushed. Cai Jingjing had insisted on marrying me; this little brother-in-law relationship was real. But Cai Bao’er still argued, “If you’re not married, it doesn't count. Say that when you and my sister finally tie the knot.”