"That's how it is."

"Go back and prepare yourself."

The director, dressed in a black uniform, folded his hands, and glanced sympathetically at the frail boy in front of him.

"I've been... included in the conscription list?" Lin Yuan's face showed a hint of surprise.

He had just crossed over into this world not long ago and hadn't even adjusted yet.

And now, he was hit with this bolt from the blue.

In truth, for an ordinary student like Lin Yuan, conscription wasn't all bad.

The government was always willing to spend on military needs.

Even conscripted soldiers received decent treatment.

But that was in peaceful times.

Now, news was spreading about alien invasions at the border star systems.

Many guessed that the purpose of this conscription was to serve as reserves for the front line.

In the year 2.6 million of the Star Sea Calendar, the Universal Human Alliance was undergoing a frenzied interstellar expansion, conquering star clusters and galaxies, inevitably encountering other races and civilizations.

Resources were limited, and to seize various celestial resources, human civilization had initiated a series of conflict wars.

Those alien civilizations that were driven away...

Were always lurking in the shadows, waiting for the chance to launch counterattacks.

"This is going to be trouble."

Lin Yuan's heart sank.

He knew very well that although human civilization had the overall advantage in war against most alien civilizations, not every battle was smooth.

The alien civilizations deep in the starry sky were fierce and brutal, with individuals possessing unbelievably formidable powers.

Tearing apart a battleship with bare hands wasn't just talk.

Fighting against these aliens meant that even the best-equipped human soldiers faced a death rate of twenty to thirty percent.

Moreover, due to the confidentiality of war efforts, all soldiers participating in the war against alien species were prohibited from communicating with the outside world.

Local starry battles commonly dragged on for decades, even centuries.

That meant if Lin Yuan was selected for this conscription, even if he survived the battles against aliens, he would likely spend the rest of his life aboard cold space warships, never again touching the ground or seas of a life-sustaining planet.

Lin Yuan took a deep breath, "Director, is there no way to discuss this? My parents are expecting me to support them in the future, and I also have a younger sister..."

The director tapped the desk and solemnly said, "Don't worry. By actively responding to the government's conscription policy, your family will be well taken care of."

"Your father's current position will be promoted, your mother will receive a respectable job in the district."

"Your sister's tuition will be fully covered, and after she turns eighteen, she'll have a chance to study at a prestigious academy."

"... So you've thought through my affairs after my potential demise?"

Lin Yuan pressed his lips together, a complicated feeling welled up inside.

To be fair, these were good conditions.

His father was stuck in a career bottleneck that most couldn't surpass in decades.

His mother was unemployed, so getting a decent job would significantly improve the family’s circumstances.

As for his sister, a spot in a prestigious academy for further education? That's something money couldn't buy.

It could propel her future to unimaginable heights.

But...

Why does all this have to rely on my sacrifice???

Lin Yuan had only been in this body for a few days, and though he had absorbed all its memories, the notion of "sacrificing one for the happiness of the family" still aroused an unspeakable resistance in his heart.

"I still prefer life on a planet," Lin Yuan muttered after a moment of silence.

Once he became a soldier, everything would be militarized.

Backing out then would be too late.

Even though refusing now probably wouldn't change anything.

"Student Lin Yuan, serving the government is an obligation every citizen should fulfill."

"Besides, this conscription policy is mandatory. Even if you don't want to go, you can't do anything about it."

"Plus, young people venturing out isn't a bad thing. You get to see alien races that are usually only in textbooks, something most citizens never experience."

"And if you make accomplishments, you might return to serve in the military district someday."

"This is a rare opportunity."

The director patiently comforted Lin Yuan with a few words.

"But..."

Lin Yuan opened his mouth to say something more.

But the director waved his hand, "Alright, you should go spend some time with your family these next few days."

Under the director's gaze, Lin Yuan got up and left.

Outside.

There were a dozen students about Lin Yuan's age waiting in line.

As Lin Yuan exited, another student stepped inside.

"Hey, what’s the director calling us here for?"

A dark-skinned student hurriedly grabbed Lin Yuan's arm, quietly asking.

"You'll find out when you get in there."

Lin Yuan sighed and walked away without further explanation.

Before meeting the director, Lin Yuan hadn't expected to be included in the forced conscription list.

Last week, he had heard of the mandatory conscription through a broadcast from a local authoritative media.

But he hadn't paid much attention then.

The conscription covered the entire Azure Wave Star and dozens of surrounding life-bearing planets.

Azure Wave Star had a permanent population of 50 billion, whereas the conscription quota allocated to Azure Wave Star was only several hundred thousand.

Probability-wise, the chance for a citizen to be chosen for forced conscription was about one in a hundred thousand.

Such an impossibly small chance; Lin Yuan hadn't given it a second thought.

But reality was always full of surprises.

His original body had bought various lotteries for over a decade and never won once.

Yet with a mere one in a hundred thousand chance, he was picked for conscription right away.

Returning home, Lin Yuan found his parents were there, and even his young sister was sitting at the table, a rare sight.

She was drooling at the cake in front of her but dared not reach out a hand.

"Xiao Yuan."

His mother, Lu Qiong, stood up, looking at Lin Yuan with a gaze that was hesitant yet full of understanding.

His father, Lin Shoucheng, frowned deeply, as if lost in thought.

It was evident that the news of Lin Yuan being drafted had already reached home.

In fact, his parents knew even earlier than Lin Yuan did.

"There might be room to maneuver the conscription issue."

"Tomorrow, I'll go find your uncle to see if he can help."

His father, Lin Shoucheng, spoke up.

The uncle referred to was a distant relative working in a research institute, with some level of connections.

"No need."

Lin Yuan shook his head.

The forced conscription was a policy from the government.

Let alone some insignificant research institute employee, even the governor of Azure Wave Star would need to pay a hefty price to change it.

Of course,

Had Lin Yuan been connected with the governor, his name would never have been on the conscription list in the first place.

Before the list came out, there was hope through money and connections to stay off it.

But once it was finalized, removal was near impossible.

"I'm a bit tired."

"I’ll head to my room."

Lin Yuan ate a little then got up and returned to his room.

"How can I get out of the forced conscription?"

Lying back on the soft mattress, Lin Yuan still clung to a glimmer of hope.

"Connect to the Goddess of Wisdom."

After thinking for a moment, Lin Yuan sat upright.

The Goddess of Wisdom was one of the three great goddesses of the Universal Human Alliance.

She was the core intelligent system of the entire civilization, overseeing the overall operation, responsible for all citizen affairs, and strictly monitoring any abnormal behavior to ensure everything was done according to the civilization charter.

In the span of over two million years of the Star Sea Calendar, the human race's ability to sweep across myriad races was largely due to the three goddesses.

Without their impartial management, the Universal Human Civilization would likely have crumbled from infighting long ago, never reaching its current vast, magnificent, and dazzling civilization.

Humans were emotional, prone to cognitive biases, making them vulnerable to wrong decisions due to emotions—but not the goddesses.

Their stance forever aligned with the interests of all human civilization, devoid of personal bias, always maintaining fairness.

The consciousness Lin Yuan connected with was naturally not the true main consciousness of the Wisdom Goddess.

Rather, it was a tiny fragment of consciousness shared with every citizen.

"Level One Universe Citizen Lin Yuan, state your query."

An electronic synthesized voice, emanating from the omnipresent network, sounded in Lin Yuan's ear.

"I want to know the conditions for exemption from forced conscription?"

Lin Yuan carefully worded his question.

"Forced conscription stems from Article 156 of the charter, meant to maintain human civilization’s stability and warfare capabilities. Every human citizen has the obligation to cooperate with conscription."

"Three conditions allow for exemption from forced conscription."

"First: Evolvers, who walk the path of evolution and represent the hope of human civilization, have the privilege to refuse forced conscription."

Evolvers...

Lin Yuan's expression was complicated.

Over the long course of the Star Sea Calendar, evolvers were hardly a secret.

There were many paths to becoming an evolver, primarily classified into Unique Evolvers and Common Evolvers.

Unique Evolvers were straightforward enough to grasp—those impossible to replicate or generalize.

Such as some evolution families passing talents through bloodlines, or individuals who underwent unique, unrepeatable experiences that transformed them into extraordinary beings.

These were Unique Evolvers.

As for Common Evolvers, they had embarked on a stable evolution path.

For example, Genetic Warriors who consumed expensive genetic serums to step onto this path.

And Mental Masters, honed through ruthless training and specific cultivation methods into lethal machines.

Any stable evolution path was incredibly precious, a treasure trove of knowledge pried from reality by the lives of countless predecessors.

"I'm just an ordinary person."

Lin Yuan sighed.

Being ordinary meant having no ties with Unique Evolvers.

If Lin Yuan wanted to become an evolver, he could only consider stable evolution paths.

But those were not achieved overnight.

Fully forming as a Genetic Warrior or other evolvers required expensive genetic serums and rare treasures.

In the Universal Human Alliance, genetic serums were strictly controlled substances.

Ordinary people had no way to buy them.

Even if presented with genetic serums, Lin Yuan couldn't afford them.

As Lin Yuan pondered, the cold, indifferent electronic voice chimed in once more.

"Second: Level Four Universe Citizens, who earn one exemption privilege every decade, can nullify forced conscription."

"Level Four Citizens..."

Lin Yuan's mouth twitched slightly.

In the founding year of the Star Sea Calendar, human civilization had established the Citizen Grading System.

Citizens were divided into twelve levels, with higher levels granting more privileges.

Raising one's citizen rank was achieved through contributions to human civilization.

This process, overseen by the three goddesses, was absolutely impartial.

Therefore, advancing in citizen rank was extraordinarily challenging.

Ninety-nine percent of citizens lived and died as level one.

Yet along with high-level status came significant benefits.

Starting from Level Four, citizens gained one exemption privilege every ten years.

This allowed one to absolve a citizen of any crime short of major felonies.

Forced conscription included.

However,

Given how deep-rooted the Lin family's connections were, where could they even meet a Level Four Citizen?

Consider this—the entire Azure Wave Star with its 50 billion permanent residents.

There was only one level four citizen.

That was the Governor of Azure Wave Star.

A person of immense authority controlling the lives of hundreds of billions.

"What about the third option?"

Lin Yuan couldn't help but ask.

"Third: Make contributions to human civilization, upgrade to a Level Two Citizen, you can be exempted from forced conscription."

The electronic voice once again delivered this, rendering Lin Yuan silent.

Level Two Citizens, even if not evolvers, held statuses no less than most.

They naturally shared many rights given to evolvers.

Yet...

Becoming a Level Two Citizen was even harder than becoming an evolver.

Lin Yuan at least understood how one became an evolver, even if he lacked the means himself.

But providing contributions worthy of the Wisdom Goddess's recognition to upgrade his citizen status was an enigma.

"What actions count as contributions?"

Lin Yuan tentatively asked.

"Providing a new evolution pathway would yield enormous contributions."

The electronic voice declared.

Lingering suspicion led Lin Yuan to recognize that the Wisdom Goddess placed great importance on new evolution pathways.

Otherwise, why offer immense contribution rewards?

"Better think of other ways."

Lin Yuan rubbed his temples.

None of the options the Wisdom Goddess provided were feasible for Lin Yuan.

Especially the last—to offer a new evolution pathway?

Were he able, he would have become a Level Two Citizen long ago, not waiting for forced conscription.

Unknowingly, it was already midnight.

Lin Yuan gradually drifted into sleep.

Suddenly.

At that moment.

An uncanny force pulled Lin Yuan's consciousness towards his mind.

And deep within his brain, a majestic, towering light gate appeared.

The inside was awash with a pale blue light, akin to rippling water.

"What is this?"

Lin Yuan was abruptly startled.

Then he woke up from his dream.

"It wasn't a dream."

Upon waking, Lin Yuan could still sense the light gate deep in his mind.

Simultaneously,

Ethereal characters flashed across his vision below.

[Name: Lin Yuan]
[Identity: Gate of Myriad Realms Holder]
[Realm: None]
[Talent: None]
[Divine Ability: None]

(End of Chapter)