In 2017 a team of visionary scientists achieved a groundbreaking milestone in bioengineering. Nevertheless, every advancement was appropriated for defense purposes, igniting a new phase of the arms race. The apex of this progress—vanguards—became the most formidable weapon, fielded extensively across all fronts. While vanguards deliver unparalleled battlefield performance, the nanomachines that sustain them drastically shorten their lifespan; consequently, most retire after a handful of years in active duty.
Liuli, the central figure, has likewise exhausted much of her remaining years through relentless assignments. She is trained in stealth. With merely 380 days left to live, she is ordered to extract a hostage from a covert civilian facility that had been repurposed from a research center. Such a task seems almost inconceivable for a vanguard who has spent her life mastering lethal tactics, yet Liuli accepts the directive.
During the covert operation she discovers that the man holding the hostage is a former vanguard, Zhongrong Zhou. He breaks down, imploring the government to surrender Eden"s son—a key to reversing nanomachine damage. Liuli feels profound contempt toward Zhou as a fellow vanguard, recalling how he once was the most celebrated operative before his defection shocked command. Determined to purge traitors, a fierce duel erupts between them.
