RedMoon

Eventually, someone would try to address their neurological and endocrine disorders—but that wouldn’t happen for another thousand years. When your subordinates are terrified of you, it tends to cause problems. That’s why no one dared inform Smith—lest they end up as part of the carpet. I looked up the description on Wikipedia. These dystopian stories are always chilling, and they serve as a warning for the world we live in today. (Also, I just learned that “sleeping dogs” can refer to the silent majority—learned something new!)

Maybe it was the recent terror attack—every passenger on the subway looked tense. A stifling air of anxiety hung in silence. Even though the car was bright and spacious, people were huddled into corners like they were seeking cover, their eyes darting around the carriage. I suspected even a single sneeze might trigger a panic. During the war, commuters were glued to their terminals, lost in whatever held their attention. Who would've thought that now, in peacetime, zoning out in your o

The good news is, we can get rid of him—for now. As for the bad news...

Madness cannot last forever. It might have taken a little longer than expected, but in the end, sanity did return.

Yes, an unimaginable horror. Let’s hope everyone comes to their senses before it’s too late.

Normally, in order for the story to keep moving forward, we can always expect the worst-case scenario...

After dinner, most of the off-duty maned wolves seized the brief and rare window of free time, splitting off into groups according to their differing needs and heading to various entertainment venues. I intended to thank Juan before continuing my journey, so I wandered aimlessly across the vast open space behind the restaurant, which doubled as a parking lot, waiting for the colonel to finish his meeting. Of course, another reason was to stay as far as possible from the plaza on the op

During breeding, the traits selected to make them gentle and non-aggressive led to some unexpected side effects in golden retrievers (and Labradors)—once their bodies were enlarged into anthropomorphic forms, which changed many things (size, metabolism, tolerance, etc.). Hunter gives a brief description of this in Sigma Squad: The Railroad – Journey (3/5). In the later parts of this story, we’ll see exactly how this ultimately shattered their sanity.

Alright, time for a bit of history. The parts currently planned for writing in other stories are presented with a spoiler warning (though not directly tied to the conflict between herbivores and carnivores, so feel free to skip if you'd prefer): From then on, only mammalian humanoids remained on Earth. However, food synthesizer had yet to be invented. Even though insect-protein factories existed, they could not fully meet the cravings of carnivores who desired fresh meat. As a result, many turned to hunting herbivores. (Birds had already been rendered nearly extinct due to severe avian flu outbreaks, making industrial farming impossible, and fish were no longer a viable food source due to the ocean’s acidification and pollution.) The escalating conflict eventually erupted into an all-out war between extreme factions of herbivores and carnivores. Several species were driven to extinction, including the civets. Nations formed, divided along lines of herbivores and carnivores. A mutual agreement to live separately brought a temporary halt to the war and allowed both sides to endure each other’s existence—at least for a while. However, herbivore nations, with their technological edge and more favorable geography, eventually became dominant powers, functioning as economic hegemons. Lots of carnivore nations were reduced to vassal states, losing autonomy and even land. This was seen as a betrayal of the consensus that ended the Second War, reigniting tensions. Hostility surged in the vassal regions. As herbivore nations began colonizing Mars, the demand for labor and raw materials increased, which further intensified their oppression of the vassals. Carnivore resentment soon approached the brink of total war. In an attempt to resolve the issue once and for all—and to secure adequate living space for herbivores—a campaign to collar all carnivores was launched. Initially implemented in the colonial vassal regions, the policy of forced collaring soon alarmed independent carnivore nations, sparking the Third Great War. The faction supported by the Senate (which would later produce the first Emperor of the Empire) demonstrated exceptional leadership and military prowess during the war, ultimately leading to the submission of various regional warlords. Thus, the Senate-appointed ruler became the nominal overlord. Prior to the Third War, the vast majority of foxes already lived in herbivore-controlled colonies. When the war broke out, many foxes chose to side with the herbivores—not just because carnivores had long ignored their plight, but also because foxes had already been branded as the herbivores’ lapdogs for quite some time. Facing inevitable defeat, the herbivores launched a full-scale retreat to Mars, abandoning Earth to the current chaos and the many uncontrolled acts of vengeance still unfolding today. Currently, the story is primarily set in the Americas. The north is occupied by the Golden House, while the south is held by the Maned Wolf House. Greenland is under the control of the German House. At this point in time, the Senate is already preparing for the establishment of the empire and working with various factions to divide territory and grant titles. The Viera House, having sided with the carnivores in this war, was not subjected to any purges. Key events from a later point in the timeline can be seen in The Pale Blue Dot – Promise and Storm Wolf: Tranquil Waters – World 2.1, so this story will also feature some of the earliest events or root causes leading up to them.

I believe I’ve handled things with enough care to avoid anything that might disrupt anyone’s simple enjoyment of the story. The journey ahead will indeed grow more difficult, but I believe that when we reach the destination, we’ll have plenty of chances to reflect on everything we’ve been through. Thank you for the kind words—I’ll keep doing my best! However, since this story requires more polishing during translation, each update will likely be limited to around 3,000 words at most, so the pace may not be as fast as some of my other works. Let’s continue this journey together!

The furious crowd roared with curses, hurling garbage and stones at the gallows. The red fox hanging from the rope had stopped moving minutes ago, but that hadn’t soothed their rage. As another wave of jeers erupted, I noticed a semi-liquid filth trickling down the fox’s thigh, eventually dripping from his toes and mixing with the muddy water below. A few taps on my shoulder—Santiago was telling me our table was ready. Juan had insisted on buying me lunch as an apology for getting my c

No need to worry, everyone—this story is still aimed at a teen audience (though some of my readers might disagree with that claim). I've done my best to keep the themes and any potentially uncomfortable content at a level that's digestible and won’t cause any emotional indigestion. I hope you’ll enjoy the story and find a bit of strength in it, too.

Oh wow, I didn’t notice, but it’s an honor to have so many people willing to read it! I’ll keep working hard to keep it going!

Absolutely!

I'm so glad you enjoyed it! It's a great honor to be able to share my story with others!

I know I seem to have a tendency to kill off my main characters, but I still believe we have to hold on to hope—there’s always a chance for a turnaround! As for Zorro, we’ll see him become the person he needs to be. Of course, the journey will probably be a rough one.

Porthos The warm afternoon breeze smelled of soil and dried grass—likely from the nearby wheat field being harvested. Branches swayed and creaked under the wind, rustling with each gust. Clutching a handful of acorns against my chest with one arm, I gripped the branch beneath me tightly with the other, terrified that even the slightest distraction would send me falling. “Young master,” came the voice of the white shepherd, Klaus, who always forgot that I was no longer his s

When the world descends into madness, how much would you be willing to give for what’s right? Or would you let yourself spiral down with it, lost in wrongdoing that can never be undone? Honor, sacrifice, devotion—all for one, and one for all. The young fox of Viera House, Zorro, has yet to realize that he is about to embark on a journey of great significance. He will witness both the end and the beginning of a legend, and in that faraway place, find what was never truly lost.

You guessed right!

Appendix of Sigma Squad: The Railroad Hello everyone, Sigma Squad Book 1 is officially complete! Thank you all for reading and sharing your feedback! It's been an amazing journey, and I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I have! The backgrounds of the Sigma Squad members were already decided back when I was writing Pale Blue Dot. Abel's story is probably the most violent and longest, while the others will be shorter. This series was originally intended to be all-ages, but each member of Sigma Squad has their own dark backstories, which is more in line with my style and the kind of stories I tend to tell. I hope it wasn't too shocking or hard for you to accept. Let's keep going and see where the story leads us! As for secondary characters, Abel is probably my favorite. His story is also the most complex, which is why I shared it in Book 1. In the original design, 76184 was meant to have an extremely nasty personality. When 74258 rejected his offer, he actually hit him. But later, I realized that if he had hit him then, there wouldn't be any story afterward. So I changed it to the current version, where 76184 was no longer trying to get something out of 74258, allowing 74258 to feel safe and willing to accept, leading to their eventual equal relationship, as symbolized by "the temperature was just right." As a side note, the first number refers to their breed, the second and third digits refer to their origin, and the final digit is their individual number. Each count's territory has fewer than 100 red foxes, and their primary work is mostly handled by drones. The red foxes from Texas had it pretty rough. Though it's not so bad to live in a peaceful little world, just making the same choices as the masses, in the end, they were all executed by impalement. For tyrants, after all, everything is their to give and take away whenever they please. That said, I wonder if some of the violent and bloody scenes might have gone too far or were a bit unnecessary? I have to admit, the part where 74258 was tortured by Hunter felt a bit excessive to me. But in the end, I decided to keep it to show just how bad Hunter truly was. One of the key missions of Sigma Squad is to introduce the current state of Gaia. Abel's journey is mostly focused on the plantation and observing the city from the outside. Of course, there's also the introduction of rats and bears, which will be fleshed out further in other members' stories. I really enjoyed the scene where the two of them were speeding on the motorcycle--it had that cyberpunk meets road trip vibe. I hope I managed to convey that sense of boundless freedom to the readers. There are also some new characters introduced in this story, most of whom will appear in other stories (including Storm Wolf). You'll get to see what some of these characters were like before they went bad, and who was rotten from the start. If any of the characters stood out to you (in any way), I'd love to hear your thoughts! Sigma Squad Book 1, The Railroad, has its biggest twist in Abel's identity. I wonder if any readers figured it out before 74258 revealed it at the end? The perspective of 76184 was decoded from that chip, so all the inner thoughts (like his feelings during fainting) actually belong to 74258. And in the end, 74258 decides to accept the "precious gift" and continue the journey for both of them--seeing a world where the skies are bluer and the grass is greener. Though I admit the title may have been a bit misleading, since The Railroad is primarily 76184's story, a story of "those who didn't make it." So there wasn't much background given for 74258. But Abel's journey isn't over yet, and the ripples from it will stir up waves in the main series. For example, there are three parts to "The Railroad," but what about the final part? And all the old grudges and new rivalries--who will our clever little fox end up with in the end? Before we return to Richter’s journey, we’ll be jumping back a thousand years in the timeline to explore the early days of the empire’s founding. The reason for this shift is simple: my computer broke down during that period, and I couldn’t continue writing Storm Wolf. Anyway, thanks again, everyone, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy the stories to come!

Thank you so much for sharing—I've learned a lot from it. Our compulsory education barely touches on these topics at all, so unless certain works or media gain enough attention, we often don’t even know where to begin looking. (That said, our history textbooks don’t even mention early Chinese in the American West or immigrants to Australia, so maybe it’ll take many more years of political struggle before it’s decided what should actually be taught.) I’ve found that asking ChatGPT is pretty useful—it really saves me a lot of time when it comes to looking things up. I hope these histories and lessons will be remembered forever.

Thank you for sharing. I think I’ve learned something new today. These parts of history might not be as well-known, but they’re definitely worth remembering. Maybe it’s something I should give some thought to.

Yeah, it might not be the most comfortable chapter of history, but it's one that needs to be remembered. I first learned about that part of history through the backstory of Magneto.

Who could possibly resist those adorable little tails swaying back and forth?