Chapter 1 Medical Examination

Inside the GT department's medical examination room.

Mai Han lay in a private medical room, having just undergone an instrument examination.

All his readings were normal; he showed no signs of infection.

However, Mai Han's expression grew increasingly somber. He kept replaying the battle in his mind, a look of suspicion on his face, as he felt something was amiss.

Yet, he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was.

He stared at the test data, his expression constantly shifting.

"General Mai Han?"

A gentle voice sounded.

Mai Han snapped out of his thoughts and looked up, seeing a female doctor with short, blonde hair and glasses, holding a file, walking up to him.

"General Mai Han, why are you spacing out with your medical report in hand? All your physical indicators are healthy. According to regulations, you only need to be quarantined for three days before you can move around freely."

"Della..."

Mai Han looked up and called out, wanting to voice his concerns, but the words caught in his throat.

"What is it?"

"Nothing."

Mai Han shook his head.

"General Mai Han, I sense that your mental state isn't very good. You've been very down since you returned from your mission. I understand the pressure you're under, and I believe in your will. But I still want to offer some advice. If needed, I can arrange for a psychologist to help you. There's no shame in it."

Della advised.

"No need, thank you."

Mai Han refused. He was fine now, and the tests showed no problems. If he explained the situation, they would definitely become suspicious of him, and even if there was nothing wrong, it would become something.

Mai Han knew all too well the consequences for those infected, so he hesitated.

"Alright then."

.........

Black Yao, quarantine zone. Su Mo and the others finished their three-day quarantine and emerged.

At the exit, Lin Yue and her people had been waiting for some time, waving excitedly.

"Xiao Wen, Su Mo, Chen Shan..."

Soon, they met, and the surviving team members joyfully embraced their companions.

"What a surprise, Lin Yue, you actually came to pick us up."

Chen Shan joked with a smile.

"Commander Chen Shan, you're terrible. I was half dead with worry when I heard you were trapped. I was asking everyone for help. I should have just left you to yourselves."

Lin Yue retorted good-naturedly.

"Thanks for your hard work, don't listen to Chen Shan's nonsense."

Xiao Wen replied with a smile.

Su Mo couldn't help but smile as he watched them tease each other. It felt good.

Lin Yue glanced at the team members who came out and subconsciously asked, "Commander Xiao Wen, is this all of us returning? Are the others still in quarantine?"

Hearing Lin Yue's words, everyone present was stunned.

Xiao Wen's eyes dimmed slightly as he said, "A total of three hundred people participated in the operation. Only one hundred and twelve of us made it back alive safely. There are also a dozen or so people in quarantine for treatment."

Upon hearing this, everyone present lowered their heads.

Lin Yue forced a smile and said, "Commander Xiao Wen, it's not your fault. You did your best."

"Let's not talk about this. Everyone, go back and get some rest. As for the brothers who died, I will properly arrange everything for their funerals."

Xiao Wen adjusted his mood and said.

At this moment, a soldier behind Lin Yue stepped forward and said to Xiao Wen through gritted teeth, "Commander, we have nothing to say about our brothers dying on the battlefield. But we heard that many people were killed by our own people after only suffering minor injuries. Is there any truth to this?"

Hearing the soldier's words, Su Mo and Xiao Wen exchanged a glance, their expressions changing slightly.

They both sensed that something was not quite right.

Su Mo asked, "Who did you hear that from?"

"Commander Su Mo, you don't need to hear it from anyone. This matter has spread throughout all the combat units. Everyone kept quiet before because they were busy rescuing people and evacuating. Now that the operation is over, everyone is about to explode. We just want to know if it's true or not."

"Don't believe the rumors. Our own people would not harm our own people."

Xiao Wen said in a deep voice.

"Then what exactly happened? Commander Xiao Wen, please tell us."

For a moment, the remaining personnel asked one after another.

Xiao Wen fell silent, unsure of how to respond.

"Let me tell you. Anyone infected with negative energy viruses, with our current medications and treatment technology, basically cannot be saved. Therefore, the GT department's medical team mostly resorted to euthanasia, with only a few lucky ones being saved."

Su Mo explained.

"Really?"

The remaining personnel asked in shock.

Qin Feng and the others, who had been silent, now spoke up, "What the commander said is true."

Hearing this, everyone's eyes revealed disbelief. When they came to their senses, their faces turned red, and they angrily said, "This is intentional concealment! It's murder!"

Xiao Wen and the others fell silent, acknowledging that in a sense, they were right.

After a long silence, Xiao Wen said to everyone, "I know you are angry, but the higher-ups have their own considerations in this matter. When the time is right, I will raise my objections to them. But please remember our identities, and do not cause any disturbances. Let's leave this matter here for now."

"Yes, Commander Xiao Wen."

Although everyone was very angry, they ultimately bowed their heads in agreement.

Su Mo couldn't help but shake his head at the situation.

.......

Several days later, the Black Yao entered sub-light speed flight.

The highest commanders, including Augulas, Sperd, and Li Ruiqi, all dressed in white shirts and black plain clothes, stood before the memorial monument in the Upper District Mausoleum.

Engraved on the huge monument were countless names, and it was covered in flowers.

Since most of the fallen were cremated on-site, or their bodies remained on Batak Planet, only a small portion of the remains were brought back, so a mass burial was conducted.

Sperd led the way with three bows, followed by a group of officers, and faint sobbing could be heard on the scene.

The Batak Planet operation appeared to have gone smoothly, but the battle losses were quite severe. The total number of participants in the three legions was 120,000, and less than 80,000 returned, with nearly half being killed or injured.

It should be noted that the troops sent down this time were the most elite ace units, and the death of each person was a huge loss.

At this moment, noisy disputes appeared outside the mausoleum.

Augulas frowned slightly and turned to his deputy, saying, "Jielu, go and see what's going on. Don't they know we're mourning here?"

"Yes!"

Jielu hurriedly ran out to see.

Before long, Jielu rushed back with a somewhat ugly expression, and he said to Augulas and Sperd, "Sir, it's not good. A large number of lower-level soldiers are gathering outside, protesting angrily. They believe that the upper-level commanders deliberately concealed the severity of the negative energy virus infection, leading to the deaths of many comrades!"

Sperd's expression sank and said, "Nonsense, don't they understand that this is war! And it's a war for the survival of the race. Reality is cruel, and whether it's concealed or not, the final result is no different."

Li Ruiqi said at this time, "Vice Speaker Sperd, although the reasoning is like this, I also understand that you did this to ensure the smooth progress of the plan. And took unavoidable measures, but I think we were really wrong about this."

"If I didn't do that, how could I ensure the completion of the combat mission? If everyone who goes down to fight has a fearful mentality and is hesitant when fighting, it will only kill more people."

Sperd said with a gloomy face.

Augulas also said in a deep voice, "Okay, stop arguing. The matter has already happened, let's find a way to solve it."

"Actually, there are some things I wanted to wait until the memorial service was over before saying. But since the matter has already been revealed, I might as well say it now. The matter about the negative energy virus has spread throughout the legions and has caused a very serious panic. According to feedback from many non-commissioned officers, the soldiers below are showing very serious passive and lazy behavior, and even the general affairs departments of various legions have received a large number of applications for retirement. The situation is already very serious."

Li Ruiqi sighed deeply and revealed the matter.

"A bunch of cowards!"

Sperd was immediately furious.

Augulas persuaded, "Sperd, calm down. Don't get involved in this matter. I will personally come forward later to apologize and give a speech to all the soldiers, and calm things down. You yourself said that it was a very special period at the time, and concealment was also a last resort. Now that the situation has eased, we should also take into account the feelings of the people below."

"I understand."

Sperd's expression changed for a while, and he finally said.

.......

In the Lower District, Su Mo lay on his bed, watching TV while playing with the metal ore in his hand.

Su Mo looked at it from left to right, feeling that this thing seemed very high-end, but he didn't know how much it cost.

At this time, the TV was broadcasting Augulas' live broadcast, and he was emotionally apologizing to everyone. He explained in an infectious manner why the concealment had occurred, and repeatedly assured that the GT department's medical staff would definitely do their best to save all their comrades, and that no comrade would be abandoned.

......

Su Mo glanced at Augulas, who was speaking, thoughtfully.

It seemed that things had gotten quite serious, so much so that Augulas had to personally come forward to apologize.

Forget it, I don't want to think about those things. Actually, after thinking about it carefully, Su Mo felt that although what Augulas and the others did was very unethical, from a rational point of view, it might be the only way to minimize casualties. Of course, the negative effects were also very obvious.

At this moment, Su Mo's phone suddenly vibrated.

Su Mo picked it up and took a look. It was a text message notification.

"Dear Consultant Su Mo (external hire), due to your outstanding performance in Project Thief, you have been specially awarded a high bonus, which will be transferred to your private account."

Immediately afterwards, Su Mo received another short message. His private federal card received a sum of money, 15 star coins, which was worth about 150,000 federal credits. Currently, one star coin can be exchanged for about 10,000 federal credits, but it is worth noting that star coins can be freely exchanged into federal credits, but federal credits cannot be exchanged into star coins.

The federal banking system now supports storing both currencies.

Of course, it is still very safe and convenient to store a small amount of star coins in the Federal Bank. However, storing large amounts of star coins will raise alarms at the bank, so people who hold large amounts of star coins generally apply for cards in Star Ring City.

At this point in time, the bonus was suddenly issued, and it was so generous, it was probably also meant to quell the unrest to some extent.

Su Mo got up and prepared to go to the Central District to find books or information about minerals, so that he could identify the metal ore in his hand.

So Su Mo hid the metal ore under the bed.

Soon after, Su Mo arrived in the Central District, and he was surprised to find that the whole area had become more lively.

Many stores on the street posted very exaggerated promotional posters.

"Our store has a large number of new goods in stock, originating from the destroyed Batak Kingdom. You can buy anything you can think of."

"Big sale, relic mystery box, buy one get one free!"

......

Su Mo was a little dazzled. He started to visit the stores one by one, asking if they had any information about minerals.

Unfortunately, he didn't gain anything after wandering around for a long time. The signs outside were written in a flamboyant manner, but the things sold inside were very few, after all, they were quite expensive.

At this time, he saw a seemingly large store, with the store name written as Moron Amigo Store, so he curiously walked in. (Author Note: 书友·陌路友人, the author's friend)

At this time, a very energetic young man immediately came up to greet him.

"May I ask what you want to buy, sir? We sell many good things here, and many of them are new."

"What kind of things do you have?"

Su Mo asked curiously.

"That depends on what you want, daily necessities? Medicine? Or weapons..."

"So complete? Then let's take a look at the weapons."

Su Mo became interested for a moment.

"Sir, you need to show proof of your professional identity to purchase weapons."

The young man said with a smile.

Su Mo took out his ID card and handed it over. The young man verified it, then handed it back to Su Mo and said, "Thank you, sir. We have the latest single-soldier weapon, the beam gun."

As he spoke, the young man took out a beam gun that looked a bit old from the safe behind him.

At a glance, it was clear that it was a trophy excavated from the Batak Kingdom.

Su Mo took it and tried the feel a little, and said, "The feel is not bad, but it's a bit old."

"Sir, don't think that way. This beam gun would sell for at least 100 star coins in Star Ring City. Now it's only 50 star coins, and it comes with two light energy magazines. It's super cost-effective."

The young man strongly recommended it.

Su Mo shook his head: "Although this weapon is good, the killing power is not much different from that of a large-caliber original automatic pistol, only the magazine capacity is a bit different. Is there anything else?"

"Yes, we also sell many good things here, this is the catalog."

As he spoke, the young man picked up a list and handed it to Su Mo.

Su Mo looked at the items on it, and a trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. There were even old second-generation mecha for sale here.

There were even second-hand transport ships.

It seemed that these people had obtained a lot of good things from the Batak Kingdom ruins.

However, the prices above were also outrageously high, and all the sales prices were settled in star coins, and basically no sales prices were settled in federal credits.

Su Mo's pockets were empty now, but he didn't show it, but shook his head instead.

"Sir, are you not satisfied? What do you want to buy? I can help you find it. I know all the bigger stores in the Central District."

The young man tried his best to make a deal. Although there were so many customers in the Central District, the key was that there were not many who had the ability to spend, because they all wanted star coins.

Su Mo replied, "I want to find some information about minerals, the more comprehensive the better. Can you help me find it?"

"No problem, you wait for me a few days, I will definitely help you find it."

The young man replied with a smile.

"Okay then."

Su Mo nodded in response.

"This is my business card, my name is Pades Cardot (author's friend·Moron Amigo cameo). I don't know what to call you, sir."

"My name is Su Mo, this is my phone number, you can call me if you have any news."

Su Mo wrote his phone number to the other party.

"Okay."

.......

On the other side, Xiao Wen met with Quartermaster Wu Yue in a giant hangar.

Xiao Wen and Wu Yue hugged each other.

"Lao Xiao, long time no see."

Wu Yue greeted with a smile.

Xiao Wen also responded with a smile: "It's been more than a year since we parted in Star Ring City. I didn't expect you to be on the ship too, and you're the quartermaster this time."

"Haha, it's a coincidence. By the way, I heard that you just returned from a mission on Batak Planet not long ago, and you've earned another military merit?"

Wu Yue responded with a smile.

"Don't mention it, the losses were heavy, and I even lost the Grey Bee and the mecha, so I'm here to apply for an allocation."

Xiao Wen replied with a wry smile.

"It's good to be back alive, don't think too much about the others."

Wu Yue nodded and said.

At this time, Xiao Wen asked with a smile: "Brother Wu Yue, I heard that this time, the First Legion seems to have gotten a batch of third-generation mecha from the armory of the Batak Kingdom, do you think we can get some?"

Wu Yue's expression froze, and he said awkwardly: "Brother Xiao Wen, are you kidding me? I'm telling you, we only got ten third-generation mecha in total, five of which were reserved by the GT department, and three were directly seized by the people of the First Legion and taken away. The remaining two are backup machines, which are reserved for those generals. There's definitely no hope."

"Haha, don't be so nervous, I'm just asking."

Xiao Wen also felt a little regretful in his heart. He actually hoped very much to get a third-generation mecha for Su Mo to use. If they had third-generation mecha back then, they wouldn't have been beaten so badly.

"Your joke is a bit scary, my heart can't take it. But we're old classmates, so don't worry, I will definitely take care of you within my authority. Didn't you just say that your Grey Bee was damaged? And your mecha was also destroyed? Let me tell you, I still have a very good ship quota here. Although it's also a small transport ship, this ship is a boutique. Its prototype may be a smuggling ship, and the interior has been modified, and the power is also very strong. The most important thing is that it is equipped with ship-borne attack weapons. You can apply for this quota, and then name it Grey Bee. As for the mecha, I've reserved a second-generation mecha for you..."

Wu Yue said with a smile.

"Thank you so much, then I'll leave it to you, I'll go first."

Xiao Wen thanked him very much.

"Okay."

Wu Yue nodded in response.

Then Xiao Wen turned around and walked out of the hangar, preparing to walk towards the elevator in the distance.

At this time, he suddenly froze.

He saw Wang Hai and Qian Chengxue and others just finishing their business at another quartermaster's office and were about to walk into the elevator.

Xiao Wen was also very surprised to see Wang Hai and Qian Chengxue. He didn't expect to meet them here, so he hurried to catch up.

As a result, they had already walked into the elevator and left after only a few steps.

Xiao Wen stopped, and then fell into contemplation.

He didn't think too much about it because he was too excited to see Wang Hai and Qian Chengxue just now. Now that he calmed down, the more he thought about it, the more wrong it felt.

How could they be together?

At first, Xiao Wen thought that Wang Hai would send someone to save them, just because he was accidentally assigned to the rescue mission. But later, after returning to the ship, he clearly realized that something was wrong. The other party had specially spent a lot of effort asking someone to rescue them.

He thought it was very strange at the time, but now he saw Qian Chengxue and Wang Hai together.

Then everything made sense. It must have been Qian Chengxue who asked Wang Hai to rescue them.

From this, it seemed that their relationship was extraordinary.

This couldn't help but make Xiao Wen feel an ominous premonition, and his expression became more and more complicated.

......

Inside the K52 hangar.

Chen Shan and Su Mo were chatting and laughing.

"I'm telling you, I heard that the higher-ups will be distributing a lot of weapons and equipment this time, and maybe there will be advanced mecha."

"Really, is there a third-generation mecha?"

Su Mo asked with a hint of anticipation.

Chen Shan said with a black line on his face: "Brother, are you kidding me? Don't even think about the third-generation mecha. I'll be grateful if they can give us a second-generation mecha, and then give us more I-generation standard mecha."

Lin Yue also joined in the fun and said: "You're bragging too much, haha."

"Lin Yue, can you stop making trouble?"

Chen Shan said helplessly.

"By the way, why hasn't Xiao Wen come back yet?"

"He should be back soon, he's been applying for quotas these two days. I heard that there are too many people applying recently."

"Uh, didn't you say that many people want to retire recently?"

"They can't, the higher-ups won't approve it. Everyone has to find a way to get more weapons to protect themselves."

"That makes sense."

.....

At this time, Xiao Wen walked over from a distance. He saw from afar that Su Mo was chatting happily with Chen Shan and the others.

His mood was exceptionally complicated. Actually, getting news about Qian Chengxue was a good thing. He knew that Su Mo had been subtly inquiring about it.

But Xiao Wen also knew very well that once he told Su Mo the whereabouts of Qian Chengxue, it would probably be the time for him to leave.

To be honest, Xiao Wen was very reluctant to part with the time they had fought side by side.

But this was not the most important thing. The most important thing was that Qian Chengxue and Wang Hai were getting very close now. Although Su Mo was very good, he was still far behind Wang Hai. If he told him about this, it would be a very serious blow.

After thinking about it, he finally gritted his teeth and decided that he had to tell Su Mo.

So Xiao Wen took a deep breath and walked towards Su Mo and the others.

When Chen Shan saw Xiao Wen walking in, he said excitedly: "Lao Xiao is back, how did things go? Did our quota application get approved?"

"It's been approved."

Xiao Wen responded.

"Really, did they equip us with a ship again, and how many mecha did they allocate..."

Lin Yue asked excitedly.

If it were in the past, Xiao Wen would definitely explain the specific allocation situation to Lin Yue and the others patiently.

But now his mind was full of Su Mo's affairs, and he was a little absent-minded, so he hesitated and shouted: "Su Mo."

"Yeah."

Su Mo was thinking about the third-generation mecha at this time. It was a bit difficult without a weapon.

"That..."

Xiao Wen was about to tell Su Mo about Qian Chengxue.

At this time, Su Mo's phone rang. He picked up the phone and glanced at the name of the caller. Then he answered it and said to Xiao Wen and the others.

"You guys go ahead."

Saying that, Su Mo walked out.

"Hello, I'm Su Mo."

"Mr. Su Mo, the complete information about the minerals that you wanted before has been found. When will you be free to come over?"

"I'll be right over."

Su Mo replied.

"That's a little something, I'll leave for a while."

Su Mo turned around and shouted to Xiao Wen and the others.

"That... hey~"

Xiao Wen wanted to stop Su Mo, but Su Mo had already walked away.

Not long after, Su Mo came to that store.

"Hello, Mr. Su Mo."

Pades Cardot greeted him enthusiastically.

"Where's the stuff you found?"

Su Mo asked.

Pades Cardot took out a box from the counter, and then opened the box. Inside was a storage card.

"It's in here. It contains a list and detailed introduction of all the recycled mineral resources in Star Ring City. There is also a complete list of the uses of mineral resources. It can be said that it is as complete as it can be."

"How much?"

Su Mo's eyes lit up slightly, and he asked.

"Not expensive, 100 star coins!"

Pades Cardot replied with a smile.

"Too expensive, one million federal credits is more like it."

Su Mo replied.

The smile on Pades Cardot's face suddenly became a little stiff. He said with a smile: "Mr. Su Mo, are you kidding me? Although one million federal credits and 100 star coins are of equal value, we only accept star coins here."

"I can add more."

Su Mo continued to reply.

"Sorry, I can't sell it."

Pades Cardot shook his head and replied, these two are completely unequal.

"Ten star coins!"

Seeing this, Su Mo directly cut the price in one fell swoop. This was completely cutting the carotid artery rhythm. If it were a clerk with a bad temper, they would definitely think that this guy was just here to make trouble.

"Mr. Su Mo, you are too insincere, you can't haggle the price like this."

Pades Cardot replied awkwardly.

"I think the price I offered is high enough. First of all, this kind of information is valuable, but it is not valuable. Because it can be copied, how much can a storage card cost, 10 federal credits? Take a closer look at the storage card used in the information you gave me, which is produced by our Federation. It shows that this information is not first-hand at all, and I don't know how many copies have already been copied. If you are not willing to sell it, I will turn around and leave, it's just a matter of spending more effort to find it."

Su Mo analyzed calmly.

Pades Cardot showed a wry smile and said to Su Mo: "It is rare to see someone as clear-headed as Mr. Su Mo, okay, I will sell it for ten star coins."

"Okay."

Su Mo took out his card and traded.

Then Su Mo left with the storage card, and Pades Cardot looked at Su Mo's leaving figure, showing a brilliant smile.

He made a lot of money this time. In fact, he only spent one star coin to copy this information. Now he not only sold it for ten star coins, but he also backed up this information, and he can sell it again.

Everyone said that the Black Yao is a gold rush paradise, and it is true. It was not in vain for him to give up all the industries of the Cardot family and come here to start a business.

......

Not long after, Su Mo returned to his home.

He inserted the storage card into the computer and copied the information inside.

The information here is super complete. From the catalog, it records more than one million valuable minerals.

Of course, not every mineral has a detailed introduction.

Many materials only have names and pictures, as well as the recycling price of Star Ring City.

Su Mo took out the metal ore from under the bed, took a photo with his mobile phone, uploaded it to the computer, and then began to match the copied data with the photo.

In a few seconds, it showed that the matching was successful.

A piece of information popped up.

Eternal Metal.

Production Area: Unknown!

Mining Conditions: Unknown!

Rarity: Extremely Rare!

Value: Extremely High!

Function: It is a material for star destroyers, V-generation mecha, VI-generation mecha, and advanced mechanical devices.

Star Ring City Recycling Price: 10 million star coins per 1kg.

Su Mo took a breath of cold air when he saw this recycling price. It was so valuable? If he dug up hundreds of tons in the future, wouldn't he go crazy?

Unfortunately, what Su Mo didn't know was that there was no such large output of this thing at all, and this recycling price was actually super low.

The difference between all the recycling prices and selling prices in Star Ring City is at least ten times.