First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 199
Chapter 199: Gelen
Lian Sheng covered her ears and asked, "Interested in what? An exam?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "There will be one."
Lian Sheng: "...Not interested. Goodbye."
She hung up the communication directly.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "..."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "..."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "..."
What to do when the kid grows up and doesn't listen? Always disrespecting the leader!
An Expeditionary Force enlisted soldier fanned himself as he entered through the door, followed by a line of garrison reserve candidates. They looked pale, their legs trembling.
Everyone found tables and sat down; the cafeteria instantly became crowded.
After the Kafa military disbanded, the garrison numbers were insufficient. The Expeditionary Force, known for its elite status, had responsibilities in other numbered districts and couldn't possibly handle security for the entire district.
Thus, various units were gradually selected and trained from the local Kafa population.
They were responsible for training.
The Expeditionary Force service members came and went, never staying long. They rotated between various districts, needing to adapt to different environments while maintaining sufficient vigilance.
The ones remaining now were already who knows which batch.
But Lian Sheng and the others played training matches with them. It was internal exchange; soldiers from nearby army corps were almost all familiar with each other.
An old soldier came over, tossing his hat, to announce: "Tomorrow we play with the pretty boys from the neighboring Fifth Army. Loser treats. Be prepared!"
"Treating? What are they afraid of? Young people these days are too rich, unimaginable," another soldier said. "Loser dances."
Several people snapped their fingers in agreement: "Okay, okay."
They turned around, saw the new recruits looking eagerly at them, clenched their fists encouragingly: "Work hard, there's meat to eat!"
All the freshmen: "..."
Screw them! They'd been dangling a piece of meat in front of them for months! Enough!
A group of freshmen sobbed aggrievedly: "If only I had studied Command back then!"
Like Zhou Shirui, who spent the first two months practicing the practical conversion of mech data with them. Afterwards, due to a shortage of vice commanders, he was directly pulled to play friendly matches with them.
Clearly also a freshman, yet he had already moved to the forefront.
But Zhou Shirui's older brother was Hundred Meter Flying Dagger. He had learned related content under Brother Dao's data templates since childhood, and his learning was different from ordinary students. Plus, he was naturally gifted, intelligent, and hardworking, indeed ahead of them.
They knew progress had to be gradual, but they really couldn't hold back.
The seniors, only one grade above them, had already experienced two real-fire battles. They exuded an air of composure. In training demonstrations, their movements and proficiency were clearly a cut above. The gap between the two sides was obvious.
The seniors were already walking farther and farther with the Expeditionary Force veterans, while they were still doing seemingly meaningless chores. They didn't even have someone to formally guide them.
They knew that among this group, the best in individual combat were Zhao Zhuoluo, Ye Buqing, and others, but the one whose words carried the most weight was Lian Sheng.
Lian Sheng even held a military rank!
The new recruits thus bashfully went to plead with Lian Sheng.
"Senior Sister, can you take us along for training? After we finish work, we'll just use our own time to observe, is that okay?"
Lian Sheng sat resting in the shade, fanning herself. Hearing this, she nodded: "When does the work here ever end? If you feel the workload is too light, I can help you file a report to the higher-ups."
Everyone couldn't help but shiver, waving their hands frantically: "Don't be like that, Senior Sister, you know what we mean!"
Lian Sheng shook her head: "Of course I know. Don't you understand my words?"
Lian Sheng looked at them, her hand movements pausing for a moment, and sneered: "Quite bold, but don't have such plans again. Patience is something you must learn, moreover, it's very necessary. We started from the same training to get where we are today. You want to reach the heavens in one step? I can't build you wings, but I can reserve coffins for you."
The crowd fell silent as cicadas in winter.
Lian Sheng glanced over faintly, then looked away: "Any more questions?"
Everyone shook their heads vigorously.
Lian Sheng waved her fan lightly: "Dismissed."
The students scrambled away.
Young people, truly so naive.
After the crowd retreated, Harry approached with small steps from the side, squatted down, and asked seriously: "Actually, I have a question."
Lian Sheng: "Speak."
Harry hugged his knees: "How do you manage to maintain your deterrent power without doing anything?"
It was known that in the military, the female gender was inherently not as respected. Because it represented a kind of weakness, and the military was the domain of the strong.
Lian Sheng neither threatened nor suppressed, nor did she display her violence. During training, although her expression wasn't exactly friendly, she was much gentler than the average stern-faced instructor.
Even so, whenever she stood up, she was very convincing. Clearly a peer, yet others would subconsciously follow her opinions.
Even when making suggestions to superiors, her words carried weight.
Too magical!
Although Harry was young, back when he was in the military, he also held a position where his word was law.
But that was due to fear, fear stemming from the subordinates' lifelong service and the demonized image of war weapons. In common perception, people like Harry had only learned to kill, only excelled at killing, devoid of human concepts of good and evil.
Now the world was different.
Harry sighed.
Plenty of soldiers treated their officers like children. Hard to put into words.
Lian Sheng nodded thoughtfully: "Actually, in most cases, it comes from the environment."
Like Zhao Zhuoluo and the others, after long-term cooperation, they already trusted her deeply. That trust was an influence developed imperceptibly, reflected in their eyes and body language.
When you become the center of a team, others will subconsciously look up to you and respect you based on the team's highest strength.
Lian Sheng said: "Actually, I conquered my own domain too, but that was a long time ago."
Harry: "..."
He had also conquered a domain, but others didn't recognize it.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger had previously said something vague to Lian Sheng. After being hung up on, he hadn't contacted her again. It probably wasn't anything important; Lian Sheng didn't take it to heart.
But two days later, Hundred Meter Flying Dagger actually came in person.
Lian Sheng received the message, paused her training midway, and ran over to meet him.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger came alone, wearing casual clothes, carrying a leather suitcase.
He looked up at the sun, looking dusty and worn. Too hot to even bother with greetings, he said: "My heavens, this is only my second time in Kafa. Last time I came, I was still young, could endure it. Not anymore, the body's burden increases year by year. After returning to the military department, staying up late working overtime every day, my whole person is about to break down. The military owes me an indestructible body."
Lian Sheng silently dragged the suitcase away, leading him towards the dormitory.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger didn't believe it, following behind her: "How come you haven't tanned?"
Lian Sheng turned back and rolled her eyes: "Don't say it like you just noticed."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger often communicated with her via video, asking her to report on the situation in the Kafa district and Cornell's condition.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said embarrassedly: "I thought you used beauty filters. I tell my subordinates every day you're still a woman, look, even knows to use beauty filters when video chatting with the boss. Such a show-off, hahaha!"
Lian Sheng: "..."
Lian Sheng: "..."
Badmouthing her quite enthusiastically in places she didn't know.
The two exchanged pleasantries along the way, then took a vehicle back to the dormitory.
A small number of people in the building were catching up on sleep in shifts; everyone else was outside training.
The cool air blew over, reviving him completely.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger sighed dramatically, poured himself a glass of water, and asked: "How's the new recruit training? Are you guys training them?"
"We're responsible for supervision and assessment," Lian Sheng said. "Just as stupid as we were back then."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "Yo, quite self-aware."
"Looking back at the past, one can always make objective discoveries," Lian Sheng asked. "Why are you here?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger looked up: "Learn about Gelen?"
Lian Sheng: "Huh?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger put down the water glass, went over and closed the living room door, then walked back.
"It's like this, Gelen has a port..." He licked his lips as he spoke, then handed her his optical computer: "Mouth's dry, read it yourself."
Gelen was once a very barren place, lacking any native resources, with backward technology and low production levels. All survival depended on imports. But the lifeline of the entire population rested merely on the whim of external suppliers.
Bad places would become even worse.
Without recognition and importance, people's lives became increasingly difficult. They could only survive by selling cheap labor, with no guarantee of human rights, facing discrimination and injustice everywhere. Even life itself wasn't respected.
Unable to master core technologies, lacking sufficient education levels, lacking a strong leadership team—how could Gelen back then be described by just the word "miserable"?
Forced by various external factors, they could only endure continuous oppression and poverty for generations.
The turning point came with a port.
Or perhaps not a port, but a trade transit station. At that time, a large number of Gelen people gathered in an interstellar trade transit station due to the underground trade in laborers.
The genius hero Edwin was also here.
Born and raised in the port, he was particularly knowledgeable about trade and economic matters. Highly educated, skilled in various mechanical products.
Unable to tolerate this practice, nominally providing labor but actually slave trading, he relied on his outstanding eloquence, united with other laborers in the port who held grievances, and directly launched a revolution.
Miraculously leading a group of unarmed people, starting from looting, he quickly occupied the port within days. He tampered with security data, forcibly seized all products in the port as initial supplies, used this as a base, and further began his ruthless hegemony.
"Miracle. You wouldn't believe how he expanded outwards step by step," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "However, there's also controversy suggesting Edwin wasn't actually from Gelen. Judging by his knowledge level, his social status shouldn't have been low. The port's location, being a trade hub, was open to the outside. So people from different numbered districts gathered there. Long-term residents couldn't distinguish their origins. The concept of nationality was weakest in the port area."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "It's now under Gelen's jurisdiction, but it still maintains its function of being open to the outside and serving as a transit stop. It's a good place to gather intelligence."
"Last month, a civilian aircraft from Gelen secretly landed at the port. But that aircraft wasn't within the registered scope, very suspicious. And after that, soldiers from within Gelen have continuously entered and exited the port," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "As an interstellar transit stop, Gelen's authority is partially limited in the port; they cannot conduct identity checks on everyone who has already entered customs. But recent trade inspections have been very strict. Something must be happening."
Lian Sheng: "Any internal problems in Gelen?"
"Definitely. The Alliance has internal maggots, internal strife, but Gelen is absolutely no better. After all, it's a country built on robbery and violence, its historical foundation is too shallow. After Edwin's death, the legacy issues were too great. Even within the ruling party itself, there are plenty of disputes," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "But the specifics are still unknown, so we need to go over and investigate."
He looked at Lian Sheng as he spoke and nodded.
Lian Sheng looked back at him and also nodded.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger: "And then?"
Lian Sheng: "Have a safe trip?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger grabbed her shoulders and started shaking her violently. He said mournfully: "Why! You're not the same Lian Sheng anymore!"
Lian Sheng covered her ears: "Alright, I understand. You want to assign a mission to us new recruits? Can't you just say it directly? What do you want?"
"Your names haven't been formally entered into the system yet. We need a group of people with sufficiently clean backgrounds, younger, and simultaneously possessing absolute skill, to go to the port and investigate the situation. So we thought of you," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "Cornell and Harry's ages are best; you guys are slightly older. But it doesn't matter, we can make do."
Lian Sheng: "You want Cornell to go to Gelen?!"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "Just an example. Among the boy soldiers, I only kept the few I remembered. Mainly, we can't fully trust the others. And in terms of skill level..."
Lian Sheng directly put an arm on his shoulder and sighed: "Be human."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger jumped up furiously: "What do you mean? Am I that kind of person? Haven't you seen the painful struggle behind my smiling face?"
"Cornell and Harry, it's impossible to just let them go over directly," Lian Sheng said. "They haven't received orthodox education, nor any espionage training. When you select people, how can you only look at age?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "Cornell and Harry's identities are suitable. They are Kafa's boy soldiers. Due to the previous Kafa internal strife, administrative affairs were taken over by the Alliance. They chose to retire and wanted to escape Alliance control, so they went to the port to seek a livelihood. What a great reason?"
"Oh, understood. You're sending soldiers belonging to the Alliance's Kafa to a port belonging to Gelen..." Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow. "How could they possibly have the chance for free movement?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger nodded: "Exactly. Darkness under the lamp. Didn't Bulb teach you?"
Lian Sheng thought for a moment, then shook her head: "The Gelen military seems to recognize us. Photos were shown during the mech selection trials before. I heard they even did comparisons when searching for people."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said dismissively: "Photos, that kind of thing, the difference is huge. Besides, a place like the port, the flow of people is beyond your imagination. Even the suburbs are more crowded than Kafa's main urban area during its busiest times. The Alliance military has so many people, military academies have so many people. One-on-one, they can certainly recognize you. Group scanning? It'd be a miracle if they could scan you out. Slightly tamper with the documents, and you can deceive everyone."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger opened his optical computer's selfie camera, turned the screen to Lian Sheng: "You think you're still the fresh meat from back then? Staying in Kafa for a while has made you ugly, okay?"
Lian Sheng glanced sideways lightly and snorted dismissively.
However, training indeed changes a person's appearance significantly, including hairstyle and temperament.
Lian Sheng rubbed her chin, continuing to think.
She didn't have much espionage experience either. She couldn't even figure out the Alliance's history; going to a completely unfamiliar port, she didn't dare hold too much confidence.
Cornell and Harry were still young, after all. Fighting well didn't mean lying well. Partnering with these two, Lian Sheng felt the style was a bit confusing.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger observed her expression: "This matter is dangerous. Because if any problems arise at the port, we can only apply for arbitration. If your identities are exposed, we have to apply for arbitration from Gelen in the name of the Alliance. You also know, if the Alliance steps in, it might as well be a death sentence for you."
"We wanted to send veterans over, but their scars are too obvious, and their ages don't match. The most convenient and best method is to send you over as exchange students. The 14th District, which has good relations with us, is willing to provide us with several legal quotas and identities," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "If choosing among peers, I trust you the most."
Lian Sheng looked up at him.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger spread his hands: "Everyone trusts you very much. Perfect candidate."
A high-end talent who, before graduating, had already received two special merits and participated in two regional rescues. Simultaneously performed excellently during her time in school, progressing rapidly. Almost all instructors who trained her had no negative comments.
Her calm attitude in the face of danger, her ability to react and adapt to circumstances, her outstanding eloquence and charisma, her insight into the battle situation and overall control—all were the most outstanding among the new generation of soldiers.
They simply couldn't find anyone more suitable than her.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger pressed one hand on the table: "This time is important. Very important. Although we adhere to democratic choice, this time we will be democratic until you agree."
Lian Sheng scratched her head: "What exactly is your suspicion?"
"We suspect the new leader of Gelen's war faction, General Barite, is at the port. Even if it's not him, it's someone closely related to Gelen's upper echelons. We should be competing for ownership of the port," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "General Barite's personal guard team went over personally; this is very suspicious."
Lian Sheng: "If it really is him..."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger made a shooting "piu" gesture.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "Specific matters will be discussed specifically later. The main thing now is to confirm the candidates."
Lian Sheng: "Isn't it just the three of us?"
"Who told you that? We always need to be fully prepared! How is one person enough?" Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "You agreed, right? Since you agreed, we'll start discussing team member configuration. Very good, I've already contacted them to come over."
As soon as his voice fell, a knock sounded at the door.
Zhao Zhuoluo said from outside: "Brother Dao? Are you inside? You were looking for me?"
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger went to open the door, smiling: "Excellent! Come quickly! Come in, excellent!"
Several people followed behind him; everyone squeezed in together.
The crowd was somewhat bewildered.
"You're familiar with them all, perfect for cooperation. I specially selected them for you." Hundred Meter Flying Dagger took a large gulp of water. "Alright, let me say it again."
The lineup Hundred Meter Flying Dagger designed was:
Lian Sheng, Lu Mingyuan, Ji Ban, Zhou Shirui, Zhao Zhuoluo, Cheng Ze, Fang Jianchen, Ye Buqing. Eight exchange students. Cornell and Harry, as private bodyguards protecting them on their way to the port. Ten people in total.
Ji Ban, the three technical workers, plus Lian Sheng, had strong deceptive potential. Looking weak and small. The military would provide them with new identities.
Cornell and Harry didn't need changes; maintaining their identities, they could go over directly.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger confirmed they wouldn't refuse Cornell entry. After all, Cornell carried Edwin's genes.
"Confirm your student majors," Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said. "Slightly niche specialties, preferably unexpected ones. Lian Sheng, what exactly are you capable of?"
Lian Sheng thought for a moment: "Calligraphy, Go, drumming."
Ancient martial arts was too big a target. Calligraphy in the Alliance standard language was also very eye-catching.
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger nodded: "Very good, then Go. Ji Ban is mechanical engineering. Little Rui can be programming, Lu Mingyuan, maybe drafting or design. Zhao Zhuoluo, you guys try sports specialty admission."
"Then it's decided." Hundred Meter Flying Dagger slapped his optical computer. "We need to study. Starting now, suspend all your training. For a period of two months, you must thoroughly adapt to the new identities you will receive. Language, history, culture, customs, songs. Also, the classmates, teachers, family arranged for you at the university. You must master everything required for the new identities."
Hundred Meter Flying Dagger said: "Simultaneously, within two months, use medication to slowly eliminate the muscles on your bodies."
Lian Sheng said, heart aching: "You might as well take my life!"
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