Provocation and a Race to the Bottom

"Beep beep~! Beep--!"

The access bell for the private training room kept ringing.

The next moment, the door was authorized to open, and a young female lieutenant appeared outside.

Even though she was only wearing a black federal military uniform, her figure was still curvaceous, especially her upper body, which was proudly erect.

She rushed in at that moment, and the dynamic movement and curves of her chest certainly caught the eye.

"Lieutenant Mila? What's up?"

This is the captain of the ninth squad of the Landing Operations Department. Among the lieutenants under Lister, Mila is the weakest in both rank and combat strength.

Naturally, the squad he led was also the weakest in terms of combat strength.

They rarely participate in combat, only carrying out resupply work.

Lister had also heard some rumors in the ministry that Mila had secretly had an affair with the former operations minister.

With his outstanding physique and good looks, as well as decent talent, under the "guidance" of the former operations chief, he finally reached the minimum standard of Tier 8, C-level combat power, and was promoted from sergeant to second lieutenant, completing a rank leap.

Now that the former minister has been transferred, he has naturally given him hints before, but stopped after the minister refused and ignored him several times.

Logically, the other party should have given up by now, so why have they come knocking on our door again with the Federation's conscription approaching?

However, judging from the other party's anxious and flustered expression, it seemed as if something really had happened.

"Sir! Something's happened!"

"Get to the point."

Lister slowly looked at her, a hint of impatience creeping into his heart.

The Ninth Squad is only responsible for docking and resupply; what could possibly happen to them?

Surely we can't afford for something this small to go wrong?

"Our sergeants got into a fight with the enemy! They even killed one of our sergeants, and Lieutenant Reck also joined the battle and is wounded!"

"Where are you?! Take me there right now!"

Upon hearing this, Lister frowned.

Reck had just sent him an email not long ago, and now he's caught up in a battle?

Throughout the journey, I kept asking about the whole situation.

Who is the opponent in this battle? And what is the reason for the fight?

"They were from the Thirty-Ninth Central Army Group. At first, they just wouldn't let our warships dock, but then things escalated..."

Upon hearing that it was a conflict with the Central Army Group, Lister immediately sent a message to Captain Boren.

Simultaneously, a dedicated docking point was established for direct landing on the planet from the landing zone of B4.

I recall arriving at the federal mobilization site this morning.

Having remained hovering outside this planet, Lister had assumed it was some kind of routine procedure.

After all, it was a recruitment by the Federation Military District, and he didn't know the specific procedures. Who knew that the recruitment mission hadn't even started yet, and there would be conflicts just from parking?

Based on his understanding of the soldiers in his department, most of those who have survived to this day are Gou Wang.

It's fine to complain, but I definitely wouldn't dare to actually start a fight. Any conflict that arises is always because the other party started it first.

When he arrived at the location, the chaotic battle had ceased, but it was not truly over; the two sides were engaged in a second round of stalemate.

All of his hundreds of soldiers were lying sprawled on the ground.

There was also a body being specially guarded; this was no small matter.

As for the soldiers on the other side, apart from a few who were injured, most of them were smug, as if they had just won a battle and were still in high spirits.

He glanced at Lister and his group, his eyes occasionally flashing with provocation.

Of course, the real standoff now is between the officers on both sides.

A quick glance revealed that there was only one person opposite him, a captain.

He had an ordinary build and average looks; the only distinctive feature was his red hair.

Lister had quite a few officers with him; not only Reck had joined the battle, but also Lieutenant Zahn, the captain of his second squad.

Even the radar chief Truman, gunnery chief Oni, and Administration Department Cohen, along with several other unfamiliar captains, were present.

"Sir!"

When Reck saw Lister arrive, he immediately offered a salute.

Meanwhile, a large hole had been blasted through his federal uniform on his chest, and a charred brown wound could still be faintly seen on his left chest.

It is healing at a visible speed, likely due to the injection of recovery medication.

However, his aura was extremely weak, and a scan of his health revealed that it was less than one-third full even now.

It's obvious that the previous attack almost killed even Reck.

"Hehe~! Your ship is quite united!"

"They shot one, and then a whole bunch showed up?"

Not far directly opposite, a red-haired captain was looking at the newly arrived Lister with disdain.

He was completely unconcerned about the chaos, even though a soldier had already died; it seemed to him that it was no big deal.

"What? Can this newcomer make the decisions?"

"Hurry up, either admit it! Or fight it out! Or get out!"

"Cohen, what's going on here?"

While questioning Cohen, Lister scanned the other man.

As expected, the officers of the Central Army are of truly high caliber.

Although he is only a captain, he has a rank of 14 and a combat strength of A-level.

In their Civilization Army, this would definitely get you a major, while a lieutenant colonel would need to accumulate military merits and seniority.

No wonder the opponent was just one person, yet so many of them dared not make a move.

"Lister... this is troublesome!"

"They just want to rip us off..."

Cohen was now recounting the true story to Lister, while the red-haired captain opposite him waited patiently.

The matter is simple: the red-haired captain on the other side is in charge of the docking management of this preparation planet and the distribution of initial public resources.

Holding power and being part of the Central Army, they naturally held a higher status than the Civilization Army, so they didn't hold back.

Every docked warship needs to be charged a credit.

Initially, communication was between the sergeants, but the sergeants responsible for resupply on A73 were already exhausted and wouldn't cover the ship's expenses.

This money is clearly not compliant with regulations, and it's highly likely the ship won't acknowledge it after it's been paid out.

So they were stuck there, and logically they should wait for the officers on the ship to resolve the situation.

The melee only escalated because the opposing soldiers provoked and insulted them excessively.

The fighting only escalated after one of their soldiers died, leading to the current standoff between officers.

What did the captain say about this?

"Our three captains went ashore to attend a combat meeting a long time ago, and we can't contact them at all!"

"According to Captain Boren, this large operational meeting may be held in a closed-door setting for two days."

It seems the other party has already chosen a time?

Lister never expected to encounter such a mess right after being drafted by the Federation.

Especially his own soldiers, not only were many wounded, but one also died!

If this were done according to the standard, it's uncertain whether the other party would be punished. After all, they are from the Central Army, and the Federation Military District's rewards and punishments naturally favor its own subordinates. This is why the other party is so emboldened.

But Lister, as minister, could not escape punishment.

We haven't even started the mission or the battle yet! And this is the situation we're in now.

Coupled with the other party's unpleasant attitude and their willingness to use lethal force against Reck, it was definitely a slap in the face for him!

Although his face remained calm, he was already weighing the consequences of taking action.

"Captain Cohen, stop being so stubborn!"

"Let's scrape together 300,000 credits, there are so many of us!"

"We've already given them to several companies, so don't delay any longer."

"Yeah, Cohen, it's not like this is your first time being drafted."

"It's just a matter of credits; compared to the military merits you can gain, it's worth it!"

"And even if they don't give it here, they still have to give it elsewhere."

"If the time for the summons comes and even the warships haven't docked, that would be a real problem!"

"You don't want the entire ship to be punished, do you!?"

The captains standing nearby were all trying to persuade Cohen.

They were all warships of the Arcane Civilization Army, and they were also conscripted this time.

He was quite familiar with Cohen of A73, and knew that when Captain Boren was not present, Cohen was usually in charge of the overall situation.

Of course! I'm not here to help Cohen or support their A73.

Instead, he spontaneously advised Cohen to swallow his anger on behalf of the red-haired captain opposite him.

After all, they had already backed down first, paid out credits, and lost money.

They're all fleets from Arcane, and they've all suffered losses. How could they just stand by and watch A73 stand up for itself?

This whole mess is exactly what they wanted to see.

At least when the captains return and compare themselves to each other, their abilities and maturity will be evident.

After all, the A73 warship was expected to be humiliated by the Central Army's defeat today, not only losing face but also suffering the death of a sergeant due to violations. In the end, it would have to obediently hand over credit points, indicating that the entire ship's officers failed to grasp the situation.

Sometimes, you don't need to stand out to show off; just compare yourself to your peers, or find someone even worse!