Federation President Lin Zhen was sitting in his office, completely dumbfounded.
His son had just arrived on Mars and already gone toe-to-toe with the Oakes Empire?
And had even achieved a 0:200 record?
Most importantly, he had captured the Oakes Empire's Ninth Prince?
Even Liang Xingchen hadn't been this fierce in his first real battle back then, had he?
Over the past few years, Lin Zhen had constantly heard reports from his subordinates that his son was considered a monster at the Interstellar Military Academy.
Originally, Lin Zhen had thought that was all there was to it. No matter how monstrous he was, he couldn't possibly surpass Liang Xingchen.
Yet every now and then, news would come that his son had come up with some new technology.
It had been fine at first, just some civilian technologies. But later, the brat gradually began reaching into the military industry.
Until one day more than a year ago, someone suddenly came to tell him that his son had designed an Artificial Gravity Generator. That had given Lin Zhen quite a fright.
From then on, Lin Zhen had wondered whether his son had chosen the wrong profession. Should he have gone into scientific research instead?
The following year had been fairly quiet. Lin Zhen had thought the brat had finally settled down after going more than a year without stirring up anything major.
But then, during his graduation assessment, the kid had dealt Liang Xingchen a heavy blow. And after arriving at Mars Base, he had immediately started causing trouble again.
He had directly developed the Warp Drive Engine, along with Industrial Robot Technology that was thirty years ahead of the Federation's.
And now he had gone out and pulled off something this big again?
Lin Zhen felt that having a monster for a son was more than his heart could handle.
Fine, he wouldn't think about that brat anymore. The key issue now was how to deal with the Oakes Empire's Ninth Prince.
Lin Zhen finally recovered and began handling official business. He immediately had his assistant notify the officials from every department to come to his office for a meeting.
At Mars Base, at the docks of Medium Starport No. 27, every warship of the 101st Task Force Fleet had just finished docking.
After disembarking, none of the crew left. Instead, they formed ranks inside the port, and not a single person spoke.
Liang Xingchen, who had arrived long ago to await Lin Fan's return, stood solemnly at the flagship's gangway alongside Lin Fan and Liang Xue.
Before long, large numbers of people marched out of the flagship in succession. They came out in pairs, each pair carrying a coffin. Every coffin was draped with a Federal Fleet military flag. There were 343 pairs in total.
Not a sound could be heard throughout the port until Lin Fan called out.
"Salute!"
With a sharp swish, more than thirty thousand people solemnly saluted toward the flagship's gangway, watching coffin after coffin draped in military flags being carried down.
Only 148 of those coffins contained remains. The rest were empty.
That was what space warfare was like in this era. Weapons were too powerful; most of the time, not even a strand of hair could be recovered. Finding a body at all was considered incredibly fortunate.
As the farewell ceremony continued, everyone's eyes reddened. Those 343 people had been their comrades only hours ago, yet now they had left forever.
In the end, all the coffins were launched from the starport and flew into the depths of space. It was a tradition unique to the Federal Fleet.
After bidding farewell to the 343 fallen soldiers, Lin Fan announced the order to dismiss.
"Lin Fan, well done! You didn't disappoint me!"
Liang Xingchen walked up to Lin Fan and praised him without reservation.
"I still didn't do well enough. Three hundred and forty-three people still died!"
"Lin Fan, you need to understand that no war is without casualties. You've already done well enough!"
To be honest, Liang Xingchen was somewhat worried. He had seen quite a few commanders who couldn't accept the deaths of their subordinates and eventually broke down. He didn't want Lin Fan to become like that.
Talent was one thing. Whether someone could withstand the pressure of the battlefield was another.
However, Liang Xingchen was destined to worry for nothing. Who was Lin Fan? He had a system and had lived two lives. Was he an ordinary person?
When it came to mental fortitude, Lin Fan, who had lived two lives, was absolutely stronger than any other human.
"Commander, I understand. I just want to do better next time!"
"It's good that you understand. I came this time because I have a new mission for you."
"Yes, Commander. Please give the order!"
"Mm. It's about the Oakes Empire's Ninth Prince whom you captured this time. The President specifically convened a meeting over this matter, and they ultimately decided to use the Ninth Prince as a bargaining chip to negotiate with the Oakes Empire. The negotiation team will arrive at Mars Base in a few days. You will be responsible for escorting them then."
"Yes!"
"Alright. After such a major battle, you're surely mentally exhausted as well. Go get some rest!"
Liang Xingchen patted Lin Fan on the shoulder and left.
But did Lin Fan need rest? With physical abilities 3.5 times beyond the limits of normal humans, he honestly wasn't tired at all.
Still, sleep was necessary. Come to think of it, Lin Fan hadn't had a chance to sleep since arriving at Mars Base.
Now that he had the opportunity, of course he had to get a good sleep.
Not long afterward, Lin Fan returned to his office and went straight into the bedroom beside it, lying down on the bed.
"System, simulate an Asteroid Belt escort mission for me. Set the opponent to Level 5. Also, simulate our warships as the 101st Task Force Fleet and the enemy warships as the Oakes Empire's."
"Ding. Battlefield configured. Both fleets have been fully simulated according to the host's requirements." "Ding. The battlefield's primary objective is an escort mission. It will begin in three seconds."
"What a considerate system."
After remarking on that, Lin Fan entered the virtual battlefield and began another round of training.
What Lin Fan didn't know was that the door to his office had been opened.
As the saying went, whenever you didn't lock your door, something was bound to happen!
Clearly, Lin Fan had not learned his lesson from last time.
Liang Xue walked into Lin Fan's office. Finding no one there, she noticed that the bedroom door beside it was open and glanced inside.
When she saw Lin Fan already lying on the bed "asleep," Liang Xue quietly walked in. Standing before his bed, she looked at him, still wearing his military uniform, and a faint smile appeared on her face.
If Lin Fan had seen the scene before him, he would definitely have been shocked speechless.
That ice cube had actually sneaked into his bedroom and even smiled.
Was this really Liang Xue?
Unfortunately, Lin Fan was destined not to see this scene.
A minute later, Liang Xue returned to her signature ice-cold expression and left Lin Fan's office.
At the same time, at the Interstellar Military Academy, in the dean's office.
Li Fulai was communicating with Liang Xingchen.
"Say, Liang, you weren't lying to me? The battle record you just sent me was commanded by that kid Lin Fan?"
"Could I make something like that up?"
"I'm just a little surprised, alright?"
This had happened an hour earlier. By convention, whenever there was a classic battle case on the front lines, a copy would be sent to the Interstellar Military Academy for use in the Command Department's teaching.
After all, humanity had experienced far too few interstellar wars so far, and there were only a handful of real battle cases available for instruction.
What Li Fulai hadn't expected was that Lin Fan, who had graduated only a few days ago, had already fought a battle on the front lines.
What he had expected even less was that this guy's first real battle under his command had been classified as a classic campaign by Mars Base, which had sent over the complete battle record.
At that moment, Li Fulai had already made up his mind.
Tomorrow, he would gather all the Command Department students and personally explain it to them!
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