Something Was Wrong

The next day, Lieutenant Walker directly reported the incident to the Empire's work station.

The staff member at the Empire's work station hummed thoughtfully, then said to Lieutenant Walker, "Lieutenant, stay where you are for now. We have your coordinates. The Empire has already dispatched a rescue force, and the rescue mechs will soon reach the coordinates of Temporary Army No. 32."

After hearing the staff member's words, Lieutenant Walker could not help showing a delighted expression.

"They actually sent mech warriors to rescue us? It seems the Empire really takes this matter quite seriously!"

Wokert secretly rejoiced.

He had no doubts. After hanging up, he directly ordered the spaceship to remain where it was, waiting for the Imperial army's rescue.

But he had overlooked one thing. If the Imperial rescue team were truly coming this way, they should have told him to fly toward the Empire's territory while meeting him along the way.

But now... the Empire had ordered him to stay put... Clearly, it did not want Temporary Army No. 32 to return to the Empire's core territory...

Time passed little by little. After the battle just now, the Cosmic Creatures seemed to have developed a fear of this spaceship, and not a single one approached the nearby starfield again.

After receiving the Empire's rescue signal, Lieutenant Walker set his mind at ease. His mood became quite calm as he parked the spaceship in the void and rested the army.

Soon, several hours passed. Su Ming straightened up and happily patted the mech in front of him.

After several hours of work, the damage to the mech had finally been repaired.

Repairing this mech had also earned him nearly 500 Starlight Points.

It had greatly replenished the Starlight Points he had lost in the previous battle.

Just then, a burst of cheering suddenly erupted from inside the spaceship.

"The Imperial Reinforcements are here!"

Everyone immediately showed delighted expressions.

At that moment, the mech warriors dispatched by the Empire were already flying toward them.

The group counted carefully and found that there were actually around ten mech warriors.

"The Empire really seems to take this matter seriously. It actually sent mech warriors to carry out the rescue!"

A burly-looking man watched the mech warriors speeding toward them, his face filled with delight.

Every mech warrior had been trained at great expense by the Empire. Not only did the Gene Warrior piloting one need to activate their Brain Domain Level, but a great deal of money also had to be spent building a standard mech.

Su Ming had assembled a mech before, so he knew exactly how terrifying the cost of assembling one was. It was practically no cheaper than directly purchasing mech knowledge!

These ten mech warriors were simply flying Star Coins!

Each of the mech warriors flying toward Temporary Army No. 32 radiated a powerful aura, no weaker than that of the Steel Lizard they had encountered earlier!

With such strength, if they had truly come to rescue them, it would be more than enough!

Lieutenant Walker grew excited when he saw the mech warriors. After waiting so many days, they had finally arrived.

And they had come directly as mech warriors. It seemed the Empire really did take this rescue mission seriously.

Lieutenant Walker did not hesitate. He immediately donned his Cosmic Combat Suit and left the spaceship to welcome the mech warriors.

"Su Ming, the Empire sent mech warriors to rescue us!"

When Warren saw so many mech warriors approaching, his face showed clear relief.

Anyone would feel an overwhelming sense of security upon seeing mech warriors.

Hearing Warren's words, Su Ming curiously turned his gaze toward the window of the spaceship.

Sure enough... outside the window, ten white mechs were radiating powerful energy levels as they sped toward the spaceship of Temporary Army No. 32.

Su Ming smiled, feeling somewhat reassured. He was just about to turn his attention back to the mechanical equipment in front of him.

But just as he reached out to pick up the mechanical equipment, his arm suddenly stopped in midair.

Then Su Ming raised his head and looked at the mech warriors once again.

The more he looked, the graver his expression became.

"Something's wrong!"

Su Ming muttered to himself.

"Something's wrong? What's wrong?"

Warren asked curiously from the side.

"These rescuers... didn't bring a rescue team!"

For an enormous entity on the level of the Empire, military rescues followed their own set of standards.

Rescue did not simply mean sending out a group of powerful people to drag out the stranded soldiers.

A true rescue mission required bringing a rescue team, medical care, mechanical repairs, spare spaceships, energy blocks, and other supplies and rescue equipment. This was also to guard against situations in which the stranded unit's spaceship had been damaged, its personnel seriously injured, or its energy depleted.

It was possible that Lieutenant Walker had already communicated with them in advance and told them that there had been no casualties...

But they should still have brought a mechanic and spare mechanical parts, right?

After all, this spaceship had once been attacked by the Steel Lizard. No one could guarantee that it did not have hidden damage somewhere inside.

A mechanic was needed to assess all of that. Relying solely on the mechanic already aboard the spaceship, they certainly could not complete the inspection in a short time.

The Empire was humanity's top civilization. How could it make such a low-level mistake in its rescue procedures?

Now, they had brought no rescue team at all—only these ten mech warriors.

That made Su Ming feel that something was wrong.

"That shouldn't be the case... The Empire's rescue forces were probably all dispatched elsewhere. But that doesn't matter. With these ten mech warriors, we can still return safely to the Empire."

Warren seemed somewhat unconcerned. As a citizen living within the Empire, he would never believe that the Empire might harbor murderous intentions toward him.

After hearing Warren's words, Su Ming murmured, "Hopefully... But it never hurts to be careful!"

Su Ming still sensed that something was wrong. He was not a native of the Empire. He was a transmigrator from Earth, and he absolutely did not take the Empire's promise of civilian safety at face value.

After saying that, Su Ming stood up and stored the mech he had just repaired in his storage space.

Su Ming kept a precaution in mind and set the mech to be released and equipped immediately at any time.

He then went to the front desk, borrowed a small spaceship from the staff there, and stored it in his storage space as well.

After finishing all this, Su Ming felt slightly more at ease.

But just then, a sudden cry of alarm came from inside the spaceship.

Su Ming's expression shifted. He looked outside the window, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

A corpse that had been beaten beyond recognition was floating silently in the void.

Smoke from the recent explosion still lingered around it, not yet having dispersed.

From the corpse's tattered clothing, Su Ming could vaguely determine that this corpse...

was Lieutenant Walker!