What Kind of Etiquette is This

I feel extremely dizzy, my vision is blurry, and I can't feel anything other than pain all over my body. All I can hear is a terrible ringing in my eardrums, along with more annoying noise and clamor.

However, Yu Lian felt a little happy.

After all, the last memory he had was not pleasant at all—He didn't know why he had awakened, his eyes shining with starlight, and from his colossal mouth spewed a gamma-ray burst capable of tearing apart even a Titan-class battleship.

Based on his perception of this power as a high-level psionic, and his decades of experience traversing the galaxy, he could conclude:

"It's hopeless! I'm dead! See you next lifetime!"

However, the eternal oblivion he expected did not come, which was certainly worth celebrating with champagne.

So, those two kids pulled me out? Smugglers capable of escaping the King of Star Dragons' jaws with me? They'll be bragging about it for the next century!

Alright! Once I've recovered, I'll teach you anything you want to learn, and I won't hide anything from you.

"He's useless, we really have to..." a male voice said urgently.

Never mind, smugglers are still smugglers!

"Three comrades have died today! Sir!"

Right, this is the kind of integrity a smuggler with ideals and aspirations should have... Uh, wait, that sounds like a pretty young female voice? I don't remember having any pretty girls on your ship.

Because the girl's voice was pleasant, spirited yet sharp, it was Yu Lian's type, so he assumed she must be a pretty girl.

"But his power armor is ruined, and now he's in this state... Are you planning to drag him back step by step?" The voice that had previously wanted to abandon him sounded exasperated.

"I thought that wasn't a question. Sir!" The pretty girl (as Yu Lian thought) didn't back down.

"Watch your attitude! Sergeant Major Sirica!"

At this point, even Yu Lian, whose mind was hazy and whose intelligence and judgment were not even a tenth of their usual capacity, felt that something was wrong.

Sir? Sergeant Major?

He hadn't interacted with military organizations for at least five or six years. Yu Lian was also certain that if a proper military organization encountered him, they would either be devastated or ecstatic, but never would they have this attitude.

Perhaps eager to understand the current situation, he felt his eyelids were not as heavy anymore, and he managed to open his eyes. The first thing that met his gaze was an endless expanse of sandstone that seemed to shimmer with golden hues. The high temperature caused the dust-filled air to form a mirage that distorted the horizon. Above it was a cerulean sky, and two suns, one blue and one red, like the eyes of a deity.

As the saying goes, "A lone smoke in the desert, curved and straight; the setting sun over the long river, a pair of circles!"

"Is this... Tatooine... Ugh, I'm so bored saying the same old jokes for decades!" Yu Lian mourned his own bad taste, and half a second later, he confirmed he must be on New Yumeng Star, the earliest colony developed by Earthlings in the Andromeda galaxy.

He was too familiar with every grain of sand and speck of soil here.

New Yumeng... It was like the second hometown of his second life, but that was the name before Earthlings lost this planet.

"In New Yumeng, we've only been here for a few years! Don't you understand? We're in danger ourselves!" the person Sirica called "Sir" shouted again.

So your conversation is so anachronistic! What do you mean "only a few years"? Isn't it Galactic Commonwealth Year 884 now? Humanity lost this "Yellow Diamond of Andromeda" nearly half a century ago!

It had long been renamed "Iron King Territory" by its new masters, a rather tasteless Kaitai name.

"They're here!" a third voice said, with a hint of panic.

Yu Lian could hear rapid, heavy breathing, the grinding of exoskeletons, the sound of bullets being chambered, and the roar of power axes and chainswords. It must be said, all of this felt very anachronistic, so he didn't feel any tension at all, only as if he were in an absurd farce.

He propped himself up—the mere action exhausted him—and quickly assessed his situation.

Yu Lian told himself that even if it felt anachronistic, even if every bone ached, he had to grasp the situation immediately. This was the quality required of a "Free Knight," a Seventh Ring Psionic, a ranger the most famous (infamous) in the universe.

He was now lying on a powered stretcher. Within a ten-meter radius, more than a dozen armed personnel were rushing in formation. It was clear they were exhausted, and some were trembling, but at least they weren't running, which was commendable. However...

"They're standing too close, and there's no tactical layering of firepower. This is pre-General Patton reform infantry tactics. It's just that the tech tree in our parallel universe went sideways, otherwise, we wouldn't still have this level of tactical proficiency in the space age," Yu Lian sighed, shaking his head.

"...Ensign, you're awake?" Yu Lian heard the voice of Sergeant Major Sirica and then saw her face leaning closer.

It would be unrealistic to expect any pleasant fragrance from a girl wrapped in a power armor covered in bloodstains and dirt, with her face also smeared with grime and fatigue. Of course, despite her disheveled appearance, she didn't look the least bit flustered. Beneath her neat short blonde hair was a face with clear features and a pair of fiery red eyes that no normal Earthling could possess. Full of spirit yet sharp and piercing, she was indeed a heroic and beautiful woman.

Sirica... Sergeant Major? Red eyes! No way...

Yu Lian felt he should recognize her, but only from news and videos.

And certainly not this young version of her...

"Don't worry, Commonwealth soldiers never abandon their comrades!" she said sternly, meticulously checking her rifle.

Commonwealth... Uh, girl, why are you wearing an AS-40 Exoskeleton, which is only used by pirates and gangs, and holding a C10 Kinetic Rifle that's been discontinued for nearly 30 years? Are you filming a historical drama?

Although Yu Lian wanted to say this, as a Free Knight who had roamed half the universe, he naturally understood this was not a play.

These people were genuinely tense, fearful, and gritting their teeth, preparing to deal with something.

"It's too open here, we can't afford to fight a prolonged battle! Lieutenant Mondsen!" The "Sir" who had wanted to abandon him earlier was still chattering, but now his target was a middle-aged man in a similar old-model Exoskeleton.

Lieutenant Mondsen seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then gritted his teeth and said, "We'll crush them here completely! Get back to your position, Second Lieutenant!"

His tone was firm, but perhaps too firm, making it seem a bit forced.

The argument between the two officers stopped, not because the Second Lieutenant didn't want to continue, but because in their line of sight, the rolling dust and smoke were getting closer and closer. So close that one could smell the stench within it.

They also didn't notice that Yu Lian, who had woken up, had already taken them all in.

The insignia on their shoulder armor was orange, belonging to the Outer Rim Colony Garrison Guard, which was even worse than the "Marine Gorillas." In other words, "Guard Team Minions," as they were commonly called. As the name suggests, they were naturally at the bottom of the military hierarchy.

The insignia was silver swallowtail with one star, and without a star, indeed a Lieutenant and a Second Lieutenant.

As for the Sergeant Major lady beside them, she had a bronze chevron with crossed swords, and indeed, she was a Sergeant Major Grade 3.

This is indeed a rank insignia of the Commonwealth army. But, that nation is already... Yu Lian looked again at the stern-faced Sergeant Major, especially gazing at her spirited and pretty face, and vaguely guessed the current situation.

What is this? A second playthrough?

"Open fire!" Lieutenant Mondsen roared.

The electromagnetic glow flashed on over a dozen kinetic rifles, accompanied by dull thuds, instantly firing hundreds of steel-pin bullets into the smoke. Then, with shrill and ferocious wails like ghosts and beasts, along with splashing, insectoid or beast-like limbs and severed arms flying everywhere, a denser fog of stench and blood congealed into a nauseating miasma, spreading over with even greater ferocity.

Clearly, the barrage from the kinetic rifles couldn't make them retreat.

"What the hell are these things?" a Black man with the rank of Sergeant gritted his teeth and cursed.

Beside him, a Staff Sergeant, even more burly than him, gritted his teeth without speaking, continuing to fire his rifle with one hand while his other hand was already on the power axe at his waist. He was the strongest and tallest in the entire squad. He wasn't wearing an exoskeleton, but he was noticeably taller than the exoskeleton-clad Sergeant Major and that annoying Second Lieutenant.

However, even this giant, who looked like he could crush a bear with his bare hands, showed obvious tension.

If these were "natural" beasts, they wouldn't charge to their deaths through a hail of bullets. This deviation from everyone's common sense represented the unknown, and naturally brought panic.

"Awoo! Roar!" Alien monsters that looked like oversized hyenas, but with insectoid claws extending from their ribs, lunged out of the smoke, their ferocious appearances radiating menace. At first glance, there were hundreds, but who knew how many more were hidden in the cover of the smoke.

Mixed in with the packs of oversized "hyenas" were large, "cobra-like" shelled creatures that stood upright, instantly exceeding two meters in height, also brandishing scythe-like claws like a praying mantis.

They were indeed terrifying, clearly emotionless predators, and their sheer numbers, swarming like this, didn't seem like that of carnivores. Their thick shells, which could withstand bullets and allow them to advance, made one wonder what evolutionary purpose they served.

Everyone was terrified and gritting their teeth to hold on! But Yu Lian only felt humiliation, so humiliated he almost couldn't help but shed tears.

Help me up! Bring me my Atomic Light Spear, Tempest Energy Cannon, and Dawn Sword! After all, this great hero has fought with the Aether Dragons for three hundred rounds! I've even beaten your queen more than once!

Now, to be swarmed by the lowest-level Zerglings and Hydralisks, what kind of order is this?