The Only Officer

Yu Lian stood still, panting for a long time until his emotions finally calmed down. He could see the bright white nebula in his sea of consciousness growing even brighter, a clear sign of further advancement in his Psionics. Indeed, putting his mind and Psionics Star Ring under prolonged tension through combat could greatly promote personal growth, as long as one didn't accidentally go too far. This was also why, in the grand and magnificent era that followed, so many experts emerged from the battlefield.

This was, of course, a good thing, but it also meant Yu Lian had taken another solid step towards the path of "balance" where he could do anything but excel at nothing. Thinking of this, he let out another deep sigh.

"...Don't be sad, our Moonfolk boy, you've done your best!" Lieutenant Mondsen, lying on the soft cushion, said with emotion and magnanimity, comforting Yu Lian.

You might be misunderstanding something... Yu Lian thought. Facing someone who was dying, it was better not to expose the truth.

Yes, Lieutenant Mondsen, the commander of Supply Station No. 12, had been given a death sentence by the grief-stricken Doctor Banks. More than half of his epidermis was severely burned, and multiple bones were fractured or contused. These were minor issues; the truly fatal wound was a penetrating injury to his abdomen, which had torn away half his spleen and liver, left by the claws of a Gravel Dragon.

If they were in Tulon, he might have been saved by being sent to a hospital incubator immediately. But here, the only thing Doctor Banks could do was inject the Lieutenant with a dose of painkillers to alleviate his suffering before his life ended.

Yu Lian looked at the Lieutenant, who possessed the dual traits of a swordsman and a greasy old hand, and felt a knot in his heart. The other man's face was disfigured by burns, yet he still grinned, forcing a smile that could scare a child. With a tone of worldly wisdom and profound enlightenment, he slowly said, "Without you, perhaps none of us here would have survived. This is the fate of us grunts! Traveling so far across the universe, away from the Galactic Core, isn't it all for this little bit of extra income? Cough, cough, cough. Since we've eaten, don't complain when we get hit."

Why are you suddenly reminiscing about your life? This doesn't fit your character! And I'm not really anyone to you!

Although the Guard Team were considered minions, at the bottom of the military's hierarchy, serving in the Fairy Star System colonies did indeed offer considerable benefits.

Far from the Galactic Core's mainland, the Governor's office held semi-autonomous rights, with fewer military police and courts-martial. Supervision for the Guard Team, especially for supply stations far from urban areas, was not as strict. Embezzling military supplies, illegally mining precious minerals, poaching animals, extorting offerings from plantations and mines, and plundering the native Sandfolk were all sources for their private coffers.

Do you know about the blockhouses on the North China Plain during the War of Resistance? That's the nature of these supply stations. What kind of virtue can you expect from soldiers guarding a blockhouse?

"But I thought I would be killed by the Sandfolk's blowdarts, and my body would be dragged off to feed their giant lizards. How could I end up dying at the hands of a Gravel Dragon? This isn't logical! And these monsters, I've never seen them before, they're too strange..."

As a grassroots commander, the Lieutenant wasn't outstanding, but being an old hand, he at least possessed a basic level of sensitivity.

No matter how powerful a Gravel Dragon was, how much of a planetary overlord, how much of a Phantom Beast, or how high on the food chain, it was still a wild animal. It would have to be out of its mind to attack a fully defended military camp. Not only did it not flee when injured, but it fought to the bitter end.

Those Xenomorphs also showed no awareness of being wild animals, fighting with more bravery and fearlessness than any army in recorded history, fighting to the last one. Their morale was practically locked in.

However, the Lieutenant probably couldn't guess that a Puppet Worm had been stuffed inside the Gravel Dragon's belly, turning its body into a complete weapon. This was a common tactic of the swarm. After capturing a creature and analyzing its genetic data, if it wasn't killed in the process, they would either eat it or implant a Puppet Worm to use it as a suicide unit. After all, the psionic-like abilities of some Phantom Beasts were something the swarm couldn't replicate. Using them as suicide units could also enrich the swarm's tactical options.

It had to be said, this Gravel Dragon was truly tragic. The moment Yu Lian reached into its belly and crushed the Puppet Worm, he could still feel a trace of relief and gratitude from the creature.

Yu Lian truly sympathized with the unlucky behemoth, so he didn't hesitate to extract its Dragon Crystal to give it complete release.

Mr. Mondsen would never have guessed that the swarm didn't have locked morale; it simply didn't have the concept of morale at all. Apart from the Queen and a few Lord bugs, all other swarm creatures were merely biological weapons. They felt no pain, no fear, and would never rout; they would only fight to the end.

Yu Lian, reborn from the future, knew the Queen's backstory was pitiful and the swarm's fate was also pitiful, but he truly didn't want to sympathize with them.

"Even if this is reported, they won't believe it up there. Everyone died for nothing, I, I..." He looked at Yu Lian with hopeful eyes, his pleading gaze condensing into a palpable pressure that made Yu Lian, a transmigrator, a reborn individual, and a newly emerged psionics, feel a bit stressed.

"I will report the situation here truthfully and argue for it! You will receive the evaluation you deserve. Your family will certainly receive the pension and medals of a field officer. All the spoils of war we've acquired during this time, I will find excellent channels to sell them, and your family will receive a share. Senior Sister Eleanor... Lieutenant Colonel Bonaparte won't know about Second Lieutenant Russo and Second Lieutenant Crus, I promise you!"

Of course, if she finds out herself, I won't interfere. But even then, I'll definitely clear your name. This is a man's promise, Yu Lian thought.

Lieutenant Mondsen showed a smile of relief. The other party was a Moonfolk, a top student, an elite among elites, and now confirmed to be a psionics. His future prospects were unimaginable. The weight of his testimony was naturally vastly different from that of himself, a "Guard Team minion" who started as a common soldier.

"I wasn't a good commander..."

"Commander." Yu Lian wanted to comfort him with a few words, as a final act of care. However, the other man interrupted him directly and said loudly, "I really wasn't a good commander. It's because I didn't listen to you that we ended up like this. But I was just an unemployed swordsman who came to the colony just to make a living! I was promoted to officer because I had some strength... But I really don't know how to fight! How to train, how to deploy firepower, how to make decisions, I really don't understand! My own life is a mess, so how can I be responsible for the lives of others?"

Unemployed, just trying to make a living... Yu Lian sighed silently. Both Guard Team officers like Mondsen and immigrants leaving their homes shared similar backgrounds.

"But you are different. Moonfolk... no, Warrant Officer Yu Lian! You can lead them! You are the only officer here now! Don't abandon them, take them and survive!"

This guy probably thought that since Yu Lian was now a psionics, he could completely abandon everyone and run back to Tulon by himself. It had to be admitted, the Lieutenant was a bit too suspicious of a gentleman; but it also had to be acknowledged that with the prevailing atmosphere, one couldn't really blame him.

"Don't worry, I will lead everyone to survive! I promise you again!"

"Good, good, yes, that's great... Heh heh, Moonfolk, you need to know... If you had this kind of spirit when you first arrived, I would have handed over command to you long ago. Heh heh heh..."

Lieutenant Mondsen passed away amidst a complex mix of emotions and dry laughter. Although his final laughter was rather stiff, he did, after all, die with a smile.

And so, Yu Lian, who was strictly speaking still a student, became the sole officer at Supply Station No. 12.

Everyone stood still, observing a moment of silence around Lieutenant Mondsen's body. Yu Lian heard Miss Belinda's quiet sobs and could feel the grief lingering in the silent atmosphere.

Lieutenant Mondsen was truly not a good officer, but precisely because of that, everyone actually liked him.

After a while, Ina whispered, "...Commander, what do we do next?"

"Collect the remains of all the fallen and burn them..." Yu Lian turned around and said, under everyone's expectant gaze, "Take me to the garage and start those armored vehicles!"

"We shouldn't stay here long!" he added.