Finally Meeting

When they officially made contact with the organization, it was past 10 PM on November 17th. At that time, Yu Lian and Ina were hiding on the hillside, observing in secret, and thoroughly enjoyed a blockbuster movie.

Ina was very excited, her eyes brimming with a revolutionary romanticism of "So the so-called million-strong enemy is just a million pigs." But Yu Lian was not satisfied: "What a pity. If the forces my senior sister had could have been two thousand more people, I mean, forces with combat power at least equivalent to the Marine Corps' average quality, and if they had brought more heavy firepower for a few rounds of bombardment, taking this opportunity to sortie and drive them back, it would have been enough to cause a chain reaction among all the enemy forces. It might have even been a glorious victory... Hmm, no, if Hersen could gather a million-strong army of Sandfolk from the city-state era, he would be a peerless hero, and he would surely have preparations. Every soldier in the city is limited, so we can't take risks. Hmm, although my senior sister is a bit crazy, she can still stay calm when she needs to be cautious."

"Senior sister?" Ina was curious, her curiosity heading in a slightly off-kilter direction.

"Ah, no, I mean Officer Eleanor."

"Isn't it normal to say Officer Bonaparte?"

Yu Lian was speechless for a few seconds, and then Ina let out a "hehehe" cold laugh, a very predatory laugh.

"I'm really curious what your image is like in the military academy," she added.

The two discussed for a while longer before starting to return, but before they reached the valley, they received a communication from a signalman.

For the past few days, the signalman had been calling the Headquarters in the city via the military's secret channel with a broken communicator produced by the Nine Star Company, but he couldn't get through. What he didn't expect was that on this very night, the communicator finally got a response, and it turned out to be "reinforcements" from afar.

The two walked for another half day on the mountain path, finally finding two orbital landing craft directly "hanging" on the cliff face in a hidden spot on a ridge, as well as the first batch of Commonwealth soldiers Yu Lian had seen since his Rebirth, besides Supply Station No. 12.

"I am Captain Richard Winter, commander of the 101st Company." The officer in the lead looked to be in his early thirties, wearing an Exoskeleton, with a bronze complexion and a resolute demeanor. He was clearly an excellent grassroots officer with extensive combat experience.

Another celebrity, and one famous enough to be in military academy textbooks! He was just not as famous as the senior sister in the city or Ina outside the city, and he was leading a heroic team as an ordinary person's hero... In a sense, wasn't that even more admirable?

With that thought, Yu Lian stood at attention and saluted: "Second Lieutenant Yu Lian, acting commander of Supply Station No. 12, New Jade Gate Garrison."

"Sergeant Major Ina Sirica, Staff Sergeant of Supply Station No. 12." Ina's salute was much more standard and serious than Yu Lian's.

"Second Lieutenant? It must be tough for a student child to encounter something like this." Captain Winter naturally understood the meaning of this non-standard rank and nodded with a smile: "Can you tell me about the current situation?"

"Let's talk as we walk."

It took them over an hour to walk to their hiding place, but during this time, Captain Winter had basically understood the situation completely.

Ina snapped her fingers towards the mountain ridge ahead. Everyone then realized that what they had thought were just mountains was actually an inconspicuous canyon entrance.

Even the elite Paratroopers were amazed by such a spectacle.

"We have not only Moonfolk, but also Supermen!" Lieutenant Parkin, who had a lively personality, whistled and gave Ina a thumbs-up. He was teasing, but of course, with no ill intent.

Captain Winter, being quite experienced, looked at Ina again, not with any jealousy or scrutiny, but with a joyful smile. The stronger their comrades, the higher their chances of survival. This excellent grassroots officer understood this very well.

"This is the power of Psionics! An incredible mystical skill," the Captain exclaimed.

To be precise, it was an illusionary camouflage technique from the Psionics system. The Awakened of the "Star Hunter" path were not only skilled at hunting and capturing but also at hiding themselves. This camouflage that could cover the entrance of the canyon was merely an introductory skill for this path.

However, even at an introductory level, it was enough to deceive human visual senses, and even not-so-sensitive detectors. This was also why Yu Lian dared to bring so many people to hide so close to the battlefield.

As they entered the camp, they were warmly welcomed by the civilians who were already prepared.

After all, these well-equipped, imposing men exuded a sense of security, at least much more so than the miscellaneous soldiers of Yu Lian's garrison.

The 101st Company belonged to the 3rd Marine Division, an orbital airborne unit known as the "Paratrooper Division." Among the more than 100 men, over sixty percent of the soldiers were equipped with AS56 Dragoon Type Exoskeletons, which looked much more magnificent and futuristic than the garrison's AS40s. Of course, the remaining forty percent were not standard issue but auxiliary personnel for medical, engineering, and support firepower, equipped with Special Power Armor.

Look at Dr. Banks and Miss Belinda drooling over the gray and white medical armor; even Ina, who should have been calm, had her eyes light up when she saw a heavy weapons specialist walk past her, wearing Spirit Cat Special Mech and carrying an Anti-Materiel Personal Railgun.

Compared to the large number of bare-chested standard soldiers at Supply Station No. 12, this was truly the difference between miscellaneous troops and regular army.

Look at the military fan classmate Little George, running around the soldiers with a group of equally boisterous children, screaming excitedly as if they were watching a parade at an amusement park.

After all, one was a watchdog kept by the Governor's Mansion or the Sector Government; the other was an elite unit directly under the Commonwealth's Central Military Commission, and even though they were still the "Marine Corps apes" despised by the Navy, their combat power and equipment were worlds apart.

Thus, even Councilor Jiang Yudong, who had just recovered a little, got up, clutching his stomach, and held Captain Winter's hand for a long time, tears welling up in his eyes: "You, you're finally here! The people of New Jade Gate have been waiting and hoping for you to come!"

Captain Winter felt a chill run down his spine and wanted to pull his hand back, but found that his armored and augmented iron arm couldn't be shaken off by the other party for a moment.

"As long as you are here! Everyone has a backbone. I really, sob sob sob..." Councilor began to sob uncontrollably, and the nominal representatives behind him also started to cry, as if they were the people of the old revolutionary base areas who had finally waited for our army to return.

But then again, if the Marine Corps is "our army," then what were the garrison troops who had been staying with them for several days?

Humans are prone to herd mentality. The councilor and people's representatives started crying, and it looked like everyone else was about to cry too. At this moment, a violent old man wearing a cowboy outfit, smoking a pipe and a felt hat, strode out of the crowd, jumped next to Councilor Jiang Yudong, and with a palm as big as a fan, slapped him hard on the back of the head: "What are you crying about! These kids went through so much hardship to get here, can't you do something decent?"

Councilor was furious, but upon hearing the familiar voice, he immediately deflated like a pricked balloon: "Uncle, Uncle..."

With such a boisterous uncle interrupting, everyone didn't have to cry from morning till night and night till morning anymore.

Captain Winter took the opportunity to pull his arm free: "We still have a military meeting to attend, so we won't disturb you... Well, my soldiers are a bit tired, and we hope to get some food, water, and a quiet place to rest. Don't worry, all expenses will be recorded and paid by the Outer Rim Fleet Headquarters at market price. Sorry to have caused you trouble."

It was only the Paratroopers, an elite unit with certain fine traditions. If it were any other department, even the "noble" Navy fleet, that last sentence would never have been uttered. Thus, the Councilor showed a decent and appropriate expression of emotion: "No trouble, no trouble. Everyone, please rest assured. Don't worry, I will urge the Governor's Mansion to pay all expenses. How could it be trouble for the Outer Rim Fleet?"

Yes, anyway, the expenses for food and water for the thousands of refugees over the past few days had all been charged to the Governor's Mansion, so adding over a hundred more soldiers didn't matter. The Councilor had already accepted this setting and decided to let himself go completely.

The 101st Company did not carry much food or water. They only carried two basic loads of ammunition and energy packs, and even left most of their heavy weapons at the base. One should know that a standard orbital airborne company, in addition to 100 to 150 mobile infantrymen equipped with fully covered military Exoskeletons, should also include over a dozen vehicles such as multi-terrain infantry fighting vehicles, drone terminal vehicles, and air-to-ground missile launchers, and even low-altitude transport boats and gunboats.

"We can't help it, we were actually conducting polar marching training on Planet Yumen 7 in this star system, so we didn't bring any vehicles or airships. Later, the captain received the distress signal that the New Jade Gate colony was under siege, so he rushed over quickly," Captain Winter explained helplessly.

This also matched the "history" that Yu Lian knew.

"So, are there already our warships in orbit, Commander?" Ina asked excitedly.

Orbital bombardment! Boom boom boom boom boom! Even a destroyer three to four hundred meters long could make millions of enemy soldiers unable to take care of themselves. That's what the girl must have been thinking.

Captain Winter paused, then gave a wry smile: "Sorry, it's just an Assault Ship."

Assault landing ships, in space combat, are often grouped with assault ships for the penetration, division, and final boarding of large fleets. Every ton of this ship type is designed for acceleration, protection, and ramming, with at most a few close-in defense cannons. How could it be used for orbital bombardment?

"Don't worry, we have already forwarded the distress message to the Nebula Garrison Command and the Outer Rim Fleet, and more reinforcements will arrive soon," the Captain said.

In theory, that was the case. But the current situation was that no one knew what other trump cards the Sandfolk and their backers had, nor when they would launch their next move. Everyone really couldn't afford to wait.

More importantly, Yu Lian knew what would happen next, but he couldn't say anything.

"I need to have an online meeting with Headquarters. Second Lieutenant, and Sergeant Major, you two will come with me."

If Captain Winter had been a rigid and stubborn person who cared about status and rank, he would never have allowed an intern like Yu Lian, or a "Guard Team Minion" NCO like Ina, to attend the meeting. Fortunately, this grassroots officer, who would later be featured in military textbooks, was actually a kind, pragmatic, and intelligent person. And like their superior, the other officers and elite Sergeant Majors of the 101st Company were also reasonable people, and no one expressed any dissatisfaction.

Of course, their identities as "Moonfolk" and psionics were enough to warrant special consideration.

The communication device carried by the 101st Company was much better than the broken machine from Nine Stars, and it quickly connected to Headquarters in Tulon City. Light shone from the communicator, forming a holographic projection of the other side.

Yu Lian, the Reborn, finally met his senior student Eleanor, who "seemed to be on very good terms with him," for the first time since his rebirth.