A Salute First

"I disagree!"

Lin Hao slammed his fist on the table and stood up angrily, staring directly at the group of people without the slightest fear on his face.

"The military gave us the order, and we went to answer the call. Now the military has given us another order to keep quiet, and we have no complaints. But why are they even taking away the honors that cadets should have?!"

The veins on the major's head were throbbing; he was furious upon hearing those words.

Walking out of the interrogation room was already an insult, but now they are brazenly stripping away the honor that is rightfully theirs!

Seeing the major's face turn red, Li Shen nodded slightly and then gave a standard, formulaic smile.

"Major Lin, as the officer leading the Dingchuan Academy this time, I understand your feelings. However, the military headquarters' requirements are very clear: from today onwards, everything related to Planet 131 must be erased. This includes all sounds, texts, images, and even the honors you mentioned. They must all disappear! This is the core spirit of the military headquarters' documents."

His voice carried an unquestionable tone.

Lin Hao's lips began to twitch uncontrollably, because he remembered the dead soldiers and Major Zheng Rui, who detonated the nuclear bomb with his body in the end.

"And what about the soldiers who died on that planet? Are you also going to strip them of the glory they deserved?"

"I regret."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hao suddenly burst into a nervous laugh, a laugh that made all the officers turn pale.

"It's laughable. They give their lives for the Federation, and in the end, their families probably won't even see their names. The so-called Sealing Order is just a bloody fig leaf!"

"Major, watch your tone," Li Shen said slowly and deliberately, unmoved.

Lin Hao leaned his head back heavily, his eyes fixed on Li Shen, and said, word by word, "What if... I insist on fighting for this medal for Mu Fan?"

"Then please state your reasons. This room is a discussion room, not a place for one-man rule."

Lin Hao lowered his head for a moment, then raised it and said, "Colonel Li should know that we encountered space pirates on the way, right?"

"I know, a rabble, but you still managed to defeat them?" Li Shen looked at his fingernails.

"Yes, that's what the briefing said. But I haven't had a chance to report the actual situation to the Second-Level Military Department yet."

"Oh, tell me about it." The officers opposite Lin Hao were unimpressed; what could he possibly do now?

"The fact is that student Mu Fan alone attacked and killed 113 space pirates, breaking through from the Mecha Hangar to the command room."

The sound of Li Shen tapping lightly on the table suddenly stopped.

Please repeat that.

"I said, Mu Fan alone killed 113 space pirates and captured that space pirate's warship by his own strength!" Lin Hao stood up and said, emphasizing each word.

"Are you kidding me?" Li Shen immediately called over a soldier and gave him a few instructions.

"If Colonel Li wants to view the relevant video footage, don't bother, I have some here." Lin Hao took out a memory chip from his pocket. "This was originally intended to be shown to the dean."

Li Shen remained silent for a moment, then waved his hand, signaling the soldiers to use the equipment to play the video in fast forward.

Soon, a series of scenes appeared, from the encounter with space pirates, to the conversation with the space pirate leader Maxi, to the communication that Mu Fan called in, then Mu Fan's attempt to seize the mecha inside the Star-borne Ship, and finally, piloting the mecha back to the enemy warship.

The video then showed a longer view of the warship's exterior, before reappearing on screen the Battlefield Recorder footage from the Exoskeleton Armor. From entering the enemy hangar until cutting through the last valve and seeing Mu Fan, they found exactly 113 corpses along the way, all killed in a single hit!

After watching this scene they had never seen before, the officers, led by Li Shen, exchanged glances.

Things have become complicated now.

Their intelligence network had suddenly become fragmented.

Li Shen felt a surge of irritation as he recalled the Sky Communicator he had suddenly received three hours earlier.

Why have so many changes occurred when it seemed like a trivial matter that could be easily wiped away?

However, since we have already agreed, we must do our job well, especially since the other party is Qi Longxiang's subordinate!

Thinking of this, Li Shen's face calmed down, and he cleared his throat, saying, "I'm afraid Major Lin doesn't know yet, but after the military's cruiser fleet arrived, they didn't find any trace of the space pirate warships. Therefore, the authenticity of this video needs further verification. Please hand over the video to us, Major Lin."

What? The space pirates' warships are gone?

Lin Hao, who had initially felt somewhat confident, was suddenly stunned.

How could a warship that even had its command center destroyed simply disappear!

Just as Li Shen was regaining the upper hand, a loud bang suddenly came from the doorway.

Bang!

The wooden antique-style door of the seminar hall was kicked open with great force.

This is a wooden door weighing over a ton...

"Bullshit!" A rough voice echoed throughout the seminar hall.

Everyone inside the room stood up on guard.

"Turning white into black, when did the people in the Command Department start doing things like the Special Affairs Department? They're really something!" The loud voice came from afar, and after passing behind the screen, the owner of the voice quickly appeared in front of everyone.

Lin Hao's eyes widened.

Li Shen's face instantly darkened.

Ruan Xiongfeng!

With that shiny bald head, gruff voice, and burly physique, plus that roguish expression, who else could it be but Ruan Xiongfeng!

He was also carrying someone in his hand, or rather, a captain.

"Instructor Ruan!" Lin Hao exclaimed in surprise.

"Regimental Commander Ruan, you are not..." Li Shen frowned, his voice interrupted by the Old Soldier Rogue halfway through his sentence.

"You want to ask why I haven't returned with the dean yet? That's normal. All my disciples have rushed back, so I had to go and welcome them back. Good heavens, guess what I saw when I got back to my own territory?"

"Our people were taken away by heavily armed officers!!"

With an exaggerated expression, Ruan Xiongfeng slapped the captain who was trying to sneak away, and as he spoke, the captain sat down in his chair and couldn't get up.

Who else could this captain be but Gu Qing?

"So I got curious, who's so powerful as to come to the Dingchuan Academy to escort someone on such a good day? But unfortunately I arrived late and didn't meet anyone who could escort me, so I had to follow along step by step. Tsk tsk, I really didn't expect the Operations Department of Landu Star to be so awesome! Actually, I suggest you change your name to the Advanced Special Affairs Department. I feel you are much more professional than the department next door."

Baldy Ruan's undisguised sarcasm made the faces of the group of officers change color.

Li Shen suppressed his anger and stood up. "Ruan Xiongfeng, I called you Regimental Commander Ruan before out of consideration for our past relationship. Now you're no longer a soldier. Who allowed you to enter this place?!"

Ruan Xiongfeng casually picked at his ear with his legs crossed. After a while, it was unclear whether he had gotten it out, but he showed a very satisfied expression and blew on his little finger.

"Are you really stupid or just pretending? I can't even remember how many identities I've had!"

"Also, don't act all high and mighty in front of me. Come on, give me a salute first."

Completely bewildered, Lin Hao watched as the Bald Man blew on his little finger, then pulled out a shiny object from his inner pocket, blew on it, and then smiled and waved it at Li Shen.

They deliberately slowed down while swaying, so Lin Hao Chu Chu see what it was.

First of all, it's a medal...

Secondly, the medal appears to have a Broken Sword on it...

No way.

Lin Hao was startled and stood up to salute!

********

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