Chapter 395: Shock

42nd Army, Area L. Seventh Squad Warehouse District.

Two old Extractors sat side-by-side, their metal casings partially removed to expose the internal components.

Luoxue, Qian Wei, and the others were waiting for Jing Chuan to return with the parts.

“Jing Chuan just went to buy something. What’s taking him so long?”

Qian Wei said, his brow furrowed.

“Something must have delayed him. Let’s just wait.”

Luoxue said calmly to Qian Wei.

“Sigh… Honestly, these two Extractors have been repaired so many times. Even if we fix them now, they probably won’t last much longer. We need to figure out how to get a couple of new ones. We can’t keep going on like this.”

Qian Wei turned his head to glance at the Extractors, his face full of worry.

‘Back in the day, before we joined the Star Alliance, we never had to worry about things like this.’

“I know.”

Luoxue was well aware of Qian Wei’s concerns. The problem was, they had no money, and their mining operations in the asteroid belt weren’t going smoothly.

Just then, Jing Chuan and Shen Hu came running over, shouting excitedly.

“Everyone, we’re back!”

“Did you get the repair parts?”

Luoxue and the others immediately went up to ask.

“Hehe, we got them. And we didn’t just bring back parts—we bought a few other things, too.”

Jing Chuan said to Luoxue and the others with a grin.

“What other things?”

Luoxue and the others were completely bewildered.

“Behold!”

Jing Chuan gestured for everyone to look behind him.

Just then, several multi-purpose transport vehicles drove up from the distance and stopped in front of Luoxue and the others.

“What are these?”

Mira and the others were stunned.

“Behold!”

Jing Chuan immediately stepped forward and pulled back the tarps covering them, revealing crate after crate of repair parts and brand-new Extractors.

As Luoxue looked at the rows of Extractors, her expression instantly turned cold. She angrily scolded Jing Chuan.

“Jing Chuan, how many times have I told you? We don’t accept handouts. The others might not get it, but how could you make this kind of mistake?”

‘The money I gave him was barely enough for the components, let alone this many Extractors.’

Seeing Luoxue’s anger, Mira and the others all fell silent.

“No, that’s not it. Let me explain.”

Jing Chuan replied awkwardly.

“Take them back!”

Luoxue retorted, her tone uncompromising.

“Do we really have to take them back?”

A familiar voice suddenly cut in.

Luoxue’s body trembled slightly. She slowly turned her head.

There was Long Ming, hopping down from the passenger seat of a transport vehicle and smiling at Luoxue and the rest of the squad.

Luoxue stared at Long Ming, her face a mask of disbelief as tears welled up in her eyes.

Qian Wei, Mira, Fu Fuqing, and the others all wore looks of utter shock.

“Long… Long Ming?”

“Are you a man or a ghost?”

…

“Hey, why does everyone keep asking me that? Of course I’m real!”

Long Ming replied with a laugh.

“Holy crap, you’re really not dead!”

The squad erupted in an instant.

“Nope, not dead. So, do you still want to return all this?”

Long Ming asked with a grin.

“You bought it? Like hell we’re returning it!”

…

Everyone crowded around him, talking excitedly.

Then, surrounded by his squadmates, Long Ming walked toward Luoxue.

Luoxue quickly wiped her eyes and composed herself.

Soon, Long Ming stood before Luoxue. He snapped to attention and said with a faint smile,

“Commander, Long Ming of the Rat Group, reporting for duty.”

Luoxue was taken aback for a moment, then replied with a smile.

“Welcome back to the squad!”

“Haha! This is great! Long Ming’s back!”

The others surged forward, lifted Long Ming up, and began tossing him into the air.

Watching the joyous scene, Luoxue took a deep breath, then turned to Mira beside her.

“Accept the Extractors. And tell the kitchen staff to prepare for a celebratory dinner tonight for everyone.”

“Okay!”

Mira replied happily.

「A short time later.」

Long Ming, Luoxue, and the others sat around a long, makeshift metal table.

The table was laden with steaming hot dishes.

Qian Wei raised a mug of beer and proposed a toast.

“Let’s all raise a glass to Long Ming! Back in the battle against the Blood Breath Beast, if he hadn’t turned the tide, we would’ve been wiped out. We certainly wouldn’t be sitting here today. To this long-overdue celebration—cheers!”

“Yeah!”

Luoxue and the others all raised their beers.

“Don’t say that. That victory wasn’t just because of me—it was because we all stood together. Let’s toast to all those we lost.”

Long Ming said, raising his glass with a smile.

“Alright!”

Everyone clinked their glasses and downed their drinks.

Then, Mira and the others asked curiously,

“Long Ming, if you weren’t dead, where have you been all these years?”

“Why didn’t you contact us?”

…

Luoxue also looked at Long Ming, clearly curious.

“Sigh… I ended up on another continent. It took a lot of work, but I eventually made my way to the City of Stars. After that, I went back to the Star Wish Cafe to be with Xiaoqi and the others. I had them try to notify you, but they couldn’t get in touch.”

“Blacktan Fortress is under tight control. Long-range communications are not only expensive but also have strict requirements and need an application. Even outgoing letters are opened and inspected, so it’s perfectly normal that they couldn’t get through.”

Luoxue explained to Long Ming.

“Yeah, I figured as much.”

“By the way, Long Ming, how did you find us here?”

Mira and the others looked at Long Ming, eager for the details.

Long Ming paused for a moment, then looked at Luoxue with a chuckle and said,

“Well, a certain someone still owes me my cut of a bonus, so I came to collect.”

“Pfft, yeah right!”

The squad teased him scornfully.

Luoxue was also looking at Long Ming with a smile.

“Still thinking about your share from the reserve depot, huh? Don’t worry, I kept it for you.”

“Haha, I’m just kidding! I came because I missed you guys, of course.”

Long Ming said with a laugh, waving his hand dismissively.

“Really? Suuuure. Sounds suspicious.”

Everyone teased him with sly grins.

“Of course it’s true!”

Long Ming replied, though he didn’t sound entirely confident.

Seeing Long Ming being ganged up on, Luoxue spoke up to save him, changing the subject.

“Long Ming, what are your plans now?”

“I didn’t plan on leaving. I’m going to stay and stick with you guys.”

Long Ming frankly shared his intentions with Luoxue and the others.

“Really?”

“That’s great! We can fight side-by-side again!”

…

Hearing that Long Ming was staying, Jing Chuan and the others were ecstatic.

Then, Luoxue spoke to Long Ming with a serious expression.

“Long Ming, do you know what our situation is right now?”

Hearing Luoxue’s words, the smiles on the faces of Mira and the others froze. Their current situation was terrible—so much so that it was almost embarrassing.

“Jing Chuan told me a little. The situation isn’t great.”

Long Ming admitted freely.

“It’s not just ‘not great,’ it’s terrible. ‘Struggling to take a single step’ would be a good way to describe us now. Are you sure you want to stay with us?”

“No matter how hard it is, can it be any harder than when we fought the Blood Breath Beast?”