Chapter 396: Gossip

Chapter 396: Chapter 396: Gossip

"Alright, welcome to the Seventh Squad. I’ll take you to get your induction paperwork done tomorrow!"

Luoxue flashed a brilliant smile.

"Okay!"

Long Ming nodded.

"Come on, a toast to celebrate Long Ming joining us!"

"We’re not going home until we’re drunk!"

...

Jing Chuan and the others shouted excitedly.

"Cheers!"

Long Ming smiled and raised his glass as well.

...

「The next morning.」

Long Ming woke up in a ten-square-meter single room.

He yawned and washed up. When he opened his door and stepped out, he came face to face with Jing Chuan.

"Ah, you’re awake,"

Jing Chuan asked with a smile.

"Yeah. Where’s Luoxue?"

Long Ming stretched.

"She left early this morning with those ten harvesters to work in the asteroid belt. She told me to take you to get your paperwork done."

Jing Chuan explained to Long Ming.

"She’s that dedicated?"

Long Ming was a little surprised.

"We don’t have a choice. We’re broke. If you hadn’t come along, we’d all be starving."

"That’s an exaggeration."

"Anyway, enough about that. Let’s go!"

Jing Chuan then led Long Ming away.

The two walked down a long metal corridor.

They passed many NCOs along the way, who all gave Long Ming strange looks.

Confused, Long Ming glanced back at them.

Jing Chuan then explained to Long Ming.

"The area we’re in is L-Zone. Everyone here is from the Forty-Second Legion, but we don’t have a great relationship with the other squads."

"Oh? How strong is the Forty-Second Legion?"

"Heh. The Forty-Second Legion is the last legion of the Star Alliance, which of course makes it the weakest. Half the people in this legion are from low-level civilizations, so it’s also known as the ’Containment Legion.’"

"That sounds harsh."

"Can’t be helped. Also, this is Blacktan Fortress, which belongs to the Third Legion. Even though we’re all Star Alliance legions, our treatment is worlds apart. So, it’s best to avoid any conflict with people from the Third Legion..."

"Understood."

Long Ming nodded.

Soon, Jing Chuan brought Long Ming to the 42nd Legion’s administration hall.

The administration hall was spacious, with a row of service windows at the far end.

NCOs from the 42nd Legion were everywhere.

When everyone saw Jing Chuan with Long Ming, they began to whisper among themselves.

"Is that the guy?"

"I don’t know, but it looks like him!"

...

Just then, Jing Chuan led Long Ming to a counter and saluted a middle-aged, weathered-looking man in a captain’s uniform.

"Captain Puli, I’d like to register a new squad member."

"A new registration?"

Puli looked at Jing Chuan, surprised.

"That’s right. He’s from our Mountain City Mountain."

"Fine. What’s his name?"

"Long Ming."

Jing Chuan said to Captain Puli.

When the surrounding NCOs heard Jing Chuan, they started chattering excitedly.

"It really is him!"

"Didn’t that Long Ming guy die? Has he come back from the dead?"

"That’s right. The guy showed up out of nowhere yesterday, and I heard he brought ten harvesters with him."

"Holy crap, the return of the king! We’re in for a show now. Quick, post it in the group chat!"

...

Long Ming, who was in the middle of his registration, was very confused to see so many people staring and whispering about him.

In truth, Long Ming had no idea how famous he was within the 42nd Legion.

Luoxue herself was one of the three great beauties of the 42nd Legion and had many suitors. Furthermore, she had even rejected the advances of Cosmic Noble Benoka because of Long Ming.

This had left a very deep impression of Long Ming on everyone.

They had all just assumed Long Ming was long dead. Now that he had returned from the grave, they were naturally gathering around to watch the drama unfold.

After a long while,

Captain Puli finished processing Long Ming’s paperwork.

Long Ming officially became a regular soldier of the 42nd Legion.

Jing Chuan checked the time on his wristband. It was already past eleven in the morning, so he said to Long Ming,

"Long Ming, let’s go get some lunch at the mess hall. This afternoon, I’ll show you around Blacktan Fortress."

"Alright."

Long Ming nodded in agreement.

Jing Chuan then led Long Ming away, speaking as they walked toward the mess hall.

"I’ll tell you, the food in the mess hall is all standard-issue, but it’s not bad. Of course, it’s no big deal if it’s not to your liking."

"I’m not that picky. I’m used to eating instant noodles every day."

Long Ming wasn’t concerned.

...

-------------------------------------------

「Guangxiao Star Sea – The Front Line.」

Suspended in an orderly formation in the starry sky were the Level 5 flagship *Thunderfish*, three Level 4 battleships, and twelve Level 3 battleships. The *Thunderfish* itself was fifty kilometers long with a swordfish-like hull. A 300-meter-long blue main cannon extended from its bow, its entire body was covered in thick, scale-like armor plating, and its flanks were densely packed with numerous launch ports and interceptor cannons.

Inside the bridge of the *Thunderfish*,

An old man in a major general’s uniform sat in the command chair, his face a mask of wrinkles. He stared expressionlessly at an operations screen, his deep-set eyes and every gesture radiating a powerful, oppressive aura.

Just then, a polite, scholarly-looking young man in a captain’s uniform and black-framed glasses approached with a cup of hot tea.

"General Ola Ray, have some tea to refresh yourself."

"Mm."

Ola Ray took the hot tea Kaxie offered and took a sip.

"General, would you like to go back and get some rest? There’s nothing to report at the moment. We can notify you immediately if anything happens."

Kaxie inquired.

"No need. I wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. It’s more reassuring to watch over things myself. After all, we’re on the absolute front line here."

Ola Ray declined Kaxie’s suggestion.

Just then, the distant starry sky began to distort in multiple places. The twisted patches of space then split open, revealing gaping holes.

Instantly, piercing alarms blared from the *Thunderfish’s* scanning systems.

A series of black warning boxes popped up.

"WARNING: ABNORMAL SPATIAL FLUCTUATIONS DETECTED!"

"WARNING: MASSIVE NUMBER OF WORMHOLES DETECTED!"

...

The operators were shocked, and one called out a report to Ola Ray.

"This is bad, General! We’ve detected a large-scale wormhole emergence 500,000 kilometers out!"

"Switch to optical! Put the visuals on screen!"

Ola Ray commanded, his expression sinking.

"Yes, sir!"

The operator immediately complied.

VWOOSH—

A grid of holographic projections appeared.

The dark expanse of space seemed to blossom, as one twisted hole after another appeared.

Hideous, ferocious insects of varying forms poured out from the rifts in a massive swarm, like a tidal wave.

On closer inspection, one could see humanoid figures standing atop the backs of some of the larger, more advanced-looking giant insects.

Watching the image on the screen, Ola Ray slammed his hand on the armrest of his chair and shot to his feet.

"So, they dare to open a wormhole right on our doorstep. These damn bugs just don’t know when to quit."

"General, what should we do? Their numbers are massive. I’m not sure we can hold them off on our own."

Kaxie asked Ola Ray, his voice laced with worry.

"We’ll hold them whether we can or not! Behind us are the mining planets we fought so hard to win. Immediately notify Blacktan Fortress that the front line is under a massive assault! Requesting reinforcements!"

"Yes, sir!"