I Pick Up Talents on the Interstellar Battlefield

Chapter 529: Chapter 428: Guardian Envoy of Ice Extreme Pass

The headquarters of the Royal star Military Department is situated in the core of Donghuang state, resembling a dormant steel giant beast exuding an awe-inspiring majesty from afar.

Over a hundred silver-gray metal buildings rise from the ground, with the tallest main tower piercing the clouds, its surface covered with energy shield interfaces and defense cannon arrays.

Around the perimeter, ten-meter-high alloy walls encircle the area, with patrol soldiers stationed every ten meters, holding high-precision energy weapons, their gaze as sharp as eagles.

All flying devices and vehicles attempting to enter the compound must stop at the checkpoint at the entrance, undergoing layer upon layer of scanning, where no suspicious energy fluctuations can escape detection.

Qin Tian, dressed in a Major General’s uniform, the gold star on his epaulette shining brightly in the sunlight, with the Empire Glory Medal on his chest particularly striking.

As he approached the entrance checkpoint, two soldiers on duty stepped forward, raising their hands to stop him: “Please present your identity credentials.”

Qin Tian took out his Major General officer’s ID and handed it over.

The soldier took the ID, inserted it into a specialized scanning device, instantly displaying his personal information, military rank, and service record on the screen. Upon seeing the “Empire Glory Medal” notation, a trace of respect flashed in the eyes of the two soldiers, and they immediately stood at attention, saluting Qin Tian with a standard military salute:

“General Qin!”

“I’m here at the Military Department to handle my appointment procedures,” Qin Tian stated his purpose.

The soldier on the left, however, showed a hint of difficulty, his tone respectful yet firm: “Apologies, General Qin. This place implements a pass-based access system, you are here for the first time and are not in the system pass, as per regulations, we cannot grant direct passage. We need to contact the Seventh Bureau to confirm your identity, after which the Seventh Bureau will send someone to escort you.”

Qin Tian nodded to express his understanding—as the military core of the Empire, the security rules are inherently strict, and he did not make things difficult for them: “Understood, please contact them as soon as possible.”

The soldier immediately reported through the communicator, and three minutes later, a steady sound of footsteps came from within the compound.

Qin Tian looked up to see a man in a Lieutenant General’s uniform walking quickly, his figure tall and upright, features cold and stern, with a sharp glint between his brows.

The man walked to the checkpoint, his gaze sweeping over Qin Tian and finally landing on the Empire Glory Medal on his chest, his expression subtly shifting before he spoke, his voice carrying a metallic hardness: “Qin Tian, I am Yang Zheng of the Seventh Bureau, follow me.”

“Yes!”

Qin Tian responded.

Yang Zheng said no more, turning to walk toward a metallic building deep within the compound.

Qin Tian followed closely, his gaze scanning along the way—the exterior walls of the building were engraved with intricate runes, with dual energy detection gates at the entrance, and the military personnel coming and going all had ranks no less than Colonel, moving with urgency yet in an orderly manner.

Upon reaching the front of the building, Yang Zheng took out an ID card and placed it near the identifier, with a soft beep, the detection gate slowly slid open.

Once they entered the building and were in the exclusive elevator, Yang Zheng swiped his card for authorization again, pressing the button marked “76”—the second to last floor of the entire building.

The elevator operated smoothly and silently, reaching the destination in just a moment, and as the door opened, a strong Spiritual Energy aura surged towards them, indicating that this level had been specially modified by a Spiritual Energy array.

Exiting the elevator, Yang Zheng stood before an office door, verifying his identity once more before gesturing to Qin Tian: “Go in.”

Qin Tian stepped into the office, his eyes swiftly scanning the room—about twenty square meters in area, with decorations simple to the point of austerity, no superfluous decorations, with only a dark brown solid wood desk against the wall, a high-backed office chair behind it, and two guest chairs in front.

Despite the minimalistic decor, Qin Tian understood that having an independent office located on the second-to-last floor in the headquarters of the Royal star Military Department indicated that Yang Zheng’s status was far beyond that of an ordinary Lieutenant General.

“Sit down.” Yang Zheng pointed to the guest chairs in front of the desk.

After the two took their seats, Yang Zheng didn’t engage in unnecessary small talk, directly getting to the point: “I have already learned about your situation, I’ll skip the pleasantries, now, on behalf of the headquarters of the Seventh Bureau, I am announcing your official transfer order.”

He took out a file with gold-pressed edges from the drawer and handed it to Qin Tian.

As Qin Tian picked up the file, Yang Zheng’s voice continued: “After joint research by the Military Department and the Seventh Bureau, you are officially appointed as the Guardian Envoy of the Ice Extreme Pass on Mingwang Planet, with full responsibility for all military, administrative, and resource development work within the Ice Extreme Pass.”

“Ice Extreme Pass? Guardian Envoy?”

Qin Tian’s fingers paused slightly on the file, a trace of astonishment flickering in his eyes.

Within the Empire’s system—military and government have always been separated, with the military responsible for planetary defense and security while governance is managed by local administrative agencies. The core aim of this system is to restrict the concentration of power, especially regulating the influence of the military.

However, the position of “Guardian Envoy” by its literal meaning involves coordinating military build-up, ensuring security defense, and overseeing daily governance, essentially combining both military and administrative power in one—a role akin to a regional lord.

The Seventh Bureau values him to this extent?

Offering such a powerful position upon transfer?

Qin Tian’s heart was full of surprise.

Yang Zheng seemed to have noticed his doubts, but without much explanation, he picked up a document with a blue cover from the desk and handed it over: “This is the detailed information on the Ice Extreme Pass, including the current garrison scale, personnel composition, developed areas, and pending matters. Familiarize yourself with it on the way, and you can depart for Pluto directly after reading.”

He paused and added: “Your identity information has been recorded in the Donghuang state’s star gate hub, so you can go directly to Pluto through the dedicated star gate without needing to go through the usual approval process. Additionally, for your future work at Ice Extreme Pass, there’s no need to report to other departments. If there’s any matter, directly contact me via the Star Net.”

As he spoke, Yang Zheng displayed his private Star Net contact code for Qin Tian.

Qin Tian added Yang Zheng’s Star Net contact, stood up, and gave a standard military salute: “Thank you, sir. I will set off for Pluto immediately.”

Yang Zheng nodded slightly, watching him turn and leave.

Only after the office door was completely closed did he pick up the communicator on the table, press an encrypted channel, and then get up to walk towards the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor.

The top floor had only one independent room, with no signs at the door, yet it was filled with a spiritual energy pressure far surpassing the lower levels.

Yang Zheng swiped his card to enter. The lighting in the room was soft, and in front of the floor-to-ceiling window stood a tall figure—one of the Empire’s ten marshals, Marshal Lin.

Marshal Lin had his back to him, his gaze focused outside the window, where one could see Qin Tian’s figure gradually receding into the distance.

Yang Zheng stepped forward, his tone carrying a trace of doubt: “Marshal Lin, if you value Qin Tian, why send him to Ice Extreme Pass instead of directly letting him replace Lu Yuan’s position?”

Marshal Lin’s tone was calm: “The Soul-Splitting Ice Valley has long been completely controlled by the Luoho Clan. Sending anyone to take over that mess wouldn’t be able to escape the Luoho Clan’s manipulation.”

He paused for a moment and continued: “So, I sent Qin Tian to start afresh at Ice Extreme Pass. It’s a relatively newly developed area of Pluto, where various forces have not yet fully established themselves, giving him the perfect opportunity to build a completely new force of his own, free from the constraints of old structures.”

“But with this, our previous investments…” Yang Zheng’s brows were still tightly knit, presenting new concerns,

“Moreover, Qin Tian’s identity surely can’t be hidden from the Luoho Clan. Given the Luoho Clan’s modus operandi, they will definitely try every means to suppress our people. Qin Tian, lacking a deep background and in need of resource support, can he really shoulder this heavy responsibility?”

Marshal Lin’s tone was light: “Someone who can, within two years, rise from an ordinary cloned soldier to a tier six spiritualist, establish a commercial company valued at several billion, and return safely with people from a subspace storm—do you really think he’s a simple character?”

Yang Zheng fell silent, recalling Qin Tian’s track record in detail, each step filled with incredulity, and upon consideration, truly there seemed to be no one more capable than Qin Tian.

He turned his gaze back outside, watching the spacecraft carrying Qin Tian fully merge into the flow of the Royal star’s traffic lanes, and the previously furrowed brow slowly relaxed, his tone carried a hint of relief:

“You are right; I underestimated him.”

Marshal Lin nodded slightly, his gaze looking far away, as if he could see through the starry sky to the ice plains of Pluto:

“The value of Pluto has only gradually revealed itself in recent years. With the advancement of planetary modification technology, the ancient profound ice beneath the ice layer, extreme cold mineral veins, and the heavenly materials and earthly treasures that can only grow in extreme environments are becoming increasingly important to the Empire’s spiritual energy industry and equipment manufacturing—this planet is no longer the ’bitter cold land’ it once was.”

“And for this reason, the position of ’Guardian Envoy’ has become more crucial. After Lu Yuan’s incident, the extent of resources we mobilized and the pressure we endured to secure another Guardian Envoy slot is something you know better than anyone.”

Yang Zheng nodded in acknowledgment.

The Empire’s control over Pluto has been tightening year by year, with various departments and family forces wanting a share; the Seventh Bureau managed to secure the guardianship of Ice Extreme Pass in addition to Lu Yuan’s, indeed at a great cost.

“Although Ice Extreme Pass is currently just an emerging stronghold, precisely because it is new, it lacks the entangled roots of old forces, which provides Qin Tian the space to fully deploy his plans.”

Marshal Lin’s gaze grew deeper, “If he can truly seize the opportunity and lead Ice Extreme Pass in rapid development, establish a solid defense system, open up resource extraction channels, and attract more forces to settle, then the resources Ice Extreme Pass can control in the future will far surpass those of the Soul-Splitting Ice Valley.”

Yang Zheng’s understanding was complete.

Marshal Lin’s decision to seemingly dispatch Qin Tian to the “remote” Ice Extreme Pass is in fact giving him a fertile land to cultivate freely—if successful, the Seventh Bureau can gain a foothold on Pluto, and Qin Tian can advance to the high ranks of the military department. Even if the process is challenging, with Qin Tian’s ability, it is highly likely that he can hold Ice Extreme Pass, securing this crucial strategic point for the Seventh Bureau.

“I understand, going forward, I will closely monitor the developments at Ice Extreme Pass and provide Qin Tian with the necessary support,” Yang Zheng said earnestly.

Marshal Lin nodded lightly; the strategic board on Pluto was now subtly set in motion with Qin Tian’s departure.

And this move holds the potential to play a role in the future that no one could imagine.

Marshal Lin’s gaze deepened as it shifted to a certain direction.

Therein lies the heart of the Empire, the pinnacle of power, the residence of the Emperor—

Golden Sanctuary.