It was a little past 10 PM on November 17th when they formally made contact with the organization. At that time, Yu Lian and Ina were hiding on a hill, observing in secret, and thoroughly enjoying a blockbuster.

Ina was very excited, her eyes brimming with a revolutionary romanticism that suggested, “As expected, the so-called million enemy troops are just a million pigs.” But Yu Lian was not satisfied: “What a pity, if Elinore had two thousand more troops—and I mean combat-ready troops with at least the average Marine Corps quality—and a few more rounds of heavy firepower for an overwhelming bombardment, taking this opportunity to sortie and drive them back could have caused a chain reaction among all the enemy forces. It might even have been a glorious great victory… No, wait, Hessen was able to gather a million-strong army of Sand People from the city-state era, making him a generational talent, so he must have been prepared. Every troop in the city is very limited, so we can’t take risks. Hmm, Elinore, though a bit crazy, can still keep her composure when caution is needed.”

“Elinore?” Ina asked curiously, her curiosity slightly off-topic.

“Ah, no, I meant Commander Elinore.”

“Shouldn’t you normally say Officer Bonaparte?”

Yu Lian was speechless for several seconds, so Ina began to sneer, “Heheheh,” with a very predatory smile.

“I’m really curious what your image was like in the military academy,” she added.

The two discussed a bit more and then began to return, but before they reached the valley, they received a communication from the signalman.

For the past few days, the signalman, clutching his broken communicator made by Nine Star Company, had been calling the Command HQ in the city via a military secret channel, but had been unable to connect. What he hadn’t expected was that on this very night, the communicator finally received a response, and it turned out to be “reinforcements” from afar.

The two walked for another half-day through the mountains, finally finding two orbital drop pods directly “embedded” in the mountainside in a hidden spot on a ridge, as well as the first group of Commonwealth soldiers Yu Lian had seen since his rebirth, aside from those at 12th Garrison Station.

“I am Captain Richard Winter, Commander of the 101st Company.” The leading officer appeared to be in his early thirties, wearing power armor, with a bronzed complexion and a resolute demeanor. He looked like an excellent, battle-hardened grassroots officer.

Another famous person, and one who made it into military academy textbooks! He just wasn’t as famous as Elinore in the city or Ina outside the city. And he was a hero in the eyes of ordinary people, leading a heroic team… In a sense, isn’t that even more admirable?

Thinking of this, Yu Lian stood at attention and saluted: “Warrant Officer Yu Lian, temporary Commander of the New Yumen Garrison’s 12th Garrison Station.”

“Master Sergeant Ina Hilika, Staff Sergeant of the 12th Garrison Station.” Ina’s salute was much more standard and serious than Yu Lian’s.

“Warrant Officer? It must be really tough for a student to encounter something like this.” Captain Winter, of course, understood the meaning of this temporary military rank, and nodded with a smile: “Can you tell me about the current situation?”

“Let’s talk as we go.”

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

Ina snapped her fingers towards the mountain ahead. Only then did everyone realize that what they had thought was just a mountain range actually contained an inconspicuous canyon entrance.

Even the elite Hell Paratrooper Division found such a strange sight hard to believe and were extremely surprised.

“Not only do we have Moon People, but we also have superhumans!” The lively Lieutenant Parkin whistled and gave Ina a thumbs-up. He was teasing, but of course, there was no malice.

Captain Winter, being well-traveled, took another look at Ina, seeing no jealousy or scrutiny, only a joyful smile. The stronger his comrades, the higher their chances of survival. This excellent grassroots officer understood this well.

“This is the power of spiritual energy! What an incredible and miraculous technique,” the Captain exclaimed.

To be precise, it was the illusionary blindfold of the spiritual energy system. Besides excelling at hunting and capturing, Star Hunter awakeners were, of course, also skilled at hiding themselves. This blindfold, capable of obscuring a canyon entrance, was merely an introductory skill of that path.

However, even at an introductory level, it was enough to deceive human sight and even less sensitive detectors. This was also why Yu Lian dared to hide so many people so close to the battlefield.

Everyone entered the camp and was immediately warmly welcomed by the prepared civilians.

There was no other way; these well-equipped, burly men looked safe, at least much safer than the garrison Miscellaneous Soldiers under Yu Lian’s command.

The 101st Company, part of the Marine Corps 3rd Division, was an orbital airborne unit with the designation “Hell Paratrooper Division.” Over 100 burly men, more than sixty percent of whom were equipped with AS56 Dragoon power armor, looked much more magnificent and sci-fi than the Garrison’s AS40 just by their appearance. Of course, the other forty percent were not blank slates, but auxiliary personnel equipped with special power armor for medical, engineering, and support fire.

Sure enough, Doctor Banks and Miss Belinda were drooling over the grey-white medical armor; even the usually calm Ina, seeing a fire support specialist in Lynx special mecha carrying an anti-material man-portable railgun walk past her, her eyes began to glow.

Compared to the large number of unequipped blank slates at 12th Garrison Station, this truly was the difference between miscellaneous troops and regular forces.

Look at George, the military enthusiast, running around the soldiers with a group of mischievous kids his age, screaming excitedly, as if they were watching a float parade at an amusement park.

There was no other way; one was a guard dog kept by the Governor’s Office or the Star District Government; the other was an elite unit directly under the Commonwealth Central Military Commission. Even if they were still the “Marine Corps apes” despised by the Navy, their combat effectiveness and equipment were worlds apart.

And so, even Councilor Jiang Yudong, who had just started to feel better, got up clutching his stomach, holding Captain Winter’s hand for a long time, tears welling up: “You, you’ve finally come! The people of New Yumen have been longing for you, yearning for you!”

Captain Winter felt a chill down his spine and tried to pull his hand back, but found that his iron grip, encased in armor and auxiliary muscles, couldn’t shake off the other party for a moment.

“As long as you are here! Everyone will have a backbone, I really am, boo hoo hoo hoo…” Councilor Jiang Yudong couldn’t help but sob, and the nominal representatives following him also began to whimper and cry, as if they were people from an old liberated area who had finally seen their army return.

But then again, if the Marine Corps is “our army,” then what are the Garrison troops who have been with you for several days?

Humans exhibit herd behavior. With the Councilor and public representatives crying, it seemed likely that everyone else would start crying too. At this moment, an old, violent man, wearing a felt hat, a denim jacket, and holding a pipe, strode out from the crowd, leaped to Councilor Jiang Yudong’s side, and slapped him on the back of the head with a palm as big as a cattail leaf fan: “Why are you spewing such nonsense! These kids came all this way, so why can’t you act like a decent human being?”

Councilor Jiang Yudong was furious, but upon hearing that familiar voice, he immediately deflated like a punctured balloon: “Uncle, Uncle…”

With such a grumpy uncle to interrupt, everyone didn’t have to cry day and night.

Captain Winter took the opportunity to withdraw his arm: “We still have a military meeting to hold, so we won’t disturb you… Hmm, my soldiers here are a bit tired, and I hope they can get food, water, and a quiet place to rest. Don’t worry, all expenses will be recorded and paid at market price by the Outer Rim Fleet Command HQ. Sorry for the trouble.”

Only an elite unit like the Hell Paratrooper Division, which still maintained certain excellent traditions, would say that last part. If it were any other department, even the “noble” Navy fleet, that last sentence simply wouldn’t exist. And so, Councilor Jiang Yudong showed a dignified and perfectly appropriate expression of gratitude: “No trouble, no trouble at all. Everyone, please rest assured, all expenses will be paid by the Governor’s Office. How could we trouble the Outer Rim Fleet?”

Yes, anyway, all the food and water expenses for a thousand or so refugees these past few days were charged to the Governor’s Office, so adding over 100 soldiers wouldn’t matter. Councilor Jiang Yudong had accepted this premise and decided to completely let loose.

The 101st Company indeed 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 infantry equipped with full-coverage military power armor, should also include a dozen vehicles such as multi-terrain infantry fighting vehicles, drone terminal vehicles, and ground-to-air missile launchers, and even low-altitude transport craft and gunships.

“There’s nothing we can do. We were actually conducting polar marching training on Planet Yumen 7 in this star system, so we didn’t bring vehicles or airships. Later, the Captain received a distress signal that the New Yumen colony was under siege, and we quickly rushed over,” Captain Winter explained helplessly.

This also aligned with the “history” Yu Lian knew.

“So, we already have our warships in orbit, Commander?” Ina asked with surprise.

Orbital bombardment! Boom boom boom boom! Even just a three- or four-hundred-meter-long destroyer could render millions of enemy troops unable to function. The girl must have been thinking that.

Captain Winter paused, then gave a bitter smile: “Sorry, it’s just an assault ship.”

Assault landing ships, in space combat, are often teamed with assault ships for large fleet penetration, division, and final boarding. Every ton of this ship type is used for acceleration, protection, and ramming. At most, it has a few point-defense cannons, so how could it be used for orbital bombardment?

“Don’t worry, we’ve already relayed the request for aid to the Nebula Garrison and the Outer Rim Fleet, and more reinforcements will arrive soon,” the Captain said.

Theoretically, that was the case. But the current situation was that no one knew what other tricks the Sand People and the forces behind them had up their sleeves, nor when they would act. Everyone actually couldn’t afford to wait.

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

“I need to hold an online meeting with the Garrison Command HQ, Warrant Officer, and Miss Master Sergeant, you two come with me as well.”

If Captain Winter had been someone who prioritized status and rank, rigid and stubborn, he would never have allowed an intern student like Yu Lian, or a “Garrison grunt” non-commissioned officer like Ina, to attend the meeting. Fortunately, this grassroots officer, who would later appear in military textbooks, was actually a magnanimous and pragmatic smart man. And just as the Commander was, so were his subordinates; the other officers and elite master sergeants of the 101st Company were also reasonable people, and no one expressed dissatisfaction.

Of course, their identities as “Moon People” and spiritual energy users were also enough to make them look at them differently.

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

The reborn Yu Lian finally met Elinore, who “seemed to have a good relationship with him,” for the first time since his rebirth.