Chapter 107: The General’s New Mission

He marched forward with strong, steady steps.

Lin Yu stepped briskly up to Mu Xingchen, coming to a halt before him.

His heels snapped together with a crisp sound. His right arm rose to a perfect arc at his temple, every movement as precise as a blueprint.

Just then, a colonel came forward, holding a tray as well, and stopped beside Mu Xingchen.

On the tray sat a pair of epaulettes and a box for a medal.

Of course, Lin Yu—standing tall, eyes locked on Mu Xingchen—didn’t even glance at the tray.

“Epaulettes shine with honor. May you always surge ahead, seeking excellence and growth!”

Staring at the exceptionally young man before him, Mu Xingchen couldn’t have been more pleased.

This was it—the future husband of Qingxue, his granddaughter’s chosen one.

Excellent. Absolutely outstanding.

Mu Xingchen picked up the epaulettes himself and replaced Lin Yu’s old ones.

Lin Yu froze in surprise for a moment.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the new epaulette.

Major General?

Wait, shouldn’t that be Brigadier General?

Is it even possible to skip straight to General like that?

You couldn’t blame Lin Yu for being startled. Sure, it’s rare to see officers leap ranks, but it’s happened before.

But leapfrogging to General…?

Never heard of such a thing!

So yes—even though Lin Yu knew he’d be promoted after the war, he’d only expected to make Brigadier General, never daring to hope…

That he’d jump straight to Major General.

A Major General at twenty-one…

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

That’s the sort of thing you only see in wartime.

Otherwise, even for someone as capable as Lin Yu, promotion to Major General wouldn’t come so fast…

Maybe a little faster than Mu Qingxue back then, but still not this fast.

Right now, Lin Yu remembered when he had his brain development tested again, and after learning of the Kleins’ alien invasion, Mu Qingxue had told him—

“For you, this is the harshest of times, but at the same time…”

“It’s also the best of times!”

“In an age like this, you might only need three to five years to reach where I am now.”

Those were Mu Qingxue’s exact words back then.

Now, three years later, he was a Major General.

Lin Yu couldn’t help but marvel at how things had changed.

After switching Lin Yu’s epaulettes, Mu Xingchen picked up the medal box and opened it.

Lin Yu blinked again, surprised.

It wasn’t the Federation Fleet’s usual combat medal he expected but one he’d never seen before.

Its face shone with a sea of stars, dazzling and bright.

“Originally, we were planning to award you another Federation First-Class Combat Medal, but since you already have one—and to be honest, that medal alone isn’t enough to honor your achievements—we…”

“Us old-timers got together and decided to create a brand-new medal for the Federation Fleet, and you’ll be the very first human to receive it.”

“Federation Fleet—Starsea Medal.”

When he named the medal, Mu Xingchen raised his voice, the words carrying through the whole hall.

At the same time, a holographic display showed the Starsea Medal’s design to everyone, earning a wave of admiration.

Because, honestly, this medal was just beautifully crafted.

The next moment, humanity’s very first Starsea Medal was pinned to Lin Yu’s chest.

——

After the promotion ceremony was over—

Lin Yu didn’t leave. Instead, Staff Officer Luo Ming informed him that the Commander wanted to see him.

So Luo Ming led Lin Yu straight to a meeting room aboard the Warstar Welleslana.

All along the way, Lin Yu couldn’t help but feel a little nervous.

Sure, Mu Qingxue had told him that Mu Xingchen wouldn’t give him a hard time and had already approved everything.

But still…

Who wouldn’t be nervous meeting the family for the first time?

Especially when your ‘family’ is the Supreme Commander of the entire Fleet.

“Relax, Lin Yu. If Commander Mu wasn’t happy with you, he wouldn’t have signed off on your rapid promotion to Major General.”

“And maybe it’s not even about what you’re thinking. Could be something else entirely.”

“Nothing to worry about. Really—nothing to worry about.”

That’s what Lin Yu kept telling himself the whole walk over.

Until Luo Ming led him into the room, closed the door, and left him alone with Mu Xingchen.

Lin Yu was still stiff with nerves, standing ramrod straight.

“Sit down.”

“No need, Commander—I’ll stand!”

“I told you to sit, so sit! Enough with the backtalk.”

“Yes, Commander!”

Lin Yu sat, but his posture was textbook military, not a hair out of place.

But the very first thing Mu Xingchen said nearly gave him a heart attack.

“Here’s a mission for you.”

“Within one year, I want to see a great-grandson or great-granddaughter from you.”

“If you can’t deliver, I’ll strip you of your title and send you all the way back to private. Any issue with that?”

……

……

Half an hour later.

Lin Yu left the meeting room, headed to the Warstar’s deck, and boarded a waiting shuttle.

The moment he stepped inside, he realized Mu Qingxue was still there, sitting quietly, waiting for him.

“So, what did Grandpa say to you? Why do you look so troubled?”

Mu Qingxue nodded at the seat beside her, signaling Lin Yu to sit, and asked with a teasing smile.

Lin Yu could only smile wryly and take the seat.

He leaned in close, whispering something in Mu Qingxue’s ear.

To his surprise, her stunning face turned visibly red. It was the first time Lin Yu had seen Mu Qingxue blush like that, and for a moment, he was spellbound.

“What are you staring at? Turn around! No peeking!”

“Um, Qingxue… What should I do? If I can’t finish this ‘mission,’ will I really get demoted all the way back to private?”

“Don’t ask me about that. Go ask Commander Mu instead!”

“Look, it’s going to happen sooner or later, so why not just give it a try? You don’t want to see your husband kicked all the way back to square one, do you?”

“You’re not my husband yet!”

Mu Qingxue bit her lip in frustration. This guy just went along with her grandpa’s words, taking the hint and running with it.

Does he have no shame?

Besides, even if she’d already made up her mind, they weren’t married yet!

So—this isn’t right!

“Lin Yu, you should know, having a child before marriage is not okay!”

After a while, cheeks aglow, Mu Qingxue still managed to spit out that line.

Lin Yu paused, taken aback.

Honestly, he was just joking—he didn’t actually plan on dragging Mu Qingxue off to do anything right away.

After all, they’d only just started getting truly close over this past month.

But with the way Mu Qingxue said that…

It felt less like she was unwilling, and more like she thought they shouldn’t do anything until married.

So if that’s the case…

“Qingxue, actually, we can register our marriage right on Mars. And, well—we both have free time today, don’t we?”

……

……

Mu Qingxue said nothing, just looked at Lin Yu for a long moment.

Then, with a flick of her finger, she pulled up a holographic panel, tapped a few commands, and connected to the cockpit.

“This is Mu Qingxue. Change of plans. Head straight for Mars City No. 37.”

“Yes, Commander Mu!”