Chapter 85: Orders and Reflections After Victory
by xennovel“Report: The 34th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiment has locked onto the target location for Top Secret Mission No. 7, but there’s still resistance inside. They’re currently engaged in combat.”
“The 96th and 147th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiments are on their way to provide support.”
“The 27th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiment has secured the detention area. We’ve found forty-seven of our personnel, but their condition is dire. Long-distance movement isn’t advised. Requesting immediate dispatch of a medical team.”
Inside the Qiongxiao, one report after another echoed through the halls.
The main fleet battle had already ended. The fight now rested with several heavy orbital drop regiments and the 77th and 78th Mech Battalions under the 101st Mech Regiment.
The targets they assaulted were locations pulled from Shivana’s memories—the areas where the crew of the Don River were detained and where the Top Secret Mission No. 7 item was kept.
Still, plenty of Klein defenders were holding out in these places.
So the battles remained intense, and the drop regiments were suffering heavy casualties.
After all, they had people inside to rescue and things the Federation needed.
They couldn’t just blow the place up with a single barrage.
“Order the medics to organize teams and prep essential equipment right away. Have the 78th Mech Battalion send a squad of Bai Ze Mechs for escort.”
“Yes, ma’am!”
“Also, besides the 96th and 147th, dispatch the 88th Heavy Orbital Drop Regiment to support the 34th as well.”
“Understood, Commander!”
After giving the orders, Mu Qingxue switched over to the 77th Mech Battalion’s tactical channel to listen in firsthand.
But as the channel filled with chatter, both she and Ye Lingwei froze.
They quickly exchanged glances, surprise flickering in their eyes.
Wait… that voice commanding the 77th—it sounded way too familiar.
Why did it sound just like someone they knew?
“Lin Yu, what are you doing out there?”
Ye Lingwei’s cool voice cut into the channel, causing a few seconds of stunned silence.
It wasn’t just the 77th Mech Battalion that went quiet. Even the crew on the Qiongxiao’s bridge were left staring in disbelief.
Seriously? The commanding officer of the entire Fourth Sub-Fleet jumped into a mech, ran straight to the front lines, and started leading the troops himself?
Who does that…?
Only Colonel Lin would actually dare to pull something like this!
“Uh, Commander, the fleet has completed all assigned objectives, so I figured I’d help lead the mech units for a bit.”
“When you get back, I expect a full report—a million words long!”
Mu Qingxue didn’t even order him to return to the Zhulong immediately or say anything else.
All she did was tell Lin Yu to write a reflection after the battle.
Except…
Lin Yu, his face practically covered in black lines, wanted to ask, ‘Commander, did you add two extra zeros to that?’
A ten-thousand-word reflection? He could whip one up anytime, maybe even write a few different versions in a day without repeating himself.
A hundred thousand? With some effort—and sacrificing a few brain cells—he could pull it off, too.
But a million-word report…
Dear Commander, are you serious?
Still, Lin Yu only dared to rant internally. No way would he actually say anything out loud.
“Yes, Commander!”
——
Three hours later.
All combat operations had concluded.
A medical officer personally led a team of more than twenty onto the front, transforming the Don River’s detention site into a makeshift frontline hospital.
Those with minor injuries were placed in medical pods for treatment.
Anyone severely wounded went straight into surgery.
As for the Klein lab, all 200-plus guards were neutralized, and over thirty research personnel were captured.
These scientists, along with several targeted devices, were escorted back to the Qiongxiao.
With that, the Fifth Fleet’s main objective for stage one, plus two secondary goals…
were fully accomplished.
Now all that was left was to await the return of the main Klein fleet.
——
“I heard there are several million Klein civilians in that immigrant fleet. Are we really going to…?”
“What, getting soft on them now? Do you have any idea how many humans there are? If we lost, you know what nearly thirty billion people would be facing?”
“I’m just asking—I don’t really sympathize with them…”
“You’d better not. Remember: Before you start preaching about morals, make sure we’re still alive first!”
Just as Lin Yu stepped into the officers’ mess, he overheard their conversation.
He shook his head with a faint smile.
Humans, huh…
Half their problems come from having too much free time.
When people are struggling, nobody cares about environmental damage or whether eating animals is ethical.
Back then, when just getting a meal was tough, the only thing on anyone’s mind was—
Can I eat today? And will I even wake up tomorrow?
But once life gets easier and some folks become comfortable, they suddenly have time to fuss.
So they start championing environmental protection, animal rights, all sorts of causes…
Everything deserves protecting—except humanity itself!
It’s like protecting humans is some kind of unpardonable sin—they’d be happiest if humanity just disappeared.
Honestly…
Lin Yu really couldn’t wrap his head around people like that.
To him, humanity always came first. If the species’ survival was at stake, he’d do whatever it took.
Morality?
That means nothing compared to the survival of an entire civilization.
It’s utterly worthless!
“Colonel!”
Just then, the two who’d been talking noticed Lin Yu entering the mess.
They immediately stood and saluted.
After all, he wasn’t just the captain of the Zhulong, but also the commander of the Fourth Sub-Fleet under the Fifth Fleet.
Lin Yu nodded and returned the salute.
He ordered a standard meal and sat down alone at an empty table.
Nothing unusual there—but what he did next left everyone dumbfounded.
Lin Yu held chopsticks in his right hand, eating his meal, while his left tapped away at the virtual interface and keyboard projected by his smart computer.
His eyes darted back and forth between computer and food.
Eating and working at the same time, getting both jobs done without missing a beat.
“Is the Colonel writing a report?”
“I caught wind of some rumors about this.”
“Like what? Spill it.”
“After the last fleet operation, they sent out a bunch of drop regiments and the 101st Mech Regiment, right?”
“Yeah, so what?”
“Well, turns out the Colonel left his command post on his own, jumped in a mech, led the frontline, and even fought in person. Then he got caught by General Mu, and now he has to turn in a million-word reflection.”
“No way… that’s badass! Wait, did you say a million words?”
“Yep! Why else do you think he’s even writing during meals? I bet, aside from sleeping, the Colonel will be writing anytime—even in the restroom for the next few days.”
……
……
In one corner of the mess hall, a few bridge crew who’d skipped duty during the Europa raid whispered among themselves.
But unbeknownst to them, even though they kept their voices low,
Lin Yu heard every word.
And he’d already arranged a month-long toilet cleaning rotation, just for them.
After dinner, George would gladly serve them that ‘special package’—punishment for talking about the boss behind his back.