Chapter 26: Target Confirmed

The operation by "Redeem" on Relic Island ultimately ended in failure. The path they had assumed to be the safest turned out to be the most dangerous.

With the mission concluded, everyone was ordered to return. On the "Transport-80" flight back, the attitude of their squad leader underwent a dramatic shift. "Xu Yan," he said, "you are officially joining the elite squad from now on. If anyone dares to bully you, report my name."

During missions, everyone goes by code names. It was only at this moment that Xu Yan learned the squad leader, known by the call sign "Mountain-Crossing Tiger," was named Zhao Cheng—a common name, yet the sentiment behind it was profoundly sincere. After all, if not for Xu Yan, it would not have been just a single operator lost; the entire squad would likely have been wiped out.

Xu Yan said little in response. As a Blue Star native, those who have stood shoulder-to-shoulder under fire and faced death together are true brothers. He believed Zhao Cheng’s words were far from empty talk.

Upon returning to the Jinjiang Special Forces recruit base, Xu Yan and Duan Peng were commended and awarded individual Third-Class Merits. According to Jing Zhimin, their eight-man squad had been awarded a collective Second-Class Merit, while the fallen operator was posthumously awarded a First-Class Merit.

It was a First-Class Merit no one wanted.

Third-Class Merits are earned while standing; Second-Class Merits are earned while lying down; First-Class Merits are what the families receive. Everyone knew their collective Second-Class Merit was only granted because of that one First-Class hero. The living would reap future honors, but for the dead, honor no longer held any meaning—it was about conviction. For Blue Star, for the future!

Jiyu could not understand this. [Xu Yan, you people of Blue Star have so little respect for life.]

Xu Yan was in no mood to debate the value of life with him. Throughout the mission, Jiyu had already revealed a self-preservation instinct so intense it bordered on selfishness. Perhaps the standards for valuing life in his home world were different. Cultural differences could not be expected to be perfectly reconciled, but with Blue Star’s population growing and resources dwindling, any action that hindered the expansion of living space was an act of hostility toward Blue Star’s future.

"Redeem" was an organization built on exactly that premise. For centuries, they had advocated for reducing Blue Star’s population, employing methods such as spreading biological viruses and religious indoctrination. To Xu Yan, that was the true lack of respect for life.

Although the collective efforts of the people had squeezed the living space of "Redeem" smaller and smaller, the influence they exerted remained vast, and their infiltration was severe. After all, creating new living space for Blue Star was a time-consuming and costly endeavor. "Redeem" had mastered the weaknesses of human nature, championing a philosophy of instant gratification. Xu Yan even suspected that the world Jiyu came from likely operated under a similar social framework: refined egoism.

However, Xu Yan ignored Jiyu's signal waves this time, which puzzled the entity. Under normal circumstances, if not for his help, the entire squad would have been annihilated.

[Jiyu, have you ever thought about this? An extraordinary performance will eventually make people notice the difference. To avoid detection, how long can you hide? How long can you keep dodging?] After much thought, Xu Yan sent this message to Jiyu.

The question genuinely troubled Jiyu. He was a researcher, not a psychologist, and some of his biological instincts were suppressed on Blue Star. Even though his premonition and perception far exceeded those of Blue Star’s organisms, he knew they had already dropped to a very low level. His original confidence had been eroded bit by bit by recent events. Just like during Xu Yan’s simulation exam, he had only been able to send a brief warning at the very last second, amidst a dense intersection of wireless signals.

In the future, his perception would inevitably lag. If the fact that they shared a single body were exposed, he found it hard to believe that the people of Blue Star would let him go. Both his knowledge and his "superpowers" would likely make him a subject of study, making it impossible for him to leave Blue Star and return to Lamu Star with his findings. Instead, he would become the specimen.

[What do you suggest?] Jiyu was forced to seek help from Xu Yan, a native of Blue Star.

[It’s simple: build a team capable of interstellar travel and free navigation as quickly as possible.]

[I am a researcher, what you call a scientist, not a war machine.]

[I’m not asking you to fight, but you can help me improve conditions so I can become a commander of an interstellar fleet. Only then can I achieve the goals you want to see realized.]

After a long while, Jiyu finally replied, [Actually, you could completely abandon physical training. You cannot improve the basic attributes of an organism through training; it is achieved through evolution and adaptation. If only a few can reach that peak, it is meaningless for the general population.]

[Then what should we do?]

[Improve the interstellar fighters. Isolate the interior space of the craft from the external environmental changes to create a stable, Earth-like environment. That way, the number of people who can board and leave the planet will no longer be an issue. You will have more opportunities for interstellar roaming to find new habitable planets.]

Xu Yan’s heart leaped with joy. He quickly replied, [Can you improve them?]

[It should be possible, provided I participate in the research into the design and manufacturing principles of your starfighters. After all, the design principles of the spaceships on Lamu Star are likely different from yours—materials, intelligent control, and many other aspects still have significant gaps.]

[Good. Then I will move toward this goal as quickly as possible.]

Xu Yan seized this communication with Jiyu to firmly establish his next objective. He already knew exactly how he would proceed.

Less than half a month after returning from Relic Island, Xu Yan sought out Jing Zhimin. "Squad Leader, I have something to report to you privately."

Jing Zhimin regarded Xu Yan with high esteem; the more he interacted with him, the more merits he discovered in the young man. However, he felt a pang of disappointment when Xu Yan proposed joining the Interstellar Fleet as quickly as possible. Under the new training methods Xu Yan had introduced, the Jinjiang Special Forces were already on the right track with their new model. He had hoped that once Xu Yan’s one-year probationary period ended, he would stay on as a squad leader.

Yet, he understood clearly that someone as exceptional as Xu Yan and Duan Peng would naturally aspire to join the Interstellar Fleet. He had no reason to stand in their way. Moreover, after the events on Relic Island, even "Fat Cat" had been inquiring about Xu Yan, looking to end their probation and fast-track them through the elite assessment to become official members of the Jinjiang Special Forces elite unit.