Chapter 401: Hard Labor
Chapter 401: Chapter 401: Hard Labor
The many non-commissioned officers present were stunned to see Long Ming with Luoxue and her team.
"Damn, that guy is actually on Luoxue’s team."
"Wait, could that be Long Ming?"
"It must be him. Think about it—if he can afford ten mining machines, owning a Third Generation Mechanical God isn’t surprising."
"Makes sense, but he’s still a far cry from Benoka."
"Yeah! I bet he’s not even a fraction of what Benoka is."
...
Just then, Long Ming turned to Luoxue and asked.
"What’s our mission this time? Is it dangerous?"
"Our mission is to head to Guangxiao Planet and urgently transport supplies. One full cargo run is the baseline, meaning no merits and no penalties. Two runs is considered ’good,’ earning 20 merit points, while three is ’excellent,’ earning 50 points. Of course, these points aren’t for one person but for the whole squad, to be distributed based on reported performance. As for safety, if the front lines hold, there shouldn’t be much danger in the rear. But you never know what might happen."
Luoxue explained to Long Ming.
"Oh, how many merits do you need for a promotion?"
Long Ming asked curiously.
"NCO rank is 0-99 merits, Company Officer rank is 100-999, Field Officer rank is 1000-9999..."
Luoxue explained to Long Ming.
"Those merit counts seem a little low. Who do the transported goods belong to?"
Long Ming asked thoughtfully after listening.
"The transported goods belong to the Third Legion, of course. We don’t get a cut."
Qian Wei told Long Ming.
"Why does this feel so much like manual labor?"
Long Ming asked with a strange expression.
"Because it basically is. The Third Expeditionary Army has five legions in total: the Third Legion, the Fourteenth Legion, the Twenty-sixth Legion, the Thirty-Seventh Legion, and the 42nd Legion. We in the 42nd Legion mainly handle logistics, earning money by doing work for the legions at the front. This Guangxiao Planet is a mining planet belonging to the Third Legion, so everything mined there is theirs. Normally, the Third Legion would handle its own transport, but all their ships are at the front lines, so the task fell to us."
Luoxue explained the Third Expeditionary Army’s current situation to Long Ming.
"Mm."
Long Ming nodded.
At that moment, a warm greeting rang out.
"Luoxue! Qian Wei!"
Long Ming and the others turned to look.
They saw Second Lieutenant Olette approaching with a few subordinates, a cheerful smile on his face.
Qian Wei immediately went forward to exchange pleasantries.
"Olette, you’re here."
"Who’s this?"
Long Ming asked Luoxue in a low voice.
"Second Lieutenant Olette, the captain of the sixth squad."
Luoxue said, her tone somewhat cold.
Long Ming could immediately tell that Luoxue wasn’t fond of him.
Just then, Olette’s gaze fell upon Long Ming. He feigned a look of surprise and asked.
"Qian Wei, who is this? He’s actually piloting a custom Third Generation Mechanical God?"
"Mr. Long Ming, the hero of our Mountain City Mountain."
Qian Wei replied with a smile.
"Mr. Long Ming, it’s a pleasure to meet you!"
Olette greeted Long Ming enthusiastically.
"Hello."
Long Ming replied, adhering to the principle of not turning away a friendly face.
Then, Olette spoke to Qian Wei with envy.
"I’m so envious. With Mr. Long Ming as your escort, the upcoming mission will be a breeze. Success is just around the corner for you guys. Don’t forget about your brother here when you make it big."
"Don’t say that. We’ve always been grateful for your help. If we really do make it big, of course we won’t forget you."
Qian Wei replied courteously.
"That’s all I needed to hear. I have to get going now."
Olette said with a cheerful smile.
"Take care."
Qian Wei nodded.
The moment Olette turned to leave, the smile vanished from his face, replaced by a trace of annoyance and jealousy.
At this point, Long Ming spoke in a low voice.
"Luoxue, you don’t seem to like him very much."
"He may seem to be helping us on the surface, but he’s approaching us with an ulterior motive. Besides, he’s a big reason why we’re so isolated."
Luoxue explained calmly.
"What a mess."
Long Ming replied, feeling a headache coming on.
"It can’t be helped. The 42nd Legion is a total hodgepodge. The higher-ups all have their own agendas, and the people below naturally follow suit. Everyone wants to climb the ladder."
Luoxue said with a deep sigh.
Just then, a commotion broke out.
Long Ming and the others turned to look and saw Dikaya entering with several subordinates.
Numerous officers immediately crowded around him, showering him with flattery.
"Who’s that?"
Long Ming asked with some interest.
"Dikaya, our legion’s logistics supervisor. He controls the logistics department, which is a very cushy job, but he’s absolutely disgusting!"
Mira vented to Long Ming in frustration.
"Mira."
Just then, Luoxue suddenly called out to stop Mira from saying more.
"Sister Luoxue, why can’t I talk about it? If he dares to do such disgusting things, why can’t they be spoken of!"
Mira exclaimed, furious.
"What exactly happened?"
Long Ming asked, looking at Mira in confusion.
"Let me tell you, the resources in the asteroid belt we were assigned before were terrible, so we thought about giving him a gift to smooth things over. But not only did that bastard refuse to reassign us, he even wanted Sister Luoxue to be his concubine! It makes me so mad."
Mira ground her teeth in anger just thinking about it.
"I see."
Hearing this, Long Ming’s expression darkened. He shot a cold glance at Supervisor Dikaya, who was being fawned over like a king.
Luoxue said to Long Ming in a low voice.
"Ignore him. What we need to do now is focus on our mission."
"I know."
Long Ming didn’t say anything more.
At that moment, the sound of heavy footsteps echoed, and the vast operations hall immediately fell silent.
Long Ming and the others looked over.
They saw a 4.5-meter-tall Fourth Generation Mechanical God, the ’Slaughterer,’ stride in, accompanied by two custom Third Generation Mechanical Gods. It was entirely clad in heavy, dark-green armor, with a four-pointed halo embedded in its chest. A heavy particle beam cannon was mounted on its left shoulder, a multi-function missile launcher on its right, two pairs of mechanical wings set into its back, and a Light Blade attached to its waist.
The crowd quickly parted to make way.
The Slaughterer walked to the very front of the operations hall.
CLANK!
Its metal helmet automatically split open and retracted, revealing a solemn, scarred face with a chin covered in a black beard.
"Who is that?"
Long Ming asked Luoxue in a low voice, gazing at the man.
"That’s Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf of the 42nd Legion. It looks like he’s in charge of this supply run."
Luoxue briefly explained to Long Ming.
"Mm."
Long Ming nodded slightly.
Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf’s gaze swept over everyone present as he said in a deep voice.
"All of you are the elites of my 42nd Legion, so I’ll get straight to the point. Our mission this time is extremely grim. The enemy is mounting a fierce offensive, and the situation on the front lines is bleak; it could collapse at any moment. Therefore, we must race against time to get to Guangxiao Planet and bring back the supplies that have already been mined..."
"Yes, sir!"
Everyone responded in unison.
"Very good. Next, Logistics Supervisor Dikaya will arrange the specific details."
Deputy Legion Commander Bassaf announced in his deep voice.