Chapter 101: Commander?
Chapter 101: Chapter 101: Commander?
Yang Bo followed the water current, planning to search further downstream. He occasionally popped his head out to check his surroundings. In the distance, he spotted an escape pod with a person standing next to it, clad in Alliance military Battle Armor.
"Hey!" Yang Bo hadn’t intended to pay any attention at first, but then it occurred to him that this person might belong to the Planet Fleet and know the local terrain. So, he emerged from the water. This time, however, he was masquerading as a Warplane mechanic from his Fleet, his Battle Armor bearing a serial number and having undergone a transformation.
"Oh, sorry, Officer." The person in the military Battle Armor turned their head. To Yang Bo’s surprise, it was a woman. She was holding a Laser Gun, and her Battle Armor clearly didn’t belong to an ordinary grunt. Even in his video games, he had never seen a Laser Gun like that; it was likely high-tier equipment. He hadn’t seen any soldiers on the Warship carrying them, either.
Yang Bo felt a twinge of regret. "If I had known she was a woman, I wouldn’t have said a word. I should have just walked away."
"Are you a Warplane mechanic?" the woman asked, her tone somewhat aloof. She looked at Yang Bo, feeling a sense of inscrutability. Why couldn’t she read this lowly soldier in Junior Sergeant Battle Armor?
"How did you know, Officer?" Yang Bo asked, a little surprised.
"Every soldier’s serial number holds specific meaning. It includes your Fleet number, your Warship number, your occupation, and even your assigned unit on the ship. Most people just don’t know how to read it." Her figure was obscured by the rather loose-fitting Battle Armor, though her gender and long hair were discernible. Her facial features were entirely hidden, encased within her Battle Armor Helmet.
"And who might you be, Officer? Are you from this Planet Fleet?" Yang Bo asked as he climbed out of the water.
The woman tilted her head back, glancing at the sky before nodding. "Yes, I’m with this Planet Fleet. What happened on your Warship?"
She was incredibly curious. Right before she ejected, she had noticed that his King Kong-class Warship had come to a halt, and it appeared that some of its unit modules were damaged.
"Don’t even ask. Those extremists from the Red Earl somehow appeared out of nowhere and went on a rampage inside the Warship. Before I even knew what was happening, I was ejected. No one has come to rescue me, either. Are you waiting for a rescue team, Officer?" Yang Bo didn’t know the full truth himself, but he figured it mostly had to do with the Red Earl.
He was trying to build a rapport with her, hoping to find out if she was familiar with the surrounding area. That way, he could navigate toward the mountains and check on Iron Bull.
"The Red Earl? How is that possible?" the woman asked, her voice laced with confusion.
"Officer, let me ask you something. Which way are the mountains?" Yang Bo hurriedly pressed for his own answer, planning to leave as soon as he got it. Since she had a Laser Gun, she probably wouldn’t run into any trouble.
"What are you going to the mountains for? There are a lot of dangerous areas over there.
"The priority right now is to find another escape pod. The signal transmitter on mine is broken, so the Warplanes have no way to locate us. Unless the Mutants’ ground assault is repelled, the Warplanes won’t have time to search for us anyway," the woman explained at length.
"The grass here is so tall that you can’t see a thing. It’ll be easier to spot things if we head to the mountains." Yang Bo was preparing to slip away.
"And by the way, which company supplied these escape pods? The quality is absolutely abysmal. Once I get back, I’m definitely suing them," the woman complained.
"Before my escape pod even landed, I saw Mutants heading toward my drop zone in the distance, so I had to run for it. Otherwise, I would have just waited by my pod." Yang Bo offered this explanation to make his story believable.
"You were right to leave early," the woman said. "The Mutants always clear out the people inside the escape pods first, and they destroy the pods."
"What exactly is this place? Why have we never heard of it?" Yang Bo asked curiously.
"That is not something you need to know." Her curt response left Yang Bo somewhat speechless. The damn Alliance’s information blockade on the lower ranks was far too severe.
"Alright then. I’ll be taking my leave. Take care, Officer." Hearing this, Yang Bo turned around and walked away. If she wasn’t going to tell him, fine. He would just go farm electric eels instead.
"Wait, I’ll go with you. I have a Laser Gun, and your rank isn’t high enough. It’ll be very dangerous for you if you run into any Mutants."
Her words nearly caused Yang Bo to trip over his own feet. "More like it’s dangerous for the Mutants if they run into me."
"My strength is very low, and I’m afraid I’ll drag you down, Officer. We should go our separate ways—our chances of survival will be higher," Yang Bo said aloud, though in his heart, he actually considered the woman a burden.
"Follow orders, Junior Sergeant," the woman surprisingly retorted.
Now Yang Bo was in a tight spot. He had absolutely no idea how the internal hierarchy of the Alliance Army worked. Did this officer actually have authority over him? What if she was from his own Fleet? Plus, he couldn’t even tell what rank she held.
"Yes, ma’am," Yang Bo immediately replied, despite his inner suspicions.
The woman’s Battle Armor seemed to be equipped with some kind of display monitor. She checked it as she walked, with Yang Bo trailing behind her.
The two followed the water current in silence. Far in the distance, they could see Warplanes roaring through the sky and streaks of Lasers raining down from above. A massive Warship hovered overhead, unleashing volley after volley of Lasers.
"It’s an intense battle." Yang Bo shrank his neck and muttered to himself, thankful that he hadn’t gone in that direction. Otherwise, he might have run into a massive horde of Mutants.
"Officer, something doesn’t seem right, does it?" As Yang Bo followed her, he noticed their path was winding and erratic instead of a straight line.
"The navigation seems to be broken," the female officer replied, her voice rather small.
Speechless, Yang Bo asked bluntly, "Officer. Which way are the mountains?"
"That way." She pointed into the distance.
"And where is that area with the intense fighting?" Taking the lead, Yang Bo began marching directly toward the mountains as he asked.
"That’s Outpost 15," the female officer said briefly, offering no further explanation.
Yang Bo felt a bit frantic. "Are you going to elaborate or what?" But he guessed that if Outpost 15 was over there, Outpost 16 shouldn’t be too far away. He could go check on Iron Bull.
Whatever. If they stumbled upon any other allies along the way, he would just dump this officer and find a chance to disappear.
Leave?
How could he? There was no way he was leaving before maxing out his Invisibility and Electric Energy Control. He would leave once those two Skills were maxed out. From the looks of it, the Alliance had the absolute upper hand, and he had already been killed twice while playing the game.
"Stay close, Officer. We need to move through this grassland quickly; the tall grass obstructs our vision way too much." Yang Bo prepared to speed up. In truth, as he spoke, he was secretly using Sound Wave Detection and had noticed what seemed to be traces of Mutants trailing behind them.