Facing Lin Xiaohe’s bright, sparkling eyes, Darcy felt a flicker of guilt for a split second.
But he quickly regained his righteous indignation.
Compared to losing one’s life, failing an assessment was a minor matter.
Wasn’t it?
Lin Xiaohe accepted the mission and went to the logistics department with her soldier’s ID card to collect supplies.
“What? You’re going to the observation outpost? Haha, Austin will be grateful. He’s practically going crazy stuck out there.”
The logistics personnel loaded ten crates of nutrient fluid and ten units of mecha energy for Lin Xiaohe, then hesitated for a moment before asking, “Can your Beetle fit all this?”
“It can, of course. Don’t underestimate it; it’s got quite the capacity.” Lin Xiaohe tried to lift a crate of nutrient fluid, straining a bit but failing to move it.
The logistics staffer sighed in exasperation and resignedly helped her load the supplies into the Beetle. “You’re the only one in the entire base who gets this service.”
“Thank you. What’s your name? I’ll repay you somehow.” Lin Xiaohe felt a little embarrassed, as she didn’t have anything worthwhile to offer, not even a cigarette.
“No need for thanks. You staying alive is the best gratitude I could ask for. This damn meat grinder of a place… soldiers die every day. I really don’t want to see another familiar face turn into a black-and-white digital photo.”
The mood grew somewhat heavy.
Once everything was loaded into the Beetle and Lin Xiaohe was about to climb into the cockpit, she turned back. “Is there any way to contact No. 7 Wasteland Star?”
“Huh?”
“That’s my home. I want to let my family know I’ve arrived.”
“Hahaha, you’re still just a kid fresh from home, aren’t you? Communications on Milo Star are terrible. No star-net here. Until you leave this place, you won’t be able to reach them.”
Lin Xiaohe felt a pang of loss. She missed her dad, her older brothers and sisters very much right now.
“Alright, thank you. I think we’re friends now. Can you tell me your name?”
Friends?
The logistics staffer scratched the back of his head, grinning to show all eight of his teeth. “I’m Alan. Have a safe trip.”
Aside from Alan, no one came to see Lin Xiaohe off. No mockery, no provocation.
Every soldier was busy with their own tasks.
But this indifference was the deepest form of contempt.
Alan asked, “Are you disappointed? Or angry?”
Lin Xiaohe shook her head and waved goodbye. “No. My family told me that when you’re away from home, keep a low profile, play it safe when you can. Goodbye, Alan.”
The pink Beetle mecha trundled along like an old-fashioned jalopy, slowly making its way past the base gate.
The moment it exited the gate, a gust of wind nearly collided with it, missing by a hair’s breadth.
Even with the naked eye, Lin Xiaohe could see that gust was caused by twenty mechas taking off simultaneously.
The lead mecha was a heart-stopping black, as if a demon had emerged from hell, its killing intent almost palpable.
“Hmph, what’s so great? Just a second-year student from the Command Academy,” Lin Xiaohe muttered, feeling a pang of envy sharp enough to taste.
Ahhh! She wanted a cool mecha like that too.
Lin Xiaohe comforted herself: the pink Beetle mecha was fine too. It represented the overflowing love of the Lin family.
Look, in the corner of the mecha’s control panel, there was a family photo.
Opening the music player, she found the song “Run, Little Bug,” personally recorded by her eldest brother, Lin Chiyang.
The beat was incredibly catchy, even if her brother was completely off-key.
“Well, listening to this, I definitely won’t fall asleep.”
At first, the three little ones—Xinbao and the others—were thrilled to be on a brand-new planet.
Three hours later, the scenery was still just desert, barren land, devoid of any signs of life.
They grew tired of looking and started dozing off.
Lin Xiaohe yawned, her eyelids feeling the pull of gravity, constantly wanting to close.
Just as her willpower was about to succumb to drowsiness, an observation post finally came into view.
A military off-road vehicle sped towards her like a drunkard, instantly sobering Lin Xiaohe.
“Hey! Are you Lin Xiaohe? I’m Austin. Haha, I can finally leave this godforsaken place. Nothing much to say. There’s a communicator in the outpost. If you see anything unusual, report it to command.”
“Of course, 99% of the time, nothing happens. You can do whatever you want in the outpost, just don’t go into that mutated plant zone.”
Before Lin Xiaohe could reply, Austin waved his hand, drove off in his off-road military vehicle, and sped away.
Lin Xiaohe rubbed her face. Alright then, she could feel Austin’s desperate desire to leave this outpost.
After a ten-minute drive, she arrived.
The outpost was a small, flat structure—or perhaps a container—less than fifty square meters in size. It was very close to the mutated plant zone, separated only by a small stream less than half a meter wide.
The stream water was clear enough to see the bottom, with no signs of life.
The mutated plants grew tall, each over ten meters high, with yellow flowers blooming on their branches.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t exit her mecha. She decided to test its capabilities a little.
“Dou Dou, watch me go biubiu.”
Aiming across the stream, she targeted one mutated plant. It took a full fifteen minutes of sustained fire to take down a single one.
[Skill Points +5]
Lin Xiaohe clicked her tongue. This mutated plant zone had some tricks up its sleeve.
Using the same method, she took down a second plant.
[Skill Points +5]
Lin Xiaohe didn’t continue. Something wasn’t right.
If the mutated plants could be so easily destroyed from across the stream, couldn’t the Federation Command have cleared the entire zone using similar methods long ago?
Lin Xiaohe piloted her mecha back to the outpost, found the observation logs, and flipped directly to the year the incident occurred.
As expected, the reconnaissance team initially used electromagnetic guns to fire at the mutated plants from a distance, but after firing the first shot, they were met with a frenzied retaliation.
The mutated plants’ small yellow flowers emitted a special substance that invaded people’s nerves, causing them to uncontrollably walk into the area where the mutated plants were located.
What happened after entering was not recorded at all.
Lin Xiaohe nibbled on her fingernail. “This characteristic is a bit like a Venus flytrap, but they don’t look like this. A pitcher plant? No, not that either. What exactly is it?”
More importantly, why hadn’t she been affected by the attraction just now?
Was it something about her, or was there a problem with the plant zone?
Feeling uneasy, Lin Xiaohe immediately allocated all 10 skill points she’d earned that day to her Constitution.
One skill point could increase attack power by two points. Lin Xiaohe spent 100 skill points to raise Dou Dou’s attack power to 400.
She spent one skill point to activate Tian Tian’s new skill: [Gluttonous Rebound].
Gluttonous Rebound: Consumes one ultimate weapon (e.g., a nuclear bomb) and converts it into a Corn Cob Cannon attack. Usable once per battle. After use, withers for 48 hours.
Lin Xiaohe breathed a sigh of relief. She still had 201 skill points left, reserved for [Basic Barrier]. That was a life-saving skill.
After taking care of all that, the following days passed uneventfully.
Lin Xiaohe stuck religiously to her routine: taking down two mutated plants daily, earning 10 skill points, allocating 3 to Constitution, 2 to Mental Power, and saving 5.
The students at the Command Academy performed exceptionally well, and Lin Xiaohe could always hear the division headquarters’ commendations for them over the communicator.
Lin Xiaohe wasn’t envious in the slightest. What was glory compared to that? Increasing her own strength was the most practical gain.
And so, ten days passed. Lin Xiaohe obtained an opportunity to distinguish herself.
