Let’s be fair; one thing is one thing.
Having been burned too many times, Lin Xiaohe had learned to keep evidence to protect herself.
The insurgent forces quickly repaired their jamming system and achieved full airspace communications blackout, but this couldn’t stop the upgraded Xinbao.
In front of it, the insurgents’ control was utterly pathetic.
Lin Xiaohe carefully selected a dozen photos and sent them to the Federal Command on Gonggong Star and the Special Forces Guidance Team, with the caption: [Mission accomplished, but the rescue target has encountered a small problem.]
Inside the command center, officers were up to their necks in chaos.
The capital’s stubborn resistance exceeded their expectations. They had originally planned to take the capital three days ago, but so far, they had only broken through three districts.
The insurgent forces on other defensive lines were also cooperating tacitly, strengthening their resistance. In some local battles, insurgent counterattacks were even occurring.
Federal forces on Gonggong Star were spread even thinner.
The Special Forces Guidance Team was constantly compiling information coming in from various special forces units.
“Still no word from Team C’s main force?” the team leader asked, grabbing a moment.
The team member shook his head. “No.”
The leader frowned. “What’s going on with the rescue squad? Tell them to speed up the operation.”
The Fifth Star Ring College Admissions Office had contacted the Military Publicity Office, demanding periodic updates on the situation of the examinees.
Annoyed, the leader pulled out an electronic cigarette and stuck it in his mouth.
Update them with what? Announce that, despite being under the protection of special forces, they’d been captured by the insurgents?
Wouldn’t that disgrace the military?
An emergency contact phone rang. With a look of utter resignation, the leader answered the call.
It was those Celestials again, with nothing better to do.
“Our young Master Wesley has been captured?! I don’t care what methods you use, you must rescue him! Otherwise, next year’s special forces budget approval… hmph!”
The leader kicked his desk in fury.
They were in the middle of a war! Soldiers on the front lines were sacrificing themselves constantly!
And now they had to send people to rescue some young master! Rescue my ass!
The leader cursed loudly at the empty air. After venting, he slumped weakly in his chair. “Xiao Sheng, send me the rescue team’s file. I’ll contact their team leader personally.”
Useless! Can’t even rescue a few people! How did this guy even get selected as a special forces soldier?
The first page of the file read [Team Leader: Lin Xiaohe, Specially Admitted Student of the Federal Central Military Academy, Rank: Second Lieutenant] .
A sense of foreboding rose in the leader’s heart. He flipped to the next page.
Nothing!
He flipped through it several times in disbelief, confirming there was truly nothing else. “Xiao Sheng, are you sure the file you gave me is complete?”
Xiao Sheng had dark circles under his eyes; his mental and physical limits had been pushed to the max. “Yes, that’s right.”
Holy crap!
This is a disaster!
The leader shot up from his seat, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
Just then, the Deputy Commander of the command center walked in, urging, “Why haven’t you rescued Team C yet? The Admissions Office, the major families of the Fourth Star Ring… they’ve nearly blown up my phone with calls.”
The leader pulled a long face and handed over the rescue team’s file.
As expected, the Deputy Commander exploded with rage, spittle flying everywhere. “Did you leave your brain in a wormhole during a space jump?! You actually sent a single examinee, alone, into an enemy base to rescue a special forces unit?!”
His anger turned to a mocking laugh. “Haha, once this news gets out, we’ll become the laughingstock of the entire Star Ring! That bald-headed bastard from the Sixth Star Ring will definitely protest to the Council, accusing us of persecuting officers under his command!”
To be honest, he seriously suspected the team leader had taken a bribe and deliberately set Lin Xiaohe up.
The team leader’s grievance was so profound it could have caused snow in June. “Sir, this was purely a mistake!”
Who would have thought a “team” would consist of just one person?!
But this mistake made both their hearts sink.
Having missed the optimal rescue window, neither dared to imagine whether Team C and the examinees were still alive.
Suddenly, the team leader received several pictures. It looked like a juvenile Starseed Bird had caught a bunch of unlucky mechs.
The mechs looked somewhat familiar.
The team leader rubbed his eyes, his facial features seemingly scrambled, giving him a bizarre expression.
The Deputy Commander snapped, “Spit it out if you have something to say!”
Team leader: “Good news: Lin Xiaohe successfully rescued Team C and the examinees.”
Really? For real?
The Deputy Commander silently waited for the ensuing bad news.
Sure enough, the team leader continued: “Bad news: they got caught by a juvenile Starseed Bird.”
This emotional rollercoaster was just… down, down, down, down…
Especially upon seeing Lin Xiaohe’s accompanying text. The Deputy Commander was left speechless.
He was starting to forget the true meaning of the phrase [Mission accomplished] .
The team leader’s eyes sparkled with pure, innocent stupidity – the sky’s falling, but the tall guys will hold it up. Sir, whatever you say goes.
The Deputy Commander just wanted to sigh. Phones kept ringing incessantly, all inquiries about the examinees.
But the harsh reality was plain: they truly couldn’t spare any personnel for a rescue.
Even if they reluctantly sent people, by the time they crossed the heavy fire lines and reached the insurgent rear area, the Starseed Bird would have probably already devoured the examinees.
“Screw whoever it is. The battlefield is priority. Whoever has the ability can go rescue them themselves!” The Deputy Commander strode out of the office, instructing the team leader to send Lin Xiaohe’s message to all relevant parties.
…
“What?! Our child has been captured?!”
“Aber! My son!”
At the Outlets Hotel, a scene of wailing and lamentation unfolded.
The hearts of the examinees’ parents were shattering. How they wished this news was just a dream.
But this message came directly from the front-line military district, verified by the College Admissions Office!
24-karat pure gold, couldn’t be purer.
The entire Fifth Star Ring felt as if hit by a massive earthquake.
There had always been casualties in military academy entrance assessments, but in all the years of these exams, a complete wipeout of a group was unprecedented!
The Fifth Star Ring government sent personnel to contact the military. After confirming that a rescue was impossible, they could only issue a public statement, praising the examinees’ fervent hearts in striving for the Federation, expressing regret for their unfortunate situation, and finally, offering condolences.
“I want to file a complaint! This is negligence! They only encountered the Starseed Bird, they’re not dead yet!” The parents knew they were being unreasonable, knew their children were already in a hopeless situation.
But these were children they had raised with such hardship!
No matter how rational a person, emotionally accepting this reality was impossible.
One complaint call after another served no purpose other than to vent feelings.
As the officials said, it was already too late. All the public could do was observe a moment of silence for these examinees.
“How could this be?! Xiaohe, my Xiaohe!” Grandma Lin put on her reading glasses, searching the ultra-clear photos for a glimpse of her own child.
In the executive lounge, parents who found their children in the photos were devastated.
The Lin family huddled in a corner, frantically searching through the pictures.
“Hey-hey, didn’t find her.”
“Great! Didn’t find her!”
“Xiaohe must still be alive.”
Their commotion drew the attention of other parents.
The parents’ eyes first registered shock, which then turned to hope, then to agonizing despair, and finally solidified into jealous rage.
“Was it your child who set them up?! Why else would they all be captured?!”
“It must be! I know your kind! Lowlifes from the Sixth Star Ring, with dirty hearts and souls twisted by jealousy. It must be Lin Xiaohe who played some trick, making sure everyone failed the assessment so only she would pass!”
“This is how she was during the exams on the Sixth Star Ring, right?”
