Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Although everyone had boarded the nearest warship randomly, each unit was still able to account for its personnel. Additionally, with the help of the life detectors, it was confirmed that no mech warriors were left behind in space due to unconsciousness or other reasons. With that assurance, the twelve warships began their return journey.

At this time, news arrived from their rear: the reinforcements from the Third Army had successfully intercepted the herd of ultra-beasts heading toward Topaz Star.

While the Seventh Army’s Stellar Remote Battle Corps hadn’t managed to eliminate all the ultra-beasts, they had taken down about a third of them. With the data on the ultra-beasts provided by the Seventh Army and the superior numbers of the Third Army reinforcements, it was now only a matter of time before the ultra-beasts were completely eradicated.

The Seventh Army’s Stellar Remote Battle Corps, having exhausted its arsenal, no longer needed to coordinate a pincer attack with the Third Army.

To avoid direct collision with the ongoing battle, the warships adjusted their route, taking a longer detour. This added two to three hours to their journey back to Topaz Star.

Despite the several hundred people in the warship’s hall, the atmosphere was eerily silent, as most had fallen asleep.

Although Ruo Manni was exhausted, she couldn’t fall asleep, her mind preoccupied. When they hadn’t seen each other, the longing was manageable. But now, knowing he was on the same warship, her yearning surged uncontrollably, like a dam breaking.

At that moment, her communicator vibrated softly. Ruo Manni glanced at it, and a sweet, faint smile spread across her face.

It was a message from Hebrew Adam. It included a specific location and an authorization for movement. The message consisted of only two words: “Come quickly.”

Ruo Manni sent a quick message to Deputy Officer Ma, informing him she had something to attend to and to contact her if needed.

She assumed Deputy Officer Ma was already asleep, but to her surprise, as soon as she sent the message, he sat up and looked at her with a half-smile, then subtly raised two fingers in a knowing gesture.

Deputy Officer Ma followed Ruo Manni to Topaz Star, and his main responsibility was to protect her, so it was natural for him to inquire about her whereabouts. Although Ruo Manni felt a little embarrassed, she nodded in acknowledgment.

After receiving her confirmation, Deputy Officer Ma didn’t say anything else and simply lay back down to sleep. The young lady’s cultivation level was now higher than his, and she was on someone else’s turf, so there was no real cause for concern. Besides, if the couple wanted to meet, he certainly couldn’t follow them.

Ruo Manni tried to slip away discreetly toward the front of the warship. Fortunately, most people had already gone to rest, so only a few who hadn’t noticed her were aware of her movements.

In the past, due to the Beery family’s efforts to downplay things, not everyone in the Seventh Army knew Ruo Manni. But after today’s battle, with her displayed abilities and special identity, no one in the army could fail to recognize her.

As Ruo Manni made her way through the corridors, she encountered a hatch. Using her authorization information, the hatch automatically opened.

Along the way, she inevitably ran into soldiers from the Seventh Army. Upon seeing her, instead of questioning why she was moving through the interior of the warship, they gave her looks that said, “We know what you’re here for, so we won’t ask,” and saluted her with respect. “Captain Hua.”

Ruo Manni could only suppress her awkwardness and try not to let her face flush. She responded to the salutes with a serious expression. Being too famous was difficult; everything she did became a spectacle.

When Ruo Manni finally arrived at the designated location, a young, handsome major in a crisp black military uniform was already waiting there, seemingly for quite some time.

Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam hadn’t seen each other in person since graduation, which was already over two years ago.

Though she had seen the changes in him online and in videos, it wasn’t until they met face-to-face that Ruo Manni realized he had completely grown into a mature young man, no longer possessing the youthful immaturity he once had.

When he looked up at her, his deep, unwavering gaze made Ruo Manni feel her heart rate accelerate uncontrollably.

With a serious expression on his handsome face, Hebrew Adam walked toward her and couldn’t wait to pull her into his embrace, holding her tightly.

Ruo Manni, however, didn’t act as recklessly as Hebrew Adam, feeling both anxious and shy. While pushing him away with one hand, she whispered, “The surveillance!”

Although the corridor was empty, there were surveillance cameras everywhere. She just wanted to see him, but she didn’t want to make a public display of affection in front of everyone in the Seventh Army. She didn’t need to bet to know that someone on the other side of the cameras was likely watching them with great interest.

Although this was the interstellar era, the general public’s views on relationships between men and women were quite similar to those in her past life on Earth. The common belief was that men and women should engage in proper, respectable relationships, and there was strong resistance to promiscuous behavior. People who engaged in such actions were seen as having poor character.

Hebrew Adam, too, was caught up in the excitement and momentarily forgot about the cameras. As soon as Ruo Manni pushed him, he immediately let go of her and instead tightly held her hand, leading her to a door. He pressed a button, and the hatch immediately opened.

Hebrew Adam led Ruo Manni into the room. The hatch had barely closed halfway when he couldn’t resist pressing her against the wall, eager to kiss her.

Ruo Manni barely had time to glance around the room, which seemed to be a lounge, before Hebrew Adam leaned down and urgently kissed her.

This was their first kiss in reality, and the sensation of the young man’s hot, moist lips on hers was overwhelming, surrounding her with his strong presence. She could feel his firm chest beneath her hands, his rapid heartbeat, and everything felt different from what she had experienced online.

After a while, Hebrew Adam reluctantly released the young woman from his embrace, his breath hot and heavy beside her ear.

“I missed you so much,” he whispered softly. “I miss the days when we trained together day and night.”

“So do I,” Ruo Manni whispered back, her voice hoarse.

She nestled into Hebrew Adam’s embrace, resting her forehead against his face. An unprecedented sense of closeness enveloped them both.

Hebrew Adam’s breathing was unsteady. He made an effort to calm down, and after a while, he started to feel a little better. However, when he looked up and saw the girl’s flushed cheeks and moist, cherry-like lips, his breathing became erratic again.

Hebrew Adam took a deep breath, reluctantly holding Ruo Manni’s soft, delicate body tightly for a moment before clearing his throat and saying,

“This is my resting room. You can sleep here. If there’s anything important, I’ll call you in advance.”

His voice was low and hoarse, and as he spoke, he couldn’t help but kiss her earlobe gently. He then took a few deep breaths, gathering his resolve, and with iron will, he said, “I have to return to the command center.”

“Alright, I understand. Don’t worry,” Ruo Manni replied, though she, too, was reluctant to part so quickly.

But the bigger picture mattered. The fact that they were able to meet like this was already a great blessing.

As the commander of the Seventh Army Starry Sky Assault Regiment, Hebrew Adam couldn’t afford any distractions until the super beasts were completely eradicated.

So, when he called her over, he originally just intended to steal a quick kiss to ease his longing. Who knew that desires were insatiable? He couldn’t push his patience any further at that moment and had to leave in a hurry.

Back in the command center, Hebrew Adam noticed that everyone was glancing at him, some doing so intentionally, and others perhaps more subtly. Especially Su Forty-Three and Abulaiti Asimu, their gazes were filled with a teasing hint.

It was probably because they had seen him embrace Ruo Manni in the corridor. Although Hebrew Adam felt a little awkward, he kept a serious expression, trying not to let anyone notice his discomfort.

He had just gone to meet his legitimate fiancée, not sneaking around in an affair—there was nothing to be ashamed of, Hebrew Adam told himself.

Seeing Hebrew Adam’s stern face, looking entirely businesslike and clearly not wanting attention on his personal matters, everyone else also straightened up, adopting a more formal and serious demeanor.

Although Hebrew Adam was young, he was an imperial prince and a high-level warrior. Coupled with his decisive methods over the past months in the Seventh Army, his presence was formidable, and there was no one in the Seventh Army who didn’t respect him.

Thus, when he put on a cold expression and showed any displeasure, everyone else quickly fell into line, showing proper respect.

Seeing Hebrew Adam’s expression, Su Forty-Three and Abulaiti Asimu immediately stopped looking at him with those meaningful glances.

Although Ruo Manni was reluctant to part with Hebrew Adam, the brief meeting left her feeling sweet inside. She followed his instructions and went to bed to sleep.

They were both rational individuals who wouldn’t let their emotions interfere with their duties. Therefore, after their brief encounter, Ruo Manni quickly let go of the matter and fell into a deep sleep.

When Ruo Manni woke up, she received the news that the Third Army had completely eliminated the super beasts, and she let out a huge sigh of relief.

Although this incident had come unexpectedly, the swift arrival of reinforcements meant that the Seventh Army’s Starry Sky Assault Regiment did not need to intercept the super beasts in a more desperate manner, so the losses were minimal.

This was the advantage of having connections in the right places. Before issuing the order to Hebrew Adam, the Crown Prince, anticipating that the Seventh Army might not be able to hold up, had already commanded the Third Army to rush to provide assistance.

Had it followed the normal procedure, the Seventh Army’s Starry Sky Assault Regiment would have had to engage the super beasts directly, and based on the situation, they would only be able to request reinforcements if they couldn’t hold their ground.

In that case, reinforcements would not have arrived for at least half a day, and by then, the Seventh Army would have either suffered heavy casualties while intercepting the super beasts, or the super beasts would have already reached Topaz Star, causing massive losses.

After waking up, Ruo Manni didn’t expect Hebrew Adam to find time to meet her again. She simply returned to her companions’ side.

Then the Seventh Army’s Starry Sky Assault Regiment arrived near Topaz Star, and the mecha combatants from the Topaz Star Starry Sky Assault Battalion began to regroup. Everyone then parted ways and returned to their respective planets.

Ruo Manni and Hebrew Adam had only this brief, rushed meeting, which was made possible because Ruo Manni had deliberately boarded the flagship of the Seventh Army’s Starry Sky Assault Regiment.

In this Starry Sky mission, Topaz Star lost six sixth-level mecha combatants. If it hadn’t been for Ruo Manni’s earlier efforts to control the situation, they might have lost more than a dozen.

The Topaz Star Starry Sky Assault Battalion returned to its original starting point, where Lin Changfeng praised everyone for their efforts before sending them back to their respective units.

However, Lin Changfeng kept Ruo Manni behind, clearly indicating that there was something important to discuss.

From the message sent by Deputy Officer Tong, Ruo Manni learned that after most of the sixth-level mecha combatants were withdrawn from Topaz Star, a small wave of locust beasts had erupted again.

Since the strongest forces had been taken away, the second wave of the locust beasts was much smaller in scale, but the losses were even heavier than in the first wave, with casualties three times greater than the first.

The stationed First Regiment had also lost four fifth-level mecha combatants, and they had the fewest casualties. Other regiments suffered even heavier losses.

“Since you led the team out, what is the situation with our Topaz Star mecha combatants?” Lin Changfeng asked.

“Commander, the flaws of our Topaz Star Starry Sky combatants are very obvious. When it comes to space combat, not only can they not unleash their full combat abilities, but their reaction times are also poor. We should consider changing the way we train. Even if their cultivation levels are high, if they are not experienced in space combat, their combat effectiveness will drop significantly,” Ruo Manni summarized the experience of this Starry Sky mission with Lin Changfeng.

Because Ruo Manni had been using her mental powers to control the battlefield, she had been “watching” the performance of most of the mecha combatants in space in her mind.

Lin Changfeng naturally understood this situation, which was why he asked her about the combat performance of Topaz Star’s mecha combatants in space.

“What do you think should be done? Do you have any feasible plans?” Lin Changfeng asked seriously.

Since Lin Changfeng became the commander of Topaz Star, he had focused on improving the cultivation levels of the top-tier soldiers. In just over three years, the number of fifth- and sixth-level mecha combatants in Topaz Star had at least tripled, and the overall strength of the army had increased severalfold.

Lin Changfeng had been somewhat proud, thinking he had done quite well. But this recent locust beast wave and the cosmic creature invasion made him realize that he hadn’t done enough and that Topaz Star was still very weak.

Ruo Manni’s performance over the past year had made Lin Changfeng realize that he had underestimated her. He now recognized her abilities and naturally trusted her words.

Topaz Star had never had the conditions for space warfare training due to its lack of resources in the past.

Although Lin Changfeng knew the shortcomings were obvious and the materials at his disposal were sufficient, Topaz Star’s mecha combatants could only conduct conservative training that consumed vast amounts of resources. However, he still couldn’t form a dedicated space combat team.

The most important reason for this was that he lacked the necessary talents for it.

Most of Topaz Star’s talents were trained by Lin Changfeng himself, and he simply didn’t have anyone capable of training space combatants. Those who could take on this responsibility would need to be at least at the late-stage of level six cultivation.

Even Lin Changfeng himself was not very skilled in space combat, so he had very few training methods. Even if he personally took charge, it would require an enormous amount of energy to establish a space combat unit.

But Lin Changfeng was the commander of a planet, with too many responsibilities to focus all his efforts on this.

Lin Changfeng had once shamelessly asked the Crown Prince for help, but people with such skills wouldn’t come to a poor place like Topaz Star. Even the Crown Prince couldn’t simply order them to do so.

When Ruo Manni decided to return to Topaz Star’s military after graduating from the military academy, Lin Changfeng hoped she would quickly grow and gain the ability to lead space combatants.

Now that he realized Ruo Manni already had this ability, he was eager to support her—how could he not?

“We should organize a space combat regiment as soon as possible and start training in space. Otherwise, they won’t have the ability to protect Topaz Star. If the space creatures had one wave, there’s likely to be another. Until we decisively deal with the Yunkai Star people, Topaz Star will remain in danger. We can’t always rely on others to rescue us,” Ruo Manni said.