Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!

The ground was littered with wounds and debris.

Bai E had speculated about the presence of a hidden "commander," but it never showed itself.

After dealing with two waves of the sand creatures and one small Bug Race swarm, there were temporarily no more enemies.

Fighting for many years, the Bug Race had a quite accurate understanding of the human combat strength.

If nothing unexpected happened, a wave of sand creatures combined with a small Bug Race swarm would be enough to easily annihilate a human special forces squad, which was a trap by the Bug Race.

Of course, even knowing it was a trap, humanity would still explore the unknown with the lives of their soldiers.

Sacrifice was the foundation of the Empire; courage was the anthem of humanity.

Facing any unknown, to explore with lives was what humans had been doing for thousands of years, and it had never changed.

You looked at the silhouette of Bai E, who was urgently treating their captain, now left with only one hand and one foot, with tears glistening in his eyes.

Gone.

All gone.

Of the other squad, only their captain remained, while his own squad... Dashan and Song Ying had left, and the captain was crippled too.

Sacrifice was the cornerstone of the Empire; artificial humans were inherently meant to die, and witnessing death was nothing new to them.

However, seeing comrades with whom he had grown close die one after another still brought unbearable pain to the emotions You had developed.

Bai E carried out everything coldly.

Dissecting the corpses of the creatures, sorting out the intact supplies, it was as if he were completely unaffected by the battle.

Overturned vehicles were impossible to right with his strength alone, and neither the slightly injured captain of the other squad nor You could help, and as for Hu... he couldn't even stand.

Since they couldn't leave by vehicle anyway and the injured were limited in their ability to move, it was better to rest here for the night.

In the dead of night, wandering aimlessly was futile; it was better to rest well on the spot.

By dawn the next day, it would be clear whether the military had received their distress signal and was coming to assist.

Even if they were not considered a priority, with a night's rest, they would be more confident walking back during the day.

In the dark and deep night, the only sound was Bai E quietly dissecting corpses, which made the scene all the more ghastly.

The captain of the other squad lay among the messy supplies, his eyes empty.

You curled up in the shadow beneath a vehicle, his features unclear.

Hu was silent, half-lying on the ground with something propped under him by Bai E; he just turned his head to watch Bai E, who was busy nearby.

"He is a perfect captain."

After watching for a while, Hu suddenly said softly.
Explore new worlds at empire

You lifted his tear-streaked face from the crook of his arms on his knees, looking somewhat dazed at his own captain.

"After we return, we probably need to reorganize the team."

He himself was already broken; he didn't know what awaited him once they got back.

In this era, there were prosthetic limbs, but prosthetics far less adept than a normal body were not sufficient to support him in continuing to fight as a soldier.

Whether the military would be willing to outfit this 'useless' him with prosthetics so he could continue to live as a civilian was also uncertain, but he had no thoughts on this and calmly accepted whatever came, after all, the military's decisions were always made considering all of humanity.

Amidst the intense pain all over his body, he was only thinking about the future of the squad.

Whether it was his own squad or the other one, with such a loss in personnel, it was inevitable to recruit new members once they returned, and if those remaining were not qualified enough, even disbanding the unit was possible.

In the future, there may be more special forces squads, but Squad A97 would be forever buried in the annals of history, becoming a corner of the city's military history that had passed away.

The squad he took over from the previous captain, was it to be lost under his command?

He was unwilling, and so was Bai E.

You's capability was still decent, but far from enough to become the captain of a special forces squad in the eyes of the military. Of the two remaining, only Bai E could shoulder that responsibility.

To become a captain, of course, strength was necessary, and Bai E had proven his prowess far beyond the average soldier.

What was also needed was military merit.

Up until now, the merits Bai E had achieved in numerous battles might have been used up for the Gene Optimization Solution, maybe there was more to come, but it was never certain.

Dissection!

Completing the dissection of all the creature's corpses at this moment, bringing back those core resources needed by the military was also a way to earn military merit.

Bai E was doing his best to increase his "odds of winning".

Even now, just after a brutal battle, his cold rationality drove his actions - this was what made one a most qualified Imperial warrior. Talented individuals should proactively seek advancement, to take on more responsibility.

"You..." Ying gasped for air, stifling the pain from his injuries silently, "from now on, Bai E is your captain. Support him with all your heart, he is the best."

"Yes..." You's voice was as cool as ever, but this time, it trembled noticeably.

"What are you thinking?" Ying gave a smile, extending his left hand, shakily trying to reach out toward You.

You knew he couldn't be reached, so he moved closer proactively, allowing his slightly coarse palm to touch that young face that bore traces of both valiance and immaturity.

Looking at that tear-streaked face, Ying suddenly laughed, "Still too young..."

You bit his lip, his expression somewhat lost.

"Do you still remember what the officer said on the day you were born?"

"..."

"Sacrifice is the foundation of the Empire. You should have anticipated that a day like this would come. Aside from Bai, you're the last one to join the team... Learning to cope with the departure of teammates is also something you must learn in this world." As he spoke, Ying smiled, "Don't worry about me, who knows, I might even start a new life..."

The only way for an Artificial human to leave the military barracks was to suffer irreparable bodily harm on the battlefield while still clinging to life.

Amputated limbs, deemed not worth the military's investment for prosthetic replacements, and a living breathing person too complex to simply "dispose" of, would be expelled from the barracks to fend for themselves.

For many veteran Artificial soldiers, this was even a long-coveted escape route, as Artificial humans weren't privileged with natural persons' right to retire and enjoy a normal life after serving for a certain period.

"As long as you don't forget me and occasionally come to visit, I will be more than content."

"You've lost a lot of blood, we don't know when we can get back yet, it's better to talk less."

Bai E came back from afar at some point, advising Ying softly.

His voice was calm, as steady as ever.

"Did you find anything?" Ying laughed off what Bai E said and instead asked about something else.

He saw that Bai E had done more than just dissect; he had also gone towards the direction from which the small Bug Race tide originated to investigate something.

"Nothing much..." Bai E shook his head, "These bugs were an ambush hiding in deep concealment, waiting for the attack tonight. If we hadn't arrived, those six sandworms and the batch of bugs would have been the foes that their squad had to face alone."

And if it was a trap, without exception, every squad might have been treated the same. It was only because they whimsically changed the location that the sandworms and bug tide that were supposed to attack them missed their chance.

The sandworms could quickly follow through the underground, but the small Bug Race tide, composed of worker and wasp bugs, lacked this ability.

So the subsequent attack by the eight sandworms was likely the "trap" originally prepared for them.

As for whether there would be further attacks... who knows.

Even now, humans do not fully understand the command patterns and scope of the Bug Race's internal structure.

If a group of bugs was tailing a group of human soldiers, those bugs targeting their assigned enemies likely wouldn't come looking for them once they completed their task, meaning they could be safe.

But if the "commander" that Bai E had been worried about remaining hidden contacted its kin, what would happen next was unpredictable.

"Hm..." Ying nodded, acknowledging Bai E's explanation.

They could only wait...

Exhausted to the extreme, the three of them fell into a deep sleep while Bai E sat cross-legged beside them.

His practice of the Breathing Skill seemed to replace the need for normal sleep, and he also needed to recover his depleted Spiritual Energy through the Breathing Skill as soon as possible to face any potential dangers that might arise.

The corpses of bugs strewn about and the stench of blood and putridity in the air that lingered for a long time didn't affect Bai E's meditation at all.

[From Commission Feedback: Insight +0.1, Physical Ability +0.1, Reflex +0.2, Light Weapon Mastery Experience +54, Light Firearm Mastery Experience +14, Long-Range Weapon Mastery Experience +30, Knowledge - Human Body Modification Project 1.0 Experience +55.]

The feedback from the player's mission came belatedly.

Bai E woke with a start upon receiving this information and instinctively covered his eyes with his hand as the harsh light from the distance assaulted his eyes.

It was overwhelming...

Accompanied by the rumbling sound of mechanical engines.

Reinforcements had arrived...

"Phew~" Bai E finally let out a sigh of relief, his mind that had been on edge relaxed at long last.

The three who were asleep awoke in a daze, seeing the reinforcements from the base for real, and realized that Bai E had never deceived them.

With the glaring light behind him, Likok, wearing a long coat, was the first to hop off the yet unsteady vehicle and walk over, "Is anyone still alive?"

"Here." Bai E stood up, raising his arm.