Being scolded was naturally unbearable, but what Jiang Ling hadn't expected was that these hot-blooded warriors of the new era actually held back. She had thought they would just have a small outburst, let their passion get the better of them, let their rage overcome their rationality, and then rush forward to prove themselves regardless.

——It’s really boring.

The transport craft continued along its route, heading towards the rear of the Endless Galaxy. As time passed, the number of ships operating on the route gradually dwindled, the forest of massive, sturdy towers thinned out, and the lighting outside the windshield dimmed, leaving only the scattered searchlights along the mothership's central axis. Now, aside from the roar of the transport craft's engines and the occasional chatter between the pilots and "command," everything was utterly silent. Although Jiang Ling couldn't yet understand the two pilots' abbreviated call signs, the electromagnetic signals flowing around her hinted that they were nearing their destination.

The shuttle finally slowed down as it passed a protrusion on its central axis. After two docking calibrations, the landing gear firmly attached to a reflective-painted docking platform. The landing gear fixtures on the platform then moved along their designated tracks, firmly grasping the shuttle's three sled-shaped landing gear. After three warning bells rang inside the cabin, the docking platform, along with the shuttle, flipped upward 90 degrees and slowly and steadily moved horizontally into the newly opened airlock.

The non-breathable inert gas quickly filled the airlock. The soldier who had not spoken from beginning to end handed Jiang Ling a breathing mask, and then, at the instruction of their captain, he lined up with the two pilots and waited for the hatch to open.

As soon as he walked down the hatch, Jiang Ling saw two multi-legged walking robots with scratches on their shells approaching not far ahead. They seemed to dislike each other. As they went into the cabin, they used their mechanical arms and mechanical feet to trip each other from time to time. It was obvious that their target was the cargo in the cargo hold.

However, the soldiers in front did not stop for this. They passed through a metal retractable corridor about a hundred meters long before arriving at a relatively spacious place.

This place was likely a distribution center for people and goods. The walls were painted matte white to maximize the lighting. Jiang Ling saw that packaged goods were piled up everywhere. Countless people and robots, riding vehicles resembling human-powered forklifts, were weaving back and forth between these obstacles, fully loaded with goods, according to some supposed rules, flying towards different exits.

Continuing forward, the soldiers in front of her were firmly stuck to the wall by the magnetic adsorption modules on the feet of the exoskeleton. Jiang Ling did not have an exoskeleton, but the force was mutual, and her telekinesis could achieve the same effect.

The officer welcoming the group was a man with two stars and a rocket projected onto his left chest. Apparently, military ranks have evolved considerably. Jiang Ling couldn't immediately grasp his true status, so she could only imitate the others' latest space etiquette. A moment later, she joined the others, straightening her body. She placed her right hand's five fingers together on her left chest, over her heart, while simultaneously clenching her left fist and placing it near her waist. This was a simple gesture, and since the body wouldn't spin in the absence of gravity, it was a concession to the laws of physics, a form of etiquette.

The officer in front of him returned the greeting in the same way, and then he shouted "Disband" to everyone. Except for Jiang Ling, everyone else flew to another place in groups of two.

After they left, Jiang Ling was about to speak when the person in front of him spoke first, "Report, I am Wang Wuji, the chief instructor of the 3rd Flight Formation of the 14th Fighter Reserve Division of the 6th Fleet of the Community Space Army. I am Lieutenant."

Jiang Ling quickly responded, "Hello, Instructor Wang. This is unnecessary. I'm Jiang Ling, and my rank of colonel was revoked long before I went into hibernation."

"No, no, no. Even so, you are still a distinguished guest of the Space Army!" Wang Wuji said, shaking his head. "You were a soldier from over 13,000 years ago. You are our pioneer and our ancestor. The contributions you have made to all citizens of the community and to humanity are beyond our reach in our lifetime."

"Children, don't underestimate yourselves. Times are progressing." Jiang Ling remembered a sentence from the school textbook.

Wang Wuji smiled, closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, a film of water covered his cornea, reflecting Jiang Ling and the scenery behind her. "That's General Li's famous quote, right? I remember it's on page 55 of volume 6 of the history textbook."

"Really? I just found it randomly."

"Oh, that's a shame. Legend has it that General Li loved to talk, but he left behind very few classic works."