Chapter 147 Graduation 1
Class A's mission was different from the other classes. While other classes were randomly assigned a mission and then graded based on their completion, Wen Le and his classmates were sent directly to the front lines to fight the Zerg. This was the order personally issued by the commander of their first corps during their internship. He said that upon graduation, they would become official soldiers and must undergo the baptism of blood to truly grow. Hiding in the rear, protected by others, would only make them more cowardly.
To sum it up in one sentence: If you are a man, you must face the challenge head-on. Those who hide behind others are cowards, not real men.
As students of Class A, what can we do but obey orders?
However, everyone still yearned for the battlefield. If they were afraid of danger, they would not have applied to this school in the first place. Moreover, they had undergone many dangerous trainings in recent years, and the instructors had repeatedly emphasized this, so they were mentally prepared for danger.
Theoretical knowledge is almost complete; it's time to go to the front lines and put everything we've learned into practice. As the old saying goes, you'll know whether it's a mule or a horse by taking it for a walk. The time has come to test them. After all these years of studying, whether they'll be dragons or worms in the end depends on this one. Everyone silently cheers themselves on.
…
This time, Wen Le and his crew weren't traveling on a comfortable civilian spaceship, but rather a transport ship specifically designed to deliver supplies to the front lines. The cabin was packed with supplies, leaving only a small space for Wen Le and his crew to sit. If it weren't for the need to jump mid-journey, they wouldn't even have had dedicated seats installed.
So now we have the pitiful scene of more than 20 people squeezed together. The people on the transport ship installed family seats for them, three in a row. Fortunately, the middle seat was not installed according to the size of a child, otherwise one person would have to huddle in it, which would be too inhumane.
The aisle was a bit cramped, barely wide enough for one person to walk. According to the transport ship, they wouldn't even want to give them this much space if they weren't worried about making it difficult to escape in an emergency. After all, leaving them a little more space would mean less room for other supplies, all of which would have to be delivered to the front lines and distributed to the soldiers fighting the Zerg.
Therefore, everyone speculated that if civilian spacecraft could not reach the front line and private spacecraft were not allowed to go there, they might not even be able to board the transport ships. Thinking of this, they actually felt a strange sense of pride. They would also be glorious soldiers in the future. Although the transport ships might not want to take them...
Two days later, after a bumpy ride that nearly broke them apart, Class A finally reached their destination. Before they had time to rest on the spaceship, someone came to take them back to base.
The base where Wen Le and his team are located is made up of hundreds of large and small metal fortresses. The passages connecting the fortresses are also fully enclosed artificial tunnels made of special metals. This not only serves as a defense, but also ensures the safety of personnel and materials to the greatest extent and reduces unnecessary losses.
These interconnected tunnels allow for the rapid transfer of supplies and evacuation of personnel in critical situations. Even if the base is breached by the Zerg, these fortresses and tunnels can hold out for a while, giving everyone ample time to escape. This clearly shows the thoughtful design of the original base designers. While it may look a bit ugly, resembling an anthill from Earth, it's incredibly practical, which is why most bases today are built like this.
The base tunnel was many times larger than Wen Le had imagined. From the outside, it looked about the size of a highway tunnel from Earth's era. Only once inside did he realize what lay beyond. The tunnel consisted of three circular layers. The outermost layer served as a dedicated passage for combat spacecraft, providing a degree of defense. If the tunnel were breached, the combat spacecraft could hold out for a while, buying time for the base's personnel to evacuate.
The second level is the transport corridor, specifically for large transport ships. The final, safest central level is where personnel typically pass. It's said there's actually another corridor in the very center, the true emergency escape route. It won't be opened unless absolutely necessary; once opened, the entire base will self-destruct after half an hour. Half an hour is plenty of time to escape; failing to do so would be disastrous. Rather than falling into the hands of the enemy and suffering humiliation, it's better to follow the base's self-destruction and die with dignity.
In addition, many core technologies in the base are confidential and must not fall into the hands of the enemy. Otherwise, once these technologies are cracked, they will be in a very passive position. Therefore, each base is designed with a self-destruct program at the beginning to prevent the core technology of the base from being leaked.
Of course, no one expected this legendary fourth passage to be opened one day, so the guide mentioned it in passing during the introduction, without going into detail. He only let Wen Le know that this passage existed, so that they would have a clear idea of it.
Even the central passage was spacious enough to accommodate two small airships abreast. There was also a wide road underneath, wide enough for six large transport trucks to drive side by side. There were also spacious sidewalks and green belts on both sides of the road. If you ignored the exterior of the tunnel and only looked at the interior, it looked no different from any ordinary city road.
For some reason, the sight of this familiar road suddenly relaxed everyone's nervous hearts. The one who came to guide them smiled at Wen Le and the others' relaxed expressions. This was just the appetizer; the real thing was yet to come. It was a sham. When they were first sent here, who wasn't a juicy young cabbage, full of dreams for the future? And the result? Everyone who came here was reduced to a shriveled old cabbage leaf within six months.
What's the dream? Is it edible? Here, survival and extermination of the Zerg are everyone's shared goals. As for this familiar road ahead, it's specifically for these freshly minted students. They can't just face the base's crude training grounds upon arrival, right? That wouldn't be appropriate, and it wouldn't help the students integrate into the base, affecting harmony within.
So, at that moment, the members of Class A could never have imagined that in the days ahead, this place would become a place for them to reminisce about their homeland and occasionally relax and unwind. Looking back on themselves today, they'd probably shed tears of regret. What had led them to the illusion that the base was so ordinary? If time could go back, I'd really like to go back and punch this ignorant self of mine to his knees.
However, there is no medicine for regret in this world.
…
After entering the base, Class A was split up and assigned to different groups based on their specialties. Wen Le was assigned directly to the logistics department. His mission was to serve as a medic and treat the wounded during the battle with the Zerg. When he wasn't busy, he would make insecticides at the base.
He had originally contributed the insecticide formula, and the military's pharmacists had been busy over the years, constantly developing new ways to upgrade it. It had already been upgraded from version 2.0 to version 3.0, and the results were obvious. While it wasn't very effective against high-level Zerg, it was very effective against the low-level cannon fodder.
The low-level Zerg, with their large numbers and thick skin, were specifically designed to break through the human defenses, creating conditions for the more powerful but fewer high-level Zerg to attack. Now that these low-level Zerg have been rendered ineffective by the insecticide, it will be difficult for them to break through the base.
This way, the pressure on the base is much less. At least everyone can take turns to rest, instead of guarding the base day and night like before, not daring to relax for a moment, for fear that if something goes wrong, the base will be attacked by those bugs.
Putting aside the others, Wen Le's arrival in the logistics department was greeted with unanimous welcome. How could they not be delighted? This was the man who had originally crafted the insecticide, and this alone made things much easier for them. Not only was it easier for them, but it also saved a lot of money and supplies. Remember, combat teams used to have to drive armored vehicles to fight those insects head-on. But armored vehicles weren't perfect. Every year, many were damaged in combat, resulting in the loss of dozens, even hundreds, of soldiers. And that was just for their base.
If all bases were included, the final result would undoubtedly be described as a devastating loss. Wen Le's insecticide had solved an urgent problem and, most importantly, reduced casualties. This alone was enough to make everyone respect Wen Le as the developer.
After introducing Wen Le to everyone, the logistics team leader offered some words of encouragement and a look into the future. Finally, he concluded, "Let's work together for a better tomorrow! Of course, Wen Le, you must continue to work hard and strive to develop a pesticide that's even more effective than pesticides."
Looking at his expression, he almost patted Wen Le on the shoulder and said, "It depends on you whether you can kill those bugs in the future."
Wen Le... Wen Le said he was under a lot of pressure...
But no matter what, Wen Le finally integrated into this group, and no so-called bullying incidents occurred. Everyone was polite to him, which made Wen Le feel a lot more at ease.
Compared to the dire straits of others, Wen Le had it much easier. Making potions was his job. Although everyone had high expectations of him upgrading the insecticide, which put some pressure on him, everything else was fine.
This gave Wen Le plenty of downtime, and he didn't want to waste it, so whenever he had free time, he'd study in the virtual classroom or do the homework assigned by Teacher Hu. Over time, Wen Le had benefited greatly from this, and even Teacher Hu, who usually treated him with a stern face, had recently become more amiable after correcting his homework.
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