"What's going on?" Xinmu and the others rushed over when they saw that something was amiss. Two military personnel were holding tablets and had grim expressions on their faces.
"We witnessed an unprecedented disaster. The entire city has been reduced to ruins. According to preliminary estimates, the death toll has already exceeded eight million."
"So, that's what happened!" Upon hearing the first sentence, Zhou Yuan knew what had happened. The plasma worm launched into space by the plasma cannon hit a passing asteroid, causing it to change its trajectory and crash towards Earth. Earth couldn't completely intercept the asteroid, resulting in fragments of the asteroid falling and destroying Buenos Aires, which happened to be Rico's hometown.
"Damn bugs!"
"Fuck, what are the softies in the starship fleet doing?"
"Guys, I think we should go back to the headquarters!"
After watching the news, the instructors were furious. They had allowed the insectoid meteor to attack Earth. Were the people at the Nut Base all useless?
"Kid, you go back by yourself." After leaving these words, Xinmu quickly left with the other instructors and headed towards the headquarters building. The headquarters building they were going to was not the one in the new recruit camp but the central building of the Mars base.
"Guys, I'm also leaving." Zhou Yuan bid farewell to the two staff members from the military department and quickly returned to the new recruit camp. Among his acquaintances, only Rico's hometown, Buenos Aires, was affected. He had previously advised Rico to persuade his parents to travel, and later Rico's parents did go on a trip, but he didn't know if they had returned home now. If they had already returned home, then...
...Soon, Zhou Yuan returned to the dormitory. The dormitory was noisy, and everyone gathered around the public screen, watching the live news about Buenos Aires and cursing.
The attack on the home planet was definitely a major event and a disgrace to the Federal military.
"Where are Rico, Hesa, and Mary?" As soon as Zhou Yuan returned to the dormitory, he looked for Rico.
"Buddy, thanks!" Rico was very excited and gave Zhou Yuan a hug.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuan relaxed a little. It seemed that Rico's parents were still traveling.
"Have you contacted them?" Zhou Yuan pushed Rico away and asked about the specific situation.
"Yes!" Rico nodded repeatedly and said excitedly, "I was scared earlier, but then there was a broadcast announcement. The camp's network will be opened tonight."
"I called right away. They knew that I had come to Mars, so they followed me here. They are currently in the life park behind the base."
"By the way, they said they would come to see us in two days. If there's anything you want to eat, it's best to call them now."
"That's good." Zhou Yuan completely put his mind at ease and lay down on his bed.
"Zhou, I really have to thank you this time. You saved their lives!" Rico followed and took out a pack of cigarettes from under Zhou Yuan's pillow, lit one, and spoke with lingering fear.
"You saved them yourself. I only made a suggestion. If you really want to thank me, then stop eyeing the position of squad leader. I've heard about your plan to team up with Old A to get rid of me."
Zhou Yuan also lit a cigarette and jokingly said, "That won't do!" Rico raised an eyebrow, thumping Zhou Yuan's stomach and said fiercely, "The squad leader position is mine. Just wait and see!"
"Tsk~ Foolish Johnny Rico."
"Didn't you realize I was joking? Even if you and Old A team up, you still wouldn't be a match for me."
"Darn it! The class monitor is changing tomorrow!"
... ...
After a round of playful wrestling, Ruiko went to check the news again.
Zhou Yuan also turned on the bedside screen and got detailed information about the recent Earth attack incident.
The official statement from the Federation was quite formal.
They claimed that a small asteroid was indeed detected at the Nut Base, but due to its immense size, it couldn't be destroyed in one go.
As a result, a few faster fragments were missed, leading to the disaster.
Zhou Yuan didn't fully believe this explanation.
After all, the Nut Base was a starship base, a fortress with ten interstellar fleets, and incredibly powerful.
In the original storyline, this incident was left with no detailed answer, so he didn't know what exactly had happened.
But there was definitely something fishy about it.
The speed of an asteroid was fast, initially propelled by the plasma cannons and later influenced by the gravitational forces of the Earth and the Sun, easily reaching a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second.
However, for humans, a speed of hundreds of kilometers per second was nothing, and intercepting it should have been a piece of cake.
As for the size of the asteroid, that was hard to say.
After all, even within Jupiter's asteroid belt, there were asteroids with diameters close to a thousand kilometers, while the Moon itself had a diameter of less than three to five thousand kilometers.
If it was a smaller version of the Moon colliding with Earth, the Nut Base might not have been able to withstand it.
But then again, how could such a large asteroid be propelled solely by plasma cannons?
So, there was more to this incident than met the eye.
It could be that there were plasma worms on that asteroid or that the interstellar fleet made a mistake—there were many possibilities.
However, it had nothing to do with him. After all, he was just a new recruit who hadn't even finished his basic training. It wasn't his turn to go into battle.
"Sigh!"
Letting out a regretful sigh, Zhou Yuan looked at his personal panel.
Host: Zhou Yuan
Identity: Human Federation Third-Class Soldier, 18-year-old male Enhanced Human
Attributes: Strength 3.2, Speed 2.7, Jumping 2.5, Agility 2.5, Endurance 3, Defense 3, Self-healing 3.2, Skill 1.4, Brain Function 5.6
Skills: Rapid Memory, Rapid Learning, Telepathy
Equipment: Heavy Atomic Wingsuit, ZF-1 Rifle, Infinite Ammo SAW...
Title: Perseverance - Increases Strength by 0.2, Speed by 0.2, and Self-healing by 0.2
Soul Points: 100
In the past half month, his attributes had increased again.
But the increase wasn't significant; only his skill and brain function had improved. The rest relied on titles.
His title changed from 'Rookie' to 'Perseverance,' which was granted for consistent training, and there were even higher-level titles to come.
Unfortunately, it was of no use for now.
If he could go into battle now, he would be unstoppable, rendering any bugs useless.
But that time was coming soon; there wasn't much of the new recruit period left.
However, the events of tonight required his attention.
The bug infestation on Mars wasn't severe, so it was crucial to choose the right unit to join. Some units fought bugs every day, while others rarely encountered them.
Perhaps he could ask Xinmu to find out which unit had the most dangerous missions.