"Good stuff."
Zhou Yuan crawled under the blanket and took out the mini plasma spark device to examine it.
The device looked like a crystal plaque, three centimeters thick and ten centimeters wide, emitting a red glow. It had a ring of connection ports and a nice design.
However, Zhou Yuan only played with it for a while before putting it away.
It was indeed a good item, but he didn't have a use for it at the moment.
Judging by its size, it was definitely not suitable for a large mech; it was more suited as an energy source for small individual combat suits.
To obtain such an item from a Level 2 Gift Box was incredibly lucky.
But to build a mech, he needed many more things.
Industrial machinery foundations, cutting-edge technical talents, secret research bases, and so on. To meet all these requirements, he would need at least a major's level of authority.
And he was currently just a private, a low-ranking soldier who couldn't even get his own room.
"Time to sleep!"
After thinking for a while, Zhou Yuan closed his eyes and lay down.
While feeling a bit tired, he decided to quickly fall asleep; otherwise, he would recover again after a while.
...
"Buzz!"
He wasn't sure how long he had been sleeping when the vibration of his work tablet woke Zhou Yuan up.
"What's this?"
Zhou Yuan was startled and quickly realized the source of the disturbance was his work tablet.
Opening the tablet, he saw a notification message.
[The communication window will open promptly at 06:00 on August 15th. All units are to prepare for combat.]
"Huh?"
Zhou Yuan had a puzzled expression on his face, not understanding the message.
"Hey, buddy, what's going on here?"
Looking around, Zhou Yuan found a veteran soldier who was still awake.
It was noon, and there weren't many people in the dormitory who were still awake, just a few.
"Zhou, you know about the large communication window in the fortress, right?"
"The bugs can sense the signals and find us through the communication window."
"Normally, when we communicate with Earth through the window, it's only open for a short period of time, and only nearby bugs can find us."
"But on the 5th, 15th, and 25th of each month, the fortress sends a large amount of data to Earth, and the communication window stays open for several hours. Even bugs from far away will be attracted to us."
The veteran patiently explained to Zhou Yuan.
Zhou Yuan suddenly realized and asked, "So, the day after tomorrow, there will be a bug tide attacking the fortress?"
"That's right!" The veteran nodded, continuing, "The communication window opens at 6 a.m. and usually closes at 12 p.m., but it may close earlier or later."
"To deal with the bug tide, everyone's duty hours will be extended by four hours to ensure there are twice as many soldiers on the defensive walls."
"If the bug tide is too large, the fortress will send mechanical troops to support us. So don't worry, we can handle it."
"By the way, there might be locusts during that time. They are the real killers."
"Got it, thanks!"
Zhou Yuan thanked him and changed into his training uniform before leaving the dormitory.
He didn't expect this turn of events, but it was actually good for him.
His duty hours would increase from 8 to 12, and he would be able to participate in the bug tide from morning until noon, which was a perfect opportunity to level up his skills.
Today was the 13th, and he planned to train vigorously for the entire afternoon, followed by shooting practice in the evening until the morning of the 14th. This way, he would deplete his energy sufficiently.
Then, on the 14th, he would sleep throughout the day and be fully rested to face the bug tide from 11 p.m. on the 14th to 11 a.m. on the 15th.
The plan was set!
...
At four in the afternoon, Zhou Yuan arrived at the obstacle course.
"F*ck me!"
"A bunch of losers, too afraid to step up, just talking behind my back. Where's your bravery?" Zhou Yuan ended his training session early, muttering to himself.
His performance had been completely exposed and was being discussed everywhere. Initially, when people first noticed him, they were all praising him, saying how talented and strong he was.
But gradually, the haters emerged.
Groups of haters gathered together, pointing fingers at him, criticizing his performance with nothing positive to say.
He initially wanted to confront them and shut them down. But after giving it some thought, he decided not to take the initiative. After all, he couldn't say, "I heard your whispers from ten meters away, didn't I?"
That's how it is when you become popular - controversies arise!
"Forget it, haters gonna hate. Just a bunch of bitter dogs," Zhou Yuan shook his head and walked towards the training ground's exit.
"Hey, sweetheart."
"Aren't you going to keep running?"
"I heard that easterners only know how to train their physical fitness. Let us see how long you can run."
Just then, Zhou Yuan heard a burst of mocking voices behind him. He stopped in his tracks.
"What the hell, did that kid just insult us?"
Zhou Yuan abruptly turned around and flipped the middle finger at the people speaking.
They brought this upon themselves!
He had initially wanted to be magnanimous and ignore these haters, but now it seemed unnecessary. It was time to teach them a painful lesson!
"What the hell!"
"That brat just insulted us?"
Zhou Yuan's voice was loud enough for those haters to hear. They approached him, surrounding him, but considering Zhou Yuan's growing reputation, they hesitated to physically confront him. They just glared at him.
"What the hell! You damn losers! Were you having fun earlier when you were calling out?"
"If you yelled a little louder, I would have hired all of you to guard my doghouse for a high salary. I guarantee it!"
Zhou Yuan's expression turned fierce as he confronted the haters in front of him, pointing and berating them.
"What the hell!"
Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, the group of haters exploded in anger.
Zhou Yuan cursed at them right to their faces, and there were onlookers nearby. If they still didn't make a move, how could they continue to survive in this fortress?
There were five of them, with a significant advantage!
If they could defeat this highly popular rookie, they would become popular veterans!
The several haters exchanged glances and simultaneously dropped their crossed arms. Then they reached out towards Zhou Yuan.
"Bang!"
At the same time, Zhou Yuan made his move.
With a light kick, he knocked down the tallest and strongest of the haters. Then, he twisted the wrists of two others until they dislocated and pulled them closer, finally using his shoulders to knock them down.
These moves seemed lengthy, but they actually occurred in an instant.
By the time the last two haters reacted, Zhou Yuan's fists had already grown larger in their eyes and landed heavily on their faces.
In less than three seconds, Zhou Yuan had all five veterans lying on the ground.
"Tsk tsk tsk..."
"You tough guys couldn't even handle one of my moves?"
"I'm curious, who gave you guys the courage to provoke me?"
Zhou Yuan lit a cigarette and looked down at the hater group writhing on the ground.
"Kid, I will definitely... Ah!"
The first hater that Zhou Yuan had kicked wanted to swear, but halfway through his words, he let out a scream because Zhou Yuan had stepped on his stomach.