"Alright, I should go now."
"Zhou, don't let your guard down, see you in the morning."
After reminding Zhou Yuan, Harren hurriedly left with his team.
They needed to rest as soon as possible and replenish their energy to face the daytime onslaught of insects in the best condition.
The large communication window remained open from 23:00 to 11:10 for Group One, from 03:00 to 15:10 for Group Two, and from 11:00 to 23:10 for Group Three.
Generally, the large communication window would remain open until midnight.
This meant that even at midnight, the insects would still be approaching the Talis Fortress, so the onslaught might continue until the afternoon.
Every combat group had to face the onslaught, and their state of mind and energy were of utmost importance.
"As usual, let's get to work."
"Oh, by the way, cancel the patrol for today. Just stand guard in place and don't fight too hard. Save your enthusiasm for tomorrow morning."
Zhou Yuan reminded them before gesturing for the team to disperse.
Firing a gun was not an easy task. The recoil alone could drain a person's physical and mental energy, let alone the team members.
After the team dispersed, Zhou Yuan began to observe the firearms prepared by the armory.
They were all high-powered weapons, mainly rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers. There were no handguns or submachine guns here.
There were also many military boxes marked with nuclear symbols, which should contain small tactical nuclear bombs.
Unfortunately, he didn't have the authority to open them.
"Tsk... Although they are small nuclear bombs, if we launch one during the insect onslaught, even a few thousand souls will be lost."
Zhou Yuan patted the military box with desire.
But since these things were brought up to the defensive wall, there would definitely be an opportunity to use them later. For now, all he had to do was wait.
After checking for a while, Zhou Yuan casually picked up a new AWM rifle and climbed up the watchtower.
While it was important to conserve energy, they still had to kill the insects. Just don't overexert themselves.
...
Time is like a gust of wind; when you are enjoying its gentle breeze, time has already passed behind you.
It was three o'clock in the morning, and Group Two, Eighth Squad, had arrived.
"Mark, how should we allocate?"
Zhou Yuan put down his gun and immediately went to find the captain of Group Two, Eighth Squad.
After all, he was just a newcomer and needed to listen to the advice of the experienced soldiers in many matters.
Mark bumped shoulders with Zhou Yuan and smiled, "How about we split it evenly? We'll take the middle watchtowers, with the left one for me and the right one for you."
"Okay!" Zhou Yuan nodded in agreement.
Splitting the defense area evenly was indeed reasonable, making it clear who should take credit or blame.
"See you later."
The two didn't say much. After allocating the defense area, they separated and assigned positions to their team members.
"Blake and Johnson, go to Watchtower Four. Taylor and Martin, go to Watchtower Five."
"The rest of you stand guard in place. If there's any situation, I'll notify you first. You don't need to reply, just do as I say."
"Do you all understand?"
"We understand!"
Upon hearing Zhou Yuan's words, the team members replied in unison.
"Alright, get to work." Zhou Yuan nodded and, after the team dispersed, climbed onto Watchtower Three.
"Zhou, I heard..."
Mark was already on the watchtower and immediately approached Zhou Yuan when he saw him.
Wearing a sly expression, he draped his arm over Zhou Yuan's shoulder and asked in a low voice, "I heard that you know many female soldiers in the Work Hall?"
"Yeah, what about it?"
Zhou Yuan nodded, knowingly asking.
There were many female soldiers in the army, with the most popular ones being the female soldiers in the starship units, followed by the communication, medical, and other technical female soldiers.
Compared to female infantry soldiers with bulging muscles, these technical female soldiers who didn't focus on physical training were the goddesses in the eyes of all male infantry soldiers.
"Buddy, you're getting famous again."
"For the sake of two beautiful female communication soldiers, you beat up five veteran soldiers in the training ground. This news is spreading everywhere."
"But that's not a big deal. The superiors won't pay attention to soldiers fighting over women. What I want to say is..."
"God, women fall for this kind of thing the most. They all like tough guys, and I think I'm a tough guy too. Maybe... you can introduce me to a few of them."
Mark nudged Zhou Yuan with his elbow, wearing a suggestive expression.
"???"
Upon hearing Mark's words, Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment. What kind of joke was this? He had just taught Heizi a lesson the day before, how did it turn into a jealousy-fueled fight between women? He knew rumors could easily distort the truth, but this distortion was way out of line. If such rumors spread, how could he continue to pursue high-quality female soldiers in the Star Fleet?
"No problem, I've got it covered," Zhou Yuan said after a moment of contemplation. He put on a smile, patted Mark on the shoulder, and said, "I'll arrange a social gathering in a few days, and it'll be up to you then."
It was rare for someone at the rank of a small team leader to ask for his help, and whether he could deliver or not was a secondary concern. He accepted the request first and would figure it out later. When the time came...
He would introduce the several black and strong women that he couldn't handle to the people around him, gaining some favors. As for the damage to his reputation, it wasn't a big deal. Firstly, the content of the rumor wasn't really bad, and secondly, there were plenty of opportunities to turn the tide of public opinion. It was not something to worry about.
... ...
"The communication window will open in one minute. All units, prepare for battle."
Zhou Yuan waited anxiously, finally reaching six o'clock. The fortress entered a level two combat readiness state, and everyone heard the message through their earpieces.
"Guys, get ready for battle!"
"Remember what I say, if I give an order, no need to reply, execute it immediately!"
Zhou Yuan notified his team members as soon as possible and prepared for battle. Mark, by his side, did the same. He continuously reminded his team members through the earpieces, his face filled with seriousness, clearly aware of the danger posed by the bug tide.
As soon as the communication window opened, the bugs near the Tharsis Fortress became excited. They gathered from scattered groups of three or five to dozens, charging towards the defense wall in swarms. However, these small-scale bug groups posed no threat to the defense wall, as even the electric grid alone was enough to deal with them.
By six ten, the scale of the bug swarm finally grew larger. From dozens to hundreds, they turned into a massive swarm of thousands.
"They're here!"
Zhou Yuan put down his binoculars and sniper rifle, preparing to activate the four-barrel KPV heavy machine gun. He could see clearly through the binoculars that these bug swarms outside the wall were merely cannon fodder, and the main force of the bugs was still two to three kilometers away. That area had already been completely occupied by the soldier bugs, turning into a sea of bugs.
The soldier bugs resembled mantises, with sharp sickle-like pincers. They were over five meters long and three meters tall, resembling bio-mechanical mantis tanks. Countless giant mantises gathered together, forming black waves that completely covered the dim yellow plateau, creating a visually stunning impact.
At this moment, Zhou Yuan felt a slight tremor in his limbs and a lightness in his spirit. It wasn't fear but excitement. His body and mind were in perfect harmony, and when he wanted to make a big impact, his adrenal glands secreted more hormones. Full health and mana had buffs. Captain Zhou would go into battle at his peak state!