At exactly 7 o'clock in the morning, Zhou Yuan returned to the Hunter Corps' dormitory after checking out of the single-person quarters in the work hall. He had spent two hours undergoing testing, and now had a good understanding of his physical strength. He was strong enough to twist a military knife like a towel and lift a table weighing up to 100 kilograms with one finger. His defense was strong enough to withstand conventional firearm bullets, leaving no marks on the affected area. Even an AWM could only leave a small bruise, which healed within 30 seconds thanks to his self-healing ability that had reached a maximum of 13 points. As far as firearms were concerned, conventional firepower was no longer able to harm him; only heavy firepower or concentrated fire could break through his physical defense.
The only downside was that the claws of the Zergs were capable of tearing through space alloy. But fortunately, Zergs couldn't touch him. He had also tested his speed earlier. The distance he ran back and forth along the wall in the room was 10 meters, and he could complete four runs in one second, meaning he was traveling at a speed of 40 meters per second. That was only in narrow spaces, so if he ran at full speed in a straight line, his speed would be at least 80 meters per second. With that speed, it would be impossible for the Zergs to catch him even if they wanted to.
His previous speculation was correct. Breaking through the limits of life represented a thorough evolution. He was already a superhuman being that was completely different from ordinary humans, a stronger kind of life form. It may seem like his attributes only increased by 10 points, but it was actually a sublime transformation that ordinary people could hardly imagine. It was like proposing a mathematical conjecture and verifying it. They may sound similar, but there were a hundred thousand miles between them.
"Captain Zhou, it's time to hold the second celebration banquet!"
Zhou Yuan changed into casual clothes, put on a mask and a duckbill cap, and left his dormitory to go to the communication soldiers' residential area. At this time, Daisy and Judy should be getting off work.
... ...
The next day at noon, Zhou Yuan left the communication soldiers' residential area. He still had half of his vacation time left, but Buck contacted him and told him that Angus had returned to the fortress and wanted to see him now, so he had to cut the celebration banquet short.
"So much for taking a break."
Zhou Yuan complained inwardly as he straightened his back and adjusted his clothes before entering the first strategic area. Soon, he arrived at the underground conference room. There were quite a few people in the room, in addition to Angus and his two deputies, Buck and his squad leader were also there.
"Well, well, good news?"
Zhou Yuan took a quick look around and straightened his posture a bit.
Buck had changed his shoulder patch from a captain to a major, while all the other squad leaders had been promoted from lieutenant to captain.
"Look who's here!"
"The super killer of the starship Zerg, our great hero!"
As soon as Zhou Yuan arrived, Angus immediately stood up and beckoned everyone to look at him, leading the applause with enthusiasm.
"Clap! Clap! Clap!"
At that moment, applause filled the conference room. The atmosphere within the Hunter Corps was excellent, and the relationships between the various team leaders were also very good. Originally, all the team leaders had wanted to throw a celebration for Zhou Yuan last night.
However, Zhou Yuan had been busy from early morning until midnight yesterday, and the work was not easy. By the time he returned to the fortress, he was utterly exhausted and almost fell asleep as soon as he lay down. When he woke up in the morning, Zhou Yuan was not in the dormitory. It wasn't until now that they finally saw each other, so everyone was especially enthusiastic when applauding.
If Angus hadn't been there, they would have all wanted to lift Zhou Yuan up and toss him.
"Commander, this wasn't my achievement alone."
"The correct strategy and intelligence, along with outstanding superiors and teammates, are the keys to completing the mission."
Zhou Yuan respectfully saluted.
"Very well, you see the core of special operations, something not everyone can see."
Hearing Zhou Yuan's words, Angus nodded in satisfaction. He patted Zhou Yuan on the shoulder and then turned to Burke, saying, "I almost forgot, I interrupted your vacation."
"Starting now, you have three days of official leave, and I will elevate your entertainment privileges. Go on, relax and enjoy yourselves."
"Boss,..." Burke nodded. He knew Angus had something to discuss with Zhou Yuan alone, so he led the other team leaders out of the conference room.
"Austin, Genna, go have dinner, you don't need to wait for me."
Subsequently, Angus sent his two vice captains away as well. Now, only Angus and Zhou Yuan remained in the conference room.
... ...
"Zhou, have a seat."
At this point, Angus's expression suddenly changed, looking somewhat gloomy and powerless as he sat back in his chair.
Seeing this, Zhou Yuan asked, "Commander, do you have something on your mind?"
"It's not that I have something on my mind, it's that you're about to have something on your mind." Angus shook his head and pointed at Zhou Yuan with his index finger.
"Me?"
Zhou Yuan was completely puzzled, not understanding Angus's meaning at all.
"Zhou, you should still remember our last conversation. I originally wanted you to lead a special operations unit."
"Now the situation has changed, and you're going to Pluto."
"Pluto?"
Zhou Yuan became even more puzzled. How did Pluto, that desolate place, become involved again?
Burke nodded. "The Federation has completely occupied Pluto and is transforming it into a strategic outpost. You know about this."
"What Pluto had before, it will continue to have in the future, and even more and stronger."
"Including manpower," Zhou Yuan said softly, understanding in his heart.
If he hadn't guessed wrong, he was probably being transferred to Pluto.
"Yes, including manpower."
"The first fortress on Pluto is being established on the Dark Spot Plateau, called the Coastline. It means the Human Federation's defense line."
"The Coastline fortress is short of manpower, and they are currently selecting members from various units, and you are one of them."
"The Research Department is interested in you. Their top brass has named you to go to the Coastline and become the commander of their defense team at the Research Center."
Having said that, Angus sighed and patted Zhou Yuan's shoulder again, complaining, "To have you be a defense soldier is truly a waste of your talent."
"If you stayed at the Fortress of Tarsis, I could have trained you into a general before you turned thirty."
"But this order came from the upper echelons of the Research Department, and I have no authority to refuse it."
"Ah, damn the Research Department. They'll ruin you."