One hour later.
Captain Zhou walked out of the captain's rest room with his hands behind his back, looking refreshed. Claire followed him, sipping on a bottle of mineral water.
During that hour, Captain Zhou had given Claire a stern lecture. Anticipating the upcoming report-in, he didn't delve too deeply into reprimanding her, but he made sure she felt the authority of a captain.
Claire knew she had made a mistake. When Captain Zhou sat on the edge of the bed to lecture her, she squatted beside the bed, nodding continuously for almost half an hour.
Appreciating her repentant attitude, Captain Zhou decided to impart some of his experiences to her later in the evening, depending on her capability.
... ...
Soon, the starship arrived at the Dark Spot Highlands on Pluto.
The Dark Spot Highlands, a high-altitude red rock plateau, was a landmark of Pluto, much like the impact craters on the Moon.
The Coastline Fortress was situated on the Dark Spot Highlands.
The fortress was massive, with the internal area alone covering nearly 50 square kilometers.
If the outer defensive lines and other areas were included, the total area of the Coastline Fortress would be close to 200 square kilometers.
However, the construction of the fortress was not yet complete.
Looking down from above, the Coastline Fortress only had its defensive line completed, while other aspects of construction were still ongoing, with personnel and machinery everywhere.
But it was normal for it not to be fully constructed yet.
Since the fall of Pluto until now, it had only been about two months.
Even with the advanced construction technology available, it was impossible to build a large-scale war fortress in just two months.
Captain Zhou estimated it would take another two to three months.
The starship smoothly docked at the landing site, and Captain Zhou led Claire off the ship.
As the commander of the Defense Forces of the Research Department, he had over a thousand troops under his command, but in reality, he only needed to manage five people.
A starship fleet captain.
Three combat group leaders of the Mobile Forces.
One strategic group leader of the Strategic Forces.
He only gave orders, and these five individuals would pass on and execute the commands.
"Atten-tion!"
"Sir!"
As they disembarked from the starship, a crisp salute echoed across the landing site.
"This is my unit!"
Captain Zhou looked to his right, where a formation of three hundred and ten troops stood. They were all clad in the same space armor as him, with a black base and red skull insignia.
He hadn't required the troops to wear this armor; it seemed to be a voluntary organization within the unit.
This was due to his popularity.
Claire had told him that he was not only famous on Mars, but also had a significant reputation on any planet within the Federation with influence.
His video of single-handedly taking down tank beetles had spread widely throughout the Federation and even became the focus of recruitment advertisements for the Mobile Forces, skyrocketing his popularity.
Furthermore, his path to promotion had also been exposed.
The Third Class Soldier Squad Leader, Defense Force Second Lieutenant Platoon Leader, Special Operations Force Lieutenant Platoon Leader, and Defense Force Captain Commander in the Research Department.
In just a short three and a half months, he climbed from a Third Class Soldier to a Captain Commander.
As a result, Butcher and Red Skull became the targets of countless Mobile Infantry soldiers. They wanted to don the Red Skull armor and become the next Butcher.
"I have only one requirement for all of you," he said. "Receive orders, execute orders, complete orders."
"If anyone fails, they will be stripped of my armor and sent back where they came from. Do you all understand?"
Zhou Yuan walked slowly to the front of the formation, scanning the crowd before shouting in a cold voice, "Understood, sir!"
The synchronized response resounded, and Zhou Yuan nodded slightly, continuing, "Team leader, stay behind. The platoon leader will lead the team back. Dismissed!"
"Follow me!"
"Gather at Training Ground No.2!"
Upon hearing Zhou Yuan's words, the queue of over three hundred people immediately dispersed, leaving only four captains in place.
Masha, Kenny, Jerome from the Mobile Infantry, and Marcus from the Strategic Forces.
These four captains, along with Claire, the Major and Ship Captain, formed Zhou Yuan's core command group.
In simple terms, they were Zhou Yuan's deputies.
"Marcus, tell me about the status of the troops," Zhou Yuan first looked at Marcus, the leader of the ten-person strategic group.
"Sir, everything is arranged."
"Daily training, routine duty, and external defense have been discussed with the three operational leaders, and we have come up with a schedule."
"The schedule is waiting for your approval in the office. However, before taking you to the office area, you may need to visit the Research Department."
"The Minister of the Research Department has been waiting for you and has been urging me for the past three days, asking me to bring you to see him as soon as you arrive at the fortress."
Marcus reported briefly.
The strategic group was responsible for the operation of the troops, essentially the logistics headquarters, while the operational and flight groups handled the remaining tasks.
"Lead the way," Zhou Yuan nodded.
... ...
Ten minutes later, Marcus brought Zhou Yuan to the Research Department and stopped at the entrance of a laboratory.
The Research Department was located underground in the fortress, on the eighth floor below ground level.
The ninth and tenth floors were the training area and dormitories for the Defense Force, conveniently sandwiching the tenth floor in between.
"Sir, the Minister is inside. We don't have access permission."
"Go on with your tasks. I'll inform you if there's anything."
Zhou Yuan nodded and used his identification card to open the door, walking into the research laboratory alone.
There weren't many people in the lab, only three individuals, one of whom was Anderson Morgan, who had brought Zhou Yuan here.
The three of them gathered around a table, tinkering with the minerals placed on it.
"Commander, Private Zhou Yuan reporting for duty in the Defense Force!"
Zhou Yuan took a few steps forward and saluted from a distance of about ten meters, calling out.
"What the...?"
"Thank goodness, you're finally here!"
"You have no idea, before you showed up, I always felt this fortress was insecure, like there were bugs watching me!"
Morgan turned around and joyfully greeted Zhou Yuan, patting his chest plate.
"Thank you for your trust, Commander."
Zhou Yuan's lips curled slightly. He had gained the attention of his superior early on, which meant his future days would be prosperous.
"Professor, our captain's name is Zhou, not Cao."
"I know a little Chinese, and in their language, Cao seems to mean... erm... something vulgar."
At that moment, a younger-looking researcher standing next to Morgan murmured quietly.
"Good!"
Upon hearing his words, Zhou Yuan internally gave him a thumbs up.
He couldn't really tell Morgan about this, after all, Morgan was his superior. If the commander wanted to call him by a certain name, so be it.
"Zhou?"
"Zhou, believe me, I didn't mean to insult you. I just can't pronounce your alphabet properly."
"You know, learning a new language is not an easy task for an old man like me."
"But I think I have a way to express my apology. Come over here!"
Morgan hurriedly apologized, without a trace of the airs of a federal-level scientist and brigadier general.
As he spoke, he inexplicably became excited.
Before Zhou Yuan could say anything, Morgan pulled him towards the depths of the research laboratory, and Zhou Yuan could only follow along.