Within the Leray Federation, Bernadotte was a famous military institute commander, and even amongst the many generals who had experienced the battlefields, he was considered to be quite well-known amongst them. Especially within Miracolo Planet’s surface resistance groups, his calm and meticulous commanding skills were well praised.
This time, [Operation Lighting], which the Supreme Headquarters had planned, had been approved by him as well. Not only had he participated in the planning of this operation, he was also the supreme commander responsible for all the land-based army and the land-based aviation soldiers.
The proposed combat plan did not have any mistakes in itself; however, due to the fact that it had been leaked, the enacted plan did not attain the required abruptness and element of surprise, causing the enemy’s main forces to retreat from the various cities before they were surrounded. Although the Federation seemed to have gained plenty from this operation, due to the having spread its military power, speaking from the bigger picture, they had unknowingly fallen into a dangerous state.
If Tian Xing Jian’s deduction had not pointed pointed out such a problem, then once the Gyaca Woods Imperial Army finished assembling after a few days, with the Myth Legion dropping from the air into Catosi Canyon, the dispatched Federation Army would have been like a fish that had been nailed in the head.
Fortunately, Bernadotte was a wise commander. Seeing the deduction, he immediately dispatched three armored divisions and two aviation battalions to Catosi Canyon to fortify its defenses and thus enacting [Operation Ignition] overnight.
Under this order, the following changes on the enemy’s side had let Bernadotte know that this was the right course of action.
Currently, Gyaca Woods Empire had only occupied the Banfoli Mountain Pass, putting the two nations in a situation where they are forced to face each other again. As for looking at this from the perspective of the overall situation, the Federation had still retained some advantages from the previous operation. As a result, before the transport ships meant to rescue the captives from the rear enemy lines had lifted off, he passed down the second order: Tian Xing Jian was to be assigned to the combat planning department as a staff officer.
Seeing Tian Xing Jian once again, Bernadotte was, naturally, full of passion. This fatty was someone who would shine after giving a mere spark. At the very least, he was still conscientious enough to flatter these generals, portraying Bernadotte as a war god. He had also expressed humility by saying that he was merely a small soldier under the brilliant command of the general. If the general did not have great insights, then no matter how accurate a deduction was, it would be useless.
The two of them were appreciating each other’s talents and considered the other person as a worthy hero. In other words, one had insight and the other was a pearl [1].
Bernadotte gave Tian Xing Jian a smile before sitting down and asking, “First Lieutenant Tian, according to Division Commander Zhou, the reward which you have requested for your efforts this time is to keep everything a secret. Why is that so?”
Looking at the puzzled expressions on a few of the generals, Tian Xing Jian nodded in embarrassment. “Contribution to the Federation is something which one must do. The true heroes are those Federation soldiers who had been tortured and kept in the enemy’s concentration camp. Rescuing them was merely my duty as a soldier and as a minor character.”
The moment he finished speaking, the few generals laughed. Firstly, this fatty truly knew what to say. Secondly, the main character of the Federation government’s propaganda was placed similarly on the prisoners-of-war and the cruel experiments conducted within the concentration camp in order to to garner enough international attention, empathy, and support of the masses.
Most importantly, this operation started merely on the whim and fancy of Tian Xing Jian himself. During that situation, nobody had truly thought that he would be able to bring back those prisoners-of-war. Only after the Federation had seen a chance of success did they place their efforts into rescuing them, thus there were many matters better left unsaid. Fortunately, Tian Xing Jian made the request at the most important juncture in time and asked for the Division Commander of the 16th Division, Zhou Zhi Sen, to keep things a secret. After negotiations, the Supreme Headquarters decided to water down the matter, preventing the Federation government from claiming all the credit.
Right now in the Leray Federation, because of the stance taken by the Federation government and the military as well as this mysterious company commander, the population had been aroused passionately by this matter, and thus they exponentially increased their support for the government and military. Such an unexpected outcome led to everyone grinning from mouth to mouth, and at the same time, they became even more interested in this first lieutenant.
Bernadotte laughed out loud as he said, “First Lieutenant Tian, even though you requested for things to be kept a secret, we cannot let go of the efforts you have done this time, thus the Federation government and the military has decided to go through a serious round of discussions before agreeing to award you with the Purple Insignia Medal of Freedom in honor for your efforts in this resistance. Naturally, we’ll abide by your request and keep this declaration a secret.”
Fatty was startled so much that he did not believe what he had just heard. He had to ask again to confirm, “The Purple Insignia Medal of Freedom?”
Earning the Purple Insignia Medal of Freedom was the highest glory that any Federation soldier could obtain! This medal represented that after retiring, he would still be taken care of by the Federation for the rest of his life even if he did not work. It had also signified that he could knock on the doors of the President’s Office or the Supreme Headquarters anytime he wanted and give his opinions and recommendations for change. It also signified that any marshals or generals who did not have a similar medal would have to first salute and express proper respect to anyone who was an owner of this medal.
An eternal ticket to free food was definitely something that would move anyone’s heart. Though, for Fatty, the fact that anyone would have to salute him first was something he did not hold highly.
However, the moment Bernadotte placed the medal on his uniform and he saw the respect in the generals’ eyes as they saluted him, that glory had even made this wretched and immature person unable to close his gaping mouth even after he had exited the door.
The Special Scouts 1st Company, Second Platoon that had followed Tian Xing Jian were conferred a top group award as well as an individual Class A merit. First company had similarly been awarded a group Class B merit. The entire special scouts battalion had been promoted into a special scouts regiment, and Nadal would always spend his time thereafter sitting somewhere near the commando battalion, reading books or newspaper happily. The moment he stayed, he would stay there for an entire day.
Additionally, the orders for the new assignment were also sent down to him. The unit which Tian Xing Jian had been assigned to over a month ago remained unchanged—he was still assigned to the combat planning department of the 6th Research Unit as the lowest ranking staff officer.
In the forward combat planning department, other than several military cadets, the orderly officers were all, at the very least, of the captain rank. This first lieutenant being a staff officer had caused everyone to feel really awkward, but for Fatty, he did not mind this as much. Whoever he saw, he would greet respectfully with a “Greetings, officer.”
The director of the 6th Research Unit was a plump-looking, middle-aged colonel called Pater. He was over 50 years of age and gave off a friendly vibe. He had only recently taken over the position as the 6th Research Unit Director, as the former director, Colonel Frederick, had committed suicide after having been caught forging orders.
As a result, the moment Tian Xing Jian arrived in this research unit, he felt the atmosphere was really strange. Whenever people from other research units saw someone from the 6th Unit, they would give them looks of despise and wary looks. Similarly, the people from the 6th Research Unit would seemingly not look up at them; they would just carry on with their work lifelessly. Even during their everyday tasks, they would not really communicate to each other; only when Pater called for a discussion on the investigation plans would they assemble, and even then, only a few would speak.
This resulted in those sections where the 6th Research Unit was situated in to become a dull and dark corner in the combat planning department’s main building. Nobody would willingly come over, and the people within the unit would also rush from one point to the other by themselves without feeling angry about this at all.
Facing such a work environment, Fatty felt strange, but he was more than happy to work in such an environment. Firstly, it was because nobody would truly notice him, allowing him to remain low-profile and safe. Secondly, it was convenient because the work hours were really flexible. Pater was a really good person without any drive. As long as one finished the job assigned to him, he would really not care about other matters.
The concrete work given to Fatty was merely for him to be responsible in certain defensive deductions regarding the cities that were surrounded. Planning these deductions could not truly be considered a form of work. As long as he was aware of the current situations, the minute details, and the reliability of the data, inputting them into the computer forms was all that he had to do. Anything after that was none of his concern, as the immense deduction would be completed by the computer.
If one was observant, he would find out that most of the defensive plans were actually done by other research units. The 6th Research Unit had almost become a unit that mainly dealt with miscellaneous work.
This work was really light and relaxing. Other than going back home, the only other place Fatty would visit was the research laboratory, where he worked in an ambiguous environment with a beauty who had fallen in love for the first time. He would try to eat some beancurds [2] before being tortured by a blushing beauty while progressing with the research in improving the functions of the Battle Mechas in the lab. Afterwards, he would go back home to talk to Mei Duo and Ni Ya on the phone at a specific time. On the phone, he would flirt with the girls before trying to gain some mental advantages over them. For this unambitious, wretched person, it was truly the best days of his life, as he lived life like a deity.
As the life of Fatty proceeded along this track of stability, the online war simulation started to have some disturbances once again.
[1] The insightful person could identify a brilliant pearl.
[2] Meaning to flirt with girls