Chapter 349

2112 October to December.

The expeditionary force, with Robert as commander-in-chief, continued to carry out sterilization operations against the Green-Skin Empire—that is, extermination orders on planets occupied by green-skinned orcs—consuming the stockpiles of various strategic weapons.

During this period, the expeditionary force encountered only eleven orc chieftains and the fleet they commanded, but…

Yet the expeditionary force possessed a shield world with a diameter of as much as seven thousand kilometers.

The outcome was obvious: the chieftains and their fleet were outright scorched to nothing by the beam array, leaving no debris; moreover, since acquiring the shield world, the expeditionary force's casualty count has permanently stood at 4,823,667, never increasing by even one.

After all, in the face of absolute firepower, the orcs at this stage are like a mantis trying to stop a chariot.

Thus, the expeditionary force's progress was quite smooth, a clean sweep all the way, but Rog and the Glory Fists, handling logistics, were not exactly at ease, and because the front lines stretched, their transport burden even increased.

Speaking of Rog, one cannot fail to mention the Titanium people who were the first to invade the prehistoric planet; they too were completely wiped out by the 'idle' Glory Fists.

Over five thousand new recruits, after three months of continuous combat, had already become qualified Astartes, but their achievements and age were still insufficient to directly join their respective legions, so they still needed to serve twenty to thirty years as reserves.

As for Sarah Kerrigan, under NuoWa's guidance and instruction, she can already flexibly use her own talent; in terms of spiritual energy volume she is already not inferior to her mentor NuoWa, only her skill and experience are somewhat lacking.

January 2, 2113, the expedition officially succeeded.

Kelakesi, Angelong, and Shengjilesi first led their respective units back to their own star regions, while Robert went to the Solar System to report; Leon's Dark Angels, and the three thousand warships from four star regions, however, remained in the occupied zone per Sui Bian's order.

Excluding the occupied zone, human territory now spans the entire Orion Arm, with seven star regions in total; at the core is the Solar Star Region, which has no OriginalBody governor, and its defensive forces consist of the main fleets of the Glory Fists, Tuthmosis, and the UNSC 1st Fleet, etc.

The remaining are, respectively, the border fortification located 'above' the Solar Star Region,

'left side' the Limit Star Region,

'lower left' the Redemption Star Region (governor Kelakesi),

'directly below' the Oslo Star Region (governor Rus),

'right side' the Musan Star Region (governor Angelong),

'upper right' the Angelia Star Region (governor Shengjilesi).

and the Forge Star Region, which borders the Solar and Limit Star Regions, whose governor is Feilusi, also the most inconspicuous among the many OriginalBodies.

The main reason is that Feilusi is busy directing the construction of various types of warships for his brother legions and the UNSC, also providing different vessels for the UEG, Umbrella, and colonial organizations; now Feilusi also needs to oversee the construction of eleven homeworlds (one of which is for Sui Bian).

Thus, the star region whose capital is Zhi Yuan Star is called the Forge Star Region, the heavy-industry hub of human territory.

Meanwhile, the Musan and Angelia Star Regions are humanity's 'granary', while the Redemption, Border, and Oslo Star Regions 'produce' experienced soldiers.

Managed by Robert, the Limit Star Region also has the largest territory and population; although it has no particularly outstanding items, it excels in every aspect.

Yet among all OriginalBodies, only Leon, after reaching adulthood, has consistently followed his father; his Dark Angel Legion also serves as his father's 'bodyguard' and 'enforcer', with no chance for independent development.

Thus, Sui Bian handed over the occupied zone, once the Titanium Empire and parts of uninhabited space, with a diameter of a thousand light-years, to Leon and the Dark Angels to manage, and left Leon with three thousand warships, as well as nearly two hundred million UNSC personnel aboard those ships.

Three thousand and two hundred million sound like a lot, but when spread evenly across a thousand-light-year domain, they feel utterly insufficient, calling for 'the more the better'.

Rog and the Glory Fists will temporarily station on the prehistoric planet to provide Leon with ample supplies, until the situation in the occupied zone is completely stabilized.

On January 6, 2113, Sui Bian, in his capacity as chairman, explained some battle details to society, also named the occupied zone the 'Holy Temple' Star Region, and announced the appointment of Leon as governor of the Holy Temple Star Region.

January 10.

Robert personally led the Limit Legion, escorting Shield World 003 out of the Rift Space to reach the Kuiper Belt at the edge of the Solar System.

Afterward, Robert personally carried the memory storage to Earth's Raccoon City, handing it over to the hive so that Umbrella's senior researchers—such as BoKen, Wang Zhaofeng, Zigler, Rebecca, and Alekxia—could conduct research.

The White Queen is responsible for assisting these researchers, quickly digesting the nanobiological, bio-exoskeleton, and Halo (Superweapon) technologies, as well as ark construction tech, from the Administrators' civilization.

As for the Red Queen, she accompanies Sui Bian to the Shield World and assists her 'boss' in fully taking over control of the Shield World.

The handover procedure went fairly smoothly.

The storage device shows an almost completely obedient attitude toward humanity as reclaimers; moreover, the Shield World is itself one of many legacies the Administrators left for humanity.

Thus, humanity no longer needs to worry that, when clashing with other hostile species, an Olympus-class flagship would lack sufficient deterrence.

Note that a diameter of seven thousand kilometers is already larger than Mars's diameter of 6,779 kilometers.

Imagine being 'face-mounted' by a planet; no matter what, it is far more shocking than a twenty- or hundred-kilometer warship.

Next.

The UEG officially issued the latest colonial policy, preparing to gradually draw population into the Holy Temple Star Region, seeking to bring this star region, which does not border the main territory, into regular status as soon as possible.

——————

…

"Attention passengers, I am the captain of this flight, Liu Songjian; we are expected to exit the Rift Space in about one minute, at which point passengers seated by the window can directly see our destination, Finnris."

"Finnris's metropolitan time is March 14, 17:45, weather good, very suitable…"

Inside the cabin.

Most of those who heard the captain's announcement stood up, taking their handbags and small luggage from the racks; some lightly dressed travelers chose to ignore the broadcast, only waiting to rise and leave their seats when the cruise ship docks at the starport.

The 'female passenger' seated at the far right of the cabin, by the window, likewise chose to ignore the broadcast—no, it seems she didn't hear it at all—and she is leaning back against the comfortable seat, mouth slightly open, emitting a 'huh-ha' as she snores, Sarah Kerrigan.

Her scattered red hair, tousled from her sideways head‑toward‑window sleeping pose, is somewhat messy and even picked up static, clinging to her white sweatshirt.

But this sleeping pose…

Really clashes with her beautiful, delicate face.

But this doesn't stop the young guys, who are waiting for Sarah to wake up to look for a chance to flirt; if possible, they also want to use the dinner hour as an excuse to try asking Sarah out for a drink, hoping the alcohol might let them go further.

After all, a girl who looks frail and fresh out of the boondocks surely can't hold her liquor either.

Sarah slept through the cruise ship exiting the Rift Space, entering Finnris's atmosphere, decelerating, and hovering above the starport without waking, until the broadcast played the disembarkation reminder again…

"Ugh… so tired…!"

Sarah then opened her eyes, with tears glistening at the corners, and stretched vigorously; she seemed to have slept well.

Afterward she stood up, grabbed her black travel bag, and left the cabin with the other passengers, following the flight attendants' guidance to the gravity lift.

Speaking of, Sarah's taking a civilian vessel back to Finnris is actually her plan to tour the various star regions of human territory once the expedition ends.

With the expedition's conclusion, Sarah naturally completed the rookie assessment, earning approval from the company and many Astartes recruits, and her application to join the Space Wild Wolves auxiliary force was also approved.

Thus, she prepares to treat herself as 'currency', wanting to first experience the different cultures of various star regions before fighting for humanity to the death.

Travel expenses…

Naturally, it was dad Gen Luo Xige De who helped chip in, allowing her to simply 'scan her face' or 'scan her wrist' wherever she went to complete biometric payment.

As for the Starlight Sword and the HES combat uniform given by NuoWa, along with related equipment, she sent them back via the company's internal channel, 'express delivery', to the flagship Beowulf of the 13th Battalion.

Finally, after Sha La had spent two months making a full circle, she took the cruise ship's 'following wind' short-haul cabin and finally returned to Fen Li Si.

And upon arriving at the gravity lift…

"Hey, beautiful, want to grab a drink later? My treat." A young guy, spotting the opportunity, stepped forward to hit on her.

Sha La leaned on the handrail, watching the scenery outside the window shift from dim, narrow metal tracks to a spacious, bright urban area; she shrugged, didn't even glance at the young man, and politely declined: "You can't afford my treat, and besides, if you don't want to get beaten up, you'd better stay away from me."

"Uh... okay, sorry to bother you."

The guy who got doused with cold water took the hint and left.

The other young men who hadn't yet had a chance to act, upon witnessing this scene, saw their eager little flames of desire instantly extinguished.

As for Sha La, she had actually already sensed the emotional fluctuations of nearby people through Spiritual Perception, but simply chose not to pay attention.

Soon.

The lift equipped with the anti-gravity system carried Sha La and the others into the starport's main hall.

The gate opened.

Upon walking into the hall…

"Hahaha, our little sister is finally back!!"

"Yoohoo~! Our little sister has gotten even prettier, stylish!"

"Come on, brothers, let's take you for drinks! The battalion commander, that old guy, won't care today!"

Soon, a group of Space Wild Wolves in gray-blue training uniforms, on vacation, strode over and gathered around Sha La in the blink of an eye.

Then, one of the Wolves helped carry her travel bag, while another lifted Sha La up and placed her on his broad left shoulder.

Just as she settled in, Sha La 'showed her true colors', waved her hand, and boldly declared: "Drink! Barbecue! Fight!!"

"Drink!!"

A pack of Wolves ignored the strange looks from bystanders and led Sha La out of the starport.

"…"

The guy who had first hit on her stood frozen in place, seemingly… understanding the words "If you don't want to get beaten up, stay away from me."

It turned out that wasn't just an excuse to refuse; it was a fact!

People had never heard of an Astate maliciously harming others, or using their identity as a "super soldier" and "son of the chairman" to cause trouble during leave, let alone commit "massacre" incidents.

After all, Astate possess extraordinary self-control, and their absolute loyalty to their father leaves no room for actions that betray honor and belief.

However…

If the Wolves who came to greet her saw that guy clinging to Sha La, refusing to let go, they would let him experience what it's like to be "stared down by a giant until his hairs stand on end".

As the Wolves and Sha La departed the starport, merged into the crowd, and disappeared around the corner, this marked the complete conclusion of Sha La Kai Rui Gan's rookie trial.

——————

…

"Thud, thud."

Heavy footsteps echoed with a steady rhythm.

One could see an Astate wearing a form-fitting training uniform and simple protective gear, walking down a dark, quiet street styled like the 1980s–90s.

However, this Astate stood a towering 3.3 meters tall, his build far more massive than that of his fellow Astate brothers.

At this moment, he scanned his surroundings, sensing that someone worth watching might be lurking in the shadows.

Suddenly!

Shadows flashed past, scaling the walls at incredible speed with no sound, then leaping up together to lunge at the Astate's back.

Under the streetlights, the full appearance of these shadows finally became clear: they had smooth, dome-shaped heads and hard exoskeletons—these were Xenomorphs…

They were not the generic term for all alien species (Xenos), but specifically the Xenomorph—one of the first alien species encountered by Umbrella, and also the raw material for Umbrella's acid weapons, medicines, and other products.

It was obvious that these Xenomorphs, launching a swift ambush, were merely training props cultivated by Umbrella.

As for the Astate simultaneously under attack by many Xenomorphs, he seemed to have sensed the anomaly early, turned calmly, and then moved with even greater speed, even producing an afterimage: he first crushed one Xenomorph's skull with his left hand, then gripped another's long tail with his right hand and whipped it like a whip…

"Bang!" The carapace exploded.

"Sizzle…" strong acid corrosion.

In just a few seconds, this Astate dispatched thirty-two Xenomorphs barehanded.

The strong-acid blood sprayed from the bursting and exploding Xenomorphs also splashed onto the Astate's body.

However, his combat suit and gear suffered severe corrosion, while the Astate's skin merely turned slightly red; moreover, his chest, shoulders, abdomen, and other parts bore symmetrical, neat black slots.

At that moment, inside the observation room directly above the district…

"Sui." Alekxia, hands on her hips, continued to watch the test unfolding in the district via hologram, and smiled at Sui Bian standing beside her: "Looks like Constantine's surgery was a great success."

"Exactly." Rebecca, also standing in the observation room and still wearing her short hair, nodded in agreement: "Constantine's data perfectly met expectations; it's time to let all the guards take part in this project."

(End of chapter)