Chapter 329: Commendation Ceremony, Death Toll Statistics

Lu Jing, you brat, are you in there?

It's exactly 4 a. m., the sky is dark, and Situjun is pounding loudly on Lu Jing's door.

Creak—

The door was pushed open from inside, and Lu Jing, wearing pajamas, came out with sleepy eyes.

What's up, Lord Seat? Why are you looking for me in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?

You brat, I actually wanted to sleep......

Situjun looked at Lu Jing's contented face, his expression somewhat dazed.

This brat just killed countless Illusory Beasts and a large number of Exotic Beasts in the Cave, yet he can sleep so soundly......

You really have guts, tell me—did you run to the 112 Regiment Defense Line tonight?

Yeah, I was bored and went for a stroll.

Lu Jing shrugged and said casually.

Just a stroll? You went on a killing spree, honestly—how many exotic beasts did you kill tonight?

Situjun stared at Lu Jing, his eyes wide.

Xiong Boda followed through, reporting Lu Jing's merits for coming to support.

The headquarters greatly praised Lu Jing's actions, publicly commending him, and will hold a collective commendation ceremony tomorrow morning.

Upon receiving the news, Situjun rushed over without delay.

Around six or seven hundred Illusory Beasts were killed, and the number of Exotic Beasts is too many to count—about the same, I guess......

Lu Jing walked to the water dispenser, poured a cup of water for Situjun, and asked, "What's up, Lord Seat? Isn't this allowed in the military headquarters?"

You can't prohibit killing Exotic Beasts?

Situjun gave Lu Jing a look and said, "You brat, you're different from everyone else—others all want to stay out of harm's way, avoiding the battlefield if they can, yet you sneak off to fight."

Lu Jing chuckled, noting that he gets crystal chunk rewards for killing exotic beasts, while others don't.

"Alright, I came just to see how you're doing, if you're hurt," Situjun muttered, looking at him with the eyes of one observing a monster: "You brat, having abundant energy is good, but you should also look after your own regiment here—my troops running another regiment's defense line is no small matter......"

"Don't worry, Lord Seat, I know—I'll definitely secure our regiment's defense line first before worrying about other regiments."

Lu Jing patted his chest in assurance.

"Mm, good."

Situjun nodded satisfied, thinking that personally funding Lu Jing's training was absolutely the right decision of his life.

Before leaving, he instructed: "In the morning, there's a commendation ceremony you need to attend, and I'll also confer a military rank on you."

Having said that, he walked out of the room.

Suddenly, Situjun remembered something, took out a walkie-talkie–like device from his pocket, and tossed it to Lu Jing.

"This is a communication device made with Energy Stone technology; you can use it to stay in touch between the Cave and the outside world. Keep it—you'll find it useful."

Inside the huge meeting room.

A marble table tens of meters long was set up.

Several dozen people in neat military uniforms sat upright in their seats.

Their gazes were focused on a large screen in front.

The screen showed senior commanders from all over, participating in this commendation ceremony via an online meeting.

"Please wait a moment; the main guest hasn't arrived yet."

Situjun sat in the seat of honor, with the seat to his right vacant.

On the desk corresponding to that seat lay a neatly stacked set of deep-green uniforms threaded with gold, along with a cap bearing an insignia.

This uniform was prepared especially for Lu Jing.

"He's really putting on airs—all the leaders are here, yet he won't come early, insisting on showing up at the last minute?"

A buzz-cut woman with a slightly nasal voice muttered discontentedly.

"Yang Zixin, I heard you got beaten up by Lieutenant Colonel Lu Jing—is that true?"

The slim man beside her laughed and asked.

"What's it to you? Shut your mouth!"

Yang Zixin jumped like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, her voice instantly rising: "I tripped on my own!"

After being slapped by Lu Jing that day, Yang Zixin sought out her brother, hoping he would help teach Lu Jing a lesson.

But upon learning Lu Jing's identity and background, he directly said he was powerless, even offering to personally apologize to Yang Zixin on her behalf.

After seeing her brother's attitude, Yang Zixin also realized she couldn't provoke Lu Jing, so she swallowed her anger.

"Lord Seat, I'm here."

The meeting room doors were pushed open, and Lu Jing entered with a calm expression.

"Hurry up and sit!"

Situjun cheerfully pulled out a chair for Lu Jing himself.

"Now that the main guest has arrived, let's begin."

Having said that, Situjun looked at the big screen, signaling that the senior officials of the military headquarters could begin.

The white-haired, stern-looking old man at the forefront nodded, his uniform adorned with various stars and floral decorations, indicating an extraordinary status.

"This time, the emergence of the A-rank Newborn Cave came somewhat unexpectedly; although we took countermeasures right away, some leaks occurred due to manpower shortages, causing negative effects......"

"Fortunately, the new recruit Lu Jing arrived in time, saving countless soldiers' lives—he should serve as a role model for the unit!"

"Specially conferring the rank of Lieutenant Colonel on Lu Jing, rewarding him with one thousand military points!"

As his words fell, everyone rose and applauded.

Lu Jing also stood and returned a military salute toward the screen.

After praising Lu Jing a few more sentences, the military department's big shots set aside the topic of Lu Jing and turned to studying the subsequent combat policy.

"Situjun, have the recent casualty statistics come out?"

The old man asked.

The data is out; so far, total casualties among ordinary soldiers are 5,800, among non-commissioned officers 1,000, among officers 600, and one field officer has died......

"Another field officer died?"

On the screen, a middle-aged man frowned and asked.

"Yes, Officer Li held the line alone, blasting hundreds of aberrant beasts with his own strength, and finally......"

"Officer Li, that's Li Wenliang, I remember him, a fine young man."

The old man sighed and said: "Have the bodies been brought back?"

"No......"

Situjun's gaze grew dim.

In the Cave battlefield, it's like this: once someone dies here, they are mostly swallowed whole by aberrant beasts, leaving not even a complete corpse.

"Then we still have to hold the funeral and properly settle the family......"

"Yes, I'll arrange it!"

"Hmm, tell me how the fronts under your legion are currently faring."

The old man tapped his finger on the table and asked in a low voice.

"The situation is not optimistic," Situjun said, picking up the remote and turning on the projection equipment on another wall.

"The aberrant beasts in this Cave are strange; not only do they have illusory beasts, but their attack frequency is also much higher than in other Caves, leaving the soldiers no time to rest."

"Or is it a manpower problem?"

The old man frowned, "Wasn't reinforcement already sent over?"