Tang Ce left the central square and quickly shuttled through the streets. The lizard's ability to change color to adapt to the environment made passers-by not notice his presence. However, as soon as he passed the corner of the street, a blue thinking tentacle suddenly stuck accurately to the back of his head.
The tentacles seemed to be mixed with the moist breath of sea water, and the places touched by them were icy and cool and very comfortable. A low and old voice sounded in my mind: "Major Tang Ce, please follow me."
Tang Ce was stunned. This familiar voice was... He didn't look back, but followed the other party stiffly into a black hovercraft.
The hover car started the automatic driving mode and quickly blended into the traffic on the street, heading towards the suburbs of the capital star.
Tang Ce sat in the back row and asked in a low voice: "Who sent someone to rescue me? General Xie?" He was a member of the Star Legion, and the only person he could think of who sent someone to rescue him was General Xie.
The voice said, "General Xie didn't know you were still alive, much less that you were imprisoned in the White Tower."
Tang Ce was stunned for a moment, and a chill suddenly rose up his spine: "Who deliberately concealed the fact that I am alive?!"
The man said, "It's me."
A beautiful transparent jellyfish floated silently to Tang Ce's forehead. The jellyfish was only the size of a palm and seemed harmless, but it was actually extremely dangerous. Almost instantly, Tang Ce felt a terrible mental suppression -
Tang Ce was stunned for a moment before he trembled and said, "Marshal... Marshal...?"
Marshal Qin Xiao said in a deep voice: "You are the only survivor of the Starlight Corps reconnaissance battalion. Once the news of your survival leaks out, those people will never spare your life. So, after I rescued you, I modified your information and disguised you as an ordinary berserker sentinel and imprisoned you in the basement of the White Tower. The White Tower may seem dangerous, but since there are a large number of berserker sentinels imprisoned there, you will not attract attention if you stay in the White Tower."
"..." Tang Ce's eyes couldn't help but become moist. Of the hundreds of elite members of the Starlight Corps' reconnaissance battalion, he was the only survivor? Were all his comrades really wiped out? !
Tang Ce choked up and said, "Thank you, General..."
The marshal said in a hoarse voice: "The General Xie you mentioned is no longer here. The current commander of the Starlight Legion is her sister Xie Chen."
Tang Ce fell silent. In the dark underground prison, he spent his days in a daze, not knowing how much time had passed. General Xie, who had guided him, promoted him, and whom he regarded as a mentor, had also died...
The Marshal seemed to see his confusion and whispered, "Today is May 7th, 500th year of the Star Calendar. It has been exactly five years since that disaster."
During these five years, Tang Ce's mind was blank. After he went berserk, he lost his mind, and the world in his eyes was only dark. He would instinctively attack any "threat" that approached him. His body seemed to be chained up. At first he struggled madly, but later, he was shocked by strong electric currents 24 hours a day, and gradually became numb, and even his brain could not feel the pain.
Over the years, the Marshal should have arranged for a guide to visit him and treat him. Otherwise, with such a serious illness, he would have been deformed into a half-human, half-beast monster, or he might have died long ago.
“… Thank you, Marshal, for saving my life.” Tang Ce said gratefully.
"I'm sorry that you've suffered all these years." The marshal sighed and patted the young sentry's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I didn't know how many of their people were around me back then. For your safety, I had to lock you up in the White Tower Prison for easier care. I need to wait for the right time to release you. You are a very important general of ours. Now is the time for you to take action."
Tang Ce took a deep breath and saluted the old man in the back row with a standard military salute: "Marshal, please give your orders. Tang Ce will complete the task!"
***
Yu Ran returned to the seventh floor of the White Tower calmly.
Moore saw him and smiled, "Of course, you're here to work overtime again?"
Since joining the Falcon Special Forces, Yu Ran would accompany Moore to work overtime every night. The Falcon Corps was responsible for the frenzied sentinels on the entire negative seventh floor. In addition to Moore, there were also guides from other departments. Everyone knew Yu Ran and said to Moore privately: "You have a good apprentice."
Mor was embarrassed to take Yu Ran as his apprentice. Yu Ran was the guide that Lu Zexuan had chosen. Mor just tried his best to teach this newcomer everything he knew, hoping that he could take over his job and assist Lu Zexuan in completing the task.
Meeting Moore's gaze, Yu Ran walked over with a smile and asked, "It's already ten o'clock, how many patients are left?"
Moore glanced at the cells and said, "There are only seven left in our area, and we can finish them tonight. These sentinels are lucky to have your help. You can repair and rebuild those whose mental images are severely damaged. They are all very grateful to you."
Yu Ran scratched his head embarrassedly: "I can only help a little, the main treatment still depends on you."
Moore smiled and said, "It's okay. Just learn slowly. One day, you will be able to stand on your own."
It was not until 12 o'clock in the morning that the two finished all their work and went upstairs together.
Lu Zexuan had finished washing up and was sitting on the sofa in his pajamas waiting for Yu Ran. Seeing Yu Ran coming back tired, Lu Zexuan hurriedly got up and handed him a glass of warm water, asking, "Are you tired?"
Yu Ran took a sip of water and said, "Fortunately, the cases tonight were not difficult, and we finally finished the parts assigned to us. Moore was very happy. With my help, he was much faster than other guides."
Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran's smile and his mood improved: "Rest early, there is more important work tomorrow."
Yu Ran asked curiously, "What job?"
Lu Zexuan said: "The Falcon Special Forces is recruiting new members. Are you interested in going with me?"
Yu Ran looked expectant: "Can I go too?"
Lu Zexuan nodded: "Of course, you are my...our guide, so it makes sense for you to go and see the new team members."
***
At the same time, the patrol personnel inside the White Tower went to the tenth underground floor for patrol as usual and unexpectedly discovered that the camera in the corridor was broken.
They checked each cell with a flashlight. There was nothing unusual in other cells, but the sentry in cell 103 was still tied up with chains, but his spirit body had disappeared and he lay with his head drooped, motionless.
The patrol leader was stunned: "Is he dead or fainted? Let's go in and take a look."
Two sentries wearing protective shields walked into the room and shone flashlights on his face for a closer look—the prisoner was indeed dead, and judging from the freezing temperature of his body, he must have been dead for more than two hours.
The sentry reported: "Captain, he is dead."
After the spiritual world of the frenzied sentinels collapsed, some would be distorted and become "half-orcs", but some would die directly because their bodies could not withstand the torture of the spiritual world. This sentinel died very quietly, which seemed to be the second case.
There was no sign of anyone else at the scene. But why did the camera in the corner suddenly break? The patrol leader went forward to check carefully and found that the camera was broken from the inside. Could it be that it had been used for too long and broke
The subordinate whispered, "Captain, should we report this to the White Tower and ask them to investigate?"
The patrol leader scratched his head and said, "Report it as an accidental death."
A moment later, the officer in charge of the White Tower Underground Prison arrived at the scene, made a brief inspection, and found no problems. He then said, "This sentry was a federal soldier. His body was cremated and the urn was buried in the Martyrs' Cemetery."
Everyone responded, “Yes, sir!”
The "corpse" left in the cell misled everyone - the sentry was dead.
They didn't know that it was the broken tail left by a lizard.
This is also the reason why the Marshal asked Yu Ran to rescue Tang Ce. If Tang Ce's spirit body was not a lizard, but another beast, the sentry in the cell suddenly disappeared, which was equivalent to the prisoner "escaping from prison", which would definitely trigger a large-scale investigation and search inside the White Tower.
However, when a prisoner "died", the officials in charge would not bother to investigate the cause of death. Anyway, these frenzied sentinels would die every once in a while, so they could just treat it as a death case.
Yu Ran did not sleep well that night.
It was not until dawn when no one came to investigate that he was completely relieved.
***
Today is May 8th, the day when all the major federal legions recruit soldiers.
Military academy graduates will complete their graduation examinations in May and choose the corps they want to join. This day is crucial for them. Joining different corps will determine their future destinies.
The campus of the First Federal Military Academy was filled with discussions.
"I still want to join the Starlight Corps. General Xie is so handsome, especially his spirit form, the Deep Sea Giant Shark. He's so handsome!"
"You may not be able to see her even if you go there. For recruits like us who only have C-level abilities, who knows if we will be sent to some remote star system to do hard labor? Unless we are A-level sentinels, we can go directly to the elite forces!"
"The most popular one is probably the Sunday Corps. I heard the treatment is better, and there are welfare bonuses at the end of the year."
"The Snow Leopard Corps is not bad either. Although the base is relatively remote, it is very safe there and there are not many polluted areas."
"I would like to join the Falcon Corps. I heard that General Lu has a mild temper, never gets angry, and is especially good to his subordinates!"
"Do you think anyone will sign up for the Falcon Special Forces this year?"
"The Falcon Special Forces has a high casualty rate, so there shouldn't be many people signing up, right?"
Graduates fill out their applications online. After preliminary review, each corps will select a group of A-level sentinels to join the elite troops, B-level sentinels to join the ordinary troops, and the rest will be admitted based on their abilities. If a corps is full, those who are not selected will consider their second choice, which is similar to filling out college entrance examination applications.
Lu Zexuan brought Yu Ran to the admissions office of the First Military Academy: "Director He, I want to see the registration information of the Falcon Corps."
Director He immediately and respectfully invited him and Yu Ran to sit in the meeting room next door, opened the folder in the laptop, served tea and water, and said with a smile: "General Lu, you are really responsible. Other legions sent personnel officers to recruit students, but you came here in person."
Lu Zexuan said: "I happen to be free recently, so I'd like to take a look at the Falcon Corps' recruitment situation this year."
He asked Yu Ran to sit next to him and opened the folder for applying for the Falcon Corps in his computer. As he expected, very few people checked the "Falcon Special Forces" in the volunteer column. After all, the sacrifice rate of this team was too high. Half of the people died in five years. Who would dare to come
If we can’t recruit more people, we can only transfer a few from the main force.
Lu Zexuan quickly scanned the information sheet, and suddenly, he found a student who had chosen the Falcon Special Forces as his first choice.
Tang Xiaorong, 20 years old, A-level sentinel, spiritual body is a chameleon tree lizard. This student has average academic performance, but excellent practical courses. He is an orphan whose parents have both passed away, and comes from the remote northern galaxy Ophiuchus S77 planet.
Lu Zexuan looked at the photo in the file and felt very relieved. He asked Director He, "Can I meet this Tang Xiaorong?"
Director He immediately said, "No problem, I'll notify the students right away."
A moment later, a tall student with a crew cut and wearing the uniform of the First Military Academy knocked on the door of the office. The student was very handsome and had a bright smile on his face.
Yu Ran almost didn't dare to recognize it.
Compared with Tang Ce who was rescued last night and was covered in scars, this "Tang Xiaorong" had less sharp facial features, his external injuries had healed, and he looked radiant - the injuries on his body were indeed not serious, they were all skin injuries caused by electric shock and friction from chains. For the treatment cabin that could regenerate broken limbs, these minor injuries could be repaired in minutes.
Just... a little more mature. After all, his real age is 27 years old.
Yu Ran calmly withdrew his gaze.
Tang Xiaorong only looked at Yu Ran curiously, then looked at Lu Zexuan, stood at attention and saluted: "General Lu."
The military academy students all saluted in a standard manner. Lu Zexuan returned the salute and asked in a low voice, "Do you want to join the Falcon Special Forces?"
Tang Xiaorong's answer was resounding: "Yes. Joining the Falcon Special Forces is my dream!"
Lu Zexuan asked: "Do you know what the Falcon Special Forces does?"
Tang Xiaorong answered fluently: "It is a special force of the Falcon Corps that performs difficult tasks. The team is full of elites. I have an A-level spiritual body, the Chameleon Tree Lizard, which meets the recruitment requirements of the special forces. Although the spiritual body of the lizard is not as aggressive as beasts and birds of prey, it can change color, sense temperature, and has strong climbing and jumping abilities. It will definitely be useful in the special forces."
Listening to his "self-promotional introduction", Lu Zexuan nodded and said, "The death rate of the Falcon Special Forces is as high as 50%. Aren't you afraid of death
Tang Xiaorong said firmly: "I am a federal soldier, how can I be afraid of death!"
Lu Zexuan: “…”
This student has a very high level of awareness, which is the character that a soldier should have.
Lu Zexuan admired his decisiveness and determination very much. Without hesitation, he took the initiative to extend his hand and said, "Welcome to join the Falcon Special Forces."
Tang Xiaorong excitedly stretched out his hand and shook his hand: "Thank you, General. It's my honor!"
Yu Ran pretended not to know the other person and took the initiative to greet him: "Hello, I'm the guide of the Falcon Special Forces, Yu Ran."
Tang Xiaorong said respectfully: "Hello, Guide Yu, please take care of me in the future."
Tang Xiaorong was obviously a fake identity of a military academy student for Tang Ce by the Marshal. The files were already prepared, and there would definitely be no loopholes. The Marshal sent Major Tang here not to deal with Lu Zexuan, but to assist Yu Ran in finding out the spy of the Falcon Special Forces - only by finding the person who tipped off the Dark Night Organization could Yu Ran realize his plan.
This plan cannot afford to go wrong. Therefore, Yu Ran needs a trustworthy assistant.
Speaking of which, the organization gave him a bottle of medicine and asked him to feed Lu Zexuan to finish it, but he hasn't fed Lu Zexuan even one pill yet. In the future, he has to "accidentally" let the spy see him feeding the medicine, so that in the future, it will be more credible that Lu Zexuan "went crazy and was controlled by Yu Ran".
As for normal times, Yu Ran had already secretly replaced the pills with white candies of similar shape.
Just give General Lu a few more candies.
(End of this chapter)