I was reborn after playing a good hand badly

Chapter 686 Communication

Su Mo's sudden action of getting up interrupted Song Yi's dilemma.

"Come with me."

She left the bar stool and walked towards the control room, with Song Yi following closely behind.

Walking to the end of the long table, next to the wall opposite the two restrooms, Su Mo estimated the size of the area, took out a suitable plastic sheet, and spread it out to cover part of the wall and floor.

Then, with a muffled "thump!", a green blob landed on the plastic sheet—the torso of a mantis.

Despite its slender build compared to other Zerg variants, the Mantis is the one besides the Centaurus that yields the most edible meat.

Su Mo also took out only the body part of the mantis beast because of the limited space inside the shuttle; its head and limbs had been cut off.

Without its long limbs, the mantis's body isn't actually that big. Placing it in the location Su Mo arranged wouldn't block her way to the control room or prevent others from using the restroom. Moreover, her route was already set, so she wouldn't need to go to the control room for a while.

Let Song Yi figure it out himself.

Su Mo pointed at the green blob and said, "Just deal with it here, don't make a mess of it."

Song Yi “…”

After a moment of surprise, he was overjoyed and said, "Okay, Principal, don't worry, I'll get it done as soon as possible."

It's so good that I don't have to put the insect corpses in the room I'm supposed to rest in!

They had just finished talking when the door to the room on the left opened silently.

Both of them were perceptive and instinctively turned their heads to look. It was Zhang Yide leading a group of people out.

The shuttle has been on its way for some time now. They've tidied up their rooms and held a short meeting. Now they're out looking for food.

Su Mo looked at Zhang Yide, the temporary squad leader.

"Is everything packed?" she said, pointing to the cabinet under the stove. "The daily necessities are all there. Take whatever you need."

The cabinets and freezers under the stove were crammed full, enough for these people to use for four or five days. The space was only so big, so Su Mo could only wait until they finished using them before taking more.

"Okay, I understand." Zhang Yide made a gesture, and the two team members behind him went to the stove. These two were in charge of cooking.

The Space Force considered many factors when selecting personnel for this operation. Among the selected soldiers were those with cooking skills. If conditions allowed, they would be used; if not, it wouldn't matter, since the supplies prepared for them included convenient food that didn't require cooking.

The stove area that Su Mo provided for the shuttle was not spacious. The two of them already took up most of the space by working together. If anyone else went to help, it would only cause trouble. So the others followed Zhang Yide to the long table.

The rest of the group found places to sit down. Zhang Yide walked over to Su Mo and the other person, looked at the things on the ground, and didn't offer any opinion.

He looked at Su Mo and said, "Su Mo, you've prepared everything so well. It's great that we can have a hot meal on this trip!"

"It's been a long time since we last met." He clasped his hands in a fist and bow to Su Mo, a greeting that has become popular among martial artists again.

Previously, the atmosphere was more formal with leaders present, but now Zhang Yide speaks much more casually.

"It has indeed been quite a long time. Let's go sit down."

Su Mo and Zhang Yide walked away, while Song Yi stayed beside the insect corpse, selecting suitable tools to prepare to dissect the flesh.

It's nothing. Who among us hasn't been through mountains of corpses and seas of blood? He wasn't worried about scaring anyone.

Su Mo and his companion sat down in an empty seat, one seat away from the other team members.

Su Mo thought back to the last time they met was during the college entrance examination period. Zhang Yide went to Yan Jin's place for a free meal. At that time, Su Mo never imagined that the two of them would become relatives later.

"Did you take the entrance exam for a military academy?" Su Mo asked.

Zhang Yide nodded.

"Back then, I applied to the military academy in the southern province. Tsk, you disappeared later without a trace. Back then, sigh."

Su Mo did not interrupt the other party's performance, but listened to Zhang Yide recount his bumpy college life and some major events that happened afterward.

Not long after he enrolled, Blue Star suffered a massive insect outbreak. At that time, Zhang Yide was still a freshman and was not assigned to the front line. He was moved back to the inland and continued his military academy studies in a different place.

The situation was dire at the time. He was sent to the army before he even graduated, and naturally, he was assigned to a unit under the jurisdiction of the Southern Province Military Region. From then on, he officially entered the Zerg battlefield.

Years of battlefield training and military merits earned him a promotion from ordinary sergeant to major. Yes, due to the special circumstances of that period, military academy students who were forced to discontinue their studies and enter the battlefield did not have higher positions; promotions were all based on military merits.

It wasn't until Su Mo returned that the humans launched a major counterattack.

After the situation in Xia Kingdom stabilized, news spread that the military was going to establish a space force, and Zhang Yide also learned about it.

His name appeared on the first list of applicants for the Space Force, and he was successfully admitted.

That's right. People like Zhang Yide, who are in the Southern Province Military Region but do not have original naval status, need to participate in selection and assessment to join the Space Force. Only those who pass the assessment can join.

Such selection and assessment are open to the entire military and are currently scheduled to be conducted twice a year. In other words, if you want to join the Space Force, you must first enter the military system.

Among the thousands of soldiers and officers in the Xia Kingdom's military, there are countless people who want to join the Space Force. Who doesn't want to conquer the stars and the sea?

Moreover, this comes at a time when the Zerg problem is about to be completely resolved.

If they don't join the Space Force and enter new battlefields, their chances of making contributions will be drastically reduced, which is something many people who have become accustomed to the daily combat during the insect plague are unwilling to accept.

The insect plague has reshuffled the world, and no one can shake the Xia Kingdom's dominant position afterward.

The military's role will primarily be deterrence in the future; what missions will it be able to undertake?

If we were to send them back to the days before the insect plague, when even exploring a secret realm required queuing and allocation, that would be a truly miserable experience.

Even though Xia Kingdom now controls far more secret realms than before, the military is much larger. Tragically, most of these secret realms are still held by the Association, this fierce tiger.

There are simply too many wolves and not enough meat. If we don't hurry up and find a new way out, are we just going to wait to retire? The Space Force is the best place that soldiers can see right now.

Zhang Yide is very proud that he was among the first batch of people to be admitted to the Space Force. His family says he is well-informed and quick-witted.

“Starting from the second batch of selections, those who enter the Space Force will be demoted by one rank.”

"Others would be willing to do that?" Su Mo asked in surprise.

Zhang Yide's expression froze, and his previous smug look vanished. He really wanted to slap himself for blurting everything out.

"It's clearly stated in the rules, but it's not mandatory," he explained sheepishly, not intending to elaborate.