Chapter 00060: Promoted Again
# Promoted Again
Chapter 60
Novel: Abandon The Universe
Chapter 60: Promoted Again
"A Xu, do you know why True Promise Star, even though it's already a Level-2 Technological Civilization Planet, still has such good air?" Lan Xiaobu lowered his voice to ask.
A Xu was already used to Lan Xiaobu's low-level questions and chuckled, "True Promise Star is like our Blue Asia Star, both have been polluted. However, they spent a lot of effort purchasing planetary purification equipment from a Level-7 Technological Civilization Planet. This kind of equipment is very expensive and not easy to acquire."
So that's how it is, Lan Xiaobu thought to himself. Even if advanced civilization technology is discarded, to develop it, the first step is still to pollute the air.
He wondered if such planetary purification equipment from a Level-7 Technological Civilization Planet could be brought to Earth, and if it had any hidden locators.
Out of the hundred-people escort team, only half had arrived so far. Xiong Jinli had no hesitation in selecting a few more squads to make up the hundred. Just as A Xu said, Xiong Jinli chose those with higher scores in the technology assessment.
These new military squads, except for Lan Xiaobu's Peacekeeping Squad which had only five people, mostly had ten members. Only a few squads, due to a lack of personnel, were made up of seven or eight people. Even so, they had more people than Lan Xiaobu's squad.
"Lan Xiaobu," Xiong Jinli's gaze fell on Lan Xiaobu's officer badge as he called out.
Lan Xiaobu was the first to step to the right, responding to the Tianluo Star escort mission.
Lan Xiaobu naturally stepped forward and saluted, "One-Star Junior Lieutenant Lan Xiaobu reporting to Commander Xiong, awaiting orders."
Seeing Lan Xiaobu take the initiative to salute, Xiong Jinli was even more satisfied. He returned the salute and said, "Lan Xiaobu, you are now appointed as the officer of this escort team and promoted to Two-Star Lieutenant. I hope you can lead the squad and successfully complete this escort mission."
After Xiong Jinli finished speaking, someone beside him handed over a new officer badge. Xiong Jinli gave the new badge to Lan Xiaobu with both hands. Lan Xiaobu quickly accepted it and saluted, "Yes, I guarantee the completion of the mission."
Lan Xiaobu never expected that just by stepping forward first, he would be promoted to Two-Star Lieutenant.
The badge in his hand was yellow, with two stars, and his name was freshly engraved on it, "Lan Xiaobu, Star Expedition Army Lieutenant."
To be honest, the promotion was too easy. He hadn't done anything yet and had already been promoted from a blank slate to Two-Star. The badges of Ker and the others beside him were blank, not even a single star.
The people around looked at Lan Xiaobu with envy. If they had known that stepping forward would get them promoted, they would have done so earlier. They were all Junior Lieutenants, so why did stepping forward make him a Lieutenant?
Although they thought this, no one dared to say anything. Lan Xiaobu's reputation as a Lieutenant was already known, not only living in the best place in West Cloud Lake but also taking down the ruthless Lenna from a Level-2 Technological Civilization Planet on the first day.
"New recruits participating in the Starry Sky Combat, report to the Starry Sky Combat Training Camp tomorrow. You are allowed to bring your battle shuttles to the camp. New recruits participating in the escort mission, depart from the Interstellar Tower in ten days, no battle shuttles allowed, dismissed." Xiong Jinli announced the schedule and dismissed the new recruits.
As for what mission the people they were escorting were going to participate in, it wasn't mentioned. After all, they were just the escort team, and the mission had nothing to do with them.
"Lieutenant Lan, congratulations!" As Lan Xiaobu became a Lieutenant, a group of Junior Lieutenants and soldiers came to congratulate him.
Lan Xiaobu responded to them briefly and said, "Everyone, we have a hundred people here, and in ten days, we will head to the distant Tianluo Star. This is both a danger and an opportunity for us. During these ten days, you can go to the military market for supplies. In ten days, we'll gather at the Interstellar Tower on True Promise Star, dismissed."
...
Whether participating in the Starry Sky War or taking on the escort mission, the first thing was a big purchase.
The Star Expedition Army rarely went out for procurement, mainly in the Star Expedition Army City. Except for some war supplies and scarce resources, most things were available in the Star Expedition Army City, provided you had money.
Naturally, procurement requires money. Back at the camp villa, Lan Xiaobu immediately entered Kunlun. The pile of purple things stacked in the corner of Kunlun was undoubtedly Starry Sky Gold.
Lan Xiaobu picked up one piece. Each piece of Starry Sky Gold was as thick as a regular bank card and only half the size of a bank card. Lan Xiaobu squeezed it hard, and with his strength, only a faint mark appeared on the Starry Sky Gold.
Looking at the markings on the Starry Sky Gold, it had a number one and a starry sky pattern.
He didn't know how much gold this piece of Starry Sky Gold could be exchanged for, but regardless of the amount, Lan Xiaobu put all the Starry Sky Gold into his ring.
He had many things to purchase, including some commonly used knives, various equipment used in the starry sky, and meat. This meat could be frozen in Kunlun and would be for Gudao to eat in the future.
He wondered what Gudao's expression was like the first time it followed Ker to eat fresh meat. The few pieces of jerky left in his rations were something Gudao only ate a small bite of each month, licking a little every day. Now that it was used to fresh meat, it probably wouldn't even look at the jerky it used to lick. Besides common equipment and meat, Lan Xiaobu also planned to buy some communicators. Communicators were different from phones; wireless phones were limited by signal strength, and if the interference was too great, the signal would be unclear. Communicators were different; they only had a positioning function. Although they could also be interfered with, they could still show a general location.
After a day, Lan Xiaobu hired a vehicle to bring back a full load of supplies to the camp. What disappointed him was that chiselite was truly unavailable, even with money, it couldn't be purchased.
While Lan Xiaobu was making large purchases outside, Ker and the others were also out shopping. This trip to Tianluo Star was seen as carrying one's life in their hands. A slight mistake could cost their lives in the starry sky. So no one saved money; they used everything they could.
When Lan Xiaobu returned, Ker and the others hadn't come back yet. Lan Xiaobu thought for a moment and decided to temporarily move Kunlun away from the Star Expedition Army's jurisdiction.
He wanted to store Kunlun in his ring. Even though Kunlun had methods to block aerial surveillance, Lan Xiaobu still didn't dare to do it inside the camp. However, Kunlun was too large and heavy. Lan Xiaobu tried multiple times but couldn't store it in the ring. In the end, he used the slope's force and controlled it with his divine sense to bring Kunlun into the ring. However, taking it out of the ring was simple.
Lan Xiaobu didn't understand what the problem was. He only knew that his divine sense hadn't reached a certain level, making it impossible to store Kunlun anywhere at will.
Leaving was quick, but returning was slow. By the time Lan Xiaobu returned to the camp, it was already midnight.
Ker and the others hadn't gone to bed; everyone was waiting for Lan Xiaobu.
They all went to the Star Expedition Army City to shop, and they should have returned long ago. They worried about Lenna's accomplices since Lenna was a ruthless person from a Level-2 Technological Civilization Planet, and having accomplices wasn't surprising.
"Lieutenant, why are you back so late? Where's your Kunlun?" Seeing Lan Xiaobu return exhausted to the camp, everyone waiting came out. Not seeing Kunlun made Ker feel uneasy.
As a battle shuttle soldier, the battle shuttle was always a part of one's life. Now that Lan Xiaobu had returned, but his battle shuttle was missing, it naturally seemed odd.
Seeing that everyone was worried about him, Lan Xiaobu felt grateful. Although they were temporarily grouped together, the few people in the squad were quite decent.
"Don't worry, Kunlun is stored somewhere," Lan Xiaobu simply explained.
Although everyone knew that storing Kunlun in the military camp was the safest, Lan Xiaobu didn't want to keep the battle shuttle here, which was his choice. Despite the military camp being a place where strength reigned, anyone daring to steal would face only one outcome—death.
With nine days remaining, Lan Xiaobu continued to practice the Muscle-Tendon Altering Sutra while also training in the Spirit Refining Technique. Although his divine sense had grown to about ten meters, it was still short of reaching the second level. As for cultivation, after reaching the Meridian Opening Realm, no matter how he practiced, he could only temper his Inner Qi, unable to advance his Martial Dao Realm further.
Ten days later, with little gain, Lan Xiaobu brought Gudao and Ker, among others, to the Interstellar Tower on True Promise Star.
The Interstellar Tower, though directly under True Promise Star, was located within the Star Expedition Army's range. After Lan Xiaobu and his five arrived, the other new recruit squads also showed up.
A hundred people stood there, with Lan Xiaobu being the only one with a pet. Although many were puzzled, their Lieutenant hadn't gathered them for a briefing or training in ten days and now brought a pet. Those in the know understood it was for an escort mission for a galaxy selection team, while others might think it was a starry sky tour.
The five people they were to escort hadn't arrived yet, so Lan Xiaobu stepped forward and asked, "In the Star Expedition Army assessment, did anyone score over seventy in the first round?"
A fair-skinned young man stepped forward, "Lieutenant, my name is An Fei. I scored seventy in the first round and am now a Junior Lieutenant of the Wild Snow Squad."
Qin Yue was initially going to step forward, but seeing An Fei was a Junior Lieutenant, she hesitated and didn't.
Lan Xiaobu initially planned for Qin Yue to be the Operations Officer for this escort squad, but seeing her not step forward, he let it go, as her personality wasn't suitable.
"Very well," Lan Xiaobu nodded, "From now on, you are the Deputy Captain of our Peacekeeping Escort Team and the Operations Officer of our Peacekeeping Squad."
"Yes, thank you, Lieutenant," An Fei shouted excitedly.
"Now, everyone, form two columns, fifty people per column," Lan Xiaobu issued his first order as Captain.
An Fei repeated Lan Xiaobu's order with increased volume, "Everyone, form up..."
(End of Chapter)