Chapter 003 His Talent Is Not Bad

As the newly appointed federal hero, Han Li received the medal of honor with a heavy heart. It seemed as if the medal weighed down on his chest, and his expression was not pleasant to look at.

 

It wasn't surprising to the Major General Tu Yuan, who awarded the medal. He also felt uneasy because every achievement of the federal military meant that a large number of soldiers had made sacrifices.

 

Some say that all the medals of honor are stained with the blood of enemies, symbols of glory. But on those medals, there wasn't just the blood of enemies; there was also the blood of their own people.

 

What was most heartbreaking was that most of those who sacrificed couldn't even wear their own medals. Many of their bodies were lost, making all the medals feel heavy.

 

"Casualties are inevitable. What's most important is to live on well and carry the will and spirit of our fallen comrades into battle," Major General Tu Yuan patted Han Li on the shoulder, then prepared to leave. Today, there was only one person who needed to receive the medal of honor because every soldier in Han Li's mecha combat unit, except him, had died, and many of them were lost without a trace.

 

However, their sacrifices had successfully defended an important frontline position for the federal military. So, commanding this battle and personally piloting the mecha, Han Li deserved the honor.

 

"General."

 

Han Li suddenly spoke up, and when Tu Yuan turned back, he hesitantly said, "There is something, can you please help, General?"

 

Tu Yuan frowned slightly. "Is it official or personal? Is it your business or someone else's? Is it legal or do you want me to bend the rules?"

 

Han Li was nervous. While corruption in the federal military was almost nonexistent, Tu Yuan was known for being impartial and never bending the rules, even for deserving soldiers. But Han Li didn't know high-ranking officers like the general well. He had just been promoted to Major, so although he had opportunities to interact with officers of the general's rank, he would not have many chances to do so in the near future as he was about to head to the frontline.

 

So, he gritted his teeth. "In my mecha combat unit, there was a deceased Second Lieutenant pilot named Ji Chenxing. He was a first-grade mecha pilot, and his mecha had already earned 12 gold stars in my unit when everyone else perished."

 

Federal military mecha pilots were classified into five levels, from lowest to highest: Third Grade, Second Grade, First Grade, Special Grade, and Ace.

 

The gold stars on a mecha theoretically could be sprayed on at will, but the common practice was that only after destroying an Imperial mecha and successfully killing its gorilla pilot could a pilot spray a gold star on their own mecha.

 

A First Grade mecha pilot with twelve gold stars, and still not retired due to injury, only needed to spray eight more gold stars to have the chance to be promoted to Special Grade. Special Grade pilots were extremely rare in the entire federation. Among three hundred thousand mecha pilots in the federation, only three hundred reached Special Grade.

 

There were only nine Ace mecha pilots, to be precise, there were only nine living ones. When the tenth Ace mecha pilot appeared, there would be one Ace pilot killed in action.

 

Some federal legislators proposed that Ace mecha pilots should temporarily leave the frontline, but all the Ace pilots strongly opposed. Li Yuanba, the Ace mecha pilot who had 231 gold stars on his exclusive mecha and was known as the strongest mecha warrior in the history of the Federation, said so in the Federation Council at that time.

 

"We can leave the battlefield alive, but only if we win this war. You want to know what counts as victory? When I arrive at the Imperial Star and step on the Emperor's head, the gorillas and monkeys of the Empire will tell you, that's victory."

 

Mecha warriors were precious.

 

So, this loss made Tu Yuan sigh. He actually knew about this information beforehand, but Han Li's painful expression at the moment made him sympathize even more.

 

"Ji Chenxing has a father named Ji Xinghe. He's 65 years old this year. I went to his house a few days ago and talked to Mr. Ji Xinghe..."

 

Han Li paused after explaining the previous incident, then took a deep breath and continued, "At that time, Mr. Ji Xinghe requested to go to the frontline battlefield, even if we didn't give him a mecha or a single-person starship, as long as we gave him a gun. He said he wanted to avenge Ji Chenxing."

 

"Nonsense," Tu Yuan frowned and rebuked, "How can a 65-year-old man, who is 25 years older than me, go to the frontline battlefield? How strong are the gorillas of the Empire? This kind of ordinary civilian can't understand by watching TV or reading the news. Can't you, Han Li, understand? With mecha, we can't even defeat them, and without mecha, one gorilla can even take on our entire squadron. Is he just confused? Are you confused too? No need to ask, I won't let him go to the battlefield."

 

Han Li wasn't angry at being scolded. Blaming himself for speaking too slowly and too nervously, he just looked helpless, with a touch of sadness and bitterness in his eyes. "General, I don't want you to help send him to the battlefield, but he... he went to the New Phoenix City Police Department to steal a single-person starship yesterday. It was a patrol type without weapons, and he entered the destination as the frontline battlefield, and then he was arrested."

 

Tu Yuan froze.

 

After hesitating for a moment, Han Li added, "When the New Phoenix City police contacted our unit, they said he also brought several knives as weapons."

 

Tu Yuan asked expressionlessly, "What knives?"

 

"Kitchen knives, fruit knives, cleavers, just the knives from his kitchen, he brought them all."

 

"He's really confused. How can such a person give birth to a first-grade mecha warrior like Ji Chenxing?" Tu Yuan instinctively said, then felt that it was not appropriate. After hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Is this Ji Xinghe a retired veteran?"

 

"No, he's an auto mechanic, a master auto mechanic. Ji Chenxing has said many times that his dad's car repair skills are excellent. He can repair any kind of car, including top-level space flying cars."

 

Tu Yuan chuckled. "A master auto mechanic also thinks that he can repair a single-person starship and mecha with the same method?"

 

After hesitating for a moment, Han Li continued, "Ji Chenxing also said that his dad is very good at playing games. He used to play Honor of the Stars with Ji Chenxing. After Ji Chenxing joined the military, he couldn't play games anymore, but his game account reached Honor of the Stars every season, and even reached over 2000 points in the peak matches. Mr. Ji Xinghe's own account also reached it every season, so he effectively played two accounts while also working. Um... Ji Chenxing said his dad is best at mech warriors and repair-related heroes in the game."

 

"Games?"

 

"Yes, games, Interstellar Glory."

 

Tu Yuan also knew about Interstellar Glory, a game known for its highly realistic simulation, but it was just a virtual reality training system that the federal military had phased out. It was completely outdated and difficult to select real talents from it.

 

"Games? What's the use of being good at games? In the real world, he's just a mechanic. Going to the battlefield, all he can do is repair cars. At 65, what use is he being slow and clumsy?" Tu Yuan's mouth said sternly, but his heart sighed. He could understand Ji Xinghe's feelings. If Ji Xinghe were forty years younger, no, just twenty years younger, he would dare to recruit him specially.

 

Although it was difficult to select real talents from Interstellar Glory at this stage, it had produced many elites before. Of course, not the gamified Interstellar Glory, but the virtual reality training system of the previous generation in the military.

 

But at 65, he was already retirement age, and piloting single-person starships and mecha required extremely high physical fitness from the pilots. In this regard, the federation was not as good as the Empire because the Empire's pilots were gorillas with extremely strong physical fitness.

 

Gorillas were not a derogatory term for enemies in the Federation; it was a fact. There were no people in the Empire, only gorillas and monkeys, whose intelligence was not inferior to humans.

 

This was one of the most shocking discoveries of the Federation in the 21st century, one of the discoveries that almost destroyed the Federation, and one of the discoveries that led the Federation into a new era.

 

"Um..." Han Li hesitated.

 

Tu Yuan frowned. "Speak."

 

"Ji Chenxing also said his dad is very good at fighting, extremely good. When Ji Chenxing was in military academy, he got second place in the school's combat competition, but he couldn't beat his dad when he went home. The first place winner at that time was me."

 

"How old was Ji Xinghe at that time?"

 

"It seems... 59? 58?"

 

"... Tu Yuan sighed helplessly. "You're still young, you don't know what 'one year older, one year wiser' means. Being able to fight at 59 doesn't mean he can still fight at 65. Moreover, would Ji Chenxing dare to fight his father like that? Besides, fighting between people is completely different from piloting mecha in battle, you should be very clear about that. You, who is about to become an Ace pilot, Ji Chenxing, who is only second in combat, hasn't even become a Special Grade pilot yet. I'm not saying Ji Chenxing isn't talented, I'm just making a comparison."

 

"I know, so I refused him." Han Li said helplessly. "But I never thought he would go steal a single-person starship. Now he's been arrested by the New Phoenix City Police Department. I only received this news this morning. Although I know from a legal perspective what we shouldn't do, my superiors in the unit also said the same. But... General, he is Ji Chenxing's father. He just wants to avenge Ji Chenxing."

 

After a moment of silence, Tu Yuan suddenly asked, "Did you say New Phoenix City?"

 

"Yes, Ji Chenxing's hometown is New Phoenix City."

 

"I happen to be going there for recruitment propaganda. I'll take a look."

 

"Thank you, General."

 

Han Li knew that the Major General Tu Yuan, who was known for never bending the rules, had decided to make an exception because of Ji Chenxing, and because of Ji Xinghe.