Chapter Five: I, Yu Lian, a Lunar Native

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Yes, the memories belonging to this body were flooding back vividly. An instant surge of countless memories from another person overwhelmed him; even Yulian’s strong will momentarily faltered. Yet this was exactly like a traumatic brain stress response, so it was no wonder everyone was so tense.

“Do you still remember how you got injured? What happened before that?” Ina asked urgently.

“I… um, I went to rescue a soldier whose lower half was bitten by a sinkhole creature, but then I was ambushed,” Yulian replied slowly.

Ina let out a sigh of relief but quickly added with lingering anxiety, “That thing is terrifying—it tore through the back of your power armor in an instant. If it weren’t for the lieutenant throwing a concussion grenade, you might have…”

Indeed! How could it not be terrifying? The creature that bit that poor soldier’s lower body was clearly a tank insect hiding in a sand pit, and the one that ambushed me must have been the Thorn Serpent King! Even if the AS40 armor was somewhat shoddily made, ordinary stingers and hopper bugs wouldn’t have the firepower to penetrate it in one strike.

So the pain all over my body, even in my spine, probably wasn’t just from the insect’s ambush but also from the blast of your grenade, huh?

Thinking this, Yulian shot an unfriendly glance at Lieutenant Mondeson, who quickly forced a somewhat unnatural smile in response.

Your image as a pure, heroic swordsman a few minutes ago is completely shattered.

By the way, though I already knew that the title of “Warrant Officer” meant an elite bureaucrat group comprising top military academy graduates, I never expected it to be this elite. The so-called Central Defense University was the absolute top among military academies nationwide, even harder to get into than the best civilian universities like Qingbei or Harvard in past lives. Only the most outstanding scholar-warriors were admitted.

Since the academy’s headquarters was located in the lunar city of Guanghan, its graduates were jokingly called “Moon Men” within the military—a coveted elite across all units.

And the so-called Department of Strategic Studies was the most elite and hardest to enter at this prestigious institution, producing the crème de la crème, known as the “cradle of admirals.”

Yes, even within this “elite bureaucrat group,” there was a hierarchy. Graduates from other academies or departments took the orbital elevator for promotions; those from Strategic Studies jumped straight through star gates. The average retirement rank for other military academy graduates was colonel—according to data—but if you hadn’t worn a general’s star and earned the title “Your Excellency” by age forty, you’d be too embarrassed to attend reunions.

Also, the year 830 Galactic Era? Could it be the same 830 as in future records?

And the siege of Tulon Harbor by the Sand Tribes? Commander Bonaparte?

Yes, it must be the “Tulon Harbor” incident recorded in future history textbooks, which occurred in Galactic Era 829, November. This event triggered a cascade of consequences that caused the Blue Star Coalition to lose control over the star gates and the colonized Andromeda systems.

As for Commander Bonaparte… Yulian’s memory quickly conjured an image of a tall, upright, and handsome figure.

Lieutenant Colonel Eleanor Bonaparte, born into a renowned military family with six generals and one marshal over three generations, was also a Strategic Studies graduate like himself. However, when Yulian entered the academy, Eleanor was already in her final year and would graduate top of her class.

Her academic credentials, abilities, and connections were impeccable, making her future career prospects obvious. Over three years after graduation, she had already reached lieutenant colonel rank, and no one doubted she would become a general before turning thirty—though such rapid promotion was rare and typically only during wartime.

Currently, Senior Eleanor was stationed in Tulon City, serving as Chief of Staff of the New Yumen Garrison, meaning she was also besieged by the Sand Tribes’ army.

Hmm, it seemed we had a good relationship. When I first arrived, she even treated me to some charcoal-grilled prairie dogs...

Suddenly overwhelmed with memories, Yulian’s head ached more. He wanted to sift through the tangled recollections for useful information but lacked the mental capacity at the moment.

“We can’t stay here long,” Yulian said gravely.

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“You already said that,” Lieutenant Mondeson wanted to say.

“I mean—”

“Lieutenant! Look down the mountain!” shouted Soldier A, standing guard at the entrance.

“Silence!” Yulian hissed sharply.

Soldier A trembled but didn’t speak again.

Everyone present instinctively looked to Lieutenant Mondeson, who simply shrugged with a resigned yet enlightened look that said, “See? It’s started—this is typical Moon Man behavior.”

Yulian, however, ignored everyone’s reactions. Dragging his recently fixed lower body, he crawled to the cave entrance and saw dozens of insects gathering in the meadow below. Their claws scraped the ground as they searched for something, slowly moving in this direction.

Though only a few dozen, their aura was far more imposing than the hyena-like hopper bugs from before.

As expected… Yulian pressed his lips.

Those were Terror Claw insects, also known as Warrior Bugs—genuinely capable of fighting tooth-and-nail against heavily armed mechanized infantry. I mean well-equipped, well-trained Navy Marines from the Empire or Alliance, not the ragtag, underpowered Coalition guards.

The Thorn Serpent King must be hiding among the Warrior Bugs. It’s an evolved queen insect with limited intelligence—just enough to serve as a squad leader.

Look at how they press their antennae to the ground, sniffing like dogs. It’s only a matter of time before they find us.

In fact, their sense of smell and hearing are orders of magnitude better than dogs.

Is this necessary? Such a big formation just to avenge a single arrow? I never heard that insect swarms have any camaraderie.

Oh? Maybe… Yulian glanced at the equally serious Ina and immediately guessed.

To the insect swarm, someone like Sergeant Major Ina was like a glowing, mobile golden nugget.

So the insects were actually coming for Ina? Yulian looked at the sergeant major but decided not to tell her just yet. Talking casually about future events would probably get him labeled crazy. He’d learned that lesson the hard way in a past life.

The memories belonging to this body were still somewhat muddled; other matters could wait. First, they had to deal with these hunters.

“Have Sergeant Baka and Staff Sergeant Yuyu returned?”

“Yes, yes, sir,” the black sergeant who had returned at some point ran up eagerly.

“What’s the situation?”

“There is indeed a small path leading behind the mountain. Hmm, but it’s not easy to traverse.”

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“Barely passable,” Sergeant Baka said gruffly. Unlike his berserk fighting form, the bear-like sergeant was calm and taciturn.

Good. If he can barely pass, then everyone else should manage. Yulian thought, then said, “Sir, how many concussion grenades do we have left?”

Concussion grenades, as the name implies, were for stunning rather than killing. Not real lethal weapons, but a perfect choice against the unruly indigenous Sand Tribes here.

However, could these grenades work against the larger, tougher bugs below? The lieutenant doubted it but looked to Ina.

“I have three; the lieutenant has two; Lieutenant Russo hasn’t used his yet, so five more. And you, sir…” the sergeant major said.

The concussion grenades were quite large. Some armored soldiers carried them, but it would be inhumane to burden unarmored infantry with such heavy gear.

“Enough,” Yulian calculated. “Go get the stretchers and remove the batteries from my ruined armor!”

“What are you going to do? Make a booby trap? Why not just use regular grenades?”

“Our Type 20 infantry grenades are designed to intimidate unarmored Sand Tribes; their power is mediocre and probably won’t collapse this hole or penetrate those big bugs’ shells. You all saw how tough they are, right? But with exoskeleton batteries and a certain number of concussion grenades, I can make an impact bomb! It should cause internal damage beneath their armor.”

“The principle seems to be that… but you can really do that? Moon Man—no, Warrant Officer, aren’t you from Strategic Studies?”

“Yes, sir. Strategic Studies is about learning a little about everything but mastering nothing. That’s how you become a leader!” Yulian replied matter-of-factly.

Lieutenant Mondeson, more than twice Yulian’s age, felt a pang. Thinking that in three to five years after graduation, he might have to call Yulian “sir” was both humbling and frustrating.

“I heard Defense University only taught you elites how to use Empire-made crystal knives to cut Alliance Andes beef and dip it in starfish sauce. Never heard you were taught to make bombs,” Ina suddenly remarked.

Lieutenant Mondeson turned pale, urgently signaling Sergeant Major Ina. But she remained oblivious and continued, “Warrant Officer, you must have learned this elsewhere, right?”

It was you, and from those militia training videos you personally appeared in, Yulian thought silently.

Fortunately, she said no more, and Yulian skirted the topic with a forced awkward smile. He disabled the safety on all concussion grenades, tied them together, and started tinkering with the batteries. His movements were so practiced, it was as if he were a habitual criminal using homemade bombs to rob banks and hijack spaceships. Everyone was momentarily stunned, feeling this “Moon Man” was becoming more and more unlike the privileged heir they imagined.

“Even so, the blast radius is limited; we have to wait until they enter the cave to detonate. Even if it doesn’t kill them, the cave-in will bury them!”

Lieutenant Mondeson felt that despite owing this man, he had to speak up or risk losing his authority. “Warrant Officer, your skills impress me, but isn’t this a bit over the top? We’re hiding in this cave; those aliens might not…”

Before he finished, a sharp shriek came from the insect swarm below. The grotesque, menacing giant bugs turned in unison and surged toward them at over 50 kilometers per hour.

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