Commendation

The telegram sent from Outpost 73 soon reached the operations room of the Command Office. Upon learning the news, the personnel in the operations room were initially taken aback, followed by a wave of skepticism. While there was no reason to fabricate such a report—as it could be verified easily enough—the Iron Demon had truly plagued them for a long time. It wasn't that they had never dispatched powerful squads to encircle and eliminate him in the past, but the enemy had always managed to slip through the gaps in their dragnet. An enormous amount of manpower and resources had been wasted without achieving any real results. Moreover, the Iron Demon had picked an exceptionally opportune moment this time, striking precisely when the rear was sparsely defended. Otherwise, they would never have sent in the only squad available—one that had just entered the Confluence and had not even fully acclimated yet—to hold the line. They had not expected this squad to achieve anything significant in the first place; their only hope was that it could stay on the Iron Demon's tail, maintain a lingering threat, and prevent his band from wreaking havoc on the rear with complete impunity. Yet only a few days had passed, and now they were claiming to have wiped out the bulk of the Iron Demon's forces? After conferring among themselves, they decided against reporting it immediately. Instead, they dispatched a stern reply demanding confirmation of the message's authenticity. Even after Advisor Rao promptly sent a confirmation telegram, they still held back the report. They waited until evening, when Chen Chuan returned to Outpost 73 with the spoils of war and the Iron Demon's severed head, submitting an official report in the outpost's name. Only then was the matter verified beyond doubt, and the report was finally forwarded up the chain. Minutes later, it was placed in the hands of Qiao Weiting, the head of the Command Office. The first thing he noticed was that this squad had been here for less than seven days. Normally, a squad like this would be carrying out acclimation missions and would never be deployed to the front. Turning to his adjutant, he asked, "If I remember correctly, this is the squad Commissioner Liang asked to assemble, isn't it?" "Reporting to the Superintendent, yes, that's them," the adjutant replied. "So it really is them." Qiao Weiting nodded. This squad had been formed on orders from above, drawing together capable personnel, and he had a general idea of its purpose. He asked, "Enforcement Officer Chen is currently a first-class enforcement officer, correct?" "Yes, sir." Qiao Weiting tapped his boundary credential and reviewed the resumes of Chen Chuan and his two squad members, focusing primarily on Chen Chuan's. "Hmm, according to his file, he had already accumulated a considerable record of service prior to this. Adding this to the total warrants a rank jump. In accordance with the command's reward and punishment criteria, he can be promoted to enforcement captain this time, and his two squad members can be sequentially promoted to second-class enforcement officers." The adjutant offered a gentle reminder. "Superintendent, upon joining the defense program, Enforcement Officer Chen had already been promoted one rank according to protocol. Only a few days have passed, and promoting him again so soon... might that be moving a bit too fast?" Qiao Weiting said, "Merit is merit; there is no such thing as too early or too late. If comrades who achieve such deeds are not promoted, no one will put their back into their work in the future. "Furthermore, resolving an issue that has plagued our garrison for so long with just a single squad deserves recognition. Once the formalities are processed, issue a general commendation in the name of the command headquarters. Also, have someone deliver my sidearm to them. Tell them to keep up the good work." "Understood!" *** Meanwhile, Chen Chuan stayed overnight at Outpost 73 before bidding farewell to Hai Cheng and the others. Carrying the Iron Demon's severed head and the spoils of war, he returned to Outpost 4, where they had originally set out. Officials sent from command were already waiting. After inspecting the heads, armor, and documents of the Iron Demon and his men, they confirmed his identity, finalized the handover procedures, and shook hands with the squad. Smiling, they dropped hints about their impending promotions before departing. Because the squad had only attended two days of orientation before setting out, certain essential matters had not yet been fully explained. Having returned, they took advantage of their downtime to make up for those missed lessons while resting. Aside from what they had been told earlier, the remaining material mainly covered basic knowledge regarding the native organisms of the Confluence. In truth, these creatures were the primary hazard the garrison faced daily. Every piece of territory the garrison currently occupied had been carved out from the domains of these Confluence creatures. Although firearms could effectively deal with most biological entities, the Confluence was still the Confluence; many organisms possessed mutated tissue nearly on par with that of fighters, causing immense trouble during the earliest days of expansion. The larger these creatures were, the harder they were to deal with, and direct contact was to be avoided whenever possible. Originally, the squad was supposed to acclimate by clearing out a few hazardous creatures, but they had skipped that phase entirely. Five days later, inside a public telephone booth in the garrison fortress, Yuan Qiuyuan was on the phone. A woman's voice came through the receiver: "This captain of yours is no ordinary character. You'd better stick close to him." "I know, I know." "My, my, look at my little brother actually being obedient for once. Seems sending you to the outpost was the right choice after all." "Alright, Sis, do you have anything else? If not, I'm hanging up. The captain and my teammate are waiting for me." "Solidarity is a good thing. Out there, the only ones you can rely on are your teammates. You need to build a good rapport with them." "Got it." After hanging up, Yuan Qiuyuan stepped out of the booth, straightened his cap, and headed toward the dining hall. As he walked, garrison personnel stopped to greet him and salute, and he returned each salute in proper fashion. He felt thoroughly pleased with himself. Although the official order had not yet arrived, it was already confirmed that he would be promoted to second-class enforcement officer. It had only been a few days! Even his older sister hadn't risen that fast back in the day. At this rate, with a little more effort, overtaking her wouldn't be hard at all. Wouldn't it be his turn to gloat at home from now on? Arriving at the dining hall, he saw Chen Chuan and Qin Qingque already seated. He hurried over, quickly ordered his meal, and sat down. Before taking more than two bites, he asked, "Captain, when are we going on another mission?" Qin Qingque looked at him. "We just jumped a rank. It won't happen again anytime soon." "Bah, I'm not thinking about promotions! I just want to go on missions with the captain. Being cooped up here all day reading through random manuals is so boring." Chen Chuan said, "There will be missions. Just make sure you're ready." Hearing him say that, the two immediately understood that he must have caught wind of something. Yuan Qiuyuan was instantly reassured and began shoveling food into his mouth. After finishing lunch, Chen Chuan left the dining hall. In the hallway, an orderly saluted him. "Enforcement Officer Chen, this way, please." Chen Chuan nodded and followed him to a reception room, where Counselor Pei was already waiting. Seeing him enter, Pei dismissed the orderly, smiled, and offered a handshake. "The orders from above have come down. Someone will come today to formally announce your promotion to enforcement captain. Captain Chen, congratulations." Chen Chuan shook his hand. "Thank you." An enforcement captain was no easy rank to attain. Generally, even capable individuals only reached it around their thirties or forties, as it served as a major threshold. In terms of status, it marked the transition from a pure combat operative to a military officer, granting him the right to attend military conferences at the outpost. In terms of rank, even if he were transferred out to Center City, he would qualify to directly assume key positions in certain coercive agencies. While he appreciated the advancement—at the very least, his pay and benefits had increased once more—he knew these advantages were entirely rooted in his martial prowess. Martial strength was the foundation; without it, everything else was nothing. Counselor Pei gestured for him to sit, brought over a canister of tea, and said with a smile, "Outposts operate on simplicity; hauling supplies up from the rear isn't easy. This tea is an aged variety I brought along when I first arrived, and no one ever drinks it with me. Today, I'd like Captain Chen to sample it." He poured the tea himself. As the leaves drifted and swirled in the hot water, a crisp, refreshing fragrance immediately wafted through the air. "Captain Chen, do you know?" Pei said casually. "The Confluence holds many peculiar resources that can yield immense benefits. Many corporations have set up factories and research institutes further back in the rear." "Are there any near our outpost as well?" Chen Chuan asked. Counselor Pei shook his head and sat down. "While our position is technically considered the rear, that's only relative to the frontline sector. In reality, this is still a war zone. As you've seen, it's hardly peaceful. Those research facilities are situated in much safer areas, with security clearances far higher than ours." He reached down, picked up a case beside his feet, and placed it on the table. "What you and your team accomplished this time resolved a major headache for leadership. These are the special medicines allocated to your team by the command headquarters. The higher-ups granted early distribution. As for how to allocate them, discuss it among yourselves." Chen Chuan understood well that 'discussing it among yourselves' was merely code for leaving the distribution entirely to the captain's discretion. This was the captain's prerogative. Within an enforcement squad, if a member failed to obey their captain, their medicine rations would often be docked, or they would be assigned to dangerous missions until they either yielded or found a way to transfer out. And that was still considered mild; some captains deliberately made life difficult for their subordinates simply to pocket a larger share for themselves. Chen Chuan, however, had no intention of turning these resources against his comrades. Setting aside the fact that he was already supplied by the Convergence Boundary Company, even without that backing, he would never lay claim to things that did not belong to him. "Thank you, Counselor Pei," Chen Chuan said. Counselor Pei smiled, then added, "Your commendation should have come through much sooner, but certain individuals insisted on making an issue of procedure. They scrutinized and cross-checked the report several times over, holding it back until the final deadline before letting it pass." Gesturing toward the case on the table, he continued, "The same goes for these medicines. Without approval from higher up, a single procedural bottleneck could have delayed them for months." Though he named no names, Chen Chuan had realized back when certain individuals were pressing him that factions definitely existed within the outpost. Because Counselor Pei had brought him in, he was naturally categorized under Pei's faction. Certain people were likely putting pressure on him and making trouble intentionally—not out of personal dislike, but simply because of where lines had been drawn. It was unavoidable. Yet Chen Chuan's faith rested solely in his own strength. So long as his power reached a sufficient level, any external constraints and shackles could be broken through in time. Counselor Pei did not dwell on the matter, shifting the topic instead. "In addition..." He glanced outside, leaned forward slightly on the sofa, and lowered his voice. "Although that individual has been cleared of suspicion on paper, he was still placed on mandatory leave. He'll be passing through here over the next couple of days and might stay for a few days. Captain Chen, keep an eye out..."