Him and their stars.

Chapter 2005 Honor Belongs to Commander Yu

Yu Lian was a little unsure whether Fei Fei was waiting for him to win or for him to grow to his current level.

However, on the other hand, what's with this feeling of a single mother who painstakingly raises her child and sends her to college?

Are you waiting for me to grow up? Is this some kind of "raising a child" system?
However, upon closer reflection, if we disregard the fact that she is only a few days younger than her peers, Fei Fei's past and her own really do fit the "raising a child" trope.

Thinking about this, the sense of accomplishment he had just gained from his overwhelming victory was subtly diminished.

Feifei added, "However, they also reaped considerable rewards, which is certainly not solely due to their victory over the Imperial Army once again."

Yu Lian nodded slightly: "I know, this should be attributed to the wise command of Captain Nemo and Senior Eleanor."

"The most crucial role was actually played by Wayne and Mr. Ai Meng. However, everyone feels that the honor should be given to you. Even though you didn't show up, just thinking about your existence is a source of courage for everyone. Fish, isn't this also a kind of skillful warrior who achieves victory without fanfare?" Fei Fei said with a smile.

That's a lie... Anyway, Yu Lian firmly believes that the red-haired guy could never have such high emotional intelligence.

"In short, courage belongs to the community, merit belongs to the service of the armed forces, and glory belongs to the offline commander." Fei Fei gave a solemn military salute and said, "However, as everyone's source of courage, it's time for you to make your appearance. After all, we've been out of contact for almost a whole day, and everyone wants to see your voice and smile as soon as possible. If you're always absent, some people might think I'm isolating myself from the world."

This was a rather direct and sarcastic remark, so Yu Lian decided to only give Fei Fei a passing grade. He then casually placed the ebony stone, which he had only used less than a third of, into the ashtray that Bi Fang had transformed into, straightened his collar, and strode out of the observatory.

As expected, the captain, along with almost all the ship's senior officers, was waiting for him outside the door.

The fact that Captain Nemo has time to demonstrate his high emotional intelligence and emotional value only proves that the battle has indeed been a complete victory.

"Sir, victory belongs to all the soldiers, and glory and greatness belong to you." He saluted himself.

Yu Lian returned the greeting: "Captain, come with me to the fortress to see our colleagues. We've been fighting for months, and we deserve a small celebration."

"However, intelligence indicates that the Imperial Shuwei Fleet and the Fesheron Fleet could arrive at the Gate of Glory at any time. Behind them is the even larger fleet under Vice Admiral Nobov. He commands the main force of the Gate of Glory."

"I know, but it's come to this now, let's eat first. I'm so hungry I could eat a whole cow."

Of course, as I said before, at this level, Yu Lian could literally survive on air. But good food remains one of the anchors that helps him solidify his heart and humanity.

More importantly, only when we eat it ourselves can everyone else let go of their psychological burdens.

And so, 30 minutes later, the contemporary war god, the demonic dragon whose name cannot even be mentioned, "Flame Dragon Exterminator," the deputy commander-in-chief of the Blue Star Community's space fleet, the deputy head of the military command headquarters, and Admiral Yu Lian, arrived at his loyal No. 1 fortress.

Well, to be honest, although I have been a person in two lifetimes and have crossed the Gate of Glory many times, this is indeed my first time logging into Fortress No. 1.

He vaguely remembered that when he last passed through the "Gate of Glory" in his previous life, this fortress, originally built for military purposes, had already transformed into a commercial trading port. It was at least four times its current size, with almost all the newly constructed parts for civilian use.

At that time, this space city, which had been renamed "Explorer's Home," already had a resident population of over 500 million. It truly constituted the most important forward base for the Galactic Empire's development of the L3 colony sector and exploration of new continents.

To be honest, if I weren't so desperate to get out of this situation, I would have actually considered buying a house here in this fortress.

...That being said, there are still quite a few places I want to buy a house in. If I had actually accepted Brin or Yani's offer in my past life, this real estate investment plan would have been quite a complicated affair.

As Yu Lian pondered this, he took the shuttle bus through the only civilian area of ​​the station.

He could see that the oxygen, energy, water supply, and even air conditioning in the civilian areas had returned to normal operation. Many shop owners even cautiously opened the windows of their shops, carefully observing the new "conqueror."

This fortress, which originally housed nearly half a million Imperial soldiers, is now filled with Earth soldiers and various alien races from the Rebel Alliance. These include the Tauren from the New World, as well as the Wolflin, Letalin, Quifi, and even the Lazarke from the Empire's own territory.

The soldiers examined the Imperial standard weapons they had taken from the armory with great interest. After so many years as rebels, this was truly the first time they had ever used such sophisticated weapons.

Most people began formal training under the guidance of Earthlings.

With limited time, it's impossible for them to be easily trained into highly specialized elite soldiers, but it's better than nothing.

Some of the militia soldiers, who already had military experience, volunteered to take on patrol duties within the fortress. They walked through the fortress as if they were the masters of their own destiny, unable to hide their excitement.

From now on, this is our territory?

In short, the Empire had originally hoped that this fortress would stand above the Gates of Glory, drawing the blood of countless invaders—rebels, Earthlings, raiders, and even the Alliance. However, once completed, before it could even shed a single drop of blood from the Empire's enemies, it transformed into their very forms.

The civilians of Tyrero felt a complex mix of emotions as they looked at the various oddly shaped alien races patrolling the fortress passageways. If they had merely been defeated by Earthlings, they could console themselves with the idea that it was a "noble human civil war," where "everyone does their duty and accepts their fate." But seeing those "inferior races" swaggering through the streets was a tremendous blow to the dignity and pride of the imperial lords.

Before humans came, you were all servants! Slaves! Cannon fodder!
On the contrary, it belongs to Tiangang.

Of course, faced with the Imperial military weapons in the hands of the rebel soldiers, the people of Tireiro, no matter how humiliated, dared not act rashly. Slightly opening the doors and windows of their shops to observe secretly was the limit.

They were certainly not harmed in any way.

After all, Yu Lian still held his army to the standard of a "king's army"—no, a progressive revolutionary force. They had to be ruthless towards the enemy, like autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves, but they had to learn restraint towards surrendered prisoners of war and civilians.

Even from a realistic perspective, true elites are not just tyrannical, but also capable of self-control.

Fortunately, at least the crew of the Silent One, and everyone in Eleanor's fleet, are able to do this.

Of course, there were indeed instances of rebel soldiers harassing residential areas, but thanks to the intervention of Earth soldiers, nothing serious happened.

At this point, Yu Lian asked the captain, "Have we had any conflicts with the rebel soldiers?" "So far, things are going fairly well." Captain Nemo hesitated for a moment, then a hint of doubt appeared on his face: "But, sir, we have different backgrounds. They see you as a pioneer, as a mentor, but they are not your subordinates. We see you as our only leader, and we will all obey your orders. Even if it's an order to die, we will carry it out without hesitation."

Yu Lian gave the other person a meaningful look: "Very good, Captain. It turns out that only you can say such things."

The captain wasn't quite sure if the other person was praising him or insulting him, so he simply clenched his fist and pounded his chest: "Your subordinate is loyal to you and will tell you everything I know without reservation."

Yu Lian neither agreed nor disagreed, but still responded with a grateful smile.

A few minutes later, he met his comrades who had been waiting for him in the command post, which had been transformed into the shape of a community and a rebel army.

His gaze swept over Eleanor and Ina, whom he hadn't seen in a long time. They used to enjoy the treatment of leading ladies, but now they were relegated to the background. But there was nothing he could do; after all, they were responsible for other battlefields. In this long and arduous war, all he could do was ask all his comrades to fulfill their duties.

His gaze also swept over Horatio Wayne and Mihir Kent. Leaving the latter aside, the former, this time, saluted him quite calmly, showing no outward sign of hesitation.

Very good. Although he used to be treated as a sworn enemy, he has become just another face in the crowd. But after not seeing him for a long time, his demeanor has indeed become more refined and solemn.

It wasn't until this point that Yu Lian finally connected this bipolar-minded, chuunibyou-ridden red-haired man with the leader of the 830 Party and a renowned general of the Blue Star Volunteer Army from another timeline.

Aside from these trustworthy old comrades, Yu Lian's gaze lingered longest on the only Tirelo person present, for at least two more seconds.

His name is Ai Meng, an outstanding civil servant under the Imperial Prime Minister's Office. At 30 years old, he is already the director of the shipping management department of the Gate of Glory.

If we were to use a term from a previous life, it would be like a 30-year-old central government official being seconded to the central customs office as a security director, enjoying the benefits of a deputy division-level position.

He's definitely a promising elite civil servant! If things go smoothly, who's to say he can't challenge for the position of prime minister?
Who would have thought that this man was the leader of the People's United Front's traitors?

However, after a brief moment of surprise upon hearing the name, Yu Lian was relieved.

On another timeline, this person, who was already a high-ranking official in the Star District government, at least ranked 5th, and in charge of internal affairs and security for the entire Star District, still brazenly became a terrorist, didn't he?

His terrorist career was likely influenced by snakes, but his inherent anti-imperialist ideology was also inevitable.

From terrorist to rebel leader, such a life change is quite interesting to observe. Of course, from the Empire's perspective, there's probably no difference, right?

At the scene, only Feifei noticed the fleeting glint in the eyes of the superior (Ai Ren), and she also glanced at Mr. Ai Meng.

"This man may be the most outstanding rebel leader since the birth of the original theory. He certainly deserves your high regard," she said telepathically.

Although Yu Lian felt that the girl seemed to have misunderstood something, he still said, "That's true."

"Indeed, rebel leaders still need to be educated."

“Bellilu is actually quite cultured, but most of his collaborators are not, and their values ​​are also problematic. This is not due to the war.” Yu Lian felt it was necessary to say a few fair words for his followers.

“Determining who to follow and who to cooperate with is itself a valuable experience,” she added. “Oh, and that also includes the leadership of the Taliban. They are among the few insurgents with management and planning capabilities.”

“Admirable,” Yu Lian admitted that she was right.

However, the fact that the Taren rebels, who had never been famous in his previous life, could create such a spectacle, like a mythical beast suddenly emerging from a crack in the rock, was indeed quite surprising to him.

“They have territory and organization; their future might be even brighter than that of the People’s Unity Front.” Yu Lian smiled and greeted the Tajik militia cadre named “Tuken.”

The rebel leader, with his grey-blue skin, was flattered and could not hide his excitement.

Feifei laughed and said, "If the sand people who revolted in Xinyumen had such abilities, you would be in great danger, wouldn't you?"

Although these words were probably an attempt to expose his dark history of suppressing national independence movements, Yu Lian didn't seem to care and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "If that were the case, perhaps I would have already joined them and become their leader."

Accompanied by the cold laugh that Fei Fei had left in his heart, Yu Lian addressed everyone:
"We come from all corners of the world, but we've all come together for the same goal. Before I arrived, everyone should have introduced themselves, so there's no need to waste time on small talk. We've seized hundreds of millions of tons of supplies in this fortress, including some high-quality dragon meat, but we don't know for whom it's all prepared."

This is not surprising. A qualified imperial general should, of course, share weal and woe with ordinary soldiers in times of crisis, but that does not prevent them from enjoying themselves in peacetime.

Imperial officers were well-paid, and the generals' legal income was comparable to the annuities of lower-middle-class nobles. This was the Tirelo people's way of demonstrating that "military merit equals everything." Therefore, finding a thousand tons of frozen dragon meat in this fortress was not considered an extreme luxury.

This is a top-tier delicacy in the entire universe, and its beauty lies in the fact that freezing doesn't significantly affect its flavor. Furthermore, it's excellent because its protein content is more than six times that of beef, and it naturally contains abundant riboflavin and ascorbic acid, which can be digested by almost all normal carbon-based mammals. In addition, its naturally abundant high-quality glutamic acid allows all organisms with taste buds to experience its delicious flavor and the surge of dopamine from the brain.

Yu Lian said, "Dragon meat is a specialty of the empire, and we must try it. Today, I am inviting everyone to eat dragon meat. We can talk about the future of the empire, the future of this war, and the future of each and every one of you while we eat."

Wayne hesitated for a moment, then said solemnly, "Forgive my bluntness, but a considerable portion of the Imperial fleet is still eyeing us covetously."

Hongmao, Yu Lian's old classmate, certainly respected and admired him, and Yu Lian could sense that.

However, as an outstanding professional soldier, this guy is probably preparing to be a staunch and open-minded friend. That's quite in line with his character.

So Yu Lian smiled and said, "The Imperial Army won't be here anytime soon. I can guarantee that."

Everyone naturally expressed their confusion.

Yu Lian further explained, "I just had a duel with the High Priest of Norddos on the Star Gazing Platform. Because I had made prior arrangements, that lord suffered quite a loss and has already fled in disarray. Even the imperial devils need some time to mend their shattered Dao hearts."