Pretending to be a genius starts with the civilization advancement assessment.

Chapter 232 Ruger's Invitation, Level 2 Battlefield (5.8K)

After expressing his gratitude and conveying the general's invitation, Karan returned to the stronghold, as he still had a lot of cleanup work to do.

After the great battle, the massive meteorite base at the outpost now resembled the remains of a giant beast, its outer armor covered with craters and scorch marks left by the Kunmo tribe's corrosive weapons, as well as deep trenches plowed by energy cannon fire.

Several severe damage points resembled gruesome wounds, exposing the internal structure and flickering with intermittent electrical sparks.

The rescue boat, trailing a long, narrow blue flame, carefully towed the larger pieces of ship wreckage toward the recovery point.

More engineering drones, like metal locusts, covered the damaged surface, tirelessly welding and repairing, adding a busy vitality to this desolate battlefield.

Irelia's figure quietly appeared beside Lin Yi.

Her light armor, styled after the Elven race, remained completely still in the vacuum, the skirt-like armor plates not even rippling.

The icy blue eyes first swept over the space where the Kunmo Clan's Star Vortex had turned into basic particles, along with the Bone Saw Battle Blade. Only extremely faint aftershocks of energy disturbance remained there, proving the complete annihilation of a Star Vortex-level powerhouse.

Then, her gaze fell on Lin Yi's slightly pale face.

"Captain," Irelia hesitated for a moment before saying, "That attack just now almost instantly drained your source energy. In an environment where the battlefield information was not fully under control, it was somewhat... somewhat risky."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yi looked at Irelia, a hint of surprise flashing through his mind.

In her past life, she was the one who needed to be reminded "not to be so reckless".

Now that the roles have been completely reversed, the absurd feeling of time and space being out of place made Lin Yi's lips twitch almost imperceptibly.

"Don't worry, I'll be careful when I'm fighting alone, especially with you here." Lin Yi explained with a smile, as a response to Irelia's kind reminder.

Seeing that Lin Yi knew what was important, Irelia gave him a slight nod, and the two of them vanished from their spot, returning together to the Northwind.

Upon returning to the bridge of the North Wind, Lin Yi immediately issued instructions to Xuanji:

"Send a general message to all friendly mercenary groups: The Dongfeng Mercenary Group thanks everyone for their cooperation in this battle. Until we meet again. Also, notify the entire group: complete battlefield cleanup within one hour. One hour later, the fleet will depart. Target: the 93778th Border Legion outpost of the Astral Army."

While the Stardust-class crew members, clad in their Tide-type general-purpose armor, were carrying out cleanup work such as transferring the wounded and recovering equipment, the atmosphere inside the rest cabin of the Sharp Edge III assault ship was so enthusiastic it was almost igniting the air.

"Hahaha! Did you see that? I just threw one punch!"

Andrei swung his arm, which was thicker than a normal man's thigh and now wrapped in heavy biological bandages, spitting almost onto his teammates' faces, "He just smashed that bug's head into its own chest cavity! Crunch!"

He was permeated with the peculiar, foul smell of the Kunmo tribe's blood, like an ancient, ferocious bear that had just finished a hunt.

"Come on, Bro."

A young team member with fresh abrasions on his face, who was treating his wounds with disinfectant spray, laughed and teased, "If Captain Elizabeth's ice needles hadn't crippled its arm that was wielding the bone blade beforehand, could you have crashed in so easily?"

"Ha Na is probably going to have half of his shoulder armor shaved off," another person chimed in cheerfully.

On the other side, a team member sat in a corner, carefully wiping the congealed dark green bloodstains on his combat knife with a special solvent. Hearing this, he looked up and interjected with lingering fear:
"These Kunmo tribesmen are damn tough. They've made my hands numb from all the chopsticks. My energy consumption is more than twice as fast as during training."

"However, Captain Liu Yuan's earlier reminder was correct. Finding the joint gaps and those disgusting compound eye holes will save a lot of effort. It's just that they are also very good at hiding their landing points. To put it bluntly, it still depends on strength."

Chen Yu, who had been singled out, was currently huddled next to Liu Yuan, scratching his messy hair, and said somewhat embarrassedly in a low voice, "Old Liu, do you think I charged too aggressively just now? I felt like those two guys on the flank almost got me surrounded like dumplings. It felt like someone gently pulled me back from behind."

By the light of the lamp, Liu Yuanzheng carefully examined every inch of the blade of his longsword, without even raising his head when he heard this.

"Knowing you're strong is a good thing; it means you can still be saved. The guild leader said that only living warriors can sustain damage output. Next time, pay attention to formation coordination. You're not fighting alone. As for who pushed you... what do you think?"

Not far away, Elizabeth sat alone in a relatively quiet corner, naturally exuding an aura that kept strangers at bay.

She was staring down at her outstretched palm, a visible wisp of white, cold energy slowly swirling above it, gradually repairing a deep cut made by a bone blade on her arm armor.

The temperature around her was significantly lower than the average temperature inside the cabin, causing several team members who wanted to get closer to her to subconsciously keep their distance.

Meanwhile, on another warship, the Sharp 4 assault ship, the atmosphere was somewhat different.

Several members of the Eldar from the Sheena family gathered by the viewing window. Although they bore battle scars and grime, they still exuded an innate elegance, creating a subtle contrast with the excited Blue Star warriors around them.

"These Blue Star people should now be called the Silver Blue Race. Their fighting style is truly full of primal impact," a handsome young male Spirit Race member whispered to his companion.

He recalled the scene during the previous landing operation, where a Blue Star soldier braved a barrage of bone spikes from the Kunmo tribe, forcefully locking his opponent in place with his arm, and then shoving his other fist into the enemy's ferocious maw, blasting it apart. His lips twitched slightly involuntarily.

"You mean, brutal, right? But it works, doesn't it?"

Another slightly older, more composed Elven woman responded.

A vibrant emerald green energy swirled around her slender fingertips as she helped stabilize the condition of several wounded soldiers with the ship's medical officer.

"They lack the refined control and resonance with the rules of life passed down through generations in our family, but they have brought their physical ferocity, resilience, and combat wisdom that erupts in desperate situations to an astonishing degree."

She did not continue.

Clearly, those brutal and savage fighting styles were also deeply imprinted on the mind of this long-peaceful Elven race.

"Lady Irelia's decision to cooperate deeply with them may be due not only to Lord Lin Yi's talent, but also because, as a long-time guardian of the Silverblue Civilization, she has seen potential and qualities that we have failed to notice."

The elder Eldar concluded, "What we need to do is adapt, observe, and learn."

Meanwhile, on the Blood Wolf Mercenary Group's flagship "Wolf Howl," whose armor was covered in scratches and looked weathered, a completely different scene unfolded.

"Investigate! Where did this Dong Feng come from?"

Captain Buck took a big gulp of the energy drink that emitted a pungent smell and roared at the intelligence officer in front of him, spitting as he spoke.

"Commander, there's very little publicly available information."

The intelligence officer looked distressed, his fingers flying across the data panel. "They registered with a civilization called 'Silver Moon Blue,' and the data shows they just passed the civilization advancement assessment not long ago. Commander Lin Yi's personal information has an absurdly high level of confidentiality; our permissions are simply insufficient to conduct in-depth investigations."

"Fuck your mother's fart!"

Buck crushed the empty drink can in one swift motion. "Do you think I don't know what the reward for the Civilization Assessment is?"

"A newly advanced civilization? You're telling me a newly advanced civilization can use a North Wind-class aircraft as its flagship, and lead an entire squadron of Sharp-class and Guardian-class aircraft around? Can cultivate Star Core-class monsters that can instantly kill Star Vortexes? And have Star Domain-class aircraft in charge?!"

Buck, panting heavily, gleamed with a sharp glint in his eyes. "These guys are no ordinary people, so keep your eyes peeled! If you run into any of Dongfeng's people while you're at the border, help them out if you can, and make good connections. Anyone who dares to offend them, I'll be the first to throw them out to feed the space slugs!"

Similar discussions were also quietly taking place within several other mercenary groups that participated in the rescue, such as "Thorn Shield," "Eagle Eye," and "Frost Ashes."

The name "Dongfeng" slowly began to circulate among mercenaries in this border star region.

An hour later, a detailed battle damage report was presented to Lin Yi.

The Dongfeng Mercenary Group, as the decisive force in this battle, achieved an astonishing record of zero casualties against an elite assault team of the Kunmo tribe. Only less than ten members were seriously injured in the self-destruction attack by Kunmo fanatics, but they have now been transferred to life support pods and are in stable condition.

The others mainly suffered from high energy consumption, but none of them were fundamentally damaged.

This achievement is truly remarkable for a Level 4 emergency support mission.

Almost simultaneously with the confirmation of the report, Xuanji received a cross-stellar information stream from the Mercenary Alliance headquarters system.

[The Dongfeng Mercenary Group (original level: 1) has completed the "Emergency Support Outpost" mission (official final level: 4), with a battlefield contribution assessment of: decisive leadership. Based on a comprehensive consideration of team combat performance, mission difficulty, and final completion, the group has passed authorization verification. The Dongfeng Mercenary Group's level has been upgraded to: Level 2.]

[Updated permissions: The maximum level for accepting and posting missions has been increased to level 3; level 3 intelligence viewing and purchasing permissions have been unlocked; enjoy a 9.5% discount on total spending at all official and certified partner facilities under the Mercenary Alliance.]

Lin Yi was not surprised by this; he had already guessed this would happen when he accepted the mission.

An hour passed quickly.

The fleet did not linger outside the ruined stronghold. All the Dongfeng ships simultaneously unleashed dazzling, ghostly blue flames from their engines, heading towards the border legion's base, and sailed into the vast sea of ​​stars. The remaining voyage would take about ten days.

Lin Yi devoted most of his time to cultivation.

He was not merely restoring his nearly depleted source energy; rather, he was concentrating his mind and carefully analyzing every detail of the previous battle, especially the profound process of compressing and condensing the domain of rules to a single point when he finally used "Azure Blaze Breaking Boundary Flash."

This subtle manipulation of the power of rules is far more important than simply piling up energy.

While he was diligently cultivating, a subtle change was taking place within the Dongfeng Fleet.

Although the warriors from Blue Star were exhausted, the excitement of surviving their first major battle and fighting a powerful enemy, as well as the sense of honor brought by the upgrade of their mercenary group's level, kept them engaged in lively discussions and banter in the corridors and rest rooms. They exchanged combat experiences and boasted about their achievements.

The Elven members of the Sheena family, on the other hand, mostly maintained a quiet observation.

After all, although they had carried out missions together for decades, the exercises in the virtual network and the escort missions in the safe environment could not truly cultivate that kind of tacit understanding between life and death.

They began to take a more proactive approach to engaging in non-combat exchanges with the Blue Star warriors, inquiring about their training methods, learning about their cultural background, and trying to understand the origins of their wild and resilient fighting spirit.
-
Several days later, following navigation signals, the Dongfeng Fleet safely arrived at the warning and identification zone of the 93778th Border Legion of the Astronautical Army.

When the massive man-made military structure was fully revealed to everyone through the observation window, the Blue Star warriors, seeing such a large interstellar fortress for the first time, couldn't help but murmur among themselves.

It is not a natural celestial body, but a steel city forcibly connected, modified and expanded by numerous robust alloy structures and armor plates, using several meteorites with volumes comparable to small planets as the basic framework.

The cold metal surface is covered with thick composite armor, giving it a dark gray color.

Countless artillery emplacements, unmanned aerial vehicle launch arrays, point defense energy towers, and other diverse defensive weapons grew densely like a jungle, exuding a chilling and murderous aura.

Warships of all sizes moved along the waterway in an orderly fashion, like gears of a precision instrument, entering and exiting the massive docks that opened and closed like the breathing of a giant beast.

Clearly, the entire fortress was a massive machine built for war.

After the Dongfeng Mercenary Group submitted its identification code and underwent three different levels of security scans, the fleet was finally allowed to follow a navigation path clearly marked by beacons and slowly sail into the fortress.

Even the five-kilometer-long warship Northwind seemed less imposing in comparison to the magnificent passageways and enormous harbor inside the fortress.

Lin Yi brought only Irelia with him. They boarded a small transport boat and, guided by a standard Astral Army guide boat, silently glided through heavy isolation gates and through long corridors filled with defensive weapons, finally arriving at the command center located in the core area of ​​the fortress.

General Ruger, the supreme commander of the 93778th Border Legion, received them in an extremely simple room with almost no decoration except for the necessary communication equipment and a huge alloy conference table.

General Ruger was tall and had a resolute face. He wore the impeccably pressed uniform of an Astronautical officer, just like a dagger sheathed in its sheath.

He did not bring any adjutants or guards, but personally stood at the door of the conference room to greet the two, showing the high level of importance he attached to them.

"Commander Lin Yi, Ms. Irelia, welcome."

General Luger's gaze fell on Irelia, and he nodded slightly in greeting, his eyes showing basic respect for a powerful being of the same level, as well as a hint of surprise at seeing the Eldar.

After a brief introduction, Ruger cut straight to the point without any unnecessary small talk or pleasantries.

"I read the battlefield logs and tactical analysis reports in detail, especially the subsequent actions taken by Regiment Commander Lin Yi and Ms. Irelia to calm the situation."

"First of all, on behalf of the 93778th Border Legion, I would like to thank you both and the Dongfeng Mercenary Group for your outstanding contributions to the outpost defense battle."

"It's my duty, General, you don't need to be so polite."

Lin Yi's answer was equally direct.

Luger nodded slightly, then changed the subject, his tone becoming somewhat inquisitive: "I understand that Commander Lin Yi comes from the newly emerging Silver Moon Blue Civilization. It is truly rare for a nascent civilization to produce such an outstanding individual as yourself."

It is clear that Ruger used certain intelligence authority to conduct an investigation, but what he knows seems to remain superficial. At least he knows nothing about Irelia's true identity or Lin Yi's mentor.

In his understanding, he was more inclined to regard Lin Yi as a super genius who happened to be encountered by a primitive civilization, and then accepted investment from other major forces besides the Mercenary Alliance.

As for why the Spirit Clan was protecting him, he didn't think about it much.

Because humans and spirits have frequent interactions, there are many instances of intermarriage, and it's not uncommon for large factions to have members of the spirit race.

Lin Yi didn't pay much attention to Luger's praise.

After all, he had heard these kinds of things countless times when those powerful forces visited him before.

Therefore, he simply smiled and replied, "I am just a member of the Silver Blue Civilization. Without the civilization, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"Without civilization, there would be no today."

Ruger repeated the sentence softly, then leaned forward slightly, resting his elbows on the cold metal table, and looked intently at Lin Yi.

"The starry sea is boundless and never lacks so-called geniuses. But you are indeed worthy of being a genius who can obtain a level 7 rating. You were able to kill Xingxuan head-on with the power of a star core. Even in the genius battle, you are enough to be among the top 1000."

He paused briefly, looked intently at Lin Yi, and revealed the core purpose of the meeting.

"Therefore, on behalf of the 93778th Border Legion of the Astral Army, I would like to formally invite you, as well as all qualified members of the East Peak Mercenary Group, to join the tiered battlefield that is about to be officially designated and opened in our 'Ash Starfield'."

Tiered battlefields?

Lin Yi raised an eyebrow almost imperceptibly, his tone carrying a perfectly timed hint of surprise.

"This star system... I remember when I took on the logistics supply mission, it was considered a relatively safe area. Now, suddenly, a tiered battlefield is about to be officially activated?"

As a veteran mercenary who struggled to survive on the border and rose step by step in his previous life, Lin Yi was very familiar with this set of "unspoken rules" that prevailed in the border areas of various races.

The so-called tiered battlefield is an unspoken rule that various races tacitly agree to in order to keep conflicts within a certain range and prevent the situation from sliding into an uncontrollable all-out war.

This is quite similar to the border conflicts that have occurred between countries on Earth in the past. In low-intensity conflicts, even if firearms are available, they cannot be used; only ramming, pushing, and hand-to-hand combat can be used to prevent the situation from escalating.

The tiered battlefield system is based on similar considerations.

This is like putting reins on two giant beasts fighting each other, forcibly confining the destructive power and escalation risks of war within a relatively controllable cage.

In his previous life, the border skirmishes with the Kunmo tribe had only reached the level 4 battlefield before Lin Yi's death.

In the first four levels of battlefields, level 1 battlefields are limited to Stardust-level and below life forms.

That place is the cannon fodder legion of Bingyuan Star, the attrition-consuming vassal races, and the main battlefield for honing junior commanders. Although it may not seem very strong, the fighting is massive, with casualties in the hundreds of millions, making it quite tragic.

Level 2 battlefields are strictly limited to star core level, which is also the main area where Lin Yi frequented in his previous life.

In the Level 2 battlefield, the appearance of Star-level or higher forces is strictly prohibited; otherwise, it will immediately incur severe punishment from the supervisors on both sides.

The overseers are usually a few beings of the realm-level under the command of the Eternal Emperor, a cost that no one is willing to bear.

Tiered battlefields are both a meat grinder for low-level warriors and geniuses, and a place for lower-level forces to quickly accumulate resources, merits, and prestige to rise to power.

Lin Yi chose to take Dong Feng to the border with the intention of using this relatively "fair" set of rules to quickly train troops and accumulate initial capital.

Upon hearing Luger mention it, he immediately began to rapidly calculate the pros and cons and the opportunities involved, but he maintained a basic calm on the surface.

Ruger was not surprised that Lin Yi knew about the tiered battlefield; it was common knowledge in border areas, and any mercenary group heading to the border would know about it.

Therefore, he nodded, his expression becoming slightly more solemn than before: "The situation is changing. The Kunmo Clan and its affiliated races have significantly increased the frequency of their activities, the quality of their troop deployments, and the intensity of their competition for key resource star regions recently."

"Their sneak attack was aimed at reducing our geographical advantage before the K77 star system's tiered battlefield opens."

Ruger further explained in detail, "According to the preliminary agreement framework, the main focus will be on opening up battlefields at levels 1 to 3. I hope that the Dongfeng Mercenary Group, and of course, mainly you, can take on some mercenary missions in level 2 battlefields, depending on the situation."

(End of this chapter)