Reboot the Galaxy

Hundreds of people gathered in the spacious hall, and Di Yan felt as if he had returned to the annual regimental commendation ceremony many years ago when he served in the army.

At that time, he was a regular at the conference, and he would be awarded second- or third-class merits several times a year, and occasionally a first-class merit. For this, he needed to prepare his speech several days in advance, and he kept all of this in mind.

Time has passed, and he is no longer the proud soldier in the Chinese region. His experiences over the past few years have completely reshaped him.

"Our next task is very complex and may last for several days, so please be prepared."

Shi Ming began by stating his purpose, and everyone listened attentively. "Generally speaking, we need to carry out an armed crackdown on the disorderly spread of the alien species. This is also our first time conducting a cleanup operation, which may require us to penetrate deep into the alien species' territory. It is extremely dangerous, and we must strictly follow all of Xavier's instructions."

He gestured to the officers behind him, who then placed a mechanical object, more than two meters long and twenty centimeters thick, with a sharp point at one end, on the ground. The conspicuous tip pointed straight up, like an oversized, slender bullet.

"This thing is called a 'Special Frequency Alien Signal Generator,' or you can simply call it a 'Special Frequency Signal Generator.' It's our latest achievement in alien research." Shi Ming placed his hand on the Special Frequency Signal Generator and began to explain its working principle.

The special frequency signaler has a mottled color scheme, with silver and black interspersed, and its surface structure is exposed. The middle section looks like it is made up of a large number of coils.

Powered by nuclear fission batteries, it eliminates concerns about energy and can continuously emit special frequency signals within a certain area to block the feeding desires of native alien species.

Through long-term research, the scientific research team has analyzed the essence of the original xenogeneic division, which is actually an energy surplus reaction caused by overeating.

Suppressing this desire can effectively block the reproduction of native alien species, thereby limiting their expansion of territory.

The special frequency signal device is still under production, and the first batch of 368 has been delivered. Each soldier's mech will be equipped with one.

"Everyone needs to arrange the special frequency signalers in an orderly manner under Xavier's command. They can form an array to exert a more significant effect." Shi Ming suddenly paused, as if carefully considering the words that followed.

"Our positions must be located around the perimeter of the alien territory, but their territory extends deep underground. We can't just dig down directly; it would be inefficient, and we don't have the equipment to do so."

Shi Ming's next words left everyone speechless: "The current plan is to enter through the holes left by the alien species on the surface. Even if this puts us in the center of their territory, it will make it easier for us to quickly and directly head to the edge."

Di Yan's eighth squad suddenly erupted in discussion, criticizing the plan as extremely dangerous and playing with the lives of soldiers.

The other seven teams all turned their heads to look, with only a few occasionally exchanging a few words under the cover of the commotion.

"Eighth squad, be quiet," Shi Ming said, staring at the loosely organized eighth squad, a stark contrast to the other seven squads that stood in neat rows.

"I know this plan is dangerous. After all, we've always carried out missions on the surface and have never entered these holes before. Everything inside is unknown to us. But we have no other choice now and can't let them continue to develop."

This is also our reason for being—we are soldiers, the strength of the Federation. Serving the Federation is our fundamental principle, something each of you is familiar with.

"Screw serving the Federation." This sentiment was not uncommon in the Eighth Squad.

Shi Ming finally gave the order: "Everyone stand by in your respective J-45s. We will begin the operation at approximately 3:00 PM."

Back inside the J-45, the "Yellow Race Alliance" and the African team gathered together. Even though these 12 people made up a quarter of the size of the eighth team, they were still a minority. So, He Xu jokingly called for the name of the "Alliance" to be changed to the "Minority Alliance".

To his surprise, Norihiko Onamura agreed on the spot. After all, this was just a small group he had formed on a whim, so the name didn't matter.

"I find it very interesting! I feel very safe being able to act together with everyone," Mpuent said with a friendly smile.

"Whatever you want, it's the same for me wherever I am."

Di Yan gave a perfunctory reply, glancing towards the back of the assembly hall, where people were already transporting special frequency signalers down to the lower levels.

These devices are larger than the plasma gun and are temporary equipment that must be installed manually.

"I think we should continue to work together," Norihiko Tomura suggested.

"Didn't we say we had to obey Xavier's orders?" Ahn Jae-in asked, slightly puzzled.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you. You weren't involved in the last operation in Africa, so you don't know about this."

He explained, "The rest of us set off together, so Xavier saw us as a unit and naturally assigned us similar tasks. I believe this is one layer of logic in Xavier's command of operations, namely the 'proximity principle'."

"I think that makes sense."

As he spoke, Norihiko Tomura hugged his wife tightly, while Wasabi Isayama watched the busy scene of workers carrying special frequency signalers into the elevator.

"I think Xavier is really amazing. Let's go together, there won't be any problems," said one of the people from the Vietnamese area.

However, the man from the Thai district chuckled lightly: "Ruan Zhicheng, if the robot sent you to your death, would you go with it?"

A Vietnamese man named Nguyen Chi Thanh punched his arm: "Cha Long, if you keep talking nonsense, I'll drag you down with me when I'm about to die."

Another Vietnamese man named Nguyen Hu Trung saw his two Kachin colleagues joking around again and just gave them a cold, indifferent look, as if he was already used to it.

As captain, Mpuente was whispering instructions to his three teammates. The teammates listened attentively, nodding repeatedly.

The waiting time flew by, and soon it was three o'clock in the afternoon. Everyone gathered again in the assembly hall.

There was something that Di Yan couldn't figure out. It was obvious from the meeting that morning when Sergeant Shi Ming was holding that only their Eighth Squad was a makeshift unit, while the other seven squads seemed like a solid block of steel.

He initially thought there must be more than one team like theirs, but in fact, the opposite was true; they really were the "only one".

This is strange. Ahn Jae-in once mentioned that their number of forty-odd people was actually very small, and they couldn't accomplish anything significant.

What makes the Eighth Squad different? How does their mission differ from that of the other squads?

Di Yan didn't know what others thought, but he was unwilling to entrust his life to Xavier.

These people have special backgrounds and will definitely be assigned special tasks.

If those in power overestimate the capabilities of these "war maniacs" and forcibly issue orders that are impossible to fulfill, resulting in everyone being trapped in a crisis...

Di Yan snapped out of his thoughts. In front of him was the mecha that was already bound to him: DX-12-1168.

Looking to his side, he saw He Xu, a few meters away, making eye contact with him and nodding.

Di Yan took a deep breath, nodded in response, and decisively stepped into the mecha cockpit, lying on the elastic reset system, where the tactile material enveloped him.

Xavier's deep, steady voice came through the headset: "Mech synchronized. Mech number: DX-12-1168. Hello, Di Yan. Please do not move and wait for the hatch to open."

"Di Yan, this time we absolutely have to look after each other." He Xu kept in mind that he was the only fellow villager in the team.

"No problem," Di Yan replied.

The bulkhead cracked and expanded, revealing a new view; the J-45 had now stopped at its destination.

Di Yan immediately noticed the landscape outside: there was no sky in sight, only a dark rock wall and soil, which looked very far away, high up covering the sky, and the starship was docked in what seemed to be a deep pit.

Xavier relayed the order: "Disembark and line up freely outside. Do not stray more than 100 meters from the starship. Wait for further instructions in five minutes."

The air pressure inside the starship was normal, and various sounds were transmitted to Di Yan's ears through his headset. What he heard was the sound of dozens of mechs stomping on the ground as they moved forward.

The sounds of mechanical friction and the crisp clatter of colliding parts told him that the planetary landing operation that Li Guangyu had mentioned was finally about to be realized.

The moment he stepped out of the starship, all sound vanished, as if the whole world had been muted.

Once freed from the gravitational pull of the starship's internal control, the planet's gravity is very weak. Therefore, the individual mechs will undergo power adaptation to reduce the transmission ratio, preventing the pilot from experiencing a "flying" sensation.

"Holy crap..."

After stepping out of the starship, He Xu looked around and uttered this sigh.

Outside the J-45, 46 individual mechs were in separate teams. Without any reference points, they appeared incredibly small compared to the surrounding landscape.

Looking down from here, the group found themselves in a very complex terrain, with uneven surfaces, undulating heights, and intersecting rock layers everywhere.

In some places, the rock formations are hundreds of meters above the ground, with the rock layers exposed like lasagna. The dense textures are the result of frequent volcanic activity on the planet Io.

In some places, the abyss is hundreds of meters wide, as if the earth had been cleaved open by a giant blade, leaving several shocking wounds.

The ground was covered with dark gray rocks, occasionally interspersed with light-colored crystals, and between these rocks and crystals were many orange-yellow sulfur deposits.

Such a vast and expansive terrain is an eye-opener for everyone, and it is clearly thanks to the alien species; such a scene could not have been created by natural geological evolution.

Everywhere it was ravaged to varying degrees. The steep rock walls were riddled with holes, like rotten black cheese; the ground was full of pits of different sizes, like the remnants of a great battle.

The gray-yellow atmosphere enveloped the earth, adding a sense of desolation and the passage of time to everything.

Surprised, Di Yan couldn't help but wonder, so he tried asking into the headset, "Xavier, can you answer the question?"

"Of course, what's the problem?" Xavier's voice was calm and steady, like that of a wise man over fifty.

"Is it really possible that not a single alien species can be seen on the surface anymore?"

Di Yan has only seen the damaged and wounded terrain so far, and has not seen any "living things".

"It's highly likely that so. Our landing spot has been carefully selected. This place used to be a habitat for native alien species. About half a year ago, they chose to migrate inland en masse. Even on the surface where the temperature is suitable, we can no longer find them."

"Relocating inwards? You mean underground?"

"Not entirely. They initially migrated to the hotter zones closer to the volcanoes, and then began to move underground. It is not yet clear why they did this."

"You mean there's a volcano nearby?"

"Yes, there is an active volcano 35 kilometers away from our landing site. It is currently dormant and the temperature is stable."

Di Yan began to organize the information in his mind when suddenly Tomura Naohiko's voice came through his earpiece: "Brother Di Yan, come and gather together. We'll act together in a bit."

The group was discussing detailed tactical arrangements, since Xavier couldn't reassure everyone, so they kept discussing formations, configurations, and other issues, just in case.

After all, when faced with real danger, the cold, impersonal voice in the headset is of little use; the living, breathing teammates beside you are the only real support.

"You make the arrangements, I'll listen to you."

Di Yan chose to follow Yuancun Mingyan's arrangement and used his free time to observe the movements of others.

If Li Guangyu intends for him to act as the "executioner," then there is a high probability that a target will appear for this mission.

Now he can easily tell who is piloting which mech, because whenever he looks at a mech, his iris can identify it and display the pilot's number and name above the mech.

It now appears that the eighth squad has been divided into seven smaller teams by the group itself.

The "minority alliance" had the most members, with 12 people; followed by Hellfire and the EU Legion, each with 8 people; and then Carlson Mephisto's group of veterans from the U.S. Marine Corps, with 7 people.

Di Yan knew that if Quilt were still alive, this group would consist of eight people, just like Hellfire and the EU Legion.

The other three teams are quite interesting, consisting of one five-person team and two three-person teams.

Of the five people in the group, Di Yan only knew one of them, a Jew named Kalman Dmitri.

He is an assassin codenamed "Kal".

Kalman is affiliated with a mysterious global assassin organization. Di Yan got to know him because more than a year ago, Kalman personally visited him to invite him to join the organization, but he refused.

It was quite dramatic in Di Yan's eyes that the two would eventually reunite here in this way.

But in all the time he'd been with Starfleet, Karman Dmitri had never contacted him, and the two seemed like complete strangers.

Di Yan didn't think the other party had forgotten him; there might be another reason.

Of the other two teams, one was composed entirely of women. Di Yan could roughly guess that these three must have formed a small group similar to "best friends".

Finally, there were three brothers from the Salamanca family in Mexico, whom Di Yan had never heard of before.

Overall, however, elites from all over the world, from various organizations and forces, have finally gathered here under the organization of the Starship Force.

"Hehe..." A smile appeared on Di Yan's lips.

He wanted to see what kind of sparks would fly between these people, each with their own ulterior motives.