Qiu Zijun said somewhat awkwardly, "At that time, I was anxious for them to tell me the whereabouts of my comrades, so I used Rocket Launchers to carpet bomb the area first..."
Xia Chujian laughed and said, "Using Rocket Launchers is good! I didn't expect Second Lieutenant Qiu to look so refined, but you're also a sufferer of Fear of Insufficient Firepower! Same here! Same here!"
Qiu Zijun cautiously observed Xia Chujian until she was sure that she was not really angry, and then she felt relieved.
Xia Chujian had not changed her speaking voice, so Qiu Zijun always thought she was a man.
The three of them stood in front of the burned-down Thatched Cottage, and Xia Chujian asked Mao Yonggui to give her the pile of nameplates that had melted into a lump, making it difficult to distinguish each other's identities.
She planned to have Seven Lù use its heaven-defying forging ability to try to restore the nameplates.
Then take them back to the Beichen Empire and hand them over to the Special Security Bureau.
Qiu Zijun watched Mao Yonggui and the others busily working, and asked in a low voice, "Did you bring so many Gene Evolvers?"
Xia Chujian lowered her head to look at her: "...How did you see that?"
This sentence was actually a question, questioning why she came to this conclusion.
But it was also an ambiguous sentence.
Qiu Zijun really understood it according to the ambiguous aspect.
She said, "Those hundreds of Mecha Warriors are proof. Because ordinary Starry Sky Marines cannot wear Mecha."
This was a convention of the Interstellar Fleet, everyone thought so, but Xia Chujian didn't think so.
She still didn't think so now, and said, "Then you guessed wrong. Those are my Starry Sky Marines."
"On my Starship, every Starry Sky Marine is equipped with a Mecha."
"Also, in the environment of Senze Star, if you don't give ordinary people Mecha, do you want them to die?"
Qiu Zijun seemed to have never thought about it from this perspective.
She murmured, "But Combat Suits and Military Exoskeletons also protect against radiation... Why must it be Mecha?"
Xia Chujian said, "That's a matter of opinion. Besides, can the effectiveness of Combat Suits and Military Exoskeletons in preventing radiation compare with Mecha with all-round protection?"
Qiu Zijun nodded in agreement: "Of course not."
She looked at Xia Chujian frankly and said, "But those Starry Sky Marines have never been exposed to Mecha. In a short period of time, they cannot smoothly pilot Mecha."
Xia Chujian asked back, "Have you let them try?"
Qiu Zijun shook her head blankly: "Of course not. In the Interstellar Fleet, no one would risk violating military discipline to let Starry Sky Marines learn to pilot Mecha."
Xia Chujian smiled, originally wanting to say that this was not specified in the military law and military discipline.
Because this was just a so-called "convention" unspoken rule.
If someone else had said this, Xia Chujian would have definitely retorted.
But Qiu Zijun gave her too good of an impression, and she didn't want to embarrass this girl.
Moreover, in Xia Chujian's opinion, Qiu Zijun just didn't have the ability to nitpick like her.
People are serving as soldiers in a proper manner, why should she retort? Xia Chujian calmly changed the subject and said, "Second Lieutenant Qiu, what mission are you here to carry out on Senze Star?"
Qiu Zijun immediately said, "Catch Longevity Flying Fish. What about you?"
Xia Chujian said, "...Same. But we've been here for a day, and we haven't even seen the shadow of a Longevity Flying Fish."
Qiu Zijun couldn't help but laugh at this time, and said, "Only been here for a day, don't worry."
"We were also lucky to catch a Longevity Flying Fish on the second day!"
Xia Chujian seemed very interested in this matter, and said with interest, "Really? How exactly did you catch it? Can you tell me in detail?"
Qiu Zijun spread her hands and said, "To be honest, I don't know how they caught it."
"At that time, I was sketching at the Coral Tree and took a lot of photos."
"When I returned to the Airship at night, they said the mission was completed and they were going to return."
"Then I went to find Zhang Jie and Xiao Hui, planning to have them have dinner with me."
"But I couldn't find them in the bottom cabin of the Airship..."
"They couldn't be found in any of the airship's compartments."
"Later, I asked other people, and they said that these Starry Sky Marines were ambushed by the Shang People..."
"I begged them to go and rescue them, but they said there was no need to have a deathmatch with the Shang People..."
"If they won't save them, I will!"
"So I found a Small Combat Aircraft and sneaked off the airship."
Qiu Zijun continued, "At the time, I just thought this planet wasn't very big, and I should be able to find them after searching for a while."
"But as soon as I left the airship, it flew away."
"I sent them messages, but no one replied..."
"I gritted my teeth and thought, if I can't find Zhang Jie and the others, I won't go back!"
"My family loves me, and when they find out I'm missing, they definitely won't let it go."
"When that time comes, these people will still have to come and pick me up."
After listening, Xia Chujian thought, so this woman has someone to rely on.
Her family loves her and won't let her disappear for nothing.
Actually, it's the same for me!
If I suddenly disappeared, not only my family, but also Master Su Buyan and Leader Meng Guanghui, wouldn't ignore it!
But those Starry Sky Marines, they also have family and friends...
Just because their family and friends are ordinary people, and don't have as much influence as her and Qiu Zijun's family and friends, so they can be sacrificed for nothing?
Xia Chujian suppressed the anger in her heart and calmly asked, "Second Lieutenant Qiu is a kind person. Who is the person in charge of your military operation this time?"
Qiu Zijun said, "It's Major Rong Zhongruo."
Xia Chujian thought, it really was him.
That sacrificed female marine was still very sharp and smart.
Xia Chujian continued without batting an eye, "This matter is of great importance. Will you report your person in charge this time?"
Qiu Zijun immediately said seriously, "Of course I will report him! Because that military operation was a complete failure!"
"Although we hunted Longevity Flying Fish, we lost so many Starry Sky Marines!"
Xia Chujian's eyes flickered slightly, and she said, "But Starry Sky Marines don't count towards combat loss quotas. If you say that, those people won't take it seriously."
Qiu Zijun frowned and said, "So that's how it is... No wonder they didn't take it seriously when I said so many Starry Sky Marines were ambushed."
Xia Chujian raised her eyebrows: "You didn't know this?"
Qiu Zijun said frankly, "I only enlisted a month ago. This is my first time on a mission. Zhang Jie and the others took special care of me. I just wanted to return the favor."
Xia Chujian sighed. This is a new recruit who hasn't been affected by the ranking system in the Interstellar Fleet.
No wonder!
Qiu Zijun frowned and pondered, and asked, "Why don't Starry Sky Marines count towards combat loss quotas? Are their lives not lives?"
Xia Chujian put away the Flame Thrower on her left arm and said lightly, "That's a question for the Military upper echelons. Didn't they make these rules?"
"Also..." Xia Chujian looked at the indignant female Second Lieutenant and said, "I heard some Shang People say that these marines were exchanged to them, and it wasn't an ambush by the Shang People that led to defeat."
What a joke, even if it really was an ambush, these Starry Sky Marines would beat those native Shang People to a pulp in minutes! Qiu Zijun was shocked and exclaimed, "No way?! How could it be an exchange?! That's impossible!"
Xia Chujian looked at her, completely understanding her psychological state of refusing to believe it.
She didn't explain, waiting for her to figure it out herself.
But Qiu Zijun couldn't figure it out no matter what, and said in a daze, "That's impossible... I don't believe it... The Captain, pilots, and officers are all pretty good, how could they do such a thing?"
"These people are also our comrades!"
Because of the word "comrades," Xia Chujian chose to believe her and silently played the video recorded by her Shao Siming Mecha's camera.
From the moment Xia Chujian left the Starry Sky Airship, her camera had been working.
The data videos taken along the way are probably more than what the Military has.
Of course, these videos were actually taken by Seven Lù.
Seven Lù needs this data for logical judgment.
And Xia Chujian just wants evidence.
When Qiu Zijun heard the Shang People outside those deep pits say those words, she completely broke down.
She covered her mouth, tears falling like beads.
Her already delicate face looked fragile yet strong at this moment.
Even Xia Chujian couldn't help but feel pity.
It's just a pity that she's still wearing a three-meter-tall Mecha and can't hug Qiu Zijun or pat her on the shoulder.
So Xia Chujian didn't say anything, just stood quietly aside, waiting for Qiu Zijun to calm down.
Just then, Xia Chujian suddenly felt a tremor in the air behind her.
This feeling was very slight, like a butterfly gently brushing her helmet, or a leaf falling on her Mecha's shoulder.
If it were an ordinary person, no one would even notice this feeling.
But Xia Chujian instinctively felt something was wrong.
She suddenly soared into the air. The Shao Siming Black Silver Mecha's explosive power is unmatched by conventional Mechas.
The speed at which it started in that instant caused huge air fluctuations, knocking Qiu Zijun, who was standing next to her, to the ground.
And it was precisely because of Xia Chujian's actions that two Sniper Bullets whizzed past the spot where she and Qiu Zijun had just been standing.
Xia Chujian flew upwards, dodging the Sniper Bullet that used a powerful silencer.
Qiu Zijun was purely lucky.
The air current stirred up by Xia Chujian's ascent knocked her to the ground, and by a stroke of luck, she also dodged the Sniper Bullet aimed at her.
Bang! The two Sniper Bullets pierced through the open space and hit two Coral Trees in front.
With a loud bang, holes the size of heads were blasted out of the stems of the two Coral Trees.
Flames quickly erupted from the holes, emitting Black Smoke, and then quickly extinguished.
These large trees are grown from mutated seabed corals. They look like trees, but they are not plants, but animals.
The main trunks of these Coral Trees are still secretions of dead coral polyps, and the main component is calcium carbonate.
And the branches outside the main trunk are actually gregarious coral polyps.
When the two Sniper Bullets pierced the outer coral polyps, causing them to burn, they did not continue when they burned to the main trunk inside.
Because the main trunk components of those Coral Trees are calcium carbonate, which is non-flammable.
Therefore, the flames quickly went out, and only wisps of Black Smoke rose from the colorful Coral Tree bushes.
Xia Chujian narrowed her eyes and muttered to herself, "...It turned out to be Sniper Bullets with Incendiary Bomb components."
"Such weapons are a bit advanced... Could there be other Gene Evolvers here?"
If the Mecha on her body was not the Shao Siming made of Special Metal, but an ordinary Mecha made of Conventional Metal.
And that kind of Incendiary Sniper Bullet, also called an Armor-Piercing Incendiary Bullet, could definitely blow up a Conventional Mecha.
This is the first update, almost forgot to upload it. Good night, everyone!
The second update will be at one o'clock in the afternoon.
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