Chapter 442: Commendation
Chapter 442: Commendation
The telegram from Outpost 73 was promptly received by the Operations Room at the Command Center.
However, upon learning this news, the personnel in the Operations Room were momentarily bewildered, followed by skepticism.
Although there was no need to fabricate such an event, a simple verification could determine its authenticity. Yet, the Iron Demon had indeed perplexed them for a long time.
In the past, they had dispatched powerful squads for pursuit operations, but the Iron Demon always managed to escape through gaps in the encirclement, wasting significant manpower and resources without achieving any substantial results.
This time, the Iron Demon had chosen an opportune moment, precisely during a vulnerable period when the rear was undermanned. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dispatched the only squad that had just arrived at the Convergence Zone and was still adapting.
Initially, they didn't expect this squad to accomplish much; they merely wanted them to keep an eye on the Iron Demon and pose a threat, preventing them from wreaking havoc in the rear.
But now, after only a few days, they claimed to have annihilated a large portion of the Iron Demon?
After some discussion, they decided not to report it immediately. Instead, they sent a serious reply, requesting confirmation of the authenticity of the telegram.
Although Rao Consultant's reply came swiftly, they still didn't report it. Later that night, Chen Chuan returned to Outpost 73 with the spoils of war, including the Iron Demon's head. After reporting it under the outpost's name, they finally confirmed the news and forwarded the message to their superiors.
A few minutes later, the message reached the hands of Qiao Weiting, the person in charge at the Command Center. He first noted that this squad had arrived less than seven days ago.
Typically, a squad like this would not be assigned to carry out adaptive missions.
He turned to his deputy and said, "I recall this is the squad that Commissioner Liang requested to form, isn't it?"
"Yes, Deputy Commander, that's correct. It's them."
"So, it was them."
Qiao Weiting nodded. This squad was specifically named and assembled with elite personnel, and he had a general idea of their purpose.
He said, "Chen Executor is now a First-Rank Executor, right?"
"Yes."
Qiao Weiting tapped the desk and reviewed the resumes of Chen Chuan and his two teammates, focusing primarily on Chen Chuan's.
"Hmm, according to his file, he has accumulated quite a few merits. With this, he can be promoted by one rank. Following the Command Center's reward and punishment standards, he can be promoted to Executive Captain, and his two teammates can be promoted to Second-Rank Executors in sequence."
The deputy reminded him, "Commander, this Chen Executor has already been promoted by one rank after joining the Defense Plan. It's only been a few days since then, and now you want to promote him again... isn't it a bit too soon?"
Qiao Weiting replied, "Merits are merits; there's no concept of early or late. If we don't reward a comrade who has achieved such merits, no one will be motivated in the future.
Moreover, a single squad's resolution of a long-standing issue at the outpost is commendable. After the procedures are completed, we will issue a commendation in the name of the Command Center and have someone bring my service pistol to them, hoping they will continue their excellent work."
"Yes, sir!"
Meanwhile, Chen Chuan spent the night at Outpost 73 and then bid farewell to Hai Cheng and the others. He returned to Outpost 4, where they had initially set out, carrying the Iron Demon's head and the spoils of war.
At Outpost 4, officials sent by the Command Center were already waiting. They examined the Iron Demon's head and armor documents, confirmed it was the real Iron Demon, completed the handover procedures, and then shook hands with them, sharing a smile and some news of their impending promotions before departing.
Since they had only attended two days of classes, some essential information had not been fully conveyed. So, upon their return, they took the opportunity to make up for these missed lessons during their rest.
Apart from what they had been informed about, the remaining content primarily focused on basic knowledge about the indigenous life forms in the Convergence Zone. In reality, these were the everyday threats faced by the garrison in the Convergence Zone.
The garrison's location was carved out of the territories of these indigenous life forms. Although hot weapons could handle most of them, the Convergence Zone remained a challenging environment. Many life forms possessed nearly fighter-level metamorphic organizations, causing significant trouble during the initial exploration.
The larger these life forms, the more challenging they were to deal with. Contact should be avoided as much as possible. Initially, the plan was for them to adapt by hunting down some dangerous life forms, but they had now skipped this phase.
Five days later, in the public telephone booth of the outpost's fortress, Yuan Qiuyuan was making a call. A female voice came through the receiver, "Your captain is quite extraordinary. You should follow his lead closely."
"I know."
"Well, our little brother has become so obedient. It seems sending you to the outpost was the right decision."
"Alright, sis, do you have anything else to say? If not, I'll hang up."
"It's good to foster camaraderie. Once you're out there, your teammates are your only source of support. You need to build good relationships with them."
"I understand."
After hanging up the call, Yuan Qiuyuan exited the telephone booth, put on his hat, and headed towards the restaurant. As he walked, the outpost's personnel would stop to greet and salute him, and he would return the gestures with equal courtesy.
He felt elated inside. Although the official order had not yet been issued, he knew he would be promoted to Second-Rank Executor. It had only been a few days, and his older sister's promotion hadn't been as swift. If he kept up the momentum and pushed a little harder, surpassing his older sister wouldn't be difficult. In the future, he might even outshine her at home.
Action: In the restaurant, Chen Chuan and Qin Qingque were already there. He hurried over and quickly ordered a meal, sitting down on the other side. After a few bites, he asked, "Captain, when will we be assigned a mission again?"
Qin Qingque looked at him and replied, "We've already been promoted once, it's unlikely we'll get another promotion anytime soon."
"Hey, I'm not thinking about a promotion," he said. "I just want to go on missions with the captain. It's so boring to be stuck here all day, looking at all sorts of meaningless stuff."
Chen Chuan said, "There will be missions. You guys should prepare yourselves."
Hearing this, the two knew that he must have received some news. Yuan Qiuyuan immediately felt relieved and started eating heartily.
After lunch, Chen Chuan left the restaurant and walked down the corridor. A duty soldier saluted him and said, "Executor Chen, please come over here."
Chen Chuan nodded and followed the soldier to a reception room. Pei Canshi was already waiting for him. When he entered, Pei Canshi asked the soldier to leave and extended his hand with a smile, saying, "The order has been issued. Today, someone will officially come to appoint you as the executive captain, Captain Chen. Congratulations."
Chen Chuan shook his hand and said, "Thank you."
The promotion to executive captain was not easy. Usually, capable individuals would need to be in their thirties or forties to reach this rank because it was a threshold.
In terms of status, it could be considered a promotion from a pure combat personnel to a military official. In the outpost, he would now be qualified to attend military meetings.
And in terms of rank, even if he wasn't at the outpost, but was transferred to work in the center, he could directly assume some key positions in violent institutions.
Although he felt it was good, at least his salary and treatment had improved, he knew that these were all due to his combat prowess. So, he understood that this was the fundamental reason, without combat prowess, he wouldn't have these benefits.
Pei Canshi asked him to sit down and brought a can of tea, smiling, "Everything is kept simple here at the outpost. It's not easy to transport things here, this tea is from the last time I came. No one has drunk it for me, today I invite Captain Chen to have a taste."
He personally poured tea for Chen Chuan, and as the tea leaves floated in the water, a refreshing aroma filled the room.
At this moment, Pei Canshi said, "Captain Chen, you know, the convergence zone actually has many unique products that can bring us a lot of benefits. Many companies have established factories and research institutes in the rear."
Chen Chuan asked, "Do we have any here in the outpost?"
Pei Canshi shook his head and sat down, saying, "Although we are considered the rear, compared to the front, it is actually a combat zone. You can see that this place is not very stable, and those factories are in a safer location, with a higher defense level than here."
At this moment, Pei Canshi reached out and took a box from the side, placing it on the table, "This time, Captain Chen, what you and your team did solved a problem for the higher-ups. This is the special medication provided by the command center for your team. They gave the go-ahead to distribute it to you in advance. How to distribute it is up to you and your team to discuss."
Chen Chuan understood that 'discuss as a team' actually meant the captain would decide. This was the captain's authority within the squad.
So, if a squad member didn't listen to the captain, they would often be deducted from their medication allocation or assigned dangerous missions.
In the best-case scenario, they would have to either back down or find a way to transfer out.
Some would even find excuses to get more medication, targeting their teammates.
But Chen Chuan would never use these tactics against his teammates. Aside from the fact that he wouldn't take what didn't belong to him, he also believed in his own strength.
He said, "Thank you, Consultant Pei."
Pei Canshi smiled and then added, "This commendation for you was supposed to come earlier, but some people insisted on following procedures. They reviewed and checked it several times, delaying it until the last date."
As he spoke, he gestured towards the box in front of him, "And these medications, if not for the higher-ups' approval, you wouldn't have received them."
Although he didn't name anyone, Chen Chuan knew from the pressure he received the other day that there were factions within the outpost.
Since he was brought in by Pei Canshi, he was naturally part of one faction, while others might be intentionally putting pressure on him, causing trouble. It wasn't about personal likes or dislikes, but about avoiding inevitable conflicts.
However, he always believed in his own strength. If his abilities reached a certain level, he could gradually break free from external constraints and shackles.
Pei Canshi said, "Additionally..."
He glanced outside, and his body on the sofa shifted slightly forward, lowering his voice, "That person, although officially cleared of suspicion, has been forced to take a leave of absence. They might pass through here in the next few days, Captain Chen, please keep an eye out..."
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(End of Chapter)
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