Chapter 2#

The Beta Lieutenant Colonel Who Died for His Country#

The training session had just wrapped up when the holodevice on Lu Heng’s wrist suddenly chimed with an incoming communication. The fact that someone could time their call to the exact minute suggested it was someone well acquainted with his routine.

After he pressed the answer button, a holographic image of a man in military attire materialized out of thin air. His facial features were strikingly sharp, his nose bridge high, his eye sockets deep and set. A head of slightly curly red hair was somewhat disheveled. The top buttons of his shirt hung open, faintly revealing a powerful, well-defined chest, while his military jacket was slung carelessly over his shoulders. The whole man exuded an untamed, wild charm—it was none other than Royter.

“Hey there, little Nana~ Are you in the middle of training? The way your face is all flushed red like that reminds me of so many memories…”

“Your Excellency Commander, is there something you need?” Lu Heng cut him off expressionlessly. Once Royter started reminiscing about the past, there was no getting the conversation back on track anytime soon.

“I think there’s still plenty of time. We could chat a little about old times.” Royte looked like he was far from finished.

“Your Excellency Commander, is there something you need?” Lu Heng repeated, his tone icy.

Royter was about to say something when a soft, clear voice suddenly interjected: “Royter, if you keep this up, be careful you don’t get your call hung up on again.”

His expression stiffened for an instant—apparently recalling the scene of having his call hung up without ceremony last time. A moment later, Royter put away the unserious grin on his face and said gravely: “Lieutenant Lainer, please report to the Combat Command Center at once. There is important intelligence.”

“Yes, sir. On my way.”

It was honestly quite remarkable that two people with completely opposite temperaments had managed to become best friends. Lu Heng picked up a pair of decorative non-prescription glasses from the desk, set them on the bridge of his nose, and walked out of his cabin.

Along the lengthy bridge of the warship, Lu Heng strode toward the Combat Command Center located at the vessel’s prow. His back and spine were ramrod straight, each step as precise as if measured with a ruler. His military boots struck the hard deck with an extremely regular tak-tak-tak.

Soldiers along the way straightened up and rendered a crisp military salute as Lu Heng passed. Perhaps owing to the Commander’s personality, the Gale Legion actually wasn’t as rigidly rule-bound as the other legions. When there were no missions, the overall atmosphere aboard the warship tended to be relatively relaxed and easygoing. However, Lu Heng’s presence was decidedly excluded from this. Serious and unyielding to a fault, he had always demanded that everyone in the Gale Legion hold themselves to the strictest military standards at all times. Coupled with his rigid adherence to rules and his lack of emotional flexibility on many matters, there were in fact quite a few dissenting voices circulating within the Legion.

A soldier who had just saluted Lu Heng watched his figure disappear around a corner, then immediately raised his own eyes with his fingers, mimicking Lu Heng’s expression. His companion’s shoulders shook with a knowing smirk, though they didn’t dare to laugh out loud—they certainly weren’t going to challenge the hearing of a 3S-level individual.

Over on the other side, Royter—who had been hung up on—flopped dejectedly onto the table, muttering to himself: “It’s getting less and less fun. I just want to see little Nana’s blushing face when teased again…”

“Royter, are you and Lieutenant Lainer very close?” The youth who spoke was extremely handsome and delicate. His skin was as fair and smooth as cream, his lips as lush and soft as flower petals. With his slender shoulders and willowy waist, he was as beautiful as an Omega.

“Of course! We’ve known each other since we were three. Little Nana back then was just as cute as you are, little Carlo.” The more Royter spoke, the more nostalgically he thought of the younger Lainer—bashful, adorable, obedient, and believing everything he said. Not like now, acting like some old scholar, spouting nothing but military regulations and discipline.

Even the teenage Lainer would have been fine, though he had been led astray by me a bit. Royter sighed heavily in his heart.

Carlo’s eyes widened, his rosy lips parting slightly in surprise: “Really? I always thought Lieutenant Lainer was this serious. The first time I met him, I got the vibe of running into a school disciplinarian.”

“Not at all! Back in the military academy, a lot of the mischievous ideas were actually little Nana’s. What a beautiful time of youth that was.” Royter sat up straight, suddenly reinvigorated. “You know, during our freshman boot camp, that drill instructor—”

“I used to hear all about the Captain’s exploits while I was in the military academy. That’s when I resolved to join the Gale Legion.” Carlo interrupted Royter somewhat abruptly.

Though having his reminiscences cut off twice in a row left Royter feeling a little regretful, he always had a few extra degrees of patience for Carlo. Following Carlo’s lead, Royter picked out a few entertaining anecdotes from their military academy days to tell him, keeping Carlo in fits of giggles.

Just as the two were chatting in high spirits, the door of the Combat Command Center slid open, and Carlo suddenly went quiet.

A few awkward moments hung in the air, but Lu Heng walked in as though sensing absolutely nothing. He saluted Royter, then took a seat to his right.

“Shall we begin then?” Royter nodded, then switched on the holographic projector.

What appeared in midair was a yellow planet. It was a neutral world—resource-poor, blanketed in endless yellow sand, not belonging to any specific nation within the Human Alliance. It was heaven for all criminals, swindlers, thieves, and prostitutes; the favorite den of iniquity for the most wanted fugitives and the most bloodthirsty space pirates. Here, the order of the day was the absence of order.

“According to reliable intelligence, Aleyden is currently hiding in Nabia, the largest city on Planet Frey.” Royter expanded the planetary projection and zoomed in on a city in the northern hemisphere.

“He wants to offload the Starway Chart at an auction?” Lu Heng furrowed his brow.

“Bingo! Little Nana, you and I really are on the same wavelength.” Royter tossed out a flippant joke. Seeing Lu Heng staring at the projection with an utterly serious expression and no intention of engaging, he shrugged and got back to business. “So we must locate him and retrieve the Starway Chart before the auction begins.”

“As a military force, we cannot openly enter Frey. After the last incident, the Council has already lodged a formal protest with the Military Commission,” Lu Heng said.

“We’ve already discussed this.” Carlo, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up. “Royter said the three of us can just infiltrate covertly.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Heng’s already-furrowed brow tightened further.

This mission was the one where Carlo’s heat would expose his identity—also the first time this pair of close friends would find themselves at a profound disagreement. A traitor named Aleyden had stolen a freshly completed Starway Chart from the military, which reportedly marked the locations of several undeveloped rare mineral planets of enormous value. The mission was to capture Aleyden and recover the Chart.

Carlo’s father had sacrificed his life saving Royter, which led Royter to always show Carlo special favoritism. But bringing a rookie along on such a critical mission seemed far from rational.

Carlo noticed the unmistakable disapproval on Lu Heng’s face and looked at Royter with a touch of grievance. Seeing that Royter made no indication either way, he summoned his courage and said: “Although this is my first mission, I will absolutely do my best.”

Lu Heng tapped his fingers lightly on the table: “Commander, this matter is of great consequence. Perhaps we should reconsider the selection of personnel.”

Carlo shot to his feet, eyes wide, but his gaze was fixed on Royter: “Royter, I’ll work really hard. Please give me a chance.”

Lu Heng’s lips twitched at the corner with a hint of amusement. One had to say—were they truly a pair destined by fate? A Second-Class Private, no less, directly addressing the Commander by his first name.

Royter patted Carlo’s shoulder to soothe him: “Easy there, little Carlo. Lainer, Carlo going along is also a tactical consideration. We’ll be going in disguised as space pirates. As the pirate lord, how could I not have a beautiful Omega by my side?”

He spread his hands: “Look at our entire team—who besides Carlo could pass for an Omega?”

“Even so, I still don’t think Carlo is suitable. He only managed to enter the Gale Legion by using a special recruitment quota. To date, Second-Class Private Carlo has participated in three Class-F cleanup missions and is still in the probationary stage. His abilities are far from sufficient for a Class-A mission like this.”

Hearing Lu Heng’s words, Carlo’s face flushed crimson, even the rims of his eyes turning red. He bit his lower lip, still saying stubbornly: “I can do it. I’ll work hard.”

“Lainer, you—” Royter raked his fingers irritably through his hair and swallowed the less-than-pleasant words that had almost tumbled out. “Carlo’s academic performance at the academy was outstanding. Given more practical opportunities, he’ll improve very quickly.”

“Lieutenant Lainer, I—my graduation grade was A+…” Carlo was so nervous he was stuttering.

Upon hearing this, Lu Heng tapped a few commands on his holodevice. A semi-transparent screen popped up displaying Carlo’s academic transcript. He then said: “According to the transcript on Second-Class Private Carlo Meg’s service record: theoretical scores rated S, practical scores rated B, overall grade A+. Planet Frey carries a danger rating of Class A in the planetary registry.”

Without paying heed to Carlo’s wounded expression, Lu Heng pulled up the relevant data on Planet Frey, laying it out with clear logic and solid evidence.

“First, there are electromagnetic storms. For anyone encountering them for the first time, beyond physical discomfort, they also impair the brain’s judgment. Second, Planet Frey is a self-governing world with extremely chaotic order—nearly half of all Class 3S fugitives are hiding here. The conclusion is clear: deploying a rookie on this mission carries a failure probability exceeding eighty percent.”

Staring at Lu Heng’s cold expression, listening to his detached, by-the-book tone, Royter felt a tangle of frustration and indignation. Under the interplay of both emotions, even though he knew full well that everything Lu Heng said was fact, he blurted out: “According to Military Commission regulations, the adjutant only holds advisory authority. Decision-making power rests with the Commander. The Commander may make adjustments based on actual circumstances!”

Before he’d finished speaking, Royter himself felt his tone had been too harsh. He raked his fingers through his hair in irritation, shut his mouth, and went silent.

“Yes, sir. Understood, Excellency.” Lu Heng, however, was entirely unmoved. He nodded and pulled up a wealth of auction-related materials from his holodevice. “Since the personnel have been decided, let us proceed to discuss the details of the mission.”

Watching Lu Heng respond this way, Royter’s sense of defeat only deepened. In the time that followed, he remained somewhat distracted and absentminded. But various operational preparations were, after all, the adjutant’s responsibility—Royter’s lack of focus had no impact whatsoever on Lu Heng’s work.