The 12th Garrison Station, under the jurisdiction of the New Yumen Governor's Office Security Force of the Commonwealth, should theoretically have the following full complement of forces and equipment: an infantry platoon of 35 soldiers equipped with C10 electromagnetic rifles and individual armor; two combat teams of 8 mobile infantry soldiers with 15 AS40 external power skeletons (the extras being spares); 3 squad-level Thunder Cannons, 2 small phase wave cannons, and one Hive missile vehicle, along with two fire teams of 20 personnel to operate them; 5 Black Panther 3 multi-purpose infantry fighting vehicles with a repair and driving team of 12 personnel; one low-altitude airship with a pilot, co-pilot, and 5 dedicated ground crew; a communication team of 3; a medical team of 3; and a general affairs team of 5.
If these ratios were fully adhered to, even if the Xenomorphs came in three times the numbers, they could be completely torn apart by the layered firepower network.
Unfortunately, as we've seen, the reality is... the airship vanished, reportedly taken by the pilot for personal business; only two of the five infantry fighting vehicles were intact, and their remaining energy was barely enough to get them from the front building to the overpass for mutton spine hotpot; the fire teams and their weapons were merely theoretical concepts on paper; as for the so-called mobile infantry, well, not a single one of these elite soldiers, professionally trained and licensed to operate exoskeletons, existed, with Lieutenant Mondeson and Miss Ina being completely thrown into the deep end.
The communication team only consisted of Sergeant Cindy, the dull-witted comms soldier who seemed unable to even repair equipment; the medical team only had Doctor Banks and Nurse Belinda; as for the general affairs team... didn't you see Sergeant Youyou even frying steaks earlier?
The infantry platoon was, at least, full, but more than half were green recruits who had never seen combat, and many were assigned before completing even 3 months of standard new recruit training.
This was not surprising at all. After all, even Lieutenant Mondeson, the Commander of this garrison station, hadn't completed his new recruit training.
And after such a major battle, fewer than 30 people were still mobile, the garrison station was half-destroyed, the city walls had collapsed, and only one sentry gun remained, its ammunition almost entirely depleted.
It was that phrase, spoken so many times for some unknown reason—this is not a place to stay long.
This time, finally, no one raised any objections.
After Yu Lian relayed the orders to “collect the wounded” and “gather all ammunition and supplies,” Ina and Baka immediately led the soldiers to do so. He himself followed Uncle Karl, the Engineer, to the garage. Upon arriving, Yu Lian realized the situation was even worse than he imagined—besides the two black panther cars at the garage entrance that provided fire support, the remaining three had damaged machine guns and radars on their roofs, and one even lacked a side armor plate. Additionally, one car had an engine malfunction, one had a broken Balance system, and the last one had issues with its engine, Balance system, and suspension.
Fortunately, the vehicles were (outwardly) well-maintained, at least proving that the Engineers had not given up on them.
“I can fix them, at least enough to get them running,” Uncle Karl said.
“Then why weren’t they fixed before?”
“Uh... Lieutenant Russo said it wasn't necessary. He said if these cars were in good condition, it would be difficult to account for certain expenses to the higher-ups. I don't quite understand it myself.” Uncle Karl might have felt it was bad to speak ill of the dead, so his words were a bit evasive.
Master Sergeant Karl Johansen was the oldest and most respected person at the garrison station, rumored to have once been an Engineer for a large corporation. As for why he ended up here, it was likely a long story.
In any case, Yu Lian’s memories as a military academy student told him that this old man’s abilities were trustworthy.
“How much time do you need? I mean, to get them running.” Yu Lian looked at the old Engineer and his team. The full 12-person maintenance team was only half-staffed, and one of them, overly aggressive, had lost an arm in the recent battle.
“Two hours?”
“You only have one hour.”
“Alright.” The old man said no more, clapping his hands. His subordinates immediately sprang into action, removing covers, retrieving materials, and grabbing tools, all in an orderly and systematic manner. Their skilled movements clearly indicated they had been prepared for a long time. Yu Lian suddenly felt he had given them too much time.
“However, I can only get them running. There’s a very big problem here...”
“Energy packs? I know, I’ll figure out a way to solve it!”
Yu Lian’s tone was confident, but Uncle Karl was not reassured. The biggest difficulty now was energy; without it, even if he, Karl Johansen, had three heads and six arms and could prepare five combat vehicles in a few minutes, even waxing their bodies, he couldn’t make them move without the battery packs that Lieutenant Russo had sold!
“Can I borrow the workbench here?”
The uncle nodded, still looking suspiciously at Yu Lian as he exited the storeroom. A minute later, his eyes widened as he stared blankly at Yu Lian leading a group of people dragging in the Gravel Dragon’s torso.
This scene was truly a bit horrifying. Everyone working in the garage stopped, and a large crowd followed them in from outside.
The Gravel Dragon was indeed a colossal creature that blotted out the sky, but it had the typical biological characteristics of a reptile. With its wings chopped off, its tail and limbs broken, and its two grappling claws torn off, the remaining torso was actually only about three meters long, perfectly able to fit on the workbench. Sergeant Youyou and several strong soldiers haphazardly lifted it onto the workbench. Yu Lian casually put on a mask, picked up the chainsaw sword left by Lieutenant Mondeson, walked up, and began sawing with a “sizzle-zzzz” sound, sending sparks flying.
The old Engineer stepped back a few paces, and the others retreated even further. They felt as if they had been brought to a horror movie set, witnessing a mad scientist assembling a stitched-up monster at close range.
“Besides the Dragon Crystal, the Gravel Dragon’s body also contains a certain amount of Hai Stone, usually hidden in its gallbladder.” Yu Lian plunged his hands into the cut opening of the torso, making crunching sounds for a while before pulling out several black stones. He nodded with satisfaction: “Very good, this is an old dragon, and the purity and size are both excellent.” He then handed these stones to Youyou.
The black Sergeant, holding the stones covered in foul-smelling bodily fluids, nearly vomited and quickly placed them in the large bucket that had been prepared earlier.
“Additionally, its liver, when thoroughly boiled, can yield trace amounts of high-energy dust.” Yu Lian pulled out a chunk of organ the size of a head and handed it directly to the nurse who had also come to help.
“Go, boil water, cook it on high heat, then add a liter of desiccant. Its liver will dissolve in at most ten minutes. Pour out the water, then scrape the blue powder from the sides of the pot and give it to me.”
The nurse, looking utterly defeated, went off to work.
Yu Lian began the next step, pulling out all of the Gravel Dragon’s intestines, stretching them out, and washing them clean. One might have thought he was preparing to make sausages.
“What are you doing, sir...?” Uncle Karl couldn't bear to watch anymore. He was worried that his new Commander had gone mad.
“The Gravel Dragon’s intestinal casing is quite durable,” Yu Lian said, pulling out a dagger and cutting the casing into five equal portions.
...Completely unaware of where the durability was?
“I mean on an energy level. Their intestinal casings have excellent flexibility, temperature resistance, and pressure resistance. They can even be used to make... uh, in short, they can absolutely be used as carriers for energy packs.”
They could even be used as carriers for small energy shields, but that was a technology several years in the future... Hmm, should I try to develop it now? Ugh, even if I develop it now, in this broken Commonwealth, it would likely be snatched by the conglomerates of the Alliance and the Empire, wouldn't it? How can I avoid this?
Yu Lian decided that when he had some free time, he would find a notebook and carefully record all the future information he could use. He had, after all, been reborn, and the protagonists of those rebirth novels he read before his transmigration all did this.
While this thought spun in his mind, his hands did not stop, and he explained, “When Hai Stone and high-energy dust particles are soaked together in an electrolyte solution, they begin a chemical reaction, producing energy and electricity. However, considerable heat will be generated during this process, so we must use these intestinal casings to create an insulated container! To put it simply, the principle is like...”
“The Komina people’s bio-battery technology!” Uncle Karl suddenly understood.
“Yes, that’s the idea. It’s actually quite easy to understand, isn’t it? In a sense, their biotechnology represents another evolutionary path.” Yu Lian glanced at the old Engineer, thinking, “This is an expert!”
“But, this, this isn’t scientific! The Komina people underwent countless genetic modifications to obtain perfect biological materials, and they are still constantly improving them. The genetic maps and chemical formulas for various biological materials are their biggest secrets, and they have kept silent despite the Alliance’s heavy rewards and the Empire’s pressure...”
That’s why they were destroyed! Their homeworld was turned into a mine. Their citizens and biologists were divided equally between the two poles of the galaxy. Of course, most of their research results were actually acquired by the Bug Swarm Queen, which is why in the future there were those few ships—no, those few Leviathans that could fight with Titan ships... If I hadn’t really beaten the Queen and robbed her bag, I wouldn’t know any of this.
“But, why would you...” The old Engineer became even more confused, and his confusion was mixed with a bit of fear.
This truly was an expert, and an overly expert one at that. Why would such a talent be working as an Engineer at a remote colonial garrison station? This must be a rather tragic story as well.
“The reaction between Hai Stone and high-energy dust is covered in alchemy textbooks.” He emphasized, alchemy textbooks, not chemistry textbooks. However, as a “Moon Person,” being able to access semi-confidential information was something he had gained from his Past.
“I heard about the Gravel Dragon having these two substances when I first went to Tulon to experience the black market, from an old rogue. Of course, I didn’t pay attention at the time, until I noticed its energy breath had very obvious magnetic storm properties, which made me recall it.”
This was even harder to verify, but at least it was a plausible reason.
“I understand!” Uncle Karl nodded, saying in a sincere and somewhat respectful tone, “Commander, give me forty minutes. I will definitely get these tanks moving!”
“Oh, okay...”
So what exactly did you understand?