Colonel Elinore Bonaparte spent nearly a month wandering the New World, eliminating two groups of pirates, seizing over a dozen ships of various sizes, and even "uncovering" a group of Bakerville "smugglers" disguised as legitimate merchants of the Sea God Fleet. In addition, she liberated tens of thousands of illegal slaves.
All these feats were accomplished by a small patrol fleet consisting of merely one destroyer and two assault ships.
When Elinore returned with her spoils to the Commonwealth New World Garrison Headquarters, New Lushun Military Port, on February 25th, it immediately caused a sensation.
It was around that time that the title "Saintess of Tulon" gradually broke free from earthly constraints and began to spread throughout the Universe. Along with it came some strange titles such as "Nightmare of the New World" and "Banshee of Targa."
Of course, this title is currently only circulated in the underworld; the legitimate real world wouldn't have so much disharmonious news.
When Yu Lian received Eleanor's belated letter, he was in the academy's indoor combat and strength training ground, working out with all his crew members.
By then, it was already early March. As the saying goes, without a super-standard large-scale source energy wave hub like the Galaxy Native Land for instant communication, ships, people, and mail were all very slow.
Yu Lian let Kou Shan continue training with everyone, while he found a quiet place to open the mail.
However, the contents within surprised him a little.
Eleanor, who hadn't been lying in a culture dish for half a year, actually stirred up such a large-scale storm. Even Yu Lian was a little surprised. Chaos theories like the butterfly effect and wings are truly difficult to understand!
Of course, when Eleanor reported, she definitely wouldn't tell her superiors the whole truth. How much of the various spoils of war were embezzled, only she and the core members of the fleet knew.
At least, Yu Lian could be sure that she had enough money for those few Ranger ships and their modifications.
Eleanor was indeed preparing to set up a stall at Gibraltar β Starport to recruit personnel. She also hired some instructors from the White Wing Anglo Company, which had deep ties with her family, and then recruited a group of "free astronauts." Additionally, it was said that among the pirate captives, some with special talents who weren't utterly evil and still had a chance of "redemption" were incorporated. They were fitted with restraints and would exist as "slave laborers" for the Thirteenth Guard Fleet for a long time.
It sounds particularly anti-human rights, anti-establishment, and anti-civilization. However, in this Universe, where the civilization tree has branched off course, all civilized polities are quite fond of doing this. Regular armies of legitimate nations might enjoy some humanitarian treatment as prisoners of war, but pirates are nothing.
However, such an overt strengthening of military power seems to bring a certain imbalance to the entire garrison. Yet, Eleanor's direct superior, the Commander of the New Lushun Garrison, seemed to be very pleased about it.
On one hand, as long as they are soldiers, they are quite happy to see the theoretical combat power of their forces increase.
On the other hand, it is said that Garrison Commander Lieutenant General Byron Coulter and Eleanor's father, General Bonaparte, were roommates during their Defense University days... But this has nothing to do with this matter, it must have nothing to do with it!
We need to consider it from a practical standpoint. Although Lieutenant General Byron Coulter is a mediocre general with average courage, lack of bravery, and even below-average decisiveness, he is an excellent administrative and logistical talent. He can ensure the smooth transportation of various New World specialties to the homeland and also ensure the normal operation of the private channels of various important figures, which is why the Earth's important figures placed him there.
However, now the pirates and the underworld in the New World are causing more and more trouble, and it's even impossible to determine if they are privateers disguised as hostile navy forces. As a result, Commander Coulter's minor flaw of "not being good at warfare" is becoming increasingly fatal.
Now, with a prominent young lady like Elinore strengthening the entire army's combat power without costing the garrison a single penny, and without violating the "New World Navy Restriction Regulations," why not?
As for whether there's an element of recruiting desperadoes and waiting for the right moment... What are you even talking about? The important figures wouldn't bother arguing with her over such trivial matters.
Overall, Eleanor's start in the New World was very smooth. She said there's a lot of potential now and asked Yu Lian to persuade (trick) a few reliable classmates who are about to graduate to come and help her, after all, she can't really rely only on pirates and mercenaries to conquer the world, can she?
Yu Lian felt that Eleanor was still too reckless when fighting; she would sooner or later crash and burn if she continued like this. So, it really would be better to find a human inhibitor for her.
...Emmm, on second thought, there are quite a few candidates for this.
Furthermore, Eleanor actually captured "Black Hat" Shan Mengzhi in this battle, a person whose reputation is not yet very prominent, but who will be immortalized in later generations as the master tomb raider of the pirate world. This was an unexpected delight.
"Black Hat" Shan Mengzhi had died in the prison of fletcher 211, which made Yu Lian a little wistful and also a little surreal. After all, in his previous life, this guy had lived for more than thirty years longer, but overall, it was indeed a pleasant surprise within a surprise.
Before his death, Shan Mengzhi finally revealed the secret he knew to Eleanor, which was an even greater surprise within a surprise.
"The ruins on Planet 4, Arlan I2, in the Arlan star system? She wants me to help her find some astronomical data for that place? Did Shan Mengzhi get a clue about that place so quickly?"
Yu Lian pondered for a moment, thinking about how to formulate a detailed strategy in a way that wouldn't arouse suspicion. In his memory, there was an Enlightener Ruins there with a very generous reward. In later generations, Shan Mengzhi, the famous great pirate whose nickname was no longer "Black Hat" but "Professor Black Top," also laid the foundation for his fortune through that successful grave robbing.
However, to conquer that place, in addition to complete astronomical data and a maze guide, sufficient combat power is also needed, so there's no need to rush. It's better to wait until Eleanor's "outlaws" are mostly incorporated.
Thinking about it this way, did Shan Mengzhi really die? This guy is so useful; Eleanor shouldn't just kill him, right?
...Then again, why are there more and more things to do? I'm truly destined for a life of hard work!
However, before Yu Lian could finish his self-pity, his thoughts were interrupted by a sudden uproar and applause.
He ungraciously raised his head and saw Gongsun Qing in the center of the training ground, wearing a training suit, performing a sword dance with a plastic sword.
It was truly like a startled swan or a graceful dragon, in the literal sense! It combined elegance and dynamism, and it would certainly not falter even when performed on an All-Galaxy stage.
It would have been even more perfect if not for the four burly men in training power armor, trapped within the eight-foot sword perimeter, unable to advance or retreat.
Yu Lian knew that such a magnificent sword dance, without psionic enhancement, would be mere showmanship. However, with it... it would be one of the most formidable killing sword arts in the entire Galaxy.
This girl had already shown mercy! Even with her current strength, she could have knocked these boys down on the spot in an instant.
Everyone training had gone from initial tension to current excitement. Such a scene, they had only seen in movies.
"What the heck?" Yu Lian said ungraciously.
"You haven't seen the best part yet," said Luo Ming, roommate A, who was doing dumbbell curls nearby.
Yu Lian looked at the 10kg dumbbell in the other's hand, showed a sarcastic smile at the weakling, and then, as the other hesitated whether to swing the dumbbell over, asked, "What's wrong?"
"One of the hotheads Kou Shan brought over went to ask your Gongsun Family family young lady why she gets to be the assault leader, and she just touched his forehead with a willow branch, and he couldn't take another step forward."
"Serves him right! And how shallow!" Yu Lian sneered, then frowned and added, "I say, you guys aren't ostracizing him, are you?"
"What do you take us hot-blooded men for?" Luo Ming said ungraciously, "Even that hothead from before, wasn't he just trying to get her attention?"
"Yeah... that's why I said you're shallow. That only makes girls think you're childish. You're grown-ups, can't you stop acting like you're in your rebellious phase?"
Luo Ming put down the dumbbell, pondering whether to swing it, but said, "However, I don't know about the student council's big sisters."
"Don't worry, they are all kind-hearted and understanding good girls."
"..."
"What's with that expression?"
"I suddenly realized that the universe spirit is so unfair! A simpleton like you, a simpleton like you..." Luo Ming gritted his teeth for a long time, then dejectedly said, "So, where on earth did you find all these experts? Oh, right, and that Aisen, he graduated from a school I've never even heard of, how could he disassemble and reassemble the energy core of a main cannon in ten minutes?"
"Generally speaking, big, fat tech geeks have the power of 'I think so.' I just have a keen eye for talent."
Luo Ming showed an expression of "What the hell are you talking about?" and wanted to swing the dumbbell in his hand even more. But considering that it was more likely to break the dumbbell and his own hand, he gave up. He hesitated for a moment, put down the dumbbell, and suddenly said, "I, Ris, and Lu Ke have come up with a plan..."
"Hmm?" Yu Lian looked at the other person in surprise.
"Since it's a practical exercise, and it has 'practical' in the name, shouldn't any means be acceptable?" Luo Ming added, with obvious hesitation on his face.
"Since it's a practical exercise, of course, no stone is left unturned," Yu Lian said.
The other person nodded, then suddenly said, "I think..."
He suddenly shut up and stepped back a few paces. Because at that moment, Zhi Xia and Liuli had walked over. Both girls had somewhat complex expressions.
"Hi, Zhi Xia, Liuli, just now Luo Ming said you might team up to bully the new Gongsun Qing. Is that true?"
The two girls froze, then both showed expressions of exasperation. Luo Ming, who had only walked a few steps away, almost choked and quickly dropped the dumbbell and fled.
"It's impossible for you to expect Miss Gongsun and us to become friends right away. But the relationships between girls aren't always so dramatic," Liuli said with a serene smile, serenely reproaching him.
"Although we were a little unhappy when Yu Lian brought her back! But even Feifei didn't say anything, so what could we say? And I always have a feeling that this kind of thing will happen frequently in the future, so we should start getting used to it now," Zhi Xia sighed, her exquisite fox-like face actually showing a hint of heartbreaking sorrow.
However, she immediately realized, and couldn't help but stamp her foot: "You've led me astray! We're not here for this! Yu Lian, did you see the message the school just sent out?"
Yu Lian said that the school hadn't sent any serious messages recently, and he was so busy, how could he have time to read them!
"The school's thesis defense schedule has been released! You're first!"
"Oh, first, that's good, a good start."
"Yu Lian, this year, because of Navy Day, the thesis defense time has been moved up by nearly a month compared to previous years! You're first, so that means May 20th! Plus the time for early submission, you have to finish your thesis before May! But it's already March now," Liuli said worriedly.
Well, calculating it that way, it really did seem like it was aimed at him.
After Zhi Xia and Liuli's reminder, Yu Lian finally felt a sense of conspiracy, but more than that, it was amusing, like watching a mouse trying to figure out how to put a bell on a cat.
Yu Lian should, by rights, be worried. We just need to look at his schedule during this period to know why.
Starting last October, he set off for New Yumen, and along the way, he encountered all sorts of battles, without a moment's respite. Several times, it was said that he almost lost his life, so how could he have had time to prepare his thesis?
By the time he returned to school, it was already almost February. Then, before February was even over, he found out that he had somehow become the Hong Fang (Red Team) captain for the single-ship exercise, and could only rush around looking for crew members.
Now, the crew roster was largely set, but it was already March.
The thesis defense time was moved up by a month, and he was the first to defend. In addition, he was now also a Hong Fang (Red Team) captain, so there's no need to elaborate on how busy he would be. In the remaining two months, he would have to find time to complete his thesis amidst his busy schedule, and the quality would be self-evident.
Of course, he was also a Hong Fang (Red Team) captain, so as long as his thesis wasn't too bad, it should still be passed. After all, if he couldn't graduate...
If Yu Lian were an ordinary person, he would certainly be worried to death at this point.
That Robnan fellow, he could only use such despicable methods to annoy people. But the key is, such despicable methods had no effect whatsoever, so it wasn't even annoying, just comical.
Yu Lian said carelessly, "Anything else?"
Zhi Xia bit her lip: "Yu Lian, why don't you tell us the topic? We can all think of a way..."
"Looking at your expressions, there must be something else."
Liuli, however, was more composed. Seeing Yu Lian still looking completely unconcerned, she reluctantly suppressed her worry and said, "Our last batch of crew members just arrived at the Moon Base. It's the pilot team you found, and two other classmates from the technical academy..."
"That's great. Let's go meet them together. Then, everyone can have a full staff meeting!"
Yu Lian genuinely (for now) couldn't be bothered to stoop to the level of a despicable scoundrel. In comparison, meeting the future "Eagle of Advance," and the two other tech masters, and gathering so many future SR and SSR characters together for a meeting, making them sit upright and listen to him speak, how much fun would that be!
A 4k chapter, so today is another happy one-update beast!