203: neck ring

"Buzz buzz buzz buzz buzz—Bang!"

Three minutes later, a reconnaissance-type FG300 swung its tail in the Starport, coming to a stop against the docking bridge in a manner that was half-parking and half-crashing.

"Beep beep beep—"

"Board the ship immediately!"

The moment the hatch opened, the 200 Marines who had just arrived at the port area immediately ended their standby in perfect unison.

They rushed up quickly in groups of ten, with every two groups forming a unit.

Those in front did not stop for a second, and those behind followed without the slightest hesitation.

In less than a minute, all 200 men had completed boarding.

"Boarding complete! Depart!"

"Copy that!"

As the last person stepped inside, the hatch slammed shut with a heavy "Bang!"

The maneuvering engines on the side of the hull suddenly erupted with an incredibly dazzling blue light.

Just as it had arrived, the FG300 was first pushed out of the docking area, then swung its tail fiercely again, accelerating outward... "Everyone! Report your positions!"

A few minutes later, the Warship had already activated its Void Bubble Engine and entered void navigation.

The Marines who had quickly boarded at the port area gradually reached their designated positions and began changing their equipment.

"Group D in position!"

"Group B in position!"

"Group C in position!"

Celius listened to the position reports from the other groups and glanced back.

The 50 men he was responsible for had also basically finished changing and entered standby status—

They were the last group to board, yet their completion time was almost identical to the previous groups.

"Not bad, quite fast,"

He nodded with satisfaction, then turned back and reported loudly into the communication channel:

"Group A in position!"

Immediately, Oran on the other end of the comms began describing the mission:

"I will now describe the details of your emergency mission:"

"Lord Chusiro has found 19,077 scholars outside who are willing to come to Tianjin Seat V89 to assist in the construction of educational enterprises."

"They were originally traveling from Order Seat to Tianjin Seat, with a transfer in Ursa Major V12.39 to pick up more people along the way."

"But now! Due to the sudden outbreak of war between The Consortium and the Empire, that group of educators has all been trapped in Ursa Major V12.39—"

"Or rather, the situation is more urgent than that! The Consortium wants to use them as cannon fodder in the war against the Empire!"

"Your mission is to infiltrate the scholars' location, confirm their status and numbers, and secure them for protection on the spot!"

"night lamp will help you confirm their location. The First Mobile Fleet will move in to rendezvous with you once you have controlled the area!"

"Once you have escorted those scholars onto the arriving Warships, your mission will be considered complete."

"As for what follows—"

"Leave it to the fleet!"

"Any questions! Ask them now!"

Celius immediately asked:

"Do we treat everyone equally, or give special attention to certain individuals?"

Oran replied:

"The Supreme Director's exact words were to not give up on anyone, but the heads of several key projects require extra attention!"

"Of course, the overall priority is still protecting the vast majority!"

"Understood!"

After another two minutes, no one else had questions, so Oran disconnected the communication and sent over a personnel list with photos.

Most of the people on it looked slightly aged, but their eyes were bright and spirited.

After flipping through it, Celius distributed the list to the entire team.

Then, he turned his gaze to the 200 fully equipped soldiers behind him, switched the communication channel to the team frequency, and said loudly:

"Have you all heard the mission target assignments clearly!"

"Listen up! I won't say much!"

"The people we're going to save! They volunteered to go to our home! They volunteered to go to that godforsaken, remote corner of Tianjin Seat V89 to teach!"

"I'm uneducated, and I don't know what use this teaching stuff has,"

"But all I know is that they voluntarily and specifically came to our hometown, to those godforsaken corner star systems!"

"To help us with construction!"

"You tell me, these people who left everything behind to help us, and now The Consortium wants to grab them and use them as cannon fodder,"

"Do you agree to that?"

Instantly, an earth-shaking roar erupted from the field—

"No!"

Celius struck while the iron was hot, saying:

"Good! If you don't agree, then come with me! We're going to get them out!"

"Remember, we are all clone bodies, we aren't afraid to die, but those teachers are!"

"Follow my orders. Even if we all die, not a single thing can happen to them!"

"Understood!"

"Also! The guys I just sent to you, give them extra care!"

"Yes!"

...Meanwhile, at Route Node M-228-91 in Ursa Major V12.29, inside a distribution warehouse.

Those fifteen thousand-plus scholars were escorted here.

Mineral sand and powder were mixed in the cracks at the top; one could tell at a glance that this place was once a warehouse for storing ore.

As those in front entered, they were hit by a foul stench—

Clearly, they were not the first guests here.

The solidified dark brown stains on the walls, the black, stinking mush piled in the corners, and several corpses scattered on the ground all spoke silently:

This dark and foul-smelling cage was by no means their final destination.

It was merely a transit station leading to death.

The soldiers seemed certain that these scholars could not leave. They locked everyone inside, left two soldiers to guard, and departed immediately.

After a long while, the crowd inside began to stir slightly.

A young man wearing glasses waited for the guard to turn his back, then quietly shuffled over to another young man and whispered:

"Senior Li, the teacher was taken away by them,"

"When they left... I think I heard them say something about a slaughterhouse?"

"What... what do we do..."

The young man addressed as Senior Li was named Li Shenchi, the eldest disciple in their research team.

This guy usually had a reliable air about him and held quite a high reputation within their small team of a dozen or so people.

Because of this, in such a moment, his former teammates subconsciously looked to him as their pillar of support.

Looking at the junior who had approached him, Li Shenchi didn't know how to respond for a moment.

However, he still instinctively suppressed his trembling fingers and feigned composure as he replied:

"It should... be fine!"

"Teacher will definitely be fine..."

"He has presided over so many projects... No, they won't kill him..."

The junior was stunned for a moment, then continued to whisper,

"Then... what about us..."

"Will they kill us..."

"I said... I said we should have stayed on that side!"

"Even... even if we weren't valued in Order Seat, at least our lives wouldn't be in danger..."

Li Shenchi cut him off forcibly, muttering in a slightly trembling voice, unsure if he was comforting himself or the junior in front of him.

"No, nothing will happen..."

"There's just a war... we've been conscripted..."

"When the fighting is over..."

"Bang!!!"

Suddenly, a dull thud came from a distance—

It was the sound of a steel rod hitting someone!

"No gathering! No whispering!"

"Violators will end up like them!"

As he spoke, the guard boastfully lifted a figure; the back of the person's head showed an unnatural depression.

Someone was dead!

Li Shenchi's mind exploded with a "buzz," and he suddenly felt all sound in the air vanish.

When he looked at the corpse again, the image in his eyes began to distort continuously, as if it had turned around in mid-air and was looking at him with lifeless, eerie pupils, its mouth moving—

"You're next—"

It's over—

"Bang! Rumble!"

Suddenly, the warehouse door opened, and a cart of something unknown was brought in.

The lead transport worker, wearing powered armor and holding a gun, shouted through an external speaker:

"Now! Amnesty Soldiers! Come get your equipment!"

"Then go to the other side to have your neck collars installed!"

"Immediately! Now!"

As he spoke, he fired three blank shots into the air, "Bang bang bang!"

"Move it! Or every single one of you will be sent to the slaughterhouse too!"

Instantly, the crowd stood up in confusion and slowly walked toward the boxes at the door.

Li Shenchi was among them.

As he walked, he prayed in his heart—

We should... be able to be saved, right...