280: Chapter 280 Sudden Event

Buck found an armored vehicle bound for the garrison, tossed his luggage into the rear compartment, and sat down in a random spot. The interior of the vehicle was filled with familiar scents—a mixture of sweat, metal, military lubricant, and more.

A moment later, the vehicle was full. This small armored transport could hold eight people, all of whom were soldiers of the Verland Company.

There was no need for identity verification. In this world, no one dared to impersonate a member of the Verland Company; that would likely be an experience more painful than death.

Buck greeted them. Although he held the rank of squad leader, he was just a minor figure in the legion and didn't put on any airs.

After half an hour, the armored vehicle drove straight to the entrance of the garrison. From the outside, the Fourth Assault Legion's base looked like a massive metal beast crouching on the ground, truly magnificent.

Nearly 200,000 soldiers and various personnel were stationed here. They circulated through this massive system like blood, maintaining the Verland Company's authority over the Eastern Hemisphere of Earth.

After getting off the vehicle, Buck returned to his dormitory. The room was a four-person unit and was reasonably clean. Since it was evening, Buck's three roommates were all in the room. They were all members of his squad. Seeing Buck return, they all started heckling him; clearly, they all knew he had gone back home to get married.

A lean, strong youth grinned. "Yo, our Boss finally decided to come back. We missed you to death!"

The other two chimed in at the same time.

"Boss, how about letting us see a photo of our sister-in-law?"

"Yeah, yeah!"

Buck laughed and scolded them, "Scram! All of you go to sleep, or I'll double your training tomorrow!"

"Double it if you want, I still want to see..."

Amidst the boisterous laughter, the night came to an end.

The next day, a neatly dressed Buck arrived at his camp. He couldn't escape being teased by his teammates and superiors, but soon after, he immersed himself in high-intensity training as usual.

And so, two months passed.

During a break today, Buck heard a few boys from his squad complaining in low voices while gulping down energy supplements.

"The military credits earned from daily training are too little. Who knows how long it'll take before we can exchange them for the L-Vax Vaccine?"

"If only we could go on a mission..."

"What are you guys talking about?" Buck asked with a smile.

Seeing Buck walk over, they didn't panic; after all, this wasn't a forbidden topic.

The lean youth from the night before was the boldest. He spoke up directly: "Boss, we did the math. Relying solely on the meager subsistence from training and routine patrols, it'll take another 20 years to get the vaccine."

"If we could just go out and execute a few missions, it would be great. When will it be our turn?"

Conventional missions were usually nothing more than dealing with troublesome bandits that the government couldn't handle, requiring their assistance.

Buck patted him on the shoulder. "You still think it's slow? Our Armored Battalion is already considered fast. Don't be impatient."

"Sigh, Boss, what do we count for? The Air Force and the Orbital Troopers, they're the ones who..."

Suddenly, while they were talking, an alarm echoed throughout the entire garrison.

The alarm wasn't a short buzz, but a cycle of three short and one long—a rhythm of urgency. This was the highest-level combat alert; all combat personnel were to take their positions immediately as hostile actions were imminent or already occurring.

[Attention all personnel, Red Alert. Repeat, Red Alert. All ground combat units cancel all non-combat activities and report to designated assembly points immediately.]

[Repeat...]

Buck and the others looked at each other and immediately began to sprint.