426: Chapter 426 The New Squad

"Deploying as whole units means being wiped out as whole units. Breaking them up and integrating them into veteran squads to learn their survival methods is currently the only solution to raise the survival rate of recruits to over forty percent." Gu Liancheng retracted the light screen. "Overall combat power might decrease by five percent, but it allows more people to survive. This is for the sake of your fellow countrymen."

No one could argue.

Qin Zhan pushed aside Yan Pojun's war blade, which was still pressed against the engine hood, and walked up to Gu Liancheng. His gaze bypassed Gu Liancheng and landed on the holographic sand table that had just disappeared, as if that blood-colored map were still suspended in the air.

His fingers traced through the air.

"D3-7, D3-11, D3-14." He spat out three sets of coordinates. "The monster advance speed in these three areas has already exceeded the speed of the defensive line's retreat. The defensive line isn't shrinking; it's being devoured."

"We are different from the previous reinforcements... but there is no time left to prove it."

For the first time, a slight ripple appeared on Gu Liancheng's face.

Qin Zhan turned around, facing the tens of thousands of silent soldiers behind him.

"Zhong Huai."

"Present."

"Accept the order for reorganization. Now, immediately."

Zhong Huai took a step forward but did not execute the order. His gaze swept through the crowd, finally fixing on Lin Yu.

"Commander-in-Chief, I request to keep one person in the Fangs core sequence."

Qin Zhan's movements stopped.

Zhong Huai pointed in Lin Yu's direction: "Lin Yu. During the Organization incident, he demonstrated over-the-spec group healing abilities. His skills can significantly enhance the squad..."

"Wartime Regulations, Article 17, Clause 3." Qin Zhan interrupted him, his voice leaving no room for negotiation. "No personnel may apply for a privileged formation for any reason."

He walked to a silver-white assignment terminal that had just been unloaded from a troop carrier and pressed his right hand directly on the confirmation button.

"Everyone, random assignment according to the big data optimal survival rate model."

The terminal screen lit up, and countless names and codes began to scroll frantically.

Zhong Huai looked at Qin Zhan's resolute back, his lips moved, but in the end, he made no further sound.

In his mind, what flashed wasn't the image of Lin Yu releasing his healing skills at the Organization.

Instead, it was the scene after that, where Lin Yao lost control and the Silver Torrent crushed 141 contestants, turning the entire arena into a pit of flesh and blood hell.

It was Lin Yu walking to his sister's side, ignoring the condemnation of a hundred thousand people, and calmly injecting himself with medicine.

It was that green life energy, so massive it paralyzed all the equipment of the entire Organization.

It was those 141 contestants who had been crushed into mincemeat, resurrecting intact within light cocoons, and the extreme fear from the depths of their souls when they woke up and looked at Lin Yu.

Who would such a being... need protection from?

He had overthought it.

Zhong Huai took a step back and no longer raised any objections. He took a fingernail-sized piece of black metal from his pocket and, while the crowd began to stir slightly due to the assignment results, he walked quickly to Lin Yu's side and pressed the object into his hand.

"Fangs' exclusive positioning transmitter, for emergencies."

Lin Yu glanced at the object in his hand, then at Zhong Huai, and said nothing.

"Beep—"

The assignment terminal emitted a soft chime, and the list stopped scrolling.

An adjutant in a grey uniform came over with a data tablet and began to loudly distribute new identification tags.

"Zhang Yuan, assigned to 'Blood Thorn' squad, Car 3."

"Li Qian, assigned to 'Iron Wall' squad, Car 7."

"..."

"Lin Yu."

The adjutant paused when he read his name. From beneath a pile of brand-new alloy identity tags, he fished out an iron plate with obvious scorch marks on its edges and threw it over.

Lin Yu caught it.

The iron plate felt heavy in his hand, with a cold touch. Two words were engraved on it with the simplest craftsmanship.

"Remnant Star".

"Remnant Star squad, Car 15."

Gu Liancheng's voice rang out again, drowning out all the commotion.

"Assignment complete. Everyone, board your vehicles within five minutes and depart for the D3 Defense Zone. After five minutes, anyone who has failed to board will be treated as a deserter."

Lin Yu clipped the transmitter Zhong Huai gave him to the inside of his wrist, where the sleeve of his combat suit just happened to cover it. Holding the iron plate engraved with 'Remnant Star', he turned and walked toward the Car 15 boarding gate at the end of the distant convoy.

Beside the boarding gate, an Abyss Domain logistics soldier responsible for verifying information took Lin Yu's iron plate and electronic information.

He found Lin Yu's name on his roster and saw his professional registration information.

"Myriad Card Creator..."

The logistics soldier muttered under his breath, and the pen in his hand paused. He looked up, scanning Lin Yu's young face with a gaze mixed with pity and helplessness. Finally, he drew a glaring red circle behind Lin Yu's name on the roster.

He lowered his voice, as if talking to himself or his companion beside him.

"Another one... For a profession like Card Maker, the casualty rate in Zone D is ninety-eight percent. Notify the reserve unit to be ready to replace this squad at any time."

His eyes were full of worry, as he could not bear to see such a young life heading toward a destined withering, yet he knew clearly that on this battlefield, sacrifice was the cost that must be paid to maintain the defensive line.

The interior of the troop carrier was dim, with the only lighting coming from a few narrow slits of bulletproof glass on the vehicle walls. The vehicle jolted violently on the uneven ground; every rise and fall felt as if it would shake one's bones right out of their flesh.

Lin Yu leaned against the cold metal wall, the iron plate engraved with 'Remnant Star' clutched in his palm. Around him were equally silent soldiers from different units, randomly broken up and stuffed into this steel coffin bound for the D3 Defense Zone.

No one spoke. There was only the roar of the engine and the muffled thuds of the armor plates being struck by flying gravel from time to time.

After an unknown amount of time, the troop carrier braked suddenly, and the rear hatch slammed down with a crash. A blinding light, a mix of red and white, flooded in, accompanied by a heavy smell of engine oil and blood.

"Assembly Point 7! 'Remnant Star', 'Tianwu', and 'Longxing' squads, get out!"

A raspy voice roared from outside the vehicle.

Lin Yu walked down the ramp onto scorched earth mixed with metal fragments and dried blood. It was even more chaotic here than at the rear camp, and the air was thick with the stench of burning flesh. He glanced at the iron plate in his hand and, following the blurred etched guidance on it, walked toward an inconspicuous Tent 12 at the very edge of the camp.

The tent's canvas was blackened by smoke, and a large tear in one corner was crudely sewn together with coarse metal wire.

Lin Yu lifted the door curtain.

There was no lighting equipment inside, only light from the outside filtering through the gaps in the curtain and the tears in the canvas, casting several distorted spots of light. On the open ground in the center of the tent, a set of leather armor was laid out haphazardly.

It was a set of light leather armor used for reconnaissance and raids, but there was a bowl-sized piercing hole in the chest area. The edges of the leather were curled inward and charred, as if melted through instantly by some high-heat energy. On the lining of the hole, there were remnants of dark red blood that had already solidified into clumps.