187: Militarized management model

"It's finally starting!!!"

Ma Baiyun stood by the Train window, looking at the ever-widening cracks in the ground outside, a joyful expression on his face.

Once the entire planet exploded, the Tinder nurtured within it would escape on its own, and that would be his opportune moment to display his abilities.

His mind constantly replayed past experiences, rapidly simulating various potential crises and scenarios of competing for the Civilization Tinder, something he had only witnessed eight or nine times in over a decade.

In the vast universe, although planets are as numerous as dust, habitable planets are exceedingly rare, and those that have given birth to life are even more uncommon.

Among these life-bearing planets, those that can nurture Tinder are even scarcer, and among them, the Civilization Tinder of most planets has already been divided by the gods.

Only a few planets near the Star Road remain, serving as trials and stopover stations where they can acquire Tinder, making such an opportunity quite precious.

"This time, I must obtain at least one; otherwise, it will only become more difficult to acquire them in the future."

Ma Baiyun muttered, squeezed his left wrist, turned around, and called out, "Rick, go fetch my mech."

"Respected master, I have already had someone deliver it. Do you have any other instructions?"

A pale-skinned goblin walked out. As Ma Baiyun's personal butler, he had to appear immediately after Ma Baiyun called, and disappear from his sight when not needed.

To achieve this effect, his racial talent played a crucial role. Goblins' ears could hear various subtle sounds from a great distance and precisely filter what they wanted, allowing him to immediately rush to Ma Baiyun's presence after hearing his first syllable.

Ma Baiyun was very satisfied with Rick's attitude, which was also why he kept him as a butler despite Rick's ugly appearance.

He nodded, and said coldly, "Notify the Imperial Guards to prepare and accompany me into battle. While I am off the Train, the interior of the Train will be under your full responsibility. Once the Train ascends, activate all weapons immediately and aim at the Trains of other factions. Anyone who dares to attack me or the Train, regardless of their identity, will be met with concentrated firepower. We must annihilate them. This time, I must obtain at least one Tinder."

Rick listened while quickly issuing commands on his personal wristband.

At this moment, two people pushed a small cart into the room, and on the cart stood a stylish mech.

"Put it over there!"

Ma Baiyun waved his hand, slowly walked forward, and stepped into the opening at the back of the mech.

This mech, named Wanderer, was custom-built for him by his R&D department. It was not only equipped with a large number of energy weapons but also enhanced his strength. Most importantly, this mech could enter space and serve as a spacesuit. It was one of the most prized products of his Wanderer Commerce Guild.

As for the price, it was also very expensive, costing 5000 train coins...

Inside Hou Jun's Train, everyone stood neatly in the first carriage behind the cockpit. Because most of them were military personnel, a militarized management model was adopted within his Train.

At the forefront of the group, Hou Jun glanced around briefly and nodded with satisfaction. In this chaotic era, being able to lead a well-disciplined team was his proudest achievement.

He pulled out a small notebook and a pen from his pocket and shouted to the people in front of him, "Group leaders, start compiling the casualty reports for your respective groups now!"

The moment the order was given, the leaders of each group stepped forward and began to walk through their respective lines.

"One, two, three..."

An Ping counted carefully, and suddenly realized that Lin Youzi from his group was missing. He remembered seeing her before they returned.

He quickly went to his sister An Su. She was usually closest to Lin Youzi, the two were inseparable. Now that Lin Youzi was gone, An Su would definitely know her whereabouts.

"An Su, how come Lin Youzi isn't here? Do you know where she went?"

An Su nodded, glanced at Hou Jun, then leaned slightly closer to An Ping and whispered, "She quit. She should be on Luo Chen's Train now."

"Really?" An Ping's eyes widened instantly, unable to believe An Su's answer. Hou Jun had previously said that if she was dissatisfied, she could leave, but they had only taken it as an angry remark. They never expected Lin Youzi to be so resolute as to actually leave.

An Su pursed her lips and nodded definitively.

"Amazing!" An Ping secretly gave a thumbs-up. He naturally harbored dissatisfaction with the Federation's unfair treatment, but long-term ideological education and the soldier's duty to obey orders prevented him from expressing it.

However, they were not so easily reconciled to not receiving the powerful weapons that should have belonged to them. It was just that at this moment, all these feelings were suppressed in their hearts, not yet erupting.

An Su showed a hint of an awkward smile on her face, but in her heart, she felt a subtle worry for Lin Youzi. Although she said Lin Youzi had boarded Luo Chen's Train, she wasn't sure if she actually had. She would have to message her and ask when she had a moment.

"Report, Group 1, three dead, one injured."

"Report, Group 2..."

..."Report, Group 5, one dead, besides Lin Youzi's departure." An Ping shouted with a serious expression.

As soon as his voice fell, a buzzing discussion immediately erupted in the team. They were quite surprised by Lin Youzi's departure.

Hou Jun glared fiercely at An Ping and shouted to the crowd, "Everyone, quiet down!"

He had anticipated this situation, so after Lin Youzi left, he told no one except An Su.

An Ping looked at Hou Jun with an innocent expression, secretly gloating in his heart. In this way, he had put some pressure on Hou Jun.

"Lin Youzi chose to leave for her own reasons, not as you might think. Luo Chen is her senior, and they are old acquaintances, which is why she wanted to join him. An Su knows this very well." Hou Jun explained, pointing at An Su.

Everyone remembered Lin Youzi's previous closeness to Luo Chen and turned their gaze towards An Su. An Su nodded, and the doubts in everyone's hearts lessened somewhat.

Seeing that morale was somewhat appeased, Hou Jun struck while the iron was hot:

"I know you all are somewhat dissatisfied with this unfair treatment, and so am I. The reason for this is that we refused to merge with the main Train, which gave certain parasites in the Federation Council an opportunity. But this does not mean that the entire Federation wishes us ill, so please do not harbor too much resentment.

Of course, since we have decided not to merge with the main Train, we will not change our minds in the future. But to ensure that such incidents do not happen again, from now on, apart from some daily necessities that need to be handed over, I will keep materials such as weapons and energy crystals for our team members to improve their strength."

Hou Jun looked at An Su and continued, "An Su, I authorize you to establish a logistics department responsible for supplies. From now on, all supplies and finances on the Train will be handled by the logistics department."