Chapter 132: I’m Back Again
The reason Shawton had chosen such a forceful method was mainly due to Barthus’ words before he bid him goodbye: Be forceful when you should!
Songba Leruo’s assessment of Shawton was that he was excessively cautious and insufficiently aggressive. If he did not improve himself in the future, then the Sixth B Squadron would never improve no matter how big their gains were. Therefore, Shawton chose the more forceful method this time in order to lead the Sixth Squad towards a brighter future. The newly developed weapons gave him a lot of confidence after all.
After two and a half GAL years, the Sixth Squad left Sector Z. Perhaps it was because they had some bad experiences in Sector Z, but after they came out they felt like it was heaven wherever they went. There were irregular magnetic fields, constant iom storms, high radiation and aliens everywhere in Sector Z, thus forcing them to be careful almost all of the time. Now that they had left the place, everyone felt that they were breathing easier.
They did not make the news that they had eliminated the Skull King Carranio public, but those but those within the circle all knew about it. The four great Hunter regiments, the military, and some great powers all had some knowledge regarding the matter.
However, there weren’t actually that many people who knew that Cillin was the true culprit behind the Poison Fang base’s demise. It was Cillin’s own wish. He did not want to stay in the spotlight for too long, and the less frequent the name ‘Cillin’ appeared, the better. After all, the name would get on too many people’s nerves, and once those people began to move they were not so easily appeased.
After the Sixth Squad came out, according to past convention the remainder period of the five-years mission would be used as holiday for the squad. Some people would return to their hometown and rest for a time before meeting up with the squadron once more. The others would follow the squadron and go to Sector K.
Sector K was the four great Hunter regiments’ gathering spot. It was the only Sector in GAL where Hunter regiments were the majority, and for a Hunter this place was literally heaven. This was also one of the reasons Cillin had joined into Vanguard’s Sixth B Squadron in the first place.
Every time a five-years mission was completed, the B Squadrons would return to Sector K and meet up with the A Squadrons to report their achievements and exchange certain things.
In the past, whenever the Sixth Squad went to Sector K and networked with the A Squadron and the rest of the B Squadrons, the Sixth Squad would find themselves incapable of standing tall as they self-consciously tried to make themselves invisible within the crowd. But this time they were confident. If someone like Barthus and Songba Leruo themselves would praise the Sixth Squad, then everyone else should more or less be of the same opinion.
Therefore, the Sixth Squad’s crew was a little excited and looked forward to this trip even as they commemorated the dead at the same time.
Other than the energy ores, Shawton had also brought with him the Skull King’s corpse and emblems made from the Poison Fang members’ bones with him. Carranio could be considered an overlord in his own right, and his death would definitely stir a ripple in the pond. Therefore, the best way to deal with Carranio was to pass him over to the A Squadron. Once they’d processed him, some of the secrets the Sixth Squad did not wish for anyone to know would be wiped from existence. This also coincided with Cillin’s own wish.
Emmus would be taken back to the A Squad at Sector K. There, Shawton and the A Squad’s men would negotiate with the military for his release. Naturally, the military would have to pay a price to redeem Emmus. It would be up to the A Squad to decide how this negotiation would turn out.
The remnants of Poison Fang on Sector Z was a great opportunity for the military to win some of the people’s support. Surely the military would not mind spending a little more to learn more about Poison Fang. Of course, this also fell under one of the Sixth B Squadron’s great achievements. Shawton had not forgotten about the development funds the A Squad promised him.
Cillin had been asleep ever since he attended the meeting. He had overused his brain; from the start to the end of the Poison Fang incident, his brain had been calculating at full speed almost completely without rest. Therefore, Cillin had only awakened after the fleet had left Sector Z.
Shawton verified his plans with Cillin, and Cillin gave the question some thoughts. Although he was now a lieutenant commander, the squad did have two years to rest right now. Time was plentiful, and everyone would be more or less free during this period. Therefore, Cillin decided to visit Sector X and all the other Sectors as well. No one knew that that he was the one who eliminated Poison Fang and killed Carranio anyway, so he might as well treat it as a vacation and get around. He would meet up with everyone at Sector K when the time comes.
Shawton did not object to Cillin’s thoughts. After briefing Cillin on the ways to contact Vanguard, he told Cillin to be careful and not to be afraid to call them if he was in trouble. The entire Vanguard would have his back.
This was one of the benefits of joining a Hunter regiment. At the least, there would be a big hand* to support him.
*great power
Cary was going to meet up with some friends from the other B Squadrons at Sector K. Ba Dao was going to go home. Xiao Shang remained with the fleet since he was born in Sector K in the first place. Eudy and Beaver needed to recuperate, so they also decided stay on the starship and go wherever the fleet goes. Dias had taken the wounded with him to Sector E for treatment. The next time they would meet him, he would be a whole person once more.
Tang Qiuqiu decided to follow Cillin, however. She thought that it would be more fun with him.
After making his decision, Cillin greeted Shawton and spoke of his intentions with everyone in the team. Then, while bringing Tang Qiuqiu and the gray cat with him, Cillin piloted a small spaceplane and departed for Sector X’s transit planet while the fleet was passing by Sector X.
After passing through the space port’s identity and danger level inspection, the spaceplane then landed on planet X-C100. Planet X-C100 was an important transport interchange and the hub of Sector X. It had special ports that allowed parking for private spaceplanes and other air vehicles, and it offered supervision services as well.
After Cillin parked the spaceplane at an empty space, handled the procedures and paid the respective fee, he then joined Tang Qiuqiu and the gray cat to hunt for food.
Tang Qiuqiu heard that it was here where Cillin had run into Dias, so she requested strongly that they would visit the restaurant near the spaceport.
Three years had passed, and the restaurant looked just the same as before. The place was still serviced by both human and robot waiters, but the waitress was no longer the one he remembered, and Cillin himself no longer looked the same as before.
Cillin told Tang Qiuqiu how he met Dias that year, and the girl giggled so hard that she couldn’t find the time to wipe a piece of ice cream on her nose. On the other hand, the gray cat could barely find a spark of interest in those past stories at all and instead, stared with round eyes the flying cars travelling everywhere outside the window with great interest, thinking about how fun it would be if it could slap them all down from the sky.
Cillin was not going to fly a spaceplane to that place. There would be too much paperwork to process, and it was inconvenient as well. After he had finished his meal and taken a walk outside, he then took the flight to planet X-C362.
Pets were not allowed to be brought on top an airliner, and even if the customer insisted they had to be placed in a special cabin. However, the gray cat was an exception to that rule. It could roll around at a corner of the airliner and no one would notice.
When he saw that familiar planet and the satellite arrays above it, Cillin felt a strange feeling in his heart.
It’s been three years. I’m back again.