Destiny Mission of game ‘Star Ring’
Chapter 494 - 494 438 Heavy Worries_2

494: Chapter 438 Heavy Worries_2 494: Chapter 438 Heavy Worries_2 The grand monument was engraved with name after name, and it was adorned with fresh flowers.

The majority of the fallen had been cremated on the spot or their bodies left on Batak Planet.

Only a very small number of remains were brought back, so a mass burial had been adopted.

Spade led the way with three deep bows, followed by a succession of officers doing the same, as the sound of soft weeping could be heard at the scene.

The Batak Planet operation, although seemingly going smoothly, actually suffered considerable battle losses.

Of the one hundred and twenty thousand troops from three Legions that participated in the battle, less than eighty thousand returned; the casualties nearly halved the force.

It must be understood that the troops sent down were the elite of the elite, so the death of each was an immense loss.

Just then, a noisy argument erupted outside the mausoleum.

Augustus slightly furrowed his brow and turned to his deputy, asking, “Jie Lu, go see what’s happening.

Don’t they know we’re in mourning here?”

“Yes!”

Jie Lu hurried out to check.

Soon after, Jie Lu returned, looking quite disturbed, and said to Augustus and Spade, “Commander, it’s bad.

A large number of lower-ranking soldiers are gathering outside, angrily protesting.

They believe that the higher-ups deliberately concealed the severity of the Negative Energy Virus infection, resulting in a large number of comrades dying!”

Spade’s expression darkened as he said, “Nonsense, can’t they understand?

This is war!

Moreover, it’s a war where our race’s survival is at stake.

Reality is harsh, whether we conceal it or not, the end result is the same.”

Li Ruiqi spoke up at this moment, “Vice Speaker Spade, while that may be true and I understand that you did this for the success of the plan, I think we indeed made a mistake.”

“If I didn’t do that, how could I ensure the mission’s completion?

If everyone who went down to fight was paralyzed by fear, hesitating during combat, then it would only lead to more deaths,” Spade said, his face grim.

Augustus also spoke up solemnly, “Enough, stop arguing.

What’s happened has happened, let’s think of a solution.”

“Actually, there are some things I wanted to wait until after the memorial service to discuss.

But since it has come to light, I might as well say it now.

Regarding the Negative Energy Virus, word has already spread throughout the various Legion units, causing severe panic.

According to many NCOs’ feedback, there’s been significant negligence and slacking in duties among the soldiers, and the administrative offices of the Legions have received a large number of applications for discharge.

The situation is already quite serious,” Li Ruiqi said as he sighed heavily, bringing to light the issue.

“Cowards!”

Spade almost burst into rage.

Augustus stepped in to mediate, “Calm down, Spade.

You don’t need to deal with this.

I’ll take care of it personally.

I’ll apologize to all the soldiers and give a speech to calm things down.

You’ve said it yourself, we were in a state of emergency and concealing information was a last resort.

Now that things have settled down, we should take the soldiers’ feelings into account.”

“Understood.”

Spade’s expression shifted as he eventually spoke.

….

In the Lower City District, Su Mo lay on his bed, watching TV and fiddling with the metal ore in his hand.

Examining it closely, Su Mo felt the stone seemed quite advanced, but he had no idea about its value.

Currently on television, Augustus was broadcasting live, his voice filled with emotion as he apologized to the people.

His persuasive explanation addressed why there had been a cover-up and reassured everyone that the GT Department’s medical staff who accompanied the troops would do their utmost to treat all comrades and that no one would be left behind.

…

Su Mo glanced at the speaking Augustus and pondered.

It seemed the issue was quite serious, serious enough to require Augustus himself to make a public apology.

Forget it, I don’t want to think about that anymore.

Upon reflection, though what Augustus and the others did was quite deceitful, from a rational perspective, maybe it was the only way to minimize casualties.

Of course, there were clearly negative consequences.

Just then, Su Mo’s phone vibrated.

Picking it up, he saw a message alert.

“Honored Consultant Su Mo (External Hire), due to your outstanding performance in the Thief Project, you have been awarded a substantial bonus, which will be credited to your personal account.”

Immediately following, Su Mo received another message: his personal Federation Card had received a transfer of fifteen Star Coins, roughly valued at one hundred and fifty thousand Federation Coins.

Currently, one Star Coin could be exchanged for about ten thousand Federation Coins.

However, it was important to note that while Star Coins could freely be converted into Federation Coins, the reverse was not possible.

And now, the Federation Bank system supported storage of both currencies.

Of course, storing small amounts of Star Coins at Federation Bank was quite secure and convenient for transactions.

However, storing large amounts of Star Coins would trigger bank alerts, so people who held large amounts of Star Coins usually managed their accounts in Star Ring City.

And at this moment, the sudden distribution of such generous rewards was likely, at least in part, an attempt to quell the unrest.

Su Mo got up, planning to visit the Central District to look for books or materials related to ore so as to appraise the metal ore in his possession.

So, Su Mo hid the metal ore under his bed.

Not long after, Su Mo arrived in the Central District and was surprised to find the area busier than before.