Chapter 2 (2/2)

“All right! Your information is complete. Return to your barracks and await the news. It should take about three to five days,” the officer said as he nodded. He saw a lot of wounded soldiers like Qin Hao applying for discharge every week, and it had become a routine thing now.

“Yes, Sir!” Qin Hao saluted the officer as he got up, then he returned to his barracks.

“Sigh!” Looking at the empty barracks, Qin Hao sighed. When they first arrived at Planet Alpha’s Gravity Well, there were thirty-six soldiers in the barracks, including Qin Hao.

Now, however, he was the only one back there, with an arm missing to boot. But Qin Hao was also considered lucky as his other comrades lost more than an arm; they had lost their lives.

“Who knows when the next batch of mechanized infantry reinforcements will come.” Qin Hao looked at the empty beds in the barracks and sighed again. In the Galactic Navy Federation, the lives of mechanized infantry were as good as worthless.

While he was full of sadness, Qin Hao knew that three to five days later, once his discharge orders arrived, he could follow the supply fleet back to the rear, and his military career would be over.

…

“Private 1573, please report to the Military Affairs Department immediately.” Four days later, the comms rang out in Qin Hao’s barracks.

“The discharge order is finally here!” Qin Hao was elated, and he could finally leave the wretched place.

A slightly excited Qin Hao soon arrived at the Military Affairs Department, and the same officer was waiting for him.

“Private 1573, your discharge order has been withdrawn!” the officer said to Qin Hao with a serious face.

“Huh?!” Qin Hao was dumbstruck since the Federal Military Law clearly stipulated that a soldier with a Level 3 disability could be discharged from the military.

“The Military Affairs Department has just issued an emergency notice because of the dire situation on the frontlines. Discharge orders for all wounded Federation soldiers who are still combat-capable have been suspended!” the officer explained to Qin Hao.

“This…” Qin Hao was in a daze. He had assumed that he could leave the battlefield. Never once did he think that he would eventually need to return to those filthy trenches.

“All right, private, you are now assigned to the 7th Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 106th Mechanized Infantry Division. Report to your unit at the double!” The officer clearly did not want to talk to Qin Hao too much. After he changed Qin Hao’s battlefield records back to “reassigned”, the officer tossed him a map with the route to the 7th Mechanized Infantry Battalion. After all, a starship was massive, and without a map, who knows how long Qin Hao would take to find the designated point himself.

“Yes, Sir!” At this point, aside from saluting and receiving his orders, there was nothing else Qin Hao could do. With his application for a discharge suspended, he remained a soldier. Military orders were paramount, and he could only comply.