A is in StarCraft, just disembarked from the Zerg Prince spaceship.

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......

What can I do? I can't just kill my boss.

With a "what's the worst that can happen?" attitude, Gao Tian followed Colonel Chen Feng toward the military headquarters conference room.

This place is usually only used by military media to give important reports to high-ranking leaders, but I didn't expect it to be held here today for him.

In the center of the large conference room stood a massive conference table, nearly thirty meters long, resembling a colossal black beast coiled in the middle of the room—a truly magnificent sight. Two rows of twenty-four large armchairs were neatly arranged, awaiting the attendees' seats.

The entire conference room was enveloped in a soft blue light, with images projected using advanced holographic imaging technology.

The blue holographic images show the 48 military leaders seated among them, each with a dignified demeanor and impeccable military bearing.

Gao Tian, ​​dressed in his training uniform which he had worn for several days, stood before the military leaders, covered in mud, sweat, and dust.

Gao Tian: "..."

Gao Tian: "........."

Gao Tian: "..............."

If it weren't for his strong mental fortitude, he wouldn't have dared to even open his mouth.

Gao Tian stood behind Colonel Chen Feng.

He tried to calm himself down and waited for Colonel Chen Feng to come forward and finish his report.

The military has a very strict hierarchical system. When reporting to a superior, one must wait for the superior to speak first, and only after the superior tells him to speak can he speak.

After Colonel Chen Feng finished his report, he introduced the personnel responsible for killing the insect queen to the senior officers.

Gao Tian was pushed forward by him. Under the gaze of the big shots, he looked up and was about to speak when a loud clang from a certain video source interrupted him again.

Everyone in the conference room looked over there.

Gao Tian looked over and saw that a big shot had accidentally knocked over a water glass.

The boss's adjutant is quickly cleaning up the mess.

The big shot waved his hand outwards to indicate that it was alright and asked him to continue.

Gao Tian then began to report on their experiences on the desolate planet, including the purpose of going there, the composition of the personnel, the training process, the location of the cave, why they went to the cave, the process of going to the cave, how they discovered the insect nest, how they discovered the insect queen laying eggs, how they notified the instructors, how they discovered that the insect nest was not yet formed, how they installed the bomb, and the type of bomb they installed... nothing was too big or small.

The only sound in the huge conference room was his voice.

After listening quietly to his report, the bigwigs remained silent for a few moments, and then spontaneously began to applaud softly.

It sounds easy, but not every team can handle tens of thousands of Zerg in a closed cavern and penetrate deep into the Queen's territory to plant bombs.

The fact that they managed to kill the queen insect without any casualties and that everyone survived is an astonishing feat of action.

A high-ranking officer from the 45th Military Region asked him, "Gao Tian, ​​right? I heard your squad is all captains?"

"Yes," Gao Tian answered honestly, then added, "but I've already accumulated enough merits to reach the rank of major."

The high-ranking officer from the 45th Military Region laughed loudly: "I think you're more than just a major! You should all be promoted to senior colonel!"

......

The bigwigs parted ways in a pleasant atmosphere.

Thinking back to the gloomy atmosphere in the meeting room a few days ago, the difference is truly staggering.

"Yeah!" Gao Tian silently clenched his fist on the spot.

Killing the queen insect is the most meritorious deed, but there's no precedent for it, so a meeting is needed to decide. The extent of the military merit awarded in such meetings is always uncertain. Gao Tian was previously a captain, making a three-stage rank promotion difficult, but with the boss's definitive statement, his promotion to colonel is practically a done deal.

A 21-year-old colonel, the next step up would be brigadier general.

What's going on? Before the apocalypse arrives nine years later, he actually has a chance to climb up to the top ranks of the military.

After the meeting, Colonel Chen Feng was promoted to brigadier general and remained in charge of leading the assault team as their instructor.

On the way back, Colonel Chen Feng received a communication. When he returned, he laughed and patted Gao Tian on the shoulder, saying, "I think your vacation is probably going to be canceled. The adjutant of the commander of the No. 1 Military Region contacted me. The Commander-in-Chief wants to see you."

Gao Tian: "Huh?"

The Human Federation's First Military District is the largest of the 48 military districts, also known as the General Military District. The commander of the First Military District is automatically half a rank higher than the commanders of the other military districts.

The Commander-in-Chief was also in the conference room just now, but he didn't even know who the Commander-in-Chief was. He really didn't expect to be contacted privately by such an important figure.

Colonel Chen Feng said, "Of course, it's not a meeting in person. Come to my office and turn on the video call; the Commander-in-Chief has some questions for you."

......

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......

After Colonel Chen Feng opened the video call, Gao Tian realized that the Commander-in-Chief was the big shot who had spilled the water glass.

Of course, one cannot sit when meeting Commander-in-Chief Gao Tian; one must stand ramrod straight in the middle of the office.

The big shot looked at him calmly. His thick eyebrows and deep-set eyes, his dignified and upright face, remained expressionless as he said, "Sit. I'm just here to discuss some private matters with you today, no need to be so formal."

"Yes." Gao Tian took a few steps back and sat down in the chair with a proper military posture.

The big shot asked, "Your name is Gao Tian?"

Gao Tian: "Yes."

The big shot: "You're twenty-one?"

Gao Tian: "Yes."

The big shot said, "Young and promising. May I ask your parents' names?"

Gao Tian: "Yes. My father's name is Gao Xing, and my mother's name is Qin Qin."

The big shot fell silent.

After a long pause, he asked, "Are they all active-duty soldiers from the 45th Military Region?"

Gao Tian replied, "No, they're all gone."

The big boss was stunned: "...What?"

"They died eighteen years ago. My father was the sergeant major of Satellite 78, and my mother was a logistics staff member. They both died in the line of duty when Satellite 78 was invaded by the Zerg."

Gao Tian answered truthfully based on the original owner's background.

The sergeant major is a military rank lower than a second lieutenant; he hasn't even reached the officer rank yet, so he's not a big shot.

Satellite 78 was not a military satellite. When it was suddenly invaded by the Zerg, the resistance was utterly defeated, almost all military and police personnel were killed in the line of duty, and only one in ten of the million residents survived.

This time, the bigwig remained silent for an even longer period.

Gao Tian sat calmly.

He wasn't in much pain.

When he transmigrated, the original owner was already dead, and his memories from when he was three years old were very limited. There were almost no remnants of the original owner's memories, except that his father's name was Gao Xing and his mother's name was Qin Qin.

He sensed that the big shot was watching him.

He had seen Gao Xing's file, which was sealed by the military. Gao Xing was only thirty years old when he died; he was very young. Gao Tian now looks a lot like him.

The big shot might be an old friend of his father—although he didn't know why a military region commander and an ordinary star sergeant would be old friends, Gao Xing really had been dead for a long time.

Much later, the big shot finally said "I'm sorry to bother you" and hung up.

Gao Tian stood up and looked at the instructor, only to find that Colonel Chen Feng showed no surprise.

"?" Gao Tian asked in surprise, "You know my dad too?"

Colonel Chen Feng chuckled: "Gao Xing, huh? I fought my way up from the same rank as Gao Xing in the First Military Region. What you just said is wrong; Gao Xing is more than just a sergeant major."

Gao Tian: "Hmm?"

"Gao Xing used to be quite something." Colonel Chen Feng tapped the closed video conference. "He didn't come from a military academy, yet he became this guy's adjutant at the age of twenty-five."

Gao Tian: "What...?"

An adjutant is not just a servant or caretaker for his superior; when his superior is absent, the adjutant has the authority to temporarily assume his superior's duties and deploy troops.

Even if this bigwig wasn't the Commander-in-Chief 20 years ago, he would certainly have been a general. A 25-year-old general's adjutant is a future general reserve; it's no exaggeration to say he has a bright future.

Gao Tian himself had served in the military, so he knew how impressive this achievement was. He couldn't understand why Gao Xing was so foolish as to abandon his promising future as a brigadier general and run back to his hometown to become an ordinary sergeant.

The 25-year-old adjutant of the First Military Region and the 30-year-old ordinary satellite sergeant major who died in the line of duty sound like completely different people.