What!?

At that moment, everyone stared at Gu Ji, their expressions varied—some shocked, some excited, but most were envious.

"Sherman's" current rank is that of a Private First Class, and the General Staff promoted him to Sergeant, which is an elevation of three ranks.

And then there's that Iron Cross Medal.

A soldier of Hans Country regards obtaining the Iron Cross Medal as a great honor.

Although in the later stages of World War II, millions of these were handed out, at this moment its honor still carried weight. Among those present, only Luca from the 1st Guard Banner Division had one at his collar.

Eugen, standing to the side, was so envious that his eyeballs were nearly bulging out.

When the bearded General Staff learned that Gu Ji was eager to return home to Ludwig Port, he suddenly remembered.

"Indeed, this matter just came to my attention. I just received a transfer order from headquarters—Ludwig Port has been bombed by the Hawk Army's 341st Bombardment Group's B-17 fleet. They've asked me to assemble a few squads to conduct an investigation and report."

Hearing the main topic, a hint of excitement flashed in Gu Ji's eyes, and his tone was steady.

"General Staff, should you agree, I am willing to proceed to Ludwig for this investigation."

"General Staff, I also wish to go with Mr. Herman!"

Unexpectedly, Eugen stood up impatiently, straightening his back.

The bearded General Staff clasped his hands behind his back, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces with satisfaction, nodding:

"Alright, since you just braved life and death together on the battlefield, let's temporarily organize you into a team. Luca will act as the captain, and Mr. Herman as the vice-captain, to investigate and report on the bombing incident in Ludwig Port."

"Yes."

Luca had already intended to bring such an excellent subordinate like Gu Ji into his fold, so he naturally agreed happily.

No surprises.

That evening, the news of Mosnili stepping down once again caused a stir in the Hans Military Camp.

The Southern Outer Islands Campaign saw the Hans Army continuously defeated.

Bearded General Staff, to prevent morale from waning, decided to hold the promotion ceremony for Gu Ji that evening at the base. A rare exemplary soldier must be widely publicized.

"Mr. Herman, with his outstanding command ability, fought until the last bullet, rescuing comrades from encirclement. He bears the aura of Hans's spirit."

Since the original piece was still in production, the General Staff could only temporarily take out an official replica of the Black Iron Cross Medal and pin it to Gu Ji's collar.

"I hope Mr. Herman can continue to rely on Hans's spirit like a stone wall and continue fighting for this honor!"

The Hans soldiers below immediately broke into thunderous applause.

Gu Ji, however, did not have any particularly stirring feeling, being in an entirely different position himself. It was better to carefully consider how to leverage this merit for commanding advantages.

The promotion ceremony concluded.

Ler stepped forward, slinging an arm around his shoulder, and grinned:

"Well done, buddy! After one battle, your rank is now the same as mine!"

"Mr. Herman, oh no, Officer, when we get to Ludwig Port, please do remember to teach me commanding skills!"

"Everything's negotiable."

Gu Ji was casually chatting with Eugen when they happened to encounter the military police escorting a group of soldiers to the Punishment Camp.

The military police, recognizing him, immediately straightened up and saluted him excitedly.

The soldiers had already been stripped of their uniforms, their faces covered with blood marks, and a white placard hung on their chests, with humiliating slogans such as "I am a deserter, I am a coward, I am a traitor."

Eugen spat venomously:

"Damned deserters, truly a disgrace to the Hans Empire!"

"Let it go, Eugen, say a few less words."

Ler pulled him aside.

In fact, everyone knew these soldiers were not genuinely deserters. They had merely seen civilians of the Roman Empire taking to the streets in celebration, speculating whether the war was truly coming to an end.

As the night wind blew.

Swaying the placards of shame on the chests of the soldiers, as well as the Iron Cross Medals on the collars of Gu Ji and Luca, while Eugen's frenzied expression seemed to echo with their lost and silent demeanor.

...

Two mornings later.

The relay military police informed Gu Ji and his company that the transport aircraft group was ready. It was a grey-green JU-52 transport aircraft, capable of accommodating 18 soldiers.

From Lebudas to Ludwig Port was only about a thousand kilometers.

In less than three hours, the plane descended above Ludwig Port.

[Target: Successfully arrive at Ludwig Port within three days!]

[Choose your reward!]

[Lung Capacity and Blood Oxygen Level Increase (Medium)] or [Human Tolerance Improvement (Medium)]

To be honest, the two rewards refreshed this time seemed less enticing than the previous round on the surface, yet they proved very useful in facing disaster accidents.

Blue [Lung Capacity Increase (Medium)]: Increases lung deep inhalation capacity by 24%, increases hypoxia endurance time of major organ systems like brain, heart, kidneys by 32%, enhances activity of type II lung cells by 7%;

Blue [Human Tolerance Improvement (Medium)]: Enhances human cold and heat resistance by 27%, improves skin's chemical burn resistance by 19%, increases bone marrow hematopoietic ability by 16%.

Both focus on enhancing personal survival ability.

Considering from a gaming mentality perspective.

Lung capacity leads to minimal early health decay, but rapid late-stage decay;

Tolerance is a steady, slow decay throughout.

After a moment of contemplation, Gu Ji decided to choose the former. In large-scale factory fires and chemical spill accidents, the slight resistance from tolerance improvement seemed limited, ultimately relying on equipment.

And the protective equipment of World War II era was generally not very reliable.

[New target: Prevent the disaster accident from spreading beyond the port!]

Through the cabin window, he glanced down at the town below.

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