Chapter 730: Chapter 357: No Professionalism at All

Han Ruoxi asked in a low voice.

"Very likely!"

Li Chang’an’s expression was grave.

"Bai Lin, scan the cave’s interior. See if there are any hostiles."

Bai Lin opened his terminal, performed a quick scan, and looked up.

"There’s a strong heat signature deep in the cave. It could be the core of the Insect Hive.

The numbers are high. I advise caution."

"Understood!"

Li Chang’an nodded.

"We won’t go in recklessly. First, send these coordinates back to the base."

"Got it!"

Bai Lin began operating his terminal, uploading the data.

Just then, a low buzzing sound came from deep within the cave, and the ground began to tremble slightly.

"Not good,"

Shen Qiuyue said in a low voice.

"They might have detected us!"

"Everyone, prepare to fall back!"

Li Chang’an immediately ordered.

"Cover each other and get out of here, fast!"

The squad quickly adjusted their formation and began to fall back along the pre-planned retreat route.

In the distance, the shadows of the Insect Race multiplied within the cave. They were clearly giving chase.

"Sun Yang, cover!"

Li Chang’an shouted.

"Got it!"

Sun Yang immediately raised his Pulse Gun and fired a few shots at the pursuing swarm, precisely killing several of the closest insects.

"Han Ruoxi, rear support!"

Li Chang’an continued to command.

"Understood!"

Han Ruoxi activated her Electric Power Amplifier. A powerful bolt of electricity exploded behind them, halting the swarm’s advance.

The squad fought as they retreated, eventually creating enough distance to make it back to the armored vehicle.

"Everyone, in the vehicle!"

Li Chang’an ordered loudly.

The team members quickly boarded. The armored vehicle’s engine roared to life, and it sped off toward the base.

"Mission complete. The coordinates have been sent back to base,"

Bai Lin said quietly.

"We can confirm the existence of an Insect Hive."

"Excellent."

Li Chang’an nodded.

"Let’s get back safely. We’ll debrief after the mission is over."

Back at the base, just as the Insect Hunter Squad’s armored vehicle came to a stop, Sun Yang flopped onto a seat inside and let out an exaggerated sigh.

"I’m dead tired! Captain, does this mission count as overtime? Is there any extra pay?"

He complained while stretching.

"Those bugs were right on our tail. My heart’s still pounding!"

"Extra pay? In your dreams!"

Han Ruoxi was the first to shoot him down.

"You should be glad the Captain isn’t chewing you out.

Those shots you fired earlier almost gave away our retreat route!"

"Miss Han, we’re teammates. Why are you always picking on me?"

Sun Yang said with an innocent look on his face.

"I was just trying my best to cover everyone and keep us safe!"

"Cut the crap!"

Han Ruoxi snorted coldly.

"Don’t you check your surroundings before you shoot? If Bai Lin hadn’t warned us, Qiuyue and I would have been pincered by the bugs behind us!"

"I did check my surroundings!"

Sun Yang said, patting his chest.

"It was just a really urgent situation, I didn’t have time to think too much..."

"Well, maybe you should think more in the future,"

Shen Qiuyue cut in coldly.

"There are no second chances on a mission."

"Alright, alright, I’ll pay more attention next time!"

Sun Yang waved his hands dismissively and gave a dry laugh.

"Let’s not talk about that. The Captain should at least praise me a little, right? If it weren’t for my great cover fire, would our retreat have gone so smoothly?"

Li Chang’an was looking over the mission logs on his terminal. Hearing this, he glanced up at Sun Yang.

"Your cover fire was indeed useful, but it also revealed quite a few problems,"

he said.

"Specifically, your fire control wasn’t precise enough, and you wasted too much ammo.

Do you know how much Energy your Pulse Gun consumed during our retreat?"

"Uh... well..." Sun Yang scratched his head, clearly having never considered the question.

"Before the next mission, read the ammunition management manual three more times,"

Li Chang’an said in a calm tone.

"Otherwise, on the next mission, I’ll have you carry a whole case of Energy Bullets."

"Captain, you don’t have to be that harsh!"

Sun Yang pleaded.

"I’ll fix it, I promise!"

"Just see that you do."

Li Chang’an nodded.

"Dismissed. Everyone go back and sort out your gear. Debrief in half an hour."

The squad members acknowledged and returned to their respective dorms to prepare.

As Han Ruoxi wiped down her Electric Power Amplifier, she couldn’t help but mutter.

’That Sun Yang is a lost cause. He manages to find a new way to screw up on every mission!’

"Be that as it may, he did provide cover,"

Shen Qiuyue said calmly, putting down her sword.

"But we can’t let him get complacent about his flaws.

Chang’an really went easy on him this time."

"True."

Han Ruoxi nodded.

"If the Captain had actually gotten angry, Sun Yang would’ve been punished with a hundred laps by now!"

Meanwhile, Bai Lin sat in a corner, quietly organizing the data report.

He didn’t join their conversation, but he would occasionally look up, a hint of resignation in his eyes.

「Half an hour later.」

The squad reassembled in the mission briefing room.

Li Chang’an stood at the front, projecting the mission logs onto a screen.

"We did well on today’s mission, but there were still some problems,"

he said, pointing at the data on the screen.

"The first problem was a lack of coordination during the retreat.

Han Ruoxi, Sun Yang, you two had a coordination failure during the mission, which led to a brief gap in our right-flank defense.

In a real battle, a situation like that could put the entire squad in jeopardy!"

"Captain, I admit it was my fault,"

Han Ruoxi spoke up first.

"I was focused on suppressing the swarm behind us and neglected the situation on our right flank."

"The blame isn’t entirely yours."

Li Chang’an shook his head.

"Sun Yang, your positioning wasn’t flexible enough.

If you had adjusted your fire coverage in time, this problem wouldn’t have occurred."

"Understood. I’ll definitely pay more attention in the future,"

Sun Yang muttered, scratching his head.

"The second problem was the choice of retreat route,"

Li Chang’an continued.

"We had a safer route available, but because of a delay in intel transmission, we didn’t adjust in time.

In that regard, Bai Lin, your terminal system needs to be optimized."

"I’ve already identified the issue."

Bai Lin nodded.

"I’ll fix the system’s response lag before the next mission."

"Good."

Li Chang’an nodded.

"Overall, this mission was completed fairly smoothly, but we must constantly improve.

Every mission is preparation for the next. Understood?"

"Understood!"

they all answered in unison.

"Dismissed."

Li Chang’an said, turning off the projection screen.

After the team members left the briefing room, Sun Yang stretched long and luxuriously, saying with a relieved expression,

"Finally over! Today was a real grind. I need to properly relax!"

"Relax? About what?"

Han Ruoxi snorted.

"You should be training more so you don’t drag us down again next time!"

"Miss Han, can’t you give me a break?"

Sun Yang said with a pained expression.

"I just made a small mistake, don’t keep harping on it!"

"If you’re wrong, you fix it,"

Han Ruoxi replied coldly.

"Stop trying to slack off!"

Sun Yang sighed. Just as he was about to say something more, Li Chang’an suddenly walked up from behind and said calmly,

"Sun Yang, I’m holding an extra physical training session tonight. You’ll be attending."

"Captain!"

Sun Yang’s eyes went wide.

"I already tried my best out there! Why do I need extra training?"

"Because you still have room for improvement."

With that, Li Chang’an walked away, giving him no chance to argue.

Han Ruoxi couldn’t help but laugh.

"Sun Yang, you’re so screwed now!"

"Don’t gloat!"

Sun Yang looked dejected.

"Fine, I’ll go train! Then maybe you all won’t look down on me!"

Although he complained, he resignedly headed to the training grounds.

The others returned to their dorms to attend to their own business.

At night, the Insect Hunter Squad’s dormitory area grew quiet. Aside from the occasional sounds from the training grounds, most people had already returned to their rooms to rest.

However, Sun Yang was still on the training grounds, dripping with sweat.

He was following Li Chang’an’s orders, performing his physical training with extreme focus on every set.

"Ten... eleven... twelve..." Sun Yang counted through gritted teeth as he pushed through his push-ups, beads of sweat rolling off his forehead and splattering on the ground.

He glanced up at the timer and couldn’t help but mutter.

’The Captain is too brutal. How many sets has it been?’

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