265 Twenty.
Shi Lang spend the rest of his time with Amelia in the resort, later the woman went back to the Ace Division to supervise the tasks, while the young general went to the parliament office, today, he will be taking charge of the squad participating in the Galactic Showdown.
The team was selected by internal competition, it included five technicians, five administrators, and ten front-line soldiers responsible for a five-men Mecha unit and the other four were ground battle team, they will be led directly by Shi Lang.
The young general sat in his office in the parliament with OB-One standing behind him and asked, “Sire, the nineteen people from the selection teams are here.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Call them in the conference room and where is my adjutant? I need her to hold the door for me.”
At this moment, Hayley’s voice sounded, “Boss, are you not thinking of me as a slave a bit too much? Do I have my hands empty since you came here?”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “I just missed you, the reason I called you over is to get me a special training campsite and ten latest mecha from the federation.”
Hayley nodded and said, “Yes, Sir.”
She left the office again, Shi Lang stood up and said, “Let’s go, OB-One let’s meet the fresh meat.”
His remark was heard by the soldiers outside, and they all prayed for the wellness of the people waiting for the general. They were all from the first fleet and have witnessed the glory of this handsome devil from time to time. They shivered at the thoughts of this guy.
…
Inside the conference room, twenty people sat, dressed in uniforms, all clean and well organized. They were all selected through tough competition and were sitting here today because they delivered on the potential value. They were the best in their fields.
They did not know why the fleets suddenly organized such competitions and sent the best over her to meet the first general, but they had to come, after all, orders are orders. Just when they were lost in thoughts the door of the conference room was pushed open and the handsome young man entered the room followed by a bot.
The people all stood up and saluted the young man crisply. Shi Lang reciprocated the gesture and said, “As you were.”
They all sat down on the chairs again, after Shi Lang sat down. He did not speak instantly, first, he scrutinized them like an old monster would for a few minutes, and when the pressure was enough to make the people crumble he said, “I call you all over to participate in a competition.”
The people all sighed they have had enough competition with their brethren. Shi Lang saw the decadent expression on their faces and said, “You all might think that this competition is played internally but you are wrong. The competition in my mouth is an activity that is looked after by the entire galaxy.”
His words piqued their interest. Gone were the times when the galaxy in the mouth of a person was still located on the millions of populace of the earth. The federation was now a rising player on the galactic front and everyone in the military was almost aware of the implications of the word galactic.
A person asked, “Sir, may I ask what is this about?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Private Ryan, I will elaborate the whole thing, but let me state a few disclaimers.”
The people nodded and Shi Lang said, “Once you come to know about the details, you will not be able to withdraw, and the involvement in this competition involves a certain death risk. Do you wish to go ahead?”
That said, he leaned back in the chair and said, “You have half an hour to discuss and think about it. I cannot promise you whether we will be able to make it back or not, but I promise that till my last breath, I will be by your side.”
His words were true, he will try his best to guard them, to the best of his ability but that was all that he can do, death was not something that could be defied all the time. A man sitting next to Private Ryan said, “Sir, we wear the colors so that we can meet death in a glorious fashion.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “Well said, Captain Steel.”
A feminine voice sounded, “Permission to speak freely, Sir.”
“I was wondering when you will speak up, granted.”, said Shi Lang.
The person who spoke was none other than one of the rising stars in Mech research and design, Jane, his old classmate. She looked him in the eye and said, “Bastard, firstly, you did not ask for my permission to marry Amelia in the house, and just after a week you are ready to go out and seek death? I need to teach Amelia about house rules.”
The people were surprised and shocked to hear such a tone being used to deal with the General. Their backs were covered with cold sweat, and they looked at the general who was smiling at Jane and said, “Hehehe, you overprotective hen, the egg has broken and I have become a proud dragon, dare you to mislead my wife, see if I let Lucas hook up somewhere else. Also, be serious.”
Jane glared at him and said, “Deal with you after the meeting, you wait.”
Shi Lang waved his hand and looking at the stunned faces around he said, “You all do not need to think so much, I have been classmates with Major jane here for a long time and we basically know the ins and out of our brains. Now, let me tell you all about the purpose of calling you all over.”
Jane said, “Serious question, what are the chances of dying on duty?”
Shi Lang sighed and looking at her face, he said, “Almost an eighty, could be ninety.”
This was enough to scare people, even if they were all ready for the battle and knew the risks, the hearts of the people were not made of steel. Shi Lang said, “In the competition, we will have to face the alien civilizations in aspects of battle prowess. The administrators will compete in a simulated game of conquest. So, they will be the safest, yet, this competition allows bets, and sometimes the players do stake life. How and what are the circumstances of that, I do not know.”
The administrators became relatively calm, they had very less physical experience and were considered weak links. Shi Lang continued, “The tech team will work in tandem with the assault team, you will manage and repair our mechas and equipment. You will also serve as the substitutes in case any of us backs off.”
The people nodded, they still understood the basics, when a scholar-like person asked, “Sir, where are we going to play?”
Shi Lang replied, “The Galactic Council base, DarkStar.”
The words fell and the room became silent. The people knew that the distance to the Dark Star may take them months to cross, but the space was not exactly small. Shi Lang smiled and said, “Do not worry, we will not be at a slow speed, the galactic council will arrange a transport and it will take us a week to reach the place at constant wrap.”
The discussion kept on going for a few hours and Shi Lang explained all the things asked by the participants with great patience. He was not like what they thought of him. Well, at least not inside the conference room, where the devil was coaxing these innocent souls to make a deal with him. Things were basically set for them now.
Shi Lang finished the meeting and was captured by Jane, she looked at him condescendingly and asked, “Does Amelia know you are chasing death again?”
Shi Lang thought about it and nodded. The girl was surprised, she asked, “Can you not calm your balls, Lang? Why do you wish to die at a young age? You said yourself, the alien species will be stronger than us and we do not even have any intel.”
“Whoa, you stop cursing me you crow mouth. We do not have any intel now, because the process is on the way. The allied territories will be able to strive on and for our success, so they will give us the details we need and provide efficient support.”, replied Shi Lang.
Jane was surprised and the two discussed this thing in great detail. Her husband Lucas was at the side listening and pitching in from time to time. It was night when Amelia called and asked him where he was. Shi Lang reported truthfully and said that they will be coming over for training this week.
Amelia nodded and the ace division also moved to Mythya. The training venue was selected, and the instructors were ready. X was waiting for them with Yuu. It was going to be downright hell for the assault team.