Counterfeit Hero

Chapter 48: Chapter 8 The Highest Honor

Bernadotte is a renowned academian military commander of the Leray Federation. Among the Federation Generals who have been away from the battlefield for long, he is considered one of the Great Generals.

Especially in the ground resistance campaign on Miloke Planet, his command was steady, meticulous, and standard.

For this [Thunderbolt] operation planned by the Command Department, he not only voted in favor but also participated in the formulation work and was responsible for the unified command of the entire Army and Land-based Air Force.

The operational plan itself was flawless, but due to the leak of the plan, the operation lost its surprise and concealment, leading the enemy’s main forces to proactively withdraw from various cities before being encircled. While it seemed like the Federation had recaptured many places, the dispersion of its forces inadvertently positioned them in a dangerous situation in the broader strategic context.

If it weren’t for Tian Xingjian’s deduction pointing out this issue, in a few days, once the assembly of the Gazalin Empire Army is complete and their Mythical Army parachutes into Katos Canyon, the Federation’s forward troops would become like a fish on a chopping board.

Luckily, Bernadotte was a wise general. Upon seeing the deduction, he immediately dispatched three Armored Divisions and two flying battalions to Katos Canyon to reinforce defenses, and overnight, formulated and implemented the [Detonate] plan.

The subsequent changes following this order made Bernadotte realize he made the right decision.

Currently, the Gazalin Empire only seized Bafoli Pass. Both sides are in a standoff, and from the situation, the Federation gained some advantage from previous actions. Therefore, before the transport ship for rescuing prisoners of war behind enemy lines took off, he issued his second order: to transfer Tian Xingjian to the Combat Plan Division as Military Staff.

Upon seeing Tian Xingjian again, Bernadotte was naturally very enthusiastic. Fatty, being someone who thrives on a bit of praise, reciprocated the generals’ compliments. He lauded Bernadotte as a War God and humbly stated that he was just a small soldier under the wise leadership of the generals; without their discernment, even the most precise deduction would be useless.

The two appeared to be kindred spirits, respecting each other as heroes. In short, one had sharp vision, and the other was a jewel.

Bernadotte smiled as Tian Xingjian sat down and asked, ”Lieutenant Tian, I heard from General Zhou that your request for strict confidentiality regarding your recognition and reward this time is quite unusual. Why is that?”

Seeing the puzzled looks of several generals, Tian Xingjian awkwardly nodded and said, ”Contributing to the Federation is what we should do. The true heroes are those Federation warriors who suffered in the enemy’s prisoner of war camps. I am just a soldier executing the rescue mission and should not overshadow them.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the generals all laughed. First, because this chubby man knew how to speak, and second, because the Federation Government’s publicity strategy focused on the prisoners and the brutal experiments in the prisoner camps to garner international sympathy and the support of enraged citizens.

The most important reason was that this operation initially was only Tian Xingjian’s own impromptu decision. At that time, no one expected he would actually bring these prisoners back. Only when the Federation saw the hope of success did they go all out on the rescue mission. Hence, there were many things that couldn’t be openly discussed. Coincidentally, at the crucial moment, Tian Xingjian requested secrecy to General Zhou Zhisen of the Sixteenth Division. After discussions, the President’s Office decided to deliberately downplay this aspect, making it clear the Federation Government was not taking credit.

Currently, the Leray Federation, due to the stance of the government and the military department and this mysterious platoon leader, has aroused great enthusiasm among the public. Support rates for the government and the military have been steadily rising. This unexpected effect had everyone grinning from ear to ear and increasingly interested in this Lieutenant.

Bernadotte laughed heartily, ”Lieutenant Tian, although you requested confidentiality, no one can erase this merit. Therefore, after careful consideration, the Federation Government and military department have decided to award you the Purple Emblem Freedom Medal, to commend your significant contributions to the resistance war. Of course, respecting your request, we will keep this medal confidential.”

Fatty was startled and, in disbelief, confirmed, ”Purple Emblem Freedom Medal?”

The Purple Emblem Freedom Medal is the highest honor for Federation soldiers! It means even after retirement, one could be supported by the Federation for life without working. It also means one can knock on the President’s Office or the Command Department’s door at any time to provide opinions and suggestions. Furthermore, it means that whether a Marshal or General, as long as they don’t have the same medal, must salute the medal bearer to show respect for their contributions to the Federation.

The lifetime meal ticket was certainly tempting, though knocking on doors or who salutes first was not something Fatty cared about.

However, when he saw Bernadotte pin the medal on him and saluted alongside several generals, that sense of vanity made this unambitious rascal unable to close his mouth all the way out of the front command post door.

The Special Reconnaissance Soldiers of Second Platoon, First Squad, who followed Tian Xingjian, were awarded collective first-class merit and individual first-class merit. The First Company received collective second-class merit. The entire Special Reconnaissance Battalion was specially promoted to Special Reconnaissance Group, and Nadal spent every day looking smugly reading newspapers near the Special Forces Camp, standing there for the whole day.

Soon, new work assignments were also announced. Tian Xingjian, who was promoted just over a month ago, had no change in rank but was reassigned to the 6th Research Room of the Combat Department, becoming the lowest-ranking Combat Staff there.

In the Combat Department at the front command post, apart from some military interns, even those responsible for orderly duties were Captains. This Lieutenant Staffer made everyone feel awkward, but Fatty didn’t care; he greeted everyone with a slap on the head, ”Good day, sir.”

The director of the 6th Research Room was a plump middle-aged Colonel named Pat, in his fifties, with a kindly face. He had just taken over the position of the 6th Research Room director. His predecessor, who had committed suicide due to fabricating orders and treason, was Colonel Staff Frederick.

So, when Tian Xingjian joined this Research Room, he felt the atmosphere was quite odd. Staff from other research rooms looked at the 6th Room’s staff with disdain and suspicion, and those in the 6th Room seemed to hang their heads low, normally busy with their own work, with almost no interaction. Only when Pat convened meetings to discuss plans did they have a few sparse remarks.

This resulted in the 6th Research Room area in the Combat Department building being like a dark, gloomy corner that no one wanted to visit. The people inside themselves hurried in and out, with no vitality.

Though finding the work environment strange, Fatty was quite delighted to work in such a setting. Firstly, no one paid attention, making it low-key and safe. Secondly, it was convenient with a flexible schedule. Pat was a kind-hearted person with little authority; as long as the assigned tasks were completed, he didn’t interfere with anything else.

As for specific work, Fatty was only assigned the task of defense calculations for several besieged cities.

These calculations were hardly considered work; one just needed to pay attention to the details and reliability of the data. Simply inputting the data into the computer program, the immense calculation was entirely done by the computer.

Careful observation showed that all the defense plans were made by other research rooms, and it seemed the 6th Research Room was doing all the odd jobs.

In his spare time aside from going home, his only destination was the laboratory. There, he interacted with an infatuated beautiful woman, enjoying some playful moments but being ’bullied’ by the blushing beauty. Meanwhile, he conducted research to improve Mecha performance. Back at home, he would receive regular calls from Meiduo and Nia, engaging in some flirtatious banter and enjoying mental perks. For this ambitionless rascal, it was a heavenly life.

With Fatty’s life settling into a stable routine, the Simulated War Network became a buzz again these days.