1 Fortune and Misfortune Are Intertwined

Date: Earth Federation Calendar (E.F.C.) Year 107, September 9th

Location: Planet Alpha, Star Sector Perseus C9.

Qin Hao lay in a shell crater by the beach, and he was surrounded by fire and brimstone, as well as the torn arms of his squadmates.

That was the fourth offensive by the Federation Army on Isis Beach. Even though the federation's bombers had already carpet-bombed the surroundings of the beach landing, it was clear that the method was not particularly effective against the Insectoids. When the mechanized army started its land offensive, they still encountered stiff resistance.

The fourth offensive had clearly failed. Of the thousands of mechanized soldiers, only a few were left alive in the shell craters, and Qin Hao was one of them.

Hiss... Hiss...

Hearing the clear sound of an insect by his ears, Qin Hao tensed up once again and grabbed an electromagnetic rifle. That was his last crutch. While there were barely any rounds left in the magazine, it was still something that could protect his life.

"F*ck this! I probably won't be going back alive. Just come at me! Taking down one is fine, taking down two is even better!" Qin Hao roared as he lay by the edge of the crater and took shots at one of the approaching giant bugs.

Rat tat tat!

The electromagnetic rifle spew fire as bullets like a torrent of metal. It shredded a giant beetle about ten meters away. The two-meter-tall bug dropped dead, but it did not bring Qin Hao any joy because opposite him, hundreds of giant beetles were fast approaching. Worse still, a red warning light had already begun flashing on his electromagnetic rifle. That meant, he had less than ten shots left in his magazine.

"Sh*t." Qin Hao held the rifle tightly. Against such a huge number of giant beetles, he knew that it was all over.

...

Screeech!

Following a shriek, a golden horned beetle rushed toward Qin Hao. At that moment, Qin Hao had run dry; his electromagnetic rifle had just fired its last round and could no longer shoot.

Whoosh!

The giant beetle raised its forearm, and that bone-like arthropodal part was as sharp as a razor. It was stained in crimson, so clearly, a number of mechanized soldiers had already died by its hands!

Hiss... Hiss...

The giant beetle opened its mandibles excitedly, revealing a disgusting green mucus. It was obviously planning to have Qin Hao for dinner once it was done killing him!

"Uff!!" The giant beetle's forearm pierced into Qin Hao's thigh and drew red as it pulled its scything arm out.

Hisss... Hisss...

The giant beetle licked its forearm that was stained with Qin Hao's blood. While its' insectoid face could not form any expressions, Qin Hao could still sense its excitement and glee.

"You want to eat me? Dream on! I'll take you down with me!" Qin Hao roared. Right then, he had forgotten what fear was, and in his rage, he pulled out an energy hand grenade from around his waist.

Screech!

The giant bug was not without intelligence, and it knew the destructive power of an energy grenade. Thus, the moment Qin Hao pulled the item out, it shrieked and wanted to kill Qin Hao before he could prime the grenade.

"Urgh!!!" It's bone-like forearm stabbed through Qin Hao's chest, but at the same time, Qin Hao had removed the grenade's safety and pulled the detonator!

Boooommm!

Before the giant beetle's panicked gaze, the energy grenade detonated, and its face was blown clean off since it was close to the blast. Qin Hao was also mangled by the explosion. The giant bug's blue brain matter flowed out and splashed onto Qin Hao's maimed chest.

The surrounding giant beetles simultaneously let out a dolorous wail. They did not expect the princeling, which had just been hatched, to perish on a low-risk battlefield like this!

...

Date: E.F.C. Year 107, September 11th

Location: Planet Alpha's Gravity Well, Star Sector Perseus C9, Earth Federation Navy Fleet No.7, Hospital Ship 703.

"This kid sure is lucky to survive after being mangled like that."

"Yes... Yes... but his right hand is a goner!"

"Surviving that explosion itself is already a miracle. What's the loss of an arm?!"

"Yeah, Wang, get me a robo-arm."

"Yes, Dr. Lee!"

...

When Qin Hao woke up again, everything in front of him was white. He moved his body slightly and discovered that he was lying on a soft bed. As he looked around, Qin Hao settled down. It was a ward on the hospital ship. He had been there the last time he was wounded.

"You're awake?" Less than a minute ago, when signs of Qin Hao waking up were detected, a nurse made her way to the ward.

"Yeah." Qin Hao nodded. This was not his first time getting wounded. Although the scene of his impending doom was still fresh in his mind, upon seeing everything before him, he was relieved. He must have killed that giant beetle after he detonated the hand grenade. He was lucky enough to survive and was later saved by his comrades.

"You sure are lucky. For you to detonate an energy grenade at close range..." The nurse did not know whether she should admire Qin Hao or feel that he was just lucky. She informed him of his condition when he was rolled into the medical bay, and a shudder ran down Qin Hao's spine when he heard about it.

Qin Hao may have been absolutely heroic against the giant battle, but that was because he was on the battlefield. Besides, after being enraged, Qin Hao could care less about fear. Now that he looked back on it, Death had patted him on the shoulder, and that belated fear was most terrifying.

Immediately after, the nurse adjusted the instruments beside Qin Hao and said to him, "This is the maintenance manual. Give it a look when you feel better. Your right arm is gone, and we've replaced it with a Type-034 robotic arm. It's a mass-production unit procured by the Federation Army, you know."

"What?!" Qin Hao hurriedly extended his right arm and saw the silver glint of the robotic arm from his shoulder. While clenching his fist and holding something felt very natural, it was ultimately not his arm.

 "Don't worry. This robotic arm has been corrected to match your nerves, and it is no different than using a real arm. In fact, it's even more powerful than your original arm, but it will have some minor issues. The maintenance manual has all the information, so you can just fix it yourself when the time comes." The nurse smiled. She had been working on the hospital ship for more than a year now and had seen too many disabled soldiers with bionic arms or legs. She was used to it.

"All right." Qin Hao nodded. As things stood, he could only accept the fate of losing his right arm.

However, there was that old adage, "fortune and misfortune are intertwined". Although Qin Hao had lost an arm, according to the provisions of the Federation Military Law, his disability was at a Level 3. So, not only could he be honorably discharged, but he could also receive a large pension. It would be enough for him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Bear in mind that in the Galactic Navy Federation, the casualty rate of the mechanized infantry was thirty times more than the other units. In times of war, only a lucky few would complete the entire campaign alive. Being able to get an honorable discharge plus a large amount of pension was already an excellent outcome.