Chapter 53: First Clean-up Operation

"Not bad!" 

The pace of their current mission was something that Zhou Yuan was quite satisfied with. Every three days, they would go out to hunt for soul points, and during special missions, they wouldn't even have time to rest. They were either killing bugs or on their way to kill bugs! 

Zhou Yuan had chosen to be the machine gunner, while Buck had assigned him as the demolitions expert. During missions, the demolitions expert would be equipped with additional weapons, such as grenade launchers, high-energy explosives, tactical nuclear bombs, and many other "heavy-duty" items. This was also why Buck had advised him not to carry too much ammunition because he already had to carry so much extra equipment. 

However, for Zhou Yuan, the more ammunition he carried, the more soul points he could earn. As long as he didn't wrap himself up like a dumpling that couldn't move, it was all good. The rewards for each mission could be measured in tens of thousands. 

"Captain Zhou, let's do this!" 

For the next five days, Zhou Yuan was kept very busy. The reason why it was five days instead of three was that the Hunter Corps had just completed a major task and received a five-day vacation. 

During these five days, Zhou Yuan remained in the thirteenth underground level, busy with training and learning. The Hunter Corps didn't have many training subjects, and at most only spent seven hours a day practicing. This was to prepare for any emergency missions, so training couldn't be too rigorous and they had to keep their energy levels up. 

Most of Zhou Yuan's time was spent on learning. He learned battlefield first aid, communication support, equipment maintenance, and every skill that he could learn. After only a few days, he had already mastered all of them. His G5.5 brain function allowed him to learn new knowledge quickly, and he was able to apply what he had learned. 

If he wanted to become an all-rounder, he couldn't miss out on these skills. He had nothing to do anyway, so he might as well improve himself. Who knows, he might need it someday. As the old saying goes, "having many skills doesn't burden the body." 

While learning these skills, he also dug up a "big news." The Federation had only publicly announced three types of bugs: soldiers, locusts, and plasma bugs. However, the Special Operations Forces' database had recorded nearly twenty different bugs, including multiple forms and shapes. Bugs like tank beetles, landmine beetles, and pulse scorpions had been discovered by the Federation several years ago. There were also strange bugs like spider bugs and blood plasma bugs that even Zhou Yuan, who knew the plot, had never heard of before. 

One could only say that the high-level officials of the Federation had peculiar ways of thinking. They not only kept this information from the public but even from ordinary soldiers. Were they afraid that if they revealed the true combat power of the bugs, no one would dare to join the army? 

Zhou Yuan thought he knew everything, but it turned out he was just a clown.

On the sixth morning after joining the Hunter Corps, Zhou Yuan woke up early and prepared breakfast before 5 a.m. He then returned to his dormitory to get ready. Today, they were going out to exterminate insects, and they had to leave at six o'clock, so he had to get up early.

Zhou's teammates also woke up not long after, and by the time everyone gathered at the boarding area, it was just past 5:30 a.m.

"Listen up, everyone!" 

Buck walked to the front of the line and said loudly, "Today, we're going to the cemetery. The squad leader will keep an eye on our new teammate."

"Now, board the aircraft, gear up, and the transport plane will depart promptly at 6 a.m., arriving at the cemetery at 6:10 a.m."

After Buck finished speaking, the teams quickly dispersed and boarded their respective transport planes under the leadership of their squad leaders.

Zhou Yuan observed the scene and noticed that there were ten squads, each boarding a different transport plane. This indicated that today's mission wasn't too dangerous. At least, the intelligence suggested that the mission's risk level was relatively low, and they didn't need the full force of the entire team.

After boarding the transport plane, Zhou Yuan found his seat. He opened the equipment box above his head and began to gear up. While dressing in his gear, he also observed the interior of the transport plane.

The transport planes used by the Special Operations Force were different from ordinary ones. Ordinary transport planes looked like elongated matchboxes with wings, while the transport planes used by the Special Operations Force resembled eagles.

The latter had superior performance—faster speed, stronger defense, and more firepower. They could be considered as large-scale fighter jets.

"A bit lighter."

After gearing up, Zhou Yuan lightly jumped a couple of times. He was wearing standard equipment today, which wasn't as heavy as the fully-covered space armor. The weight of the standard equipment, including the machine gun kit, ammunition box, and explosive box, was approximately a little over 35 kilograms.

This weight wasn't much for him. It was similar to carrying a backpack for a healthy adult—noticeable, but not burdensome. Additionally, due to the clever design, these gears didn't hinder his movement at all.

The ammo box of the Barrett, known as the "Big Pineapple," looked like a small fire extinguisher case. The magazine could be easily taken out by applying a bit of force to the bottom sides. The back of the ammo box also had a magnetic attachment device that could hold both the Big Pineapple and the Barrett, with an explosive box placed on top.

Finally, Zhou Yuan tied the sniper rifle magazine belt around his waist, hung the pistol and dagger on the left and right sides, placed the pistol holster on his shoulder, and attached the grenades and spare magazines to his chest.

Perfect!

It might look a bit excessive, but not all of these tools would be necessary. When the bugs were resting in their nests and the nests were hidden deep underground, they couldn't be found easily. If they couldn't locate the nest or even encounter the bug swarm, Zhou Yuan might not even have the chance to use the Big Pineapple and the explosive box. It would already be good if he could rely on the Barrett and the pistol.

"Kid, how does it look?"

As Zhou Yuan warmed up, Buck approached him and whispered, "I could carry these little guys on my back all day." Zhou Yuan smiled slightly, patting his biceps, and curiously asked, "By the way, Captain, is Graveyard the nickname for the area?"

"Yes, that's the nickname for the Mars C1 district."

"Mars used to be free of bugs before, but at some point, bugs suddenly appeared in the C1 district."

"A bug infestation on a planet is a very serious event, so the starfleet bombarded the C1 district for a whole week."

"By the time the mobile unit took over, it had turned into hell, so we call the C1 district Graveyard, the bugs' graveyard," Buck explained patiently.

After hearing this, Zhou Yuan probably understood. Although the clearance operation lasted a long time, it still didn't completely eradicate the bugs with their strong hiding abilities, making it very difficult to eliminate them now. But there was nothing else they could do.

The bug nests are all built underground. When the starfleet goes up for a bombing, the wormhole can be bombed away, but it would be a miracle if the mobile unit can find them. Considering the horrifying breeding and tunneling abilities of the bugs, it won't be long before they can establish a new nest underground.