Chapter 149 Award Ceremony

Gao Yuan learned a few things, actually, just how to march, how to salute, and what he should say when he was receiving the medal.

Truth be told, there was no need to say anything at all.

This wasn't a film festival award ceremony where one has to make an acceptance speech after receiving the award.

When soldiers are awarded medals, they simply go up, salute, and at most say two or three sentences to wrap it up.

What fancy flourishes could there be in the military? Honor itself is the most important; any empty or flowery words are pointless.

"Comrades, fellow citizens, today I must announce a tragic piece of news; both of our Stonegate Shelters fell victim to the aliens' attack, with no survivors. Today we mourn with heavy hearts for the people of Stonegate Temporary First Shelter and Stonegate Temporary Second Shelter who have perished, as well as for the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives."

"I declare a three-minute silence for the fallen soldiers and civilians."

Having finished speaking, Li Wen moved to the side, away from the microphone, and bowed his head in silence.

Everyone bowed their heads in silence.

Inside Base No. 12, people listening to the broadcast, no matter what they were doing, now put down their work, stood up straight, and bowed their heads in silence.

A young mother was holding her child. As she bowed her head in silence, tears fell continuously until she could no longer bear it, her body staggering and collapsing to the ground.

"Mommy, what's wrong? Mommy..."

The young mother hugged her child and cried out loud, "It's all gone, all gone; only the two of us are left..."

The young child cried loudly, while another nearby young child tugged at his mother's hand and asked softly, "What's gone, Mommy, what's gone?"

Wiping away her tears, the other child's mother said softly, "Our home is gone, my child, Stonegate is no more..."

It was supposed to be a moment of silence, but she couldn't help crying out loud; then she covered her face and began to sob uncontrollably.

There were so many from Stonegate in Shelter No. 12 that soon there was a chorus of weeping.

Li Wen's voice continued to echo through the broadcast.

"Our losses are great, but through the Battle of Stonegate, we discovered the aliens' weaknesses. They are not invincible. Our counterattack inflicted damage on them. Comrades, fellow citizens, this was the first face-to-face confrontation we had with the aliens. Even though all our fighters perished, we know the aliens can be defeated. Perseverance is victory; we will surely defeat the alien invaders and reclaim our homeland."

Without going into an elaborate speech, Li Wen quickly added, "Our soldiers at the Stonegate Shelter have made great sacrifices, which will not be forgotten. Their fighting spirit will be inherited and carried forward by us."

"I declare that the defense forces of Stonegate Temporary Second Shelter are awarded a collective first-class merit!"

"I declare that the defense forces of Stonegate Temporary First Shelter are awarded a collective first-class merit!"

Wang Hu's 33258 Brigade was a part of the Stonegate No. 2 defense force, but not its entirety; the entire defense force was rewarded with collective first-class merit, so 33258 Brigade's name was not mentioned.

But Gao Yuan was not in a hurry; he was waiting.

"I declare that Comrade Wang Hu, commander of the 33258 Brigade, is awarded the title of Hero of Special Merit, bestowed the Special Merit Medal, and posthumously promoted to the rank of Major General. Please have a representative of the 33258 Brigade come forward to receive the medal on behalf of General Wang Hu."

Upon finishing, Li Wen stood solemnly to one side.

Gao Yuan took a deep breath. Dressed in a uniform without epaulettes or collar patches, he marched forward to the stage and stood before Li Wen to salute.

Li Wen took a medal from a box held by an officer beside him, raised it with both hands to show to the people below with affection, then he put the medal back into the black velvet box and finally passed the box with the medal to Gao Yuan.

Gao Yuan saluted again, turned to salute the audience below, then he took the box, turned around, and held the box with both hands facing the hundreds of spectators.

"Salute!"

Most present were military personnel; all the soldiers saluted Gao Yuan while the civilians stood at attention.

Of course, the salute was not for Gao Yuan, but for the medal he was holding, the medal representing Wang Hu.

Gao Yuan holding the box descended from the stage and placed the box on the table in front of him.

"I declare the Fierce Tiger Brigade of the 33258 Brigade to be honored with the title of Heroic Unit and awarded the unit flag. Please have a representative of the Fierce Tiger Brigade come to the stage to receive the flag!"

Gao Yuan's breathing became a little difficult with excitement.

A flag bearer, along with two guards of the flag, entered the grand hall of Base 10, carrying a military flag adorned with the three large characters for Fierce Tiger Brigade.

Everyone stood at attention, eyes fixed on the flag.

Gao Yuan saluted the flag bearer and the guards of the flag, then he reached out, taking the flag.

This flag represented too much sweat and blood.

Gao Yuan looked at the flag in his hands, then he turned around, lifted the flag at an angle facing the audience.

"Salute!"

Again, everyone saluted; this time, it was a salute to all the soldiers of the 33258 Brigade.

"I declare, the Da Hong Third Company of the 33258 Brigade is awarded a collective first-class merit. Please have a representative of Da Hong Third Company come to the stage to accept the medal."

Gao Yuan stepped forward again. He handed the military flag to the flag-bearer waiting next to him because the flag needed to continue to be displayed. Then, as a substitute, he accepted the collective first-class merit certificate on behalf of Da Hong Third Company, who had abandoned all illusions and greeted death.

"Salute!"

A swath of generals saluted once more in unison.

"I announce..."

"I announce..."

There were many groups and individuals who received medals today, so the audience never had a chance to sit down, saluting again and again.

Many military flags were left on stage, held high by the flag-bearers, but those were the numbers of units that had been permanently disbanded, troops forever gone. Their glory, however, had become history.

The flag of the Fierce Tiger Brigade was also up there, which made Gao Yuan nervous. Although he had been given a promise, he truly feared that the flag of the Fierce Tiger Brigade would be taken to the hall of honor along with the other military flags.

The award ceremony was broadcast live, but only on the radio, not on television, and could be heard in all thirteen bases of the Supreme Command, which were also shelters.

But Xinghe hadn't come because too many people had arrived today.

Nevertheless, Gao Yuan had to go up to the stage over and over again to receive medals and certificates of honor. Of course, he was only receiving them on behalf of others.

Towards the end, Li Wen paused for a moment, and then the broadcast was cut immediately after he confirmed with a look from the person responsible for the broadcast that it had indeed been interrupted. Then he loudly declared, "I announce the award of first-class merit to Comrade Gao Yuan. Please come to the stage to receive your medal."

Many people did not understand; they didn't know who Gao Yuan was.

Even Gao Yuan himself didn't understand why he, too, had a medal, and moreover, a military merit medal?

Gao Yuan got on the stage, somewhat bewildered, but at least he didn't forget what to do. After saluting Li Wen, he shook hands with Li Wen, who then turned to pick up a gleaming gold medal from a box.

"Today, you are the first and only one I can pin a medal on."

Li Wen was quite moved as he took the medal, pinned it to Gao Yuan's chest, and then he took a breath and said, "Thank you for your contributions to the country and the fate of humanity, Comrade Gao Yuan."

Gao Yuan saluted, then turned to salute the people below the stage.

After receiving a salute back from everyone, the hall erupted into applause for the first time.

When the applause had gradually subsided, Li Wen declared loudly, "I announce the end of this medal ceremony."

The soldiers carrying the military flags and the unclaimed medals turned to leave the stage, but the flag-bearer holding the Fierce Tiger Brigade flag remained in place.

Gao Yuan almost snatched the flag back, took a deep breath, and whispered in a voice too low for others to hear, "Commander Wang, Chief Zhou, our Unit 33258 still exists, and it has become the Fierce Tiger Brigade. Be at peace."

Next, Li Wen had a speech to give, but at that moment, Gao Yuan barely listened. His heart felt at peace, content, and happy.

However, Gao Yuan quickly thought of a problem: what exactly did he count as now?

A first-class contributor, the sole inheritor, or survivor, of Unit 33258, but currently without even the status of an official soldier—what was the meaning of all this?

Gao Yuan didn't expect himself to be the brigade commander; he knew such a thing was impossible, but that didn't matter. It didn't matter even if he was not a soldier of Unit 33258, as long as the unit number was preserved.

Men may come and go, but the unit remains. If they could quickly assign a few hundred men to rebuild Unit 33258, Gao Yuan would be delighted, but so far, there had been no such orders or news.

So, what was he to make of it?

Gao Yuan was plunged into deep confusion.

Finally, the award ceremony ended, and Li Wen's speech was over too. As the attendees started to leave the venue, Gao Yuan was called aside separately.

"Comrade Gao Yuan, please hand over the battle flag to me. I will hold it for you temporarily, and now please go to a small meeting."

Gao Yuan instinctively pulled the military flag back instead of handing it over to the officer in front of him.

After hesitating for a moment, Gao Yuan asked, "The military flag isn't being retired, is it?"

"No, I am just keeping it for you temporarily. There's a special place for it. The leader specifically instructed me to tell you that this military flag will not enter the hall of honor, rest assured."

Gao Yuan finally handed over the military flag with peace of mind, and then met Xinghe again in a small conference room.

"I saw everything just now; you also received first-class merit. Congratulations to you," Xinghe said.

Gao Yuan quietly said, "This first-class merit wasn't specially requested for me by you, was it?"

"My request? No, not at all," Xinghe replied.

"Really not?" Gao Yuan probed.

"Really, it wasn't. You deserved it, so why would I need to make a special request for you?" Xinghe assured.

Gao Yuan sighed with relief and said, "Well, I'm sure it has something to do with you, um, but I'm still very happy."

Xinghe spread his hands and said, "I wanted to come out and watch, but they wouldn't let me; they said it wouldn't be safe, so I had to stay here to watch. Oh, congratulations, now let's go eat."