187: Medal (End of Xiuxian Civilization)

“Comrade Li Yang, there's one more thing… ”

Lan An's expression was calm as she moved with light yet steady steps, quietly arriving beside Li Yang. Her voice was neither high nor low, yet it carried an undeniable solemnity.

Li Yang turned slightly, a focused expression immediately appearing on his face, and he quickly responded, “Please tell me what it is, comrade Lan An.”

However, a hint of doubt arose in his heart, and he pondered, “Could there be something else related to me at this award ceremony? But wasn't my military rank just promoted and adjusted a while ago?” For a moment, various conjectures flashed through his mind.

“These are the medals awarded to you by the higher-ups…”

As Lan An spoke, she carefully took out two exquisite small boxes.

The material of the boxes looked quite refined, with a soft sheen on the surface, subtly revealing a sense of nobility.

She gently opened one of the boxes, her movements graceful and slow, then continued, “This one is the ‘Individual Second-Class Merit’ medal awarded by the Imperial Guard Division Headquarters. It represents the Empire's high recognition of your outstanding performance in the relevant missions.”

Afterward, she opened the other box and continued to introduce, “And this one is the ‘Outstanding Instructor’ medal, jointly awarded by the Imperial Military Department and the Imperial Supreme Military Academy, in recognition of your outstanding contributions to cultivating military talent. Please keep them safe.”

Seeing this, Li Yang, with a complex feeling, slowly accepted the two small boxes, laden with honor, from Lan An's hand.

He gently opened the boxes, and in an instant, two distinct yet equally shining medals lay quietly inside. The craftsmanship of the medals was exquisite, every detail perfectly carved, emitting a captivating metallic luster under the indoor lighting.

“Medals… Do these come with military merit?”

Compared to the two medals symbolizing honor before him, Li Yang's thoughts were more focused on military merit.

After all, in this military-centric Empire, military merit had real, tangible value; it was the key to exchanging for starships and enhancing one's military resources and status.

“Of course they do.”

Lan An smiled slightly, as if she had already anticipated Li Yang's question, and slowly explained, “According to the Empire's relevant regulations, the ‘Individual Second-Class Merit’ you received this time will reward you with 20,000 military merit points. As for this ‘Outstanding Instructor’ medal, it also awards 5,000 military merit points.”

Hearing Lan An's words, Li Yang was truly surprised.

He had originally thought that the military merit gained from this mission was already quite substantial, but he never expected that the military merit brought by these two medals would be significantly more than what he received from the mission itself.

A surge of pleasant surprise instantly filled his heart, and a hint of unconcealed excitement flashed in his eyes.

“Oh, right, there's one more important thing.”

Lan An seemed to suddenly remember something and said with a serious expression, “This is the registration letter from the Imperial Supreme Military Academy. Please be sure to report to the Imperial Supreme Military Academy within three months.”

As she spoke, she took out a beautifully bound registration letter and handed it to Li Yang with both hands.

“Okay, I understand.”

Li Yang's eyes lit up slightly, and he quickly took the registration letter with both hands.

He thought to himself, “Three months… that's not bad, enough time for me to properly handle matters concerning the fleet and the Milky Way Galaxy.”

Not long after the award ceremony concluded successfully, Zheng Xi also smoothly completed the inventory of the orbs obtained from this mission.

He systematically directed his subordinates to carefully transfer all the orbs to their respective starships.

Once everything was arranged, Zheng Xi and Lan An prepared to leave.

After all, the mission had concluded perfectly, and it was time for them to report back to their superiors.

Meanwhile, A Zhi and the other two seemed to be drawn by an invisible force, eagerly rushing to Li Yang's front.

The three's gazes simultaneously fell on Li Yang's “Individual Second-Class Merit” medal, their eyes filled with envy and longing.

“Second-Class Merit…”

A Zhi looked up slightly, with a hint of yearning in his eyes, and murmured, “I really wonder when I'll be able to have a medal like this.”

Su Xia gently patted A Zhi's shoulder and said half-jokingly, half-seriously, “You work hard. With your strength, you should be able to get one before you retire.”

A Zhi pouted helplessly.

“I really don't know if you're praising me or belittling me…”

At this moment, Li Yang looked at the three vibrant students before him and couldn't help but ask with concern, “By the way, what are your plans next?”

After all, all three had now been promoted to the rank of Second Lieutenant. According to the Xili Empire's Humanism Supremacy Law, they all had the qualifications to apply for their own starship and embark on new chapters of their military careers.

“As for me, I'm actually not very interested in fighting and killing.”

Wang Gang's eyes revealed a passion for scientific research, and he continued, “I think I'll probably go work in a research department…”

Wang Gang was inherently calm and introverted. Compared to charging into battle on the front lines, he preferred the quiet time of exploring the unknown and delving into technology in the laboratory.

“I definitely want to apply for my own starship!”

A Zhi clenched his fist, his eyes sparkling with determination.

“Then, like the teacher, I'll continuously rise in rank by successfully completing missions and carve out my own path on the Empire's military stage!”

Su Xia couldn't help but let out a soft “Tsk” from the side, a hint of disdain on her face.

“Do you think you're the teacher? Rising seven ranks in one mission isn't something everyone can do.”

A Zhi was momentarily speechless, then turned to Su Xia and asked, “Then where are you planning to go?”

“Me?”

Su Xia was slightly taken aback, a hint of hesitation appearing on her face.

“I'm still deliberating whether to go work in a department or apply for a starship…”

In the Xili Empire, the career paths for officers were broadly divided into two types.

One was to apply for one's own starship and continuously accumulate military merit by completing various high-difficulty missions issued by the Military Department, thereby raising one's military rank and status. This development model had an extremely high ceiling, but also an extremely high difficulty in advancement, requiring outstanding military talent, extraordinary courage, and excellent luck.

The other was to choose to work in various departments or join other starships for assignments. This method made it relatively easier to obtain promotion opportunities, but the development ceiling was relatively limited.