538: Old friend Martin

After Li Yang quietly finished reading, he was somewhat surprised.

As Li Yang had expected, the Wali Long Domain Supercluster's attitude towards his decision to put the Huanlong Galaxy into a wartime state was exactly the same as that of the Imperial Military Department.

Not only was there no intention of punishment, but instead, high praise was given.

However, compared to the Military Department's direct promotion reward, the Supercluster's praise seemed purer, without any substantial attached rewards.

At the time, Li Yang sat in his office, shaking his head slightly, a faint smile on his face, secretly thinking that it seemed the Supercluster's praise was merely verbal affirmation.

But this was already quite good; after all, his initial expectation was a reprimand.

However, just as he thought this, a gentle knock sounded on the closed office door.

Li Yang snapped out of his thoughts, subconsciously straightened his uniform, and then said loudly.

“Come in...”

As the door slowly opened, the person who entered was Pal.

At this moment, his face was beaming with uncontrollable excitement, and he walked into the office with light steps.

His eyes were bright, hiding boundless joy.

“Captain Li Yang, good news!”

Before Pal even reached Li Yang, he eagerly exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

As he spoke, he quickly walked to Li Yang's desk, leaned his hands on it, his body slightly forward, and continued.

“Just now, the Ministry of Finance sent word that the Wali Long Domain Supercluster has allocated a batch of funds for the reconstruction of the Huanlong Galaxy!”

His speech was extremely fast, every word filled with excitement.

Li Yang was initially a little slow to react, pausing for a moment.

But soon, he came to his senses, his eyes instantly lit up, and a surprised smile appeared on his face.

For some time now, the Huanlong Galaxy had suffered severe damage due to the Zerg invasion, and its finances had been very tight.

To rebuild the damaged planets, the Longlan Star Cluster naturally had to allocate funds, which also led to the current financial strain within the Longlan Star Cluster.

Therefore, this sum of money from the Supercluster was undoubtedly a timely relief.

“Really?”

Li Yang confirmed again with some disbelief, a hint of excitement in his voice.

Pal nodded vigorously, his smile even brighter.

“Absolutely! Now our finances will finally not be so tight, and many reconstruction projects that were put on hold due to funding issues can be restarted!”

Hearing Pal's affirmative reply, Li Yang couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Well... there really was a reward; he had thought it was just verbal praise... With the strong support of the funds allocated by the Wali Long Domain Supercluster, the reconstruction of the Huanlong Galaxy proceeded like a wound-up machine, advancing at an astonishing speed.

The funds were like a continuous flow of blood, injected into every corner of the galaxy, filling the entire reconstruction project with vitality and vigor.

In less than half a month, the buildings that were once riddled with holes during the Zerg invasion, like a Phoenix reborn from the ashes, stood tall again, restoring their former prosperity and glory.

Those planets that had become uninhabitable after the Zerg ravages were also slowly transported away using advanced interstellar transport technology.

Meanwhile, new habitable planets were carefully selected and transported over.

These planets boasted suitable climates, abundant resources, and beautiful environments.

While the reconstruction of the Huanlong Galaxy was in full swing, Li Yang was in his office, focused on official duties.

His desk was piled high with documents and reports, and the light screen flickered with various data and charts.

Suddenly, the intelligent brain emitted a crisp notification sound, interrupting his thoughts.

It turned out to be a call request.

Li Yang gently tapped the control panel to view the applicant's information.

“Martin?”

He couldn't help but softly utter the name, an expression of surprise on his face.

Since their parting at the Mutual Aid Society, the two had not communicated for a long time.

Li Yang thought of the many times Martin had helped him since they first met.

Connections like Wan Yi and Cang Xi were all made possible through Martin.

In this complex and ever-changing Universe, having such a sincere friend was truly rare.

Therefore, he had always been grateful to Martin and had long considered him a brother and friend.

Thinking of this, Li Yang quickly clicked to accept the request.

In an instant, a bright light flickered in the center of the office, and then a clear holographic projection appeared before him.

The projected Martin was wearing a neat military uniform, his face beaming with a joyful smile.

His hands were slightly open, ready to speak.

However, when his gaze fell upon Li Yang, who was sitting behind the desk, his smile instantly froze, and he seemed to be struck by a petrifying spell, stunned.

Seeing Martin's sudden reaction, Li Yang couldn't help but feel a little puzzled, and he asked with concern.

“What's wrong, Brother Martin?”

His voice was filled with concern for his friend.

Martin's gaze was fixed on the epaulet on Li Yang's shoulder as if drawn by a magnet. He leaned forward, causing subtle ripples to appear at the edge of the holographic projection, his tone filled with disbelief.

“Holy cow, when did you get promoted to Major General? And a Third-Class Major General... That epaulet is blinding me!”

Li Yang was amused by his appearance. When he looked up, his eyes met Martin's, with a hint of teasing.

“As for Major General, I was promoted a while ago, but this 'Third-Class' is indeed a recent change.”

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the military rank insignia on Martin's shoulder, deliberately drawing out his words.

“Besides, haven't you also put on a general's star? Second-Class Major General, quite impressive.”

The corners of Martin's mouth twitched in the holographic projection. He certainly remembered that when they parted at the Mutual Aid Society last time, Li Yang's shoulder still bore a captain's rank, while he himself was already a ninth-rank colonel.

But how long had it been? Not only had the other party shot up to the general rank, but he was actually one rank higher than himself.

“You...”

Martin opened his mouth, but in the end, could only say one thing.

“Alright, alright, you're a rocket, kid, I can't compare.”

Li Yang looked at his 'defeated' expression, the smile in his eyes deepening.

“Oh, just good luck, appreciated by my superiors.”

Hearing Li Yang's words, Martin was at a loss for words.

He fell into contemplation, recalling his own path to promotion.

He was already a ninth-rank colonel before, and during this time, through his own efforts and experience, he had steadily risen step by step to Second-Class Major General, which in the eyes of others was already a remarkable achievement.

He sighed deeply, secretly lamenting in his heart.

The gap between people truly cannot be compared...