Chapter 15: The Fifteenth Iron Pillar

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Test passed, proceed to fill in the information. The transport ship will arrive the day after tomorrow, but the exact time must wait for notification from the White Tower. These two days were not idle; for those like Crescent, who lacked official identity IDs and were considered undocumented, the organization would now provide identity information due to the Hive’s conscription needs.

In the past, even having money didn’t guarantee a household registration, but now it was handled entirely by the Hive without cost. Processing the identity ID took a day, and after one day, the group returned to the White Tower. The identity ID had to be used in conjunction with a lightbrain device, so Crescent naturally received one.

The lightbrain was purchased by Avis in Crystal City for Crescent. It was small, with a beautiful red chain, worn around Crescent’s neck. Avis stared at it again and again, feeling the red color, identical to her own eyes, was incredibly beautiful. Secretly delighted, she was one hundred percent satisfied.

“By the way, before you board the transport ship, there’s something I must explain clearly,” David said solemnly.

Crescent toyed with the small spherical lightbrain on her neck with her fingers, like a cat playing with a ball of yarn. At that moment, David seemed invisible to her.

David, who was never one to feel wronged by being assigned to an exile planet, felt uncomfortable now. Clearing his throat, he tried to draw her attention that way.

It worked. Crescent looked up briefly from playing with the lightbrain. “Go ahead. I’m listening.”

David continued, “As I mentioned before, the transport ship will take you to an affiliate planet near Einfan Port. There’s a Tengri Military Academy there. You’ll stay for half a year to learn some skills before heading to the front lines.”

The Hive recruits gathered from various places did not know each other and had no tacit understanding; of course, they needed training. The military academy was the training ground.

Other species’ academies might take years to graduate a class, but the Hive were naturally skilled warriors and could communicate through pheromones. Even a short training period could produce an elite unit.

Half a year was the training time allotted.

“All right,” Crescent said indifferently. For her, this was merely a stepping stone—to obtain an identity ID and leave the exile planet.

After a pause, Crescent asked, “Is food included?”

David was stunned, his expression strange. “Accommodation is free, but meals require credits. Credits are earned by completing tasks assigned by the academy. Have you ever attended school before?”

Crescent rolled her eyes. “Do you think someone born on an exile planet without even a household registration would have attended military school?”

David was speechless.

At this moment, Shen Junlin asked, “When will the second batch of transport ships arrive?”

The exile planet was large; recording all Hive information could not be done overnight. There would definitely be a second batch.

David replied, “In one week.”

Shen Junlin lowered his gaze to Crescent. His purple eyes were gentle, reminding Crescent of a flower called “Violet” she once saw in a flower shop.

“Sir, you and he should go to the affiliate planet near Einfan Port first. I have some matters to attend to here. Once finished, I’ll take the second batch of transport ships over,” Shen Junlin said softly, matching his gentle eyes.

Crescent paused her fingers on the lightbrain. “Does this have anything to do with your companions?”

Shen Junlin nodded.

David said, “You have to think carefully. If you go with the second batch, the dormitory positions might not be as good.”

The war at Einfan Port triggered conscription orders far beyond the exile planet. All Hive territories near the war zone had received conscription orders.

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The longer the delay, the later one would arrive at the military academy. Naturally, fewer beds would be available in the dormitory, and one might even be assigned with difficult roommates.

“It doesn’t matter,” Shen Junlin said indifferently.

David nodded. “All right, then you’ll be in the later batch. I’ll help move your name.”

***

One day passed in the blink of an eye.

At 1 p.m. the next day, Crescent and Avis returned to the White Tower. The timing was precise. Five minutes after their arrival, a small black dot appeared in the sky.

As time passed by seconds, the black dot the size of a sesame seed grew to the size of a palm.

“That’s the transport ship from Seva. Besides supplies, it carries Hive transferred from Seva. If fate allows, they might become your dorm mates,” David stood beside Crescent.

Crescent pondered.

Descending from the sky, the transport ship, hundreds of meters long, rapidly closed the distance to the ground. Just before landing, long supports extended from both sides of the ship.

Once they connected to the ground, the supports instantly transformed within seconds into a staircase.

Besides Crescent and Avis, many Hive had already gathered around the White Tower, mostly from Crystal City. Most were tough half-breeds, all male drones.

Each drone was fierce and muscular like a small mountain, their exposed skin permanently scarred, clearly having lived a hard life on the exile planet.

David raised a loudspeaker. “Board quickly. The ship will only stay for ten minutes, maybe less.”

The drones in front began boarding the transport ship.

“Your seat information has been registered. Once onboard, please sit in your assigned seats,” David reminded again.

Crescent walked amid the group. Compared to the tall, muscular drones, she looked fragile, like a white lamb among wolves.

Many drones cast secret glances at her, with an interest and affection even they didn’t realize.

Avis frowned, reached out to straighten Crescent’s collar, and shot a sharp glare at the watching drones from the corner of her eye.

The queue moved forward, boarding the ship in order.

At the ship’s entrance, a drone checking IDs was surprised. “You’re a hybrid?”

Crescent nodded.

The drone asked suspiciously, “Did you pass the test?”

“Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here,” Crescent thought the drone was stating the obvious.

The drone handed her a palm-sized tag. “This is your tag. When you register your fingerprint, it will automatically generate your identity information.”

Crescent took it and tucked it into her pocket.

“Go ahead,” the drone relaxed.

As Crescent passed him, his gaze involuntarily followed her for a long time. After her figure disappeared, he scratched his head. “She’s so young. Why would she join the military...?”

Although the transport ship was over a hundred meters long, more than half was for cargo. The personnel section was on the mid-level, a flat area hundreds of meters wide.

Seats were numbered, and passengers found their seats by matching their information.

When Crescent and Avis initially registered, their seat numbers were assigned adjacent to each other.

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Speaking of seats, the transport ship’s seating was interesting. The design resembled an eggshell; when closed, it formed a relatively enclosed small space.

At night, each small space would inflate like a balloon, creating a bed and a simple locker for passengers inside.

Crescent and Avis took their seats.

Other boarding drones found theirs as well.

Soon after, the large transport ship showed signs of movement. The staircases connecting to the ground slowly retracted.

Large engines on both sides started with a loud roar.

Like a flying saucer, blue “eyes” on the base opened one by one. Looking closely, these were the ship’s energy thrusters.

David had said the ship might stay less than ten minutes, and he was right. After boarding the batch of Hive, the transport ship immediately departed.

Opposite to its arrival, the hundred-meter-long ship shrank from a massive object to a black spot, then to a sesame seed, and finally vanished into the boundless blue sky.

At that moment, David in the White Tower received an investigation order.

Accompanying the order was a video call.

On the other side of the video was a serious-faced drone dressed in black military uniform, with a small gold shield insignia on his shoulder.

That was the emblem of the King’s Shield, symbolizing “The King’s Protector.”

This legion served exclusively for the princess or queen, holding the highest status within the Hive, independent of any other military units.

David was stunned, thinking it was rare for this independent legion to contact him.

What kind of place was the exile planet? To put it bluntly, that territory was almost lost.

The other side said bluntly, “Private, I know you’ve initiated conscription there, and every Hive on the planet must register. Have you seen a delicate-looking girl, shorter than most worker drones?”

David was stunned.

His mind immediately pictured an exquisitely beautiful face like a work of art, with deep, jade-like eyes. But just as quickly, David dismissed the thought.

Delicate?

That girl was anything but delicate.

Recalling this gave David a vague ache.

“Reporting, no such person found yet,” David replied truthfully.

Silence followed. Then the other side asked, “How many Hive have you registered so far?”

David gave a number.

Based on past experience, that was only about a quarter of the Hive population on the exile planet. Many more would come to register soon.

The King’s Shield drone said, “If you find a suitable candidate, notify me immediately.”

“Yes, sir,” David replied, puzzled but ready to obey.

He thought to himself, no use overthinking it; the upper echelons had their own plans.