Chapter 1 Qin Yi

Qin Yi didn't have much energy to spare for the squads in the zerg nest, because the main battlefield was also facing immense pressure.

The overwhelming zerg swarm wasn't only concentrated on the front lines; these swarms could also suddenly appear from underground without warning, causing heavy losses to many unprepared human bases.

The stark contrast between the troop strengths of the two sides meant that even if Qin Yi focused all his attention on directing the battle on the main battlefield, he still couldn't withstand the zerg offensive.

Suddenly, Qin Yi's pupils contracted sharply.

A unit on the main battlefield instantly collapsed during one zerg swarm assault. The remaining soldiers fell into chaos, fighting their own battles. The loss of a strategic stronghold directly led to the collapse of the entire area battlefield. The zerg swarm tore open a gap in the human defenses like flies smelling rotting flesh, and the entire battlefield situation instantly crumbled!

Defeat was inevitable. Qin Yi continued to control various units to counterattack, but to no avail. Soon, the main battlefield was completely submerged by the zerg swarm.

The remaining human soldiers had no choice but to abandon the military bases they had spent a great deal of time and energy building on the planet, and retreat back into space, returning to the vicinity of the command ship.

Amid the avalanche of incoming messages, Qin Yi didn't notice that Squad As-371-45, like other elite squads, had silently perished in the zerg nest.

Darkness once again enveloped the entire command space. Qin Yi tasted the bitterness of defeat once more.

Qin Yi was silent for a moment, then said, "Start over."

In his memory, there had been at least a dozen battles, large and small, where he hadn't had to say "start over."

Because he had completed the previous dozen battles very well.

He once thought that he had mastered the essentials of command: as long as he made the right decisions for each local battlefield and fully combined them with the detailed data provided by Aeeis, he could control the situation on the battlefield.

But now Qin Yi realized that things were not that simple.

When the balance of power between humans and zergs was even or even advantageous to humans, this command style was indeed the safest way to win the battle.

But once the zerg's forces exceeded those of humans, this command style would only lead to destruction in a step-by-step manner.

There were a large number of escort ships around the command ship, but in order to protect the command ship's safety, the Allied Fleet had actually wasted a lot of troops, putting the human forces on the planet's surface in a practically weak position relative to the zergs.

Starting the same battle again, Qin Yi had an even clearer understanding of the situation at the start of the battle.

The zergs he saw at the start of the war only accounted for a small part of the zergs' true power. There were even more zerg swarms hidden in the underground nests and in the space on the dark side of the planet, waiting for an opportunity to move.

The "decapitation strike" was just a beautiful wish. Once a protracted war began, whether it was the main battlefield or the squad carrying out the "decapitation strike," they would all face certain death in the face of the overwhelming zerg swarm.

Qin Yi took a deep breath and pulled the command ship out separately, placing it alone in a dark expanse of space.

Then, he pulled out several large escort ships, equipped them with a large number of area-of-effect weapons, and used them as bait along with the command ship.

The remaining main forces of the Allied Fleet, one part launched an offensive against the zergs from the front, and the other part went around to the back of the planet to intercept those zerg fleets lurking in space waiting for an opportunity to move.

In this way, the human forces on the battlefield exceeded the zergs.

If the zergs didn't carry out a decapitation strike on the command ship, then the humans, who occupied an advantageous position in terms of troop strength, would have a great opportunity; if the zergs carried out a decapitation strike on the command ship, then the commander could sacrifice a large number of zerg troops and sacrifice himself at the expense of guaranteeing the victory of the main battlefield.

The scene around Qin Yi constantly switched to various corners of the battlefield.

On the main battlefield, the human forces suppressed the zergs in terms of numbers, not only defending the defense line, but also having the spare strength to continue advancing, approaching above the zerg mother nest to cooperate with the decapitation mission;

In space, the human fleet encountered the zerg fleet. Countless starships exploded and disintegrated. Countless Leviathan beasts of the zergs were attacked by dense artillery fire. The poisonous gas in their bodies burned violently. The rising and falling flames in the sky were like gorgeous fireworks;

The decapitation squads that had penetrated deep into the zerg nest were still losing contact one by one, but because the main battlefield effectively dispersed the zerg swarm's forces, the survival rate of these squads was significantly higher than before.

Everything seemed to be going smoothly according to plan.

However, at this moment, a harsh alarm suddenly rang throughout the space, and red warning signs appeared in the surrounding scene. A large number of zerg troops forcibly broke through the defense line around the command ship and pounced towards the command ship!

Aeeis's cold voice sounded: "Attention! Once the command ship is destroyed, all troops will be taken over by Aeeis. Please make corresponding deployments in advance."

Qin Yi quickly turned his view and issued instructions to each unit.

He ordered the front-line troops to speed up their offensive, rush to the top of the zerg nest explored by the decapitation squad, and prepare to cooperate with the decapitation squad's actions;

He ordered the fleet on the back of the planet to hold back the remaining zerg fleet at all costs;

He ordered the escort ships to rush into the zerg swarm and self-destruct to delay the time after consuming most of their weapons. Finally, the remaining escort ships gathered around the command ship and perished together with the zerg swarm.

In the avalanche of information, Qin Yi saw countless requests for reinforcements sent by the decapitation squads, including requests for reinforcements from Squad As-371-45.

But Qin Yi didn't have any troops available to reinforce them.

Below these requests for reinforcement information were several reply templates provided by Aeeis. Of course, Qin Yi could also verbally issue instructions to Aeeis.

However, he opened his mouth but didn't make any sound.

Instead, he lightly clicked on the console and selected a template reply provided by Aeeis.

[Continue with the mission, reinforcements are on their way.]

After he selected this reply message, he switched his view back to the command ship. The endless zerg swarm against the pitch-black background seemed to be within reach.

One after another, the command ships crashed into the most densely packed areas of the zerg swarm. Gorgeous fireworks lit up and then went out in the dark night sky. The huge warships disappeared in an instant, as if they had never existed.

After delaying the time as much as possible, the dense zerg swarm had surrounded the command ship. The Leviathan beasts sprayed countless zergs towards the human fleet. From a God's perspective, the human fleet was like meat scraps surrounded by ants.

The few remaining escort ships leaned slightly towards the command ship and simultaneously pressed the final detonation button.

A strong light flashed, and the space where Qin Yi was located turned snow-white. The picture did not return until more than ten seconds later.

Aeeis took over Qin Yi's control and directed the subsequent battle.

Qin Yi was like a dead man, watching the final scene of the battle in a soul state.

The battle was won, even better than the actual battle.

But Qin Yi didn't have a happy expression on his face. He was silent for a moment, then said, "Continue."

Aeeis's image reappeared after a while: "Commander, next we will enter the 'random battle' practice mode."

"The battles you encounter next will include battles that have occurred but with changed initial configurations; fictional battles randomly generated by the intelligent system based on algorithms; and even some battles with a stark contrast in troop strength, harsh conditions, and no possibility of victory."

"The random battles will not have mission objectives. It is up to you to decide the combat strategy. There will no longer be time limits for each battle. It will be up to you to judge the battlefield situation, fight or retreat, annihilate or stop losses, it is up to your judgment."

"Commander, good luck."

Qin Yi didn't say much, but continued to command the following battles expressionlessly.

Without clear combat objectives or time limits, Qin Yi had to decide for himself what to do, whether to attack head-on, or leave a small part of the troops behind to cover the retreat of the main force.

The battlefield might occur anywhere on the planet, and the timeline seemed to become very chaotic. Some squads that had all sacrificed in the previous battle reappeared in the new battle; and in some battles, the full squads that Qin Yi remembered became incomplete from the beginning.

Qin Yi didn't ask much, because he vaguely understood the intention: to cultivate his ability to quickly formulate the most correct combat strategy based on the balance of power between humans and zergs and the objective situation on the battlefield in any situation and under any conditions.

Qin Yi calmly controlled the troops, carrying out various tasks. The data statistically compiled by Aeeis had become an important basis for him to make decisions. Human fear, passion, ignorance, and other complex emotions were all turned into a part of the decision-making reference under big data analysis. Lies and sacrifices became numbers that increased the success rate.

The scenes around Qin Yi were constantly changing, and one random battle after another ended.

During the three hours of sleep each day, precious time passed by minute by minute.

Another medium-sized regional battle began.

Qin Yi still calmly analyzed the battlefield situation as usual, considered possible unexpected situations, and fully considered the uncertain factors of each team in his decision-making.

Everything was proceeding in an orderly manner.

Several Yun Que (Lark) combat squads went to investigate the zerg nests in an unknown state according to Qin Yi's requirements. Only after collecting intelligence could a combat plan be formulated for the main force based on this information.

The main battlefield also had to guard against possible zerg attacks at any time, so Qin Yi did not put too much attention on these Yun Que combat squads.

But soon, one communication message after another was persistently sent from a certain squad.

Qin Yi could choose to ignore these messages, but he still took the time to take a look in the midst of his busy schedule.

In the zerg nest, a Yun Que squad performing a mission had been reduced to only three people. The captain had been killed in battle. Of the remaining two team members, one had his entire right leg blown off, and the other team member was guarding him, repelling the approaching zergs.

Although the two were temporarily safe, stronger zerg warriors would soon discover them, and staying here would be a dead end.

Qin Yi took a look. The task of collecting intelligence had been basically completed. The chance of survival for the injured team member was already very low, and there was no need to add another team member to it.

So, Qin Yi casually clicked on a retreat order and turned his attention to other parts of the battlefield again.

However, a few minutes later, when Qin Yi turned his attention back to the location of that squad, he only saw the scene of a miniature reactor exploding.

Qin Yi was stunned for a moment. He opened the profiles of the two team members and found that the two team members from the European fleet were a couple.

Aeeis's voice sounded: "The accuracy of the intelligent system's analysis data is above 87%, but sometimes there will be some unpredictable behaviors or phenomena. This is to better simulate unexpected situations on the real battlefield."

Qin Yi did not speak, but continued to command the subsequent battles until the entire regional battle ended.

After the battle, Qin Yi leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes slightly, and remained silent for a few minutes.

"Was that battle just now real?"

"Or did it start even earlier?"

"Did you mix the real battles into the 'random battle' mode?"

Aeeis did not answer immediately, but answered after a while: "It started from the sixth battle after adding the 'realistic elements'."

"Commander, so far, you have conducted 17 real battles of various sizes. You have done a good job."

Qin Yi was stunned for a moment: "Why did it start from the sixth battle?"

Aeeis: "The Joint Fleet's Supreme Executive Committee must be responsible for all the soldiers on the front lines and cannot hand their lives over to a novice commander."

"From the sixth battle onwards, Aeeis and the Supreme Executive Committee jointly acknowledge that you have the ability to command small-scale battles."

Qin Yi was silent for a long time: "That is to say, in these 17 battles, every soldier who sacrificed was a living person, including that couple just now."

Aeeis: "Yes."