"Hachet, you see I am right. I told you that he is not dead."
Opening his eyes drowsily, Hayes found himself lying on his back on a cold plank bed, with the thin figure of the old military doctor standing beside him.
For a moment he wondered what had happened to the open grave and the dirt on his chest, what a nightmare this must have been.
When he tried to stand up, a strong hand pressed on his chest to stop him.
"Hayes, don't get up in a hurry yet."
Hashet's face appeared in his field of vision, and Hayes suddenly realized that his vision was different from before, so he reached out and touched his cheek.
It was bandaged and covered his left eye.
"my eyes."
The military doctor shook his head helplessly.
"There is no way, your eyeball has been basically destroyed, I can only remove it to prevent infection, but you should be lucky that you still have another one."
Hayes did not appear too depressed. Perhaps the vivid death experience he had just experienced made him realize that he was lucky to be alive.
"Uncle, I'm fine."
Hayes slowly sat up. There were still some bandages on his body. After looking around, he found that it was not on the position. This was the orbital hub behind their position. Hundreds of injured soldiers were sitting or lying against the wall.
, the smell of blood on their bodies makes this place smell like a slaughterhouse.
After taking a breath, he looked at Hashet.
"Uncle, fight"
Hachet, who also had a bandage around his neck, shook his head.
"If we didn't hold on, we had already repelled a wave of enemies, but unexpectedly another wave came. There was also a hell beast and several chaos eggs inside. In the end, we could only blow up the passage and retreat here, but we probably wouldn't be safe for long.
"
Hachet said, glanced around, then stepped forward and put a piece of paper into Hayes's hand, and whispered:
"I've secured a place for you to transfer injured soldiers. After you have a rest, go to the station immediately. There is the last bus there. It will take you to the safe area behind the third line of defense. These red pirates can't last long.
When the battle is over you can go home safely."
"Wounded soldier?"
Hayes turned his attention to the groaning comrades, many of whom were missing arms or legs.
"Shouldn't it be for the more serious ones?"
"Fool, this is our last position, and it is also the grave of most of us. We must cover the flanks of friendly forces until the end. Now the entire regiment has actually been crippled, with less than one-fifth of the number, and the second battalion has also been reduced.
Once we become a company, even the wounded have to fight. This quota is actually life-saving."
Saying that, Hashet took out a small silver sky eagle emblem.
"I have kept some things in the military depot over the years. You can use this to get it after the battle, but don't be fooled by others, you know? The woman last time was pretty good. She should wait for you and marry her when you return.
Have a few children, and the money will be enough for you to live peacefully, and don't have anything to do with the war anymore."
"Uncle."
Hays thought of many things. When they were eating together, Hashet would always say that he couldn't eat and leave the best part to him. When his military uniform was damaged, the other party would find a way to mend it for him.
, he protected him all the time during the battle. Sometimes when he got up in the middle of the night, he would find the other person sitting not far away looking at him with a nostalgic look. Gradually, his eyes became moist.
"Why are you so nice to me?"
Hachet reached out and touched his head, then sat next to him.
"An old story. I once had a family, a wife, and a son. My father was a soldier, and so was my grandfather. Of course I am too. As a low-level officer, I always firmly believe that war only has glory and victory.
, until one day I returned to my hometown that had been turned into ruins. I could not evaluate whether the governor was wrong to use incendiary bombs to suppress the riots, but from then on I had doubts about the war. I could no longer perform my duties as I did in the past, and could only act like a
A deserter is like a coward. I used my skills to occasionally eat and drink in the army, and then hid in a small bar in the bottom of the nest to live and die drunk. After more than ten years of such a corrupt life, sometimes I also think,
Maybe my child escaped that disaster and is waiting for me somewhere now? I also tried to find it, but I knew there was no hope. It was just a motivation for me to continue living."
As he said that, Hashet reached out his hand, gently stroked the hair on Hayes' head, and said with a smile:
"If he is still alive, he should be about the same age as you. He is always full of whimsical ideas like you. His favorite thing is an Astartes wooden doll I gave him when he was five years old."
Hayes looked at the other person's face that was covered in dust after vicissitudes of life, and gently clenched his fists.
"Uncle, I'm sorry, I didn't want it."
"It doesn't matter, I will tell you even if you don't ask. Hayes, you are a good boy with a heart that has not been dusted in the cruel war. You don't deserve to die in this meaningless place. But before you leave, I
One last request."
"What is it?"
"My full name is Hashet Bathory. According to my grandfather who has been dead for many years, our family can be traced back to the great era when mankind began to conquer the galaxy. It has given birth to countless great heroes, and even some
There have been great Space Marines, but these actually have nothing to do with us. In the final analysis, they are just a lonely small family in Zhongchao, but it still carries a lot of the past. Hayes, are you willing to inherit this surname?"
Staring at Hashet's expectant eyes, Hayes suddenly felt the weight of the injured soldier transfer note in his palm. Hashet's care for him and the experiences of the two of them in the past years were like a revolving lantern in his mind.
Flashed through.
Hayes never knew who his parents were, but this man told him what a father was.
He nodded vigorously.
"From now on, my name will be Hayes Bathory, and I will tell everyone that I am the son and father of Hashet Bathory."
Hachet touched Hayes's cheek with slightly trembling hands, tears streaming down his eyes, and then held Hayes in his arms.
"Okay, son, I'm proud of you."
After a while, the two separated, and Hashet smiled and wiped away his tears.
"Let's go, son, I have packed your backpack. Leave here and stay away from the war. But always remember to pray to the Emperor, who has saved your life countless times."
Hayes nodded silently, stood up, and saw his backpack on a shelf not far away. He walked over and found that there were many things stuffed in it, including blood-stained expedition manuals, which belonged to his fallen comrades.
The cover has everyone's name written on it, Bell, Fitz, Jung, Peak, etc. There are so many people and so many lives, and in the end all that's left is this little booklet.
However, most of them did not even have the most basic commendations. Hayes originally wanted to put a gold star sticker symbolizing the honor of veterans on their expedition manual, but logistics told him that there was no such thing at all——
Not from the beginning.
The Expedition Manual is just a traditional "motivation program" that never means anything and therefore has no follow-up steps.
From the beginning, it was a consumable item, just like the soldiers who received these manuals.