Chapter 231: Super Item! The Satellite Phone
After many years, General MacArthur once again became famous—this time as a major general with real power, commanding his own army.
Young major generals weren't unheard of in the regular army, but those with both youth and full authority to command an independent corps were rare indeed.
Initially, the federal high command had only intended to reward Qin Ming with a nominal major general rank while reclaiming his command authority. After all, he was young, with plenty of opportunities ahead. They saw no need to bestow everything at once—otherwise, what would be left for future merits?
But when a high-ranking official arrived at the barracks to retrieve his command, he was promptly surrounded by over ten thousand fierce and heavily armed soldiers.
These were the same soldiers who had broken through the rebel forces head-on. Now, they weren't even willing to give the federal officer the time of day and even had the audacity to point their guns at him.
Faced with this situation, the official had a sudden epiphany: perhaps it was better to let Qin Ming continue commanding this force.
After all, the rebel threat hadn't been entirely resolved. The last thing they needed was another insurgent force—especially one that could fight even harder than the current rebels.
After all, Qin Ming was one of their own promising young talents! Having real power wasn't necessarily a bad thing!
Moreover, they heard he was single and had no political backers, which made things even better.
If he continued performing well, perhaps he could even marry into one of the high-ranking families and ascend to the rank of general someday!
With his promotion to major general, Qin Ming completed all three title quests in the Metal Slug 1 world. He could now upgrade his silver title using the fragmented ones he had previously earned. The effects would surely become even more potent!
The best part? Becoming a senior officer granted him access to faction rewards.
The reward exchange system in the Metal Slug world was unique—it couldn't be accessed using goodwill points from NPCs. Instead, only points could be used to purchase items.
The higher the rank, the better the available items.
As a major general, Qin Ming was even eligible to purchase a Metal Slug tank!
Though it was only a Model 3, and the price was a staggering 20,000 points, he wasn't particularly interested.
Most importantly, as the war concluded, the regular army began distributing rewards. All regular army adventurers on the victorious side received special prizes corresponding to their rank and combat achievements.
Qin Ming's military reward? An item of dim gold-tier quality!
Item Name: Military Satellite Phone (Metal Slug 1)
Category: Special Equipment (Dim Gold Quality)
Equipment Requirement: Designation 441985
Effects: Call for air support (consumes points, allows Hyena Corps air support in other worlds)
Support Options:
Hyena Strike Squad (5,000 points): Summons 10 Hyena infantry soldiers and 1 Hyena machine gunner
Hyena Special Ops Unit (10,000 points): Summons 50 infantry, 4 machine gunners, 2 light tanks, and 2 heavy tanks
Hyena Armed Squadron (50,000 points): Summons a full battalion, including 1,000 riflemen, 20 machine gunners, 5 each of light/heavy tanks and troop carriers, plus 12 fighter and bomber aircraft
Total Assault Order (250,000 points): Summons the entire Hyena Corps for an airborne assault, totaling 14,695 soldiers
Description: Hyena calls the Hyena Corps for an immediate airborne assault! What? No authorization from high command? I am the damn high command!
Looking at the old-school brick satellite phone in his hand, Qin Ming was both amused and exasperated.
In theory, being able to summon over ten thousand heavily armed soldiers to assist was nothing short of divine intervention.
With the Hyena Corps at his disposal, forget fighting an adventurer squad—he wouldn't even flinch at taking on 500 adventurers by himself!
The problem was the summoning cost, which was outrageously steep!
250,000 points?! Who the hell can afford that?! One summon would bankrupt me!
Wait—selling me whole wouldn't even be enough to cover it!
Come to think of it, that colossal warship confiscated from the King of Fighters squad was probably a similar type of item, directly summoned from another world using points.
Such items were undoubtedly powerful, but if mishandled, they could quickly become useless.
The number of troops that the satellite phone can summon ultimately depends on the total number of soldiers in the Hyena Corps.
If there are ten thousand soldiers, it can summon ten thousand at once. If there are only a hundred, then it can only summon a hundred.
After all, it can't magically create people out of thin air.
If the Hyena Corps gets wiped out during a mission, this gold-tier item would become completely useless.
The same goes for the item the King of Fighters squad used to summon their Sky Fortress. Now that even the fortress has been seized, where would they summon a warship from?
Stowing the satellite phone away, Qin Ming returned to his frontline base.
He intended to better equip his troops one last time. After all, they were his soldiers, and he couldn't let them be poorly armed.
Besides, he might need them again in a critical situation.
He upgraded and fused all the equipment seized from the battlefield, handing everything over to Beta for safekeeping. Then he temporarily transferred command to Shuke before leaving the camp satisfied.
He wasn't dividing power out of fear that someone would seize it in his absence—such concerns were beneath him.
After all, the Hyena Corps' fighting strength and loyalty relied entirely on his unique talent ability.
Without that talent, no one could take his place.
The real reason Qin Ming divided authority was due to the contrasting personalities of Shuke and Beta.
Shuke was a textbook stiff military officer—loyal, upright, and strict about rewards and punishments.
While he could manage the army well, he was defenseless against political schemes or power grabs.
Beta, on the other hand, was a complete rascal, slick and cunning. He thrived on manipulation and personal gain.
Although useless in commanding soldiers, if he ever made it to the top ranks, he would undoubtedly be a typical corrupt and cowardly federal officer.
But he was excellent at managing finances—sharp-witted and adept at playing mind games.
With Shuke managing the troops and Beta overseeing finances, Qin Ming had nothing to fear even in his absence.
Anyone thinking they could seize control by waving around a simple military order might fool Shuke, but trying that on Beta?
They'd probably be shot dead and forced to "commit suicide" by the next day.
One responsible for war, the other for money—one honest, the other cunning. Together, they formed a perfectly complementary duo.
After leaving the camp, Qin Ming shared drinks with the four main protagonists, who had fought by his side through thick and thin.
Before departing, he even found Germi Fox, the five-star general, and punched the old man a few times under a flimsy pretext—payback for badmouthing him behind his back.
Then, carefree and triumphant, Qin Ming finally left the Metal Slug world.
Behind him, Germi Fox, who had originally wanted to discuss a potential marriage alliance, was left utterly bewildered—having been inexplicably beaten before he could even speak.
Qin Ming—returned home!