Chapter 41

Chapter 41

...

Late at night, the climate control system in the dormitory continued to operate.

Cold air flowed out from the vents, lulling everyone's exhausted bodies into sleep.

Yi Ye felt his consciousness sinking bit by bit, as if into a bottomless pit. He kept falling until he landed in a city of ruins, scorched by raging flames.

Countless zombies roared as they devoured human flesh, and the fiery clouds in the sky resembled flowing blood. A child wailed by the roadside, and a zombie, so decayed its original appearance was unrecognizable, staggered toward the sound.

He stood behind the child, drooling hungrily.

He was so hungry, so desperate to eat. Instinct told him the child was the most delicious meal, yet not long ago, he had affectionately called the child, "My dear daughter."

But zombies have no consciousness; they're just puppets driven by hunger. So, he reached out his blood-stained hand toward the child—

Snap!

A cold light flashed, and the next moment, the zombie saw its body collapse, green blood splattering on its face. Its vision spun as its head rolled, and then a pair of leather boots stepped on its skull.

Slowly turning its eyes, it met the gaze of a black-haired youth.

The black-haired youth slid his dagger back into its sheath with a flick of his wrist, his shoe grinding against the rotting head of the zombie. Noticing the blood on his shoe, he frowned in disgust, his brows twisting. Before he could speak, someone crouched beside him.

A tall, silent man pulled out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the blood off the youth's shoe.

The youth watched his actions with a sigh and a smile. "If those old stubborn folks back home found out the head of the military was wiping my shoes, I'd be in hot water."

"I did it willingly," the man said, standing up after putting the handkerchief away. "Their opinions don't mean a thing."

"Alright, alright," the youth shrugged, then turned to the still-crying little girl. He crouched down, his eyes curving into a gentle smile. "The monster's been taken care of by your big brother. It won't hurt you anymore."

The girl's shoulders shook with sobs, her face smeared with dirt.

He wiped her face with his clean sleeve, then picked her up. He steered clear of the corpses, letting the girl bury her face in his neck to shield her from the gruesome sights.

The youth was tall and slender, but his arms had a thin layer of muscle, making him steady when carrying someone. He wore black leather gloves, his fingertips gently patting the girl's back. His movements were gentle, but his obsidian eyes were locked on a nearby head being blown by the wind, a cold sharpness in his gaze.

Soon, he looked away and turned to the man beside him.

The man asked, "Are we taking her back?"

"Of course."

"After a checkup to make sure she's okay, we'll keep her. Don't tell me those old guys won't agree. If there's not enough food, they can share mine."

The man frowned disapprovingly. "Yi Ye..."

"Alright, Jiang Duming," the youth made a shushing gesture, lowering his voice. "Don't bring this up in front of the child. Besides, I know the head of the military's the kindest, right?"

Jiang Duming sighed. "Yi Ye, when will you learn to take care of yourself? You should know better than me..."

The rest of the words suddenly faded for Yi Ye.

He could only see Jiang Duming's mouth moving, but not a single word reached his ears. The child on his shoulder and the surrounding ruins had vanished without warning. The world crumbled and collapsed, fragments of past memories rushing past him on either side, gradually fading into an endless darkness.

He stood in the rift of time, teetering on the edge, with no sight of the past or future.

But soon, he spotted someone.

A man with his eyes wrapped in white gauze, having lost his sight in the war.

It was Jiang Duming.

...

Kaiser barely slept all night, his back wound still aching, tossing and turning restlessly. As dawn neared, he sat up and glanced over at Yi Ye.

The youth slept with the blanket tightly wrapped around his neck, leaving no gaps, like a highly alert animal. Kaiser sometimes watched his sleeping face during bouts of insomnia, finding it strangely soothing.

But today Yi Ye was not sleeping peacefully.

He seemed to be caught in a dream, muttering something.

Kaiser frowned, tossed off the blanket, and approached, stopping by his bed to hear three distinct words:

Jiang Duming.

...

When Yi Ye woke up, a head of red hair loomed before his eyes, jolting him awake instantly. He sat up, recognized Kaiser, patted his chest in relief, and silently lay back down.

"Young Master, why are you standing by my bed so early in the morning?"

"Who is Jiang Duming?"

Yi Ye was slightly stunned: "Huh?"

"I heard you say that name in your sleep." Kaiser crossed his arms, looking somewhat interrogative, "Who is he? From the military academy? How come I've never seen him?"

"..."

Are you checking my background?!

Yi Ye didn't expect to have called out that name, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration: "He's nobody, you must have misheard. Maybe I was saying... a hotel name? String beans? Jiangdong Gate?"

"I have a 3S physique, not an SB physique; do you think I'd mishear?"

...That's true.

Yi Ye was silent for a few seconds, then sat up with the blanket, speaking seriously: "Alright, actually, he was a friend from my past. You know, everyone has one or two close friends they shared everything with as kids; I had them too."

"Do you still keep in touch with him?"

"Now... we haven't been in touch for a long time. There's no such thing as friends for life; we've already drifted apart."

Kaiser let out an "oh," his expression softening.

Yi Ye thought Kaiser was just bored, asking him these odd questions, but now he couldn't sleep either, so he got up and pushed past Kaiser to head to the bathroom to wash up.

As soon as he entered, he was startled by Steve, who was grinning foolishly into the mirror. Yi Ye gasped, his hair nearly standing on end, clutching his repeatedly startled heart: "Steve, what are you doing here this early in the morning?"

Steve turned his head directly to look at Yi Ye in the mirror: "Oh, sorry, I'll get out of your way."

He turned to leave, brushing past Yi Ye, but was stopped by him.

"Hold on."

Yi Ye grabbed Steve's shoulder.

Steve: "What's wrong?"

"You..." Yi Ye squinted, eyeing him carefully.

Steve tensed up, his tongue fidgeting nervously behind his lips. After a while, Yi Ye spoke in a relaxed tone: "Bro, have you been feeling stressed out lately? Your lips are cracked and bleeding."

Steve touched his lips and saw a dark smear of blood on his finger. His tongue stopped fidgeting, and he nodded: "Indeed, thanks for the reminder."

After saying that, he left.

Yi Ye stared at Steve's back as he left, shrugged, and turned to start brushing his teeth and washing his face.

*

After breakfast, Yi Ye and Kaiser headed to the armory to continue the unfinished work. The armory inventory was a huge job. After half a day, they still had a third left.

Yi Ye rubbed his neck, tied up his longish hair with a small elastic band, and tilted his head to inspect items on another shelf.

Just then, he spotted a few heads poking out nearby.

Hey, weren’t those the guys who played cards yesterday?

They hurried over, grinning and carrying fruits and snacks.

"Yi Ye, want an apple? It's super sweet."

"Forget apples! Have some chocolate instead. This is from the main planet—super pricey. Try it!"

"Move over! Yi Ye, no need for formalities. I’ve got two gold coins. What do you say?"

"Hold up." Yi Ye raised his hand, his expression saying he knew exactly what was up. "You’re here to play cards and marbles, aren’t you?"

"Heh." They didn’t even try to hide it, nodding eagerly.

"There’s nothing to do around here. We’re gonna lose it if we don’t have some fun. Please, just play with us."

Yi Ye crossed his arms and nodded: "Fine, but this is risky. If your squad leader shows up, I’ll catch hell again."

"No sweat! We’ll post a lookout. If anyone comes, we’ll warn you right away."

"Who’s on lookout?" Yi Ye asked.

They glanced at each other, then all pointed to the same guy.

"He’s going!" "Him!" "Send him!"

The three of them: "..."

This was a mess. Yi Ye rubbed his chin, spotting Kaiser nearby.

He tilted his head and shouted, "Young Master!"

Kaiser turned his head: "What?"

Yi Ye smiled like a cunning little cat: "Do you want to slack off?"

"..." What’s he scheming now?

A few minutes later.

Kaiser stood at the entrance of the armory, his face seething with anger, holding the batons brought over by the three soldiers, and Yi Ye said to him:

"A job where you can't slack off isn't a good job, and an employee who doesn't know how to relax isn't a good employee. Anyway, we still have the whole afternoon, and this work will get done eventually. Since it will get done, why work so hard? So, why don't you just stand guard for us here? You're so tall, handsome, and brave, I'm sure you'll agree, right?"

Kaiser: "..."

He! Would! Not!

And yet, there he stood.

Inside the armory, the sounds of "Can't play," "Bomb," and "Rocket" from Yi Ye and the soldiers could be heard from time to time.

Kaiser was grinding his teeth in frustration. He felt like blowing up the entire base.

"General Lin Pei, the armory is just ahead."

The sound of someone speaking came from not far away. Kaiser, with a tense expression, banged the baton against the iron door in displeasure. The sounds of the card game inside immediately ceased, followed by the three soldiers scrambling out in a panic.

Kaiser: "Heh."

The commander-in-chief always inspected the armory upon returning to the base, as per tradition, but when he saw the two newcomers also inside the armory, Lin Pei's expression darkened slightly as he looked at Joseph behind him.

"We've been short-staffed in the armory these past two days, so we had them come help," Joseph quickly explained.

"Hmm," Lin Pei replied succinctly, paying no further attention to the two, and strode inside.

The group lined up at the back, exchanging glances to ensure no one mentioned the card game. Being caught by the supervisor and Joseph was one thing, but if General Lin Pei found out, they could be directly expelled from the Vanguard Legion.

Yi Ye mouthed: Is he really that scary?

One of the soldiers replied: It's not about being scary, but General Lin Pei is really strict.

Soldier B: Anyway, we must be careful and absolutely cannot get exposed.

Soldier C: Second brother, is there something stuck to your shoe sole?

They all froze, their eyes shooting toward his foot.

Soldier B: Holy crap!!!! How did a playing card get stuck to my shoe! Ahhh help help help!

Yi Ye: Calm down! Quickly take it out and hide it! We'll cover for you.

They formed a human wall to block Lin Pei's potential line of sight, and the soldier quickly bent down to peel off the playing card. But the more flustered he became, the more likely something would go wrong. As he stood up too quickly, he lost his balance and fell forward, causing the others to topple like dominoes. Yi Ye, quick on his feet, stepped back and narrowly avoided disaster.

But the commotion caught the attention of those ahead.

Lin Pei turned and walked back.

Yi Ye glanced out of the corner of his eye and noticed the playing card was still on the ground. Instinctively, he stepped forward, firmly planting both feet on the card. By the time he looked up, Lin Pei was already in front of him.

Joseph scolded: "What are you doing! No discipline at all, all of you, get up and stand properly!"

The group scrambled to their feet and lined up neatly for their punishment.

Joseph looked at Yi Ye: "You, go over there and stand for punishment as well!"

Yi Ye: "Can I just stand here for punishment?"

"Are you defying orders from your superiors? Go over there!"

Yiye Langley still refused to move. Lin Pei glanced down at the youth's shoes, his expression calm: "What are you hiding under your foot?"

"...Nothing."

Lin Pei remained silent, simply watching him quietly.

Yiye Langley was extremely sincere: "General, there's really nothing."

Lin Pei didn't waste words with him. Before Yiye Langley could react, Lin Pei grabbed his shoulders and lifted him as effortlessly as if handling a delicate doll. But instead of a base, what appeared was a playing card, utterly crushed.

The three soldiers couldn't bear to watch.

Kaiser scoffed.

Yiye Langley: ...Why couldn't I have been a 400-kilogram heavyweight?

After an uncomfortably long silence, Joseph broke the tension with a verbal onslaught.

He berated Yiye Langley for his indiscipline and misconduct, his spittle nearly hitting the others in the face. Yiye Langley stepped back silently, dodging the spray, and couldn't help but wonder about the source of such foul breath—probably a stomach problem.

Joseph's face was livid: "General, these people are really too much. They must be severely punished!"

Lin Pei glanced over the youth's face, adjusted his black leather gloves, and turned to leave.

Before walking away, he tossed out a sentence: "Student of the Imperial Honor Military Academy, Yiye Langley, come with me."