Chapter 109

Chapter 109

Lin Lie watched as Bai Xingshu buried his chin into the plushie, his bright smile hitting Lin Lie like a critical strike.

It was just too adorable.

Lin Lie felt dizzy, left speechless.

To Bai Xingshu, this reaction only meant Lin Lie was feeling embarrassed.

A male Alpha holding a plushie—it must have been a bit awkward for their always-composed squad leader.

So, having considered this, Bai Xingshu thrust the whole bag at Lin Lie.

"Don’t worry, the bag’s yours too. It’s a cool one!" Bai Xingshu patted the futuristic carryall he’d specifically picked out.

This was exactly why he’d saved Lin Lie’s gift for last.

Everyone was sorted!

Bai Xingshu looked up, ready to ask the others for their reactions, only to be met with a crowd of misty-eyed classmates.

Bai Xingshu: "?"

He got a bad feeling.

He took half a step back—but that was all he could manage.

Already surrounded by his classmates, Bai Xingshu could only watch as his ominous premonition came true.

"Aaaahhh, I’m gonna fight the squad leader for the Deputy Squad Leader!!" One person lunged at him with full force.

"Deputy Squad Leader, be mine forever!" A second person buried themselves against him.

Then a third, a fourth…

Pinned under the dogpile, Bai Xingshu felt his soul leaving his body.

Wait— You guys are repaying kindness with betrayal?!

After a while, the group finally let him go, only to start getting guilty about the gifts in their hands.

"Deputy Squad Leader, how’d you afford all this?!"

The things they liked or used daily might not have been extravagantly expensive, but they definitely weren’t bargain-bin stuff, either.

Ballpark figures showed the cheaper items at fifty or sixty, while the pricier ones could go up to two or three hundred.

With twenty-five people in the class (not counting Bai Xingshu himself), which totaled around two thousand credits.

Their Deputy Squad Leader was so strapped for cash he took odd jobs just to afford weapon mounts and upgrades for his mech!

Two thousand credits was a small fortune for him.

Warmed by their worry, Bai Xingshu grinned. "I worked as temporary staff over the extended break! This was my first paycheck—" He paused, realizing something was off.

Wait— This wasn’t actually his first job, nor his first paycheck.

His first job had been sorting parts in the repair bay—that time when he’d enlisted Lin Lie and Song Xiyan.

The second job could be considered as a stunt coordinator, with the paycheck going straight to the mecha combat platform.

The temporary position at the police station should be the third job, and Bai Xingshu couldn’t care less to count which one it was.

Eh, whatever!

“This is my first paycheck of 6113 star coins—impressive, right?” As he spoke, Bai Xingshu slung an arm over Lin Lie’s shoulder, copying Director Liu’s swagger, and began bossily pointing at his classmates. “So, while the class monitor is assisting his brother, and I’m working as a temp at the police station, we’re all grinding to level up. All you do is slack off!”

“If you’ve got nothing better to do, then during this semester's break, you’re all coming with me to work at the police station!”

One year in the branch, ten years as its soul. (A play on the saying ‘Once a cop, always a cop.’)

Bai Xingshu had already learned how to rope people into work for the Shangqing District Police Station!

However, instead of responding to Bai Xingshu’s words, the group silently and obediently glanced behind him.

Bai Xingshu: "..."

A sense of foreboding crept in.

Bai Xingshu turned his head and, sure enough, saw Director Liu’s face like thunder.

*Whack!*

“Sit down properly and stop causing trouble!” Director Liu scowled warily at Bai Xingshu.

During Bai Xingshu’s time as a temp, Director Liu had practically become familiar with Wu Jigao.

Almost every day, Wu Jigao would message Director Liu about Bai Xingshu’s latest stunts—whether it was jumping off buildings, leaping from moving vehicles, or catching blades bare-handed.

Having one troublemaker to worry about was bad enough, but now this little rascal wanted to drag the entire class along with him.

Why not just recruit the whole school while he was at it??

After getting smacked on the head, Bai Xingshu immediately clammed up, obediently taking a seat in the front row of the Combat Department alongside Lin Lie, acting as the department’s frontmen.

The military academy’s opening ceremony didn’t drag on.

Mostly, it covered the changes in faculty for the year—since the majority of instructors were still active-duty, getting reassigned for missions was the norm.

Then came the commendation of last year’s outstanding graduates, serving as motivation for the current students.

Finally, and most crucially for the students, was the semester’s reorientation drills.

—After a break, had their training gone out the window?

—Was the transition back to school life proving difficult?

Don’t sweat it—reorientation drills’ll whip you back into shape!

For seniors on internships, since they weren’t present, there was nothing to say. Juniors, without a doubt, were preparing for the upcoming league matches and were shipped straight to the competition zones. Sophomores continued their environmental training from last semester, adapting to various terrains—even deep-sea environments—for field experience.

As for the freshmen, it was simpler.

A forced march.

No complicated rules—just bring enough rations and water, set off from within the school, follow the designated route, and return to campus.

The journey was roughly under a hundred kilometers, expected to last two days and one night.

After a semester of physical training, it was now time to evaluate the students' training results. Grades would be tallied based on everyone's completion time and condition during the march.

The announcement of this training didn’t stir much reaction—nobody batted an eye.

They were no longer freshmen, new to the school and clueless.

Every year, the back-to-school training followed the same routine, and most had buddies among the upperclassmen who’d filled them in.

Most importantly, the school forum had already been updated with guides compiled by upperclassmen, detailing what to prepare for the long-distance march, where to get supplies, and key precautions during the exercise.

In short, they just needed to pack based on the tips.

As for Bai Xingshu…

He just gave it a quick glance.

He didn’t need all that fancy gear. After a brief scan of the stuff the group shared, he quickly closed it and packed what he deemed necessary in no time.

Shen Geng eyed Bai Xingshu’s pack and had a question mark floating over his head.

“You didn’t bring any food?” Shen Geng noted the assortment of tools and hydration supplies but no rations.

Bai Xingshu flashed a smirk, twirling his combat knife skillfully in the air. “I’ll live off the land. No sweat.”

Shen Geng: “…”

“You… do realize that pretty much every critter out there’s protected, right?” Shen Geng whispered cautiously.

Bai Xingshu’s knife paused mid-spin.

Huh?

“More importantly,” Shen Geng glanced at him, “you burn water, don’t you?”

Bai Xingshu: “…”

Shen Geng’s the one who can’t cook! He at least knows how to grill meat!!

In the end, Bai Xingshu still loaded up with a giant pack like everyone else the next morning as he joined the march.

The military always emphasized teamwork, so as the two with the best physical conditioning in their class, Bai Xingshu and Lin Lie brought up the rear for Squad S to ensure they could quickly assist anyone running out of steam.

Squad S had some choice words about this arrangement.

After a whole semester under Bai Xingshu’s specialized training, knowing all the tricks to pacing themselves, if they still gassed out during a sub-100-kilometer march—one that all departments participated in—then…

The Squad Leader and Assistant Squad Leader wouldn’t even need to save them.

They might as well just keel over already.

They’d definitely waltz right back to campus!

As for that…

Bai Xingshu glanced at the never-ending snake of students from every department and class ahead.

Yeah, don’t count on it.