Chapter 17

Chapter 17

The scorching light of the star streamed down from the sky.

Dust, mud, and the intense, earthy scent unique to the land.

Bai Luming idly chewed on a piece of foxtail grass he’d plucked from who-knows-where, boredly crouched beneath a combat platform as he zoned out, watching the two figures tangled together in the arena.

Days passed quickly at the fortress. The recruit training period was divided into two phases, and by the second week, they had officially started basic combat courses.

Just a little more endurance, and he could make it to the welcome first elimination round!

Bai Luming languidly lifted his gaze just in time to see the tall figure on the platform drive a hard elbow strike to his opponent’s abdomen. With a heavy grunt, the latter swiftly swept with his leg, sending the tall man crashing to the ground.

The tall figure hit the ground hard and was immobilized.

As dust billowed and scattered, thunderous cheers erupted from the surroundings.

Bai Luming clapped without expression, then slowly opened his mouth wide in a leisurely yawn.

It turned out garrison life was treating him well—in the three years since arriving on the desolate planet, his routine had never been this regular.

"Next group, Lu Ming, Yi Lan."

The drill instructor’s voice suddenly cut through. Bai Luming paused mid-yawn: "Hm?"

He turned to look and spotted He Yilan stepping out from the crowd.

Bai Luming braced a hand on the edge of the platform, pushed off, and vaulted up. He watched as He Yilan approached, then offered his hand.

It was meant as a friendly pre-match gesture, but as their hands clasped, Bai Luming suddenly pulled He Yilan in with a natural force, bringing their shoulders to bump together briefly.

In that moment of closeness, he whispered, low enough for only the two to hear: "Who do you think should win this time?"

He Yilan glanced sideways, meeting those smiling eyes. "Whatever you prefer."

Bai Luming blinked, the smile in his eyes deepening. "Then let me rephrase—should we fight for real or fake it?"

This time, He Yilan fell silent for a brief moment before replying after two seconds: "Just stop at the right point."

Bai Luming controlled the curve of his lips and released him.

Compared to the earlier excitement in the arena, the atmosphere had cooled considerably. In just a week, everyone had become familiar with these two "specialists in passing," and hardly anyone showed much interest in their performance.

Before the match even began, people below were already chatting in small groups.

At the instructor’s signal, the combat officially started, and the two quickly became entangled.

Every move Bai Luming made carried a sharp edge beneath his relaxed demeanor. Brief openings were enough for him to capitalize on the opening—he gripped He Yilan’s wrist, pulled him backward, and locked him in place.

But before he could follow up, He Yilan’s elbow strike came from the other side.

The move forced Bai Luming to loosen his hold and step back defensively.

Bai Luming raised an eyebrow, a spark of interest stirred within him. The smile in his eyes faded unconsciously.

In a flash, he sidestepped nimbly in the opposite direction, ducking low to avoid He Yilan’s next attack. Just as he was about to close in, out of the corner of his eye, he saw another sweep—once again, He Yilan cut off his advance.

But this time, Bai Luming pressed forward rather than falling back, paying no mind to the threatening move as he closed the distance instantly.

He Yilan didn’t rely on brute strength, but every strike was precise and cunning. Bai Luming’s sudden approach seemed part of his plan—the moment he was pinned, He Yilan likewise countered by grasping his wrist. Locked in a stalemate, their bodies pressed tightly together.

A breeze swept past. The background chatter died down unnoticed, and the scene fell into silence as the two figures held their position briefly.

Bai Luming hadn’t realized He Yilan was trained in combat too. It fueled his competitive urge—his attention had been fully on his opponent until now, when he finally glanced around and realized they might have gotten a bit carried away.

He licked his slightly dry lips, leaned in closer until his nose almost touched He Yilan’s ear, and whispered: "Still fighting?"

He Yilan lowered his gaze, his eyes fixed on the other’s tense, strong jawline. The breath brushing his ear felt like it carried a spark, as scorching as their tightly pressed bodies.

After a brief silence, he said: "No."

"Mm." Bai Luming’s reply ended on an upward note, satisfied with the answer. The grip on He Yilan’s wrist loosened instantly. "I think so too."

Without waiting for He Yilan to react, Bai Luming feigned weakness and dropped to the ground, perfectly aligning with the angle of He Yilan’s force. As their figures separated, he subtly tugged He Yilan’s wrist downward, taking him down too.

Their bodies crashed heavily onto the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. Bai Luming even remembered to add a theatrical "Ouch!"

The moment Bai Luming said "Mm," He Yilan had detected something off from those faintly smiling eyes, but he couldn’t avoid being roped into the other’s little scheme. By the time he tried to avoid it, Bai Luming had already pulled off a seamless series of moves, dragging him down into the mess.

Their bodies pressed close, and He Yilan could feel the mechanical heartbeat from the other’s chest. Their lips nearly brushed, breaths mingling inches apart.

The surroundings erupted in an uproar. All attention had thoroughly shifted from their impressive performance earlier.

The incident where the dorm manager accidentally saw them being intimate had already spread, making their relationship seem ambiguous in others’ eyes. This display of pulling and tugging, coupled with someone shouting "I ship it!", sparked a round of teasing cheers.

He Yilan: "..."

Truly a by-any-means-necessary way to draw attention.

He Yilan found himself feeling admiration for someone for the first time.

He slowly lifted his gaze, a movement that brought their lips even closer: "Can you let go now?"

Bai Luming’s breath caught belatedly, and he relaxed his tightly clasped fingers.

He Yilan pushed himself up and stood.

As the distance between them widened, a breeze swept past. He couldn’t tell whether the heat on his body came from the close combat or the direct rays of the star above.

A few seconds later, He Yilan leisurely straightened his thoroughly wrinkled clothes, turned to the instructor still frozen in place, and said: "You can announce the result now."

His tone was calm, yet it inexplicably stirred something in the instructor, who snapped back to awareness and instinctively obeyed: "Yi Lan wins."

He Yilan nodded and stepped down from the platform.

Bai Luming ruffled his silver-gray hair, stood up, and followed behind. Just after leaving the arena, he nearly bumped into the person in front who had suddenly stopped: "What’s wrong?"

He Yilan turned to look at Bai Luming: "I just realized something."

Bai Luming: "What?"

He Yilan said sincerely: "When it comes to faking injuries, you’re much more professional than I am."

Bai Luming: "..."

"Also..." He Yilan paused, then asked, "You seem quite enthusiastic about showcasing your sexual orientation to others."

Bai Luming naturally knew the other was sarcastically referring to him dragging He Yilan into this. Feeling somewhat guilty, he quietly cleared his throat: "Isn’t it better to let them focus on our sexual orientation rather than our actual skills? Look, after that little performance, they’ve already forgotten how we fought up there."

He Yilan didn't confirm or deny: "Our sexuality?"

Bai Luming patted his shoulder reassuringly: "I told you not to worry about it. Anyway, we won’t be here long. Even if we’re really misunderstood, once we’re out, we’ll be in the clear. It won’t ruin your reputation, don’t worry."

He Yilan glanced at him and remarked, "You're quite the experienced salesman."

Bai Luming: "..."

Several more groups took the combat platform, and the day’s training wrapped up.

Someone ran over excitedly from afar with news: "It’s here! This year’s trainee assessment project has been officially announced! It’s a rookies vs veterans matchup! This time, we’re going up against the veterans!"

The sudden news brought a few seconds of silence, followed by an uproar: "Really?!"

Bai Luming froze with his drink halfway to his mouth: "Huh?"

A rookie-veteran showdown? Coming to bully us newbies—those people must really be bored.

By mealtime, news of the assessment project had spread everywhere.

The trainees participating in the reserve selection had only been there for half a month at the fortress. According to tradition, a training exercise would be arranged at this stage. After this assessment, actual department placements would follow. Although department assignments mostly based on personal preference, each department had limited spots and would pick based on scores, making the training exercise particularly important.

The content of this training exercise varied each year, but in the past, it usually involved completing specific tasks. No one expected this year to drop a bombshell by changing things up with a rookie-veteran showdown right from the start. Moreover, it was said that the opponents were an exchange team from the Nawei Fortress.

The Nawei Fortress—a Level 7 military region, two tiers higher than their 6616 Military Region! This was like slaughtering newcomers without mercy.

The fortress cafeteria had always been the best place for gossip.

As Bai Luming sat eating lunch, he kept catching bits of conversation.

"Are the higher-ups in the military region expecting too much from us? They actually want us to fight people from the Nawei Military Region?"

"Probably to boost Ji Xinghan. The list is out—Ji Xinghan is the head commander for the rookie team."

"Boost what... It’ll be interesting if he ends up going home crying."

"Ah, I want to be on the field too, but I failed too many basics. Been through hell, and I’m still not on the official list."

"Being on the list isn’t necessarily good either. Like before, there’s a need to earn points. I still can’t imagine how to get points from those veterans."

"At least you have a chance to try. Count yourself lucky."

"Just a quick question—if you fail the basic projects too many times, are you just waiting to be stuck in logistics?"

Bai Luming sucked down a whole noodle from his bowl with force.

This assessment arrangement really didn’t make much sense; there must be other factors behind it. But more than that, Bai Luming was most frustrated that he had also made it onto the assessment list.

If he had known it would be like this, he wouldn’t have skated by with the minimum score... Then again, not passing would mean getting penalized.

No way out.

Bai Luming shook his head silently. He glanced up unintentionally and saw He Yilan placing a small piece of ham into his mouth, his gaze pausing.

This was truly the first time he had seen someone in the military cafeteria using proper knife and fork etiquette.

He Yilan had his cutlery neatly arranged on both sides, enjoying his lunch with proper table manners.

Every item on his plate had been neatly cut. A metal fork gently stabbed each piece, which was then brought to his mouth one by one. He chewed slowly and carefully before swallowing.

Many passersby couldn’t help but glance repeatedly, yet it didn’t disturb He Yilan’s peaceful meal.

It kind of made up for the regret of not finding cutlery in the bar back then.

Bai Luming looked at He Yilan’s half-finished lunch and his own large bowl of noodles, nearly finished, and was quiet for a second before saying, "Hurry up."

"Huh?" He Yilan looked up, his movements just as graceful as always as he brought food to his mouth.

Bai Luming said, "If you keep eating like this, I’m going to get hungry watching you."

He Yilan replied, "If you’re hungry, you can have another bowl."

Bai Luming answered, "Too full."

He Yilan: "?"

So is he hungry or not?

Puzzled, he chewed and swallowed the food in his mouth under Bai Luming’s urging, picked up a napkin to gently wipe the grease from the corner of his lips, and stood up: "Let’s go back."

The two left the noisy cafeteria. On their way back, they saw a crowd forming around the bulletin board.

The official content of the assessment training had been issued, and the specific participant list had been posted today. Not only the new trainees but even the veterans in the fortress couldn’t resist stopping to look.

As Bai Luming passed the bulletin board, he gave it a quick glance and walked on without interest: "See the list? We’re in Squad 20."

"Saw it," He Yilan replied. "We can coast through. Not bad."

"Really not bad," Bai Luming said, looking up at the bright sky and squinting in the dazzling light. "It’d be even better if we didn’t have to participate."

He Yilan said, "Just fail enough times and you won’t have to participate."

Bai Luming immediately backpedaled: "Coasting through is fine."

*

The training exercise had the new trainees excited.

With a few exceptions.

After basic training concluded, all trainees participating in the training exercise gathered for a three-day pre-exam training.

Arriving at the squad’s assembly point, Bai Luming saw from a distance a small circle of people, with a young man with light cyan curly hair talking excitedly: "So you all understand now—the future belongs to those who are prepared! For this day, I’ve been planning for over ten years. Once the training exercise is over, just wait and see the Infantry Department’s Colonel Xiao give me a hero's welcome!"

Bai Luming found it amusing and stood nearby for a while before asking, "You’ve been planning for over ten years? How old are you now?"

Without hesitation, the other replied, "Me? Just turned eighteen a few days ago. I’ve been preparing to serve the Empire since I started training as a child. Why, isn’t that allowed?"

Bai Luming laughed: "Allowed, allowed, absolutely allowed."

Someone nearby couldn’t help but ask, "Chu Xiao, you’re quite the braggart. If you had that kind of skill, why didn’t you make it into the elite troops?"

The comment drew laughter from the crowd.

The young man named Chu Xiao shook his index finger dismissively: "You don’t understand. Geniuses are all like me."

The crowd scoffed: "Like what?"

Chu Xiao tossed his drooping bangs: "When God opens a door for you, he closes a window. It’s only natural that I’m a bit weaker in mechanical operation since my personal combat skills are so strong. Otherwise, wouldn’t I be terrifyingly powerful?"

Someone else jeered: "Stop boasting, you king of missing targets. You haven’t even passed the shooting course yet. Show us you can pass that first!"

Chu Xiao "tisked" dismissively, "Even if I fail marksmanship, I can still be your team leader. Doesn't that just prove how strong I am? You all passed, but do any of you have a higher overall score than me?"

Bai Luming found himself agreeing with this sentiment. Being able to achieve a decent overall score despite having obvious weaknesses indicated that Chu Xiao must be exceptionally talented in at least one area.

Just as he was silently expressing his approval, he heard Chu Xiao announce proudly, "Just wait—once I pass the reserve selection, I’ll snag a spot in the White Flame Legion and show all of you! Marshal Bai is the greatest hero in my heart, and I’ll help him make the White Flame Legion's future even brighter!"

Bai Luming: "Hmm?"

Chu Xiao's ears perked up at the sound and he immediately looked over, "What do you think? Don’t you agree that Marshal Bai is the greatest in the universe?"

"Indeed, Marshal Bai is the greatest in the universe!" Bai Luming gave a nod of agreement. Seeing the other extend his hand, he returned a firm, comradely handshake. "Good taste!"

Chu Xiao’s eyes sparkled with delight, "You have good taste too! What’s your name? Anyone who supports Marshal Bai is a brother of mine from now on. I’ve got your back, brother!"

Bai Luming: "My name is Lu Ming."

Chu Xiao’s gaze flickered with a hint of surprise, quickly replaced by envy, "Great name! If I could, I’d want the surname 'Lu' too. Maybe I’ll look into whether it’s possible to change my surname to 'Bai' as well."

It seemed he deeply regretted not being able to use his surname to cozy up to his idol.

He Yilan had been standing off to the side all along, not getting involved. Hearing this, he cast a thoughtful glance in their direction.

"Come on, come on! It’s about to start!"

Someone nearby reminded them, and the others also heard the command from their communicators, quickly snapping to attention and forming up.

During the familiarization training, there was no actual combat with the opposing team. The main focus was familiarizing themselves with the exercise terrain to better understand the rules.

Under Chu Xiao’s leadership, Bai Luming’s Squad 20 quickly surveyed the area.

During the mock battle, each side had one base, four key strongholds, and several supply points. Two hundred participants were on each side. Points—both individual and team—were earned by eliminating opponents, seizing supplies, and destroying strongholds. The battle ended when all of one side’s strongholds were destroyed or their base was completely overrun, with victory determined by the total score.

Anyone who paid even slight attention to military affairs would recognize this as a simplified version of the annual live-fire exercise rules used by the Four Great Armies. The biggest differences lay in the equipment and the scaled-down terrain.

This type of combat format was all too familiar to Bai Luming.

Rifle in hand, he followed at the rear of the squad and couldn’t help but sigh inwardly—there was no escaping mock battles, no matter where he went.

Three days after the pre-assessment training concluded, the drill assessment officially began.

The participating cadets lined up and entered the field. Bai Luming stood at the very end of the formation, looking up to see a line of officers standing neatly on the review platform.

As before, their attention was primarily focused on Ji Xinghan, the overall commander of the cadet forces at the forefront.

After observing him over this period, Bai Luming had formed a basic judgment of Ji Xinghan.

It had to be admitted that the man truly possessed considerable ability. The Golden Plume Legion had always had a good eye for talent, and Ji Xinghan undoubtedly had a bright future ahead in the military.

At this thought, he felt a veteran's sense of approval.

After the arrangements were made, everyone took their positions.

The communicators worn by both sides emitted an emotionless mechanical voice, repeating the rules of the day’s assessment several times.

Before starting, Bai Luming, like everyone else, formally inspected his gear.

This was the specialized uniform for live combat exercises.

With technological advancements, the military’s training methods had evolved through phases—from initial hand-to-hand combat to full holographic simulations, and now, a return to full-scale scenarios with enhanced defensive measures.

The specialized exercise suits worn by the soldiers offered excellent protection and were precisely synced with their nervous systems. Paired with exercise-specific weapons, they could accurately determine eliminations without dulling pain perception. Whether it was the pain from close combat or the realism of being hit by a bullet, it was far more authentic than holographic simulations.

In the highest-level training conducted by the Four Great Armies, pain sensitivity was often adjusted to 120% or higher to help soldiers confront death more resolutely. However, for this new cadet assessment, the fortress had uniformly set the pain sensitivity to 60%. Additionally, considering the cadets’ level, the exercise excluded mechs, vehicles, and other mechanized equipment, adopting a pure infantry mode focused on marksmanship and combat.

Shortly after arriving at their designated position, Squad 20 received the signal that the assessment had officially begun.

While waiting for instructions, Bai Luming leaned his long rifle against the ground, half-propped against a tree trunk. Noticing the lackluster morale of the others, he couldn’t help but ask, "Why does it feel like you all have no fighting spirit?"

Each squad in this exercise had ten members. One of the shorter members chuckled at the question, "To have fighting spirit, there has to be a possibility of winning. I’ve heard—the team from the Nawei Military Region was originally here for a proper exchange with our fortress. They were supposed to face Colonel Xiao’s direct unit from the Infantry Department. Who knows what happened that they ended up here to crush us rookies instead?"

Chu Xiao expressed disagreement, "If you think you’re rookies, don’t include me. Just wait—I’ll show you by beating the opponents to a pulp."

The shorter cadet retorted, "...First, make sure you don’t get beaten to a pulp yourself."

Another nearby cadet looked miserable, "I was hoping a good performance could earn me some extra points to join the Starship Department after the grouping."

Bai Luming encouraged, "You can still earn those points now."

The shorter cadet listlessly replied, "Forget it. If you can do it, you go ahead."

Bai Luming found the phrase somewhat familiar, but he had little interest in scoring points. Instead, he hoped the elite units on their side would perform exceptionally well and forget about the existence of their rather ordinary cannon-fodder squad.

Soon, signals came through the communicators indicating several areas where firefights had already occurred.

Bai Luming casually opened the floating interface to glance at the conflict locations, then paused abruptly, "Hmm?"

He turned and met the gaze of the person next to him.

From the look in his eyes, it was clear He Yilan had also noticed—for some reason, their side was losing personnel much more slowly than expected.

*

In the observation room of the 6616 Military Region, displays showed small red and blue cursor points representing the positions of personnel from both sides.

The central screen switched between independent feeds, broadcasting live updates from the field.

On either side of the screen, the total team scores and individual rankings for both sides were displayed.

At the moment, the blue side, representing Nawei Fortress, continuously refreshed their scores, while the red side on the right remained a uniform row of zeros.

While the purpose of such drill assessments was to allow department heads to better screen candidates, the current situation on the field had killed everyone's mood for assessing, their brows furrowing tighter by the minute.

The head of the New Recruits Department finally spoke up, "Are the people from Nawei Fortress doing this on purpose? Is this necessary?"

As he spoke, the live feed showed a confrontation at one of the supply points.

From the footage, several cadets from their side could be seen knocked to the ground, but the Nawei Fortress personnel deliberately avoided vital areas, refusing to eliminate their opponents and instead toying with them, which carried a hint of humiliation.

Although everyone knew this was meant to be a one-sided match, the extent of the humiliation was excessive.

The other officers also looked displeased.

Someone suggested, "Should we contact Legrey? Allowing his people to pull this stunt is no different from slapping our military region in the face."

Cleon’s gaze remained fixed on the screen. Unlike the others, his face showed no obvious anger, and he spoke calmly, "No need. Continue."

The others wanted to say more, but seeing their superior’s attitude, they swallowed their words, though their frowns deepened.

As the match progressed, elite units from both sides had begun engaging in firefights, and some of the peripheral squads also received orders to move out.

Bai Luming was unaware of the specific situation on the field. His Squad 20 had just received orders and was now heading toward a nearby supply point along with the rest of the team.

The terrain chosen for this drill evaluation was relatively simple, with a river that was not too turbulent. The entire squad quickly completed the river crossing.

As Squad 20 advanced, they stayed alert for enemy contact.

Chu Xiao took the lead, moving with noticeably greater agility than the others. His assignments were clear: "Zhang Gao, Li Ming, you two keep an eye on the rear. I'll watch the front. The rest of you, watch for ambushes from the sides."

While this arrangement wasn't wrong in theory, almost everyone present was a newcomer. The formation lacked cohesion and looked like a complete mess.

If even a moderately well-trained team were to ambush them at this point, they could likely take out the whole team.

"You think the enemy might have already taken this supply point? What if there are people there? Wouldn't we just be walking right into their hands?" Zhang Gao, participating in such an exercise for the first time, remained on edge the whole time, his hands trembling slightly as he gripped his gun.

"What's there to fear? If there really are people, we'll just take them all out and earn some points," Chu Xiao chuckled, not bothered at all by the pessimistic talk. His peripheral vision caught two people almost falling behind, and he called out, "Quit daydreaming! Keep up!"

"Ah, ah, ah! Coming right away!"

Bai Luming stuck to formation without complaint the entire time. It was his first time observing such a close-up simulation with new recruits, and he was pretty entertained.

At the very least, their rookie mistakes were kinda cute.

"Stop enjoying the show. There are probably people at the supply point."

He Yilan's voice came from beside him. Bai Luming followed his gaze and noticed subtle movements in a few patches of grass, immediately understanding.

He was about to respond but paused mid-thought, glancing at He Yilan instead. "Who's enjoying the show?"

He Yilan returned the look, as if to say "you know who," then promptly changed the subject. "Should we warn them?"

The question was tricky. Whether to warn them or not, Bai Luming felt somewhat conflicted.

After all, his current persona was that of a totally ordinary cadet who barely passed every subject. It was difficult to explain how he'd know, suddenly insisting that there were enemies at the supply point. It lacked persuasiveness and would be troublesome to elaborate.

But watching his comrades walk straight into an ambush didn't feel right either—it would bug him.

Bai Luming kept his eyes locked on the supply point direction, his peripheral vision catching a quick flash of white light.

As Chu Xiao was about to move forward again, Bai Luming narrowed his eyes slightly, then tripped just right, as if naturally. "Whoa, how is there a pit here?!"

He Yilan, witnessing this great acting, gave a quiet chuckle.

Bai Luming ignored it. Seizing the moment when Chu Xiao turned to see what happened, he grabbed Chu Xiao's sleeve and yanked him downward.

Chu Xiao clearly hadn't expected Bai Luming to act so suddenly. Caught off guard, he stumbled forward.

Just as he was falling, gunfire rang out.

Several beams narrowly grazed Chu Xiao's hair, striking the tree behind him.

The close shave made Chu Xiao's eyes go wide. "What the hell?!"

"Enemies! There's really an ambush!" "Where? Where did those shots come from?" "Ouch! Why are you stepping on me? Don't come over! I can't hide here anymore—go hide behind that tree!"

All hell broke loose on the scene. Bai Luming watched, silently facepalming.

Noticing He Yilan extending a hand toward him, Bai Luming grabbed it and pulled himself up, dragging He Yilan with him as they both took cover behind a tree.

With a slight peek from behind cover, Bai Luming spotted movement in several grass patches, his mind already figuring out where they'd move.

"We going in?"

The voice came from right in front of him. Only then did Bai Luming realize their current position made it seem like he had He Yilan pinned against the tree trunk. As for the question, it was just like his earlier question.

Footsteps grew closer in the distance, and the rustling of leaves became more pronounced.

A gust of wind passed, messing with everyone's focus.

Chu Xiao took a deep breath, seized the moment, drew his gun, and fired. Several intense shots rang out, but after a brief moment, silence returned—all shots had missed.

Chu Xiao swore under his breath, "Damn! My luck sucks!"

Bai Luming: "..."

After a pause, he answered He Yilan's question. "Maybe not."

The footsteps drew nearer. Based on the numbers, it was likely another 10-person squad, approaching from two directions to flank them.

He Yilan remained calm, glancing at Bai Luming's expression before reminding him, "If we get eliminated now, we'll get no assessment points."

No assessment points meant additional training sessions after the exercise.

Bai Luming: "Then again—"

Unlike before, scoring zero in this assessment was probably the norm. Given his current situation, skipping extra drills would blow his cover completely.

As he spoke, before he could finish, Bai Luming heard a sudden yell from nearby: "Whoa! How did they come up from this side?!"

Several figures emerged unexpectedly from the shadows of trees to the side, about to attack Squad 20.

Bai Luming's eyebrow jumped the instant he caught sight of them.

"Bang, bang, bang—!"

A series of clean shots rang out.

Before the newcomers from the Nawei Military Region could talk trash to the "rookies" in front of them, they watched as the red elimination signals on their bodies lit up simultaneously.

Each was a single-shot takedown.

Chu Xiao's voice was full of excitement: "Lu Ming, good shot!"

Bai Luming: "..."

Crap. His body reacted faster than his brain! The moment Chu Xiao spoke, he desperately wanted to drop the gun and play dumb.

As the saying goes, man proposes, but heaven disposes. Reflexes are a bitch.

Years of combat on the battlefield had ingrained built-in reflexes in him. Sometimes, without even thinking, his body could fight back on autopilot in emergencies.

He Yilan's drawn-out voice came from right in front of him: "Prooobably not?"

Bai Luming closed his eyes silently at the totally casual tone.

This'll kill me!

At the same time, in the observation room, the scoreboard for the trainee camp—that had been all zeros—updated.

The officers present watched as a name suddenly jumped to first place—

Lu Ming: 3 points.