Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Thanks to two certain colonels, the name "Lu Ming" was well-known to everyone in the observation room.

When this name unexpectedly topped the trainee rankings, even Cleon couldn't help but show a hint of surprise.

Liang Deng was stunned for a couple of seconds before exclaiming, "That's my boy! He's really making us proud!"

The observation operator quickly located Bai Luming's Squad 20 and brought up the live feed.

Just as the real-time camera switched, a barrage of gunfire echoed throughout the observation room. By the time silence returned, only a scattering of "bodies" lay strewn across the ground.

Almost simultaneously, the ranking list refreshed again—

Yi Lan, 3 points;

Chu Xiao, 4 points.

Both were promising newcomers Liang Deng had scouted. Seeing Yi Lan's name appear on the list alongside Lu Ming's made him straighten his back with pride: "See, see what I told you! When it comes to spotting talent, some people just can't argue with me!"

Xiao Nuoya scoffed beside him, his attention shifting to the other person: "Chu Xiao, what's his background?"

The new recruit officer promptly pulled up the information on all three individuals, taking notes as he briefed: "Both Lu Ming and Yi Lan are from the eastern sector of the lower district. They have no additional records and appear to be ordinary residents, but under the current policy, they were automatically included in this conscription round. As for Chu Xiao..."

He paused slightly when he saw the information on the file: "He currently lives near the lower district as well, but he only transferred from Navi Star two years ago. According to his records, he participated in conscription registration two years ago and passed the initial screening, but was eliminated in the final round and banned from conscription for a year."

Banned from participating in conscription.

Even if the suspension was just one year, it was still a severe punishment.

Xiao Nuoya asked, "What was the reason?"

The recruitment officer frowned: "The record indicates a mechanical malfunction, which nearly caused a training accident. As for the specifics, we'd need to investigate further."

Xiao Nuoya seemed somewhat surprised: "A training accident? That sounds quite serious."

Cleon watched the figures in the display through the overhead surveillance view, showing interest: "This batch of trainees seems rather intriguing."

"Look at the western field—another squad's engaged."

Someone reminded, and the observation operator immediately switched the feed to another battlefield.

*

"Having fun?" Bai Luming glanced at the energy glow still fading on He Yilan's particle gun, recalling the man's fluid, effortless firing that had just taken out multiple targets. He asked with genuine sincerity.

He hadn’t expected that, after his own muscle memory had kicked in, this man wouldn't even bother pretending. Instead, He Yilan had yanked him clear without missing a beat and, before the enemy could complete their encirclement, neutralized them efficiently on the spot.

The remaining few were then easily finished off by Chu Xiao, who had been positioned to strike.

He Yilan met Bai Luming's gaze, though his response didn’t directly answer the question: "They had me in their sights earlier."

Bai Luming: "So?"

He Yilan replied: "I’m not in the habit of letting people point guns at me."

Bai Luming couldn’t help but applaud: "Well, that’s a good habit. It certainly seems to have sharpened your aim."

He Yilan grunted "Hmm": "Luck."

Then he added: "Your shots earlier were pretty good too."

Bai Luming: "Oh, just got lucky."

Their eyes met, both completely unfazed.

Just as Bai Luming was about to say something else, it dawned on him, a ridiculous possibility flashing through his mind. He couldn't help but glance at He Yilan: "You're not—scared of pain, are you?"

The response was a brief silence.

Bai Luming found it harder to believe: "The pain settings for this exercise are only at 60%. You can't even handle that?"

He Yilan met Bai Luming's stunned look and asked slowly, "Is there a problem?"

Bai Luming: "..."

Faced with a reply that was both unjustified and defiant, and considering the other's original status, he eventually nodded in understanding: "...No problem at all."

After all, they came from different worlds—He Yilan certainly had the right to be arrogant.

Still, this newfound trait reminded him of their first encounter. With such a low pain tolerance, He Yilan had been deathly pale from severe injuries back then but hadn't made a sound.

After the short skirmish, the already overgrown woods were in even greater disarray.

The Nawei Military Region soldiers, deemed eliminated, had red lights flashing on their bodies, their faces growing increasingly grim.

They had originally come to mess with these newbies and clearly couldn't accept the reality of being wiped out right here.

One of them finally couldn't hold back: "Just wait, next time you won't be so lucky."

Chu Xiao was crouched, looting gear and supplies from their bodies. Hearing this, he looked up and shot the man a mocking smirk: "Just wait here for someone to pick you up. Be a bit more professional as 'corpses'—dead is dead, stop your whining."

The soldier's words were cut short, his face darkening further, but bound by the rules, he fell silent.

Chu Xiao scored plenty of simulation meds on the soldiers, clearly looted from supply points. For this rookie assessment, equipment was standardized, and supply points only offered these healing items, making the rules relatively straightforward.

His first instinct after grabbing the supplies was to offer them to Bai Luming and the others, but these two had been chatting on the side as if nothing had happened. Scanning them, he asked uncertainly, "You're not injured?"

He Yilan: "No."

Bai Luming replied: "My feelings are a bit hurt."

Chu Xiao: "...What?"

Bai Luming sighed without explaining.

After all, as a qualified former soldier, it took immense resolve for him to abandon a comrade on the field during a team exercise.

He had just managed to steel himself to feel guilty toward his teammate, ready to be eliminated at any moment, only to have it all ruined by He Yilan's absurd "fear of pain." All his efforts had gone to waste.

Though he had only an ounce of conscience left, it still hurt.

Sometimes, he really couldn't bear it!

At this thought, Bai Luming sighed inwardly again and made a decision.

Forget it—after this was over, he'd treat the team to a meal at the mess hall. Consider it a consolation for his remaining sliver of conscience.

As for a certain Mr. Ten-Fold, the debt's still getting tracked.

Chu Xiao watched, puzzled, as Bai Luming's face went through a whole journey, only snapping back to attention when moaning started up nearby.

"We need... we need..."

It was only then that Chu Xiao noticed that the other team members who hadn't participated in the fight were slumped haphazardly across the ground, their yellow indicator lights flashing frequent warnings. Clearly, in their panic, they had nearly tripped over the tree roots on the ground and ended up with a suicidal outcome.

Without hesitation, he tossed the medical kit in his hand over to them.

It wasn't until the pain on their bodies gradually faded that the other team members breathed a sigh of relief and regained their composure.

Bai Luming shook his head repeatedly.

It had to be said that flowers raised in a greenhouse couldn't withstand wind and rain—this was only the beginning, and they were already screaming and shouting. If someday a Zerg cutter were to slice them a few times, drawing real blood, wouldn't they just pass out from the pain?

Speaking of pain, he couldn't help but glance at He Yilan again, shaking his head even more vigorously in his heart, he thought.

Once he confirmed all team members had regrouped, Chu Xiao reorganized the team.

Impressed by the performance of Bai Luming and He Yilan, he suggested, "How about letting you two take the lead? Those shots just now were really impressive—so accurate. You must have aced your shooting class, right?"

Bai Luming's triple denial: "Won’t take the lead, not accurate, just pure luck, shooting class grades are low, barely passed the exam."

He Yilan: "Yeah, same here."

Chu Xiao’s eyes went wide as dinner plates. A gust of wind blew, making his curly hair flutter wildly on his head: "I didn’t study much, but don't you try to fool me! Could those shots just now really have been pure luck?"

"Yeah, if you don’t believe me, you can check our score reports when we get back," Bai Luming replied. "When your luck is as good as ours, you'll be able to do it too."

Chu Xiao fell silent for a long time, then began reflecting on himself: "Could it be that I’ve never passed my shooting class because of luck? Now that you mention it... I really have been pretty unlucky since I was born."

Bai Luming glanced over with a smile, then satisfied, withdrew his gaze.

Good, he’d managed to fool another one completely.

He followed behind Chu Xiao toward the supply depot, raised his eyes, and let his gaze fall on the other’s wrist, which was already hidden in his sleeve. He asked casually, "Have you undergone mechanical modification?"

Although it was only for a brief moment, Bai Luming had seen it clearly—even though Chu Xiao’s shooting skills were lacking, his combat ability up close was as sharp as a wild wolf’s. The cold weapon blade that switched out from his arm was drawn swiftly, and the process of eliminating opponents was crisp and efficient.

Hearing this, Chu Xiao didn’t turn around but smiled, revealing most of his arm covered in black metal: "Yeah, when I was a kid, I was too naughty and ran out, just happened to run into a Zerg swarm. They chewed off most of my hand. Luckily, they managed to reattach the arm in the end, so I kept my life."

He said it lightly, even with a hint of pride: "After getting this arm, hitting people hurts like hell. You have no idea how many people back home envy me. Those who used to bully me all steer clear of me now—it’s made me pretty proud."

Bai Luming: "Sounds quite impressive."

Chu Xiao’s light curly hair fluttered in the wind as he walked. His entire demeanor and tone were flamboyant: "It has to be impressive!"

Since one team had already arrived ahead of them, there weren’t many training medication left at the supply depot.

After dividing them into several portions, Chu Xiao distributed them evenly to each team member, then reported their status to headquarters via communicator.

Bai Luming resting his rifle butt on the ground, leaning on it lazily. He glanced at He Yilan and asked very tactfully, "This habit of yours—not liking to be aimed at with a gun—can you get over it in a short time?"

He Yilan replied: "Not planning to change it for now."

Bai Luming perked up with interest: "Don’t tell me you plan to keep showing off that incredibly lucky marksmanship of yours."

He Yilan replied: "Not planning that either."

Not wanting to be aimed at with a gun, yet not planning to use a gun to solve enemies either, what then? Following He Yilan’s gaze, Bai Luming caught sight of Chu Xiao’s ever-dashing figure not far away, and heard He Yilan continue unhurriedly: "But we can ride on someone's coattails."

Bai Luming immediately understood He Yilan’s meaning, his eyebrows lifting slightly.

Riding on someone's coattails—that sounded perfectly suited for slackers like them, who only barely passed every assessment.

More importantly, it seemed his conscience might actually survive this!

Seeing that Bai Luming had already grasped his intention, He Yilan naturally extended an invitation: "Together, then?"

Bai Luming gave He Yilan an appreciative look: "Now that's what I call a solid plan!"

They exchanged a knowing look and reached a silent agreement.

Not far away, Chu Xiao suddenly felt an unexpected gust of wind and shivered involuntarily, looking around in confusion.

Chu Xiao: "?"

Strange, in this heat, why did he suddenly feel a bit cold?

Just as he was thinking this, the communicator in his hand vibrated twice, and he immediately called out: "Everyone, gather around! Orders are in!"

Bai Luming walked closer and took a look. The brief message appeared on screen: Ambush on site, delay as much as possible.

A realization dawned in his eyes.

As expected, they had been set up as bait.

Or, to put it more directly—they were being used as cannon fodder.