Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Through the window, the ashen faces of the Nawei soldiers' "corpses" slumped on the ground were clearly visible.

The daylight outside was brilliant, yet it seemed completely blocked by the window. The puddle of filth on the floor made the surroundings feel even more damp and frigid.

The observation room was filled with a subtle silence.

From the moment Chu Xiao racked up 14 points in one go, the attention of the spectators was completely drawn back. They witnessed Chu Xiao's heroic efforts to turn the tide amid the chaotic battle, a performance impressive enough for everyone to remember this young man's name.

What delighted them even more was that, under Ji Xinghan's gambler-like tactical arrangements, Squad 20 actually managed to withstand the subsequent pressure.

The vantage point from above couldn't capture the scenes inside the building. After the viewing operator switched to Bai Luming's first-person perspective, everyone present witnessed his perilous escape in a panic and naturally saw the dirty tactics of the Nawei side focusing their aim on the eyes.

Without a doubt, the blind firing during the backward fall from the window was executed brilliantly. But at this moment, everyone's focus shifted to the subsequent "corpse abuse."

All present were seasoned military veterans, yet after witnessing so many recruitment exercises, this was the first time they had encountered such a situation.

The battle on Squad 20's side had temporarily concluded, and the viewing screen had switched to the more intense struggle over Stronghold 3.

However, while the officers seemed to be watching the screen, their gazes kept drifting subtly toward Cleon's face, trying to gauge the chief officer's attitude toward this malicious incident.

Amid the silence, Liang Deng finally couldn't hold back and cleared his throat. "Ahem! You know, Lu Ming usually acts like he doesn’t care about anything, but when push comes to shove, he’s got quite the temper, huh?"

"Ah, right." Xiao Nuoya, who was usually at odds with Liang Deng, surprisingly agreed this time. "What do you all think? Honestly, I found it pretty satisfying!"

Liang Deng chimed in, "I found it satisfying too! Honestly, those Nawei Military Region folks were asking for it. If it were me..."

Cleon shot Liang Deng a glance. "If it were you, what? Shoot out everyone’s eyes on the spot?"

Liang Deng wisely fell silent under that gaze, muttering under his breath moments later, "Well, young Lu didn’t actually cause any real harm, did he?"

"You were hoping for real harm?" Cleon snorted coldly, shutting Liang Deng up completely. He glanced at the other’s clearly defiant expression. "After all these years in the military, you still don’t understand that discipline comes first? If everyone acted on their temper, hmph."

Others who had been about to speak were immediately silenced by that "hmph."

Cleon took a sip of tea in this atmosphere, placed the lid back on the cup, and set it on the table before speaking again. "However..."

He paused meaningfully. "The exercise rules didn’t specifically prohibit 'corpse abuse.' This should be considered an oversight in the rule-making. Since it wasn’t clarified beforehand, we can’t blame the young trainees. After the exercise, have the management department look into it and add this new clause within reasonable bounds."

Cleon acted as if he didn’t notice the intense gazes fixed on him and motioned, "Let’s continue watching."

On the central viewing screen, a full-scale confrontation was underway near Stronghold 3. The score tally on both sides kept changing, and the trainee side began steadily gaining new points during the chaos.

Taking advantage of the temporary shortage of personnel on the Nawei side, the trainee side, under Ji Xinghan’s direction, pressed their advantage. Using a tactic that gathered almost all their forces, they charged straight toward the next stronghold.

*

"Why do you all seem so angry? What did they do to you just now?"

Back out in the open, only Chu Xiao remained out of the loop.

"Nothing." Bai Luming plopped down on a rock under a tree, glanced at Chu Xiao’s sweat-soaked clothes, and waved him over. "Captain, come take a rest too. There’s probably a tough fight ahead."

"A tough fight!?" Chu Xiao was stunned. "The two hours the commander asked for are almost up. Shouldn’t that count as mission accomplished?"

"Two hours isn’t enough." He Yilan answered him. "The odds of winning still aren’t great."

From the very beginning, he had stood silently to the side as if nothing had happened. Now he spoke calmly, "If we can hold them off for another two hours, it would give us a significant advantage."

He Yilan’s words were directed at Chu Xiao, but his gaze never wavered.

Bai Luming sat casually on the rock, his long legs easily taking up a large area. His gun was placed within easy reach—a subconscious action that revealed habits ingrained over years. This habit, like the pressure he exuded earlier in the room, came naturally from deep within. No matter how harmless he usually appeared, it couldn’t hide the dangerous aura lurking beneath.

No matter how well he disguised it, these habitual postures were the most telling.

Chu Xiao clearly didn’t understand He Yilan’s words, his expression growing even more bewildered. "Huh?"

He Yilan’s gaze was too obvious for Bai Luming to miss, and it gave him a headache.

Hearing Chu Xiao’s soul-deep "huh," he laughed and said, "Good kids don’t ask so many questions."

Then he looked up at He Yilan, raising an eyebrow. "From the sound of it, you really want to win, don’t you?"

"No one likes to lose." He Yilan stared straight into Bai Luming’s eyes. "Weren’t you thinking the same when you drew your gun earlier?"

The sunlight fell, and Bai Luming’s tall figure seemed to plunge straight into the depths of those dark eyes.

Bai Luming didn’t hesitate. He saw his own reflection in those eyes, smiling. "I drew my gun because I have a hatred for stupidity. I simply dislike certain kinds of trash."

Then his tone shifted, and the smile in his eyes deepened. "But you’re not wrong. No one likes to lose."

He Yilan didn’t believe the other was truly convinced by his words. He glanced at Bai Luming but didn’t call him out.

Their conversation ended, but Chu Xiao remained confused. "So we need to stall for another two hours? What do we do? Stay here? There are only three of us now. We can’t hold out for long, right?"

"It’s fine, don’t worry. We can hold out." Bai Luming smiled. "We’ll do our part and leave the rest to fate. All we can hope is that the commander doesn’t let us down."

Chu Xiao still didn’t understand how these two had reached their conclusions. He only knew that after wandering around with them for a while, they once again found themselves face-to-face with Nawei soldiers.

An hour later.

Several figures darted quickly through the bushes, accompanied by sporadic bursts of gunfire.

Everyone’s communicators chimed simultaneously. Chu Xiao, while playing cat and mouse with the Nawei soldiers, eagerly checked the latest order. "Finally, a message..."

He trailed off, surprised by the content. "All units assemble and attack the enemy’s Stronghold 1? Why is our squad excluded from 'all units'?"

"Because," Bai Luming’s leisurely voice responded, "our greatest contribution to the team is simply keeping these guys occupied." The speaker sat high up in a towering tree, leaning against the trunk, his unflappable demeanor a stark contrast to Chu Xiao’s frantic efforts.

The dense foliage perfectly concealed Bai Luming’s figure. Looking down, he had a clear view of Chu Xiao’s position. With a quick glance, he checked Chu Xiao’s location and called out, "Hey, hey, Captain, you’re going too far. Turn north—there’s a bush there. Yes, keep going forward. I’ll cover you."

With that, he chambered a round and fired a few symbolic shots to disrupt the enemy’s focus before fading back into obscurity.

Chu Xiao’s labored breathing burst through the comms. "So, is the firepower we’re drawing enough? Huff... As long as we keep them occupied, can the commander take the enemy stronghold?"

As the pursuers closed in, a volley of bullets struck near his feet. Chu Xiao ducked and dove into a nearby bush, once again slipping out of the enemy’s sight.

He Yilan’s voice came through the communicator. "We can’t take it."

Chu Xiao: "Huh?"

He Yilan: "The enemy is already falling back to defend. We can’t capture Stronghold 1."

After his long jungle parkour session, Chu Xiao blurted out in frustration, "Damn! So all our effort was for nothing?!"

Bai Luming laughed reassuringly. "Don’t worry, it won’t be for nothing. Whether we take Stronghold 1 or not, we can’t win the match. The enemy has four strongholds. Even if we fight tooth and nail, we don’t have the manpower to take the fourth."

Chu Xiao grew more confused. "What do you mean? It won’t be for nothing, but taking the stronghold is useless?"

Bai Luming, bored in the tree, patiently explained. "Because the key to victory was never these insignificant strongholds. It’s..."

He Yilan: "The base."

Hearing He Yilan's addition, Bai Luming smiled, casually tucking a leaf between his lips, his gaze fixed precisely in the direction of the Navi camp's main base.

According to the exercise rules, there were three ways to win, but for the trainee faction to secure victory in this round, breaking through all four strongholds was too ambitious, and completely eliminating the opposing troops was even more hopeless. So, from the very beginning, there had only ever been one option.

Fortunately, the last order had conveyed a very good message.

Concentrating the attack on Stronghold No. 1—it seemed that Ji Xinghan, in the commander position, had identified the key point.

Now, it all came down to whether they could seize this one and only opportunity.

He withdrew his gaze and glanced over, continuing to egg on: "Captain, run faster! If you don't hurry, the people behind you are about to catch up."

"I'm running, I'm running!" Chu Xiao's breathing grew heavier from the sprint, and it was only now that he finally caught on, "Wait a minute, you said we could hold them off—but it's just me doing all the work!?"

Bai Luming replied without missing a beat: "Well, it's because the two of us are too useless, so all we can do is provide cover for you from the tree."

He Yilan: "Indeed. To the capable fall more tasks."

Chu Xiao: "Oh..."

Is that how it is?

Why does it still feel a bit off?

*

The all-out assault, assembled at the fastest possible speed, undoubtedly achieved excellent results.

The opposing side seemed to underestimate them, not rushing to seize the strongholds, which allowed the trainee faction to pull off a surprise attack and capture two strongholds. However, this gain also came at a cost—so far, out of the original 200 troops, fewer than 80 remained.

"Commander, our Stronghold No. 2 is under attack!"

"It's fine, ignore it."

Hearing the feedback from others in the command post, Ji Xinghan stood before the central command console, his tone still calm despite the intensely tense situation.

"Enemy faction reinforcements have arrived. Their numbers... are about twice ours."

"Received." Ji Xinghan glanced at the dense cluster of blips on the radar. Seeing the enemy's excessively rapid fallback, he showed no urgency at all—instead, he seemed quite satisfied with the outcome. "How are the preparations on that side?"

The communications officer replied: "Everything is ready."

"Good." A hint of deeper meaning flashed in Ji Xinghan's profound eyes. "Issue the order: all personnel, advance en masse."

With that command, the entire trainee faction launched a full-scale assault on Stronghold No. 1.

The same battle situation was relayed to the Navi camp's base. The commander, Legrey, sneered with a trace of mockery in his eyes: "Rookies, after all—they just can't help being impulsive."

His scornful words couldn't conceal his rather foul mood, and the atmosphere in the entire command post was equally tense.

Legrey truly hadn't expected that, although everything had been normal since the exercise began, somehow, after he tried to deal with that squad that popped up out of nowhere on the opposing side, things had started spiraling out of control.

Just a few rats—they should have been easily taken out. Who would have thought that wet-behind-the-ears commander from the opposing faction would dare to fight so boldly? Taking advantage of the fact that Legrey had gradually dispatched several teams, he launched a direct assault.

Fortunately, the threat had been neutralized. All teams had completed their fallback under his arrangement. With the remaining forces of the rookie faction, there was no way they could cause any more trouble.

Thinking of this, Legrey's expression softened slightly. Noticing the hesitant look on the messenger's face, he snapped impatiently, "What's with that expression? Spit it out if you have something to say!"

The messenger asked: "Commander, the frontline status has stabilized. When do you think we should recall the team stationed at the base?"

"Recall them for what? The opposing ranks have already been completely broken. Chase them! Take this opportunity to keep pursuing!" Legrey laughed. "Their main force is gone, only about thirty rookies left—what threat could they pose? No need to keep playing with them. Let's wrap this up early and get some rest."

The messenger thought for a moment and nodded: "You're right."

The command room door opened. A soldier wearing the Navi camp uniform entered, carrying a stack of data documents: "These are the freshly generated combat data. Where should I put them?"

The messenger, completely focused on the monitoring room, replied without turning his head: "Just leave them on the table."

"Okay."

The soldier reached out and placed the documents on the table, one by one.

The messenger accidentally glanced up and caught sight of the soldier's well-defined knuckles. He paused slightly: "You..."

Just as he was about to look up, a series of dense alarm sounds suddenly blared, and red warning lights instantly flooded the command room.

The messenger's face changed. He quickly verified: "Not good—breach detected at Gate B."

With those words, the atmosphere instantly grew tense.

"Quickly redirect surveillance!" "Breach detected at Gate C!" "No—the hostiles have already infiltrated!" "Attention! All personnel, attention!"

Before they could pinpoint the intrusion location, a loud "Kaboom—!" echoed as thick smoke exploded at the entrance of the main command headquarters.

Dense smoke instantly engulfed the entire command room. Gunfire erupted everywhere, and the surroundings descended into chaos.

Damn it, the audacity! Those little brats actually broke into their command headquarters?!

Legrey grabbed his gun and laid down suppressing fire toward the door through the impaired visibility, every shot finding its target.

Detecting motion, he adjusted his aim, only to hear someone ask from behind him: "Commander, could you lend me a hand?"

"A favor? Can't you see I'm busy—"

Legrey's words cut off abruptly. He could feel the cold steel pressed firmly against his waist.

Someone from the enemy faction? When did they enter the command room?!

Before Legrey could think further, a voice as smooth as silk brushed past his ear: "It's very simple—just help make a choice."

The words felt like an ice-cold blade, grazing just past Legrey's ear: "Tell me, which do you think is better: letting us take this base, or killing you first and then taking the base?"

The tone sounded almost as if it were part of an intimate whisper.

The surroundings had descended into full-blown chaos. With vision obscured, no one noticed this quiet exchange.

Thick smoke nearly obscured all vision. Legrey tilted his head slightly and could only make out the military emblem on the other's cap—clearly belonging to their own faction—and a pair of mesmerizing, peach-blossom eyes that were hard to conceal even in the fog.

His fingers tightened around the grip of the gun: "I choose..."

Before the trailing syllable faded, he spun around, grabbing the other's wrist with force, intending to flip them. But the other's reaction speed was just as quick.

Just as he slammed the opponent to the ground, he took return fire.

Lying on the ground, Legrey finally got a good look at the person's appearance.

The other rubbed their wrist joint, sore from the grip he'd gripped too hard, as if merely meting out punishment for his lack of cooperation: "Really, not very cooperative."

Slender fingers danced across the console amid the gunfire until the final button was pressed.

The self-destruct system initiated.

Intense flames erupted above the Navi faction's base.

The red blaze illuminated half of the combat exercises battlefield, and clashes everywhere seemed to freeze in place.

On a tree trunk nearby, Bai Luming caught sight of this signal marking the end of it all and whistled with satisfaction: "Now that's what I call a show!"

Navi faction base was destroyed.

Trainee Faction victorious.