Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The handsome man was clearly at a loss for words regarding Bai Luming's overly familiar demeanor and asked again, "Who exactly are you?"

Bai Luming extended the hand that had just touched the man's chest, politely and courteously. "Hello, I'm Lu Ming. Are you looking for our squad captain?"

The handsome man evidently recognized the name "Lu Ming" and, hearing "our squad captain," understood the situation. He reached out and shook hands. "So the one next to you must be Yi Lan? Your Squad 20 seems to have a good rapport."

He also shook hands with He Yilan and introduced himself, "Hello, I'm Tang Ruyan."

Bai Luming was genuinely surprised. "So you're Tang Ruyan."

Chu Xiao was even more astonished. "You're the one ranked first, ahead of me!?"

"Yes, that's me," Tang Ruyan replied, though a hint of frustration crossed his face. "But this first place is in name only. If I hadn’t been assigned to lead a team to sneak attack the enemy base and didn’t get those last 40 bonus points, I wouldn’t have made it to this position. I originally wanted to see who managed to score 26 points just from eliminations, but I never expected…" He cast a deep glance at Chu Xiao before continuing, "...someone so young."

"Well, every generation produces new talents. Our squad captain is incredibly strong!" Bai Luming chimed in lightly, subtly praising him while downplaying his own role.

The atmosphere was lively.

Just then, Ji Xinghan walked into the training ground and immediately spotted Tang Ruyan’s striking teal-blue hair.

Several elite squads had previously undergone independent training with the command group, so Ji Xinghan naturally knew Tang Ruyan, but he hadn’t met the others with him.

Before he could ponder further, he heard his companion Pei Suqi "tsk." "That kid’s doing well for himself now, even hanging out with Tang Ruyan."

Ji Xinghan asked, "You know him?"

"Of course. I told you about him before—the mechanic who fixed my mech." Pei Suqi gestured with his chin. "See, the one with silver-gray hair. His name is Lu Ming, and he’s also in Squad 20. Don’t know what kind of luck he had to score so many points. I worked my ass off just to get 3 points. I’m not even sure if Colonel Xiao will accept me when I apply for the Infantry Department later."

Ji Xinghan remarked calmly, "So that’s Lu Ming."

In that case, the other two next to him must be Chu Xiao and Yi Lan from the list.

During the exercise assessment, Ji Xinghan had issued commands remotely and hadn’t formally met the members of Squad 20.

He thought for a moment and was about to approach when someone behind him barked sternly, "Move aside."

Ji Xinghan turned around and saw the military patches of the Nawei Military Region on these people’s uniforms.

The officer at the front wore the shoulder insignia of a colonel, which was enough to identify him—this must be the head of the exchange unit, Colonel Legrey.

Ji Xinghan’s gaze swept calmly over the group. He grabbed Pei Suqi’s collar and pulled him back, stepping aside without expression.

The people from the Nawei Military Region meant business, and others soon noticed the change in atmosphere. The training ground, which had been bustling with noise just moments before, went quiet.

Legrey stood at the entrance for a moment before striding determinedly in the direction pointed out by someone beside him.

All eyes in the training ground followed them as the group stopped at the corner where Bai Luming was.

Bai Luming had been boasting to Tang Ruyan about Chu Xiao’s exploits as squad captain when he sensed something and turned around. A lineup of imposing figures came into view.

Bai Luming: "Hmm?"

His eyes casually glanced at the shoulder insignia of the man at the front, and he flashed a smooth smile. "Colonel, are you looking for me?"

Before Legrey could speak, a soldier beside him cut in sharply, "Colonel, it’s him! He’s the one who violated the rules during the exercise! He must be punished according to military regulations!"

Bai Luming looked at the soldier’s unremarkable face but couldn’t recall who he was.

It wasn’t until he frowned and thought for a long time that he finally recognized him—this was the soldier he’d pointed his gun at during the assessment.

The discovery made Bai Luming’s eyes light up with recognition.

"Well, look who it is! My old buddy!"

Bai Luming’s smile deepened as he stuck his hands into his pockets and took two steps forward. His gaze lingered pointedly on the soldier’s pants, and he said with fake familiarity, "Long time no see. Nice new pants."

Tang Ruyan, curious about this behavior, asked He Yilan beside him, "You even know people from the Nawei Military Region?"

"Yeah, we know them," He Yilan replied. "Very well."

The soldier was already fuming at Bai Luming’s sarcastic remark, and the exchange nearly made him burst a blood vessel. "You cadets think you’re so arrogant here? Just wait—we’ll make you pay for this soon!"

Tang Ruyan: "?"

Tang Ruyan pointed at himself in confusion.

Could his face really be seen as arrogant?

Bai Luming lazily lifted an eyebrow at the soldier’s words and narrowed his eyes as he looked over. "How exactly do you plan to settle the score?"

The moment their eyes met, the Nawei soldier felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head. An involuntary shudder ran through him, dousing his anger completely.

It was as if an invisible hand had gripped his throat, and the words he’d meant to say got stuck in his mouth.

Bai Luming quickly replaced his expression with an amiable smile, his tone even hinting at anticipation as he coaxed, "Come on, tell me. Are you going to kick me out of the fortress? Or ban me from enlisting for life?"

"Kid, you really are too arrogant." Legrey had originally intended to use the soldier’s incident as an excuse to cause trouble, but now he was provoked by Bai Luming’s blatantly dismissive attitude.

He frowned and took a step forward, reaching out toward Bai Luming, when suddenly someone stepped in to shield him.

Seeing the person who had abruptly blocked his path, Legrey’s patience wore even thinner. "And who are you?"

He Yilan met his gaze. "Yi Lan."

Bai Luming was also surprised that He Yilan had stepped in front of him.

This way of jumping in was a bit too straightforward. Although he completely understood the desire to be kicked out as soon as possible, this guy wasn’t even trying to hide his intention to share in the punishment.

"Not bad. This group of recruits from 6616 is really something." Legrey’s face broke into a cold smile. "It seems the instructors here don’t know how to keep people in line. In that case, let me teach them how."

Hearing this, the previously intimidated soldier regained his confidence, straightening his posture and fully embodying the phrase "like a dog acting tough when its master is around."

He expected to see Bai Luming show some sign of submission, but instead, the other’s eyes clearly lit up, and he agreed with apparent sincerity, "Yes, I also think I’m particularly hard to discipline. Colonel Legrey, right? In this matter, you must punish me severely. Corporal punishment would be too easy—if you don’t kick me out of the fortress, it won’t reflect your authority!"

This was already the second time Bai Luming had brought up being kicked out of the fortress. The first time, Legrey thought he was just being arrogantly stubborn, but this time he finally sensed something else going on. "You…"

Why did it feel like this kid was eagerly looking forward to being kicked out?

"Who said anything about kicking anyone out of our fortress?"

As the voice came from afar, the officers of Fortress 6616, led by Cleon, entered the training ground from outside. Their tall, straight figures came into view, making the cadets who had been whispering on the sidelines brighten up, feeling instantly backed and full of confidence, their spines straightening in unison.

Cleon strode up to Legrey, his attitude still relatively polite. "Colonel Legrey, your team has been too busy to engage in exchange exercises since arriving at our fortress. I thought something must have been holding you up. But now it seems you’re quite free—not only accompanying our cadets in exercise assessments but also planning to take over disciplinary matters."

The mention of "exercise assessment," which Cleon subtly brought up, made Legrey’s expression even more uncomfortable.

He let out a low, derisive snort, his expression grim: “It has nothing to do with being busy—I’m here to get answers for our soldiers. Cleon, don’t tell me you’re unaware of what happened during the assessment. If I hadn’t come, were you planning to sweep what happened on the field under the rug?”

Cleon replied, “Of course not. An act like corpse desecration is absolutely unacceptable to us. Friendly exchanges must always conclude at the appropriate point.”

As his calm words settled, the surroundings erupted into an uproar.

The cadets had just been speculating about how Bai Luming and the others had offended the Nawei Military Region—never imagining that an incident involving corpse desecration had actually occurred during the assessment.

There’s no excuse for this—what audacity!

You have to understand: those were the honored fallen soldiers of the Nawei Military Region!

Bai Luming stood off to the side, increasingly aware of respectful glances settling upon him.

Bai Luming: “…”

Staying low-key really does seem extraordinarily difficult.

Legrey looked at Cleon, waiting for an explanation: “Oh? And how exactly do you plan to handle this?”

Cleon smiled faintly: “I’ve already summoned the Regulations Department over such a major oversight—leaving such a loophole in the rules. So immediately after the assessment concluded, they began revising the regulations. I’m confident an incident like this will never recur.”

Legrey sneered, “That’s it?”

Cleon nodded. “Yes—that’s it.”

Legrey narrowed his eyes threateningly: “Is this how Fortress 6616 covers for its cadets?”

Liang Deng, who had been listening from behind, finally lost his temper: “Hey—what business is it of yours?”

He was about to continue, but Cleon raised a hand to stop him.

Cleon turned to Legrey, his expression still composed: “Of course, if your command holds that even provisions not yet formally codified must be strictly observed, that stance is perfectly acceptable.”

He glanced sideways at the Nawei Military Region soldiers, his tone unhurried: “Coincidentally, during this revision, I added several new provisions to the Rules of Engagement—including, but not limited to, strict prohibitions against malicious harassment or harm inflicted upon opponents. I can impose severe disciplinary action on these cadets. On your end—will you likewise take corresponding measures for having overlooked such conduct during the drills?”

Legrey: “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You don’t know?” Cleon chuckled lightly. “All exercise records have been archived. If I submit them to the local military administration, I’m certain they’ll deliver a most interesting evaluation.”

Legrey: “…”

Cleon clapped Legrey lightly on the shoulder: “We’re sister units under the same command. The Nawei Military Region has always been a valued partner of our 6616 Military Region. I look forward to more exchanges with you in the future—don’t you agree, Legrey?”

After a long silence, Legrey forced a strained smile: “You’re right.”

He cast a sidelong glance at the cadets, who were clearly watching the entire exchange, then waved to the soldiers behind him: “Let’s go.”

As the Nawei Military Region troops departed, the atmosphere on the field visibly lightened.

Cleon watched until their figures vanished entirely from view, then turned back.

He had intended to offer words of encouragement to the cadets who had performed well—but paused when his gaze fell on Bai Luming.

Rather than the expected look of relief, Bai Luming appeared utterly deflated—even gazing in the direction the Nawei Military Region delegation had left with something akin to… longing?

Cleon: “?”

Had he been insufficiently considerate toward his subordinates just now?

A moment later, he cleared his throat softly, discreetly easing the awkwardness: “Prepare for the branch assignment ceremony.”