Chapter 45

Chapter 45

In the No. 2 indoor training hall of JA16 District, Yanbei, the clamor of voices echoed under the high dome.

This was the first true group training session for St. Mary's students.

But Yanbei Base seemed to be up to something again, suddenly issuing a notice requiring Combat Department recruits to train alongside the students.

Inside the venue, members of the Combat Department, dressed in blue training uniforms, stood scattered and apart, separated from the St. Mary's students in their iris-patterned training uniforms by a clear dividing line.

When Meng Shijiu first walked in, he had to pass through the area occupied by the Combat Department members.

Upon seeing him, the Combat Department trainees parted like waves, almost automatically clearing a path for him.

Jing Shu, standing nearby, didn't hesitate. He walked over as soon as he saw Meng Shijiu.

Meng Shijiu walked slowly and was easily intercepted. Several Combat Department members behind Jing Shu also followed him over.

Jing Shu extended his hand towards the fair-skinned Alpha: "Hello. I'm Jing Shu, the temporary captain of the new recruits in the Combat Department."

Another round of handshakes.

Meng Shijiu glanced at this Alpha captain with a somewhat cold expression.

His features were finely sharp. The distance he stopped at in front of Meng Shijiu was chosen perfectly; Meng Shijiu barely had to look up to meet his gaze.

The silver-haired Alpha reached out, briefly shook the offered palm, and quickly withdrew his hand: "Hello."

Jing Shu withdrew his hand impassively.

From this angle, he could clearly see the silver-haired Alpha before him blinking lazily now and then, the rhythm reminiscent of a cat dozing in the afternoon, or perhaps simply boredom with everything around him.

The silver-haired Alpha's voice seemed to blend with the slightly hoarse "hello" from last night. Jing Shu's original intention was merely to get to know him, but now he inexplicably felt a bit hesitant, wondering if his approach was too forward.

All the usual social niceties suddenly felt useless. Jing Shu said, "You're very skilled."

Meng Shijiu slowly glanced at him, thinking this was some perfunctory mutual flattery, and tucked his hands back into his pockets:

"Thanks, you too, Captain Jing..."

Hearing this slightly teasing "Captain Jing," Jing Shu felt his ears heat up a little. He tried his best to keep a straight face and said calmly, "Can I ask how you found me last night?"

Meng Shijiu: "Sure."

Jing Shu waited patiently for his answer.

But the silver-haired Alpha before him seemed distracted for a few seconds. His long eyelashes occasionally lowered, casting fragmented shadows in his light-colored pupils, like a light, busy spring rain.

Meng Shijiu: "But on one condition."

His voice wasn't loud, and with the surrounding noise, Jing Shu instinctively leaned in a couple of steps, lowering his body to hear Meng Shijiu's voice, which had become even softer:

"...Can I ride on your coattails, Captain Jing?"

Jing Shu: "?"

Meng Shijiu felt a bit guilty as he said it, his evasive glance flickering like butterfly wings.

Jing Shu: "What do you want me to do?"

Meng Shijiu continued in a hushed tone: "You don't need to do anything. I just want to slack off. Be my cover, will you?"

Jing Shu also lowered his voice, following his lead: "We're not on the same team. How can I cover for you?"

What Meng Shijiu thought in his heart perfectly matched what he said aloud: "So what?"

Jing Shu raised an eyebrow: "You're directly bribing the captain?"

Meng Shijiu: "So what?"

Jing Shu made a concerted effort, finally managing to keep up his usual cool facade: "...That's fine."

Before Jing Shu could straighten up, Meng Shijiu grabbed his arm:

"As for how I found you, I posted it on our school forum. You can go check it out."

Jing Shu finally straightened up but didn't step back, looking down at him: "But I don't have an account for your forum. Can we swap info?"

All the surrounding Combat Department members wore expressions of shock: Wow, the captain is already asking for his contact info?!

Meng Shijiu smiled: "Sure, but let's add it later. I didn't bring my terminal."

Perhaps surprised by how easygoing he was, several Combat Department members who had been staying on the sidelines now all crowded around, striking up conversations with Meng Shijiu.

Jing Shu stood by and listened but didn't stop them.

"—Can I call you Shijiu?"

Someone nearby immediately nudged the person who asked: "What 'Shijiu'? That's not for you to call! Call him 'bro' if anything!"

"In that case, should we call him Meng-ge or Jiu-ge? Speaking of which, Shijiu, you're probably younger than all of us, right?"

"What, you want him to call *you* brother? Ooh, you shameless thing."

"So what? Shijiu hasn't said anything. Who are you to speak?"

"Shijiu, you're really amazing. Last night was too cool, you solo-killed the captain..."

"Yeah, yeah, so badass!"

"..."

Meng Shijiu raised an eyebrow: "—How come I heard that right after the match ended yesterday, everyone was calling for me to come out and 'teach me a lesson'?"

The surrounding Combat Department members were struck with half a second of awkward silence, then immediately started backpedaling—

"Hahaha, who said that? No such thing, absolutely not..."

"Slander! Pure slander! Shijiu, you have to believe us, don't believe the rumors!!"

"Exactly, exactly! We like you the most. You played well, did great!!! We just love getting beaten up, right, guys?"

"—YES!!!"

"..."

Meng Shijiu smiled: "Hmm, how principled."

This smile was stunningly beautiful, like the brilliant light refracted when ice first cracks, with a hint of casual, breathtaking charm. The corners of his eyes curved slightly, and even the arc of his lifted lips radiated a lazy, carefree ease.

The surrounding team members were momentarily dumbstruck.

But after a few seconds of silence, the barrage of chatter erupted once again.

"..."

"...Shi Jiu, why don't you join our Combat Department?"

"Join us! Shi Jiu, do you need a sparring partner? I can take a beating!!"

"Yeah, what's so great about St. Mary's? Come to us, the gear is yours for the picking!"

"Shi Jiu, if you come, I'll give you my entire stipend next month!!"

"..."

Seeing the conversation getting more and more absurd, Jing Shu's temple twitched: "Quiet, all of you. One more word and your training workload doubles when we get back."

"...Captain Jing, you're truly heartless!"

"Brother Jing, you're just jealous, aren't you?"

"..."

But intimidated by Jing Shu's authority, the Combat Department members quickly fell silent.

The vice-captain chuckled: "Shi Jiu, you don't know, last night our captain kept waiting for you to come out. When you didn't, he was so furious he went back and added extra training until 2 a.m."

Jing Shu shot him a cold glance: "You, add another half hour of training before you eat."

The strapping new recruits of the Combat Department surrounded the silver-haired Alpha so densely, layer upon layer, that not a single strand of hair could be seen.

—They completely failed to notice the St. Mary's students nearby, whose aura had dropped so low it was practically snowing.

Ying Canglun had spotted Meng Shijiu from afar and witnessed the entire process of the Blue Team striking up a conversation with him. Now, he was typing coldly with a detached air—

"Most Meaningful Group Chat in the Universe ⑦ (Full)"

Open the Door (Group Owner): "I can't take it anymore!!!!"

"Me neither, have they no sense of boundaries? I'm really fed up with this Combat Department."

"Exactly, 19 is clearly ours."

"It must be because I wasn't ruthless enough last night."

"It's too much, hogging our 19 like this."

"Shameless."

"Shameless."

"Shameless" ×99+

"Kill them all"

"Kill them all"

"Kill them all" ×99+

...

Many students had already gathered in front of the notification platform at the front, but the stage itself was empty, save for an Alpha in a crisp military uniform sitting casually at the edge.

His collar was buttoned meticulously, yet his posture exuded a careless nonchalance—black hair, black eyes, one leg propped up, a hand in his pocket, his gaze lazily sweeping over the students in the field as if appraising them, or perhaps just killing time.

But not a single Combat Department student failed to recognize him.

—If Wen Hui simply enjoyed inflicting both physical and psychological torment on students to temper them, then Jiang Yuanfen was purely inhumane.

This purity stemmed from Jiang Yuanfen's lack of purpose.

At least with Wen Hui's training matches, you'd get a graded answer sheet afterward. Jiang Yuanfen's training matches required you to find the rules yourself.

No question stem, and you had to find the test paper yourself.

However, compared to this almost bizarre competition format, the training programs he designed on a daily basis could be considered downright plain and simple—

Jiang Yuanfen barked at the noisy crowd:

"—Quiet."

He pushed off the stage with one hand, leaping nimbly onto the high platform. The sharp, clear sound of his military boots landing on the stage echoed, and the entire training ground fell completely silent.

Jiang Yuanfen's voice came through clearly: "Jing Shu. First, organize everyone to run twenty laps around the track, then come over."

Upon hearing this.

The Combat Department students took it in stride, utterly unfazed.

The St. Mary's students: ? What the hell?

Meng Shijiu's lips stiffened: More running???

Meng Shijiu: No, no, no, wait, wait, this isn't right, is it?

...Meng Shijiu sadly realized that if he stayed any longer in this godforsaken Yanbei, he might end up wanting to abuse his authority even more than Qian Chunyan.

Meng Shijiu's gaze shifted to Jing Shu, who, upon hearing the order, immediately began organizing members from both sides.

Sensing his gaze, Jing Shu looked back, his eyes asking: What?

Meng Shijiu shook his head.

Meng Shijiu: ...Nothing. It's just that even walking hurts now. He had already tallied grudge after grudge against Lucas, Pei Ruji, Zong Geman, and Wen Qiuyu.

Just as he turned to head back to his team, someone suddenly pressed a hand on his shoulder, forcibly turning him halfway around.

Cui Suifu leaned in extremely close, his shadow completely enveloping Meng Shijiu, their noses almost touching. He squinted, scrutinizing his expression, and even sniffed as if checking for a scent.

—No trace of those Combat Department new recruits' pheromones. Satisfied, Cui Suifu straightened up.

Cui Suifu: "Where are you running off to again?"

Meng Shijiu swatted his hand away and snorted twice: "Anywhere, just not Yanbei."

Meng Shijiu muttered quietly: "At this time yesterday, I had just finished running."

Cui Suifu laughed: "Legs sore? That shouldn't be, with an Alpha's recovery ability..."

As an idea struck him, Cui Suifu shifted his tone, lowering his voice: "Then do you want to make a break for it?"

Meng Shijiu: "What?"

Cui Suifu: "Escape."

The hand that had been swatted away somehow found its way back to his shoulder, his face almost pressed against his ear as he whispered intimately: "Based on Jiang Yuanfen's typical drill, after the run there's probably something even more brutal waiting. Are you sure, when you can barely walk, you still want to put up with more?"

It was practically a blatant invitation.

Cui Suifu's fingertips lightly rubbed his shoulder: "If we get caught, just say I threatened you."

Meng Shijiu swatted away his mischievous hand again: "Quit trying to cop a feel."

That meant he agreed. Cui Suifu gave a wild, unrestrained grin, revealing his canine teeth.

...

Meng Shijiu's getaway was actually quite obvious.

Not because the method of sneaking away was particularly brazen, but simply because that lazy figure stood out in the crowd like a beacon—conspicuous when present, and equally impossible to ignore when gone.

Jing Shu kept to himself, eyes fixed on the roster. When checking the names, his gaze coolly slid past Meng Shijiu's, pretending he was blind.

What else could he do—he'd already agreed to have his back, Jing Shu mused coldly.

Then he decisively marked a demerit against Cui Suifu.

So what? That's the captain's duty, Jing Shu told himself sternly.