"Me? I'm doing quite well right now. I have a good relationship with my roommates, and my instructor looks after me."
Akabane Tsubaki leaned her shoulder against her phone, her cheek pressed against the screen as she returned to her dormitory. The room was empty, leaving her alone. She spoke to the girl on the other side while changing out of her training uniform.
The metal locker door shut with a thud, and Akabane Tsubaki changed into a set of light casual clothes. She sat on her bed, flipped her phone over, and gazed calmly at the glowing screen.
"Training isn't that hard. I'm not slacking off; I'm being really serious this time!"
"How are things on Yuzu's end?"
Hearing the other girl's words, Akabane Tsubaki paused for a moment.
"Big Sister Tang is having a cold war with Yuzu lately?"
"Eh, why?"
"What did Yuzu do to make Big Sister Tang unhappy this time?"
On the other end of the line, Tang Xin stood before a floor-to-ceiling window, wrapped in a trench coat with her arms crossed. She gazed at the most magnificent building in the center of Oasis City, her eyes reflecting the neon-lit, prosperous night.
Seeing that the other party didn't seem to want to answer the question, Akabane Tsubaki didn't press further. She said with a sigh, "It's all that old witch's fault. I really wanted to join the next competition with everyone."
"Old witch?"
"Ah, nothing, nothing." Realizing she had let something slip, Akabane Tsubaki hurriedly changed the subject. Just then, an assembly alarm blared over the military camp.
"I have something to do right now, so I have to go, Big Sister Tang. Next time we meet, I'll definitely show you a different side of me."
The call ended abruptly. Tang Xin sighed softly and closed her eyes in silence.
Recently, many things had been troubling her, ranging from the various difficulties brought by the miracle in the badlands. Having spent so much time together, she had long grown accustomed to Xu Xiaoyou's personality; she certainly wouldn't stay angry over a trivial matter.
The main issue was that a faint sense of unease had begun to circle in her mind at some unknown point.
Where did this unease even come from?
Inside the military camp, soldiers who heard the assembly order began to mobilize. For a moment, the sounds of footsteps were chaotic as everyone ran toward the same direction.
As Akabane Tsubaki rushed to the training ground, she noticed a small squad moving against the flow of the crowd, hurrying toward a cluster of trees outside the barracks.
She recognized the squad leader, Celine.
Akabane Tsubaki frowned slightly in confusion. After a brief moment of thought, she shook her head and continued following the flow of people.
A few minutes later, thousands of soldiers and officers stood ready on the training ground. Seen from above, the neat arrays divided the area into several distinct sections. One's gaze would naturally focus on one of those patches.
"Assembly complete! Each squad, sound off!" Snow Crow Ji shouted from the platform.
A square formation of nearly a hundred people responded as the squad leaders began clearing their ranks.
"Jackdaw squad, all present."
"Forest Sheep squad, all present."
"Clear Egret squad, all present..."
"Desert Fox squad..."
"Red Glow squad, all present!" Akabane Tsubaki shouted her response after finishing her count.
The firelight from the distant tower city, the woman's serious face, and the scent of gunpowder lingering in the air all signaled that this emergency assembly was far from ordinary. These soldiers, who had yet to truly set foot on a battlefield, were inexplicably tense; it was a surge of excitement that rushed in whenever the thing called order began to crack.
"Where are the people from the Wayfarer squad? Did they actually think they were here for a tour because of their name!?" Snow Crow Ji barked, her brow furrowed.
The soldiers below looked at one another, only then realizing that an entire squad was missing tonight.
"Report! I just saw them heading toward the forest in the southwest," Akabane Tsubaki shouted.
The southwest forest?
That was the fastest route to leave the camp area. At such a critical moment, what was the Wayfarer squad doing going there?
Snow Crow Ji keenly sensed an anomaly and signaled several instructors nearby with her eyes. They nodded and quickly rushed toward the southwest.
Then, Snow Crow Ji cleared her throat, her voice heroic and resonant. "Tonight's situation is urgent, so I'll keep it short. Two more outposts in Devil Tower City have been breached by the Zerg. Most importantly, a team of researchers is heading toward our camp under the protection of an armored convoy. We need to clear the surrounding area as quickly as possible to ensure their route is safe."
"So, are we going to the battlefield?" someone asked instinctively, his voice trembling with a hint of irrepressible excitement.
That was a member of her own team; Akabane Tsubaki heard him clearly.
With someone starting the conversation, a flurry of discussions broke out.
"I've been soaking in the virtual combat room every day; I've been wanting to go out and try the real thing for ages."
"I remember the weak points of those bugs better than anyone!"
It wasn't just her team; it could be said that every squad was currently itching for action.
Snow Crow Ji didn't bother emphasizing the cruelty and discipline of the battlefield to these green recruits again. Under these circumstances, no one would listen. Perhaps after tonight, many faces would be gone; once they experienced the baptism of fire firsthand, they would naturally understand.
But looking at those young, somewhat naive faces, she still couldn't help but shout once more to stop all discussion.
"This is our company's first real combat. I will not participate directly in this operation. All combat matters are to follow the commands of the squad advisors and captains. Let me state this clearly beforehand: this is not a drill. People will die!"
"The rest will be handled by each squad's advisor. Any combat-related issues should go through them. Main force, dismissed!"
"Yes!"
The neat arrays split into dozens of streams of people, dispersing in different directions. Akabane Tsubaki quickly led her team forward, just as a small transport vehicle pulled up in front of them.
"Little ones, get in. You've been cooped up long enough, haven't you? Let me take you out for a spin. Be careful while we're out; don't step on any sentry bug eggs. I can't guarantee you'll all come back alive."
The man had sleepy eyes and a scruffy beard. He looked like he had just woken up and been dragged there. His unkempt appearance made it hard to imagine such a fellow belonging in a military zone.
"Uncle Yin."
Akabane Tsubaki pulled the door open and hopped into the back of the vehicle. Her three team members followed close behind her, either carrying guns or pulling on their Logic Studio combat suits. One of them was even attaching a barrel to the M182 heavy sniper rifle in his arms.
"Hey, you little brat, show some respect. You can call me that normally, but we're in operation now, Private Meijiu. Call me Advisor Yin," Yin Yusheng corrected.
Before long, armored vehicles passed through the checkpoint and drove out of the military camp. Yin Yusheng kept his hands on the steering wheel but still showed no intention of starting the engine. Just as everyone was growing impatient, the man slowly turned around and looked at Akabane Tsubaki.
"Where are we going?"
"You're asking me that?" Akabane Tsubaki was stunned. "Aren't you the advisor?"
"But the higher-ups said that for this operation, everything concerning the Red Glow squad is to be decided by the captain. I'm only responsible for providing combat advice."
"Pick a direction, Captain?"
A heavy weight suddenly settled on her shoulders. Akabane Tsubaki fell silent for a moment, not entirely sure why Snow Crow Ji had made an exception for the Red Glow squad alone. Perhaps it was her brother's idea.
Recalling the anomaly with the Wayfarer squad earlier, she said decisively, "The southwest. We're going to clear the southwest area."
Rate on N.U.
