Chen Xiaochen got injured during training in the afternoon, and Wen Zheng took him to the medical department and stayed with him for two hours. There wasn't much food left in the cafeteria.
He declined the aunt's offer to make him a separate meal, and simply got himself a bowl of porridge.
Most of the lights in the cafeteria were off, and at 9:30 p.m., no one was still eating. The huge space felt exceptionally empty and deserted.
Wen Zheng put down the porridge, feeling inexplicably down. After hesitating for a moment, he picked up the bowl and decided to go back to his dormitory to eat.
He had only been living and eating with Bei Sining for a month, but he had already gotten used to it. Even when she wasn't around, he knew she was at the base, and the feeling was different from now.
Weakness.
Wen Zheng reflected on his actions and entered the house. Sensing the owner's return, the lights inside turned on.
"Huh?" Wen Zheng was surprised: "When did you get back?"
Wen Zheng's dormitory was a small suite. Bei Sining was sitting on the bed in the inner room, angrily typing on her phone. Wen Zheng could hear the clattering sound even from the doorway... It's not a keyboard, is this phone even usable?
"Wait a minute! I'm busy with important things!" Bei Sining shouted, her attention completely focused on the small screen.
Wen Zheng put down the porridge and walked over, his mood rising all the way. When he bent down to look at his screen, a smile involuntarily appeared on his face.
The screen displays the Weibo interface.
...Hmm? Weibo? ??
"This idiot, this moron, dares to curse me!? I'll curse him to death!" Bei Sining was extremely excited, her face flushed with excitement.
"……" Wen Zheng stared at the message and quickly understood the situation. After all, he had been immersed in the internet for so many years, and he knew that this was a minor matter and could be ignored. Usually, he would receive all kinds of insults in his private messages, so he had set them to block them. The more you paid attention to this kind of person, the more enthusiastic they became.
I originally wanted to advise Bei Sining to stop watching, but seeing how energetic he was, I found it amusing.
However, Wen Zheng still took the phone from his hand, after all, getting angry is bad for your health!
"I'll help you." He said, and as Bei Sining's increasingly shocked and complicated gaze grew, he typed "I'm ￥!!#*&& (140 characters omitted)", sent it, blocked him, and reported him all in one go.
"Alright." Wen Zheng handed the phone back and stroked the cat-like creature's soft hair. "Have you had dinner yet?"
“…Hmm.” Bei Sining hadn’t reacted yet, hesitated, and finally locked her phone and threw it aside, then stood up and stretched.
Something came to mind, and I started to feel annoyed again.
"Aren't you angry? You've done so much, and they still scold you." Bei Sining frowned.
“Ah,” Wen Zheng opened the bowl of porridge and placed it on the coffee table. He turned to look at him and said calmly, “They will find out. When the time comes, they’ll make them pay for everything: the keyboard and mouse sets, the streaking, the performance of swallowing three pounds of seawater, the eating shit.”
Bei Sining's eyes lit up, and she decided to take a small notebook and write everything down.
Author's Note: Ningning: Why does your typing show up as gibberish on Jinjiang? How can Jinjiang's young readers experience the impact of your words up close?
Zhengzheng: They didn't insult you or me, so there's no need to feel anything.
(I'll consider this as the second update for now... I'll write another chapter if I have time, but even if I do, it will be after 1 a.m. I can try refreshing it tomorrow morning! There might be typos, I'll come back and correct them =33=)
Chapter 87
Two months later, only 96 trainees remained, entering the final stage of selection. They trained separately during the week.
Wen Zheng, carrying Captain Luo's message, went to the fighting gym to find Bai Shuang.
Bai Shuang is injured and cannot participate in Wen Zheng's physical training. She usually appears and disappears mysteriously, sometimes showing up at the training ground dressed coolly with an ice cream in hand, and even bringing her own small stool to sit on, making her a master at drawing hatred.
Several of Wen Zheng's junior team members, led by Wang Weina, grind their teeth every time they see a tooth, and now they've chipped off a corner of it.
Later, Bai Shuang realized that if she continued to show off, she would be put in a sack, so she volunteered to lead the selected trainees and practice their basics.
Wen Zheng pushed open the door and went in, and saw more than a dozen people stretching their ligaments with a look of utter despair, their limbs intertwined in an obscene manner.
The person in the middle bent backward, supporting himself on his hands and feet to form an arch bridge. Bai Shuang shamelessly used his stomach as a bed, playing with his phone in both hands, his legs off the ground. He used a little force to cross his legs and lift them up, putting all his weight on the person bending backward.
He couldn't resist teasing her: "Hey, it's not smooth enough. Don't stick your hips up, you're hurting me... Hmm, lower it a bit, make it rounder, so I can lie down more comfortably... Oh, my old back, I can't deny I'm getting old... Hey, you there, pass me the water."
Wen Zheng: "…………"
Wen Zheng took the bottle of water from the junior team member who dared not speak out, unscrewed the cap, and poured it over Bai Shuang. Bai Shuang jumped up with a scream: "Damn it!"
"Get up," Wen Zheng said irritably, then looked at the ravaged team member who was like a dead fish, and asked in surprise, "Xu Qian?"
Xu Qian's face was pale and he was covered in sweat. He was finally able to sit up in a normal posture and looked at Wen Zheng with gratitude.
To be honest, he felt that if he kept going, he would die suddenly.
In this light, Instructor Wen is still the best, Xu Qian thought to himself...
"I didn't know you could do it for so long, not bad. I wasn't strict enough, I should have let Bai Shuang come sooner," Wen Zheng said approvingly.
Xu Qian felt a mouthful of blood stuck in his throat.
"What brings you here all of a sudden?" Bai Shuang dried herself with a towel, leaned softly against the wire mesh railing, and smiled, her eyes crinkling. "Missed me?"
"Team Leader Luo came to inform us that there will be an assessment tomorrow." Wen Zheng glanced at the bewildered trainees and simply said, "The counselor will come to your dorms tonight to explain the details. Just know that it's an assessment."
"The assessment is already here!?" Xu Qian was shocked. He was exhausted every day, and it felt like he had just entered the Beihai Base yesterday. How could there be an assessment already?
“You still need to practice for a while, which doesn’t conflict with the assessment. The main thing is that we’ll assess you, and you can participate to see how big the gap is.” Wen Zheng felt a bit hot and tugged at his collar. “You guys practice on your own.” He then turned to Bai Shuang. “Team Leader Luo wants to see you.”
Bai Shuang, wearing a towel on her head, went out with Wen Zheng.
It's the coldest time of year now, with a huge temperature difference between indoors and outdoors. Winter City is freezing, and Bai Shuang's towel froze solid immediately.
Wen Zheng clicked his tongue helplessly and draped his coat over Bai Shuang's shoulders to prevent his fragile old back from having any more problems.
"What does Captain Luo want us for?" Bai Shuang quickened her pace, squinting against the wind. "It's not like it's for tea and ideological education... I'm not being assessed, so is he asking me to keep score, deliver water, and cheer people on?"
"They said it's for a party after the assessment." Wen Zheng exhaled white breath, looked down at the road, and avoided the cold wind: "Isn't it almost Chinese New Year? They probably want to take this opportunity to relax. We'll be going to the Arctic soon to gather."
"Ah... sigh." Bai Shuang hesitated for a moment, then sighed with emotion.
"From what Captain Luo said, it seems like family members can come to visit the base." Wen Zheng casually dropped a bombshell, leaving Bai Shuang stunned.
"What?"
“Legally registered family members are welcome to visit. It’s said that this decision was made by higher-ups,” Wen Zheng repeated.
This top-secret mission has been kept secret for two hundred years, but now that the final battle is approaching, all regulations have been relaxed.
Upon reflection, it makes sense. This is the final battle. If they win, there's no longer any need for secrecy; all the sacrifices will be honored. If they lose, the truth will be revealed to the public. After all, everyone dies together, and in the end, everyone has the right to know how they died, right?
So, let's test the waters with this "registered family member" thing first?
Bai Shuang laughed sarcastically: "But where are we going to get registered family members? All of us are orphans. Xiao Chen is still young, and the ones you're in are still dating... How many of them are already married?" He counted and said confidently, "Three."
"Well, we'll leave it to Captain Luo. Maybe the requirements will be relaxed, or they'll encourage you to get your marriage certificate. Who knows?"
After delivering Bai Shuang to the main building, Wen Zheng retrieved his coat, zipped it all the way up to cover his chin and mouth.
Family members, get the marriage certificate.
Is the cat spirit Ken?
Not long after, the detailed rules of the event were announced that evening.
To demonstrate the base's humane management style, the assessments over the next two days will conclude on Lunar New Year's Eve. While the trainees and special operations team members cannot go home, they can invite their adoptive parents, spouses, or partners in stable relationships to visit the base and celebrate the New Year together. A New Year's dance will also be held.
"A New Year's dance party!?" Sun Gaoda exclaimed in shock, holding up the notice: "A bunch of old men, who can dance? Are we going to a disco!?"
Xu Qian smugly sent messages to his parents and girlfriend on the temporarily open internet: "Do you think everyone is like you?"
Sun Gaoda: "??? You really know how?"
“Idiot,” Xu Qian rolled his eyes, “It’s not a competition. Who would expect you to dance so perfectly? You’re probably just here to make your girlfriends look pretty, right? It’ll look so nice and fragrant, and saves a bunch of men from looking at each other all the time until they get tired of it.”
Sun Gaoda scratched his head in distress and said jealously, "You already have a girlfriend, where am I supposed to find one? The event starts the day after tomorrow... Sigh!" Suddenly his eyes lit up: "Qian'er, what do you think about me inviting the fairy sister to dance with me? Do you think she would be willing?"
Xu Qian sneered, "Go ahead and try."
Sun Gaoda is a man with very strong initiative, unparalleled perseverance, and an extraordinary thick skin.
The next day, Xu Qian got up very early and braved the cold wind to sit in the cafeteria, only to find his mentally challenged roommate coming out of the kitchen door.
"?" Xu Qian offered him a seat: "What are you going to the kitchen for? Do you want some steamed buns?"
"Go find the fairy sister, you forgot?" His voice was a little dejected. "He didn't seem to be in the kitchen this morning. I asked the auntie, but she wouldn't tell me where he lived, so I squatted in the corner of the storage room for an hour to peek... Now all the chefs have arrived, but the fairy sister still hasn't appeared."
Xu Qian was so disgusted by that pitiful "oh" that he couldn't swallow his steamed bun. After a long while, he finally said, "You're amazing."
After living and eating together for so long, Xu Qian still didn't like his roommate, but he couldn't do anything about it. Sun Gaoda had excellent physical test scores and was also skilled in combat and firearms, something Xu Qian couldn't match.
Most importantly, he's not stupid; he's just insensitive and sees everyone as a buddy, and he's very easygoing.
Sometimes Xu Qian would call him an idiot, but he felt guilty inside. Then he would turn to look at Instructor Wen and could hardly feel jealous anymore.
But he still really wanted to stay.
Aside from the one and only course on antimatter theory, Xu Qian's grades were inferior to Sun Gaoda's in every other subject. He focused more on the assessments that preceded the dance than on the dance itself.
It was too cold outside, so the physical fitness test was held in the combat gym. As soon as Xu Qian entered, he was immediately infected by the tense atmosphere. Sure enough, most of the team members were still concerned about the test, and they were all doing small warm-up exercises.
A short while later, the legendary team of instructors entered from outside.
Instructor Wen stood at the very front. They greatly admired Instructor Wang Weina and addressed him respectfully as Captain. Even when they were joking around, there was no sign of disrespect.
Xu Qian felt increasingly uneasy, feeling both foolish and resentful.
A moment later, Team Leader Luo and Coach Zhang came in, carrying scoring equipment.
"Let's start with the selected trainees right away." Team Leader Luo's face was serious, and the fighting hall quickly fell silent.
The testing equipment was installed and debugged by the staff yesterday, and everyone went up to the projects one by one, which was quite fast. Physical fitness cannot be improved in a short period of time, and even with his best efforts, Xu Qian only achieved a ranking of seventy-eighth.
Back when there were 500 people, 78 was a mid-to-upper-level result, but now it's clearly not good enough.
As Xu Qian looked on in bewilderment, his eyes kept following Instructor Wen. He really wanted to know just how far Wen Zheng could go.
He's here to teach antimatter, which suggests he's academically strong. While he's also formidable in combat, combat is highly technical, and sometimes comprehension is more important than pure brute force.
However, physical fitness requires years of training to gradually sculpt the best results. If one's innate conditions are not particularly good, it often requires a great deal of energy and perseverance.
Wen Zheng looked like an ordinary young man in his clothes, even rather thin. Such a physique meant that he could not possibly compare with the likes of Sun Gaoda in terms of strength.
So, just how outstanding is he to become a major and a captain?
After the selection team members finished their tests, it was finally the special operations team's turn to take the stage.
Xu Qian mingled in the crowd, listening to the increasingly loud exclamations around him, his eyes becoming dry from staring.