SCOM - Chapter 16
Chapter 16
Covered in a chaotic mix of pheromones, Zuo Luohuan returned to her dorm and spent a long time washing before emerging. She skipped lunch and went straight to class.
The 1 PM class was for the Command Department. Zuo Luohuan arrived early, picked a seat in the back, and leaned against the chair with her eyes half-closed. She didn't notice Ji Yuezhi enter through the back door and take a seat in the front row.
Until the teacher arrived, Zuo Luohuan didn't open her eyes. Many students entered and exited the classroom; no one was late for Jia Hailan's class.
In fact, most instructors used the first class to outline the semester's teaching plan, giving students a psychological heads-up, unlike Kang Guang, who threw a major challenge at them on day one.
Jia Hailan's first class simply covered the general history of command. He was already over sixty but still refined and gentle. Standing at the podium, he spoke lightly of the heavy yet magnificent history, inspiring the students' yearning for the 'art' of command.
Zuo Luohuan listened attentively. His accomplishments were too dazzling. Back then, he led only a small army group against the Gashro Empire's most elite troops, holding out for two whole years before reinforcements arrived. Years later, that army group had become one of the Federation's most renowned forces, yet Jia Hailan had abruptly retired from his position as commander.
"...Currently, the Federation has nearly a hundred large and small army groups, with fifteen listed on the Military Council. The essential quality for the leader of each of these forces is command. A leader who doesn't understand command might win a few battles, but the army group under them will absolutely not last five years." Jia Hailan said gently, "If any of you have similar goals, I hope you will diligently study command strategy."
In the first class, Jia Hailan managed to instill a strong interest in command among the students. Many were already anticipating future lessons, a stark contrast to the behavior of the Combat Department instructors who left students traumatized on the first day.
The hour-and-a-half class ended quickly. Zuo Luohuan got up to head to her next class. At this point, she noticed Ji Yuezhi was heading in the same direction.
Today's last class was He Yue's Shooting Methods. Combined with the earlier The Nature of Command, they shared two main courses. Zuo Luohuan wasn't surprised. Even though Ji Yuezhi differentiated into an Omega, his rank was higher than others. The First Military Academy only had so many high-ranking instructors. As children of army group leaders, their paths were naturally similar.
Shooting class was outdoors; students gathered uniformly at the shooting range. Zuo Luohuan walked slowly, falling behind Ji Yuezhi. As they approached the range, Jiang Hong cut in diagonally from the side.
He walked over to Zuo Luohuan, stifling a laugh. "Heard you got reported."
Zuo Luohuan: "..."
"Honestly, I think those people still aren't afraid enough of you," Jiang Hong offered seriously. "Once you're strong enough, they'll have to think twice before pulling stunts like that."
Zuo Luohuan glanced at him. "Indeed, even you ran off this morning."
Jiang Hong affirmed, "I was just rushing to class. Next time something like this happens, I'll definitely bring you a change of clothes first."
Zuo Luohuan scoffed, "There'll be a next time?"
When they arrived at the shooting range, He Yue was already standing with her hands behind her back in front of a large basket of sniper light guns, waiting for the students.
He Yue was a typical Omega, A-rank wasn't the best, nor was she tall, only 1.65 meters. Her face had a few patches of red skin – most Omegas naturally had fair, delicate skin, prone to peeling and redness after sun exposure. But standing there, silent and upright, anyone could see she was a true soldier.
Students trickling in gradually quieted their laughter and chatter upon seeing He Yue, standing silently opposite her.
Ten minutes before class, all students had arrived. He Yue finally spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse, likely due to damaged vocal cords: "Today, we learn the usage of sniper light guns. Five per row, one gun each, ten bullets. Dynamic targets set at a thousand meters."
No self-introduction, no course plan; He Yue started teaching formally right away.
Students went up one by one to get their sniper light guns. As Zuo Luohuan bent down to pick one up, Ji Yuezhi stood on the other side, also picking up a sniper light gun.
After everyone held a gun and lined up, He Yue remained silent, still standing quietly.
Everyone exchanged glances, unsure of the current situation.
The Seventeenth Army had a top-tier weapon development team internally. Ji Yuezhi recognized this as a YU-93 Sniper Light Gun at first glance. Its maximum range could reach two thousand meters, but its time from invention to obsolescence was only two short months because the gun was too heavy, weighing eighteen kilograms, difficult to carry, lacking universality.
Meanwhile, Zuo Luohuan lowered her head, holding the gun. She didn't recognize its origin but didn't let that stop her from familiarizing herself with its data.
After a full fifteen minutes, He Yue finally asked, "Anyone who doesn't know how to use a gun? You may step out."
A few people stepped forward. He Yue had the others rearrange themselves. Exactly thirty people remained, five per row, totaling six rows. Zuo Luohuan stood in the third row, far right; Ji Yuezhi stood in the second row, on the left.
"Prepare to start," He Yue said.
The first row of five stepped forward, knelt, set up their sniper light guns, quickly lay prone, and adjusted their scopes.
He Yue stood to the side and suddenly shouted, "Fire!"
One of the five didn't react in time; the others fired their ten bullets within minutes.
He Yue looked down at the hit counts for these five on her optical computer. Those who fired weren't slow to react, but their accuracy was practically non-existent; one person didn't even hit a single shot.
"Next group, continue."
The second row stepped forward similarly. After they finished their ten shots, the back rows continued to fill the positions. After one round, He Yue displayed everyone's hit counts from her optical computer.
It was basically a total wipeout. Only Zuo Luohuan had the highest hit rate: six hits out of ten shots, 50 rings. Ji Yuezhi was second: five hits out of ten, 50 rings.
He Yue glanced at Ji Yuezhi. "Do you have OCD?" His first shot missed, the second hit 10 rings, and he completed the ten shots following this pattern.
Hearing this, Zuo Luohuan, for some reason, thought of Ji Yuezhi's usual cold demeanor. For a moment, she ignored the discomfort in her head and chuckled silently to herself.
Ji Yuezhi was strange. Sometimes he felt noble and aloof, inheriting Ji Xixiu's deep calculations, but occasionally she got the illusion that he was naive.
As He Yue spoke, the surroundings were very quiet, only the intermittent sound of shooting from the neighboring range could be heard.
"Just adjusting," Ji Yuezhi replied.
He Yue nodded, not dwelling on the matter.
"The YU-93 Sniper Light Gun was in the army for two months before being phased out. I had only heard of it, never seen it." He Yue took the last sniper light gun from the basket. "Today is my first time touching it."
Like all the military students, she knelt, set her position, lay prone silently adjusting, and fired ten shots within minutes.
Zuo Luohuan watched He Yue's hand on the trigger; there was a fresh scar on the back of her hand. She knew exactly what caused it.
That night, the SL-9 light gun shattered the spot where He Yue was. The wound was likely caused by something exploding and instantly cutting her; the gash wasn't shallow.
He Yue, lying prone, had already gotten up. "Even a sniper light gun with flaws significant enough to survive only two months in the army is still a gun."
The optical computer displayed the results He Yue just achieved: ten shots, ten hits, 90 rings.
The military students looked at the terrifying hit rate on the optical computer. Their perception of He Yue changed again. Knowing she was skilled was one thing; witnessing it firsthand was another.
Zuo Luohuan stood in the third row, quietly looking down at the gun in her hands. Suddenly, a wave of coldness washed over her back. That night, if she hadn't turned and fired that shot with the SL-9, she definitely wouldn't have made it out of the Armament Database building.
He Yue was strong; she seemed born for guns.
As an instructor, He Yue didn't waste a single word. She began dismantling the gun in front of the students, explaining slowly. Afterwards, she let the students who had shot disassemble it themselves, while she turned to teach the few who didn't know how to shoot.
An hour later, nearing the end of class, He Yue called Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan out.
"Ten more shots for each of you, same target position."
Clearly, He Yue wanted to see the two compete. Among the military students, their talent was quite good.
This time, the two lay prone on the ground, only a meter apart. Zuo Luohuan glanced sideways at Ji Yuezhi; he was adjusting the scope. Under the sunlight, his excessively pale hand fiddling with the black gun inexplicably seemed somewhat alluring.
Perhaps the pheromones from the morning had muddled her head.
Zuo Luohuan realized her thoughts, frowned, and refocused her attention on the gun.
Both were ready. As soon as He Yue said start, rapid gunfire echoed across the range. Listening closely, the twenty shots almost synchronized into ten.
"Impressive." Jiang Hong couldn't help exclaiming as he watched the ring counts instantly appear on the optical computer.
Both hit seven shots. Ji Yuezhi scored 68 rings, Zuo Luohuan 60. Not comparable to He Yue, but among students, especially using this gun for the first time, their results were definitely outstanding.
He Yue scanned back and forth between them. Ji Yuezhi was very talented in shooting, but her gaze lingered on Zuo Luohuan for a few extra seconds. Based on her shooter's intuition, this student was a bit strange.
"Class dismissed," He Yue said, retracting her gaze.
Ji Yuezhi got up from the dry grass, returned the gun to the basket, bent down, and patted off the dry grass clinging to his body one by one.
The instructor had put away the optical computer. Ji Yuezhi lowered his eyes, thinking that just now, only their two names were side by side on it. It was a pity he didn't have time to record it.
"Ji Yuezhi." Zuo Luohuan suddenly called out to him.
Ji Yuezhi pursed his lips, then turned back, looking at her with his usual expression.
Zuo Luohuan extended a hand as if to embrace him. Ji Yuezhi's eyelashes fluttered quickly, but he saw her hand go around his waist, brush lightly past, then retract.
"There was a piece of dry grass." Zuo Luohuan showed the grass clippings in her hand. If she hadn't spoken first and just reached out, someone like them would instantly turn and attack the person behind.
She wasn't interested in getting beaten.
"...Thank you."
Zuo Luohuan tossed away the dry grass, watched Ji Yuezhi walk away increasingly quickly, somewhat puzzled: Was he unhappy?
Because she helped remove the dry grass, he felt embarrassed?
Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow slightly, ultimately didn't dwell on it, and left with Jiang Hong.
...
This week, the second-year military students were experiencing the various teaching styles of their instructors, and this year, the instructor for an Information Department course suddenly assigned a special homework assignment.
—List the class schedules of the top fifty students on the Red List.
Once assigned, this task immediately caused a sensation on the anonymous forum.
Fifty students? Everyone's schedule was different. They had to complete the collection in one night; the task was bound to be arduous.
While the Information Department students wailed, more people eagerly awaited the results. Some even asked: [Top fifty on the Red List, does Senior Ji count?]
[Probably not, Ji Yuezhi hasn't challenged anyone on the Red List, his name isn't there, it's just something we spread privately.]
Amidst the endless debate, someone finally started a poll. The result showed ninety percent of people hoped the Information Department students would incidentally list Ji Yuezhi's schedule.
At this moment, no one knew what they would see tomorrow.
Comments
Post a Comment