SCOM - Chapter 22
Chapter 22
“What are you two doing standing here?” Yi Tong had been about to call Zuo Luohuan inside when she saw her daughter and Ji Yuezhi standing extremely close. Her heart skipped a beat, and she subconsciously assumed they were about to fight, so she immediately spoke up.
“Receiving guests.” Zuo Luohuan swiftly took the rose from beside Ji Yuezhi’s ear and looked at her mother with a completely open expression.
Yi Tong looked at her daughter suspiciously. If she had to pick someone likely to cause trouble, her first thought would be Zuo Luohuan; the Ji family’s son was more sensible. But the two had already pulled apart, looking as if they hadn’t had a chance to start anything yet, so she didn’t expose them.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuezhi politely greeted Yi Tong before heading inside, leaving Zuo Luohuan standing there lazily.
“Is that the Guan family’s daughter and her friend?” Yi Tong asked Zuo Luohuan, looking at the two people approaching in the distance. “You go on in. I’ll receive them.”
Zuo Luohuan had long grown impatient standing there. Hearing this, she started walking, not even glancing at the two people at the entrance.
Guan Xue and Qian Mao also acted as if they didn’t know Zuo Luohuan. They showed none of the furtive behavior they had when watching from a distance earlier; now, they were the very picture of propriety.
Zuo Luohuan bypassed the people in the main hall, went up to her room from a side hall, and only after closing the door did she realize she was still holding the rose.
She was about to toss it into the nearby trash can, but on a whim, Zuo Luohuan lowered her head and sniffed the rose’s green stem. A faint, different fragrance seemed to linger on it, completely at odds with its owner’s cold demeanor.
Tsk.
A pink jade rose was casually tossed onto the desk, where it rolled twice before coming to a stop.
The farewell banquet wasn’t overly grand, but many of the attendees were influential, so all the necessary arrangements were in place. Zuo Luohuan hadn’t been resting in her room for long before Yi Tong called her down again.
As soon as she went down, she saw her father negotiating with that group of old foxes from the Federal Military Committee. Zuo Luohuan remained aloof, as if it had nothing to do with her. Since she was told to come down, she just held a glass of wine and did nothing.
Yi Tong couldn’t be bothered to manage her either; as long as she was present, it was fine.
Always out and about, never attending any events. Anyone who didn’t know better would think the Zuo family had no one to represent them.
“You can drink?” Jiang Hong popped up from somewhere, staring at the half-empty glass in Zuo Luohuan’s hand. “Is Fang Yong any good or not?”
Zuo Luohuan swirled the wine glass in her hand. “Almost. The poison will be cleared by next week.” The wound on her abdomen was nearly healed. As for the effects on her brain, after taking the medicine, she would have to endure it for a few more days until it dissipated on its own.
“That’s good.” Jiang Hong leaned against a long table nearby. “Instructor He Yue just arrived. Did you see her?”
Hearing this, Zuo Luohuan scanned the room and indeed spotted He Yue standing near her father. She had clearly entered after Guan Xue and the others, which was why Zuo Luohuan hadn’t received her.
“She’s already with the Scavenger Army. Inviting the Scavenger Army over is something only your Zuo family would do.” Jiang Hong remarked with a sigh. It was no wonder Zuo Luohuan was always so unconventional; her father, Zuo Dihong, was the same way.
It runs in the family!
“She’s with the Scavenger Army, but she’s also an instructor at the First Military Academy. They probably have other matters to discuss.” Zuo Luohuan watched the people gradually gathering around them; nine out of ten were connected to the First Military Academy.
Jiang Hong rubbed his chin, opened his optical computer, and checked the information network for a moment before looking up. “You’re right. The Federal Military Academy Exercise has been moved up. The news came out an hour ago.”
The Federal Military Academy Exercise was an event held every four years between the three major military academies. Due to various factors this year, the other two academies had decided to apply to hold it half a year early. No wonder He Yue had rushed over; she must have been summoned by the academy to finalize the details of the exercise while Zuo Dihong was still here today.
The two looked over again. The people over there had already put down their wine glasses and were discussing something in low, serious tones. The military academy exercise required mobilizing resources from many parties, selecting a venue, choosing instructors, and ensuring the students’ safety during the competition. All of these were clearly matters that needed careful discussion.
“I wonder which district the exercise will be held in this time,” Jiang Hong said thoughtfully. “The last one was in the Eastern District, and the one before that was in the Western District.”
Participants in the military academy exercise were drawn from first and second-year students. Each academy sent seven people, and the competition lasted for two months, consisting of three rounds.
Jiang Hong felt confident he would be one of those selected. He said with some excitement, “I want to check out the Southern District. Which district do you want to go to?”
“Doesn’t matter,” Zuo Luohuan asked him, “When is the exercise being held?”
“Half a year early, so mid-next month.”
The scene of the two of them talking together had long since entered Ji Yuezhi’s sight. The ripples that had formed at the entrance had long since vanished without a trace. He knew Jiang Hong was an Alpha, and he knew he and she were good friends, but a subtle emotion still arose within him.
He lowered his head, his gaze falling on his fingertips. He still had to wait a little longer.
The day after the banquet ended, Zuo Dihong left the capital for the Northern District, and just as expected, news spread through the First Military Academy: the Federal Military Academy Exercise had been moved up!
As soon as the news broke, the military academy students were in an uproar.
The participants for the military academy exercise were first and second-year students. In previous years, it was only held in the second half of the year, which meant they had at least half a year of training. Now that it was moved up, the first-years had just enrolled, and how long had the second-years been taking their elective courses?
“The United Military Academy and Yundong Military Academy must have done this on purpose. I heard they opened course selections early starting last year. So it was all to prepare for the exercise.”
“That’s so shameless! Even though the people selected are the best, they’ve had so much more training time. Our academy’s students are at a huge disadvantage!”
“Our First Military Academy has won for so many years. If they want to win, they’ll definitely try everything they can.”
Regardless of the discussions among the students, the date for the Federal Military Academy Exercise was set, and the location would be the Central District. Now, only one thing remained: selecting the seven student representatives.
How to choose these seven students was a difficult task. There were tens of thousands of first and second-year students, and selecting seven from so many would take time.
For the first-years, all undifferentiated students were first excluded. Then, each class would put forward two candidates to compete, from which seven would be chosen. For the second-years, thirty students were recommended by instructors from the combat, command, and weapon development departments.
This created a pool of thirty-seven candidates. Over five days, with a final competition on the weekend, the seven representatives would be decided.
The second-years were selected by recommendation, so they didn’t have to compete in the preliminaries and attended classes as usual. Zuo Luohuan took advantage of her free time to go to Fang Yong’s clinic.
With the poison in her abdomen neutralized, her recovery was rapid. It was no longer like before, when the wound refused to heal. After using the special medicine, it was now almost completely better.
“I’ve extracted the active ingredients from the addiction agent and prepared the medicine. However, the pain in your… head.” Inside the clinic, a middle-aged man pointed to Zuo Luohuan’s head. “If you want to get better, you’ll have to endure the next few days.”
The pain these next few days would surely be double what she had experienced before.
This doctor was Fang Yong. He looked like an extremely average, ordinary middle-aged man, but on the back of his neck, where his gland was, there was a scar that would never heal. It was said that he was originally an Alpha who found his pheromones troublesome and a hindrance to his medical practice, so he dug out his own gland and nearly died in the process.
“How many days?” Zuo Luohuan asked. “I have a competition on Saturday.”
“…” Fang Yong squinted at her. She radiated a youthful, wild arrogance that no one could underestimate. “If you can endure these next few days, competing on Saturday won’t be impossible.”
Zuo Luohuan lay down on a surgical chair that didn’t look particularly clean and extended her arm. “Go ahead.”
Seeing this, Fang Yong didn’t waste any words. He used forceps to dab her arm with an alcohol-soaked cotton ball, then picked up a syringe, slowly inserted the needle, and gently flicked the barrel to let the medicine flow in.
“Hold this.” Fang Yong quickly pressed a cotton swab over the spot. He pushed off with his feet, rolling his chair back, and turned to tidy up the medicine tray.
He had made the drug himself, so of course he knew the reaction would be fast, but he hadn’t expected it to take effect so quickly. In the short time it took to throw the used items from the tray into the trash can and turn back, the person on the surgical chair was deathly pale, instantly drenched in a cold sweat. Yet, she maintained a blank expression while pressing the cotton swab to her arm. Only the bulging veins on the back of her hand betrayed her current agony.
Fang Yong: “…”
Damn, she could really endure. He wouldn’t dare provoke someone like this in the future. Terrifying.
“Painkillers won’t work on you right now,” Fang Yong said after a moment’s hesitation. “How about I knock you out?”
Though he estimated she would be woken by the pain not long after passing out anyway.
Zuo Luohuan’s eyes flicked toward him, her gaze as chilling as a frozen pond. She could actually still speak. “No need.”
Her voice was strained… The two words sounded as if they had been squeezed from her throat.
A tough one!
From the moment Zuo Luohuan had shown up at his door, Fang Yong knew she was not to be trifled with. Now, that impression was deepened.
About two hours later, Zuo Luohuan looked as if she had been fished out of water. She had already grown accustomed to the rhythm of the pain and was actually preparing to get up and leave.
“What are you doing?” Seeing her get up, Fang Yong instinctively moved to support her.
Zuo Luohuan’s body swayed, but she eventually stood firm and said lightly, “I have class tomorrow morning.”
Fang Yong: “???”
What kind of time was this to be thinking about class? Besides, even he had heard of Zuo Luohuan’s ‘heroic feat’ of skipping class for a year. Was this a good student eager to attend class? Who was she kidding?
“If you go out like this, passersby will call the police,” Fang Yong finally said reluctantly. “Change your clothes before you go.”
His private clinic was not short on spare clothes. People often came in covered in blood to have their injuries treated, so he always kept various clothes on hand.
“Alright, thanks.” Zuo Luohuan actually moved, heading towards the changing room.
Zuo Luohuan attended class with a face as pale as a ghost, making it hard for Ji Yuezhi not to notice. During shooting class, he was close to her several times but didn’t smell any scent of blood on her. His thoughts churned, but he showed nothing on his face.
“What’s wrong with you?” After a round of shooting, He Yue called Zuo Luohuan out, feeling that the student seemed completely out of it.
“Instructor, I ate something bad a few days ago,” Zuo Luohuan said, clutching her stomach. “I’ve been dehydrated lately.”
He Yue: “…If you really can’t handle it, just take a leave of absence.”
The list of second-year recommendations was already out, and Zuo Luohuan was on it. If this affected the upcoming selection, it would be bad for everyone. After all, Zuo Luohuan was a key figure for this exercise.
Zuo Luohuan had come to class purely to distract herself. Lying down and resting would only make her focus on and magnify the pain in her head. It was better to come out for some fresh air.
Next, He Yue gave the students time for free practice. Zuo Luohuan fired a few shots and then stopped, standing to the side and watching Ji Yuezhi shoot in the distance.
He had switched to a different gun. He stood perfectly straight under the sun, handsome and aloof, with a slender figure. His fingers gripped the gun, his fingertip pulling the trigger lightly but firmly. The bullet instantly left the chamber.
Bang—
Ten rings!
For a fleeting moment, Zuo Luohuan almost forgot the pain churning and multiplying in her head. In her eyes, only this scene, and this person, remained.
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