SCOM - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
On September 28th, the Ji family's only son was holding his coming-of-age ceremony. Most of the high-ranking officials from the Federal Military Committee were in attendance, and the other families present were either wealthy or noble. Naturally, the Zuo family had to attend as well.
At eight o'clock in the evening, Zuo Luohuan accompanied her parents out. Upon arriving at the Ji residence and seeing the cars outside, she casually remarked, "Quite the spectacle."
After getting out of the car, Zuo Dihong glanced at her. "Your coming-of-age ceremony was no less grand."
The thought made Yi Tong a little unhappy. "You didn't even come back for your own ceremony, just sent a perfunctory recording. And the gift I prepared for you, have you even opened it yet?"
"I was wrong." Zuo Luohuan raised her hand, fingers together. "I'll look at it when I get back."
Yi Tong advised, "You should socialize more with your peers in the future. I never know where you're off to all day."
Despite the numerous cars and people, everything was orderly. A closer look revealed people constantly patrolling the corners, ready to swiftly apprehend anyone causing trouble. After all, none of the guests were of low status.
Ji Xixiu and his wife, Yan Jinqiu, were personally greeting guests at the entrance. They stood on either side, their every move flawless and impeccable. Behind them was a long table for the guests' gifts.
Yi Tong handed over the gift she had prepared and exchanged a few words of blessing with Yan Jinqiu. As for the two family heads, their verbal exchange was filled with the scent of gunpowder, yet both wore smiles. During this, Ji Xixiu glanced at the empty-handed Zuo Luohuan, and a coldness flashed in the corners of his narrow eyes, identical to Ji Yuezhi's, but it vanished so quickly one might think it was an illusion.
After the family went inside, Zuo Dihong turned his head to look at his daughter. "Didn't you say you prepared a separate gift?"
Zuo Luohuan raised her hand to check the time. "The gift will be ready in a little while. I'll go get it later."
The item was ready, but she wasn't satisfied with the gift box the shop provided and had the manager custom-order a new one. They said it would take at least an hour to arrive.
Hearing this, Zuo Dihong said no more. He and Yi Tong went up to the second floor to converse with others, leaving Zuo Luohuan alone.
She scanned the first floor. Most people were here, but she didn't see any sign of Ji Yuezhi.
"Luohuan, over here." Jiang Hong had seen her enter from a distance and called out.
"Is he coming out today?" Zuo Luohuan strode over, her first words a question.
Jiang Hong had something to tell her, but it took him a moment to realize who she was talking about. "Ji Yuezhi will only come down for his coming-of-age speech later. He's probably still in his differentiation period and not feeling well."
Zuo Luohuan nodded absently, twirling a wine glass with her fingertips, it was unclear if she had heard him or not.
"...The shift change is late tonight, so the guards will probably be more relaxed." Jiang Hong leaned against a pillar, standing opposite Zuo Luohuan, and whispered quickly under the cover of sipping his drink.
The entire banquet hall was roughly divided into two circles. The upper echelons were on the second floor, either sitting or standing, while the younger generation was all on the first floor. Zuo Luohuan had always been a loner, but that didn't mean others didn't know her. In fact, people were already starting to approach and greet her.
"I thought you wouldn't come to Ji Yuezhi's coming-of-age ceremony today." Guan Yuan walked over, raising his glass to toast with them. "After all, you even missed your own."
Guan Yuan, son of the general of the Twenty-sixth Army, an S-class Alpha, and a third-year student at the First Military Academy.
Zuo Luohuan curled her knuckles and flicked the body of the glass, a faint smile on her lips. "His coming-of-age ceremony, I didn't want to miss."
Guan Yuan recalled the recent rumors about Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan and laughed as well. "True, you can't miss it."
As time passed, the guests had mostly arrived. Glasses clinked in the first-floor hall. Zuo Luohuan saw a few people raise their glasses to her from a distance and returned the gesture.
Amidst the crowd's chatter, Ji Yuezhi finally came down from the second floor. There were people on both floors, and as he descended, there were no spotlights nor any announcements. Yet, Zuo Luohuan, in the hall below, suddenly looked up and her gaze locked onto him. At that exact moment, Ji Yuezhi's eyes shifted to her. Their gazes met, and everything around them seemed to fade away.
A moment later, Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow at Ji Yuezhi, lifted her wine glass slightly in a toast to him, and then tilted her head back, downing the contents in one go.
With the guest of honor present, the coming-of-age ceremony was about to begin. It would officially start after Ji Yuezhi went on stage to say a few words.
A coming-of-age speech was nothing more than expressing some hopes for the future. At least in Zuo Luohuan's eyes, it was an incredibly boring affair. So much so that for her own ceremony, she had handled it perfunctorily, sending her parents a recording that totaled less than three sentences: Thank you for attending my coming-of-age ceremony. Eat well, drink well, goodbye.
Her, Zuo Luohuan's, reckless reputation wasn't built in a day; it was built up time and again through her own strength.
Ji Yuezhi, who came downstairs and walked onto the stage, wasn't wearing a military uniform but a royal blue suit with a red-striped tie. Standing on the stage, his figure was tall and slender, exuding a noble and imposing air. His narrow eyes were no different from usual—cold and indifferent, seemingly unaffected by his differentiation period. Though his voice was soft, it compelled people to listen.
...For some reason, she found today's Ji Yuezhi indescribably stunning. Perhaps it was the lighting from above, which shone on his face and made his lips seem exceptionally red.
Zuo Luohuan subconsciously tilted her head back to drink, only to find her glass empty. She didn't get another drink. Instead, she glanced down at the time, set down her glass, and walked straight outside.
She had driven her own car, following her parents. By now, the valet had parked it in the lot. She retrieved her keys and headed straight for the parking area. The corridor was empty at this time, making her footsteps particularly distinct.
Zuo Luohuan was completely unaffected, twirling the keys in her hand as she walked towards her car with her eyes lowered.
Tap, tap-tap—
Finally, Zuo Luohuan stopped in front of a car. Her gaze swept over all the vehicles parked there, landing on a black military SUV with bulletproof windows and reinforced, puncture-proof tires. It was the car of the general of the Twenty-sixth Army.
The corners of Zuo Luohuan's lips suddenly curved upward. Only then did she drive away.
At the party, Ji Yuezhi's speech was brief. He quickly stepped down from the stage, and a few high-ranking officials came over to wish him well on his adulthood. Afterward, as was customary, he, as the host, was supposed to mingle with his peers.
Ji Yuezhi's gaze swept across the first floor, and he quickly noticed that Zuo Luohuan was nowhere to be seen... She had left.
"Happy adulthood," Jiang Hong said, coming over to congratulate him.
"Thank you." Ji Yuezhi's expression was as calm as ever, betraying none of his thoughts.
"Zuo Luohuan said she didn't want to miss your coming-of-age ceremony, but in the blink of an eye, she's gone." Guan Yuan walked over and mocked. Clearly, he wasn't the only one at the party paying attention to Zuo Luohuan.
"You actually believe what Zuo Luohuan says?" someone nearby chimed in. "She was just talking. Chairman Zuo never restrains her, and I think she's getting more and more arrogant."
The Federation had hundreds of army groups, large and small, but only a dozen or so could join the Military Committee, which had only three chairmen. Of the three, one's army group was weak, and another didn't contend for power. A few years ago, Zuo Dihong had unexpectedly defeated Ji Xixiu to become one of the chairmen. With his Winter Army, his power grew even greater, and only Ji Xixiu could rival him.
Ji Yuezhi didn't reply. When he looked up again, he simply finished toasting with everyone, then excused himself, saying he felt unwell, and returned to his room.
Since he was currently in his differentiation period, no one would object.
Zuo Luohuan drove to pick up the gift but didn't return directly. Instead, she turned around and headed to another location.
The Military Armaments Database. It wasn't an overly classified location; it contained a large number of templates for munitions and weapons. Normally, even students from the First Military Academy could visit with an application. However, most people were unaware that there were three subterranean levels.
Zuo Luohuan, however, didn't apply. She chose to sneak in at night instead.
Jiang Hong was right. Because the shift change was late at night, the patrolling guards' vigilance had lessened considerably. She timed it perfectly, bypassed the guards, and quickly ducked into the shadows. A route that would take only ten minutes during the day took Zuo Luohuan half an hour to reach the Military Armaments Database building. After swiping her key card, she swiftly entered.
The first floor of the Military Armaments Database building was filled with heavy weaponry used on massive starships. The second floor housed munitions phased out by army groups over generations. The third floor displayed precision weapons, skeletal mechs, and the like.
Zuo Luohuan wasn't heading for these floors, but for the three levels below ground. The Military Armaments Database didn't just display weapons; it also held design blueprints for various armaments and... the annually compiled and recorded munitions allocation ratios.
In the darkness, Zuo Luohuan moved like a cat, swift and agile. She arrived behind a wall, removed her mask, put on a fake iris, and pressed a spot on the wall, revealing a light blue screen. The moment the screen scanned her fake iris, her entire body tensed, ready to react instantly to any mishap.
Fortunately, what Jiang Hong had given her worked. The door opened.
The three subterranean levels were each a vast repository of paper records, with all data documented. Zuo Luohuan walked straight to a bookshelf. On its side was a line of text: 'Munitions Allocation Data for All Army Groups, Star Calendar 2617-2627.'
Zuo Luohuan lightly pressed the side of her ear, activating the recorder. She quickly flipped through the documents, going through all the data from the past ten years. After returning everything to its original place and clearing away all traces, she turned to leave.
After emerging from the basement, Zuo Luohuan didn't exit directly. Instead, she turned and went to the third floor, stopping in front of a display case.
Inside was the latest model SL-9 light gun, capable of penetrating most armored vehicles on the market. It was still in the development phase and only used by the Seventeenth Army, as it was an improvement made by the Ji family's group.
Zuo Luohuan took out her tools, carefully cut through the glass, and stole the SL-9 light gun. Only then did she prepare to leave the building.
Not long after she got out, Zuo Luohuan sensed something was wrong. It was too quiet.
The patrol guards had changed shifts early!
A sudden chill ran down the back of Zuo Luohuan's neck. She instinctively dropped and rolled to the side. The next second, the spot where she had been standing was pierced by a light gun blast. The hidden guard's aim was extremely precise, even managing to block her escape routes.
Zuo Luohuan clicked her tongue internally. This one person alone wasn't enough to stop her.
The guard pursued the intruder, firing, but the person managed to narrowly evade every shot. Just as the intruder was about to escape, the guard noticed their body sway slightly.
For this guard, the slightest mistake from the enemy could turn the tables. He instantly held his breath, pressed the gun to his shoulder, and gently squeezed the trigger: Bang—
A hit!
However, the person spun around and fired back. The shot carried a brilliant blue light—it was an SL-9 light gun!
The guard didn't have time to think. He instinctively curled up, clutching his gun, and rolled away.
The spot where he had been sniping from instantly exploded.
Zuo Luohuan escaped the Military Armaments Database building, one hand pressed to her side. Only after confirming no guards were following did she turn into an alley and stop. She sat on the ground, leaning against the wall with her knees half-bent, and didn't contact anyone.
A miscalculation this time.
Zuo Luohuan pressed her side. The pain from the graze was nothing compared to the drill-like agony in her head.
After a while, once the pain in her head had subsided slightly, she stood up again, found her car, and rummaged inside for a can of trauma spray. She lifted her clothes and sprayed the wound. Thankfully, it was just a graze.
Zuo Luohuan leaned back against the seat and caught her breath. The wound on her abdomen hadn't fully healed, and now there was a new one on her side. It was not a pleasant feeling.
After a moment, she turned her head to look at the gift box on the passenger seat. She had almost forgotten—his coming-of-age gift.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her eyes to her optical computer: 11:10. There should still be time.
In the night, a car moved like a swimming dragon, speeding into the lane and heading in a specific direction.
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