SCOM - Chapter 9
Chapter 9
On September 28th, the Ji family's sole son celebrated his coming-of-age ceremony. More than half of the Federation's high-ranking military council attended, along with other prominent families. Naturally, the Zuo family had to attend as well.
At precisely 8:00 PM, Zuo Luohuan accompanied her parents out. Arriving at the Ji residence, she glanced at the cars outside and remarked casually, "Quite the spectacle."
After getting out of the car, Zuo Dihong glanced at her. "Your coming-of-age ceremony was no less grand."
Thinking about this made Yi Tong slightly unhappy. "You didn't even come back for your own coming-of-age ceremony, just sent a perfunctory recording. Have you even opened the coming-of-age gift I prepared for you?"
"My mistake." Zuo Luohuan raised her hand, fingers together. "I'll look at it when I get back."
Yi Tong instructed, "Socialize more with your peers in the future. Who knows where you disappear off to all day."
Although there were many cars and people, everything around was orderly. A closer look revealed people constantly patrolling the corners. Anyone causing trouble would be swiftly dealt with, as everyone entering was of high status.
At the entrance, Ji Xixiu and his wife, Yan Jinqiu, were personally greeting guests, standing on either side, their every move flawless. Behind them was a long table for 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, though both wore smiles. During this, Ji Xixiu glanced at the empty-handed Zuo Luohuan. His narrow eyes, just like Ji Yuezhi's, flashed with coldness, but it vanished so quickly one might think it was an illusion.
After the family entered, Zuo Dihong turned his head to look at his daughter. "Didn't you say you prepared a separate gift?"
Zuo Luohuan raised her hand and glanced at the time. "The gift needs a little more time to be ready. I'll go get it later."
The item was ready, but she wasn't satisfied with the gift box provided by the store and had asked the manager to order a new one. They said it would take at least another hour.
Hearing this, Zuo Dihong didn't say more. He and Yi Tong went upstairs to converse with others, leaving Zuo Luohuan alone.
She scanned the first floor; most people were here, but Ji Yuezhi was nowhere in sight.
"Luohuan, over here." Jiang Hong spotted her entering from a distance and called out.
"Is he coming out today?" Zuo Luohuan walked over, asking immediately.
Jiang Hong originally had something to tell her, but hearing her question, he took a moment to realize who she meant. "Ji Yuezhi will only come down during the coming-of-age speech later. Probably because he's still in his differentiation period and feeling unwell."
Zuo Luohuan nodded nonchalantly, swirling the wine glass with her fingertips, seemingly not paying much attention.
"...Tonight, late at night, is the shift change. Security will probably be laxer," Jiang Hong whispered quickly, leaning against a pillar opposite Zuo Luohuan, using the motion of sipping his wine to cover his words.
The banquet hall was roughly divided into two circles. The upper echelons were on the second floor, sitting or standing, while the younger generation was all on the first floor. Zuo Luohuan usually kept to herself, but that didn't mean others didn't recognize 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 them both. "After all, you even missed your own."
Guan Yuan, son of the Twenty-sixth Army General, S-rank Alpha, a third-year student at the First Military Academy.
Zuo Luohuan curled her knuckles and tapped the glass, a faint smile playing 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 smiled as well. "Right, can't miss it."
As time passed, most guests had arrived. The first-floor hall buzzed with clinking glasses and conversation. Zuo Luohuan saw several people raise their glasses to her from afar and returned the gesture.
Amidst the chatter, Ji Yuezhi finally descended from the second floor. There were people on both floors. As he came down, there were no spotlights or announcements, yet Zuo Luohuan in the hall suddenly looked up and directly caught sight of him. Just then, Ji Yuezhi shifted his gaze over. Their eyes met, and everything around seemed to gradually fade away.
After a moment, Zuo Luohuan raised an eyebrow at Ji Yuezhi, slightly lifted her wine glass in salute, and downed the contents in one go.
The main guest of the banquet had arrived, meaning the coming-of-age ceremony should begin. Ji Yuezhi needed to go on stage and say a few words to officially start.
The coming-of-age speech was nothing more than expectations for the future. At least in Zuo Luohuan's view, it was an extremely boring affair. So much so that for her own ceremony, the protagonist had been perfunctory, directly sending her parents a recording that totaled less than three sentences: Thank you all for attending my coming-of-age ceremony, eat well, drink well, goodbye.
Her reputation as Zuo Luohuan, the troublemaker, wasn't built in a day but accumulated through strength, time and time again.
Ji Yuezhi, walking down the stairs and onto the stage, wasn't wearing a military uniform but a royal blue formal suit with a red-striped tie. Standing on stage, he looked tall and slender, exuding nobility. His narrow eyes showed no significant difference from usual, cold and indifferent, seemingly unaffected by the differentiation period. Though his voice was light, it drew people in, compelling them to listen.
...She inexplicably felt that today's Ji Yuezhi was somewhat stunningly beautiful. Perhaps it was the lighting from above, casting shadows on his face, making his lips seem exceptionally red.
Zuo Luohuan subconsciously tilted her head back, wanting to drink, only to realize her glass was empty. She didn't get another drink, instead looked down at the time, put down the glass, and walked straight outside.
When she arrived, she had driven her own car, following her parents. The valet had parked it in the lot. She retrieved her keys and headed straight for the parking lot. The passageway was empty at this time, her footsteps echoing clearly.
Zuo Luohuan remained unaffected, twirling her keys, eyes downcast as she walked towards her car's location.
Tap, tap-tap—
Finally, Zuo Luohuan stopped in front of a car. Her gaze swept over all the parked vehicles, landing on a black military SUV – bulletproof windows, thickened anti-puncture tires. This was the Twenty-sixth Army General's car.
A curve suddenly appeared on Zuo Luohuan's lips. Only then did she drive away.
...
At the banquet, Ji Yuezhi's speech was brief. He quickly stepped down. Several high-ranking officials came over to wish him well on reaching adulthood. Afterwards, according to custom, as the host, he should mingle with his peers.
Ji Yuezhi's gaze swept across the first floor, quickly noticing Zuo Luohuan's absence... She had left.
"Happy adulthood," Jiang Hong came over to congratulate him.
"Thank you." Ji Yuezhi's face remained calm as usual; no one could discern his thoughts.
"Zuo Luohuan said earlier she didn't want to miss your coming-of-age ceremony, but she ran off in the blink of an eye." Clearly, more than one person at the banquet was paying attention to Zuo Luohuan. Guan Yuan walked over, mocking.
"You actually believe what Zuo Luohuan says?" another person nearby chimed in. "It's just talk. Commissioner Zuo never restrains her anyway. I think she's getting more and more arrogant."
There were over a dozen major army groups in the Federation, but only three military commissioners. Among the three, one held little power within their group, and another didn't contend for power. A few years ago, Zuo Dihong unexpectedly defeated Ji Xixiu to become one of the commissioners. Coupled with the Winter Army under his command, his influence grew significantly, rivaled only by Ji Xixiu.
Ji Yuezhi didn't reply. When he looked up again, he simply finished toasting everyone, then excused himself, saying he felt unwell, and left to return to his room.
Since he was currently in his differentiation period, no one objected.
...
Zuo Luohuan drove to pick up the gift but didn't return directly, instead heading to another location.
The Armament Database. This place wasn't overly classified. It housed numerous templates for firearms and weapons. Normally, even students from the First Military Academy could enter for visits with an application. However, most people didn't know there were three underground levels.
Zuo Luohuan, however, hadn't applied and chose to sneak in at night instead.
Jiang Hong was right. Because it was close to the shift change late at night, the guards on this shift had lowered their vigilance. She timed it perfectly, bypassed the guards, and quickly hid in the shadows. The path that took only ten minutes during the day took Zuo Luohuan half an hour to reach the Armament Database building. She swiped the door card and quickly entered.
The first floor of the Armament Database building housed heavy weaponry used on massive starships. The second floor contained generations of decommissioned military firearms from various army groups. The third floor displayed sophisticated weapons, mechanical skeletons, and the like.
Zuo Luohuan wasn't heading to these floors, but to the three underground levels. The Armament Database held not only weapon displays but also records of various weapon design blueprints, and... the annual compiled military armament allocation ratios.
In the darkness, Zuo Luohuan moved like a cat, agile and swift. She reached the back of a wall, removed her mask, put on the fake iris, and pressed a spot on the wall, revealing a light blue screen inside. The moment the screen scanned her fake iris, her body tensed, ready to react instantly if anything went wrong.
Fortunately, the items Jiang Hong gave her worked. The door opened.
The three underground levels were each vast repositories of paper records, all data meticulously documented. Zuo Luohuan walked straight to a bookshelf marked on one side with a line of text: Stellar Calendar 2617-2627 Military Armament Allocation Data for Various Army Groups.
Zuo Luohuan gently pressed the side of her ear, activating the recorder. She quickly flipped through the materials, going through all the data for the past ten years. After putting everything back in its original place and clearing all traces, she turned to leave.
After emerging from the underground levels, Zuo Luohuan didn't leave directly but 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 mecha vehicles on the market. It was currently still in the research and development phase, only used by the Seventeenth Army, as it was improved by the Ji family's group.
Zuo Luohuan took out her tools, carefully cut open the glass, stole the SL-9 light gun, and only then prepared to leave the building.
...
Not long after coming out, Zuo Luohuan sensed something unusual. It was too quiet around.
The patrol guards had changed shifts early!
A sudden chill ran down Zuo Luohuan's spine. She instinctively ducked and rolled to the side. The next second, the ground where she had stood was pierced by a light gun shot. The hidden guard's marksmanship was extremely accurate, even managing to block her escape routes.
Zuo Luohuan clicked her tongue inwardly. Just this one person wasn't enough to stop her.
The guard pursued the night intruder, firing, yet the target managed to narrowly evade every shot. Just as the intruder was about to escape, the guard noticed the person's body sway slightly.
For this guard, even the slightest enemy mistake could turn defeat into victory. Instantly, he held his breath, steadied the gun against his shoulder, finger tightening slightly: Bang—
Hit!
However, the person turned and fired back instantly. That shot carried a dazzling blue light – it was the SL-9 light gun!
The guard had no time to think, instinctively curling up, clutching his gun, and rolling away.
The spot where he had been sniping instantly exploded.
...
Zuo Luohuan escaped the Armament Database building, clutching her side. Only after confirming no guards were following did she duck into a small alley and stop. She sat on the ground, leaning against the wall, one knee bent, not contacting anyone.
Miscalculated this time.
Zuo Luohuan pressed her side. The pain from the graze was nothing compared to the electric drill-like agony currently attacking her brain.
After a while, when the pain in her head subsided slightly, she finally stood up again, found her car, retrieved a bottle of trauma spray from inside, lifted her clothes, and sprayed the wound. Luckily, it was just a graze.
Zuo Luohuan leaned back against the seat, catching her breath. The wound on her abdomen hadn't fully healed, and now there was a new one on her side. It wasn't pleasant.
After a moment, she turned her head to look at the gift box on the passenger seat. Almost forgot, his coming-of-age gift.
Zuo Luohuan glanced down at her optical computer: 11:10 PM, should still be time.
In the night, a car shot through the lanes like a dragon, heading in a specific direction.
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