First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Prey
Lian Sheng dragged the rabbit along for a distance, then reconsidered and turned back.
The short male student was still sitting on the ground, flipping his issued gun in his hands while letting out a deep sigh.
Lian Sheng asked, "What's wrong?"
"Magazine's empty." The boy scratched his head. "Only four bullets left."
The gun was the same as Lian Sheng's—a semi-automatic revolver.
Lian Sheng squatted opposite him and extended her hand.
The boy looked at her in confusion before suddenly remembering. "Oh, sorry, I got you into trouble. I didn't secure my gun properly, so you got beaten because of it. Really sorry about that."
Lian Sheng crooked her finger. "Four bullets for four rabbits."
The boy stared blankly at her, not comprehending. He kept staring until Lian Sheng placed the rope's end in his hand, then jumped up in shock, waving his hands. "No no! How can this be? These are rabbits you shot! And how can four bullets be worth four rabbits?"
Lian Sheng shrugged. "Doesn't matter. To me, it's an equivalent exchange."
Those words... were just too cool. Lu Mingyuan had never heard such a domineering declaration before.
But Lu Mingyuan had no intention of taking advantage of a female student. He tentatively asked, "Are you joking?"
Lian Sheng's lips twitched. "I'm being completely serious in this conversation."
"Oh oh oh." Lu Mingyuan scratched his head, then glanced at Lian Sheng's name tag and said, "Doesn't seem like a joke. Just asking casually."
Lian Sheng asked, "Where are your teammates?"
"They're behind." Lu Mingyuan asked, "Yours?"
Lian Sheng: "Opposite of you—they're ahead."
Lu Mingyuan: "..."
In any case, the result was the same—they were both operating alone now.
"Then you can follow me. The next four bullets' worth of prey will be yours." Lian Sheng repeated, "Give me the bullets."
Lu Mingyuan hesitated because the earlier bullying incident had left him furious. The other party had used a similar excuse—"Let me teach you how to shoot"—to take his gun.
He didn't understand—why would fellow military academy students act so despicably?
He looked down at the four bullets in his palm. With his own skills, hitting any prey in this environment would be difficult. If Lian Sheng was lying, the outcome wouldn't change much. But if she was sincere, perhaps there was still a chance to salvage their team's score. Moreover, doubting others' goodwill made him feel terrible.
After some thought, Lu Mingyuan still handed the bullets to her.
Lian Sheng nodded and passed him the rope's end again. "Collateral."
Lu Mingyuan: "Uh..."
Meanwhile, the instructor was hauling a student toward the medical station. The student kept shouting, "It's gone down! It's gone down already! Just let me check!"
The instructor insisted, "There might still be stray bullets here. Removing protective gear in the field is absolutely forbidden!"
Student: "I won't remove it! Let me walk by myself!"
The instructor snapped impatiently, "Shut up!"
Fortunately, the medical station wasn't far. Half-walking, half-jogging, they arrived quickly.
The instructor lifted the curtain with one hand and ushered the student inside.
Truthfully, few people got injured while wearing protective gear. Most students who dropped by just wanted to rest briefly and grab some water before leaving.
Finally getting an actual potential patient, the doctor was quite excited. He quickly cleared a bed and told the student to lie down.
The student resisted, pushing the instructor's hand away. "No need, no need! Just lend me a bathroom! Let me go!"
The instructor removed his helmet, pinned him down, and glared. "You were so worked up earlier. Where exactly are you hurt? What's so urgent that you need to remove your gear?"
The doctor joined in restraining him. "Don't avoid treatment out of fear. Speak up—what's the problem?"
"Chest," the student gritted out. "Someone threw a bug into my clothes earlier!"
The doctor said, "Bugs in the mountains can be poisonous. Did it have spines? What size, color, species? Do you know the consequences? Lie down properly!"
Hearing this, the student hesitated and stopped struggling.
The instructor seized the chance to undo his protective gear and gave his clothes a shake. A green object drifted out from underneath.
The doctor bent down and picked up... a leaf.
The student, completely unaware, was still examining his chest.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing! Just some green stains from crushed grass.
The doctor's expression darkened. "This? You mean this?"
The student froze, immediately realizing he'd been tricked. Seeing Doctor Lin's barely contained rage, he stammered, "I... I didn't know."
The doctor snapped, "Are you two out of your minds? Do you really think this is funny? Instructor Li, this isn't the first time. What exactly are you trying to do? Bringing students here to mess around?"
The boy slid off the bed and quietly moved aside.
The instructor's mouth felt bitter. He was utterly wronged.
This was the second time Doctor Lin had scolded him. Yet he still didn't understand what he'd done wrong. He hadn't done anything!
The doctor pointed at the door. "Out!"
The instructor nodded and slunk out, looking thoroughly disgraced. Instructor Fu happened to be escorting another student back and promptly apprehended the previous one as well.
The instructor immediately pointed at the tall student and complained, "Old Fu, this kid set me up!"
Instructor Fu pushed the two forward. "First hear what they've done."
Lu Mingyuan followed Lian Sheng for a while. They deliberately headed toward quieter, less crowded areas—though to Lu Mingyuan, these spots didn't seem ideal for hunting. Without equipment assistance, targets weren't clearly visible.
After climbing for about half an hour, Lian Sheng encountered their first rabbit.
Before Lu Mingyuan could react, a gunshot rang out beside him. Lian Sheng waved, signaling him to retrieve the prize.
She'd actually hit it. Lu Mingyuan gaped at the rabbit, unsure how to react.
Lian Sheng shook her head. "Let's rest."
She'd never thought climbing could be so exhausting.
Lu Mingyuan dutifully dragged their haul and sat nearby.
He glanced at the prey, then at Lian Sheng, before finally blurting out, "Your marksmanship is amazing. You're practically a genius."
Lian Sheng said, "I've trained."
Lu Mingyuan paused. "You've trained with guns?"
Lian Sheng: "I've trained with bows."
"Bows?" It took Lu Mingyuan a long moment to process this. "The cold weapon kind? That's so ancient—people still practice that nowadays?"
"..." Lian Sheng said, "It's proven useful."
Lu Mingyuan sincerely praised, "Yes, yes. You're really incredible."
Lian Sheng accepted the compliment with a nod.
Though she couldn't see his face, Lian Sheng found this young man quite agreeable. So she added, "But I still have to say this—if you're a soldier, you need the ability to protect yourself."
Whether officers or soldiers, everyone on the battlefield was there to fight. Those who couldn't stand alongside their comrades and needed protection didn't deserve to be there.
Unless they were master strategists who could determine victory from afar without ever setting foot on the battlefield.
Coming from Lian Sheng—who was currently panting and looking utterly drained—the words lacked conviction. Most people would've scoffed. But Lu Mingyuan nodded and said, "You're right. I'm too unreliable."
Lian Sheng asked, "What's your role?"
Lu Mingyuan: "I'm in logistics."
"Logistics?" Lian Sheng searched her memory. "Mess cook?"
But even mess cooks had to fight when it mattered.
"No. Data analysis and modeling." Lu Mingyuan looked baffled. "What's this about mess cooks?"
Lian Sheng frowned. "What's this about data analysis?"
Lu Mingyuan scratched his head. "It's... calculating enemy numbers, positions, approach speed, and attack methods based on scout intel. Creating 3D models of battlefields?"
Lian Sheng: "..." So he really was someone who didn't need to fight.
Though she didn't fully understand, it sounded impressive. So she complimented, "You're amazing."
Lu Mingyuan: "Not at all, not at all."
After resting, they resumed their hunt.
The later it got, the scarcer the prey became.
Lu Mingyuan drew her a diagram: "Assuming our assembly point is the origin—we're at the mountain's base, slightly left of center. Instructors distribute targets randomly across different elevations and directions to ensure even density, in two batches. The second batch starts at 2 p.m. If we can guarantee hit rates, based on past data, we should wait in less crowded areas first. What do you think?"
Lian Sheng: "...Do as you like."
Lu Mingyuan stood and straightened his clothes. "Alright, let's head to that gully up ahead then."
Lian Sheng followed him to the designated spot, bagging another kill along the way. At the target location, she resumed her strategy of waiting for prey to come to her.
Lu Mingyuan seemed to have plenty of stamina left, constantly scouting nearby for overlooked or stray prey. Lian Sheng sat farther away, twirling her gun. "You know this area well?"
"Of course. I'm a senior. We've studied this entire mountain's data." Lu Mingyuan glanced back at her, pointing at the number and name on his chest. "Actually, I'm technically in the command department too—just Class B instead of your Class A. We focus more on auxiliary calculations, while you handle analysis and directives."
Lian Sheng nodded. "I see."
"I've heard of you. You're this year's transfer student." Lu Mingyuan said, "Though the rumors about you... uh... aren't very accurate."
That was putting it mildly. Lian Sheng said, "Thanks."
At around 2 p.m., just as Lu Mingyuan predicted, new rabbits and ducks began appearing in the area.
Lian Sheng circled around and actually ran into instructors releasing animals.
Watching a instructor open a wooden crate, she immediately crouched, adjusted her angle, and fired.
The instructor's hand jerked. The crate was still in his grip, its lid just opened, and the rabbit inside had barely touched the ground.
From that angle, the bullet had nearly grazed his hand and knee before hitting the target.
It was almost cheating-level accuracy and eyesight. Even seasoned veterans like them wouldn't dare claim they could pull that off consistently.
Two lucky ducks managed to escape—only to be felled by subsequent shots within steps.
The instructor clicked his tongue and turned to look at Lian Sheng, giving her a thumbs-up from afar before leaving with the remaining crates.
Having discovered this score-boosting method, Lian Sheng followed. Lu Mingyuan scrambled after her to collect their prizes, his heart racing uncontrollably.
This... this was too unbelievable!
The instructor's next crate yielded three more kills for Lian Sheng.
He sighed and called back, "Don't be so lazy, youngster! Run around! Which team and class are you from?"
With skills like hers, why stalk him? How boring was that? It ruined the game's balance!
Lian Sheng held up one finger. "Just one more!"
The instructor grabbed a rabbit from another crate and tossed it over, eager to be rid of her. "Go, go!"
Lian Sheng raised her gun and fired the last bullet, then called it a day.
Lu Mingyuan rushed over to tie up their haul, counting with dazed laughter.
This was the peak of his life. Four! Four kills! Their team was saved!
By now, it wasn't even 3 p.m. yet. Having completed their mission ahead of schedule, Lian Sheng and Lu Mingyuan prepared to report their results.
They ambled downhill toward the base camp—they just needed to arrive before 7 p.m.
After walking awhile, they paused by the roadside. The dozen-plus rabbits and ducks trailing behind them drew considerable attention.
Soon, they ran into Meng Jiangwu's trio.
Spawn killing ahaha
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