SCOM - Chapter 47
Chapter 47
The moment he heard Zuo Luohuan's name, Ji Xixiu's heart felt somewhat complicated. "The two of them left alone?"
An Yingjing's gaze darted away, and he mumbled evasively, "I think so."
Ji Xixiu smelled the faint lingering scent of poppy pheromones in the air. Something occurred to him, and after a moment of silence, he surprisingly let the matter drop.
The dispersed guard teams also began reporting back to Ji Xixiu one by one. Most of the students were gathered in the large square at the north-south junction. A few hundred cadets had gone to repair the signal base station. Judging by the restored communication signal at the First Military Academy, they must have succeeded. A guard team had already been sent to find that group of cadets.
"Wait for the instructors to return, tally the losses, and protect these students," Ji Xixiu replied.
Tonight, the capital was destined to be sleepless. Countless Seventeenth Army aircraft flew across the night sky, and army groups continuously appeared at various defensive points.
He Yue was tracking a suspect when she suddenly noticed several aircraft passing overhead. Seeing the large 'Seventeen' emblem on them, she couldn't help but pause. Such a large-scale movement by the Seventeenth Army meant something major must have happened.
Before she could draw a conclusion, a communication request came from Jia Hailan. Judging by the background, he wasn't in a meeting but was also inside an aircraft.
"Instructor He, the First Military Academy was attacked by Gashiro."
He Yue froze, then spun around to look at her team. Her current direction was completely opposite to the First Military Academy's location. Most of the Scavenger Army's forces were here today.
The Scavenger Army had no vested interests with any army group, but it was sworn to protect all military cadets.
They had been lured away from the mountain. The intelligence tonight was most likely false!
Since Instructor Jia and the others already knew, they were probably rushing to the First Military Academy. He Yue decided not to go. She would follow this false lead and investigate whether the problem was internal to the Scavenger Army or if the information department had been set up.
By the time Ji Xixiu brought the students from the other schools over, Jiang Hong and the three hundred students who had come from the south had also been found and had arrived at the north-south square.
The cadets did not return to the buildings to rest that night. Instead, they rested on the spot in the square, surrounded by the guard teams, the subsequently arrived Seventeenth Army, and the instructors.
The moment Jia Hailan stepped off the aircraft, he asked Ji Xixiu what had happened.
"Several groups of Gashiro launched a sneak attack in the middle of the night. Their main target was An Yingjing," Ji Xixiu said while arranging operations on his optical computer. Since the Gashiro had dared to take such a huge risk and activate their people hidden in the capital, he would make sure they never returned.
Jia Hailan had guessed as much on the way. They had returned from the military exercise less than two days ago. An army group was scheduled to guard the visiting students tomorrow. Who could have predicted the Gashiro would act tonight?
He observed the cadets in the square. Their mental states were relatively stable, which made him think that perhaps not many Gashiro had come.
"The current rough count of Gashiro bodies is over a hundred. On the roof of the north building, there are many more Gashiro burned beyond recognition, so a precise count isn't possible right now." Ji Xixiu looked up and saw Jia Hailan's expression, knew what he was thinking, and took the initiative to explain.
"Over a hundred?" Jia Hailan was shaken, then it dawned on him. "The fire on the north building's roof was set by our cadets?"
"I heard Zuo Luohuan did it alone." Ji Xixiu quickly scanned the messages on his optical computer, reading ten lines at a glance. "Many of the Gashiro's skilled fighters were near the visiting students. The First Military Academy students arrived in time, so there were no deaths among the students from the three schools. An Yingjing suffered minor injuries, but his gland is fine."
For a moment, the instructors who had arrived didn't know whether to be amazed by what Zuo Luohuan had done or shocked that the Gashiro Empire had so many people hidden in the capital.
Jia Hailan suddenly asked, "What about the casualties among the First Military Academy students?"
Ji Xixiu's fingers paused. He looked up with a serious expression. "So far, there are three known fatalities: a sophomore from the Disciplinary Committee on patrol, and two other cadets who were killed by Gashiro while fighting for the signal base station."
Even though this number was unexpectedly low, to the ears of the First Military Academy instructors, it was still like a clap of thunder.
"And the seriously injured?" Jia Hailan continued to ask.
"The final count isn't in yet, but it's estimated to be nearly seventy," Ji Xixiu stated calmly. "The casualty rate is this low thanks to the guns your students had."
Jia Hailan was stunned. "What guns?"
"Firearms." Ji Xixiu remembered something and looked toward a corner of the square. "Hmm, and a few light guns."
The great Commander Jia was left speechless, his mind stalling. For a moment, he couldn't grasp the logic behind it.
When Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan arrived at the north-south square, the instructors had already dispersed, and Ji Xixiu was at the forefront, directing operations.
As soon as Zuo Luohuan approached the square, she was called over by Jia Hailan for questioning. She glanced at Ji Yuezhi before turning to leave.
Ji Yuezhi stood in place for a moment, then, sensing his father's gaze, he walked over to Ji Xixiu.
As he got closer, Ji Xixiu's eyes fell on the scent patch on his son's neck. "What's wrong?" he asked.
Ji Yuezhi pressed his lips together and lowered his eyes. "My heat period has started."
Ji Xixiu already knew that Ji Yuezhi had led the rescue of the visiting students. He understood the effects of poppy pheromones better than these cadets and almost instantly deduced what had happened. With complicated feelings, he asked, "She gave you a temporary mark?"
Ji Yuezhi nodded slightly.
Looking at his son's expression, Ji Xixiu sighed inwardly and put an arm around his son's shoulder. "The second stage of the military exercise will likely be postponed. I'll request leave for you and Zuo Luohuan until the temporary mark fades."
Ji Yuezhi had presented late, and the state of his first heat was unpredictable. Now that he had been temporarily marked, Omega inhibitors were ineffective. This time, he would need Zuo Luohuan's help to get through it. The best outcome, of course, would be that it was already over and he didn't need Zuo Luohuan, but Ji Xixiu didn't want his son to have an accident in public.
"The Gashiro..." Ji Yuezhi hesitated for a moment.
Ji Xixiu looked at Zuo Luohuan and Jia Hailan in the distance. "She's already been called for questioning. You two go rest later. We'll contact you directly via the optical computer if anything comes up."
"...Alright." Ji Yuezhi didn't walk toward Zuo Luohuan but stood by his father's side, briefly recounting the events of the night.
When he heard his son mention a group of well-trained cadets with guns, Ji Xixiu said, "The First Military Academy has two Disciplinary Committees. The one you're talking about should be the Dark Department. But they've developed to the point of having firearms? It seems their recruitment criteria have changed."
Ji Yuezhi had never heard of the Dark Department. He lowered his eyes in thought. The Gashiro were first discovered in the north, and Zuo Luohuan had sounded the alarm in the Alpha building. If she had ordered the so-called Dark Department into action then, it would explain the timely appearance of the armed cadets in the south.
"Is she part of the Dark Department?" Ji Yuezhi asked his father.
"Zuo Luohuan's father was, too," Ji Xixiu said. "The two of them have very similar personalities, which fits the requirements of the Dark Department."
They didn't talk for long before Zuo Luohuan walked over. Seeing Ji Xixiu, she hesitated for a moment before calling out, "Uncle Ji."
Ji Xixiu stared at her coldly, but ultimately, considering his son's feelings, he nodded in acknowledgment. "Yuezhi needs to rest. Take him and leave for now. I'll arrange your leave for the next few days."
Even if Ji Xixiu hadn't said it, Zuo Luohuan had already planned to do so. "I have an apartment in the central city. The environment is good, and it's well-equipped. We can rest there."
"I'll have someone take you there." No matter how complicated Ji Xixiu's feelings were, he could only entrust his son to Zuo Luohuan for now.
By the next afternoon, the basic sequence of events had been laid bare for all to see. The Gashiro had launched a sneak attack in the middle of the night and besieged the building where the visiting students were staying. Fortunately, a patrolling cadet from the Disciplinary Committee had desperately raised the alarm. Cadets on both the north and south sides were led by someone, preventing chaos. Coupled with the fact that they had weapons, although the number of seriously injured reached seventy-one and three had died, the Gashiro's plan was, by comparison, a disastrous failure.
And this was just the beginning. Next, the capital would follow the trail and root out the spies the Gashiro had planted in the Federation.
"They..." an instructor from the weapons development department began, hesitating, but finally couldn't hold back. "Which student thought to go to 404 to get light guns? And even got energy blocks."
"We couldn't find out," Jia Hailan said with a hint of a smile in his eyes. "Let's not pursue this matter."
"Speaking of which, did that Zuo Luohuan really burn that many Gashiro? Forty-six?" Kang Guang still found it hard to believe. "I didn't think she was that formidable. That group of Gashiro must have been too weak."
This was an internal meeting at the First Military Academy, so Kang Guang spoke very directly.
"The Gashiro's plan this time was very thorough. Whether in terms of the number of attackers, or taking advantage of the border conference in the Northern District and the false intelligence sent to the Scavenger Army, they put in a great deal of effort. Logically, it shouldn't have failed," Jia Hailan said. "The Gashiro's most crucial target was An Yingjing. The others were split into two groups: one to attack our students in the south, and the other's objective was likely to kill Zuo Luohuan."
"So..." Kang Guang didn't fully understand.
"So the group of Gashiro that Zuo Luohuan encountered was definitely not weak." Jia Hailan suddenly had someone bring over two items. "I found these not far from the visiting students' building."
Kang Guang reached out to take them. The moment they were in his hands, he frowned and shot to his feet to keep from dropping them. He exclaimed in shock, "Are these... weight belts?"
Jia Hailan nodded. "Before coming here this morning, I asked Zuo Luohuan. They're hers."
Feeling the weight in his hands, Kang Guang fell silent for a moment. Should he say, as expected of Zuo Dihong's daughter?
When Zuo Luohuan received the communication from Commander Jia, it was seven in the morning. She was already awake. Glancing at the person sleeping on their side on the bed, she rose from her chair, placed her pheromone-scented jacket by the bedside, and then walked out to the living room to answer the call.
Looking at the two weight belts, Zuo Luohuan didn't deny it. There were many surveillance cameras within the First Military Academy. Even if the signal was jammed, they could still record and save the footage. The Gashiro had indeed destroyed some, but not the ones outside the visiting students' building. They probably wanted to kill An Yingjing and the others in front of the cameras.
After she admitted it, Instructor Jia Hailan gave Zuo Luohuan a deep look but ultimately said nothing more.
Zuo Luohuan turned off her optical computer and tiptoed back into the bedroom. Ji Yuezhi was still asleep, but his face was now rubbing against her jacket, likely because he sensed the pheromones in the room dissipating.
Now fully awake, Zuo Luohuan couldn't get back to sleep. She sat in the chair, watching the person on the bed, waiting for him to wake up.
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