SCOM - Chapter 94
Chapter 94
The Northern border was long and its environment complex, making it the most difficult border to defend among all regions. This time, the encampment for the Skeletal Mech training was set up in a valley. Behind the mountain lay the border guarded by the Winter Army, and in front was their rotational rest camp.
The cadets selected from the four military academies numbered twelve thousand in total. They had run all the way from the Northern Military Academy since early morning, only just arriving at the valley entrance by nightfall.
A team was already waiting at the entrance. Three thousand soldiers had also been selected from the Winter Army, all of whom had been enlisted for less than two years.
After everyone had gathered, Zuo Dihong came in person.
“Behind this mountain is the border. Every day, people in the Federation die from the various harassing attacks of the Gashiro Empire. The initial purpose of developing Skeletal Mechs was to reduce soldier casualties, but while we are advancing, the Gashiro Empire on the other side is advancing as well. They have already developed the third-generation Robot Dogs.” Zuo Dihong stood before everyone and said sternly, “The Military Committee has selected you all to establish a safeguard for the Federation, a vanguard force. We hope that in the future, you will have the ability to stand before the Federation, just like the mountain behind us, winding and towering.”
Zuo Dihong looked at these young faces. At the Military Committee, he and Ji Xixiu had pushed this plan through against all opposition, precisely to support the rise of the younger generation. If they could truly rise, perhaps one day they would no longer be merely defending the border as they were now.
Perhaps… they could even annihilate the Gashiro Empire.
“In the coming days, instructors from the Northern Military Academy will guide your training,” Zuo Dihong said in a deep voice. “May you all go further than we have in the future.”
Jiang Hong whispered to Zuo Luohuan, “Every time Uncle speaks, the hair on the back of my neck stands on end with excitement.”
“Let’s go.” Zuo Luohuan didn’t have as many thoughts; her mind was occupied with other matters.
There were a total of ten instructors from the Northern Military Academy, and besides them, there was no one else to manage these selected cadets and the three thousand Winter Army soldiers.
Upon arriving at the encampment, no one received the order to dismiss and get settled.
The lead instructor stepped out from among the others. “My name is Jiao Ji, and I am your main instructor. From now on, all your training plans will be issued by me, and any matters you have will ultimately be reported to me.”
With her hands clasped behind her back and her feet apart, her gaze swept over everyone present. “Do you see the ten flags on the platform behind me? In the future, there will be ten captains in this encampment, with 1500 people per team. Those who wish to be a captain, stand under a flagpole now. There are only ten flags, and only one person can be under each flag. If anyone else wants to be a captain, then go and seize it. I’ll give you two hours.”
By this time, the sky had completely darkened, with only the surrounding lights still on. The people who had just arrived in the valley could even hear the chirping of insects nearby.
Zuo Luohuan reached out and pulled Ji Yuezhi behind her, then walked onto the platform herself. After she stood firm under the first flag, she turned to face the crowd.
Jiao Ji clapped. “Very good, the first captain has appeared.”
After she spoke, people successively went to stand under the other flags. With only ten flags, competition was unavoidable for those who wanted to be captain.
Soon, people began attacking those under the flags, and Zuo Luohuan, of course, couldn't avoid crossing hands with others.
“What are you going up there for now?” An Yingjing called out to stop Luo Shaoyuan.
“To become a captain,” Luo Shaoyuan said excitedly.
“It’s a waste of energy to go now. Why not wait until they’re halfway through fighting before you go up?” An Yingjing gestured for her to look at the platform. “Besides Zuo Luohuan, look who else has gone up. Cha Lili and the others are all still down here.”
Luo Shaoyuan thought for a moment and said, “It doesn’t matter. I just want to go up and exchange a few blows with everyone.”
Becoming a captain was a small matter; she was more interested in fighting.
“…Stinking Alpha,” An Yingjing muttered angrily as he watched Luo Shaoyuan leap onto the stage.
Among the fifteen thousand selected, who wasn’t exceptionally outstanding? Naturally, they were unwilling to be subordinate to others. Within two hours, a constant stream of people went up on stage.
The people guarding the flags on the platform were also constantly being replaced. Later, Cha Lili and Guan Yuan also went up.
Guan Yuan didn’t dare to challenge Zuo Luohuan’s side; the people who went there were mostly from the Winter Army. The first batch of people who had gone up had basically all come down by now.
Luo Shaoyuan was still there, but her Skeletal Mech was already dented in many places. Although the mech protected her, the force of the challengers’ attacks couldn't be completely negated, and her head was a little dazed.
An Yingjing went up at just the right time, randomly picking an Alpha guarding a flag. He released his pheromones, confusing the person, and then kicked them off the stage.
The moment his pheromones were released, the movements of the people on the stage couldn't help but stop.
On the entire platform, the only person who had remained on stage for nearly two hours from beginning to end was Zuo Luohuan. And besides An Yingjing, she was the most relaxed one.
So many people from the Winter Army had come up, yet none had been able to harm her.
“Strange,” Jiang Hong muttered in surprise as he and the others gathered around, looking up at Zuo Luohuan on the platform. “Since when did she like to show off?”
Zuo Luohuan had never been fond of group activities, especially when she had to be the leader; she found it troublesome.
Today, she was being surprisingly proactive.
But Jiang Hong soon understood why. Zuo Luohuan was here to show off, openly and honorably.
Just as the platform challenge was about to end, Zuo Luohuan took off her Skeletal Mech and reached a hand out towards a spot below the stage, a faint smile in her eyes.
Ji Yuezhi looked up at Zuo Luohuan, remembering what she had said during the day. The corners of his narrow eyes lifted slightly, and then the crowd saw him walk out from among them.
As soon as he walked up, Zuo Luohuan took his hand and led him onto the platform. After Ji Yuezhi was standing firm, she then stepped down from the flag platform. At that moment, the time was up.
After guarding the platform for two hours, Zuo Luohuan had just handed it over to someone else. Even Jiao Ji, who was standing nearby, was stunned. She had never seen a military cadet pull such a slick move.
“Whoa—” A chorus of shouts erupted from below the stage.
Who would have thought someone would show off their love at a time like this? In front of more than fifteen thousand people, Zuo Luohuan had put on quite a show.
“Damn!” an Omega below said. “The way she led him up just now, I thought it was some kind of wedding scene.”
“Our senior really knows how to play,” Ding Wuming said, looking up at the stage and gossiping with Yan Yan beside him.
“Senior Ji is not bad either,” Yan Yan said. He hadn't gone up; he wanted to follow Zuo Luohuan and the others. As for whether the captain was Zuo Luohuan or Ji Yuezhi, it made no difference.
The ten flag-takers had been decided. Jiao Ji also stepped up. “The ten captains have been chosen. They each have 1,499 spots under them. You can now freely choose your captain. A word of warning: if a team is full and someone still wants to join, they can only do so by challenging.”
Jiang Hong, Guan Xue, and the others didn't hesitate, heading straight for Ji Yuezhi's side. Xiang Chengping hesitated for a moment before eventually walking over to them as well.
“I never realized before,” Jiang Hong said, walking up to Zuo Luohuan. “You’re really good at this. Where did you learn these tricks?”
It would be a miracle if she couldn't charm an Omega with skills like these.
Zuo Luohuan lowered her eyes, one hand pressing on the ring finger of the other, rubbing it incessantly. She chuckled softly. “For this kind of thing, I’m a natural.”
Guan Xue shifted away slightly. It was too much, the kind of display a single person couldn't bear.
The team division lasted well into the latter half of the night. They still had to be assigned their accommodations, and these tasks were handed over to the captains who had just been selected. With further delays, the sky was already getting bright by the time everyone could finally rest.
Among the ten captains, five were from the Winter Army, while the other five were military cadets who had not yet graduated: Ji Yuezhi, An Yingjing, Luo Shaoyuan, Cha Lili, and Guan Yuan.
Everyone had just laid down to rest for less than an hour when a piercing bell rang through the encampment.
“What’s going on?” Guan Xue shot up. “It hasn’t even been an hour.”
“Training.” Zuo Luohuan was already dressed. “Everyone, go wake the others.”
This area was filled with the people assigned to Ji Yuezhi just today. When Zuo Luohuan went out, Ji Yuezhi was also just emerging from his quarters. She pointed him in another direction and quickly went to knock on other people's doors.
By the time everyone arrived at the assembly point, five teams were already standing straight in the training ground.
Ji Yuezhi’s gaze swept over them. He remembered the captains of these five teams; all of them were from the Winter Army.
Jiao Ji looked at the sixth team to assemble on the training ground and raised her optical computer. “Ten minutes. It took ten minutes to assemble.”
Subsequently, the teams of Luo Shaoyuan, Cha Lili, and An Yingjing arrived, all within fifteen minutes.
Only one team was outside the fifteen-minute mark: Guan Yuan’s team.
“You even change into pajamas to sleep?” Jiao Ji walked up to Guan Yuan, flicked open his unbuttoned military jacket, and said sternly, “Behind this mountain is the border. Do you think this is your home? Fifteen minutes is enough time for the Gashiro Empire’s Robot Dogs to slaughter your entire team several times over!”
Jiao Ji reprimanded them one by one. Ji Yuezhi listened, but his gaze was fixed on the teams in front. Every one of them was impeccably dressed, clearly accustomed to such high-intensity, short-notice alerts.
…They still had a lot to learn.
“All teams that arrived after the ten-minute mark, run twenty laps around the inner valley,” Jiao Ji said, looking at Ji Yuezhi’s team and adding, “including the team that arrived in ten minutes.”
The distance of twenty laps wasn't difficult. The difficulty lay in the diverse environment of the inner valley. One moment it was steep, rocky slopes, the next it was muddy waterways. They were still wearing their Skeletal Mechs, and stepping into knee-deep muddy water multiplied the pressure. Some couldn't control themselves and their entire body plunged into the mud.
After finishing the run, everyone was exhausted, their Skeletal Mechs covered in filth.
“Today is the first and only time we will come to wake you,” Ji Yuezhi said, standing before his team after the run. “From now on, even when you sleep, you cannot let your guard down, unless you want to be killed by the Gashiro in your sleep.”
“Yes.”
His team was mostly composed of people from the First Military Academy. After choosing Ji Yuezhi, there were no signs of insubordination.
Besides, Zuo Luohuan was in the team. Last night, so many senior cadets from the Winter Army had gone on stage, and not a single one could defeat her.
With her standing behind Ji Yuezhi, no one dared to rebel. It wasn't like they had a death wish.
When the five teams that had been punished with laps returned, the five teams that were there before had already left. Jiao Ji was also gone. Only a few other instructors remained, each holding a high-pressure water gun, waiting for them.
As soon as everyone was together, they started spraying them with the water guns.
At first, everyone thought it was to help clean the dirt off their Skeletal Mechs, but they soon realized something was wrong.
—This was clearly oil!
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