SCOM - Chapter 97
Chapter 97
Zuo Luohuan pulled Ji Yuezhi into a hug, and he unconsciously rested his chin on her shoulder, rubbing it slightly. Although the fabric of the training uniform was coarse, it still made that small patch of his skin turn red.
After a moment, Zuo Luohuan leaned her upper body back slightly. Ji Yuezhi had no choice but to move away from her shoulder. He looked up at her as she took his hand, played with it for a moment, then lowered her gaze and kissed his fingers with a devout air. "I missed our Yuezhi, too."
A tingling sensation spread from the kissed finger throughout his entire body. Ji Yuezhi almost had to lean on Zuo Luohuan to keep himself from losing his balance.
"There are cameras..." Ji Yuezhi reminded her softly, but he didn't pull his hand away, instead letting her cool lips press against it.
Zuo Luohuan let out a few low laughs. "Then let's go somewhere without cameras."
The center of the valley was open space. Zuo Dihong had them set up camp there, so of course there were cameras. However, there were always blind spots, and Zuo Luohuan had figured them all out on the very first day.
She led Ji Yuezhi by the hand toward the back of the dormitory building, pulling him into a corner by the wall.
Zuo Luohuan hadn't initially intended to do anything; she purely wanted to get a good look at Ji Yuezhi. Her hand came up to his cheek, caressing it gently.
There was nothing that needed to be said. Just looking at him like this was enough.
Ji Yuezhi tilted his head, rubbing against her palm, then suddenly moved closer to Zuo Luohuan, wrapped his arms around her neck, and offered his lips.
When the person you like gently presses their soft, warm lips against yours, no one can refuse. No matter how restrained Zuo Luohuan was, she couldn't push him away.
Besides, there was no need to.
The night grew darker, and starlight sprinkled down. In the corner, the two embraced and kissed, their lips and tongues intertwining.
Zuo Luohuan had always been gentle and restrained with him. Even their kisses were careful. But sometimes, when he took the initiative to entice her, the inherent dominance of an Alpha would still leak out.
Noticing that Ji Yuezhi's breathing was gradually becoming labored, she released him, intending to end with a few light pecks.
Ji Yuezhi's long lashes fluttered open. He let Zuo Luohuan finish kissing him, then rubbed his nose against hers. His voice, still breathless, was soft as he called out, "Jiejie..."
Zuo Luohuan's expression changed instantly, becoming both fierce and heavy. Her hand gripped Ji Yuezhi's waist as she warned in a hoarse voice, "Don't use that title casually."
"Jiejie." Ji Yuezhi looked at Zuo Luohuan with eyes that were both pure and alluring, as if he didn't understand. He called out again, "Why?"
Really...
Zuo Luohuan felt that all the restraint and patience she had in her life had been given to him. She pulled him into her arms, squeezed her eyes shut, and said crudely, "I'd prefer you save that for when you're screaming it in bed."
Ji Yuezhi buried half his face in her shoulder, his beautiful eyes already curved into smiling crescents. He couldn't hide his delight; he loved the sight of her losing control for him.
The Ji family was most skilled at scheming and manipulating people's hearts; everyone in the Federation knew this.
Of course, Zuo Luohuan knew Ji Yuezhi was doing it on purpose, but she willingly fell into his trap.
"Let's go back." Zuo Luohuan thought it would be best not to come to this kind of corner next time. It was too easy for things to get heated and for her to lose control.
Ji Yuezhi looked down at his hand being held by hers and agreed cheerfully.
The two of them had only just walked out when they saw Guan Xue coming out of the dormitory. She froze for a moment when she saw them. "Not sleeping? Out on a date?"
As she spoke, a look of admiration appeared in Guan Xue's eyes. Everyone was exhausted after a long day, yet these two still had the energy for romance.
Love really goes to one's head, tsk tsk.
"Guan Xue," Zuo Luohuan called out lightly, her voice laced with a heavy warning. "Mind your own business."
"I'm hungry, just came out to find something to eat. I'll go back to sleep right after!" Guan Xue quickly slipped away.
Before they separated, Zuo Luohuan called out to Ji Yuezhi, "Wait."
Ji Yuezhi turned back to look at her. "What is it?"
Zuo Luohuan reached out and pressed the pad of her finger against his lips. "Here. It's red."
His lips were naturally pink and slightly upturned, a shape that seemed made to be plucked. Often, just a small bite from Zuo Luohuan would make them excessively vibrant.
After such a long kiss just now, anyone who looked closely would notice that Ji Yuezhi's lips were slightly swollen.
Ji Yuezhi didn't mind. A flicker of movement in his eyes showed he was about to act, but before he could, Zuo Luohuan withdrew her finger and instead pinched his chin, preventing him from opening his mouth.
"Don't tempt me. There are cameras here."
Ji Yuezhi wasn't annoyed. He just gazed at Zuo Luohuan quietly, looking very obedient.
"Go on back," Zuo Luohuan said, releasing her hand.
Only after watching Ji Yuezhi enter the dormitory did Zuo Luohuan also walk back to rest.
In reality, they hadn't rested for more than a few hours in total. Once the night had fallen completely, the camp's alarm blared once again.
This time, everyone was experienced. They scrambled out of bed at top speed, without a single thought of delaying, and sprinted out of the dormitories to assemble.
Jiao Ji watched as the ten teams finished assembling, then raised her hand to check her optical computer. "Everyone made it within ten minutes this time. In that case, let's continue with the training."
No one dared to complain.
"Tonight's training is simple. You just need to complete one circuit of a night march and return," Jiao Ji said with a smile. "Now, follow the instructors."
A night march it was, but the route was lined with decibel meters. If anyone from any team made a sound exceeding a certain level during the march, points would be deducted.
Stepping on things like wild grass and dry twigs would produce a sound louder than the tested decibel limit. In such a dark place, it was practically impossible to guard against and could only be navigated through experience.
At this time, the trained soldiers of the Winter Army clearly had an advantage.
The entire force of some fifteen thousand people moved without a single person speaking, a heavy, oppressive silence as they pushed forward quietly.
After one circuit of the night march, although there was no fighting, everyone was utterly exhausted. Each person had to walk on pins and needles, breaking out in a sweat that was mostly cold sweat from the tension.
"Go back and rest. Assemble tomorrow morning to continue training." When they returned, Jiao Ji didn't waste any words. She yawned and left, as if she had only called this group out for a casual stroll in the evening.
Since their arrival at the valley encampment, they spent seventeen to eighteen hours out of every twenty-four in training. After subtracting time for meals and other necessary activities, the time left for sleep was pitifully small.
After several months of training, everyone had lost a significant amount of weight.
"Big news." Jiang Hong squatted on a stool and said to Zuo Luohuan and the others, "The weapons department is going to configure our weapons today."
"Has Qian Mao's side made any progress?" Guan Xue asked.
Jiang Hong nodded. "Light guns, swords, daggers, and other weapons can all be made from compressed Silver-Blue composite materials. Also, it seems there's another major announcement to be made, but I don't know the specifics."
At the afternoon assembly, the students from the weapons department were indeed there, with many large boxes behind them.
"Everyone has been training here for five months. In another month, it will be exactly half a year." Jiao Ji was also thinner than when she started, but she was as energetic as ever.
Just as everyone thought she was about to announce the distribution of weapons, Jiao Ji said, "Over these five months, the scores from every training session have been recorded. Today, we will select one General Captain from among the ten captains to be responsible for leading everyone."
With a pull of her hand, a light screen materialized in mid-air, displaying the scores and progress rates of the ten teams.
Ji Yuezhi's team was designated as number 1, and its graph was a straight diagonal line upward from beginning to end. The curves for the other teams varied, but all of them had at least one flat, horizontal segment somewhere in the middle.
"The team with the highest score is Team 1." Jiao Ji's gaze fell on Ji Yuezhi. Over the past few months, Zuo Luohuan's individual strength was certainly terrifying, but the team led by Ji Yuezhi had also been progressing at a rapid pace.
"So he's the General Captain from now on?" Guan Yuan said, dissatisfied. "Just because his team has the highest score? The General Captain should be someone who can see the big picture. If Ji Yuezhi becomes the General Captain, I believe he will be biased towards Zuo Luohuan. Everyone knows they're a couple."
Hearing this, Zuo Luohuan couldn't help but scoff. "You're useless in a competition, but you're number one when it comes to trash talk."
Guan Yuan: "You!"
"That's enough." Jiao Ji raised her hand to stop him from arguing further. "With Zuo Luohuan's strength, any captain would be biased towards her, unless they held a grudge against the Federation or had an intelligence problem."
Guan Yuan: "..."
"If anyone else has an objection, you can raise your hand and speak up," Jiao Ji said, looking at the other captains.
No one raised their hand.
Over the past few months, every team had fought against Ji Yuezhi's team countless times, and basically, no one could win against him.
They couldn't win not because the difference in strength was too great, but because no one could out-scheme Ji Yuezhi. It was as if he could see through everyone's thoughts and attack accordingly.
Take Cha Lili, for example. After losing to the First Military Academy in the military exercise, he had always believed Ji Yuezhi was just relying on luck and Zuo Luohuan. But over these past few months, he had been thoroughly beaten into submission.
Ji Yuezhi simply had the ability to use all aspects of the surrounding environment to weave traps and lure them, the prey, into his net.
Besides Ji Yuezhi, no one was more suitable to be the General Captain.
Besides... only Ji Yuezhi, as the General Captain, could suppress and command Zuo Luohuan.
Zuo Luohuan was strong, and her strategic mind was no weaker than Ji Yuezhi's. If she wanted to compete for the position, no one could win against her.
It was only because she had voluntarily given it up. Of course, there were some political factors mixed in as well. Since they were training in the Northern Region, it was more appropriate for Ji Yuezhi to be the General Captain than Zuo Luohuan.
"Since no one has any objections, the selection of the General Captain is settled," Jiao Ji said. "Next is the matter of weapon compatibility. Thanks to the joint efforts of the students and teachers from the weapons department, the weapons for the skeletal mechs are finally ready."
The ones who came to the Northern Region were the most outstanding students and teachers from the weapons departments of various military academies. At the same time, the Seventeenth Army's weapons research and development department in the capital was also working on it. Both sides shared their results in real-time, ultimately developing weapons that could be fixed and compressed onto the skeletal mechs.
"I will not be distributing this batch of weapons today." Jiao Ji's gaze fell on Ji Yuezhi. "Your General Captain will do it."
Ji Yuezhi instantly understood the instructor's meaning. They were to form an Exoskeleton Legion, but it could be further subdivided into smaller squads based on weapon specialization.
For example, Luo Shaoyuan was best suited for frontline close combat, and the team she led was mostly composed of similar people, skilled with blades and fists.
"From now on, you need to start integrating and dividing them." Jiao Ji walked up to Ji Yuezhi. "Our instructors' mission is almost complete. What comes next is your mission."
Jiao Ji and the other instructors would only be leading them here for another month. During this time, Ji Yuezhi had to begin taking over command of these fifteen thousand people.
"Yes," Ji Yuezhi replied with a calm expression.
After the crowd dispersed, Qian Mao found Zuo Luohuan and handed her a curved blade. "This was sent over from the Seventeenth Army in the capital."
It was almost identical to the curved blades used by the people of the Gashiro Empire, just with a different material. It could be mounted on a skeletal mech and compressed along with it.
"Give me your mech today, and I'll help you modify it later," Qian Mao said. "There's also a light gun. You can install it and try it out first."
"Alright," Zuo Luohuan agreed.
On the other side, Ji Yuezhi was examining the types and quantities of weapons, preparing to start dividing the teams.
After looking through the weapons in the boxes, he glanced over toward Zuo Luohuan. She was talking with Qian Mao, toying with a curved blade in her hand.
"Your main task this month is to integrate the teams and get them to accept you as the General Captain," Jiao Ji reminded him from the side. "We will be here for another month. After that, this force is yours."
In fact, at the very beginning, the instructors had thought Zuo Luohuan would be among the ten captains and would then take over. After all, they were from the Winter Army and had hoped Zuo Dihong's daughter would take charge. However, in the end, Ji Yuezhi had certainly proven he had the ability to do so.
"Yes."
Ji Yuezhi excused himself from the instructor and walked over to Zuo Luohuan.
Qian Mao had already walked away. Zuo Luohuan turned to look at Ji Yuezhi, a smile in her eyes, and reached out her hand to him.
Ji Yuezhi placed his hand on hers and looked at her seriously. "I'm the General Captain now."
"Mm," Zuo Luohuan smiled. "From now on, I am the blade in General Captain Ji's hand."
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