Chapter 104: Anecdotes from the Military Camp

Qin Yang, what are you doing getting all cozy with Xiao Ran? Look at how blissful you are. When he came over, Dongfang Hao and the others crowded around him, gossiping with eager curiosity.

Wei Boyang shot them a glare. “If you’ve got time to gossip here, why not think about how to keep your own necks intact and strike the enemy a hard blow? Let’s go.”

The others shut up in discontent and followed Wei Boyang to an elevator. This was the only way out, and it was guarded by heavy troops. After the elevator ascended, stepping out led into a special building within Xining Prison. Once outside the building, one could see the yard where the prisoners were allowed to move about. The inmates, who had been lounging in the afternoon, were startled when a group of heavily armed men suddenly emerged. They all backed away at once, then gathered together, whispering and speculating wildly about who these people might be.

Outside the prison gates, two military vehicles were already waiting.

The convoy drove all the way to a military base. Without lingering, the group boarded a helicopter and flew to another base set in a barren desert. At the moment, the base was in the midst of its daily routine: a batch of raw recruits was clearly being put through the wringer by veteran soldiers, tasting the harsh atmosphere of army life. More than ten of them all drew a deep breath. The scent of freedom and blood-hot vigor was one they had not breathed in a very long time.

“What a great place,” Dongfang Hao said with obvious comfort.

Zhou Qi patted his shoulder. “Believe in yourselves. It won’t be long before we can roam this world freely.”

At that moment, a colonel came striding over. After saluting the group, he said to Wei Boyang, “Commander, the rookies will be in position shortly.”

Wei Boyang checked the time and said to the dozen or so men, “Rest on your own for now. Behave yourselves. Don’t wander around. Wait for orders to assemble.”

“Relax.”

“No problem.”

“All good.”

There was no neat, unified response, no impeccable military salute. The whole bunch acted like a pack of rogues. Wei Boyang could only smile helplessly. With the colonel and the others, he headed toward the command center, while Qin Yang and the others plopped down at the side, setting their rifles by their feet. They watched the recruits’ training with great interest, bursting into laughter whenever one of the rookies made a fool of himself. Thinking back to the years when they had once been among those very recruits, they laughed even harder and traded teasing remarks with one another.

Qin Yang reached into his bag and took out a pack of cigarettes, then lit one with evident enjoyment.

A communications officer left behind to watch them stepped forward and saluted. “Smoking is not permitted here.”

“Beat it, or I’ll knock you around a bit,” said Cheng Mu, whose temper was a little fiery. He glared at the man, who jumped in fright and dared not approach again. He could only stand obediently to one side. These guys were fully armed to the teeth; he could even tell that their rounds were already chambered. What was more, they had no shoulder insignia and no rank badges at all, making it impossible to judge their identities. But being able to joke around with a major general meant they were definitely no ordinary people.

The group lounged there, puffing smoke into the air, while over at the training ground the rookies who had a craving for cigarettes looked on with envy. In this region of Xinjiang there were also occasional signs of altitude sickness, and when training was especially intense, they did not dare smoke for fear of making themselves ill. Yet when they saw these men so carefree, with no concern whatsoever, they were almost green with jealousy.

A company commander observing the training noticed the rookies’ covetous expressions and barked furiously, “What are you looking at? What is there to look at? You’re soldiers, not loafers. So you get jealous just because you see someone smoking? Do you have any self-control at all? Eyes forward, all of you!”

“Brothers, don’t you think that bastard sounds like he’s talking about us behind our backs?” Dongfang Hao took a deep drag.

“I think so too. Want me to grab a weapon and wipe him out?” Cheng Mu licked his lips.

Zhou Qi knew they were joking and did not take it seriously. He only glanced at Qin Yang, and found him staring at something with bright eyes. Curious, he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“Female soldiers,” Qin Yang said after taking a puff, grinning in a lewd way.

The others froze, then followed the direction of his gaze. Sure enough, a group of spirited female soldiers was walking out in perfect formation. They were not exceptionally beautiful, but they were pleasant to look at overall, and their figures were excellent. Especially after training, with sweat soaking through them, they had a vigorous, attractive air. Though the temperature here was not low, that did not diminish their enthusiasm for training in the slightest.

“They’ve got great figures,” Dongfang Hao said. “Honestly, apart from Xiao Ran, there’s really no one worth looking at in the Black Prison. And Xiao Ran is our darling treasure, not someone we can tease. Tch, girls, give us a smile.”

“Damn it.”

The others cursed in unison and moved a little farther away from him, all wearing the expression of people who did not know him.

The female soldiers seemed to have noticed this bunch of rogue-like men. After all, in this cold military camp, a group dressed so flamboyantly and full of vitality was impossible not to notice.

“Instructor, who are they?” one of the women asked curiously.

“Don’t know,” the instructor said, a trace of puzzlement crossing her strict face. “I’ve never seen them before, but they’re all heavily armed. They must be from some special unit, I suppose?”

“Special unit and they don’t have rank insignia? Not even badges or emblems?”

“Yeah, look at the one smoking. He’s so young too, maybe in his twenties?”

“Seems even younger than me.”

“Do they even have bullets in those guns?”

“They probably do.”

The female soldiers chattered excitedly, one after another, until the instructor snapped a sharp command and restored order, forcing them back into training.

At that point, the eyes of the troublemakers lit up even more. They even let out a few playful whistles and shouted teasing remarks. Their humorous banter made the female soldiers cover their mouths and laugh, which only infuriated the rookies training nearby. The saying was that good land should not nourish strangers, yet these unknown men, with no one even knowing their unit or designation, were openly flirting with the female soldiers on their own turf. Was there any law left at all? One by one, the rookies’ eyes blazed with anger. If not for the company commander being there, they would have rushed over already.

The commander noticed this and had a thought. Rolling his eyes, he yawned. “I’m going to take a nap. You lot carry on with free activity.”

With that, the fellow stretched, then walked off. Once the rookies dispersed, they gathered to one side, all staring at Qin Yang and his group. But those men completely filtered out the rookies’ hateful glares and continued shamelessly teasing the female soldiers in their movements and mannerisms. At that moment, the female instructor also announced free activity, and the women became even more curious, one after another, as they came over.

“They’re coming, they’re coming. Brothers, give me a little face. I, Dongfang Hao, am already well past thirty and still don’t have a wife. If I really get lucky and make it out alive, finding a wife here wouldn’t be bad at all.” Dongfang Hao rubbed his hands together, already thinking about the rest of his life.

Zhou Qi laughed and cursed, “Look at how hopeless you are.”

A few of the bolder female soldiers stepped forward and asked curiously, “Which unit are you from?”

“We?” Dongfang Hao answered first, looking a little overeager. “We’re a squad assembled on the brink of death, just passing through here. Is the training here cold? Feels like it’s four or five degrees below zero.”

“Once you get moving, it’s fine,” said a few of the women, who were also quite talkative. Before long, the conversation had grown lively.

Qin Yang, meanwhile, lay lazily on the ground with one leg crossed over the other, staring up at the sky with a leisurely air. The others took their cue from Dongfang Hao and began making up stories. Of course, none of them would reveal anything about the Black Prison. The female soldiers soon shifted their attention to the weapons in their hands, and the men were not stingy; they stripped the magazines from their guns and handed them over for the women to play with, showing no trace of special-forces decorum at all.

Seeing Dongfang Hao, utterly without restraint, pressing close to a woman and teaching her how to aim, the rookies could no longer hold back. A swaggering young man marched up, eyes full of challenge. “From the way you look, you must be veterans, right? How about it? Dare to have a match?”

The others turned around and saw more than twenty rookies gathered together.

“A match? What kind?” Cheng Mu asked with a grin.

“Fists.” The young man raised his own fists in a swaggering manner. He stood nearly six and a half feet tall, his whole body packed with explosive power, clearly very confident in his skills.

“There are so many of us, and only twelve of you. You pick one. One-on-one, rotating matches, group fight, whatever you want,” Cheng Mu said, rubbing his hands together.

The man looked over them and pointed at Qin Yang. “Then start with him. I’ll take you one by one.”

“Damn.” Unexpectedly, Zhou Qi and the others all looked disappointed.

Qin Yang got up from the ground and pointed to himself. “You’re sure you mean me?”

“Yes.”

With a grin, Qin Yang took off his gear and handed it to the others for safekeeping. He rolled his shoulders and said, “We’ll start right here then. I still have a mission to carry out in a little while, so I don’t have much time. But dealing with you lot shouldn’t be much of a problem.”

The big man roared and charged forward in a rage, throwing a punch with considerable force. Qin Yang did not even glance at it. He lifted his foot and kicked him in the stomach, saying at the same time, “Next.”