CR CH9

Chapter 9: Teammates

Jiang Tianji slept very soundly.

It wasn’t until someone tapped his face lightly that he jolted awake, startled. What greeted his vision were three faces extremely close to his own. Having been frightened enough for one day, Jiang Tianji instinctively jumped up.

The trio stepped back immediately. Feng Huo gave him a thumbs-up. “Damn, that’s impressive. I’ve never seen anyone sleep that deeply. No wonder you were late this morning.”

Huang Qi laughed, his mouth running without a filter. “Yeah, honestly, day-in and day-out training is really boring. We were so happy today, finally having some fun… uh!”

Ji Yandong, clearly used to this, didn’t even turn his head as he elbowed Huang Qi in the ribs. “We brought you food. We didn’t know your taste, so we bought the most popular choice.”

Jiang Tianji pulled his gaze away from Huang Qi’s distorted face, swallowed involuntarily, and stood at attention.

Ji Yandong tapped the table, signaling him to come over. Seeing the two “bears” trying to crowd in, his tone dropped. “Go do what you’re supposed to do. Feng Huo, go wash those smelly socks in your locker. Huang Qi, you failed your monthly moral education exam—start memorizing the manual. Looking at the entire Basic Unit of the Capital of Lixing Planet, you can count the people who fail this subject on one hand.”

The two scurried off begrudgingly.

Jiang Tianji turned back, leaned in, and whispered: “Captain, we have a monthly written test on ethics?”

“Not exactly. There’s a column for ‘Moral Education’ in the monthly assessment. Usually, it’s just a formality—any normal person passes it.”

Ji Yandong also lowered his voice, quietly opening his communicator. On the way here, Assistant Jiang had briefly explained the rules to him. A dormitory in the Basic Unit held four people, and a squad consisted of 7–8 members. Each squad leader held a communicator for data storage and emergency reporting. However, these communicators were standard issue and contained a monitoring system.

Ji Yandong flipped through the data to find his squad members’ exam papers. The virtual screen lit up before them, and Jiang Tianji looked on.

Question 1: If a teammate is accidentally injured and you are not familiar with first-aid measures, what is the first step you should take?

A: Carry the person to a place with people to seek help. B: Use the signal device to send an emergency signal to the officer.

C: Attempt to help based on intuition. D: Cry loudly on the spot.

Jiang Tianji thought, this is a giveaway question; it has to be B. But as he looked down, he saw the person had selected D.

“…”

He didn’t move, stunned. Instinctively, he looked at the next question.

Question 2: If a teammate makes a mistake during training and is punished, what should you do?

A: Train seriously and comfort the teammate afterward. B: Stand by your buddy and fight the instructor.

C: Get angry and complain. D: Mock the teammate.

Huang Qi had chosen D.

Jiang Tianji subconsciously glanced at Huang Qi, who was suffering through memorizing the ethics manual nearby, feeling perplexed. Is this really a problem that can be solved by memorizing a book?

He turned back to Ji Yandong and asked tactfully: “Captain, was he filling this out seriously, or is there some hidden trouble?”

“He was serious. He said a real man knows when to bend and when to stretch, and that one should correct their mistakes but never lie through their teeth.”

Both fell silent, clearly thinking of how Huang Qi had acted when Jiang Tianji was punished earlier that day.

Ji Yandong rubbed his temples in frustration, deciding to straighten out this new seedling first. “Anyway… don’t take what they say to heart; the people in our squad are actually pretty good.” He took out a notebook and a pen, writing while he spoke. “Your situation is unique. If you don’t know something, you can ask me. Let me give you a general overview.”

“You’ve probably figured out enough after one day: the Z01 Basic Unit is tiring, but the initial phase is relatively easy. Later on, if you don’t have the intention of staying or advancing, the pressure won’t be that high.”

“Just train honestly and complete your missions. Two years later, you can return to school… or, like me, stay in Z01 as a squad leader.”

Jiang Tianji nodded, feeling relieved. It was just like school, really—just grind through two years, get physically tired, and that’s it. Luckily, his physical constitution had always been good; even though he was usually lazy—preferring to lie down over sitting—his physique was naturally gifted.

Jiang Tianji: “Captain, why didn’t you leave Z01?”

Ji Yandong’s pen paused. He lowered his head and smiled. “Because I once met a great captain, and I want to be a great captain, too.”

Jiang Tianji propped his chin on his hands and sighed: “I’ve met a great captain now, too. I’m just thinking about hanging out with my great captain for these two years, going back to study in peace, making money, and then treating you brothers to a grand feast… ow!”

His head was tapped by a pen. Ji Yandong looked at him speechlessly: “The instructors were all praising your potential today.”

Jiang Tianji slapped his thigh in regret: “I was just too honest! I got punished all morning without thinking it through. Now they all know I have good stamina; how am I supposed to slack off in the future?”

Huang Qi laughed upon hearing this, threw down his textbook, and crowded over: “You know, we have simulation combat sessions. You can fake it tomorrow. If you get hit, just lie on the ground…”

Feng Huo, who was scrubbing socks in the washroom, poked his head out, shouting loudly: “What does he need to fake? We’ve been training for almost two months, and he hasn’t even touched combat techniques yet. He was just dragged out of school; he’ll definitely be beaten black and blue. Hey, since we’re teammates, how about we set a code word? If you can’t take it, just give a shout, and I’ll end it quick for you.”

Jiang Tianji’s eyes lit up: “Sure! Then when the time comes, I…”

Bang.

Ji Yandong tapped the table expressionlessly with his pen. The other two immediately shrank back. Huang Qi went to pick up his books, and Feng Huo went back to scrubbing the mountain of socks.

Jiang Tianji looked at the slender arms that had just flexed with muscular veins and flashed a fawning smile.

“Captain.”

Ji Yandong smiled back, warm as a spring breeze, but his words were colder than a winter gale: “I won’t go easy on you.”

Jiang Tianji instantly wilted: “…”

“Come, let’s continue. There’s a training review later. Each instructor will take their squad to the large conference hall to review the best and worst groups. Once a week, there’s a sparring match on the ring—you just happened to catch it today… We’ll also watch some actual combat footage; that’s textbook-level stuff.”

“Training reviews in the Basic Unit are considered being ‘taken care of.’ The units above us have actual combat reviews. Some people might be in the footage, but by the time of the review, they are already…”

Ji Yandong paused, not continuing.

“In short, the real combat footage you saw on the official website is child’s play compared to this. Combat footage collected exclusively by the Federal Center is rare and highly sought after.”

Hearing him say this, Jiang Tianji thought of Assistant Jiang’s words and asked curiously: “I heard… is there footage of Captain Ling, too?”

Before Ji Yandong could speak, another head poked out from the washroom, voice booming.

“Absolutely! I’m telling you, the Psychic Unit next door has a break schedule that offsets with ours. Whenever there’s实战 (actual combat) footage of Captain Ling, those people definitely sneak in to watch. Our instructors turn a blind eye, too—after all, you could say it shows an active attitude.”

The Psychic Unit within the Basic Unit consisted of the cream of the crop among newcomers—good aptitude, fast awakening—mostly elite alphas who were naturally arrogant and somewhat conceited.

Jiang Tianji scratched his cheek, not quite grasping it: “Is it really that exaggerated?”

Ji Yandong, Huang Qi, and Feng Huo shouted in unison: “How is it exaggerated? You’ll see in a minute!”

“Okay…”

Seeing the three of them so serious and rarely united, Jiang Tianji decided to surrender for the time being.

He couldn’t help but think: Have these people been brainwashed at Z01?

However, Jiang Tianji never imagined that this suspicion would last for less than two hours.