Chapter Twenty-Six: Target of All

Wu Lanqian gazed at Chen Cao with confusion. Though their time together hadn’t been long, she remembered vividly that field survival exercise when she had first joined Unit 0611. Chen Cao’s disregard for his own safety was etched deeply in her mind—if not for what he had done then, she would have long since perished to the jaws of a leopard given her strength at the time.

“You… you’re Chen Cao!” There was a note of hesitation in Wu Lanqian’s voice.

“Yes, yes, it’s me… Ha! Birds of a feather flock together—they’ve managed to capture one of their own!” Chen Cao seemed almost giddy, lost in the excitement of this unexpected meeting. He pulled Wu Lanqian into an embrace without the slightest regard for her feelings as a young woman.

Though Wu Lanqian came from a military family and had spent a year training in the unique environment of Unit 0611, making her less concerned with the usual conventions, she was, after all, still a girl. Being hugged so tightly, with her chest pressed insistently against his, left her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

Just as Wu Lanqian realized, in his arms, that she was still a girl, she shoved Chen Cao away and pinched his face with her delicate fingers—so hard that the exhilarated Chen Cao bared his teeth in pain.

“Hey, hey, what are you doing! I worked so hard to put on this camouflage—ow, ow, that hurts!” Chen Cao protested, but made no move to stop her, only shaking his head vigorously.

Wu Lanqian didn’t let go. She stared at him, wide-eyed, scrutinizing him from head to toe as if he were some kind of oddity.

At last, after several tens of seconds, her fingers began to tire. She released his face and let out a long sigh. “So you’re the ‘King of Soldiers’ the instructors mentioned!”

Chen Cao rubbed his tender, likely bruised face, imitating Wu Lanqian’s glare as he asked, “And what exactly is this ‘King of Soldiers’ supposed to be?”

Wu Lanqian let several black lines slide down her forehead in exasperation. “Are you playing dumb, or are you actually clueless? Don’t you know what this assessment means?”

Chen Cao surveyed the surroundings, ensuring there was no danger before he replied, “Of course I know. Isn’t it just about being eliminated?”

“Elimination is part of it, but our group is different from the previous batches!” Wu Lanqian nodded, then continued, “A year ago, after that field survival event, we were all assigned specialties. My main focus was battlefield medicine and biochemical science. Originally, I wasn’t even supposed to participate in this practical assessment, but at the last minute, we were told we had to take part after all. I’ve been puzzled as to why the academy’s board made such a decision.”

“No wonder you were caught so easily—you’re not from the same specialization!” Chen Cao, still covering his face, mused aloud.

Wu Lanqian snorted. “Hmph, you just got lucky. Our group has nothing to fear—this is a matter of family honor!”

“Wait—I have a question!” Chen Cao interjected. “From the way you operate, why aren’t you in three-person teams? All my training up until now involved three-person squads, but your assault force numbered at least twenty! Who’s your leader? I’d like to know—besides Chen Diwen, is there anyone among the freshmen with such impressive organizational skills?”

Wu Lanqian chuckled. “Speaking of Chen Diwen, I should have known you’d bring him up. You’re already doing well—escaping our attack, taking out at least five of our teammates, and capturing a prisoner. It seems only you and Chen Diwen are rivals for the title of top newcomer!” Her eyes flashed with a sharp light. “We’re all self-organized, and the board refers to us as ‘defeated soldiers’!”

Her words made it clear that Chen Diwen had not led them in the exam, contrary to Chen Cao’s assumption.

Chen Cao frowned. “So you were all eliminated, and the academy’s board is cheating by doing this?”

“Not at all. The board has the authority to set the rules. Our mission was made very clear: eliminate you. Your victory requires you to find at least three of the special markers. If we eliminate you, we all pass and advance to the second year. If you win, then all of us ‘defeated soldiers’ are eliminated.”

“I see… My god, so I’m everyone’s target! The academy board is too despicable, tying everyone’s fate to mine!” Chen Cao said indignantly, then turned innocent eyes on Wu Lanqian. “These markers—what are they? Do you have one?”

“Of course I don’t. Something that important wouldn’t be left with me. The marker is a red five-pointed star,” Wu Lanqian answered with a mischievous grin. “There’s nothing to be done—they set the rules, we just follow them.” She spread her hands, then asked, “By the way, you’ve had outstanding training results this year, haven’t you? How come I haven’t heard about you? Were you receiving secret, unconventional training?”

“Thinking back over this year…” Chen Cao laughed. “Yes, I was in secret special training!” Then he asked, “Are Baozi, Little Fox, and Yu Hongxiu also in the forest for the assessment?”

“No, for some reason, they advanced straight to the second year. That must’ve been the board’s arrangement as well,” Wu Lanqian responded readily to his every question, her usually calm face softening. “But I’m really interested in hearing about your training this past year. Tell me about it…”

“Of course, I’ll tell you all about it, but…” As he spoke, Chen Cao’s eyes narrowed. With a swish, he drew the strap from his waist—a backpack strap, since in his haste to swap uniforms with that unfortunate soul earlier, he hadn’t managed to get a belt and had to make do with the strap instead. It was sturdy.

Wu Lanqian sensed something was wrong and tried to resist, but Chen Cao quickly twisted her arms behind her back and bound her securely with several loops. Just as she was about to shout, he stuffed a handful of straw into her mouth.

Worse yet, the shameless man, paying no heed to her status as a girl, yanked her belt from her pants with a flourish. Without the belt, her trousers slid to the ground, exposing his own patched underwear. Most shameless of all, he took her belt and fastened his own trousers with her ladies’ belt, grinning as he said, “Sorry, Lanqian, but it’s a tense situation. If I wait for your teammates, I’ll never get away. I understand how you feel—really—but you’ll have to put up with this. When it’s over, I’ll apologize properly.” With that, the shameless fellow shouldered his pack, took up his rifle, pulled the pin on her emergency flare, blew her a kiss, and vanished into the forest.

“Mmmph mmph mmph…”

Watching him, belt in hand, with that lecherous grin, Wu Lanqian could only weep in frustration, her mouth stuffed with straw and unable to utter a word.

Wu Lanqian’s gear was impressive: field rations, a modular Jackal sniper rifle, pistol, ammunition—all present and accounted for. In her pack, Chen Cao even found a gleaming red five-pointed star! He was quite satisfied with his spoils and realized Wu Lanqian’s thoroughness—typical of a woman—had left her well-prepared for a drawn-out battle. No one had told him the rules of this game, but clearly, the red star was the marker she’d mentioned.

How effortlessly it had fallen into his hands. With this in mind, Chen Cao took out his compass, searched for advantageous terrain, and assembled his sniper rifle. He hadn’t planned to use these weapons, but now, as the main target of the assessment, he had no choice but to fight with all he had. Lying in the crook of a large tree, he mulled over the intelligence Wu Lanqian had provided, his thick brows furrowed as a plan began to take shape, and the corners of his mouth curled upward.

…

Meanwhile, Chen Diwen was consolidating his team as they swept through the area. As the recognized leader of the first-years, it was easy for him to rally others—save for a few squads who refused to submit, whom he quickly dispatched. Now, he commanded over a dozen elite combatants, his force strong and well-armed.

They were resting in a dense thicket, guards posted in a tight perimeter. Chen Diwen sat nearby with his chief strategist, Xiao Li, discussing their situation.

“Boss, according to the intel we just got from a prisoner, the academy is using us as little more than training equipment—this whole exercise is meant for Chen Cao,” Xiao Li said evenly as he chewed on some jerky.

Chen Diwen said nothing, whittling a stick with a sharp knife. Under his blade, the tip became ever more pointed and sharp.

“Boss, what do you think we should do? Chen Cao’s been awakened by someone—he’s not holding back anymore. If we don’t come up with a plan, we’re going to lose this assessment!” The massive Bear couldn’t help but interject.

Hearing Bear’s rumbling voice, Chen Diwen suddenly looked up. His eyes were now completely black, devoid of any shine, the whites shot through with blood. Bear, who had never seen his leader like this, involuntarily took a step back. He knew—at this moment—Chen Diwen was truly furious.