Rebirth of a Mercenary: The Ace Mercenary Forced to Be the Beloved of the Group

At lunchtime, the base canteen is filled with the aroma of braised pork and scrambled eggs with tomatoes.

Old Zhou was in a good mood today, so he cooked an extra pot of sweet and sour pork ribs. Xie Ran was drawn by the smell and lingered in front of the food window with his plate, only to be slapped on the forehead by Old Zhou with a spoon before he sheepishly retreated.

Bai Ye sat by the window, a plate in front of him containing just the right amount of rice, topped with a few pieces of pork ribs and a small handful of stir-fried vegetables. He ate slowly, chewing each bite carefully, his cheeks slightly puffed out, his gaze fixed on the still-snowy training ground outside the window.

Xuanxiao sat next to him, picking up ribs from his plate and putting them into Bai Ye's bowl, his movements as natural as if he had done it a hundred times before.

"You eat yours." Bai Ye put the ribs back.

"I ordered two portions, but I can't finish them. If I waste them, Lao Zhou will yell at me." Xuan Xiao put the ribs back on his plate.

"You can usually eat three servings."

I don't have a good appetite today.

Bai Ye glanced at him. Xuan Xiao returned his gaze without changing expression, lying with unwavering conviction. Just as the two were engaged in a silent tug-of-war with their chopsticks over the ribs on the table, a figure slipped in through the cafeteria entrance.

Lu Xiao changed into a clean training uniform today, his hair was neatly combed, and he had that standard Lu-style smile on his lips.

He walked to Bai Ye and Xuan Xiao's dining table, placed his hands on the table, looked at the two of them with a smile, and then turned to look at Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo sitting at the next table.

"Are you finished eating? If you are, come with me. We have something special planned for this afternoon."

Xuan Xiao raised his head warily—the last time Lu Xiao spoke in this tone, he was tricked into running shuttle runs all afternoon at the training field until his legs cramped. The time before that, he was tricked into helping Old Zhou carry a hundred bags of rice.

He stared at Lu Xiao's face for several seconds, trying to read any clues of conspiracy from that smiling expression.

"What special arrangements?"

"You'll see when we get there." Lu Xiao patted his shoulder, his smile widening. "Don't worry, it's not a run."

"You said it wasn't running last time either!"

"Last time is last time, this time is this time."

Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo, on the other hand, were completely unsuspecting.

Zhao Xiaohu stood up, carrying the plate, his round face filled with gratitude: "The deputy squad leader came to call us personally? You're so kind, deputy squad leader!"

Qian Duoduo nodded vigorously beside him, with half a piece of braised pork still stuffed in her mouth: "Mmm—the class monitor is the best!"

Bai Ye put down his chopsticks, glanced at Lu Xiao, then looked away, picked up his plate, stood up, and said in a calm tone, "Let's go."

Xuan Xiao looked at Bai Ye, then at Lu Xiao, and finally at the half-eaten bowl of rice in his own bowl, letting out a resigned sigh.

The atmosphere on the bus after lunch was initially quite relaxed.

Zhao Xiaohu pressed his face against the car window, his nose close to the glass, watching the Gobi Desert rushing past outside.

"Squad leader, where are we going?" Zhao Xiaohu turned around, his round face jiggling slightly with the bus's bumps. His voice held the anticipation of a primary school student going on a field trip. "Are we going on a field training exercise? Or target practice? I heard there's a shooting range outside the base, but I've never been there before!"

Qian Duoduo sat next to him, equally excited, counting on her fingers: "Could it be that—that newly built tactical training ground? I heard Lao Zhou mention it once at the supply station, saying it's really cool there. Or maybe we'll go up the mountain? The snow there hasn't completely melted yet, are we going to practice snow ambush?"

Bai Ye sat in the second-to-last row by the window, and listened to their guesses without saying a word.

He turned and glanced at Xuan Xiao. Xuan Xiao was also looking at him. Their eyes met briefly in the air, exchanging a signal that only they could understand—something was wrong.

The bus bumped along across the Gobi Desert for nearly forty minutes before finally stopping in front of a cluster of buildings enclosed by an iron fence. The cluster wasn't large, surrounded by a two-meter-high concrete wall topped with barbed wire. At the entrance was a guard post; two armed sentries stood at attention and saluted upon seeing the bus's license plate before opening the iron gate.

After the car drove in, Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo's smiles froze on their faces at the same time.

The courtyard wasn't a training ground. A white sign with black lettering hung at the entrance of the building directly opposite, but the words were obscured by the bus's reflective glass.

What truly sent chills down the spines of the two chubby boys were two people emerging from the side of the building—wearing white lab coats and pushing a stainless steel cart covered with a white sheet. The bulging outline beneath the sheet looked remarkably like a person.

"Deputy squad leader..." Zhao Xiaohu's voice began to tremble, "Where...where am I?"

Lu Xiao stood up from his seat, clapped his hands, and drew everyone's attention to himself.

"This afternoon's training is simple. The four of you—Bai Ye, Xuan Xiao, Zhao Xiaohu, and Qian Duoduo—must overcome your fear of killing here."

The carriage was silent for a full three seconds.

Then Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo exploded at the same time.

"Murder—murder?!" Zhao Xiaohu's voice cracked, and he sprang from his seat with lightning speed, as if springs were installed under the seat. "What did you say, squad leader?! Murder?! I've only been here five days! I work at the supply station! I've never even killed a chicken! Yesterday, I helped Old Zhou kill fish and got slapped on the back by a fish's tail! I'm not going!"

Qian Duoduo's face was as white as the remaining snow outside the car window. He gripped the back of the seat in front of him tightly, curled up into a ball, and his voice was trembling with sobs: "I'm not going either! My dad said I'd be a cook in the army! Cooking doesn't involve killing people! Sergeant, you lied to us! You said it wasn't running—but you didn't say it was for killing people!"

"I didn't say it wasn't murder." Lu Xiao shrugged, his innocent tone making you want to punch him.

"You—!" Qian Duoduo was so angry that she couldn't speak.

Xuan Xiao didn't explode. His face was a little paler than usual, but he still maintained basic composure.

Bai Ye remained seated by the window, her expression unchanged.

Zhao Xiaohu was still struggling. He moved towards the car door while shaking his head with all his might, his round face jiggling: "I want to get off! I want to go back to the supply station! Old Zhou is waiting for me to help him pickle vegetables! We've only been here for five days, five days! How can you kill someone—I can't—I really can't—"

Just then, the bus door opened.

Li Mo stood up from the passenger seat, turned around, and stepped over two steps into the carriage. He walked to the middle of the carriage and pulled a dagger from his waist.

The blade reflected a cold light under the carriage lights, and then he plunged it into the armrest of the seat. The dagger pierced through the sponge and plastic of the armrest and embedded itself in the metal frame with a muffled "thud." The blade was still trembling slightly, the tip less than five centimeters from Zhao Xiaohu's fingers.

Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo immediately shut up.

Li Mo drew his dagger and tucked it back into his waistband.

"get off."