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

After the training team set off from the dried-up riverbed, the road became even more difficult to travel.

Zhao Xiaohu picked up the water bottle hanging on the side of his backpack and shook it. Only a mouthful of water remained at the bottom of the bottle, making a sloshing sound.

"Dodo, is there any more water?"

"That's all."

"I'm going to die."

"You've died many times already."

"This time it's for real."

Zhao Xiaohu's gaze swept across the queue, precisely locking onto Xuan Xiao, who was walking in front. He quickly took a few steps to catch up, patted Xuan Xiao on the shoulder, and forced a fawning smile onto his round face.

"Brother Xiao, is there any water? Just a sip."

Xuanxiao picked up his water bottle and shook it. It was empty.

"I'm gone too."

Zhao Xiaohu's expression shifted from anticipation to despair. His gaze passed over Xuan Xiao and landed on Li Mo and Lu Xiao, who were further ahead in the group.

Zhao Xiaohu took a deep breath, mustered the greatest courage he had ever had, and shouted forward.

"Squad leader! Deputy squad leader! Is there any water? Just one sip! My throat is parched!"

Lu Xiao turned around, a smile playing on his lips as always. He took his water bottle out of the side pocket of his backpack, shook it in his hand, and the sound of water inside was clearly audible—there was still more than half a bottle left.

Zhao Xiaohu's eyes lit up. Then Lu Xiao unscrewed the cap, tilted his head back and took a sip. After finishing, he wiped his mouth and smiled at Zhao Xiaohu.

"Just hang in there, we're almost there."

Zhao Xiaohu looked as if his last piece of meat had been snatched away right in front of him. Qian Duoduo watched from the side, wisely remaining silent.

Xuan Xiao also saw that the pot was more than half full of water. He licked his chapped lips, hesitating whether to speak.

Lu Xiao clearly noticed his gaze, turned to look at him, raised an eyebrow, and the meaning was clear: You want one too?

Xuanxiao thought about the scene of Zhao Xiaohu being rejected earlier and felt that the result of speaking up would not be any different.

He turned his head and looked at Bai Ye beside him.

"white night."

Bai Ye didn't look at him.

"Um."

"Is there any saliva?"

Bai Ye sighed, took off the kettle, and shoved it into Xuan Xiao's hand.

"Here, don't bother me."

Xuanxiao caught the water bottle, and the corners of his mouth had just turned up in a smile, but before he could even bring the bottle to his lips—

Li Mo appeared on the other side of the white night.

He stood beside Bai Ye, holding his water bottle, and handed it to Bai Ye.

Bai Ye paused for a moment. He looked at the kettle in front of him, then at Li Mo, his brows furrowing slightly, a hint of confusion in his eyes.

"The class monitor?"

Li Mo didn't explain, but simply stretched his hand forward again.

Bai Ye didn't answer, so Li Mo finally spoke.

"If you pass out from dehydration, it will slow down the whole team's progress."

After he finished speaking, he shoved the water bottle into Bai Ye's hand and turned to walk away.

Bai Ye stood still, now holding a heavy water bottle in his hand.

Lu Xiao passed by, glanced at the water bottle in Bai Ye's hand, then at Li Mo's fast-moving back, and almost burst out laughing.

Xuan Xiao stood to the side, still holding Bai Ye's water bottle, which was only half full. He looked at his own bottle, then at Li Mo's full bottle in Bai Ye's hand, and his lips twitched repeatedly.

Just now, Zhao Xiaohu asked for water, and Lu Xiao refused outright. He hadn't even asked for any himself; Lu Xiao had already given his answer with his eyes. Now it's Bai Ye's turn—Bai Ye didn't even open his mouth! Li Mo proactively shoved the water bottle into his hand! Proactively! And he even made up a reason that even a three-year-old wouldn't believe! Dehydration causing him to faint and slow down the progress? With Bai Ye's steady gait, he might not even be the one to faint after walking for another two hours!

Zhao Xiaohu sidled up from behind, staring at the water bottle in Bai Ye's hand, then at the subtle expression on Xuan Xiao's face, and whispered to Qian Duoduo, "What do you think Brother Xiao is feeling right now?"

Qian Duoduo replied in a similarly breathy voice, "Probably thinking about the unfairness of life."

"Didn't Squad Leader Li say there was no water?"

"It's because there's no water for people like you and me."

"What do you mean by 'people like you and me'?"

"Not the kind of person Bai Ye is."

Zhao Xiaohu wanted to argue, but finding that he couldn't, he shut his mouth again.

The procession continued onward. The sun rose higher and higher, and the stone path stretched endlessly beneath their feet.

Lu Xiao took Zhao Xiaohu's backpack and slung it over his shoulder, saying, "Look at how pathetic you are," while tightening the backpack strap around his neck.

Li Mo walked to the end of the line, pulled up the last recruit who had fallen behind, and supported him by the arm for nearly a kilometer.

Bai Ye could no longer feel the pain from the blister on her left foot.

His entire foot was numb from the ankle down. The blisters burst after being rubbed repeatedly, and the tissue fluid and blood mixed together, soaking through his socks. The friction heat from the soles of his shoes dried the socks, and the dried blood hardened, creating new wounds.

Li Mo walked not far behind him, his gaze occasionally sweeping over Bai Ye's footprints on the ground.

After an unknown amount of time, the finish line marker finally appeared at the mountain pass ahead. A small red flag was stuck on a stone by the roadside, its color faded by the sun.

The first person to spot it shouted, his voice hoarse as if it had been scraped from sandpaper, and then the entire group miraculously picked up speed in the last few hundred meters.

The finish line was a shallow beach of a small river, where the camp had already been set up. The recruits collapsed to the ground one by one, some rolling directly into the shallow water by the riverbank, howling twice from the icy water before losing their strength to cry out again.

Some people sat on the ground, clutching the soles of their feet and wailing, their cries ranging from "My feet are ruined" to "I want to go home" to "My mom was right, I shouldn't have joined the army," their emotions following a very complete trajectory. Others threw their backpacks on the ground, lay on their backs, and stared blankly at the sky.

Lu Xiao plopped down on the ground, took out his water bottle, took a sip, and sighed contentedly. Li Mo stood at the edge of the camp, counting the stragglers from each squad.

Bai Ye sat on the riverbank, taking off his backpack and placing it beside him.

Xuanxiao rummaged through his backpack and pulled out half a bag of compressed biscuits. He walked over to Baiye and stuffed it into his hand.

"Have something to eat."

Bai Ye took it and took a small bite.

Xuan Xiao sat down next to him, remained silent for a while, and then spoke in a very low voice, so that only the two of them could hear him.

"Next time I ask you for water, just refuse."

Bai Ye chewed on a biscuit and mumbled, "Why?"

"Otherwise, the squad leader might strangle me while I'm sleeping."

He said this with a very serious expression, as if he had already assessed the risks from multiple angles and was still somewhat apprehensive.

He was just a new recruit, barely eighteen years old, with a long military career ahead of him. He didn't want to die at the hands of his squad leader for no reason. The reason was still a canteen of water. It wouldn't sound good if word got out.

Bai Ye turned to look in the direction where Li Mo was.

Li Mo was standing at the edge of the camp, listening to Lu Xiao chattering away.

Li Mo listened intently, his face still bearing that indifferent expression, but when Bai Ye turned around, his gaze happened to sweep over Lu Xiao's shoulder and glance at Bai Ye.

Bai Ye turned her head back and continued chewing on the biscuit.

"...You're overthinking it."