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

The moment the gun fired, Li Mo had already arrived.

Li Mo's left foot slammed against the side of the ammunition box, and he used the momentum to turn, twisting his body as he moved at high speed. He stretched out his right arm and pulled Bai Ye into his arms.

Bai Ye's face was pressed against Li Mo's chest, his ear against the rough fabric of the training uniform, and he could hear the heartbeat coming from under the fabric—fast and heavy, like a war drum being struck violently.

His mind went completely blank for a moment.

In his past life, he had experienced countless life-or-death situations on the battlefield, being chased by bullets, knocked over by artillery shells, and targeted by snipers for three days and three nights. But none of these were like this.

Never once did anyone shield him with their body or take a bullet for him. He was always the one in front. In front of his teammates, in front of the mission objective, in front of everyone who needed protection.

This was the first time someone had stood in his way.

The bullet grazed his cheek. He felt the scorching air rushing across his skin, carrying the smell of gunpowder and burning metal, so close it could curl the stray hairs at his temples. Then he heard the sound of the bullet piercing flesh.

The bullet entered from behind Limer's right shoulder, tearing through his uniform, passing through his trapezius muscle, and leaving a gushing blood hole above his shoulder blade. Blood flowed from the wound, running down the muscle lines of his back, soaking the fabric of his uniform and spreading a rapidly expanding dark patch on the dark green material.

Li Mo frowned.

He didn't look down at his wound. Instead, he released his grip on the back of Bai Ye's head, grabbed Bai Ye's shoulders, and pushed him away from his embrace by about an arm's length. He then placed his hands on Bai Ye's shoulders and scanned Bai Ye from head to toe.

"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" His voice was as steady as usual, with only a barely perceptible urgency at the end.

Bai Ye looked up at him.

Bai Ye opened his mouth, but something seemed to be blocking his throat, preventing him from making a sound. He shook his head to indicate that he was alright. Then his gaze fell on Li Mo's right shoulder, and he pointed to the bullet hole that was still bleeding.

Li Mo followed his finger and looked down at his shoulder. His expression didn't change when he saw the bullet hole, as if he were checking the location and amount of bleeding—not fatal, no arteries were damaged, and his shoulder joint still had range of motion.

He looked away.

"fine."

-

the other side.

It only took Xuanxiao a second to go from shock to rage.

The image of someone pointing a gun at Bai Ye's head flashed into his mind faster than a bullet. By the time his brain reacted, his body had already been propelled forward.

The training boots made two sharp scraping sounds on the concrete of the shooting range, and he slammed into Zhao Xiaohu like a cannonball. His hand grabbed Zhao Xiaohu's collar, his fingers tightening so that his knuckles made a cracking sound under the fabric.

Zhao Xiaohu was half a head shorter than him, and he was pulled so hard that his toes almost left the ground. The color drained from his round face as quickly as the tide receded. His lips trembled as he tried to say something, but he couldn't utter a single word.

"Where the hell are you pointing your gun?!" Xuan Xiao's voice exploded in the air above the shooting range, louder than the gunshot from before, hoarse and violent. He swung his other arm, his fist clenched so tightly that the veins bulged and his knuckles turned white, aiming it at Zhao Xiaohu's face, ready to smash it down.

Zhao Lei rushed up from the side, grabbed Xuan Xiao's outstretched arm with both hands, and used his entire weight to press the fist down.

Xuan Xiao shook off his hand and swung it again. Zhao Lei pounced on him again, this time locking Xuan Xiao's shoulder and dragging him back two steps.

"Let go! Did you hear me!" Zhao Lei's voice exploded in Xuan Xiao's ears, but Xuan Xiao ignored it completely.

"He's pointing a gun at Bai Ye's head!" Xuan Xiao broke free from Zhao Lei's shoulder lock, and swung his arm again, his knuckles already touching Zhao Xiaohu's nose, just an inch away.

Lu Xiao appeared behind Xuan Xiao without saying a word, grabbing Xuan Xiao's other arm from behind, and together with Zhao Lei, they held him down. Xuan Xiao struggled a couple of times, his muscles taut like steel bars, and it took Lu Xiao and Zhao Lei combined to barely hold him down.

"Let me go—fuck you, let me go—he almost killed Bai Ye!" Xuan Xiao roared from deep in his throat, his voice cracking.

He glared at Zhao Xiaohu as if he wanted to devour him alive.

Zhao Xiaohu collapsed to the ground, leaning against the cover of the firing position, completely terrified. His mouth opened and closed as if he were saying sorry, but only broken, breathy sounds came out.

Zhao Lei gripped Xuan Xiao's shoulder tightly and yelled in his ear, "He didn't do it on purpose! Calm down!"

Xuan Xiao wouldn't listen to a word.

"I don't care if he did it on purpose! Didn't you teach us not to point guns at people?! Not to point guns at people! Bai Ye is standing right there! Right there!"

His roar was so loud that his throat couldn't take it, and the last word cracked, carrying a hoarse, torn quality.

Lu Xiao pulled Xuan Xiao back two steps. There was no smile on his face. His face, which usually always had a smile on his lips, was cold at this moment, the corners of his mouth flattened and pressed tightly together.

"That's enough." His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a heavy weight, enough to leave a dent in the concrete. "That's it for today's training. Everyone put your guns back on their racks and head back to your dorms. No loitering in the hallways, and no talking."

The recruits in the first platoon stood frozen in place, terrified and unsure of what to do. Some hadn't put down their spent cartridges, while others remained in their rifle-holding positions, forgetting to move.

Lu Xiao glanced at them: "Now. Immediately. Right now."

The recruits finally snapped out of their daze and hurriedly put away their guns, unloaded magazines, and placed them on the gun racks. Their movements were several times faster than usual, but everyone was secretly glancing in Bai Ye and Li Mo's direction.

Bai Ye was still standing there, while the blood on Li Mo's shoulder was still dripping down, forming a small pool of dark red liquid at his feet.

Bai Ye suddenly took a step forward and stopped next to Li Mo.

He didn't speak, but simply raised his hand and touched Li Mo's left wrist, which was hanging by his side. His fingertips touched Li Mo's pulse, which was beating very fast.

Li Mo glanced at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say, "I'm fine."

Bai Ye didn't let him say it aloud, withdrew his hand, turned around and walked towards the dormitory building. After taking a few steps, he stopped again, looked back at Li Mo, and the meaning was clear—to the infirmary.

Li Mo stood at the edge of the shooting range, blood still flowing from his shoulder, but he looked down at the spot on his wrist where Bai Ye had touched him, and his Adam's apple bobbed. Then he walked towards the infirmary.