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

Time flies. Slogans, footsteps, gunshots, and the smell of sweat filled every day. Before the recruits knew it, they had been there for a whole month.

Sunday. A rare day off.

"Assemble downstairs. Today's task is a thorough cleaning of the camp area."

Class 1 lined up in the dormitory building.

"Today's task assignments are simple." Lu Xiao picked up a task sheet and read it slowly and deliberately. "Class One is responsible for the public toilet on the east side of the dormitory building, Class Two is responsible for the drainage ditch in the canteen kitchen, and Class Three is responsible for the trash cans around the training ground. Each class is responsible for its assigned area. Complete the task before lunch. If you can't finish, then don't eat lunch."

The public restroom. The recruits exchanged glances, their relaxed expressions turning into subtle unease.

Li Mo stood in front of the queue and began assigning specific tasks.

"The public toilet's drain is clogged. Today's main task is to empty the latrine."

The queue was quiet for about two seconds.

Then Qian Duoduo's voice came from the middle of the queue, with a tone that sounded like someone had been stabbed in the back by the person they trusted most: "Scooping... shit?"

Li Mo glanced at him but didn't repeat it a second time.

"What about the tools?" Zhao Xiaohu still made a last-ditch effort, his voice tinged with a fragile hope. "Are there any special tools? A long pole? Gloves? Rain boots?"

Lu Xiao took over the conversation. He smiled, his eyes crinkling, and his voice was as light and cheerful as if he were announcing a spring outing plan.

"The tools are your own little yellow basins. One for each of you, no more, no less."

silence.

A deathly silence.

The little yellow basin. The yellow plastic basin I was issued when I enlisted. I used it to wash my face, wash my feet, do laundry, and even make instant noodles. Now I have to use it to empty the latrine.

A collective sigh of resignation rose from the ranks.

Bai Ye walked to the shelf, found her own basin, and reached out to take it.

Li Mo pressed down on the basin first.

"You can use mine." He shoved his own basin into Bai Ye's hands and then took Bai Ye's basin away.

"Class monitor, what's the difference?" Bai Ye said.

"Your basin is too small." Li Mo had already taken Bai Ye's basin and walked forward without turning her head.

Bai Ye glanced at the basin in Li Mo's hand—the standard issue basin, forty centimeters in diameter, exactly the same as the one in his own hand.

He didn't say anything more.

Xuan Xiao stood behind Bai Ye, taking in the entire scene from beginning to end. He took his own basin from the shelf and lowered his voice as he passed by Bai Ye.

"The class monitor is biased."

His voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for Li Mo in front to hear. Li Mo did not stop walking, but a vein on the back of his head throbbed almost imperceptibly.

The scene of scavenging was ten times more horrific than anyone had anticipated.

The moment the cast iron cover of the septic tank was pried open, a strong stench of ammonia mixed with the fermentation of organic matter gushed out of the wellhead, like an invisible fist slamming into everyone's face.

Qian Duoduo, who was standing at the front, was hit head-on by the smell. She staggered back two steps as if she had been bumped, bent over, put her hands on her knees, and let out a dry heave from deep in her throat.

"vomit--"

He didn't vomit anything, but his eyes were already red from the smoke.

Zhao Xiaohu stood behind him, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, and said in a muffled voice, "Duoduo, are you sure you can handle this—" Halfway through his sentence, an even stronger stench rose from the well, and his laughter suddenly changed tone halfway up, "—Ugh—"

The two men faced each other, bent over, each bending deeper than the last, their alternating gagging sounds like some strange duet.

Qian Duoduo straightened up, looking at Zhao Xiaohu with teary eyes: "You...you were smiling...why did you stop smiling...?"

Zhao Xiaohu, leaning against the wall and clutching his stomach, waved at him, indicating that he was temporarily out of commission.

Lu Xiao stood under the shade of a tree upwind, and from who knows where, he produced a square scarf that covered half of his face, leaving only his curved eyes showing.

"Hurry up, don't dawdle. Two people per group, one scooping and the other carrying. We have to finish before lunch." His voice came through the handkerchief, sounding no different from usual, even with a hint of amusement. "If we're late for lunch, the braised pork will be gone."

The new recruits resignedly picked up their little yellow basins and began working in pairs.

Qian Duoduo could scoop up half a basinful and shake it until it spilled. When he picked it up, the liquid surface rose and fell violently like the sea in a storm, dripping all the way. By the time it was handed to Zhao Xiaohu, only two-thirds of it remained.

Zhao Xiaohu fared even worse—on his first run, he stepped on a slippery patch of ground at the edge of the septic tank, nearly losing his grip and sending the basin flying into the septic tank. He struggled to steady the basin, but his shoes still got splashed with an indescribable substance.

"Holy crap, holy crap, holy crap—" Zhao Xiaohu looked down at his shoes, his expression as if his soul had left his body.

Qian Duoduo watched him from behind, holding a basin and laughing so hard he couldn't stand up straight: "Serves you right! You laughed at me just now—ugh—ugh—" He laughed twice and then gagged, laughing twice and then gagged, the scene was extremely bizarre.

"You still vomited!" Zhao Xiaohu held the basin steady and gritted his teeth as he retorted.

"At least I didn't step in it!"

"You're calling me a liar? Your pants are dirtier than my shoes!"

The two of them worked while gagging, bickering, and surprisingly, their efficiency wasn't too bad. However, staying in such an environment for a long time will gradually cause some irreversible damage to one's mental state.

At first, they just laughed at each other, then they started shifting blame, and then—no one knew who started it. But by the time everyone realized what was happening, Qian Duoduo was picking up an indescribable object from her basin with two fingers, squinting at Zhao Xiaohu.

"Duoduo, how dare you—" Before Zhao Xiaohu could finish speaking, the object had already drawn a brown parabola in the air and accurately slapped onto the chest of his training uniform with a muffled thud.

The entire septic tank area was silent for about a second.

Zhao Xiaohu looked down at his chest, then looked up at Qian Duoduo.

"Qian Duoduo—I'm going to fight you to the death today!"

Zhao Xiaohu bent down, grabbed a handful from his basin, and threw it hard at Qian Duoduo.

Qian Duoduo dodged to the side, and the brown arc grazed his ear, splattering onto the cement wall behind him before slowly sliding down.

Qian Duoduo let out a scream, turned around and grabbed another handful from the basin.

"You two, stop right there!" Lu Xiao's voice came from under the shade of the tree, but his tone didn't betray any intention to stop them; in fact, it carried a hint of amusement. "I said stop—hey, you there, don't throw it over the wall, we still need to paint it later!"

Li Mo frowned, unsure whether he should go over and kick those two idiots into the pool, or take Bai Ye away from there first.

Just then—

An indescribable mass was flying straight toward the white night in an indescribable arc—