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

After dinner, on the playground.

Li Mo sat on the steps by the playground, his long legs casually propped up, holding a stack of folded manuscript paper in his hand.

Lu Xiao moved closer to him, resting her chin on his shoulder and rubbing against him without any hesitation.

Li Mo began to read. His voice was flat and emotionless, but every word made Lu Xiao convulse even more violently.

"Letter of self-criticism"

"Respected squad leader and deputy squad leader."

"This morning, our squad conducted a major cleanup of the camp. Our squad was assigned to the septic tank area of ​​the public toilets. This was supposed to be an honorable task, a test of the trust placed in us by our squad leader and deputy squad leader. But we betrayed that trust and made a serious mistake."

"It's alright," Lu Xiao said, suppressing a laugh. "The beginning was quite serious."

Li Mo ignored him and continued reading.

"This is what happened. When Comrade Zhao Xiaohu and I were cleaning the septic tank, we failed to demonstrate the willpower and qualities that revolutionary soldiers should have in the face of the harsh working environment. The smell of the septic tank was indeed very strong, but that is not an excuse for our mistakes. I was a little dizzy from the smell and my mind was not clear. When I saw Comrade Zhao Xiaohu squatting by the tank dry heaving, I had a thought that I should not have had."

Li Mo paused for a second, then read the next sentence.

"I think he's hilarious."

Lu Xiao made a sound similar to a kettle boiling.

"Keep reading, keep reading—" He clutched his stomach, patting Li Mo's knee with his other hand.

"Comrade Zhao Xiaohu laughed at me too. We squatted by the septic tank, taking turns vomiting. It was a very unserious scene. According to other comrades, we looked like two frogs croaking at each other by the tank."

Lu Xiao slid down the steps and landed on his bottom, laughing so hard he was pounding the concrete.

Li Mo's face darkened.

"Subsequently, during the work process, Comrade Zhao Xiaohu and I did not strictly follow the operating procedures. Specifically, when I was scooping the contents of the septic tank, I did not maintain the standard posture, which caused the scooped material to spill and splash during transportation. Comrade Zhao Xiaohu also did not stand steadily when receiving the basin, and stepped on the wet and slippery ground, causing his shoes to get substances that should not have been there. These are all manifestations of lax work discipline."

"At that point, things were still under control. But then, I made the most unforgivable mistake of the entire incident."

"I threw shit at Comrade Zhao Xiaohu."

Li Mo pronounced the last sentence without any emphasis, as if reading a verdict from a military court. But Lu Xiao was completely exhausted, lying on his side curled up in a ball, laughing until tears streamed down his face, one hand clutching his stomach and the other pounding the ground.

"Don't laugh." Li Mo said expressionlessly.

"You—you let me rest for a while—" Lu Xiao lay on the cement ground, panting heavily as he looked up at the night sky, his chest heaving violently.

Li Mo pinched the bridge of his nose, turned to the second page and continued reading.

"I have a deep understanding of the nature of this behavior. Throwing filth at each other in the septic tank area violates the relevant provisions of the Internal Affairs Regulations regarding maintaining camp hygiene. Secondly, this behavior seriously undermines the unity and friendship among comrades, turning the work site into a scene of horseplay. Thirdly, the consequences of this behavior are uncontrollable—the trajectory of flying filth is unpredictable and could easily injure a third-party comrade who is working diligently."

"Ballistics." Li Mo repeated the two words.

"He used ballistics, hahaha—" Lu Xiao had just recovered a little when he heard this and lay back down, covering his face with his hands, his shoulders shaking violently.

"In fact, my throw did create a risk of accidental injury. During the counterattack, Comrade Zhao Xiaohu released the object too early because his hands were covered in a lot of slippery substance, causing a piece of dirt to deviate from its intended direction and fly towards Comrade Bai Ye, who was working diligently."

"Here, I want to especially apologize to Comrade Bai Ye. Comrade Bai Ye demonstrated extremely high professionalism and enthusiasm throughout the entire night cleaning operation. His scooping movements were precise, his transport of the waste was smooth, and he never complained once. He is a role model for me. However, my mistake almost caused this role model to suffer undue harm. Although Comrade Xuan Xiao pulled Bai Ye away in time, preventing the waste from hitting its target, the mental distress this incident caused Comrade Bai Ye cannot be ignored. Comrade Bai Ye, I'm sorry."

Lu Xiao pulled out a handkerchief from somewhere, put it in his mouth, and curled up like a shrimp.

Li Mo turned to the third page. He glanced at the third page and found that most of the page was about the same topic.

"Supplementary reflections on Comrade Bai Ye."

"The above apology to Comrade Bai Ye is the first layer. After deep reflection, I believe there are deeper issues to analyze regarding my mistakes. Comrade Bai Ye was the most outstanding recruit in our platoon in terms of steady gun handling, quickest gun disassembly, and most accurate shooting. During gun handling training, two spent cartridge cases stood perfectly still on the barrel of Comrade Bai Ye's gun; in live-fire shooting, all ten bullets fired by Comrade Bai Ye passed through the same bullet hole. He was the pride of our platoon and the benchmark for the entire platoon. However, I almost tarnished this benchmark with a blob of filth that deviated from the trajectory."

"To tarnish the benchmark." Li Mo's voice had already begun to turn cold.

Lu Xiao had given up making a sound and was only focused on convulsing silently.

"More importantly, the squad leader paid a heavy price to protect Comrade Bai Ye. Just last week during live-fire training, the squad leader shielded Bai Ye from a stray bullet with his own body. The stitches on the wound on the squad leader's shoulder are still not removed. The person the squad leader protected with his life, I threw shit at. This is a serious disrespect for the squad leader's sacrifice and dedication. I am sorry to the squad leader."

After Li Mo finished reading this passage, he remained silent for three seconds.

Lu Xiao weakly raised one hand, gave him a thumbs up, and then let it fall limply down again.

"at last."

"I promise that in future training and labor, I will strictly abide by all disciplines and will never throw anything at my comrades—no matter what it is or how lively the atmosphere is. I will take Comrade Bai Ye as my role model, take every task seriously, and strive to become a qualified soldier as soon as possible. Please supervise me, squad leader and deputy squad leader."

"Yours sincerely. Respectfully yours."

"Reviewer: Qian Duoduo"

"date."

Li Mo put down the three pages of manuscript paper.

Lu Xiao finally got up from the ground. He stood up, holding onto Li Mo's shoulder, and took three deep breaths before he could barely finish speaking.

"I've been in the military for twelve years," Lu Xiao said, clutching his stomach, his voice still trembling, "and this is the first time I've seen someone use 'ballistic analysis' to explain the trajectory of throwing feces in a self-criticism."

Li Mo didn't say anything. He folded the letter of self-criticism again and stuffed it into his breast pocket.