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

The dormitory building was lively for a while after dinner, but gradually quieted down.

In the dormitory of Class One, Zhao Xiaohu was lying on the bed rubbing his stomach.

"I'm so full! That beef noodle soup was amazing, I ate two bowls."

"When do you not eat two bowls of rice at every meal?" Qian Duoduo sat opposite him, her short legs dangling over the edge of the bed. "I saw that bald chef's hands were shaking when he saw you carrying the bowl over."

Zhao Xiaohu grabbed a pillow and threw it at him. Qian Duoduo nimbly tilted his head, and the pillow flew past his round face, landing precisely on Xuan Xiao's face as he pushed the door open and entered.

The dormitory fell silent for a second.

Xuan Xiao removed the pillow from his face, his emerald green eyes sweeping over Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo. The two chubby boys simultaneously shrank their necks, their movements so synchronized as if they had rehearsed.

"Quite energetic," Xuanxiao said, tossing the pillow back onto Zhao Xiaohu's bed.

"Brother Xiao, no, let me explain—"

"Shut up."

Zhao Xiaohu immediately shut his mouth, his lips pressed tightly together, and the flesh on his round face tensed up.

The door was pushed open.

Li Mo walked in, with Lu Xiao following behind him.

"Open all bags. Open all cabinets."

Zhao Xiaohu's face stiffened. Qian Duoduo's smile froze. The two exchanged a glance with astonishing synchronization.

"Now."

Lu Xiao leaned against the door frame, his golden hair dazzling under the fluorescent light, and a chilling smile on his face.

"Don't be nervous, it's just a routine check. Just hand over anything you shouldn't have, and it'll save everyone trouble."

Nobody moved.

Do I need to say it a second time?

The recruits began to move. The sounds of zippers, cabinet doors opening, and rummaging mingled together.

Li Mo checked each cabinet one by one, and then walked to Zhao Xiaohu's cabinet.

"Open."

Zhao Xiaohu's round face trembled slightly.

"Squad leader, this cupboard is full of—just some food, really, just a little bit—"

"Open."

Zhao Xiaohu, with a death-defying resolve, opened the cabinet door.

Li Mo's eyebrows twitched.

The cabinet was crammed with snacks. Potato chips, spicy strips, beef jerky, chocolate, sandwich cookies, jelly, sunflower seeds, preserved plum candy—colorful packaging bags were squeezed together, like a small supermarket shelf compressed into the cabinet.

"You're planning to open a convenience store in the military camp?" Lu Xiao poked half his body in from the doorway, his golden eyes lighting up. "Have you got the business license yet?"

Zhao Xiaohu said with a pained expression, "Deputy squad leader, I... I was just worried that we wouldn't get enough to eat in the cafeteria..."

"Contraband food, confiscated." Li Mo's voice was devoid of any emotion. "Until the training is over, none of this belongs to you."

Zhao Xiaohu let out a mournful cry, like a hamster whose tail had been stepped on.

Qian Duoduo secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Li Mo turned his head.

"Your closet."

Qian Duoduo's face instantly fell.

His cupboard was also a sea of ​​snacks, only the varieties were slightly different—Zhao Xiaohu preferred salty and spicy flavors, while Qian Duoduo was a sweet tooth. Cookies, egg yolk pies, chocolate bars, milk candies, honey potato chips, and even two cans of luncheon meat and a family-sized sausage.

"Did you two plan this?" Lu Xiao laughed so hard his shoulders were shaking. "One sells savory food and the other sells sweet food. They complement each other's products. You've got a good business sense."

"Squad leader, that's a sausage, not—"

"Prohibited food items are confiscated."

Qian Duoduo shut her mouth.

Li Mo expressionlessly counted out all the snacks the two chubby boys had, piling them into a small mountain on the table. Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo stood beside them, their eyes like those of two fathers watching their own children being taken away.

Then Li Mo walked to Xuan Xiao's bunk.

"Bring the bag down."

Xuan Xiao swiftly and cleanly climbed down from the upper bunk. He took his bag out of the closet, placed it on the bed, and unzipped it.

Li Mo reached into his bag.

He took two bottles of wine out of Xuanxiao's bag.

One bottle of whiskey, one bottle of baijiu (Chinese liquor). The amber liquids refracted a warm luster under the fluorescent light, and the English and Chinese labels on the bottles were clearly visible; both had a high alcohol content.

Lu Xiao walked in from the door, picked up the bottle of whiskey, examined it for a moment, and whistled.

"Twelve years old, quite a fine vintage. This white wine must have been expensive, right? Are you drinking it yourself or planning to treat others?"

"……Own."

"Two bottles by one person?"

Xuanxiao didn't reply.

What could he say?

Lu Xiao handed the wine to Li Mo, patted Xuan Xiao on the shoulder, and smiled as brightly as if he had found money: "Contraband, confiscated. If you want a drink, I'll treat you after basic training."

Xuan Xiao's lips twitched.

Li Mo placed the two bottles of wine on the table, alongside the mountain of snacks. Then he walked to the last cabinet.

The cabinet in the white night.

Bai Ye stood up, opened the cabinet door, and stepped aside.

Li Mo checked his bag and locker. A change of clothes was neatly folded, toiletries were arranged in an orderly fashion, and a spare pair of shoes, covered in a plastic bag, sat in a corner. A worn notebook, a pen, and a pack of tissues. Nothing else.

Li Mo stood up and turned to face the whole class. On the table was a mountain of snacks from Zhao Xiaohu and Qian Duoduo, next to which were two bottles of wine from Xuan Xiao, a stark contrast as if they were two different worlds.

"I will keep these items during training. They will be returned after training. Any objections?"

Zhao Xiaohu whispered, "No." Qian Duoduo nodded in agreement. Xuan Xiao didn't speak, but he didn't object either.

"And another thing," Li Mo's gaze swept across the entire class, "if I find these things again, destroy them immediately. They won't be returned. Do you understand?"

"Listen carefully!"

Li Mo and Lu Xiao carried the contraband out of the dormitory. The moment the door closed, Zhao Xiaohu collapsed onto the bed.

"My spicy strips..."

"My egg yolk pie..." Qian Duoduo wailed along with him.

Then the two of them turned to look at Xuan Xiao at the same time.

"Brother Xiao, those two bottles of liquor you brought are really potent." Zhao Xiaohu gave a thumbs up. "At least the ones we brought can be sneaked around, but yours are pure contraband."

Xuanxiao grabbed a pillow and threw it at him.

Zhao Xiaohu didn't dodge this time and was hit squarely in the face with a dull thud. He fell onto the bed, still laughing.

Bai Ye had already sat back down on the bed, his notebook open on his lap. He kept his head down, his gaze fixed on the pages, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

There was a rustling sound coming from the upper bunk, and Xuan Xiao climbed onto the bed.

"white night."

The person in the lower bunk didn't respond.

"Your cabinet is spotless. Did you know in advance that it was going to be inspected?"

"have no idea."

"Then why didn't you bring any contraband?"

White Night turns a page.

"Because it's not necessary."

Xuanxiao turned to his side, put his arm under his head, and looked at the upper bunk.

No need.

If someone doesn't even want to bring a bag of snacks or a bottle of drink, they are either extremely self-disciplined or have long been used to a life where they don't need anything.

The person in the upper bunk didn't say anything more.

The dormitory gradually quieted down. The chirping of insects outside the window mingled with the prelude to lights out in the distance.