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

Half an hour before lights out, everyone in Group A's dormitory was busy with their own things.

After taking a shower, Bai Ye leaned against the headboard and flipped through an introductory book on tactical topography that he had borrowed from Xie Huai'an. His freshly washed black hair was still damp and clung to the back of his neck.

His eyes were downcast, his finger occasionally pausing on a contour map on a page, tracing a dense outline as he muttered something silently. His freshly dried hair fell loosely across his forehead, making his already small face appear even smaller.

Xuan Xiao climbed down from his upper bunk at some point and plopped down on the edge of Bai Ye's bed. He was idly drying his hair with a towel in his hand, and he hadn't stopped talking since he sat down.

"Your timing for that 500-meter sprint was absolutely perfect. The power you used in those first three steps to push off the ground was on a completely different level compared to when you ran the 10km in recruit training. Did you secretly train something behind my back? Or did Brother Huai'an give you extra lessons again? Let me tell you, today's competition doesn't count. I was at least 0.5 seconds slower at the start, and I ran 50 shuttle runs today—the 50 extra runs the captain did—while you were resting on the concrete platform for a full 20 minutes. You know that's taking advantage of someone's vulnerability? We'll race again tomorrow, and I'll definitely—"

Bai Ye turned a page of the book without looking up.

"Don't accelerate on the curves next time, it's too easy to get overtaken."

Xuan Xiao choked. Just as he was about to retort, he suddenly felt a chill creep up his neck.

At the same time, the temperature in the entire dormitory seemed to drop several degrees. Xie Ran and Shen Zhuo simultaneously stopped playing cards, Xie Huai'an closed his textbook, and Lu Xiao peeked out from behind his phone screen with a pair of eyes watching the show.

Li Mo had somehow appeared behind Xuan Xiao. He was carrying a water bottle—freshly filled from the water dispenser, with cool water droplets trickling down its sides. He didn't speak, but expressionlessly raised the bottle above Xuan Xiao's head and slowly poured it out.

Cold water poured down Xuanxiao's head, flowing over the back of his neck, into his freshly showered and dried hair, and dripping down his temples onto his training pants.

Xuan Xiao froze, the towel slipping from his hand and falling to the ground. He sat there motionless, letting the icy water seep into his scalp through his hair.

"Go outside and get some peace and quiet."

"Team—Captain—I—I didn't—"

"Now."

Xuanxiao sprang up from the edge of the bed, grabbed the towel that had fallen to the ground, and rushed out of the dormitory without looking back.

Lights out sounded promptly at 9:30.

The fluorescent lights snapped off, plunging the entire dormitory into darkness. Only the faint light from the base's streetlights outside the window seeped through the gaps in the curtains, casting faint gray stripes on the floor.

Xie Ran's snoring started less than ten minutes after the lights were turned off. It was deep and rhythmic, occasionally mixed with Shen Zhuo's indistinct sleep talking coming from the opposite bed.

Bai Ye lay on the lower bunk, staring at the bed frame above him. Xuan Xiao slept above him, and he could hear the even breathing coming from the upper bunk. The occasional slight movement of turning over traveled down through the metal frame, carrying a rhythm that gave him a strange sense of peace. But he still couldn't fall asleep.

It's not that I wasn't tired. I ran 28 kilometers during the day and 10 kilometers plus a 500-meter sprint at night. My right leg almost gave out in the afternoon. I only found out after taking a shower that there was a big bruise on my calf. The bone was fine, but the bruise under the skin spread out and the color was quite interesting.

His body was telling him he needed rest, but his brain wouldn't cooperate. He lay in the dark for over forty minutes before finally giving up. He sat up, put on his training jacket, and tiptoed into the dormitory room, walking into the corridor.

The corridor lights were still on, casting a dark gray glow on the non-slip floor. He passed by a series of closed dormitory doors, walked down the stairs, and pushed open the main door of the dormitory building.

The night wind of the Gobi Desert rushed towards me, dry and slightly cool, carrying the scent of sand and wormwood from the distant mountains.

The streetlights at the base were still on, and the training ground stretched out under the moonlight, spacious and quiet. The noise and gunfire of the daytime had subsided, leaving only the rustling of the wind scattering pebbles and the sound of his own footsteps.

Bai Ye wandered aimlessly along the edge of the track, past the single-pole area from the daytime, and past the edge of the grove where Xie Ran and Shen Zhuo were chased by patrol dogs.

Then he felt it.

Someone is watching him.

It wasn't the casual sizing between teammates, nor was it Lu Xiao's mischievous scrutiny. It was the oppressive gaze of a hunter eyeing its prey.

Bai Ye's steps didn't stop, his breathing didn't falter, and his expression remained unchanged. He didn't even turn around—because turning around would be tantamount to telling the other person, "I've spotted you."

He continued walking, maintaining the same casual pace as before, as if he were simply taking a aimless stroll. But his route unknowingly veered slightly off course, gradually shifting from the edge of the training field to a cluster of buildings near the obstacle course.

There is a narrow alley at the junction of the training ground and the grove, which is a gap between two equipment storage buildings. There are no streetlights or cameras, and no one passes by during the day. At night, even stray cats are too lazy to go in.

He turned inside.

The alley was dark, the walls on both sides were cold from the night wind of the Gobi Desert, and the gravel on the ground made a slight scraping sound underfoot.

He walked to the deepest part of the alley and stopped. Then he turned around, leaned against the wall, and pushed up the cuffs of his training uniform, revealing his pale wrists. He wasn't nervous; he just waited quietly, as if waiting for a late appointment.

Two minutes later, a dark figure appeared at the alley entrance. The person was completely covered in black night clothes, with only a pair of sinister eyes visible.

He walked in close to the wall, his steps extremely light, each step landing on the bare ground without any pebbles. He held the dagger in reverse in his palm, the blade against the inside of his forearm to prevent the metal from reflecting light and revealing its position.

A standard assassination stance.

He paused for a moment when he turned into the deepest part of the alley—because there was no one there.

He had clearly seen the boy turn into this alley. The alley was a dead end, with high, smooth walls on both sides, no windows and no footholds. He hadn't heard any climbing sounds.

Just then, a voice came from behind him.

"Who are you?"

The man in black's pupils contracted sharply.

He whirled around, the dagger in his hand flashing in an arc as he turned, aiming straight for Bai Ye's throat. The strike was swift, a speed honed to instinct through extensive combat training.