[COD] Newbie's Rise to Power

After putting away the gift for Kruger, you opened the other packages one by one. There was food, some trinkets, and two documents.

After taking a shower and sharing the food with the girls, you opened a bag of snacks and ate them while flipping through a literature on human anatomy.

"Ugh... Ptooey, ptooey, tuituitui!"

You suddenly turn your head, bend over, and spit what's in your mouth into the trash can.

"What is this? It tastes awful!"

You look at the packaging bag in your hand in disbelief, thinking that you shouldn't have placed the order just because it looks good!

Just then, a message notification sounded. You immediately wiped your mouth with a tissue and then picked up your phone to check the message.

Keegan: [Kid, are you resting?]

You reply to him: 【Not yet, are you done with your work?】

Keegan: [Yeah, training was late today. I thought you were resting.]

Keegan: [What are you doing right now?]

When he asked you, you immediately took a picture and sent it to him.

You: [Image]

You: [Damn it! My first attempt was a disaster!]

Keegan replied after a while, but his reply left you speechless.

Keegan: [Are you alright?]

Keegan: [You need to pay attention to the road surface, and you can't be careless during training, kid.]

Before you could even send your message, Keegan sent you a message telling you how to spot landmines underground, and even thoughtfully included a picture.

Seeing how nervous he looked, I had no choice but to interrupt him.

You: [Sorry, Keigo, I didn't explain clearly.]

You: [The "landmine" I mentioned is a descriptive term used to refer to unpleasant experiences during consumption and social interactions, which we mentally define as dangerous minefields.]

You: [So what I meant was that the snacks in the picture above that you bought online taste terrible.]

Keegan: [I see. I thought you stepped on a landmine during training.]

Keegan: [But this expression is very interesting. It seems you Chinese people create a lot of interesting adjectives.]

You replied with a laugh: 【Haha...it also has a relative term, can you guess what it is?】

Keegan: [Dodge the mines?]

You: [Smart! "Avoiding a minefield" means avoiding that thing or place to prevent unpleasant experiences.]

A voice message came in; it was Keegan's deep, gentle voice:

"That's really interesting. I can use it to prank my teammates next time."

You: [[Laughing while covering mouth] So mischievous?]

Keegan suddenly sent me a picture; he was wearing a red bean bracelet on his wrist, the one you sent him.

You: [Do you like this gift?]

Keegan: [Yeah, no landmines.]

You immediately corrected him: "You shouldn't use that word to describe a gift."

Keegan humbly asked for advice: "How should I respond?"

You could tease him by saying, "Oh my god, I love you to death!"

Keegan’s deep, resigned voice rang out.

“Kid, this task is a bit difficult, but I can’t deny that you’ve spoken my mind.”

After chatting briefly with Keegan, you put down your phone, read a book for a while, and then finally succumbed to sleepiness.

I don't know if it's because you read before bed, but you've had nightmares for two nights in a row.

In my dream, there were people fleeing in panic on the battlefield and all kinds of corpses, some missing limbs, and some even with huge holes blown out of their heads.

Although you've already gone through several small missions and seen quite a few corpses, the close-up images in your dreams, where you can clearly see blood vessels and broken bones, still make you feel repulsed and terrified.

The cries, pleas for help, calls for rescue, the sound of electricity, the sound of gunfire, and even bizarre hallucinations in your dream tormented you all night.

This results in you feeling very unwell when you wake up the next day.

Finally, during his morning exercise, Blizzard and Wang Zhiqiang forced him to rest on a recliner in the corner.

As you watch the occasional figures running past, you can't help but recall the dream you had last night.

Could it really be because of the human research literature I've been reading these past few days? Or is it the psychological pressure from worrying about potential tasks that's causing the nightmares?

"What are you thinking about, little squirrel?"

A familiar voice rang out, and the next second Kruger was sitting next to you.

ch.259: Can I hug you?

Upon hearing this, you turned your head to look at him.

"Kruger? You actually went for a morning run today?"

Kruger has always preferred solitude, so he prefers indoor training grounds to morning exercises with a group of people.

Anyway, he's not a member of your base, so no one cares whether he comes out for morning exercise or not.

Kruger leaned back in his chair, crossed one leg over the other, and responded to you in a languid manner.

"Come and see some poor soul being tortured by extra training."

You looked dejected and responded to him in a low voice:

"It's not because of the extra training, it's because I had a nightmare, so I'm not in good shape."

Kruger suddenly moved closer to you, asking you in a casual yet seemingly serious tone.

"So, do you need me to hug you and comfort you?"

You quickly shook your head and refused: "Kruger, stop messing around, there are so many people here!"

"How about we go somewhere where there's no one around?"

His tone was melodious and seductive.

"Sweetheart, please let me hug you..."

As you gaze into his eyes, illuminated by the morning light, you recall the golden pupils you saw when you looked into his eyes up close under the mistletoe tree.

You agree willingly, but you warn him beforehand:

"I can only hug you, I'm not ready today."

Kruger chuckled softly, then nodded: "Of course."

He lowered his leg from his knees, stood up, and slowly walked ahead to lead the way for you.

As you watched his retreating figure, you stood up and followed him.

Following him, you finally entered his private space. Once the door closed, only the two of you remained.

Looking at his simple room, you sighed inwardly at the perk of having a private room. When will you be able to have your own private room? Maybe you should get one too?

This divergent thought makes you chuckle and smile, then you shake your head. Actually, living with Blizzard and the others is quite enjoyable, except you can't freely plant whatever you like.

Speaking of growing things, could you grow some plants and put them in their room?

Countless choices flashed through your mind in an instant.

"What are you thinking about now?"

Kruger's question rang out, and then he picked you up and carried you straight to the bed in the room.

He placed you on his lap, with one arm around your waist and the other holding and playing with your hand.

Then, unusually, he asked you in a gentle tone:

"Why are you having nightmares? Is it because you've been under too much stress lately?"

You rest your head on his shoulder, smell the faint minty scent on him, and close your eyes in a relaxed state.

"I'm not sure, but I've been dreaming about the same scene for two consecutive days, which is making me a little worried."

He pressed his face, covered by a net, against the top of your head, reassuring you with unwavering certainty.

"It's just a nightmare, don't worry, we'll protect you no matter what happens."

But his words did not bring you peace of mind; instead, they made you feel uneasy.

After hesitating for a moment, you finally decided to speak:

"Anything can happen. If something happens to me, you...you guys..."

Will you be sad?

You feel there's no need to ask this question, because it's inevitable.

Don't be too sad? You can't say it because you know it's impossible. If something happened to them, you can't even imagine how heartbroken you would be.

His large hand, which had been gently holding you, suddenly tightened its grip, as if trying to hold you tightly.

"No! As long as I'm here, I won't let anything happen to you. I said I would never abandon you, no matter what, even in death..."

You covered his mouth from his words. Any of the men could have said that, but Kruger couldn't!

You're at least certain that the others still have a long way to go, because their storylines haven't even begun.

But not Kruger. You don't want him to say anything that could cause problems or pain, even if it's just a verbal promise.

"Kruger, you must never say such heartbreaking things again. People should put themselves first. I hope that no matter what happens to you, you will live well and never give up your life for anyone, including me."

You cherish your own life and would never willingly give it up for anyone. You are, so you hope they are too.

Kruger raised his hand to remove your hand from his mouth, gave a disgruntled snort, then narrowed his eyes and leaned closer to you, his tone dangerous.

"Knowing that these words are hurtful, you still said them to me? If you hadn't been working so hard lately, I would definitely have taught you a lesson."