Translator: Legge
Perhaps Liang Ce was thinking that the two of them were moving too fast, so he personally poured a bucket of cold water over his relationship with Meng Nan.
As the convoy leisurely drove north, Ren Xiaosu thought to himself that he had not given Liang Ce any advice this time. Liang Ce was self-taught and purely gifted.
When they passed by Mt. Dashi, the large convoy took a break there and got reorganized.
The camp where they rested was the site where P5092 had set an ambush for the barbarians to attack. Ren Xiaosu was very familiar with this place, but he wondered where all the barbarians’ corpses had gone.
After getting out of the vehicle, everyone could hear the Pyro Company’s soldiers discussing as they smoked, “I heard that Commander P5092 killed over a 100 barbarians here. Apparently, the barbarians were in such despair. I didn’t expect Commander P5092 to have anticipated an attack by them on the camp.”
“I would rather know what those two snipers look like…”
Ren Xiaosu and the others did not get out of their vehicle. However, the Qinghe University students could not wait to get out of theirs to move around. When one of the students heard the Pyro Company’s discussion, he suddenly said, “I wonder where I can receive sniper training at. I’d like to become a sniper too.”
But when a Pyro Company soldier heard that, he laughed. “If you want to become as good as those two snipers, you’ll have to be blessed by Heaven. It’s not something you can become just because you want to.”
The Qinghe University student was a little annoyed. “Can’t I just train harder? I can take hardship too, y’know!”
“You don’t understand.” The Pyro Company soldier shook his head with a smile. However, he did not explain any further.
Only those who had truly fought in battle and received military training would understand that hard work alone was not enough.
The reason why those two snipers were able to control the battlefield was due to their combined talents across many aspects. They were not only accurate in their sniping but also able to predict where the barbarians would appear each time. This secretly surprised all of the Pyro Company’s soldiers, and they felt this was what true skill was.
The forward operating base was only about a 100 kilometers away from the front lines. After traversing a small section of mountain road, they would reach the highway the Pyro Company had built. As such, the convoy would reach the front lines within a day.
When they set off, P31921 told Ren Xiaosu they would get to the front lines by that afternoon.
If that small section of mountain road was repaired, it might even be faster and they could get there within two hours.
In the late afternoon, before the sun could set, Ren Xiaosu could already see from afar the towering New Great Wall in front of him.
The Great Wall meandered along the horizon towards the east and west until its ends could no longer be seen. It was such a magnificent sight that it made people feel a sense of pride.
Within the Great Wall were military encampments that joined up like vast oceans. The Pyro Company soldiers were moving around while countless “civilian laborers” continued building the defensive line below the Great Wall.
Tower crane after tower crane rose into the clouds while laborers used the incomplete scaffolding outside the long walls to navigate along the cliff walls.
Ren Xiaosu had never seen such a magnificent sight before in his life. He suddenly felt that the “miracles” he had seen in the past paled in comparison to this front line and the military bases at the Great Wall.
If one did not see such a magnificent structure rising from the ground with their own eyes, it would be very difficult to believe that this was built through the power of humanity.
Actually, there wasn’t much technical skill involved. It was just a defensive fortification purposely built for the threat of the barbarians. It was just that the collective will of this project was astounding.
When he arrived at the base, Ren Xiaosu was surprised to see P5092 waiting at the entrance. Initially, Ren Xiaosu thought he was here to receive the supplies. But later, he realized P5092 did not even look at the supplies and was heading straight for him instead.
While the other Trinity Institute members were still feeling a little lost, Ren Xiaosu had already jumped out of the vehicle and walked up to shake hands with P5092.
P5092 looked extremely smart in his neatly ironed military uniform.
P5092 smiled and said, “It’s been a long journey. I was wondering when we would meet again, but I didn’t expect to see you so soon.”
Ren Xiaosu said excitedly, “It’s really great to see you again!”
P5092 was taken aback. He looked at Ren Xiaosu whose expression did not seem to suggest any pretense. Could it be that he really wanted to see him? But why?
Ren Xiaosu had been wondering if he should encourage P5092 to join the Prosperous Northwest. What if he were too late and P5092 had died at the front lines?
Now that P5092 was right beside him, Ren Xiaosu could slowly plan his move. It would only be another day before the seal on his powers was broken. Perhaps it might be a little difficult to protect a group of people from not dying, but it would be too easy to ensure one person’s survival.
P5092 started making small talk with Ren Xiaosu. “I’ve heard about how you treated the patients at the medical center at the rear. Thank you very much. I suddenly think it was a very wise decision to conscript you from the South.”
“Don’t mention it. It’s a doctor’s duty to treat and save people. I’m just a normal surgeon,” Ren Xiaosu said modestly.
P5092 smiled and said, “Now that you’ve arrived at the front lines, does this sight scare you?”
“Of course it scares me.” Ren Xiaosu nodded and said, “Y’all better fight this war well. Otherwise, we won’t be safe even at the rear.”
P5092 stared at Ren Xiaosu’s expression and sneered mentally. ‘Afraid? Like hell you’re afraid! Keep pretending! No matter how well you pretend, I’ve already seen right through you!‘
However, the reason why P5092 asked that was because he wanted to see Ren Xiaosu put on a front.
P5092 smiled and said, “I came here today to give you all a special welcome. But as I’ve got my military duties to fulfill, I really don’t have much time to play host to you. I have an ID here that I applied for you temporarily. With it, you can freely move around in the base as you like.”
Ren Xiaosu was stunned. He watched P5092 hand him an ID.
The ID was a little black book that was not even the size of a palm. When he opened it, there was no photo inside and only a red stamp on it. It was the official seal of 3rd Division’s headquarters.
Ren Xiaosu was unsure of what the ID could be used for. But based on P5092’s description, it seemed like it was very powerful.
“Thank you then.” Ren Xiaosu smiled and said, “I happen to want to take a look around the camp as well.”
“Alright, I’ll get going first. Please make yourselves at home.” After that, P5092 turned around and left. Just as he had said, he was way too busy with the war that was about to begin.
To be honest, his deputy commander and the combat staff officers were very surprised that P5092 would purposely spare some time to meet with Ren Xiaosu. Everyone was thinking at the same time and wondering why Ren Xiaosu was so important.
The Pyro Company’s troops led Ren Xiaosu and the others to the 3rd Division’s field hospital. On the way there, Ren Xiaosu suddenly took out the little black book and asked the soldier next to him, “Your commander gave me this. He said that I can move around the base as I please. Is that true?”
He realized the soldier who was being questioned had suddenly become respectful. “Yes, sir! As long as you hold this ID, you can move around 3rd Division without any restrictions.”
Ren Xiaosu muttered in his head, ‘This little black book has such great power, huh? I’m even getting addressed as ‘sir’ now?‘
