It's late at night and everyone is asleep.
In the huge house, only Shen Tingyu's study and bedroom had lights on.
When he came back from the bathroom with a cold and damp body, Xu Qingran had already fallen asleep on his bed. Perhaps because it was the first time the contract was signed, it was a bit mentally exhausting for him as the recipient, so he slept a little deeply and didn't even notice him approaching.
Shen Tingyu's eyes fell on him, gently and carefully.
He thought that if he had been told a few years ago that there would be someone in the future whom he would allow to step into his private space and even establish such an intimate relationship with him, he would definitely have killed the person who said such a ridiculous thing.
Shen Tingyu turned off the light in the bedroom and went back to the study. He pressed the switch on the wall, closing the bookshelf to separate the two connected rooms.
Instead of continuing to work at the desk, he grabbed the slightly uniquely designed private communicator that he had hung on a small stand and dialed one of the few contact lists in it.
The communication connection took a while.
He stood by the window, the moonlight shining silvery into his eyes, sharp as a blade.
The communication was successfully established ten minutes later.
The other end answered the call, and a voice mixed with noise came through vaguely: "Ting Yu?"
Shen Tingyu said softly: "Let's blow up Mu Ziyue's base in Tianqin now."
The other party was silent for a few seconds, and then he hesitated, "But didn't you say that you would wait until his investment of energy and money reaches the highest predicted value before implementing it?"
"I changed my mind." Shen Tingyu replied.
The man on the other side wisely did not ask him the reason. He just said after a pause, "We have investigated and found that the ambush location of the Type I demon group led by Type X is indeed where you speculated."
"But this also means that if we insist on following your plan, Tianqin may become a new disaster area in the Golden Wing jurisdiction." After a pause, the other party continued, "You have always been responsible for the defense of Tianqin. If something goes wrong, you may be held responsible."
"It doesn't matter." Shen Tingyu said coldly, "Alliance and glory have never been what I care about most."
He is an indifferent person.
It was like this before, and it is still like this now. He cannot feel other people's emotions, so he just follows his heart and does what he wants to do.
Especially, it is related to Xu Qingran.
"Besides, that little devil can be dealt with quickly and won't affect other parts of Tianqin."
Shen Tingyu added: "If the Tianqin stronghold is not destroyed, it will become the most advantageous battlefield for the Golden Wing in the future."
"Mu Ziyue hid a batch of the latest weapons developed by the Military Research Institute there. That was the first batch, and it was also 90% of the total number of weapons that the current materials allowed to be produced."
After a few seconds, the person on the other side sighed and chuckled, "Sometimes I really feel ashamed."
"I have so many years of experience, but I don't know more than you."
Shen Tingyu remained silent.
"Okay, I got it. Thank you for your valuable information." After a rustling sound, the other party hung up the call.
Shen Tingyu stood by the window for a while before returning to the bedroom.
Xu Qingran seemed to turn over.
Even though it was just a temporary contract, Shen Tingyu could sense the extra weak connection the moment the mark was made. He was closely connected to the person sleeping on the bed, as if he could feel the other person's heartbeat no matter how far away they were.
Very stable.
Nor did it convey the disgust he feared.
Xu Qingran didn't hate contact with him.
That's enough.
Shen Tingyu thought to himself and walked over to cover him with the quilt.
Just as I was about to let him sleep in my bed for the whole night, I saw him suddenly open his eyes.
Shen Tingyu's heart skipped a beat, and he felt guilty and worried that he had heard what he had just said in the study.
But there was a haze in Xu Qingran's eyes, as if he had only woken up briefly.
After looking at him for a moment, he asked, "I suddenly thought of something."
Seeing that there was nothing unusual on his face, Shen Tingyu took a deep breath and asked, "What's the matter?"
"I was wondering - when you first approached me to sign a soul contract, did that count as pursuing me?"
There was a brief silence in the room.
Shen Tingyu couldn't get angry at all facing Xu Qingran's eyes which were slightly moist.
Just ask him: "Are you serious about this question?"
"Isn't what I did obvious enough?"
Xu Qingran was calm and confident: "Not enough."
Shen Tingyu was so angry that he laughed again in the middle of the night.
Xu Qingran asked him again: "So what is our relationship now?" His tone was very direct.
Shen Tingyu now truly believed that he was just half asleep and half awake because he was worried about these issues, so he woke up.
He stood by the bed, looking down at the man who was propping himself up with his hands.
What was reflected in her eyes was his soft appearance at the moment, but her heart was staring at the soul beneath his body.
Shen Tingyu's eyes gradually softened.
For the first time, I felt a ray of light coming through my cold spring-like heart.
He subconsciously reached out and stroked Xu Qingran's soft, slightly curly hair. He lowered his head and gently touched his forehead. Then he leaned slightly to his ear and asked, "Can I say that we are lovers?"
Xu Qingran lowered his eyes and did not answer directly, but suddenly changed the subject: "I looked up some information related to the conclusion of soul contracts on the Internet the other day."
"I heard that especially for Type D, even if they are resting after signing a contract with their partner, they can actively transfer their weak mental power to the partner just by holding hands."
Shen Tingyu was still feeling depressed because he didn't get a response, when he saw Xu Qingran raise his chin and say, "So boyfriend, I allow you to go to bed and shake my hand to sleep today."
"No matter what, my main task is to heal the trauma to your mental pool first. I can't have no progress at all."
Shen Tingyu stood there in a daze for a long time.
When he finally moved and truly felt a sense of joy, the sleepy Xu Qingran had already fallen asleep on the bed again.
It was as if the words he had just said when he got up were just sleepwalking.
But if you look to the side, you can see the hand he deliberately placed in the empty space, with his palm facing up and his five fingers slightly closed, his fingertips tinged with a delicate pink color.
The light in the study was finally turned off.
This night was particularly peaceful.
When Xu Qingran opened his eyes the next day, it was already noon.
This was a rare time when he felt such heavy fatigue, apart from the discomfort caused by the upgrading of his spirit pool.
"Hee hee hee… "
As soon as Xu Qingran woke up, he heard the little system in his head laughing. He frowned and asked, "Are you having a seizure?"
"Hehe, host, you are so good at it, it's so sweet hehehe..."
The system made a CP-like laugh.
It witnessed the whole process last night and couldn't help but sigh that this was a leap forward!
How did the relationship between its host and the target of the attack change from brotherhood to love? ! But it doesn't matter, its performance is promising again!
"Oh, Shen Tingyu really held your hand and lay beside you to rest for the whole night!"
"The host doesn't know, the way he slowly intertwines his fingers with yours, and the aggression in his eyes when he looks at the host, ah, why is my CP so sexy!" The system couldn't help but scream in excitement.
"Is this how E-type and D-type behave after being together?"
Xu Qingran paused and said speechlessly: "You know so much."
"Ahem, I won't take it down. Host, please don't report me for reading pornographic novels while I'm working."
Xu Qingran: “?”
It doesn't say that he doesn't know these things.
He raised his hand and looked at his palm, remembering what he had said to Shen Tingyu in a daze last night.
The tips of her ears couldn't help but turn red.
Before he traveled through time, he was already an old man in his twenties. As for love affairs, no matter how open he was, it could not change the fact that this was his first time.
There's no way I can resist a man like Shen Tingyu.
However, this bad guy is now like most of the heartless and ruthless scumbags. He was so tired the night before that he is not at home at this time.
Xu Qingran walked out of the room in a bad mood, until he saw the lunch usually prepared for him in the dining room, his mood finally improved.
—Oh, it turns out he was unhappy just because he was hungry.
·
After that, Xu Qingran rested at home for a few more days, but he always felt as if he had forgotten something.
It was not until he happened to see news about the Silver Dragon Camp on TV that he remembered that he had not yet opened the work letter he had received from the Silver Dragon headquarters.
The envelope was bulging with a thick stack of documents.
He sat on the sofa in the living room and slowly unpacked the package.
A program was playing on TV, and the conversation between the host and guests added a bit of liveliness to the empty house.
Xu Qingran lowered his head and pulled out the first beige letter with a red border, which was stamped with the commander-in-chief's exclusive seal.
He glanced at Mu Ziyu's name in the upper right corner and began to read the content.
This is the certificate you need to provide on the day you start work.
The positions are clearly marked.
—Tianlong branch camp... Colonel
Xu Qingran narrowed his eyes and began to think about the possibility that the words "上" and "少" were accidentally typed wrong.
However, according to the extended description below, it is indeed correct, and the position is clearly stated. This starting point is so high that it makes people suspicious, especially when the person in charge of the arrangement is Mu Ziyu, who should be very dissatisfied with him.
He put the official letter aside thoughtfully and continued to take out the introductory manual about the Tianlong system.
Tianlong is a huge galaxy. Before it was invaded by the devil swarm, there were seventeen habitable planets alone, not including large and small energy station stars and resource collection stars.
There are only three habitable planets that have not been occupied by the devil swarm, and they are in different solar systems.
The highest position in each star system was the general, and below him were several generals, and each planet was in charge of a general. He was assigned to Taiyue, one of the three habitable planets.
Taiyue has a total of five unconnected continents. He was given the title of "Colonel" of a branch camp, and his job responsibility would be to control part of a certain continent, which also includes the protection and arrangement of residential areas.
The specific continent he was responsible for was also indicated on the work letter, which was Nanzhou in Taiyue Star.
The last piece of the envelope contained the address and coordinates used for navigation input, as well as a map of the Taiyue Star.
He took it out and looked at it, and found that Nanzhou was actually the largest continent in Taiyue, divided into Upper Nanzhou and Lower Nanzhou. He was responsible for all the divisions of Upper Nanzhou.
Xu Qingran's fingers gently stroked the edge of the manual, as if thinking about something.
The starting point of the position is high and the area under management is so large, it sounds particularly impressive and important.
But in reality, such work is a difficult challenge for someone who has just graduated from a military academy and has no management experience.
Xu Qingran chuckled.
He seemed to understand the purpose of Mu Ziyu's arrangement.
"What? Tianlong?! And it's from Taiyue Star?!"
Xie Nanjun's handsome face squeezed into the plain video chat screen.
His expression was as rich as ever. After hearing the job information provided by Xu Qingran, he angrily cursed with a dark face: "Isn't this a trap?"
After opening the work letter, Xu Qingran sent a message to Shen Tingyu, wanting to ask about the secrets of the Tianlong Group.
Xie Nanjun was also in Shen Tingyu's office at the time, and when he knew he was chatting with Xu Qingran, he urged him to make a video call directly. After all, it was lucky not to see a treasure-level type like D-type.
As a result, after hearing their conversation, he was more excited than Xu Qingran himself.
He bit the candy in his mouth, swallowed it, and then said, "Who doesn't know that the worst place in the Silver Dragon Camp is the Tianlong system?"
"We have no money and no resources. The Silver Dragon Headquarters doesn't care. They will defend if they can, and sell if they can't. Even if you die in battle, no one will come to collect your body!"
After Xie Nanjun finished speaking, Shen Tingyu ruthlessly pushed his head out of the picture: "You are blocking my view."
Outside the screen, Xie Nanjun's voice was still clear: "Forget about going to Tianlong, do you know where Taiyue is?"
As he spoke, he stood behind Shen Tingyu with an angry expression: "Taiyue is assessed to be the most dangerous planet for Tianlong now. It is closest to the demon group and has even shown signs of invasion. It has been defaulted as the next planet to be abandoned, and no senior official is willing to take over and deal with it."
"Moreover, the soldiers sent to garrison Taiyue are basically those who were eliminated from other star systems due to their lack of merit or strength. Because they have given up hope, they are also very stubborn and difficult to tame, and are extremely disobedient to the instructions of their superiors."
"Especially the area of Nanzhou... Lower Nan is fine, but if you go to Upper Nan, then congratulations, you still have to deal with the most famous rebel army there."
Xie Nanjun basically couldn't help but complain about all the information Xu Qingran wanted to know.
So Shen Tingyu didn't interrupt, just sat aside, focusing his eyes on the person in the video call.
Xu Qingran asked: "Rebel Army?"
"Yes, they are the most unruly group of people on Taiyue Star. It's mainly because of the previous management of Tianlong. They complained about the soldiers of Taiyue Star being trash when they were drinking and chatting, saying that they and the poor people there were a group of people abandoned by the empire and the faction, and laughed at them for being trash."
"These words were accidentally heard by the general of the Northern District Army of Shangnanzhou at that time. He was also very brave and directly broadcast to the public, so that all the soldiers in the Northern District could hear the complaints of those senior officials in the office."
Xie Nanjun crossed his arms and spoke in a heavy tone, "This incident caused a stir in the empire at the time. Although the management of the Silver Dragon Headquarters came out to apologize in person and publicly announced the sentencing of those senior officials, hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the North District have since become alienated from the empire and formed their own 'small camp' in the North District."
"The colonels who took over Upper South Continent changed one after another, and no one could control them."
"They would even teach the new ruler a lesson. Soldiers from other regions of Upper South Continent were also influenced by the people from the North and ignored their officers. If they went there from other places, they would be isolated and helpless."
Xie Nanjun just shook his head at the thought, and then asked: "So, Xu Qingran, where were you sent to on Taiyue Star?"
Xu Qingran smiled at the camera and said, "What a coincidence, it's Shangnanzhou."
Xie Nanjun: “… ?”
Xie Nanjun scolded Yinlong passionately from head to toe.
"So why did you choose Silver Dragon so foolishly? You've offended Mu Ziyu, the childish and petty commander before, and he will definitely not let you off easily! And you have so many enemies in Silver Dragon... Take the Feng family and Prince Ning Luo for example."
Xie Nanjun suddenly realized, "They are related to Mu Ziyu, they must be working together to get you!"
Seeing that Xu Qingran in the video was still contented, he couldn't help but worry about him: "You should be more careful."
"Those crazy people on Taiyue Star don't take anyone seriously. I remember that our Golden Wing had to stay there for a few days in order to try to deal with the trouble caused by the Silver Dragon. They are very united and hate all the soldiers who serve the empire equally."
"I heard that a colonel from your Silver Dragon went there to work for a month, and after returning he spent more than a year seeking treatment from a psychiatrist before finally getting over the trauma!"
Xu Qingran commented: "Then he is too fragile."
Xie Nanjun was speechless, wondering why his proud, confident and arrogant character seemed so familiar
He angrily complained about Yinlong for a few more times until someone knocked on the door and asked him to go out, then he finally calmed down and left.
Shen Tingyu's office finally returned to silence.
Xu Qingran glanced at the black-haired man who was sitting there without saying a word, and sighed, "It's hard to imagine that someone with your personality would accept being good friends with Xie Nanjun."
After all, Shen Tingyu seems to be a quiet person.
I always feel that if someone else was so noisy, he might have been unable to resist and beat the other person up first.
Shen Tingyu pondered for a moment, then smiled and replied, "I can't help it. He is too loyal and righteous."
"No matter how much we quarrel, I still can't bear to kill someone with such a sincere heart."
Xu Qingran nodded, and thought of another thing: "By the way, have you told the Shen family about Tianyi and I?"
"I told my dad."
That is the head of the Shen family.
"The discussion went smoothly and he accepted the result. As for when and how the other members of the Shen family will know, it depends on his arrangements."
Shen Tingyu paused for a moment and added: "But I haven't told Tianyi yet."
"He is still young and has no clear understanding of this kind of thing. He won't understand even if I tell him. When no one talks about this in front of him later, he will probably forget it."
Xu Qingran had no objection, but realized one thing: "So, you don't plan to tell the public about the cancellation of my engagement with Tianyi for the time being?"
I still remember how high-profile this incident was at the time. The Shen family even personally announced their agreement to the media. Now everyone still thinks that he and Tianyi have a 99% compatibility.
Shen Tingyu curved his lips and replied, "I don't want to."
"Xu Qingran, Silver Dragon is too far away from me." His tone became more serious. "I'm afraid you'll be kidnapped by some shady little goblin somewhere I can't see."
Therefore, having this engagement with the Shen family can at least block most of these thoughts.
Xu Qingran raised his eyebrows: "Shen Tingyu, do you have so little confidence in me?"
He is not someone like Lu Cheng.
Shen Tingyu looked at him quietly for a while, and said softly: "If I didn't have enough confidence in you, I wouldn't let you do what you want to do and stay so far away from me."
Xu Qingran paused.
Tsk, E-type.
Then Qingao nodded: "Okay, I agree."
The two smiled at each other across the video call.
Shen Tingyu asked him again: "When are you leaving?"
Xu Qingran thought for a moment and said, "I will go to Bishui Villa to put my things away, rest for a day, and then leave."
After a long time, Shen Tingyu let out a long sigh.
He said, "Remember to keep in touch with me."
"Will do."
The two of them hung up the call.
Xu Qingran officially moved into Bishui Villa as planned.
He had erased all traces of Xu Yan and Zhu Ailian's family's life here, and restored Qi Shengxue's original furnishings to the greatest extent possible.
After settling down, he remembered that the Ni family was also in Tianshe, and their residence was on the same planet, so he took the time to buy gifts and visit them.
The old man of the Ni family was very satisfied with him. He kept patting him on the shoulder and praising his performance in the military academy. He also felt sorry that he had no chance to be with his daughter.
Xu Qingran was invited to stay for a meal. During the conversation, he learned that Ni Xiaoyuan was assigned to the Andromeda Galaxy to follow up on the latest developments of the group of demons there.
When Ni Xiaoyuan heard that he was going to Tianlong, she was also very surprised: "How could it be?"
"Tianlong's management usually only sends experienced veterans. It is impossible for fresh graduates who need experience to be sent there."
“You are…” Ni Xiaoyuan had a complicated expression.
Although the sound has been silenced, everyone understands what was not said.
Mr. Ni was a man of straightforward temper. He slammed the table and angrily yelled, "Stupid, really stupid!"
"Silver Dragon has such a management team, so it will only go from bad to worse!"
As a veteran of the Silver Dragon Camp, he felt extremely upset when he saw Silver Dragon in such a mess and being abused by everyone.
I'm so disappointed in you.
"It doesn't matter, it's the same wherever we go." The person who was least worried was Xu Qingran himself.
Ni Xiaoyuan recalled his previous performances in the military academy and gained some confidence in him: "Good luck, classmate. I am optimistic that you can revive Tianlong's prestige. When my two-year graduation restriction is over, I will apply to help you!"
Although he didn't know what the situation would be like in two years, Xu Qingran still replied, "Thank you."
After some tidying up, Xu Qingran rested for a day in the luxury villa of Bishui Villa, then drove his aircraft, which had experienced a serious car accident, entered the navigation address and went alone to Taiyue Star of Tianlong.
Tianlong is located at the very edge of the Kaian Empire. It took Xu Qingran about five or six days to finally enter the galaxy.
On the way here, he learned a little more about the situation in Shangnanzhou.
The continent was divided into four major cities according to regions, with the familiar names of East, South, West and North.
The largest area is the North City governed by the rebel army, which has a total of thirty-three districts.
Next is West City, twenty-six areas.
Then there is District 19 in East City and District 18 in South City.
The main military bases are mainly concentrated in East City and North City. There are thirteen districts in North City where military garrisons are stationed.
The rest, including South City and West City, are mostly residential areas, with only a small part of the military camps of Upper South Continent and some energy stations.
Xu Qingran’s headquarters office is in the third district of East City.
However, he had just entered the range of the Tianlong system when a strange call suddenly came in.
After the call was connected, I heard noisy background noise from the other end.
After a while, a trembling voice asked, "Hello, are you the new colonel who will take over the post of Tianlong Taiyue Star and Shangnanzhou?"
As soon as the boy's weak voice fell, Xu Qingran heard a sound of something breaking coming from the opposite side in the distance, as if someone was smashing something.
There was also chaotic booing.
He was silent for a while, then replied, "Hello, I am."
The person on the other side seemed unaware of his identity—at least, he didn't have a very deep understanding of the three words "Xu Qingran".
In an apologetic tone, he said, "Hello, Colonel. I am your adjutant."
"Well, I mainly want to inform you that there was an accident with the accommodation originally arranged for you... But I will have someone arrange it for you soon. I want to ask when you will arrive? If it is within five days, you may have to find a temporary place to stay on your own."
Xu Qingran listened to the noise coming from his place and roughly knew what was going on.
Although the shadow of Taiyue Star could be seen in the distance, Xu Qingran still said to him: "Don't worry, I just set out, and it will take a few days to arrive."
The other party instantly breathed a sigh of relief: "Okay, I wish you a safe journey, Colonel!"
"I, we are all looking forward to your arrival!"
Xu Qingran let the navigation in the aircraft guide him to the Shangnanzhou area and then cut off the connection.
Instead of going directly to the military camp in the East City, he chose to land in the smallest South City.
It was evening here, with only a thin edge of the sun left.
Xu Qingran parked the aircraft in an open sandy area, next to a residential area with houses.
The architectural style inside is quite similar to the ordinary houses in his previous life.
Even the checkpoints between areas were more crude than those he had seen since he traveled through time.
There was no robot flying ball guarding it. The "Taiyue Shangnan·South City 6th District-7th District Gate" hanging high above was a large hand-carved board. On it hung a row of long, dead white lights, one of which was broken and no one had repaired it.
For the first time in this world, he intuitively felt what resource gap meant.
Xu Qingran walked into South City District 7 from the pedestrian passage at the checkpoint.
The walls of the buildings in the area were covered with blue-black "stains".
As the daylight gradually disappeared from the horizon, the sentry tower above the pass sounded the alarm, and people on the street hurried home, turned on the lights and locked the doors. Meanwhile, the group of Type IV demons climbing on the dead objects outside were slowly swelling and awakening.
Even the streets are filled with their slowly crawling figures.
But as mentioned in the introduction, Class IV is timid and has low lethality.
Xu Qingran walked among them without any pressure, observing the ecology of the residents here as he strolled around.
Occasionally, when he passed by some houses, he could see the people inside standing by the windows, staring at him with wide eyes, as if they didn't understand why he dared to wander around outside at this time.
As he was walking, an IV devil hanging on a broken lamppost suddenly jumped towards him, its movements were accompanied by aggression.
However, Xu Qingran had already grasped the short knife at his waist a second before it moved.
When it jumped over, he raised his hand and swung it, aiming at the source of its energy and hitting its fatal point with one blow.
The other IV devils sensed the murderous intent, and unlike other types, they did not rush forward, but instead hid in the dark and dark places nearby.
Just as Xu Qingran put away the knife, he heard applause from behind him.
He turned around and saw several men in Silver Dragon soldier uniforms walking towards him from the other end of the street.
While clapping, he also praised: "Little brother, you are quite skilled!"
He should be the guard responsible for patrolling the South City area.
When Xu Qingran came, he did not change into formal work clothes. He was still wearing his usual shirt and trousers, so those people did not know his identity.
After looking him over, he even asked, "Little brother, you look unfamiliar. Are you new here?"
Seeing his natural noble temperament, several people asked, "Are you here to travel?"
In addition to the fact that its technology is slightly behind that of other galaxies, Taiyue's network is also underdeveloped.
When he came in, he discovered that at least in District 7 of South City where he was, there was no wireless installed.
The people here seemed to be able to only make phone calls, and most of them didn't have communicators that could communicate across galaxies. So he wasn't surprised to see that these soldiers who had worked here for who knows how many years didn't recognize him.
"No, I'm here to work."
The men glanced at him again in confusion: "Work?"
"Hahaha, it's so funny. You don't want to say that you are one of the new military personnel sent by Silver Dragon, right?"
After saying this, they put their hands on their hips and laughed together.
Until they realized that Xu Qingran was not smiling, but just watching them silently.
When they stopped, he said with a half-smile: "Yes, I am here to report."
The guards were shocked by his answer: "Little brother, you look very young?"
"I just graduated from the military academy." Xu Qingran answered truthfully.
The looks of several people became even more shocked.
Then he looked him up and down several times.
Although Xu Qingran has now become very strong and muscular after going through various rigorous trainings, due to his protagonist body, even though he has already caught up with the physical level of a double S, it is still not obvious on the surface.
Especially when he puts on clothes, coupled with his non-aggressive appearance, he looks very thin.
New graduates are generally not sent to a hellhole like the Tianlong Department unless their qualifications are really too poor.
Those guards naturally thought that Xu Qingran was here because of his poor qualifications.
They looked sympathetic at first, then said, "Little brother, new soldiers usually have to report to the East District. Don't you even recognize the place?"
Xu Qingran did not explain, and remained silent, allowing them to use their imagination.
"But it doesn't matter. I just received a rumor that our new colonel from South Continent will arrive in a few days. You can get familiar with the environment of South City first!"
The person who spoke was a big man with stubble, almost twice as strong as him.
When he laughed, his chest resonated: "Maybe by then, I can arrange for you to work in South City!"
During his conversation with them, Xu Qingran learned that they were the guards responsible for patrolling Districts 6 and 7 of South City.
There are two shifts in total, and they rotate between the two districts every day. Their main task is to make sure that the residents in the district are abiding by the curfew rules, that there are no playful children wandering outside at night, and that no houses without power have been invaded by IV demons, etc.
They said that when they were on patrol, they heard residents mention that there was a strange boy wandering outside late at night, so they followed to investigate.
"I didn't expect you were a student in a military academy. No wonder you have some basic abilities!" the man praised.
Xu Qingran smiled slightly and accepted the praise without hesitation.
When they knew he was going to be their colleague, they were all very enthusiastic about him and invited him to ride in their off-road vehicle to experience what it was like to be a patrol guard.
It took more than two hours to patrol the entire District 7, and it was almost midnight.
They sent Xu Qingran to the checkpoint and saw his aircraft from afar.
It's a model I've never seen before, but there are a lot of scratches and dents on it, so it feels like it might be an old style.
The guards looked at Xu Qingran with even more sympathy, and felt that his poor and unskilled nature made him particularly suitable for their Tianlong faction.
No wonder he was exiled here.
The bearded man asked him, "By the way, little brother, did you just arrive at Taiyue today?"
"Have you eaten yet? If you don't mind, we'll have a midnight snack after we're done. Would you like to join us?"
Xu Qingran readily agreed: "Okay."
He followed the bearded man towards the rest stop at the checkpoint, not noticing the sly smiles that the other guards gave each other after they glanced at each other.
The rest stop was also very rudimentary.
The high-speed rail doesn't seem to be operating here, and there are only small trains in the station. There are no passengers and no trains at night.
The bearded man picked up the lunch box that had already gone cold in the lounge, handed it to him and said, "I only have a simple lunch box here, don't mind it, little brother!"
Xu Qingran took it and thanked him, "Don't mind, I'll eat anything."
When he opened it, he sniffed it discreetly to make sure there were no extra ingredients before he started eating.
They opened a few cans of beer and ate and chatted, their voices becoming more and more excited as they drank more.
"Who do you think the new colonel will be?" someone asked.
Another person rolled his eyes and replied, "It must be another old guy who's here to mess around."
"They change every few days. Our attitude is so clear, why do we have to send people here all the time? It's not like we can't survive without a leader. I think the small leaders of the South City Military Department are more capable than those high-ranking officials who pretend to be so!"
After saying that, several people laughed again.
Brother Hu Zha also agreed: "That's right. I heard today that after the new colonel arrives, the East City Military Camp will hold an induction ceremony for him, and all the leading majors from the entire Upper South Continent will go to help celebrate."
"Every day, they spend all their time on these styles. Every one of them is the same!"
Xu Qingran wondered, why hadn't he heard of this event
The bearded man laughed again: "So I heard that the people in East City went to smash the colonel's office and dormitory that had just been renovated this morning!"
"Smash it cleanly, haha!"
Hearing them mention the key words, Xu Qingran asked casually: "You sound like you are very dissatisfied with those colonels?"
A man blushed and burped and said to him, "Of course, there is no one in the entire Upper South Continent who is satisfied with them, right?"
"To be honest, who would be willing to come here if they are truly capable? Those who come here are either forced to come because they have no ability, or they just want to get by and get a title, but they can't do anything."
"He still flaunts his power every day, and tries to use his status to suppress us."
"Ha, the guards who were thrown here are not afraid anymore! Anyway, we are the ones abandoned by the empire. We will die sooner or later. Who cares about their threats?" They may have let it go a long time ago, and their tone of voice was quite light.
Xu Qingran listened to them insulting and complaining about the new colonel whom he had not met yet, and ate quietly without interrupting.
After they had all eaten their fill, the bearded man came over and patted him on the shoulder, saying mysteriously, "By the way, Comrade Xu, there's actually a secret treasure hidden under this rest stop. Since you're here now, why don't you take a look?"
Xu Qingran looked straight into his eyes and stared at him for a long while.
It was not until the other party could no longer withstand the inexplicable pressure from him and his pupils began to tremble slightly that Xu Qingran withdrew his gaze and replied, "Okay."
Several people accompanied him as they walked deeper underground into the rest stop. After walking up several flights of stairs, they arrived at an old space that had not been renovated and was somewhat different from the style of the rest stop.
There is a very long and deep corridor ahead.
Xu Qingran stood at the entrance, staring into the depths thoughtfully.
The next second, someone suddenly pushed me hard on the back, and I stepped into the corridor due to the force.
When Xu Qingran turned around, the entrance to the corridor was blocked by a special door.
Outside the door, several men who had just been treating him as brothers and were warm and kind changed their expressions to mocking and contemptuous ones.
The bearded man laughed and said, "Little brother, since you are about to join us, you need to understand the 'rules' here in advance."
"The first lesson you have to learn is not to trust others so easily."
"Places like Taiyue Star, especially Upper Nanzhou, are full of villains who don't care about life or death."
"What I hate most is outsiders like you. You have to learn to submit obediently."
Xu Qingran looked quite calm.
There was no surprise or anger, just a look of indifference at them.
There were some strange noises coming from deep in the corridor.
The bearded man kicked the solid door and smiled at him with an ambiguous smile: "I told you there is a great treasure here, you can take a good look at it, after all, this opportunity is rare."
After that, everyone laughed and went upstairs.
"The host and his friends are so abominable! How could you be deceived by them?"
"I was not cheated." Xu Qingran responded to the system.
Having spent so much time in the apocalypse and dealt with so many different kinds of people, he could not hide their little thoughts from him at all.
He was just curious about what they were trying to do, so he went along with their plan. By the way, he was able to learn from them about the people here's thoughts and information related to his future position.
There was a rumbling sound deep in the corridor, as if something was moving.
The system kept muttering in fear, but its host turned and walked into the darkness without hesitation.
·
Upstairs, a few people were sitting around the table drunkenly after eating and drinking.
One of his companions asked Brother Hu Zha: "Brother Liu, that kid looks so weak, is he okay?"
The bearded man sneered, "What could possibly happen? Those people just had to recuperate for a few months after being injured."
"Besides, he is a military academy student. If he can't even survive in the hands of Ma Ge's 'little pet', then he will die in some corner of Upper South Continent sooner or later."
They chatted until they were about to fall asleep.
But suddenly, I heard a heavy noise coming from under the lounge.
It sounded like someone was kicking the door.
They were stunned and hadn't realized what was happening when they heard the rhythmic sound suddenly stop after a very loud noise.
The world suddenly became quiet again.
Several people were awakened by the noise and looked at each other at the table.
After a long time, someone finally asked, "... Hey, wasn't that guy the one who made the noise?"
"Uh, did you really let that kid escape?"
The bearded man retorted: "Impossible, that is a high-tech door that can even be closed by an S-class soldier. He is just a weak soldier—"
Before he could finish his words, the metal door leading to the basement was suddenly kicked open from the inside.
Everyone stood up instantly, looking at the young boy at the door with expressions of shock or horror.
One of his hands was holding a purple tentacle that was still struggling and twisting.
The bearded guy who was closest to him had just turned around to face him when he was kicked hard in the abdomen by him the next second.
With a strong mental impact, he was kicked back ten meters and hit the wall heavily, spitting out all the food and drink he had just eaten.
Everyone was shocked.
This doesn't seem like a power that a weak little loser can possess? !
Just as Brother Hu Zha said, people in Shangnanzhou are very brave and combative.
Seeing this, the remaining few people rushed forward without hesitation to resist and avenge their brothers.
As a result, not to mention that their mental power level was not as high as Xu Qingran's, their fighting skills were instantly crushed by him.
Since Xu Qingran came here, he has never had such an easy fight.
He didn't even break a sweat as he threw them all to the ground, wailing in pain.
Xu Qingran slowly and calmly scanned everyone's body, and finally squatted in front of the person who fell at his feet.
The gloved hands grasped the man's hair forcefully, forcing him to look up.
Immediately, he expressionlessly forced the sticky tentacle he had just cut off from the alien creature into the other's mouth.
"I have learned your rules."
Xu Qingran chuckled, looked down at the people in front of him, and said slowly: "Now, it's your turn to understand my rules."
(End of this chapter)