Chapter 4
By the time she left the base canteen, the heavy fog in the night sky had completely dissipated. The heavens were filled with a multitude of stars, and even the chirping of insects had faded to a whisper. The entire village seemed to have fallen into a deathly slumber.
This was one of the most ordinary nights in Ranao.
This was one of the most ordinary nights in the year 2189.
Lu Xiao walked alone on the path back to her military quarters.
A humid wind from the South China Sea blew strands of hair from her temples. Her gray-blue pupils reflected the silhouettes of trees and the starry sky. Under the watery moonlight, her dark gray hair took on the texture of mercury.
Her cheeks still held the heat of the equator, but her thoughts had drifted back to a Berlin strewn with fallen leaves. Lu Xiao looked up at the night sky; the twinkle of each star was a glimmer from ten thousand years ago.
Having been away from home for a long time due to military deployments, the thought of fiery red maple leaves made her think of the gentle silhouette by the window.
She ought to go to the local post office tomorrow to send a letter. Was her mother doing well? Even if the wind wasn’t harsh, she should add an extra layer now that autumn had set in.
Lu Xiao rolled up her sleeves, letting the day’s breeze cool the forearms that had been stuffy inside her uniform. The humidity did have its benefits; her skin wouldn’t crack even without lotion.
In the village to her left, rows of small wooden huts slept peacefully. The villagers of Ranao slumbered within, the faint light of kerosene lamps outlining the silhouette of a mother mending clothes.
And this tranquility was built upon a foundation of peace.
For a moment, she began to doubt the justness of this war.
Just then, the army’s slogan from her enlistment days swiftly invaded her mind, echoing like a devil: We live in the best of times, and we will serve the best nation and the best people.
A moment of shaken will is a moment of utter defeat. Intervening in the chaos of the Chilian civil war was a means to ensure the greater peace of the entire world order; it was a wise decision by the Seju military command.
Other eras were rife with corruption. Other eras were fraught with peril.
This era was the best of times.
**
Tomorrow, the first convoy of the Northern Chilian-Seju joint forces would set out for Labuan. Due to the limited capacity of the transport ships, the joint army would land on Labuan Island in three separate batches.
This was a civil war near the equator. Though small in scale, it was arguably the world’s first war in several decades.
On the training grounds behind the military base, the final training session before departure was underway. The Seju soldiers from the South China region had already acclimatized to the equatorial environment; there had been no reports of related illnesses in the past 24 hours.
Countless dark red uniforms roared under the blazing sun. Beneath the vicious heat, sweat trickled from under their military caps, past their temples.
Lu Xiao and Yin Yinhuan moved separately through the ranks, inspecting the training progress of each company.
She circled around the rear, walking between the rows of soldiers practicing their military combat forms. The still air held no wind, yet a breeze was stirred by the powerful arms of the Seju soldiers.
Lu Xiao strode past them with a strict, military gait, coldly observing their every move.
The commander of the Fourth Company saw her approaching and immediately snapped to attention, saluting with a crisp click of his heels.
“Ma’am!”
“At ease.” After returning the salute, Lu Xiao glanced toward a spot in the formation. “Second row, sixth man is slacking.”
The company commander was both stunned and terrified. “Is he? I’ll go discipline him right now.”
“I’ll handle it,” Lu Xiao said, then walked into the formation.
The soldiers of the Fourth Company continued with their combat forms, but their gazes couldn’t help but drift in her direction. For many of them, it was the first time seeing a commissioned officer with the golden eagle breastplate up close.
The Golden Eagle insignia was a mark of direct central command, signifying that the wearer was directly subordinate to the central authorities, a distinction usually reserved for field-grade officers and above. Both military leaders of this reinforcement contingent wore the insignia, yet their shoulder boards showed the rank of captain, which was a rare sight.
Moreover, this Captain Lu was a female officer.
The male soldier in the second row, sixth position, was about 185cm tall and very young. The lines of his face were hard, his expression one of untamed defiance.
Lu Xiao walked up and stood before him.
“What’s your name?”
“Ma’am, my name is Benzarsai Nejad.”
“Alright. Corporal Nejad, what was your score on the six combined assessments this year?”
“564,” he replied, his tone full of pride.
The company commander standing nearby secretly wrung his hands, terrified that this female officer was about to fly into a rage.
Lu Xiao nodded, a slight smile touching her lips. “A good score. Care for a round with me? Grappling. All you have to do is restrain me.”
Nejad was stunned.
He looked at the female officer, who was half a head shorter than him, his expression hesitant.
More and more sweat beaded on the company commander’s forehead. He was afraid on his subordinate’s behalf. A smiling officer was far more terrifying than an angry one.
Lu Xiao understood the soldier’s hesitation, knowing he was judging the fairness of the match based on their gender difference. This kind of new recruit clearly hadn’t fully integrated into Seju’s training system.
Her brows shot up as she barked, “Step out!”
The hesitation in Nejad’s eyes turned into defiant rebellion. He took a step forward, standing before the young captain.
“Nejad!” the company commander whispered, warning his subordinate about his attitude. The soldiers in the adjacent ranks were also on edge for the arrogant young man.
Lu Xiao stood before the soldier with her hands behind her back and said four cold words: “I’ll give you three moves.”
Nejad saluted and assumed a ready stance.
A moment later, his hands shot out toward her waist as he pivoted his shoulders, attempting to circle behind her.
Lu Xiao shifted her body to the side, and the male soldier’s hands slid past her joints as if they were greased.
Nejad’s eyes widened, his expression instantly turning dead serious. His attacks became fiercer. Using the natural physical advantage of a man, he circled behind again, trying to lock Lu Xiao’s shoulder.
However, he had underestimated the reaction speed of a Seju officer, even a female one.
Lu Xiao precisely predicted his move and twisted in the same direction, causing him to grab at empty air once more.
For his third attempt, Nejad changed tactics, grabbing directly for the captain’s wrist.
It was unclear whether Lu Xiao failed to react or did it intentionally, but she didn’t dodge.
Then, moving with the soldier’s force, she flipped her elbow upward, swiftly ducked under his arm, and executed a shoulder-in arm throw.
Nejad tried to break free, but in this position, he found that the female officer’s strength was beyond imagination. He couldn’t move at all.
Simultaneously, Lu Xiao hoisted him onto her back, bent slightly at the waist, and threw him to the ground.
Nejad’s back slammed into the soft dirt, leaving an imprint. The pain was fleeting, and he wasn’t injured.
Lu Xiao stood where she was, straightening her collar. At 172cm, she wasn’t short, but in front of her 185cm male subordinate, she appeared quite petite, making the shoulder throw look almost comical.
Nejad scrambled up from the ground, looking disheveled, and once again saluted his commanding officer. “My apologies, ma’am.”
Lu Xiao raised her hand and returned his salute.
“Take every training session seriously. Fall in!”
The surrounding soldiers immediately straightened up, chests out, not daring to slack off for another second. It was their first time seeing an officer from central command, and though she was a young, slender woman, they were thoroughly intimidated and subdued.
There was no fluff in the ranks of Seju.
The second-to-last training session ended, and a break was called.
The soldiers scattered, heading for the shade at the edge of the training grounds to get water.
The two captains, who had been inspecting all afternoon, stood in an empty rest area in the corner.
Lu Xiao unscrewed her military canteen and took a long drink. The wind had died down. She undid the collar of her long-sleeved uniform, and sweat dripped from her cheeks onto her well-defined collarbones, merging with the moisture in the air.
Yin Yinhuan looked at her profile.
“Captain Lu, I’d like to ask a question that might be a bit impolite.”
“Go ahead.”
“How old are you?”
“Six years younger than you,” Lu Xiao said, tightening the cap on her canteen.
Yin Yinhuan’s eyes widened, the wrinkles on his forehead from long-term sun and wind exposure spreading out. “You know how old I am?”
“Twenty-nine.”
“How could you…” Yin Yinhuan was too astonished to close his mouth.
Lu Xiao smiled at him and explained, “You were transferred to Central Command but are still a captain, which means you’re under thirty. During the briefing the other day, we used German annotations once for the confidential materials. You subconsciously wrote using the old orthography. The orthography reform took effect right around that age boundary, so that’s how I deduced it.”
Yin Yinhuan was silent for a long moment. “Incredible,” he said. “I could tell you were younger than me, but I didn’t think you were that young… and so sharp.”
“I used to be in the military police.”
“So that’s it. No wonder. To be specially transferred from the Guard Division to Central Command is truly impressive,” Captain Yin said in admiration.
Sunlight filtered through the leaves overhead, dappling her cheek.
Lu Xiao turned her head, facing the shade.
In the distance, an annoying figure caught her attention.
She narrowed her eyes.
Bai Ran was sitting on a small stool, sipping a drink, looking perfectly comfortable in a patch of shade. She was even wearing sunglasses, looking for all the world like she was on vacation in Hawaii.
She was also wearing lipstick.
Wearing lipstick on a military base! Lu Xiao’s mouth twitched.
The Seju soldiers on either side of her were watching and whispering amongst themselves. Some were envious of her status as a doctor, some were annoyed by her leisure, some questioned her competence, and some… were discussing her beauty.
The woman was a natural spotlight, always attracting everyone’s attention.
As Lu Xiao watched, she put her drink aside and gave a casual wave, her bright red lips curling into a suggestive smile.
The woman had been watching them this whole time.
God knows how long she’d been there.
“Major Bai? What is she doing here?” Yin Yinhuan was incredulous, but his eyes were already glued to her luminous, pale face.
“I don’t know.” Lu Xiao sighed and walked briskly to the shade on the opposite side. She stood beside the major and saluted. “Major, it’s hot out. Please rest indoors.”
Bai Ran smiled and shook her head, taking off her sunglasses. “I’m not afraid of the heat. I like it.”
Her words served as a reminder to Lu Xiao.
Her mind immediately flashed to the monster with a snake’s head and a human body under the crimson sun, its smooth skin never once breaking a sweat no matter how unbearable the air became.
Boas love heat and humidity and fear the cold and dry.
No wonder this woman was thriving here, like a fish in water—no, like a snake in the forest.
Without the sunglasses, her green eyes looked even more like jade in the natural light, like a fabled elf. Her high-bridged nose was now fully visible, her entire face overlapping with that of the Venus from ancient Greek sculpture.
The soldiers who were seeing the legendary Major Bai’s full face for the first time let out quiet gasps of awe.
So she’s here to disrupt the training.
Lu Xiao’s eyes narrowed, her anger rising. “Then please continue to rest.” With that, she turned to walk back to the rest area.
Bai Ran chuckled softly but said nothing.
In the distance, Captain Yin pointed to the mechanical watch on his wrist.
It was time for training to resume.
Lu Xiao nodded and roared, “Assemble!” The full-throated cry of a soldier echoed through the air.
The soldiers immediately put down what they were holding and jogged back to their positions in an orderly fashion.
After the formation was complete, Lu Xiao’s peripheral vision caught the leisurely woman in the shade.
So, she had the company commanders change the direction of the formation so the soldiers’ line of sight would no longer include her.
However.
Bai Ran, pretending to be tired of sitting, stood up to stretch and then, as if on a stroll, leisurely ambled along the edge of the training grounds to the other side.
The side the soldiers could now see.
…
Lu Xiao’s face remained a mask of calm, but in reality, she wanted to charge over and beat someone up.
Forget it, forget it. Take a step back and the world opens up. Just pretend she’s here to cheer on the soldiers after a long day. Looking at a beautiful woman can boost morale. Probably.
After issuing the training directives to the company commanders as usual, she and Yin Yinhuan split up and began their supervision.
As she passed a certain spot, she inadvertently met the snake’s gaze and saw a look that sent a chill down her spine.
The look of a predator.
Author’s Note:
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Technology development is chaotic?
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No problem, just time travel -250 years.
