Chapter Fifteen: Falling into the Cave

The squad leader stood up and bellowed, "But however many of you go into the mountains, that’s exactly how many I expect to come out—every single one of you must return without a scratch, is that clear?"

"Clear!" The ten others stood up in unison and responded as one.

The squad leader continued, "The rest of you, go on and arrange tomorrow's teams. Jiang, you stay behind."

...

After less than half a minute, when the others had left, only the squad leader and Jiang remained in the tent. The two stared at each other, eyes wide.

"How's your old man these days?" The squad leader, not in the mood to banter, broke the silence.

"Of course, my dad is living in comfort every day, doing just fine! Unlike me—I regret it so much now, I can’t even begin to tell you."

With a smile, the squad leader said, "Oh really, Jiang Ming? Why don’t you show me just how green with regret your guts are?"

"Come on, Captain, I was just joking," Jiang Ming replied with a cheeky grin.

He grumbled, "I was doing just fine in college, but my dad insisted on dragging me into the army. And once I joined, it’s already been five years."

The squad leader thought to himself that, if the old squad leader hadn’t already explained things, he might have believed this boy’s story.

But outwardly, he just smiled and said, "You were quite the scholar, weren't you? Managed to study your way into fatherhood."

"Captain, you can’t blame me for that. Xiao Min and I truly loved each other." Jiang Ming’s tone grew a little resentful, but at home, his father’s word was law and there was nothing he could do.

The squad leader mused: this boy had barely finished his first year of university before getting a girl pregnant.

He never considered his father’s position—at the time, his father was about to be promoted to Governor of Ludong Province. Pulling such a stunt, it was no wonder his father shipped him off to the military.

Not that Jiang Ming’s father was heartless—the girl married Jiang Ming a year later. Her family background wasn’t much, but with a child on the way, his father had no choice but to let them marry.

Still, the boy was a promising soldier, with a physique tougher than most. After just a year in the army, he’d won first place in the special forces selection for the Central Army.

...

"Every time I visited your home, you’d always hide from me, afraid your dad would ship you off to the army.

Who would’ve thought that after all your dodging, you’d end up a soldier anyway? Jiang Ming, it seems you were destined for this life," the squad leader said with hearty laughter.

Jiang Ming only pursed his lips at the teasing, not bothering to reply. He knew that, no matter what he said, the squad leader would always have the last laugh.

"In a few months, the 49th Bureau selection trials will be held. Of the entire special ops squad, you’re the one I have the most faith in," the squad leader said, as if to himself, noticing Jiang Ming's silence.

"Uh, Captain, only monsters make it into the 49th Bureau, and they only take ten people a year. Last year’s competition was brutal. I don’t want to go just to be humiliated again—I really don’t have much confidence now," Jiang Ming replied, a bit discouraged.

Still, at the mention of the 49th Bureau, a spark lit in his eyes, though it faded quickly. After almost five years in the army, he’d never truly admired anyone—until he met the people from the 49th Bureau. They earned his respect from the bottom of his heart.

But those who made it in were all monsters, and Jiang Ming felt no resentment about it.

...

The squad leader was pleased to see Jiang Ming’s self-awareness, but offered some comfort. "Ha, at least you know your own limits. But you should give it another try—let those sharp edges of yours get knocked off a bit more, and see what real heirs of the martial clans are like. You can keep entering until you’re thirty—you’ve got six more chances. Gather experience; you might just make it into the 49th Bureau yet."

"Captain, the Dragon Group is so powerful—why aren’t they coming to Mount Tai themselves this time?" Jiang Ming asked, as if something had just occurred to him.

"What do you know? This is a chance for us to train, given by the 49th Bureau," the squad leader replied, suddenly serious.

In his heart, another thought echoed—change is coming! But there were secrets too deep to share with Jiang Ming.

Jiang Ming didn’t have much more to say, and was ready to leave.

"Alright, Captain, if there’s nothing else, I’ll go arrange tomorrow’s mountain teams."

"Alright, but remember—be careful out there tomorrow. No more acting on your own," the squad leader said, a note of concern in his voice.

Though he was supposed to treat all thousand-plus members of the squad equally, Jiang Ming was the old squad leader’s only son—he might as well have been his own child.

Everyone has their favorites, and the squad leader didn’t want anything to happen to Jiang Ming. After all, the boy was a valuable soldier and a seasoned officer.

When Jiang Ming had left, the squad leader gazed out of the tent in silence, lost in thought.

After a while, he murmured to himself, "Less than two years left… I wonder who they’ll send to the Forbidden Land Tournament this time. The barrier around the Forbidden Land grows weaker each year—if this keeps up, what will become of humanity? May we weather these years in peace…"

...

In the depths of Mount Tai.

At this moment, Feng Yisheng crouched by a small stream, cupping his hands to scoop up some water.

He brought it to his lips and drank. The fatigue on his face faded considerably as he muttered to himself, "The water here is still pretty well protected. Shouldn’t get sick from this. But I’ve been wandering for more than two hours now—why haven’t I seen a single soul on the whole of Mount Tai?"

His stomach rumbled loudly.

"Haven’t even had breakfast… It’s almost noon. Better find something to eat, or I’ll starve before anyone comes to rescue me," Feng Yisheng continued, talking to himself.

As he walked, hunger gnawed at him until his legs felt weak—then, up ahead, he spotted a tree he couldn’t identify, bearing fruit that looked a bit like loquats.

Delight swept away his hunger. He hurried to the tree and, like a monkey, hugged the trunk and clambered up, though it was a struggle.

After much effort, he managed to pick one of the loquat-like fruits. He rubbed it against his clothes and took a bite.

"Hmm, just as I thought—it must be a mutated loquat."