Can't I Beat Him Up? To Death?

Xiao Jing would never forget that day. Like a war hero who had returned victorious from a bloodbath, she was carried back to the barracks by two officers. Everywhere she passed, she was greeted with the faces of her excited 525 Regiment mates.

Xiao Jing looked around, moving her eyes in circles as she laid in her pitch dark room. Did she forget something?

Had the two officers leave her on the bed and gone off just like that?

Shouldn't they attend to her like they would take care of a hero? Serve her tea and water and answer her every beck and call?

The room was so quiet that even her heavy breaths could be heard loud and clear.

Xiao Jing's mouth was parched. Her lips had cracked due to the prolonged exposure under the sun, and when she licked them, it felt like her entire mouth was filled with rust.

"You have exceeded my expectations." A low, male voice sounded from someone sitting on a chair behind her.

Xiao Jing sat up by reflex, turning her head rigidly towards the voice. When had the man come in? Was there anyone in the room when they entered?

Shen Chengfeng sat on the chair, supporting his cheek with one hand. He faced a fidgety and unsettled Xiao Jing with a cool gaze.

Xiao Jing swallowed, feeling her mouth go drier than it already was. Her hands were sore, and so was her waist. Her entire body was dehydrated.

Shen Chengfeng pointed at the teapot in front of him. "Want some water?"

Xiao Jing nodded. With all her heart, she believed beneath the man's chilly, freezing appearance had to lie a warm, caring heart. Upon seeing how pitiful she was, he would be kind enough to pour her a cup of water.

She Chengfeng picked up the teacup and drank everything in one shot.

Xiao Jing stared stoically at the man who drank the very last drop of liquid in the entire room, leaving just a single empty cup. Her mouth twitched. What could she do? Could she beat him up? To death?

Shen Chengfeng put the teacup down. He lightly caressed the rim of the cup with his gloved hand and said, "This is a society where the weak fall prey to the strong. If you want to seize what you need from my hands, there is only one way—defeat me!"

"Are you making fun of me on purpose, Sir? How could someone of my status ever defeat you?" Xiao Jing could feel tinges of pain creeping up from the corners of her mouth. Anyone could toot their own horn. If the day came when she was strong enough, Xiao Jing swore not only to defeat him, but also bite through his neck and suck his blood dry. It served him right for acting so high and mighty!

"Too bad that day will never come." Shen Chengfeng stood up and tossed her a bottle of water. "Rest well for the night. We'll be setting off tomorrow."

"Wait." The circuit in Xiao Jing's brain jammed for a second. "Setting off tomorrow? Where to?"

Shen Chengfeng did not answer that foolish question of hers. He simply stared into her eyes without a word, and she quickly felt uneasy.

Xiao Jing coughed. "I don't..."

"Did you think that I would bring just anyone back with me to make up the numbers simply because of orders from the higher-ups?" Shen Chengfeng inched in closer until he was right in front of her. The two pairs of eyes locked like two tigers in a fight.

Xiao Jing blinked. The room was too dark for her to see her silhouette reflected upon his orbs. It was as though his black irises were quicksand. They were pulling her in without her noticing.

"The people I choose are never worthless bums," he said calmly. As for his tone, it was calm, unexciting, and monotonous.

Xiao Jing had always seen herself as someone extra and unwanted. Because of her mother, she had always been of inferior status within the Xiao Clan, and because of her body, she had no choice but to keep a low profile. She had never experienced what it was like to be validated by someone else. Yet, today, a stranger had affirmed her capabilities with such certainty.

For some reason, Xiao Jing felt a sudden urge to hug his thighs and tell him, "I'm willing to leave with you, boss man."

The sound of her room door softly shutting pulled Xiao Jing back to reality. She laid on the bed, looking up slightly as she stared intently at the ceiling. Quietness returned to the room.

Knock, knock, knock. Someone knocked, then pushed the door open.

Lian Qing had gone to the Mess Hall personally and brought her a bowl of plain white congee. He sat on the side of her bed and sighed. "Look at you, so feeble and frail. Why tough it out with those guys?"

Xiao Jing glared at him in a forlorn grievance. If the Captain hadn't submitted her name without any consultation or warning, would everything have happened to her?

Lian Qing cleared his throat in awkwardness. "Your body is severely dehydrated. Eat some white congee to replenish your strength."

"I wanna eat meat, Commander." Xiao Jing cupped the bowl with her hands. There was not even a drop of oil in her congee. She looked at him. The sorrowful resentment in her eyes deepened.

"I know, I know, I'll pack you some braised pork from the Mess Hall later. " Lian Qing rubbed her hair. "I'm suddenly feeling a little regretful for allowing you to go with them."

Lian Qing tore his hand away from her hair and focused on finishing her tasteless congee.

Lian Qing let out a long sigh. "When I look at you, it's like watching someone robbing my beautiful Chinese cabbage—pot, roots, and all—that I've nurtured with all my heart."

"Have you nurtured me at all?" Xiao Jing questioned.

"I bought you that bowl of congee."

"And that's something you're proud enough to say out loud?" Xiao Jing gave him a dirty look and passed him the utensils. "Even water would taste more delicious than this bowl of congee."

"Tsk tsk, what a fickle heart, forgetting your old flame this quickly when you've got a new love. Let me guess. This bottle of water was given to you by that special superior officer, no?"

"So, Captain, you don't know who he is either?" Xiao Jing asked.

Lian Qing threw the empty lunchbox, which didn't have a single speck of rice left in it, into the trash bin and nodded. "I heard Major Mu call him Commander. I assume that his rank must be high."

"Just what kind of a force is the Special Command Unit?"

"Curious?" Lian Qing shot back instead.

Xiao Jing nodded. She only knew that Xiao Ye was the Commander of a Detachment, meaning that even the Commander of a Detachment was ranked as high as Major General. One could easily infer that individuals from the central unit had to be elites among elites.

"It is a top-secret military unit under direct orders of the country. They go to great lengths to pick only the best of the best from different army camps. Even if you are shortlisted for the Special Command Unit, you still need to go through a series of assessments. They then make the final selection according to a ratio of one to ten. The Special Command Units are categorized into different ranks, with S being the lowest up to the rank of SSS. The Regiment SS501 visiting us this time is a Special Command Unit currently at Level Two. I assume that their Captain must be at least a Major General."

"A Major General?!"

"Or higher."