The next day, Zhou Yuan woke up from his dreams and stretched lazily. When he checked the time, it was already two o'clock in the afternoon. But that was understandable since they had been drinking from dusk till dawn the night before. Zhou Yuan was the earliest riser in the dormitory at two o'clock. Relaxing occasionally had its advantages, and it felt much more comfortable than sleeping normally.
The public screen beside the dormitory self-illuminated with a beep when he was tidying up his room. Zhou Yuan was stunned for a moment, then quickly walked towards the screen. When he opened the screen, he saw that it was the new recruits' destination information, and all eighteen people in the third class, along with their assignments, were written on it. Zhou Yuan quickly found his own name. As expected, with Sim's help, he was assigned to Tarsis Fortress and belonged to the third platoon of the Western Military Defense Force.
There were four base defense units in Tarsis Fortress, which were responsible for the four front lines: Southeast, Northwest, Northeast, and Southwest. Looking at the others, eleven out of the seventeen were able to stay at Marseilles Base, while six others were assigned to Sailor Canyon. Sailor Canyon was not a good place because there was a four million meter long and seven thousand meter deep canyon where the base was located. It was a former mining area with an environment worse than the Tarsis Plateau, but it was relatively safe since they were not exposed.
"A beautiful new life is about to begin!" When Zhou Yuan confirmed that he could go to Tarsis Fortress, he completely put his mind at ease. After packing his room, he went to the cafeteria for a meal.
When he returned to the dormitory, his roommates had already woken up. Except for a few who were in high spirits, the rest were all half asleep, looking as if they were awakened from their sleep.
At this point, they all gathered around the public screen, checking out their destination assignments. Those who could stay at Marseille Base were happy because they were already familiar with the place, and they did not have to experience another unfamiliar journey. Only seven people would leave; Zhou Yuan went alone to Tarsis Fortress, while the other six such as Riko and Dez went to Sailor Canyon.
"Boss, you're going to the volcano highlands!"
"Zhou, did you see the information?"
"Darn it, only Zhou went to Tarsis Fortress; that's so strange."
Obviously, they also noticed the peculiarity of the destination assignments. After Zhou Yuan returned, everyone was discussing it.
"Guys, I applied for it with Sim's help. Tarsis Fortress kills bugs all day long, and I joined the army to kill bugs since it is a very suitable place for me."
Zhou Yuan did not hide anything and told everyone the truth.
"Shit! You can still apply like that!"
"If I had known earlier, I would have applied with Sim to stay here instead of going to Sailor Canyon!"
Everyone was astonished when they heard Zhou Yuan's words. They all felt that they had missed out. If they could apply, they would also want to go to the place they liked the most.
"Have you guys noticed something?"
At this point, out of the blue, Old A said, "Destinations are assigned based on grades; those with the best grades go to the highlands, while those with the worst grades stay in Marseilles."
"The rest of us, including Riko, Dez, Ron, Jamie, and Wilson, who are in the middle, will go to the Great Canyon."
"So, it's not where we want to go, Zhou is an exception, because no base would refuse an outstanding new recruit."
Old A held up his fingers and said seriously.
Old A's words made everyone feel embarrassed, especially those lagging behind. They had been clamoring to apply for a change in destinations after a few seconds of boasting, but now they dared not speak anymore.
"Guys, shall we go out for a while?"
After chatting for a while in the dormitory, Zhou Yuan proposed that they go to visit other new recruit platoons. The third class got along well with other new recruit platoons and thus could inquire about their destinations. Zhou Yuan wanted to know how many people had been assigned to Tarsis Fortress so that he could take the transport plane together with them tomorrow.
To his surprise, he did have something to show for his efforts. Of the ten new recruit platoons, seven were assigned to Tarsis Fortress, and all seven were their respective platoon leaders.
"There is something strange about this!"
On the way back to the dormitory, Zhou Yuan furrowed his brows. Seven people being assigned to Tarsis Fortress was not strange; what was strange was that these seven people went all at once to the third platoon of the Western Military Defense Force. How could a frontline unit accept so many new recruits at once? No matter how capable the new recruit platoon leaders were, they were just rookies in the eyes of veterans. There were a total of 70 people, and that was just counting the new recruits from ten new recruit platoons. There were likely many veterans as well.
Perhaps, the third platoon of the Western Military Defense Force had recently experienced severe casualties?
Zhou Yuan was very curious about this, but his authority was not enough, and he could not log on to the military network to inquire. He could only wait until they arrived at their destination before asking.
The second day they gathered on the drill ground of the number one new recruit camp, where they were to board a transport plane. About a thousand people gathered in the field in front of a row of transport planes.
Although they were reluctant, it was a necessary experience. Zhou Yuan was not too lonely either. He was standing next to six people who were also going to Tarsis Fortress.
"Zhou, be careful, we'll drink together next time."
Riko and the others hugged Zhou Yuan one after the other and sent him their best wishes. After spending the whole afternoon yesterday, they finally found out about Tarsis Fortress' situation, a very dangerous place.
"I will, and I wish you all good luck." Zhou Yuan smiled.
After saying goodbye to everyone, Zhou Yuan nodded at Sim, who was standing nearby. The guy looked fierce but he was like a big boy inside. He didn't greet anyone but stood motionless with his eyes slightly red.
"Zhou, we should go."
Immediately after they said their goodbyes, Blake, the platoon leader of the first platoon, reminded Zhou Yuan that their transport plane was ready to take off.
"Okay."
Zhou Yuan replied and said goodbye to everyone again before boarding the plane.
Once in his seat, Zhou Yuan scanned the surroundings for a bit. Thirty people were on the plane, most of whom were strangers to him. From the badge that had not yet been changed, it seemed that these people were new recruits, just like him, headed to the same team.
"Rookies, welcome aboard this flight. I am the driver, Miller, and I will take you to hell."
Soon, the transport plane took off, and the broadcast began with the driver's wisecrack.
"That's what we want!"
Zhou Yuan narrowed his eyes when he heard the driver's joke. He felt the drive to work hard arise in him.