The residents of the town had already relocated to the suburbs of the city.
Wuzhen had thus become a military base.
The stationed troops rotated monthly, each time they would receive some time off to rest in the military base where they could also go out to eat, drink, and have fun.
"Fifth... I wish you a bright future and a safe return."
At last, a smile appeared on the face of the instructor.
A sincere smile.
The new soldiers gathered on the training ground to listen to the instructor's speech when suddenly, they heard a deep, roaring sound. They saw a heavy truck slowly driving over, spewing thick exhaust fumes.
A military officer with a stubbly beard stepped down, and with a smile in response to the hopeful eyes of the new soldiers, he said, "The new soldier training period has ended; you can now leave this place..."
The new soldiers felt relieved, finally feeling that they could rest.
The stubbly bear officer then said sternly, "You're heading to the battlefield!"
Zhuo!
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Wuzhen was about a forty-minute drive from the military base. The small town had completely transformed into a military camp, lit up under the starry sky.
Inside the camp, construction workers could be seen transporting heavy building materials, and cranes were lifting large steel beams, with workers toiling away into the night.
The searchlights illuminated the surroundings, and intermittent roaring noises could be heard.
Lu Bu'er and He Sai followed the line, carrying their personal supply boxes, standing in the town like ducks driven to a pond, like a group of huskies that had wandered into a pack of wolves.
"I didn't expect we'd only stay in the city for half a day."
Complaining, He Sai said, "We're freaking back here again!"
Muttering to himself, Lu Bu'er said, "I just want to know when we can eat."
The past three days had worn him down.
The mechanical hum of drones echoed through the camp, "New soldiers, welcome to the Transcendent combat sequence of the Third City Defense Army. You have twenty minutes to prepare for battle!"
Under the guidance of the stubbly beard officer, the new soldiers arrived at the military camp where the first task was to set up their tents on their own, then quickly satisfy their dietary needs. In twenty minutes, they would head to the battlefield to undergo the one and only awakening of their Evolver career.
It was time to start honing their independence.
Those who had come to enlist were naturally not the spoilt and weak types. They quickly found spots in the camp to set up their tents using the items from their supply boxes.
Five hundred years ago during enlistment periods, the camps typically used a large communal tent with multiple military beds lined up inside, but the current military headquarters emphasized personal privacy and individual independence, giving each person their own small tent. It was quite humane.
"It's so clean and hygienic."
Finding a spot, He Sai said, "Bro Lu, I'll clean up a bit for you first."
Knowing that He Sai was worried about his weaker constitution, Lu Bu'er waved his hand, "At this point, who cares about that? Let's check the supplies first, or we'll both starve."
Only then did He Sai remember they had two large boxes unopened. As he approached to examine them, his expression changed, "Bro Lu, the locks have been tampered with."
Lu Bu'er had a bad feeling. He hurriedly opened the supply box and glanced inside. The most conspicuous items were their fleece-lined military uniforms, thick enough to withstand the cold winter, followed by various daily necessities in great variety.
"How the hell are there only six bags of self-heating military rations?"
"We only have two-thirds of rice, half the bread is missing, two bags of vegetables gone, eight protein bars fewer, two bags of energy powder gone? Four bottles of vitamins missing! Two cans of luncheon meat short!"
"The bulletproof helmets and vests are old!"
"At least, the Alchemical Revolver is still here, but more than half of the bullets are gone."
"Somebody swapped out the military dagger, damn it, they've given us an old one...hmm, my sword has rusted already, there's even a notch missing from the blade. He Sai, what about yours?"
"Bro Lu, my blade's freaking gone!"
"Damn it, I'm starting to feel angry and desperate now!"
"Son of a bitch, so am I..."
The two brothers in misfortune looked at each other, dumbfounded.
In fact, it wasn't just the two of them; many new soldiers were cursing as they opened their supply boxes, facing a similar situation to varying extents.
It looked like it wasn't just them being targeted.
"This is truly inhumane."
He Sai murmured.
"Indeed, but there's not much we can do. It might be to deliberately disgust us for our awakening, or it could actually be someone skimming off our supplies."
Lu Bu'er sifted through the supplies, "Chop wood, light a fire, cook!"
Knowing there wasn't much time, he hurriedly said, "I can do these things for you while I'm still here, but if I'm not around, you're going to have to do them yourself. So pay attention. You have to learn these survival skills, focus."
He picked up the axe to chop wood, then used a firestarter to light a fire, set up a pot, and boiled a pot of porridge, throwing in whatever edible things he had, "It definitely can't compare to what you used to eat at home, but being full is already good enough now."
He Sai didn't say a word, just silently took it all in.
When he drank the bowl of porridge, his eyes reddened slightly.
Because he realized, people inevitably have to go through separation and loss.
Lu Bu'er perhaps felt that his time was running out.
In such cold winter, drinking a bowl of hot porridge was soothing indeed; the burning campfire added a touch of warmth, though the tent they put up was rudimentary, drafty on all sides.
Just then, there was a loud rumbling noise.