Chapter Thirteen: The Unrivaled Hero

  "Three, yes..."

  Na stretched out two fingers, making a victory declaration. I covered my battered head and crawled out of the sewer, directly unbuttoning my military uniform, throwing the mud-stained clothes to the ground, then stripping off my vest, revealing my muscular chest full of masculine energy.

  Bù Shàn Nà gazed at me suspiciously, until finally she couldn't bear it anymore and asked: "You... what are you going to do?!"

  "Don't worry, I don't have the ability to force Captain Card and me to do something we don't want to do. I still want to live a long life, but I don't hope that for just a few minutes of pleasure, I'll bring upon myself a killing machine that will be chasing me everywhere. My waist straightened up, with an expression of being willing to sacrifice everything, I proudly said: 'I only bit you a few times and kicked you once, you also used bricks to hit me for half the day, consider it as collecting some interest in advance. Now I'm standing right here, whether you want to bite or kick, it's all up to you.'"

  Na walked up to me, nodding repeatedly like inspecting goods, and said, "Hmm, your pectorals are well-trained, you're starting to look like a man!" After that, she gently stretched out two fingers to pinch the most sensitive part of my chest, then slowly guided my pectorals through a 360-degree rotation, saying, "I'm a civilized person, how could I be like a stray dog barking and biting wildly? And I'm very generous, although you've offended me, let's just consider this punishment a warning."

  My eyes are about to pop out of their sockets, and this is what they call "just a little meaning"? It's simply the modern version of the Ten Great Tortures of Manchuria! And that one kick she owes me... With her super-strong leg strength that got her into the top 20 in the national military martial arts competition, directly hitting my vital spot, I'm afraid...

  Just as I was in agony, my face pale and sweating profusely, Bu Shana finally stopped the torture. She patted the swollen area with a comforting smile, chuckling softly: "I just touched you once and pinched you a bit, why are you making such a dead fish face? Don't worry, I'll spare your life, you won't become China's last eunuch."

  I was on the verge of tears, heaven knows how I managed to offend such a genius? But Bo Shuna's words did make me let out a long-held breath, and before I could even say thank you, I saw a sly smile creeping up from the corner of her mouth. The alarm in my heart had just started ringing when a military boot came crashing down on my right foot without warning.

  A sharp, piercing pain shot through my toes, and simultaneously, every pore on my body opened up to suck in 3,600 strands of cool air. I suddenly jumped three feet high, feeling the intense pain had reached my mouth. My eyes rolled back, and with outstretched hands, I grabbed onto something and bit down hard, my entire body convulsing like a monkey as I bounced around.

  When I finally swallowed the scream that was about to burst out of my throat, Buxianna, who was tightly locked in my arms, had almost cried out in pain. Unconsciously, I had wrapped my arms around her neck earlier, and what was most terrifying was that I had left two rows of deep teeth marks on a part of her collar that couldn't be hidden, looking just like the most obvious evidence left after a passionate encounter between a man and a woman.

  Looking at Bu Shanna stroking the wound on her neck, her face getting darker and darker, I could only raise my hands high, trying to find a way out for myself. "Spare my life! When will we stop this cycle of revenge? Repaying kindness with kindness, shaking hands and making peace is the right way to resolve conflicts. A superior officer like Instructor Bu, who is as noble as can be, wouldn't hold grudges against a lowly soldier's unintentional mistake. Besides, in ancient times, Guan Yu could scrape his bones to cure poison without changing his expression. Someone like Instructor Bu, a heroic woman, certainly wouldn't mind someone else's small two rows of teeth..."

  Bosina stared at Fu Yinxue in shock, who had thoroughly exposed his most shameless side in order to survive. She listened as he spoke eloquently, a man who would bleed himself to stimulate his potential on the oxygen-deficient plateau for victory, yet had such a weak side, which was far beyond her expectation.

  “…Well, it is said that when Hua Mulan took her father's place in the army, she was also bitten by a low-ranking soldier, but she didn't mind at all and didn't punish him. Later on the battlefield, that soldier fought bravely out of gratitude and made great contributions to the Hua family army, even saving Hua Mulan from enemy arrows. In the end, he won her heart. Isn't it recorded in poetry that when Hua Mulan returned home, she dressed up in front of the mirror, also to show off her beauty to that soldier? After all, a female warrior on the battlefield is still a woman and needs love. I reckon Hua Mulan had at least 50% of the looks of a drill instructor, and that soldier was immediately smitten with her from the moment he saw her. From then on, they enacted a romantic legend of 'one bite to determine the fate of the country' and 'one bite to determine love', which in my opinion is no less beautiful than stories like The Legend of the White Snake, The Beautiful Shepherdess, or The Poor Scholar and the Sweep...”

  "You're so good!" Hearing my impromptu storytelling, Bu Shanna couldn't help but burst out laughing. This laughter was like a spring breeze that thawed the frozen river. She stretched out her hand and patted me on the head, saying with a hint of annoyance: "Stop acting in front of me! You're willing to humiliate yourself by playing the fool just to avoid escalating things and implicating Zhang Sun Ting? I, Bu Shanna, may be just a woman, but I value friendships that are genuine and righteous. I respect men like you who are true gentlemen. Let's consider our previous misunderstanding settled, but as my duty requires, you must tell me everything clearly. I will make my own judgment and handle the situation accordingly."

  I took a step forward and said in a low voice, "Yes sir! Looking at us now, we really can't be seen by others. If it's convenient, do you think we should find a place to clean up the mud on our bodies before I confess? As the saying goes, a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and avoiding disaster is the best strategy!"

  Bosina's smile faded, and she gazed at me with a suddenly clear and bright gaze that pierced straight into my heart, making me feel an inexplicable sense of unease as if I had been seen through. After a moment, she spoke in a low voice: "Fu Yinxue, you're really a very strange person. I suddenly think that this is the true expression of your temperament. If you were originally a happy-go-lucky and carefree person, what kind of things and pressures would make you become so prone to outbursts of anger and excitement, or even cold-blooded and battle-hardened?"

  I stared at Bo Shanna in astonishment, unable to comprehend why this instructor, who was almost a stranger to me, could so easily see through my heart. I also couldn't understand why she had to say these words out loud. With just a few casual sentences, her words stirred up waves of shock and horror in my mind, rendering me completely powerless to resist.

  My armor, my disguise crumbled layer by layer under her gaze. This major, only three years older than me, pierced the softest part of my heart with her feminine intuition. Her gaze at me became softer and softer, so soft that a thin mist slowly rose before my eyes.

  She slowly stretched out her hands and pulled me into her arms, gently stroking my hair, and whispered in my ear: "Little fool, don't put too much pressure on yourself, or you'll eventually collapse under the weight of your own heart. A person who still has a pure heart, why come to this place and pick up a gun? What do you want to gain here, and what do you want to protect with your own strength?"

  Her words were like a heavy hammer that smashed into my heart, my strength and pride were shattered by her gentle whispers into countless pieces, tears gushed out of my eyes wildly, instantly wetting the clothes on her body.

  Suddenly, it was really too sudden. A strong female warrior who could be compared to rocks and steel for her toughness, her gentle understanding suddenly appeared by my side. Perhaps because she was also a warrior, she was also very strong, but deep down, she also buried a fragile heart that others couldn't touch?

  Her soft voice echoed in my ear, like a lullaby from my childhood mother, with a magnetic charm that was almost magical. "The first time I saw you, I was involuntarily drawn to you, and at that time, your whole body was filled with a fiery breath, making you look full of unstable pressure. At that time, I asked myself, why this boy's entire life is burning wildly, doesn't he know that after the brief brilliance, only ashes are left? Did he come to Xinjiang just for the dream of a hero emerging from chaos? What does he want to gain in war, and who does he want to prove his brilliance to?"

  "Don't ask, don't ask..." I buried my head deep in her bosom and shook it vigorously. "I must have the strength, I want to be a hero of the ages! If I can't be a hero of the ages, I'd rather die!"

  Become a world hero? What a difficult and treacherous path this is!

  Bosina gazed lovingly at the big boy in her arms, unaware of the sorrow and confusion hidden deep within his heart. A man like him, when he finally shed tears, how much grievance and pain had accumulated in his heart before he could no longer hold back and let it all out?

  The two of us stood quietly in a corner of the barracks, as if we had turned into stone. I curled up in her warm embrace, my face pressed against her bare skin, carefully listening to her strong and powerful heartbeat, absorbing the strength that emanated from her body. She stroked my back gently with her hand, soothing me like a crying infant, a long-forgotten sense of relaxation and comfort making me want to fall asleep forever in her arms, never wanting to wake up again to face the various pains and responsibilities of reality.

  "You're tired, you need a good sleep. Even if you can't forget all your troubles and sorrows, you have to learn to relax yourself. Only then can you go further." Bo Shanna gently pressed a light kiss on my muddy face and whispered: "Go to my dormitory to clean up, rest there today, I'll help you inform Zhang Sun Ting, but you must be a good child and not move around randomly."

  I nodded foolishly like a demon, letting her lead me as we dodged the patrol team and snuck into her single dormitory.

  I was pinned down on the bed by Bosina, who made a bed for herself and looked at me with eyes that seemed to say I was a child in need of care and love. Before falling asleep, she thought for a long time and said: "I want to tell you something, maybe it's only good news for X teacher, but this time the stones you moved destroyed the military camp's defensive wall and a communication vehicle. Originally, it shouldn't have caused such a big reaction, but the rocks may have loosened due to sun and rain. Now, it's directly listed as a level 1 alert because our border issue with India has created friction again, the McMahon Line problem can't be solved, and a handful of anti-China forces are stirring up trouble. Recently, the border line has been getting more intense, and the East Turkestan terrorist organization has organized a group of Afghan veterans to become active in cities like Urumqi.

  Although China's ambassador to India, Sun Yuxi, has actively engaged in talks with India and made some progress, the demarcation of tens of thousands of square kilometers of territory cannot be truly determined by negotiation alone. In November 1996, China and India signed the "Agreement on Military Confidence-Building Measures in the Area of the Actual Line of Control in the China-India Border," but it has not been genuinely implemented yet. Behind the seemingly peaceful facade, a storm is brewing. India is now desperately seeking to balance China's nuclear capabilities, and through its Pokhran nuclear test, India has crossed the nuclear threshold. Once they possess even the minimum nuclear deterrent force, they believe they have the qualifications to challenge China, and local wars on the border will likely erupt. If you want to survive on the battlefield, you must find a way to strengthen your military technology.

  Chapter Thirteen: Whetstone

  Bosina's words stirred up a stormy wave in my heart, war, what a distant word, yet it seems to be getting closer and closer to us.

  "I support you in setting up a tofu house, so that you can separate from the cooking class and have free time to receive training after completing your work." Bu Shanna gave our "grand plan" two thumbs up, but raised some opinions: "However, wanting to make a stone mill by yourself is purely childish. Now that piece of stone that was smashed into the military camp, you touch it, and there's no doubt that you're telling others that you're related to the raid on the camp. And neither of you two are suitable for being stonemasons, lacking the necessary technology and tools. It would take at least half a year to make a barely usable stone mill, by which time you may have already gone to the battlefield."

  "Tofu house needs the tools, I'll help you guys get them," said Bu Shanna with a wave of her hand, making the decision for us: "At most one week's time, I can help you guys prepare what you need. Now your main task is to increase your own strength as quickly as possible. You are all cooks in the army, and usually don't receive much military training. You don't want to be able to only cook and carry pots on the battlefield, do you?"

  Chang Sun Ting raised a finger behind my back, meaning "You're awesome, you can even handle a woman like this and make her yours!" I smiled wryly and shook my head repeatedly. After spending the night in Bu Shanna's dormitory, plus the "evidence" on her neck, we were afraid that even jumping into the Yellow River couldn't wash us clean.

  "I was ordered to lead the special anti-terrorist squad's soldiers to Urumqi a week later, to prevent terrorists who have already infiltrated the country from creating all kinds of disturbances. So don't expect me to guide you, you can only supervise and practice among yourselves. When I come back, I will carefully check your progress. If you meet my requirements..."