With a heart full of excitement, Xiao Ke returned to the barracks of the First Combat Squad. He tiptoed to take a shower and then lay down on his bunk.
After only two hours of sleep, at six in the morning, the raucous sound of the Orca Combat Camp's wake-up whistle blared.
Xiao Ke's eyes shot open, and he agilely got up and put on his Decurion combat uniform.
Although he had only slept for two hours, he appeared more energetic than Duan Canglong and Luo Hou, who were yawning in the dormitory.
After washing up together, they all dressed neatly and proceeded to the training ground.
Upon arriving at the training ground, they found that Qin Bing was already there, and standing next to her was Hu Benan, shivering with his neck shrunken against the cold morning wind.
Behind Hu Benan was a large group of able-bodied men. To call them "able-bodied" was perhaps an overstatement; each one was sallow and emaciated. However, they had large frames, so despite their gauntness, they still appeared relatively tall and sturdy.
Ginkgo Town was originally a slum, and now it constantly faced the threat of a zombie horde. Anyone with even a little financial means had moved away long ago. Those who remained were scavengers and the poor. These men were likely the best Hu Benan could find, picking the tallest among the short.
Hu Benan said to Qin Bing with a fawning smile, "Ma'am, I've brought you the men you wanted. I'll hand them over to you. If there's nothing else, I'll head back and not disturb your training."
Qin Bing said coolly, "Safe travels, Town Master!"
After Hu Benan left with his two subordinates, Qin Bing immediately integrated the 160 men he had brought into the five existing combat squads. The veterans and recruits were mixed, which was the fastest way to get the new soldiers combat-ready.
Xiao Ke's squad originally had 9 members, so 11 recruits were assigned to it. Xiao Ke remained the captain of the Orca Camp's First Combat Squad. Meanwhile, due to their recent outstanding performance, Duan Canglong and Luo Hou were both appointed by Qin Bing to the new batch of Decurions.
Duan Canglong and Luo Hou were also appointed as deputy captains of the First Combat Squad, which meant they became Xiao Ke's subordinates.
With two hundred men training in the small training ground of the Zhou family's courtyard, which served as their temporary base, it began to feel a bit crowded and cramped.
Therefore, Qin Bing personally led the troops, and all the soldiers moved to the town center's square to train. The advantage was that the town square was large enough to accommodate over two hundred people. The disadvantage was that their training would be watched by the townspeople, which might make the soldiers a little uncomfortable.
Qin Bing instructed Xiao Ke, Huang Zhi, and the other captains to lead the veterans in training the recruits, while she stood by and supervised.
Including himself, Xiao Ke's squad had 9 veterans, while there were only 11 recruits, so training was not difficult. Furthermore, Qin Bing had only three requirements for the recruits' training: first, the recruits must understand that obeying orders is paramount, and insubordination is punishable by death; second, the recruits must learn simple salutes, formations, etc.—they didn't need to be perfect, but they had to know them; third, the recruits must understand the basic use of firearms, at least knowing how to aim and shoot at a target, and also have a basic understanding of how to use a military saber.
Qin Bing required Xiao Ke and the other captains to get the recruits to meet these requirements within three days.
Xiao Ke and the others didn't feel much pressure. After all, in these apocalyptic times, it was common for recruits enlisted one day to be sent directly to the battlefield the next, as dictated by the needs of war.
These recruits had three days to train, which was not considered a short amount of time.
Just as Xiao Ke and the others were methodically training the recruits, suddenly, a jeep came roaring from a distance.
The training soldiers couldn't help but turn their heads to look. The jeep's body was painted with the emblem of the White Shark Camp. Although it had entered the town's busy streets, the vehicle drove as if it were charging on a battlefield—recklessly, causing chaos wherever it went. Pedestrians dodged in a hurry, and many even fell while trying to get out of its way.
But everyone was angry but dared not speak out. Even if they suffered minor injuries, they could only consider themselves unlucky.
Everyone knew this was the vehicle of the White Shark Camp's Centurion, Qiao Mingxuan. Who would dare to show any dissatisfaction?
When Qin Bing saw Qiao Mingxuan's jeep, she also frowned slightly. However, seeing many of the recruits stop their training to watch the jeep, her face immediately turned frosty. "All of you, get back to training! What are you looking at? Haven't you seen a jeep before? When you're on the battlefield fighting for your lives against the enemy, are you going to stop and stare if you see a vehicle?"
The soldiers all knew Qin Bing's temper and, terrified, quickly resumed their training.
By now, the jeep had stopped at the edge of the square. Qiao Mingxuan, wearing a Centurion's combat uniform, got out of the car with two of his men.
He glanced around and happened to see Xiao Ke training new squad members not far away. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a cold sneer, "Heh, a recruit training recruits. How interesting."
His two subordinates behind him also started snickering.
Not far away, Xiao Ke and the others naturally heard Qiao Mingxuan's taunt. Duan Canglong, Luo Hou, and the others looked furious, but Xiao Ke's expression remained unchanged. He only glanced at Qiao Mingxuan before calmly instructing Duan Canglong and the others, "Continue training!"
Seeing that Xiao Ke was completely unmoved by his words, Qiao Mingxuan became a little annoyed. He let out a cold snort and then walked towards Qin Bing with his two men.
Qiao Mingxuan came before Qin Bing and gave a military salute, "Good day, Ma'am!"
Qin Bing nodded slightly. "Centurion Qiao, you're here. This morning, I asked you to send out scouts to monitor the nearby area. Is there any situation?"
Qiao Mingxuan shook his head. "Nothing to report, just a few stray zombies wandering around occasionally."
Qin Bing said, "No news is the best news. The Army Commander has ordered us to defend this place for at least half a month. Every day the zombie horde is delayed is another day we have a better chance of holding this place."
Qiao Mingxuan said flatteringly, "Haha, with my hundred-plus soldiers from the White Shark Camp, and with the Chiliarch herself, the Valkyrie, leading us personally, a mere zombie horde attack is nothing to worry about."
If it were any other time, even if Qin Bing disliked flattery, she wouldn't have been displeased by Qiao Mingxuan's sycophancy.
But this time, the approaching zombie horde was clearly larger and more destructive than any before. Even the former commander of the Black Shark Legion had died in battle, and the main force of the Black Shark Legion was either dead or scattered, utterly defeated by this zombie onslaught.
Qiao Mingxuan was also a member of the Black Shark Legion and a subordinate of the former commander. Yet, he showed not a shred of grief for the former commander and the many Black Shark soldiers who had died on the front lines. Now, in an attempt to flatter her, he even said that the zombie horde was nothing to worry about. This deeply angered Qin Bing and made her look down on his character even more.
However, Qin Bing also knew that this was a time when she needed all the help she could get, so she didn't show her feelings.
Qiao Mingxuan was completely oblivious to Qin Bing's disgust. He looked at the time, seeing it was already 11 a.m., and enthusiastically invited Qin Bing to lunch. "Ma'am, I've already had the tavern owner prepare a table of food. It's getting late. Why don't we have lunch together?"
Qin Bing said coolly, "No, I have some reports to write. You go ahead."
After speaking, Qin Bing walked straight to her SUV, got in, and drove away.
This left Qiao Mingxuan a bit stunned. After a long moment, he turned his head in disappointment and happened to see Xiao Ke in the distance, looking at him with a half-smile, as if mocking his failed attempt to ask Qin Bing to lunch. A nameless fire ignited in his heart.
Just then, a tall Decurion from the Orca Camp trotted over, offering a cigarette as he greeted Qiao Mingxuan, "Hehe, hello Centurion, sir. My name is Qiao Dong; we share the same surname. I hope you'll look out for me in the future."
Qiao Dong had come over to try to build a connection with Qiao Mingxuan. Qiao Mingxuan was in a bad mood, and the cigarette Qiao Dong offered was a cheap, low-quality, hand-rolled one. Annoyed, Qiao Mingxuan was about to slap the cigarette away and retort, "Who do you think you are?"
However, his gaze fell on Qiao Dong. Although the man had a fawning expression, he was tall, a full two meters in height, with a broad frame and wrists much thicker than an ordinary person's. People with such a build and bone structure usually have considerable combat strength.
Qiao Mingxuan's peripheral vision caught sight of Xiao Ke's slender and thin figure. Qiao Dong was clearly a whole size stronger. A cryptic smile appeared on his lips, and he reached out to accept the hand-rolled cigarette from Qiao Dong.
Qiao Dong was the captain of the Orca Camp's Second Combat Squad and was widely recognized as the strongest fighter among Qin Bing's dozens of soldiers.
He had approached Qiao Mingxuan to try to build a connection, and in his heart, he was a little apprehensive. After all, he knew it wasn't easy to get close to a superior officer like Qiao Mingxuan.
But he never expected Qiao Mingxuan to actually accept his cigarette. This gesture made him ecstatic. It meant Qiao Mingxuan had accepted his attempt to curry favor. He quickly took out a lighter and lit the cigarette for Qiao Mingxuan.
Qiao Mingxuan took a drag. "Qiao Dong, you want to follow me?"
Qiao Dong nodded eagerly. "Yes, it would be a great honor to receive your guidance, Centurion."
Qiao Mingxuan nodded. "You haven't awakened your martial meridian, have you?"
Qiao Dong was an old soldier. He had become a deserter after a conflict with his Decurion, whom he then killed in the middle of the night. As a veteran, he naturally knew what martial meridian awakening was. He quickly replied, "Not yet. I haven't had the opportunity. After all, the martial meridian awakening potion is very expensive, and only soldiers with outstanding performance are rewarded with the awakening potion and the 'Tiger Ben Art' by the higher-ups."
Qiao Mingxuan said with a half-smile, "Well, would you like to have the martial meridian awakening potion and the 'Tiger Ben Art' right now?"
Qiao Dong's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Of course!"
Qiao Mingxuan said, "Very good. I can give you both of these things. I can even use a large amount of stimulant drugs to forcibly raise your strength to a level-three soldier in a short period of time... Of course, these benefits don't come for free. You have to do one thing for me."
Qiao Dong quickly asked, "What is it?"
Qiao Mingxuan glanced at Xiao Ke in the distance. "Help me kill someone!"
It turned out that yesterday, when Qin Bing had asked Xiao Ke to be her driver in front of Qiao Mingxuan, she was sending a very clear signal to Qiao Mingxuan. Qin Bing was warning him that Xiao Ke was her man, and he was not to touch him.
Although Qiao Mingxuan wanted Xiao Ke dead, he didn't want to offend Qin Bing, much less make her hate him. Therefore, he decided it would be better to have someone else do the killing. And now, the person he had chosen was this Qiao Dong.