Chapter 81: Favoritism, Army 123

The man who entered was dressed in military uniform, temples flecked with gray. Though not particularly tall, he carried himself with an imposing presence. Seeing the major general insignia on his shoulder, and then glancing at Qu Nan and Yue Fushan following behind him, Bian Changxi immediately realized: this was Qu Shangjin, the current sole leader of the six major convoys and former commander of the Jiangcheng Military District.

Truth be told, Bian Changxi had never met him before.

In her previous life, Qu Shangjin hadn’t had much say in anything. As soon as he arrived in Sucheng, he was sidelined by the Xiao family and the Sucheng military, to the point that many locals in Jiangcheng didn’t even know who he was. But now, everyone chanted daily, “Commander Qu, protect us!” “Commander Qu is mighty!” “How’s Commander Qu doing today?”

He’d practically become a guardian deity.

She didn’t respond to his words—this wasn’t the time or place for her to speak. The others were calling out “Commander,” “Commander Qu,” “Major General Qu.” Qu Shangjin merely nodded. But when Gu Xu stepped forward, blocking Bian Changxi behind him and quietly greeted, “Commander Qu,” Qu Shangjin had no choice but to shift his gaze from Bian Changxi to Gu Xu.

“Little Gu, I’ve heard about what happened. Xiao Wu has suffered. Accidental injuries like this are all too common for us soldiers—just didn’t expect it to be so serious this time. Chen Si’s only fault is that she panics easily and gets flustered. That needs to change. I’ll discipline her later. Chen Si, come over and apologize to your Brother Gu and Brother Wu.”

Two female staffers helped Su Chensi over.

Gu Xu’s eyes flickered. Before Su Chensi could speak, he said, “Miss Su didn’t do it on purpose. The situation was urgent—no one could have predicted what happened. There’s no reason to blame Miss Su.”

“Haha, hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”

Bian Changxi couldn’t help but curl her lip. Just like that, the whole incident was brushed off as a “common accident” caused by panic. If Gu Xu and the others insisted on pursuing it, wouldn’t they seem unreasonable and lacking in understanding?

But was it really that simple?

She watched Su Chensi, who looked about to collapse, mouth opening and closing without a word. Anyone could tell something was off. With the matter settled, Qu Shangjin turned his attention back to Bian Changxi, smiling: “Miss Bian, you’ve made another great contribution. You’re with the No. 5 convoy now, right? Someone as talented as you shouldn’t be assigned there. Fushan, transfer Miss Bian to the No. 2 convoy…”

The No. 2 convoy was full of elites—the military’s reserve force.

Bian Changxi smiled and interrupted, “You flatter me, Commander Qu. I came here partly out of a sense of duty to help, and partly because of my personal friendship with Captain Gu and the others—not to seek any merit.”

Qu Shangjin’s smile froze, his expression hard to read. The atmosphere in the tent grew tense. A middle-aged man behind him quickly spoke up: “What kind of friendship lets you come running in the middle of the night, Miss Bian? I’d like to be friends with you too.”

Hu? Bian Changxi matched the face to her memory—Hu Aiquan, deputy commander of the Jiangcheng Military District, and the man who would later replace Qu Shangjin at the Sucheng base. She had met him before.

Judging by his smooth, calculating smile, anyone who could outmaneuver Qu Shangjin and maintain real power under Sucheng’s high-pressure environment was no simple character.

She smiled but didn’t reply.

Gu Xu said they should take their leave. Together, they lifted Wu Dalang onto a stretcher. Seeing that Wu Dalang’s condition was still unstable, Bian Changxi decided to see it through and followed along. Gu Xu’s place wasn’t far from hers. Once Wu Dalang was settled, she said, “I’ll head back now.”

Qiu Yun immediately said, “Head back? You came all this way, you can’t just leave empty-handed. Stay for a late-night snack!”

“Late-night snack?” She declined. “I’d better not.”

Gu Xu said, “We barely ate tonight, been busy half the night and we’re all starving. One more at the table won’t hurt—come on, join us.”

Bian Changxi was about to refuse again when Qiu Yun chimed in, “You could help wash some veggies, too.”

She was speechless—so am I a guest or just free labor?

And so, after who knows how many days, Bian Changxi found herself hanging out with this group again. As she washed a piece of old ginger with a little water, she still felt a bit awkward. After things ended so tensely last time—she’d even pulled a gun—shouldn’t they just nod politely if they ran into each other? Now they were sitting together, eating and chatting like nothing happened?

But as soon as the campfire was lit and the aroma of barbecue filled the air, all her thoughts vanished. She pretended to be reserved, but her eyes sparkled as she moved closer to the fire. “What are you grilling? Smells amazing.”

A young guy and a girl were tending the barbecue. After so many days running the new district, Gu Xu’s team had grown well beyond the original six—they’d quickly recruited a capable group. The soldiers who’d just come to find Bian Changxi, and those who’d faced off with the original military team in the tent, were all part of it. There were even more people not present.

She secretly observed them, shocked to find that almost all of them were either powered individuals, martial artists, or had some special skill.

Who knew how Gu Xu had managed to gather such a team in so little time?

The skinny young guy grilling looked small, but he was actually a strength-type ability user. Caught off guard by her question, he stammered, “Miss—Miss Bian, we don’t have many pots, and water’s scarce, so I just grilled what we had. It’s a bit wasteful, I know…”

Bian Changxi checked for herself. Several plastic bags held rice cakes, mushrooms, meat skewers, and sweet potatoes. The boy was holding four ears of corn. She noticed ice crystals on the meat skewers. “You have an ice-type user?”

The girl burying sweet potatoes in the fire answered proudly, “That’s me! I’m in charge of keeping the food fresh.”

The boy’s movements were quick and practiced—clearly, he’d done this plenty before. Soon, the four ears of corn were grilled, sprinkled with salt and chili powder, and the first one was handed to Bian Changxi.

She accepted it with a smile. She wasn’t picky about eating food made by strangers—she’d suffered hunger before. Back when she was trapped in the mountains, out of ammo and food, unable to risk lighting a fire, she’d even eaten the raw, bloody flesh of mutated beasts. She had a strong stomach. Plus, as a wood-type user, she was more sensitive to food than most, and wasn’t afraid of anyone tampering with it.

Besides, she’d been craving this. She hadn’t had hot food in two days. Sure, she had a grill and charcoal in her space, but no time to use them. And she’d always loved sweet corn since she was a kid—the ones in her space were still growing, who knew when she’d get to eat them.

She blew on the corn, took a big bite despite the heat, and gave the boy a thumbs-up.

“Old ginger, where’s the old ginger?”

The woman stirring the pot over the fire called out.

Bian Changxi raised her hand, “Here!” She jogged over to hand it to her. The woman was a middle-aged auntie, not much of a fighter, but a great cook. Her husband was a speed-type user who’d been trained by Gu Xu back when he was a drill instructor for the warrior squad. After a few rounds, he’d been won over. She didn’t know the details, but now both husband and wife were part of Gu Xu’s team.

Bian Changxi didn’t know how Gu Xu managed and assigned all these people. She’d just heard Qiu Yun mention that everyone had their own roles and tasks, but they all carried the “Gu” label now. Whenever something happened, everyone who could help would come running.

Gu Xu and the others had gone to settle Wu Dalang and hold a quick meeting. The rest of the group scattered, leaving five or six people each doing their own thing. Bian Changxi was roped in by the auntie, but she didn’t mind.

She wasn’t some high-and-mighty person—she didn’t bother with people who liked to stir up trouble, but she treated normal, well-meaning people normally. If you could get along, why be cold and distant? No one likes living in a constant state of tension.

The auntie had no idea she was bossing around the very wood-type powerhouse everyone—especially Gu Xu’s subordinates—loved to gossip about in private. Bian Changxi was one of the first “veterans” outside the core six. When the team was just starting to expand, she’d suddenly split off, taking a space-type and a speed-type user with her. At the time, Gu Xu had already started recruiting quietly, but her departure was still a blow to the fledgling team—something the newcomers found hard to understand.

The auntie took the ginger, sliced it thickly on a rough cutting board, and sighed, “If only we had chestnuts! A pot of chicken and chestnut soup would be delicious and filling. Just one chicken isn’t enough for everyone. We’ll have to add some potatoes.”

In the pot was a long-frozen chicken, chopped up small to cook through and absorb flavor. Bian Changxi blurted out, “Chestnuts? I have some!”

She had two big bags in her space, but hadn’t gotten around to cooking them.

As soon as she said it, she realized something was off. Looking up, she saw Gu Xu and the others coming over from the vehicles—their meeting must be over.

Her heart skipped a beat. After spending time together, everyone more or less knew what each other had or didn’t have. Wouldn’t it be strange for her to suddenly produce a bag of fresh chestnuts?

But it was too late to take it back. She felt a bit guilty, but then thought, So what? I’m strong, I have some food stashed away—what’s wrong with that?

She pulled a bag of chestnuts—about a pound’s worth—from her bag (actually her space). The auntie beamed, “Wonderful, wonderful!”

“Captain Gu, come have something to eat. Want corn or rice cakes?” the shy barbecue boy called out. Gu Xu glanced at Bian Changxi. “Rice cakes.”

Bian Changxi helped peel the chestnuts, watching as a big bowl of golden chestnuts was poured into the simmering chicken soup. She picked up her corn again, glancing around. Gu Xu was at the edge of the firelight, leaning against a car, gently shaking a bamboo skewer with a rice cake on it.

She hesitated, then walked over—only to find he wasn’t idly playing with the rice cake, but teasing a mouse perched on the car roof.

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