Chapter 81: The Vicious Bird, Dignity Lost in a Second (Second Update)

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

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

In her previous life, Qu Shangjin hadn’t held much real power. As soon as he arrived in Sucheng, he was sidelined by the Xiao family and the Sucheng military. Many locals in Jiangcheng didn’t even know who Qu Shangjin was. But now? These days, everyone chanted “Commander Qu bless us,” “Commander Qu is mighty,” “How’s Commander Qu doing?” every day.

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 addressed him as “Chief,” “Commander Qu,” “Major General Qu.” Qu Shangjin merely nodded. But when Gu Xu stepped forward, shielding Bian Changxi behind him and quietly called, “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, but accidental injuries like this are something we soldiers see all the time. I just didn’t expect it to be this serious. Chen Si’s only flaw is that she gets flustered and makes mistakes when anxious. 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 this. There’s no need to blame Miss Su.”

“Haha, I’m relieved to hear you say that.”

Bian Changxi secretly curled her lip. Just like that, the whole incident was brushed off as a “common accidental injury” caused by “getting flustered.” If Gu Xu and the others pressed the issue, wouldn’t that make them seem unreasonable and lacking in awareness?

But was it really that simple?

She saw Su Chensi looking about to collapse, lips trembling, but in the end, she said nothing. Anyone with half a brain could tell there was more to this. After settling the matter, Qu Shangjin still had Bian Changxi on his mind. Smiling, he said, “Miss Bian, you’ve made another great contribution. You’re with Convoy No. 5 now, right? How could someone as talented as you be assigned there? Fushan, transfer Miss Bian to Convoy No. 2…”

Convoy No. 2 was full of talent—a reserve force for the military.

Bian Changxi smiled and interrupted, “Commander Qu, you flatter me. I’m only here out of goodwill and to help friends like Captain Gu. I’m not here for any kind of merit.”

Qu Shangjin’s smile froze, his expression ambiguous. The atmosphere in the tent grew heavier. A middle-aged man behind him quickly spoke up, “What kind of friendship lets you show up in the middle of the night at a moment’s notice? Miss Bian, I’d like to be your friend too.”

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

With that slick smile, it was clear he was no simple character—he’d managed to outmaneuver Qu Shangjin and maintain real power even under Sucheng’s pressure.

She just smiled and didn’t answer.

Gu Xu said they should take their leave. Together, they lifted Wu Dalang onto a stretcher. Seeing Wu Dalang’s condition still unstable, Bian Changxi decided to see things 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, “Leaving already? You came all this way, you can’t just go back empty-handed. Stay for a late-night snack!”

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

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

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

She was speechless. Am I a guest or just free labor?

So, after one, two, three… however many days, Bian Changxi found herself hanging out with this group again. She was rinsing a piece of old ginger with a bit of water, feeling a little awkward. After their last falling out—she’d even drawn her gun, things had gotten that tense—they should just be nodding acquaintances now. Sitting together, chatting and eating, what was this?

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

The ones grilling were a young guy and a girl. After so many days running things in the new district, Gu Xu clearly had more than just the original six people—he’d swiftly gathered a capable crew. The soldiers who’d just fetched Bian Changxi, the ones who’d faced off with the military in the tent, and even more who weren’t here now.

She quietly observed them, shocked to find that almost all of them were either ability users, martial artists, or people with some special skill.

God knows how Gu Xu managed to win over so many talented people in such a short time.

The skinny young guy at the grill was actually a strength-type ability user. Caught off guard by her question, he stammered, “M-Miss Bian, there aren’t enough pots, and we’re short on water, so I just grilled these. 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 the meat skewers still had frost on them. “You have an ice-type user?”

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

The boy’s hands moved quickly and skillfully—he’d clearly done this before. Soon, the four corn cobs were perfectly roasted, sprinkled with cumin and chili powder. The first one went straight to Bian Changxi.

She accepted it with a smile. She wasn’t picky about eating food made by strangers. First, she’d known hunger—back when she’d been trapped in the mountains, out of ammo and food, not daring to light a fire, she’d eaten raw mutant beasts, blood and all, with the others. She had nerves of steel. Second, as a wood-type user, she was more sensitive to food than most—nobody could easily tamper with what she ate.

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

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

“Where’s the ginger? The ginger?”

The cook at the fire called out.

Bian Changxi raised her hand. “Here!” She jogged over to hand it to her. The cook was an older woman, not a fighter, but a great cook. Her husband was a speed-type ability user who’d been trained by Gu Xu back when he was an 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 wasn’t sure how Gu Xu managed and assigned all these people. She’d just overheard Qiu Yun mention that everyone had their own duties, but they all carried the “Gu” label now. Whenever something happened, everyone who could would come to help.

Gu Xu and a few others had gone off to settle Wu Dalang and hold a quick meeting. The rest scattered, leaving five or six people, each busy with their own tasks. The cook roped Bian Changxi in to help, and she didn’t mind.

She wasn’t some high-and-mighty type. She didn’t bother with people who courted trouble, but she treated normal, well-meaning people normally. If you could get along, why be cold? Nobody likes living in a constant state of tension.

The cook didn’t realize she was bossing around the very wood-type powerhouse that everyone—especially Gu Xu’s people—loved to gossip about in private. After all, Bian Changxi had been one of the original “veterans” outside the core six. When the team first started expanding, she’d suddenly left, taking a space-type and a speed-type user with her. At the time, Gu Xu had already started quietly recruiting, but her departure had been a real blow to the fledgling team—something hard for later arrivals to understand.

The cook took the ginger and sliced it thick on a rough cutting board, sighing, “If only we had chestnuts! I could make chicken and chestnut stew—so tasty and filling. Otherwise, who’s this one chicken going to feed? Guess I’ll just add some potatoes.”

In the pot was a long-frozen chicken, chopped up for flavor and quicker cooking. Bian Changxi blurted out, “Chestnuts? I have some!”

She had two big bags at her farm. She loved them 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 walking over from the vehicles—their meeting was over.

Her heart skipped a beat. After spending so much time together, everyone pretty much knew what supplies the others had. Wouldn’t it be odd for her to suddenly produce a bag of fresh chestnuts?

But it was too late to take it back. She felt a little guilty, but then thought, So what? I’ve got a big space, can’t I have a few secret stashes of food?

She pulled out a bag of chestnuts—about a kilo—from her bag (actually her farm space). The cook beamed with delight. “Wonderful, wonderful!”

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

Bian Changxi helped peel the chestnuts, watching as a big bowlful went into the bubbling chicken stew. She picked up her corn again and glanced around. Gu Xu was at the edge of the firelight, leaning against a car, gently rocking a rice cake on a bamboo skewer.

She hesitated, then walked over—only to find he wasn’t idly playing with his food, but teasing a mouse sprawled on the car roof."