Chapter 129 : Chapter 129

Chapter 129. The Warrior of Pure Devotion’s Unexpected Tenderness

The military cafeteria.

The aroma of food drifted through the air, while the stainless steel serving counters gleamed with a cold sheen. On the corners of the tables were red slogans that read, “Put an End to Waste. Clean Your Plate.”

Jiang Yichen, Su Linyu, Tang Long, and Chu Xingchen sat together, all four of them hesitating slightly as they looked at the food laid out on the stainless steel trays before them.

The first to pick up his chopsticks was Chu Xingchen. He lifted a piece of bright green broccoli and put it into his mouth.

“Hero Chu, can this even be eaten?” Tang Long asked.

Chu Xingchen gave him a speechless look. “You’re a soldier now. It’s already good enough that there’s food to eat. Think about those forebears before the Great Cataclysm. What they had was much worse than this.”

That left Tang Long feeling a little ashamed. After all, he had been born into a wealthy family and had lived in luxury since childhood, so he truly was not used to this.

“Forget it. Being full is still better than being hungry.” He also began eating.

Jiang Yichen smiled, his gaze falling on the mostly vegetarian dishes in his tray. Claiming he had any appetite for them would have been a lie. After all, once someone had tasted dishes prepared by top private chefs, it was hard to go back.

Still, when he had been a Corpse-Carrying Soldier in his previous life, he had eaten even worse food than this. Going an entire day without seeing even a shred of meat had been perfectly normal, so he could still accept it.

Just as Jiang Yichen was about to pick up his chopsticks, Su Linyu pushed an exquisite lunchbox toward him.

“Brother Yichen, I made this for you. Try it.” Su Linyu propped up her cheeks with both hands, her eyes full of expectation.

Jiang Yichen looked puzzled. “Can you cook in your dorm?”

“No.” Su Linyu shook her head. “I came to the cafeteria early. I knew Brother Yichen might not be used to the cafeteria food, so I begged the cafeteria auntie for a long time before she finally let me choose the ingredients and cook it myself.”

Jiang Yichen froze when he heard that. His eyes trembled slightly, and a happy smile rose to his lips.

“Brother Yichen, try it. The ingredients were limited, so it might not taste as good as before.” Su Linyu’s face overflowed with a sweet smile.

Jiang Yichen nodded slightly and opened the lunchbox. The rich fragrance of meat mixed with the fresh scent of vegetables rushed into his nose.

Tang Long, who had already been forcing himself to swallow his food, instantly lost even more of his appetite. His face filled with utter despair.

“One day, I’m going to find a girlfriend just like the captain. Wuwuwu, I want this too...”

Chu Xingchen shoved a piece of broccoli into Tang Long’s mouth. “Stop daydreaming and eat.”

Tears of envy streamed down Tang Long’s face.

Jiang Yichen could not help laughing. He picked up a slice of meat, crisp on the outside and tender within, and placed it into his mouth.

The burst of juices with the first bite instantly whetted his appetite.

As expected, Su Linyu was the one who truly understood his stomach.

“Is it good, Brother Yichen?” Su Linyu tilted her head and asked with a smile.

Jiang Yichen nodded, and Su Linyu’s smile grew even brighter.

“Then I’ll make food for Brother Yichen every day from now on.”

“Captain, we’re still sitting right here.” Tang Long had just been force-fed another round of affection and was on the verge of losing the will to live.

Chu Xingchen coughed lightly and changed the subject. “By the way, Tang Long and I asked around this afternoon. Once the Military District Internship officially begins tomorrow, there’ll be a New Recruit Challenge.”

“What is that?” Su Linyu asked in confusion.

“Put simply...” Tang Long set down his chopsticks. “It’s the veterans crushing the recruits to beat some of the arrogance out of those recruits who think they’re geniuses.”

“And according to the recruits from the previous class who stayed in the military district, the instructors didn’t invite the East China Battle Department this time. They invited some very mysterious battle department instead.”

Hearing that, Jiang Yichen stopped eating.

If it was not the East China Battle Department, then what was it?

In his previous life, the ones who had come for the New Recruit Challenge had clearly been from the East China Battle Department.

“Is there any benefit to winning this challenge?” he asked.

“Of course there is.” Tang Long immediately became animated. “If you can win the challenge, you won’t have to take part in the next two months of devilish military training.”

“Captain, you should know how hot the East China border is. The recruits from the previous class told me that they had to stand at attention on the border for hours at a time. Their skin practically peeled off from the sun...”

As Tang Long described that harsh training life, Su Linyu could not help worrying. What if Brother Yichen could not endure it?

Jiang Yichen, on the other hand, looked completely at ease. In truth, the two months of collective training in the military district were even more brutal than Tang Long had described.

He had personally gone through the full thing in his previous life. The physical training alone included things like trekking across a vast desert on foot and standing at attention in surface temperatures of seventy to eighty degrees Celsius to test one’s willpower... that had been the worst part.

Still, the final tactical coordination training had been fairly interesting, though the intensity had truly been terrifying. Out of twenty-four hours in a day, every moment besides eating and sleeping had been spent in simulated drills.

By the end of those two months, not only had he been roasted several shades darker, but his entire body had also been covered in bumps, bruises, and injuries.

Bitter. It had simply been too bitter.

Jiang Yichen had no desire to go through all that again. If all he had to do tomorrow was beat the people the instructors had invited, he could skip training entirely and begin a comfortable, slacking life in the military district.

“Ah? It’s that harsh?” Su Linyu frowned, then said firmly, “Then tomorrow, we absolutely have to defeat the people from that battle department.”

Tang Long and Chu Xingchen exchanged a look and smiled helplessly.

“Captain, you’re overthinking it. This New Recruit Challenge has been part of military practice for over seventy years, and not a single class of recruits has ever succeeded.” Tang Long looked miserable.

Chu Xingchen also nodded. “Anyone who can enter a battle department is a top-tier genius in Huaxia, and their cultivation realms are also higher than ours. It’s very difficult.”

“We’ll do our best. Brother Yichen is already a Sixth-Realm Great Grandmaster now, so there’s definitely a chance of winning.”

Su Linyu sounded full of confidence.

Jiang Yichen pinched Su Linyu’s little cheek and smiled. “That’s right.”

But Tang Long and Chu Xingchen only shook their heads and sighed.

The strongest among the battle department members would be Seventh-Realm Martial Kings, after all. And they would surely think of all kinds of ways to keep the recruits from winning.

With a difference in cultivation realm and shameless tactics on top of that, how could they possibly win?

The four of them chatted over dinner for quite a while before it was time for the nightly dorm inspection.

Jiang Yichen escorted Su Linyu to the entrance of the women’s dormitory building.

“Brother Yichen, I’ll go to Dorm Building No. 4 tomorrow morning and make breakfast for you, so remember to leave the door open for me.”

Su Linyu waved her hand and walked into the dormitory building.

Jiang Yichen smiled sweetly. Having a fiancée who was a Warrior of Pure Devotion really was an incredibly pleasant thing.

In a thoroughly good mood, he walked back to the luxurious Dorm Building No. 4.

“Master, at 20:32 today, nine people claiming to be military district administrators attempted to force their way in.”

Jiang Yichen looked at Xiao Ai. “And the result?”

“The defense mechanism threw them out.”

He could not help smiling. They had only brought it upon themselves.

“Well done.”

After praising Xiao Ai, Jiang Yichen took the elevator back to his room, washed up, and lay down on the fragrant, soft bed.

The thought of all the other recruits sleeping on hard wooden bunks made him drift off beautifully into dreamland.

...

The next day, dawn had only just begun to break.

A familiar fragrance drifted into his nose.

“Brother Yichen, wake up,” Su Linyu’s sweet voice sounded right beside his ear.

Hm?

Still half-asleep, Jiang Yichen slowly opened his eyes. Su Linyu’s smiling dimples and the beauty of her crescent-shaped eyes reflected in his pupils.

Her lips were close to his ear as she whispered softly, “Brother Yichen, breakfast is ready. Hurry up and eat. We have to assemble soon.”

Jiang Yichen sat up and checked the time.

Half past five.

Morning drill assembly in the military district began at six, so it was indeed time to get up.

He looked at Su Linyu crouching beside the bed, and the corners of his lips curved upward.

Other people had come to the military district to suffer through hard training, yet his life here was like this.

And ever since Su Zhan and his mother had settled the wedding date, Su Linyu had gradually begun to feel a little like a virtuous wife.

Jiang Yichen got up and went to wash, while Su Linyu stood nearby admiring the presidential suite.

While eating, Jiang Yichen said, “Then you should move in here too from now on. There are plenty of rooms anyway.”

Su Linyu’s eyes lit up, but then she shook her head and said in disappointment, “But they inspect the dorms every night. If they find no one in my room, I’ll be punished.”

Jiang Yichen thought about it for a moment. That really was a problem.

He could use his spatial ability to bring Su Linyu over, but the inspections in the women’s dormitory were not limited to fixed times. There were also random checks in the middle of the night to prevent anyone from sneaking out.

Disciplinary punishment in the military district would be entered into one’s file. For people who cared about such things, it was a very serious penalty.

“Alright. When there’s a chance in the future, I’ll bring you over.”

“It’s okay, Brother Yichen. As long as I can see that you’re living well, I’m super happy.” Su Linyu picked up a piece of fried egg and placed it into his bowl.

Jiang Yichen did not even know how to respond.

So this was what pure devotion was.

As long as the person she loved was doing well, she would be incomparably happy.

Beep—

A shrill whistle suddenly rang out, followed by a booming voice.

“All recruits, attention! Be fully dressed and assembled at the training grounds within three minutes! Anyone late will run ten laps around the military district as punishment!”