Are You Addicted?

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Once all the soldiers lined up with their battalion, Zhou Ling Yun’s frightening and sinister face appeared before them yet again.

He stood in front of the troops with both his hands clasped behind his back while his harsh glare raked the nervous faces.

“I’ve already let you all rest for an entire day, now we have to warm up.”

Once they heard that sentence, all the soldiers glared at him in utter shock. When the h.e.l.l did we get a day off? The majority of them hadn’t even gotten an hour of rest, let alone a whole day. Yesterday they were tormented for the entire night, then this afternoon they had to sweep the airfield again, and before the food in their stomachs even had a chance to be digested—they were forced to another emergency a.s.sembly. Now, why don’t you tell us: when did this entire day of rest occur?

Upon noticing the change in their expressions, Zhou Ling Yun calmly gave the crowd an explanation as to resolve their misgivings, “Yesterday, I arrived here precisely at this time. Up until now, it has been one full day. Haven’t you all gotten enough rest? Don’t tell me that in your eyes, urinating is considered training? Cleaning the airfield can also be considered to be training? I’ve served in the army for so many years, but this is my first time hearing such simple tasks to be considered arduous.”

Not only the lower ranking soldiers, but even the officers on site, were wearing expressions filled with confusion when they heard those irritating words.

Zhou Ling Yun ignored the general discontent and resentment as he calmly continued, “Besides testing your basic skills, I’m also using this opportunity to get to know you properly.”

Afterwards, several thousands of drowsy soldiers and dozens of exhausted officers began the intense and cruel training. While the pilots flew their aircrafts high in the sky and repeatedly practiced the trained maneuvers, the officers and commanders congregated in the supervisory control room to watch their every move. If even the slightest mistake was made, they had to start all over again.

Leaning against a sofa behind the group of officers, Zhou Ling Yun slept soundly. His thunderous snores reverberated so loud that even the heaven seem to tremble.

Several officers covertly exchanged whispers with each other, revealing their displeasure with this newly appointed Wing commander.

While those officers were busy whispering, Bai Luo Yin had been staring expressionlessly at the screen instead, lost in his own thoughts. He couldn’t help but to faintly sense that this Wing Commander, like he, possessed an extrasensory perception. Right now, there was a pair of gloomy eyes behind him that appeared to be closed, but in reality were attentively watching their each and every move.

Half an hour later, the officers could barely keep their sleep-laden eyes open as the supervisory control room became littered with one yawn after another.

Zhou Ling Yun suddenly cleared his throat, causing the group of officers to immediately straighten their backs. Not wanting to get blacklisted, they all tried their best to continue working with what little bit of strength they have.

However, Zhou Ling Yun simply rolled over, turned his back toward the officers and continued his sleep.

Among all the officers in the room, Bai Luo Yin was the most beaten and tired one since he was the only one who had not slept even one wink for the entire night. In addition, they only had backaches and nothing more while for Bai Luo Yin— not only did his front part hurt—his back was also sore! It was truly hard to bear!

In this kind of dire situation, Bai Luo Yin didn’t even dare to think about Gu Hai. If he did, his focus would instantly fade and his mind would become trapped in a relaxed state. By then, all he would want to do would be to bury himself somewhere and sleep the day away.

Unfortunately, just as things seemed to be going well, an inattentive officer carelessly slipped from his chair and onto the floor, causing a loud thud to echo across the room.

Zhou Ling Yun’s eyes immediately flew open. As soon as the unlucky officer managed to properly return to his seat, a bucketful of water was suddenly gushed down over his head. Drenched and cold, he yelled in distress. Not long after that, the machine in front of him shut down due to the water leaking through it.

Witnessing this scene, all the soldiers who were about to yawn loudly, immediately closed their mouths.

This officer was also a well-known figure in the Army, who at barely 22 years of age, had been enjoying special treatments reserved only for top-notch soldiers. Back when he was still a new recruit, he was rarely punished—even less so after he was promoted to officer rank.

“You are a disgrace!”

Zhou Ling Yun spat out these four stabbing words.

While this officer’s body shivered uncontrollably from the freezing water, the officer beside him wanted to pa.s.s him a cotton-padded coat. However, once he caught sight of Zhou Ling Yun’s lethal glare, he retreated instead.

“Fix this machine within one hour. For each and every hour that it stays unfixed, I will splash you with water until it is. Anyone who interferes will get to enjoy the same treatment as him.”

At that harsh command, the entire room fell into complete and utter silence. The kind of silence that brought on an unearthly coldness that sent chills up their spines.

Zhou Ling Yun walked up to another officer and with a grave voice ordered, “Replay the video record of the flights from a moment ago for me.”

The officer obediently retrieved the videos showing some of the most notable pilots’ training results and replayed it for Zhou Ling Yun.

To their surprise, Zhou Ling Yun merely watched them for a short while before he impatiently commented, “Show me something more decent.”

In the end, the more videos were played, the poorer the performances became. The mediocre achievements drove Zhou Ling Yun to a complete rage.

“What a bunch of useless people! Not one of them can perform a proper touchdown!”

The surrounding officers did not dare to utter a sound. In their opinion, the level of flying was already of textbook standard.

“Do you all still have the nerve to sit here idly? All of you go down there and train with the rest. If just one person, only one, cannot reach the requirements—all of you can stay in the aircraft. Don’t even think about coming back down!”

Just as Bai Luo Yin was about to get up, Zhou Ling Yun pressed him down by the shoulder.

“You stay here!”

Initially, Bai Luo Yin thought that the reason Zhou Ling Yun let him off the hook was solely due to him being the only one actively working when he was sleeping. But then, he thought that Zhou Ling Yun was not that kind of person. Therefore, he dispelled those kinds of optimistic thoughts.

“Show me the records for all of your day to day flight practices.”

Bai Luo Yin promptly turned on the computer and presented the detailed records to Zhou Ling Yun one by one.

As expected, Zhou Ling Yun was not an easy person to deal with. These records that had repeatedly garnered praise from the leaders, were all thrash in Zhou Ling Yun’s eyes.

“I am surprised to see there was a flight that was cancelled due to bad weather…” Zhou Ling Yun snorted coldly.

Bai Luo Yin started to firmly stand his ground, “Safety measures must be implemented before training can commence. If adequate a.s.surances for a person’s safety cannot be confirmed, how can one talk about military power if human lives aren’t even considered?”

The cunning smile on Zhou Ling Yun’s face became even deeper. It was such a pity that the implication infiltrating his smile was one of utter chilliness.

“Training is originally the process of the survival of the fittest. If one loses his life in the midst of training, then it shows that he is weak and should be eliminated.” Zhou Ling Yun advanced one step forward and continued with a menacing gaze, “If enemy troops launched a surprise attack toward our base in the blackest and stormiest of nights—would you still consider weather factors before launching a counterattack?”

“Even if something of that nature occurs, the ground defense systems are there for that purpose. It is unnecessary to take the risk and a.s.sume a fight in the air.” Bai Luo Yin directly and efficiently reb.u.t.ted without fooling around.

Zhou Ling Yun once again shot him a disdainful look. “What if the enemy is strong and I am weak?”

This time, Bai Luo Yin kept his mouth shut, choosing not to utter another word.

Zhou Ling Yun smiled while patting Bai Luo Yin’s shoulder. “The backbone of the Air Force? In my eyes, you are not doing anything to earn your keep!”

Having said that, Zhou Ling Yun angrily walked away.

All of Bai Luo Yin’s weariness was driven away by the resentment and indignation blazing inside his heart.

Even though he had been in the army for so many years, this was the first time Bai Luo Yin was put to shame, feeling like he had nowhere to hide.

Meanwhile, the drenched officer next to him was still shivering while trying his hardest to repair the broken machinery. He had received a much heavier blow compared to Bai Luo Yin. Fatigue, sluggishness, anxiety and grievance permeated his whole being. With his body already suffering such unbearable conditions, and his spirit utterly torn, there was no way he could build up the strength to fix the damaged machine. Seeing that his time was quickly running out, this prideful officer was driven to such anxiety that his tears violently gushed out.

This officer was one nurtured under Bai Luo Yin’s skillful guidance. In spite of Bai Luo Yin’s strictness when leading his troops, he was always ready to immediately defend the shortcomings of his subordinates. He really couldn’t stand his own troops to suffer from any grievances.

“Step aside. I’ll do it!” Bai Luo Yin crouched down.

The officer shoved Bai Luo Yin away with his freezing hands. “There’s no need. This is my fault, so I will bear the consequences.”

“Even if he splashed you with water until you were dead, you still wouldn’t be able to fix this.”

Bai Luo Yin immediately picked the officer up and threw him to the side while he himself burrowed his way into the interior of the machine and started to repair it. In less than ten minutes, the piece of machinery was fixed and Zhou Ling Yun had yet to appear.

The officer looked at Bai Luo Yin, his face filled with admiration and grat.i.tude.

Bai Luo Yin spoke indifferently, “You can go!”

“But I need to report the whole incident to the Wing Commander before I can leave.”

“I will report to him!” Bai Luo Yin said.

Nervousness colored the soldier’s whole visage, “Is this… acceptable? What if the Wing Commander blames me and says I am not earnest, then what should I do?”

Bai Luo Yin’s face hardened into a block of ice. “Since I allowed you to leave, I will definitely help you to settle the problem. If you disobey my order there will be punishment, per usual. Hurry up and go change your clothes. Be careful not to catch a cold!”

The officer looked warmly at Bai Luo Yin with tears of thankfulness in his eyes. Then he gave Bai Luo Yin a respectful salute before he turned around and left.

Sure enough, Zhou Ling Yun returned ten minutes later.

Only Bai Luo Yin remained inside the supervisory control room.

When Zhou Ling Yun noticed the absence of that particular officer, he interrogated Bai Luo Yin in a low voice, “Where’s the other person?”

Bai Luo Yin calmly replied, “He has fixed the machine. So, I allowed him to leave.”

“Have I ever said that you can issue orders in my place?” Zhou Ling Yun’s expression became even more somber.

Bai Luo Yin still maintained his calm and collected composure as he spoke, “I am not issuing orders in your place. I am issuing my own order.”

Zhou Ling Yun approached the machinery step by step. Scrutinizing it thoroughly, he found all the malfunctions to have been eliminated.

“Was he really the one that fixed it?” Zhou Ling Yun asked.

Bai Luo Yin did not utter a single word.

“Even if he did freeze into an ice sculpture from the water I poured on him, it would still be impossible for him to have properly fixed this machine in such a short time.” Zhou Ling Yun’s tone was very certain, as if he understood the capabilities of this soldier better than Bai Luo Yin himself did.

Bai Luo Yin parted his lips slightly, “Why?”

“You still dare to ask while knowing the answer!” Zhou Ling Yun sneered coldly, “If it was during a normal day, he would definitely have the capability to fix this machine. But under the current circ.u.mstances, don’t even think about it. It’s definitely impossible for him to do it. He is one of the soldiers you trained—they only look good when they stand around. Not one of them is capable.”

“Since you knew he couldn’t fix it, why must you impose such a harsh requirement?”

Zhou Ling Yun walked up in front of Bai Luo Yin and stared straight into his eyes with a cold and sharp gaze.

“I just wanted to mess with you.”

In this moment Bai Luo Yin finally realized the reason Zhou Ling Yun had ordered the remaining officers away and only kept him behind.

“Then go ahead and drench me with water.” Bai Luo Yin indifferently accepted his fate.

Zhou Ling Yun merely snorted aloofly, “How could I punish a Major the same way I punish a platoon commander?”

Both of Bai Luo Yin’s fists were tightly clenched as he faced Zhou Ling Yun with a dauntless expression streaking his face.

But to his surprise, Zhou Ling Yun merely sent him a faint smile before adeptly fishing out the cell phone from Bai Luo Yin’s pocket. He closed his hand into a fist, raised his other hand slightly, and fiercely struck the cell phone.

Bai Luo Yin witnessed, with his own eyes, the terrifying scene of his cell phone screen being smashed into pieces.

“If your heart is not calm, you will never succeed in becoming a great man!”[1]

Having said that, Zhou Ling Yun shoved the broken cell phone into Bai Luo Yin’s hand and walked out.

Bai Luo Yin grasped the sweltering remains of his cell phone. Nevertheless, his heart was overflowing with frosty ice.

Translator’s Note:

[1] 心不静，难成大器 – “If your heart is not calm, you will never succeed in becoming a great man!”

Optional translation: “You will never become a great man with that kind of unstable heart!”

*featured image by Zoiish <3 https:>