Thrive in Catastrophe

“Wake up, kid. You’re too late for breakfast.”

“Why do I need to get up……” Xiao Yan rubbed his eyes in daze. He’s only a reserve, he should be able to sleep to his heart’s content.

“We have to check out the surrounding of the base today.”

“…… and what does that got to do with me…” Xiao Yan has a bad feeling about this.

“Didn’t you know about the new rule? Each special force unit has to bring along a tech soldier with them during missions,” Mark stared at him with a look that says ‘are you from Mars’.

“……I’m just a reserve, not a tech soldier,” he understands that Mark sees him as a team after he had been through a few missions with them, but after those experiences, he had to admit that he will only serve as a burden to them if he opt to do something out from his capabilities.

“Reserve Act, section 32: a reserve soldier is liable for the task of an official soldier, and to accept deployment and follow orders during emergencies or in scarcity of applicable replacement,”Reeve came over to Xiao Yan and pinched him cheek.

“Then, more the reason you shouldn’t choose me if it’s an emergency!” Xiao Yan stated solemnly.

“We’re ‘in scarcity of applicable replacement’ right now,” with that, Reeve tugged Xiao Yan out from his capsule before stuffing him a tech soldier rucksack. “Don’t be so nervous, we’re just having a simple patrol. Besides, have faith in yourself! You’re much better than those techies with epaulets.

“Really?” Xiao Yan never thought that they had such high regards on him.

“Let’s go,” Heine lifted him chin slightly and the others followed him out from the room.

For the reason of time saving, Mark carried Xiao Yan under one arm and ran after Heine enthusiastically.

“Stop treating me like this… I’m gonna puke on you someday!” Xiao Yan was bellowing inside.

Once they got on the plane, Xiao Yan begin examining the tools in his bag. He has to get accustomed to all of these, so that, if anything happens during their trip, he knows what he could do to help.

Noticing his silence, Reeve, who was sitting across from him, gave a nudge by his knee.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Ah, I know what’s wrong! I saw him with a pretty girl yesterday! I bet he tried to woo her but got rejected!” Mark said with a gloating laugh.

There was a tugged at the corner of Xiao Yan’s month. This oaf, Mark, is quite sharp, for once.

“What? No way, you got rejected? That woman stayed by your side the whole time when you were unconscious, I thought she has a thing for you!”

“She’s got a boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? What boyfriend? Is he better than you?” Mark gave him a sympathetic look.

“A major from the disciplinary division.”

Reeve and Mark looked at each for a moment and decided to keep quiet.

The cabin fell into silence once more until, suddenly, a growling sound came from Xiao Yan’s stomach.

“Getting hungry without you breakfast eh!” Mark laughed and gave him a packet of hardtack.

“…… No thanks…”

Hardtack… I think I’m better off without it…

The aircraft flew pa.s.sed a rocky terrain and across a high mountain that soared high into the sky like stone pillar.

Xiao Yan leaned against the window and stared into the horizon.

A flock of birds flew by their aircraft and all of a sudden, Mark opened the cabin door without warning.

“What the- Mark! What are you doing!” Xiao Yan’s face was deformed by the sudden gust of wind.

“Adding a meal to the menu!” with that, Mark shot out the Silverwings and a few birds were killed and fell.

He then tied a rope onto Xiao Yan’s seat, jumped down the plane, and got back to the cabin in a second with the fallen birds in his hand and a grin on his face.

“Haha! I’m sick of those hardtacks! Finally we get to eat something else!”

“You guys find the hardtacks disgusting as well?” Xiao Yan was surprised.

“Hey, being fast in regeneration doesn’t make us feel any better when being choked by those tasteless biscuits!” Mark went on with his rattle with a hardtack in his hand. “If a person could improve the taste of this thing, I’m gonna give him all my savings after I die.”

Reeve rolled her eyes at Mark with a laugh, “You? Have savings?”

Thirty minutes later, they landed on a rocky mountain top.

The wind was still. Some of the soldiers begin growing a bonfire while Mark was removing the feathers and intestines from the hunted birds.

Xiao Yan was enthusiastic. This was his first time having a cookout in the outside world.

He kneeled by the bonfire, not knowing what to do, but the thought of having a roast meat later made his mouth waters, followed by a loud growl from his stomach. Once again, the others began laughing at him. All was in content.

Xiao Yan then noticed the man standing by the cliff, head lowered and his eyes staring to something afar.

Suddenly, he leaped down from the cliff. Frantically, Xiao Yan stood up and ran over to the cliff only to see him sliding down the slope with his friction-resistant combat suit.

“Where’s Boss up to?” Mark already had the bird roasting on the fire.

“Don’t know. Boss would want to have some time for himself once in awhile, doesn’t he?” Reeve said with a shrug.

Some time for himself…… As expected from Heine Burton, always having a world that no one else could step foot in.

These Special Force soldiers are great with outdoor cooking, eventually, the roast is ready, looking delicious with its nicely roasted golden skin. Mark lifted it from the fire and begin teasing Xiao Yan. The others couldn’t stop laughing when they saw Xiao Yan’s eyes glued to the roasted meat.

“Oh come on! Spare me some meat! You dragged me out from my sleep this morning and ‘been starving me ‘till now, you aren’t so cruel, are you?”

“You kid!” Mark gave a hearty laugh and fling a bird thigh to him.

Xiao Yan was surprisingly agile when it comes to food. He caught hold of the thigh that almost fell to the ground.

The others were thrilled by his antics and started fighting over to be the one to throw him a bird wing next.

For a moment, Xiao Yan had a feeling he’s been treated like a pet by these soldiers……

Everyone circled around the bonfire, chatting and eating happily.

Reeve then reminded, “Hey, don’t forget to save some for Boss!”

Meanwhile, Heine climbed back up from the slope with a bulk wrapped in leaves in his hand.

Xiao Yan wondered how on earth did this man climb up the cliff?

Heine placed the bulk before Reeve and said: “Help yourselves.”

Reeve unwrapped the leaves and revealed a handful of wild berries within, she smiled, “It’s raspberries! I love raspberries! Thanks Boss!”

Xiao Yan shift over in curiosity but was his neck was hooked by Mark, “Rookie! Men should be eating meat! All these berries or whatnot are for women!”

“Ugh, you’re so low!” Reeve sent him a glare and tugged Xiao Yan over to her side, “Of course you should have some fruits after eating all the meat just now!”

With that, she stuffed a raspberry into Xiao Yan’s mouth and asked with a grin, “How is it? Nice?”

Xiao Yan’s face crumpled, and when he finally got the berry down his throat, he cupped his mouth, “Goodness! I can hardly feel my teeth with the sourness!”

Reeve cackled, “Now this is what we call the ‘nature’s gift’. No catalyst, no flavouring nor any other things that affect them. They grow in their own pace and freedom,without restrictions. This is something you will never have a chance to taste in Charles.”

“That’s true,” Xiao Yan nodded. The aroma of the berry lingers within his mouth, sour, but toothsome.

“Hmm? There are cherries as well!” Reeve stunned for moment and turned to Heine, “Boss, you managed to find wild cherries around here?”

Heine replied with a silent nod as he stared towards the distances, like a guardian by the cliff.

Xiao Yan couldn’t shift his eyes from Heine’s side profile.

”You sure love to stare at our Boss, don’t you,” Reeve murmured by Xiao Yan’s ear.

“Ah… I’m just…”

“It’s alright. I did the same thing when I first join the team. We find our directions by looking at him,” she said half-jokingly and popped a cherry into Xiao Yan’s mouth.

Xiao Yan’s face crinkled from the sudden sourness, but couldn’t help to love the natural taste that comes without additional flavouring.

“This’s a first time,” Reeve smiled.

“What is?”

Reeve nudged the handful wild berries and asked: “Xiao Yan, do you know cherry is a symbol of ‘cherishment’?”

Xiao Yan gave a soft laugh, “I doubt Colonel Burton has such sense of romance.”

“Hey rookie! Are ya’ done eating?” Mark asked in his blaring voice.

“Yup, I’m done!” Xiao Yan stood up to have a good stretch.

Suddenly, Mark’s expression fell and shouted: “Get down!”

Xiao Yan froze. He felt something approaching behind and before he could react, a hand pressed his shoulder down, followed by a blade that slashed above his head. Xiao Yan’s heart skipped a beat as he heard a loud thud behind him.

Heine’s chest was right before his eyes, his ears could hear his heartbeat. Heine’s palm cupped his head firmly against his chest, shielding him from harm.

Xiao Yan found himself surrounded by the masculine scent that belongs to Heine solely, calm, stolid and powerful.

Xiao Yan could hardly breath from the pressure until Heine let go off him.

“What’s going on! How did this Level 1 climb all the way up here!”

And Xiao Yan nearly got his shoulder bit off by a zombie that suddenly appeared on the mountain peak.

Heine’s moved his gaze to each of them coldly, in a apparently, judging manner.

They were being incautious and inattentive, to the extent where they failed to notice the encroachment of the zombie until it appears before their eyes.

However, Xiao Yan was sceptical about this incident. Special Force soldiers has hearing sense that are far better than ordinary humans, they should have felt or heard something when the zombie was climbing up the mountain.

But how come……

Overwhelmed by his curiosity, Xiao Yan came before the fallen zombie, and examine the corpse with the instruments in his rucksack.

Xiao Yan frowned at the result data.

“What’s wrong?” Reeve came towards him.

“The data shows that this zombie has five percent higher agility than a normal Level 1…… I have to relay this result to the Central Science Academy, Level 1 could be evolving. You guys have to be more cautious in your future missions!”

Reeven froze for a moment before turning to her teammates, “Hey! You guys heard that?”

“Got it!”

Xiao Yan took a silent gulp. Mark won’t be able to make it when the zombie tried to a.s.sault him. If it wasn’t for Heine, his head would have been gone by now.

“Let’s go,” as impressionless as always, Heine stepped into the aircraft’s c.o.c.kpit.

The cabin fell into dead silence. All of the soldiers were reflecting on their overlook. It is lucky that this was only a patrolling trip, otherwise it would have been fatal if they were in for combat.

Minutes later, Mark broke the silence, “Hey, why don’t you be the tech soldier exclusively for our team?”

“Why?” Xiao Yan had a hard time understanding, why would Mark say this when there are better and more elite researcher available for them in the Central Science Academy.

“Well, try recalling the first mission you had with us. Back then, you accidentally kissed our Boss and he nearly killed you. But now, Boss has been taking you around personally during our missions and has saved your b.u.t.t all these times. He’s acknowledge you has part of our team! You should just join us from now on!”

The others began voicing up as well, “Yeah! Join us! Research labs are boring!”

“I heard there are weirdos in there! Like talking to themselves, and some even locked their a.s.sistant in the reactor and nearly got them killed!”

“Exactly! You should join us before you turned into a lunatic like them!”

Xiao Yan turned to Reeve, who only reply him with a smile.

I didn’t know I’m so popular in Heine’s unit!

By the time they returned to the base, the darkened look on Shen Bing’s face was the first thing they saw.

“What do you think you are doing!”

The team turned to him with a puzzled look. Heine remained seated on the pilot seat as Shen Bing entered the c.o.c.kpit.

“You knew that Charles have their eyes on……” Shen Bing’s gaze landed on Xiao Yan for a second and then shift away.

Xiao Yan had a feeling that Shen Bing’s anger is somewhat related to him.

“Xiao Yan, have you sent a report data on zombies back to Charles?” Shen Bing took a deep breath and spoke to Xiao Yan as calmly as he could.

“Yes I did, Colonel.”

“The science academy requested to have a data a.n.a.lysis report from you by tomorrow nine in the morning.”

“……What?” He’s just a mere front-line cadet who transfers data back once in awhile, but a.n.a.lysis? Shouldn’t that be done by researchers?

“Even if you’re a reserve, do you not know that military does not repeat the order? Do you still have time to spare for daydreaming here?”

“Roger! Colonel!” It was clear that Shen Bing wanted to send him off, so he left the aircraft and went with a liaison officer.

Meanwhile, Shen Bing and Heine Burton were the only ones left in the aircraft.

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