Chapter 616: Brothers

“How many people are in our Cyan Mountain Army now? Are these small stone houses enough for everyone?” Rong Taotao asked curiously.

“More than enough. There are only six of us.” At his side, the brawny-faced Yi Xin spoke up. Although his attitude was friendly, his features made his smile look a bit fierce, which was rather intimidating…

“Six people?” Rong Taotao was stunned. Pointing at his own nose, he said, “Does that include me and Da Wei?”

Hearing this, Yi Xin’s smile turned a little bitter. “No. Including you two, it makes eight.”

‘Jeez…’

The Cyan Mountain Army… the last word is “Army”!

And it’s down to just six people?

‘Not even enough for two tables of mahjong, though you could get two games of Fight the Landlord going…’

Xu Yiyu’s voice was cold as she said, “During the last mission, the Cyan Mountain Army suffered a series of heavy blows, bringing it to the brink of collapse. But even so, more than six people were left.”

As she spoke, she shot a cold glance at Yi Xin.

Yi Xin just gave an awkward smile.

‘Looks like… there’s a story here?’

Under Rong Taotao’s curious gaze, Yi Xin began to explain, “After the last mission failed, there were more than six of us left.

“But then the Cyan Mountain Army announced that the exploration of the Snow Realm Vortex was a complete failure and the project would not be restarted. Other units then used all sorts of excuses to opportunistically poach our members.

“It’s true the Cyan Mountain Army failed to produce satisfactory results in exploring the Snow Realm Vortex, but the individual strength of our soldiers is absolutely First Class within the Snow Burning Army. That’s something plain for all to see.

“You know, the standard kit for our Cyan Mountain Army is the Snow Dragon Tornado, Snow Soul Banner, and Silk Mist Enchanting Robe, so… you can imagine that in the eyes of other units, a Cyan Mountain Army that had been declared ‘disbanded’ was a juicy piece of meat.”

Gao Lingwei suddenly spoke. “Why did she look at you like that?”

Yi Xin froze for a moment. “What?”

Gao Lingwei lifted her chin slightly, gesturing toward Xu Yiyu. “Just now. Why did she look at you like that?”

“Um…” Hearing the question, Yi Xin’s smile grew more awkward.

It was strange. Yi Xin was a man in his early thirties who had been through thick and thin, yet when faced with the young woman’s question, he showed no temper, nor a shred of presence…

Perhaps it was Gao Lingwei’s status as the former commander’s daughter at play. Or maybe Yi Xin genuinely felt guilty?

The issue was indeed complicated. Gao Lingwei had parachuted in with orders from the high commander. And after all these years, Yi Xin, a remnant of a defeated army, had endured enough humiliation—not from his Snow Burning Army brothers, but mostly from himself.

This had caused Yi Xin’s spirit to wane, to the point where he seemed to have lost all his sharp edges.

Faced with Gao Lingwei’s questioning, Yi Xin responded, “Back then, I was also considered a juicy piece of meat. A Snow Burning Army unit ‘borrowed’ me under the pretext of a mission.

“In that special situation, whether a ‘borrowed’ soldier returned after the mission was complete depended mainly on the soldier’s own wishes.

“Yiyu holds a grudge against me because I wavered back then.

“Compared to bitterly defending the Third Wall, my set of Soul Skills and the strength I honed by fighting my way through the Snow Realm Vortex are meant for exploration and assault, not for guarding a wall…”

Hearing this, Rong Taotao nodded and tried to smooth things over. “It’s only human. While there’s no hierarchy between jobs—we’re all brothers in the Snow Burning Army—our ways of life are different.

“To suddenly go from a pioneering Warrior to one who guards a wall day and night… I imagine it’s hard to adapt at first.”

Xu Yiyu’s expression was a bit odd, but her half-mask concealed it well. Looking at Rong Taotao, she said, “You seem well-suited to be a political commissar.”

“You think so?” To her surprise, Rong Taotao jumped at the chance. “I’ve been a foot soldier my whole life. You think I could finally snag an officer position?”

Behind them, Cheng Border, who had just finished reporting to his superior and returned, heard Rong Taotao’s words, and the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but twitch.

‘A foot soldier his whole life?’

‘Hasn’t he only been enlisted for a year?’

Rong Taotao had been dragged kicking and screaming by Fu Tiance to become a reserve member of the Twelfth Squad around last New Year’s. If you were talking about when he was officially instated… that was just a few months ago.

‘Good grief, this kid’s something else.’

‘He hasn’t even hit puberty and he’s already dreaming of becoming a political commissar?’

“Captain Cheng.” Seeing Cheng Border return, Yi Xin quickly greeted him, successfully changing the subject.

Cheng Border nodded and looked at Rong Taotao. “The other team of brothers is on duty. When they get back, I’ll introduce you all.”

Rong Taotao: “Sounds good.”

Cheng Border: “Let’s go. I’ll show you the dorms first and inform you of your upcoming missions, specific guard posts, and rotation schedule.”

“Oh, right, Captain Cheng,” Rong Taotao suddenly said. “When I came in, I took a quick look around. These little stone houses could fit another eight or ten people, couldn’t they?”

“Hm?” Cheng Border was taken aback and asked, “Why?”

Rong Taotao thought for a moment, then said, “I have two classmates, both from the Junior Class. They’re both First Class geniuses. And even though they’re under eighteen like me, they’re already Soul Captains.

“They’ve both said many times that their goal and dream in coming to the Snow Realm is to enter the Snow Realm Vortex and explore that mysterious world. Can I invite them to join us?”

Cheng Border: ???

Rong Taotao seemed to misinterpret his reaction. Seeing Cheng Border’s response, he quickly added, “I know not just anyone can join the Cyan Mountain Army. It’d be fine for them to start as reserves, you know, as interns. You have to take things one step at a time…”