Earth Dragon Squad

Rat-tat-tat!

Several soldiers hurried over and looked at Qin Tian with astonishment and curiosity.

"Commander Raymond, is he one of the latest batch of clones? His shooting is incredible!"

Raymond's expression turned serious. He said in a low voice,

"'Clone'? He's your comrade."

Feeling the reprimand in Raymond's tone, the soldiers hastily apologized.

"Sorry, Commander Raymond. And sorry, brother—we shouldn't have said that."

Qin Tian remained expressionless, maintaining the clone's cold, blank demeanor. But his look made the soldiers feel uneasy, and they all gave awkward smiles.

Just then, a crew-cut soldier spoke up.

"Commander, let him join our company. We're short a sharpshooter."

"Our Steel Company needs a sharpshooter too," another soldier objected, immediately trying to claim him. "Commander, our company has suffered the heaviest losses these past two weeks. Give him to us."

"Commander, we're short-handed too!"

"So are we!"

The scene quickly grew chaotic. The soldiers shouted themselves red in the face, fighting fiercely to claim him.

Who wouldn't want a sharpshooter?

On a battlefield filled with artillery fire, a single shot from a sharpshooter could sometimes turn the tide or decide the outcome.

Raymond understood the soldiers' desire for a sharpshooter, but he had already decided where Qin Tian would go.

"Enough. Stop arguing."

Raymond raised a hand and said sternly, "He'll join the Special Forces Squad."

The Special Forces Squad?

The soldiers exchanged glances, then sighed in resignation.

Compared to large-scale battles amid a hail of bullets and a storm of artillery fire, the Special Forces Squad's approach was clearly better suited to a sharpshooter's strengths—and safer, too.

"Commander, which Special Forces Squad are you assigning him to?"

"Earth Dragon Squad," Raymond replied.

At the name, the soldiers fell silent. They knew it really was the best arrangement.

Earth Dragon Squad...

Qin Tian repeated the name to himself, a faint glimmer of anticipation in his eyes.

Southeastern corner of the barracks

Inside a prefabricated barracks, two men and a woman sat silently at a table. All three were injured, and the woman's eyes were red and swollen, as if she had just been crying.

"I got Huang Xun killed."

Qin Dadi's voice was hoarse, his face full of guilt. "If I hadn't taken that mission, Huang Xun wouldn't have died."

"Captain Qin, it wasn't your fault."

The young man beside him, dressed in a black combat uniform, tried to comfort him. "None of us expected a Fourth-Order Psionic User to be fighting in that mine."

"Huang Xun died saving me," the woman choked out. "If I'd reacted faster, he wouldn't have thrown himself in front of me. Idiot. He was such an idiot. I'm an Ability User. I'm much stronger than he was. I might have survived that hit."

Qin Dadi sighed. Unlike them, Huang Xun had been a career soldier. He had served for decades and fought in countless battles. Taking a bullet for a comrade had become an instinctive reaction.

"Captain Qin, does Huang Xun have any family left?" the woman asked, wiping her tears.

Qin Dadi shook his head. "Huang Xun told me his parents died when he was young, so he enlisted early. After joining the army, he lost touch with his other relatives, too."

Hearing this, the woman bit her lip so hard it nearly bled. Huang Xun had died saving her, but she couldn't do anything for him. That deep sense of helplessness tormented her.

Knock, knock, knock.

Just then, someone suddenly knocked at the door.

Qin Dadi composed himself and stood to answer it. When he saw who was standing there, surprise flashed across his face.

"Raymond? What brings you here?"

Raymond the Tiger was a renowned figure: the army's ace instructor, responsible for training all the new recruits.

However, Raymond had little to do with the Earth Dragon Squad. They had only met a handful of times, and Qin Dadi had no idea why Raymond had appeared at their door.

"What, am I not welcome?" Raymond asked with a smile. He glanced inside, and when he saw the woman's red, swollen eyes, he became even more certain he had made the right choice.

This was the best squad for a new recruit.

"Who'd dare turn away you, Raymond the Tiger?"

Qin Dadi stepped aside. "Come in."

"I won't come in," Raymond said, waving a hand. Then he moved aside, revealing Qin Tian behind him.

"I came to assign this new recruit to the Earth Dragon Squad."

"What?"

A flash of anger crossed Qin Dadi's face. He said bluntly,

"Raymond, why are you sending this piece of trash to me? Do you think the Earth Dragon Squad is a garbage dump?"

In the army, uniforms varied slightly between branches.

Qin Tian's black uniform and the serial number on his chest, which began with an eight, made it clear that he was one of the latest batch of clones—and a battlefield cannon fodder, as everyone called them.

Raymond knew Qin Dadi was straightforward. And with Huang Xun having just died, he was in no mood for pleasantries, so Raymond didn't take offense. He said,

"This recruit just passed the Agile Bird shooting test with a score of 94. If you don't want him, that's fine. I'll send him to another squad."

"What? He passed the Agile Bird test—and scored 94?"

"Wait."

Qin Dadi grabbed Raymond as he was about to turn away. Doubt showed on his face. "Raymond, you're not messing with me, are you? A clone fresh off the production line passed the Agile Bird test?"

Raymond replied coolly, "Do I look like I have nothing better to do?"

Qin Dadi's expression stiffened. He knew a major battle was imminent, and Raymond had far more on his shoulders than they did. If he'd taken time out of his busy schedule to come here, this couldn't be a joke.

"The Agile Bird test? A clone passed the Agile Bird test?"

The young man and woman came out of the room together, staring at Qin Tian in astonishment.

Huang Xun had talked about the Agile Bird test many times. He'd said it was incredibly difficult, and that no more than a handful of people in the entire army had passed. He was the only one to score above 90.

Whenever he mentioned it, Huang Xun, usually so quiet and cold as frost, would show a hint of pride.

They hadn't expected this clone before them to have passed the Agile Bird test, too—and scored above 90, only a few points below Huang Xun.

"Captain Qin, I was trying to do you a favor and give you a sharpshooter. Since you don't want him, I'll take him somewhere else."

Raymond turned to leave. Qin Dadi hurriedly grabbed him, wearing an awkward smile.

"Raymond—Raymond, my friend, I shouldn't have said that. Thank you for looking out for the Earth Dragon Squad. Once the war's over, I'll buy you a drink."

"Zhaozhao, Yunlong, hurry up and bring our new teammate inside."

The young man and woman exchanged a glance, then rushed over to Qin Tian. They each took one of his arms and led him into the room.

Qin Tian didn't resist. He let them pull him along like a marionette.

"Heh."

At the sight, Raymond gave a cold laugh. He turned and waved a hand.

"The sharpshooter's yours. I hope you can keep him safe."

Hearing the concern in Raymond's words, Qin Dadi lowered his eyes, determination flickering in his gaze.

"Raymond, don't worry. I won't let Huang Xun's tragedy happen again."

"Never!"