Annie startled. It was too late to change her move, but Chen Si suddenly pulled his punch.
"How could I bring myself to hit such a pretty face?" Chen Si grinned, flashing a mouthful of white teeth.
A faint blush rose to Annie's cheeks and quickly faded. Gritting her teeth, she hurled herself into the air, spun 180 degrees, and sent Chen Si flying.
Chen Si was caught off guard. He had thought the fight was over, and before he could react, he was airborne. He did a backflip to bleed off the force, landed in a crouch with one hand braced against the ground, then slowly rose and spat out the foxtail grass in his mouth.
He looked incredibly cool.
"Chen Si is so handsome! And such a gentleman!" a female trainee blurted out.
"Exactly! And he's so good at fighting, too. That's the kind of man who makes you feel safe," another female trainee praised.
Although the match counted as a draw, anyone with eyes could tell that Annie had lost the moment Chen Si pulled his punch.
"You can't let a pretty face distract you on the battlefield," Reiner said, gripping Chen Si's shoulder as though disappointed in him.
"So Chen Si has a weakness like that. Still, Annie's fighting techniques really are amazing," Eren said thoughtfully.
Chen Si rolled his eyes, unaware that Mikasa was radiating murderous intent in the distance.
"I learned them from my father. But none of what we're doing means anything. Hand-to-hand combat doesn't count toward our scores," Annie said calmly.
"The only ones who practice it seriously are honest people like you, and a few idiots."
Chen Si and Eren looked toward Sasha and Connie. Sure enough...
The two were either throwing punches like mantises or walking like eagles.
"Besides, only the top ten can join the Military Police Brigade. In this world, the better someone is at fighting Titans, the farther away they get to stay from them. Have you ever thought about how ridiculous that is? That's human nature," Annie said.
Chen Si understood what Annie meant and agreed with her, but he still spoke slowly:
"What matters has never been the rules, but people's choices. When most people choose to go against the rules, their choices become the new rules. You say the more capable people are, the more likely they are to join the Military Police Brigade. You're right. It is pretty ridiculous.
"But that very human nature is what draws out soldiers' potential. They give everything they have to reach the interior and live better lives. And those of us within the walls keep pressing forward for freedom and a better life.
"When people have enough hope for the future, even women and children can charge at Titans with kitchen knives. What we soldiers need to do is bring them hope," Chen Si said, unusually serious.
Annie was shaken by his words. She thought of the power of hope. If everyone inside the walls had hope, every citizen would become a soldier, and they would be impossible to defeat. She herself had come here to shoulder all of this precisely because she carried her father's hopes.
Annie remained silent for a long time.
Eren was also shaken by what Chen Si and Annie had said. At last, he recognized the contradiction within the rules.
Then Chen Si gave a warm, gentle smile and softly said:
"Your father must be a very thoughtful man. I'd really like to meet him. Who knows? Maybe we could become good friends despite the age gap."
Annie froze, then gave Chen Si a long, searching look. He met her gaze without wavering.
"Want to make a bet? I bet your dad and I will become friends. And I bet everyone in the top ten except you will join the Survey Corps," Chen Si said with a smile. Betting with spoilers was practically getting something for nothing.
"What are the stakes?" Annie asked, seemingly accepting.
"If I win, you're mine. If I lose, I'm yours," Chen Si said with an earnest smile.
"What... do I get out of that? What would I want you for?" Annie's cheeks reddened slightly. She suddenly remembered that Zeyechuan also said strange things like this, but somehow, hearing them from Chen Si didn't disgust her nearly as much.
Eren and Reiner watched from the side, stunned.
Eren was shocked that Chen Si was so good at flirting, and that his words were so full of wisdom.
Reiner was shocked that a tomboy like Annie could actually fucking blush.
"Then how about this? If I win, you join me in the future. If I lose, I owe you a favor," Chen Si said.
"A favor from you..." Annie began, about to refuse.
"A favor from humanity's future strongest soldier," Chen Si interrupted with a slight smile.
Annie paused, feeling he had a point. Chen Si had set all-time records in many of his assessments, though she had no idea what he meant by joining him.
Annie said nothing, tacitly agreeing.
While Chen Si and Annie had been fighting, Mikasa had been watching them discreetly the whole time. She had accidentally failed to hold back and sent another male classmate flying.
Seeing Annie throw Chen Si had instantly ignited her anger. Although she was a little pleased to hear the girls around her praising him, for some reason, it only made her angrier.
Mikasa marched over and planted herself between Chen Si and Annie.
"I'll fight you." Mikasa's gaze stabbed at Annie like a blade.
Annie was naturally unafraid.
Seeing the two strongest, most beautiful female soldiers about to fight, everyone gathered to watch.
"Who do you think will win?" Connie asked, looking eager for the show.
"The beautiful Miss Ackerman, of course," Jean said with a lecherous look.
"That's right! Mikasa will definitely win!" Eren firmly supported Mikasa, taking Jean's side for once.
"It's hard to say. Annie was really impressive when she fought Chen Si just now, too," Armin said, analyzing it seriously.
"What do you think, Chen Si?" Everyone turned to him for his opinion.
"Hmm... I think Instructor Shadis will win," Chen Si said slowly.
"???" Everyone looked baffled, not understanding what he meant.
Just as the two were about to clash.
"You lot! What are you all sitting around here for? Leonard! Ackerman! Where are your partners? All of you, get your asses out there and run two hundred laps!" Keith Shadis suddenly appeared, his face fierce as he roared.
Only then did everyone understand what Chen Si had meant.
Huh? Why don't I feel that tired? After fifty laps, Eren was surprised to find that he still had plenty of stamina. It must be all the training I've done lately, he thought.
Annie glanced at Eren a couple more times and frowned.
That evening, in the Training Corps dining hall.
"Got it? Using momentum like this reduces gas consumption. Not everyone can manage it, but you'd better remember it if you want to join the Military Police Brigade."
Jean was holding forth as he glanced to the side. One look was enough to make him grit his teeth and cover his eyes. Mikasa is so good to her brother. Jealousy left a bitter taste in his mouth.
Chen Si was sipping his soup while Mikasa wiped his sweat with a handkerchief. They had finished their two hundred laps before everyone else and come to the dining hall to eat.
"Ah! I hope I can get in. Working at the king's side would be the greatest honor!" Marco, who had been listening attentively beside Jean, waited until he finished before speaking with complete sincerity.
Jean slapped Marco on the back of the head, sending the soup he had been about to drink splashing onto his face. But Marco showed no sign of anger.
"Come on, Marco. Stop pretending. You just want a safer, more comfortable life in the interior," Jean said with an expression that suggested he saw right through him.
"The interior? Five years ago, this place was the interior," Eren said to Jean from the dining hall entrance, having finished his two hundred laps.
"Jean, livestock are comfortable wherever they go. Why insist on the interior? Even if you don't go, you already live more comfortably than livestock every day." Eren calmly walked over to Chen Si and Mikasa's table, picked up a bowl of soup, and began drinking.
"Ha!" Reiner and the others couldn't hold back their laughter.
"Isn't it ridiculous? Learning how to kill Titans so you can stay away from them," Eren said, glaring fiercely.
"What fucking good does talking this shit do now? It benefits me, so a stupid policy like that ought to stay in place," Jean replied with equal hostility.
"What's with those two? What the fuck are they even saying?"
"No idea. They sound like a couple of dumbasses."
"Pfft!" Chen Si had just taken a mouthful of soup and spat it straight back into his bowl. Mikasa hurriedly patted his back.
Hearing those words from the two fifteen-year-old girls at the next table startled Chen Si so badly that he thought he had traveled back to his own world.
Who did they learn that from? Me? They're even using modern slang now. Catchphrases and swear words really do spread the fastest.
Thanks to his personal charm, the trainees of the 104th had gradually begun copying Chen Si's way of speaking. He had explained some of his expressions, while others were simply profanity, which he found awkward to explain.
Although nobody knew what the words meant, they all thought they sounded forceful.
Eren finally lost his patience and lunged forward, grabbing Jean by the collar.
"Stop, Eren!" Armin hurriedly stood up.
"Stop." Mikasa rose and pulled Eren and Jean apart. Then, noticing soup splashed on Eren's hand, she took out the handkerchief she had just used on Chen Si and wiped it off.
Jean had endured seeing Mikasa being affectionate with Chen Si earlier, but now that she was treating Eren the same way, he couldn't take it anymore.
"Are you fucking kidding me, you dumbass?" Jean spat, worked up.
"Fucking let go! You're going to fucking rip my shirt!" Eren immediately shot back.
Both of them kept firing off words they didn't understand, using the forceful style of swearing they had learned from Chen Si.
Listening to their argument, Chen Si's spoon hand began to tremble slightly.
As the argument heated up, Eren realized that fighting like this was not only meaningless, but also reminded him of his own past impotent rage. He used the shoulder throw he had learned from Annie and slammed Jean to the floor.
"While you were slacking off, I went through hell to learn how to fight. Do you even call yourself a soldier?" Eren said, looking down at Jean.
Annie turned to look at Eren, and Mikasa glanced at him too-one because the technique she had taught him had proven useful, the other because she felt he had grown up.
After a brief silence, the dining hall's wooden door slowly opened.
Half a face suddenly appeared in the doorway, as chilling as an evil spirit, the whites that filled most of its eyes seeming to glow.