Chapter 24: The Uncontrollable Loafing Fish

Chapter 24: The Uncontrollable Loafing Fish

Time flowed like water, and in the blink of an eye, another four months passed. Chen Feng finally got what he wished for and left the Military Camp.

Yes, this time it took him a full four months to finally break free.

Perhaps because of the initial accident, or perhaps because his physical fitness had truly improved, life in the Military Camp became easier and easier for him.

Even though he deliberately kept his distance from everyone, he still couldn’t stop friendship from coming his way.

During these four months, he kept reminding himself, “It’s time to go.”

But he would always unconsciously say in his heart, “Saying goodbye today is too abrupt. I’ll wait for a more appropriate time.”

Actually, staying in the army wasn’t bad—good food, good drinks, and everything he wanted.

The daily training seemed boring, but it could actually further improve his physique. Especially after surviving the two-month adaptation period, when all new recruits became eligible to handle weapons, he was almost too happy to think of leaving.

What real man doesn’t love firearms?

Who doesn’t want to feel the thrill of an explosion?

It’s just that, born in an era of peace, he couldn’t become a soldier, and of course, he lacked the courage to do so. As an ordinary civilian, he could only imagine it; he had no chance to actually touch those things.

As a new-era good young man without much ambition, who sincerely just wanted to loaf around and drift through life, Chen Feng absolutely refused to admit his own laziness. But the obvious fact was, he was loafing, lost in the allure of new-era weaponry without even realizing it.

The ray gun, which didn’t look impressive, could shatter a several-ton boulder with just one shot.

The single-soldier combat aircraft, which could dart up and down in the air like a fly.

The small fission aircraft, only the size of a yacht, which could launch from the ground into space orbit.

And the one he was most obsessed with—the ultimate single-soldier equipment, the humanoid combat armor, which could be over ten meters tall and was full of mechanical beauty.

All these kinds of high-end goods, which he couldn’t even access as a Subsistence Allowance Recipient, dazzled him.

Although in this thousand years, human technological innovation hadn’t evolved from slash-and-burn farming to nano-chips, it still changed a lot.

But before, as a Subsistence Allowance Recipient, he was only exposed to civilian products and never got to see the cutting-edge technological level of this era.

But this time, staying two extra months in the army and even starting to get a chance to touch this latest equipment made him realize that the World Government had really done a lot in these five hundred years.

At the very least, the technological gap between military and civilian goods was like two different eras!

The difference could only be described as before and after the Industrial Revolution.

So this “waiting for a better time” ended up taking a full four months.

It wasn’t until he could delay no longer that he finally steeled himself and said he was leaving.

Chen Feng chose to leave voluntarily, which made many of his comrades-in-arms, including Ding Hu, sigh and feel deeply regretful.

After all, his performance over these four months had been really good.

Especially during the first two months of basic training, whether it was academic classes or basic military training, his performance was near perfect.

He was slightly weaker during the later two months of high-intensity combat drills, but he was still above average.

How could Chen Feng tell them, “The reason I was so fierce in the first two months is because this is my third time being a new recruit, okay!”

He knew all the training routines like the back of his hand.

Even the extra drills Ding Hu came up with on a whim were all within his grasp.

People’s attitudes toward him were different from the past, but the training details were exactly the same as before.

Chen Feng knew that the physical fitness he built up here could be carried over after he woke from the dream, so he trained hard. Combined with the advantage of being a “repeater,” how could he not stand out?

“Ah, I was just about to submit a report recommending you for squad leader. And you… sigh,” Ding Hu said with regret as he saw him off.

Chen Feng replied politely, “Brother Hu, don’t be like this. Everyone has their own aspirations.”

“What do you mean, ‘everyone has their own aspirations’! Do you know what voluntarily abandoning military service means? It means you’ll become a Subsistence Allowance Recipient! You’ll have trouble getting married; you won’t even get a chance to meet those of the opposite sex with formal jobs. And you’ll never be able to turn your life around! You and your descendants for at least three generations will be marked as Subsistence Allowance Recipients!”

Others nearby also tried to persuade him. “Yeah, Brother Feng, you have talent. Why are you suddenly…”

“Our military service might seem lenient—they say everyone can choose freely—but it’s not actually that free. Either you refuse when you’re first selected, but once you come, if you quit without a proper reason, the consequences are pretty serious.”

Chen Feng hadn’t known this before, since in the past he was always the laggard who got advised to quit. He didn’t expect that a top performer voluntarily leaving would have such side effects.

But Chen Feng, who already knew the future and saw through the vanity of life, had no interest at all in marriage, children, or descendants.

Everyone would be gone in a year; what’s the point of thinking about that?

“Everyone, please don’t try to persuade me anymore. My mind is made up. Goodbye.”

With that, he clasped his hands in salute and walked away.

Finally leaving the Military Camp, he looked back out the window as the mountains receded behind the Shuttle. Chen Feng didn’t feel light or free; instead, his heart felt heavy.

The people were still the same people, but the bonds kept changing. This made Chen Feng feel both out of place in this world and yet somewhat unwilling to leave.

Like the wind passing through, it seemed to take nothing with it, yet the leaves quietly changed their positions.

Returning to his hometown and settling down in the welfare district, Chen Feng’s situation was no different from last time.

He was happy with that. In the other world, he was busy all day long without a break, never able to calm down—whether to think about life, study and improve himself, or even relax and have fun.

That kind of busy, mediocre life bored him, yet he felt powerless to change it.

But here it was great. No worries about food, clothes, shelter, or travel, and the time was especially free.

How could it not be free?

Compared to others, he gained a whole extra year every month.