Chapter 1023
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 1023 Border Defense Company
Lin Qiye sat at the top of the cliff, witnessing Su Yuan jump down from the mountain peak without intervening, and just smiled helplessly.
“These siblings… are quite remarkable.”
He muttered softly, and a whirlwind carried Su Yuan’s body, slowly lowering her to the ground.
Upon hearing the last name, Su Zhe, lying in the snow, suddenly opened his eyes, filled with disbelief.
“Su Yuan? How is that possible?”
As Su Yuan’s older brother, no one knew better than him how capable his sister was. From the beginning, he firmly believed that these seven days of training wouldn’t be difficult for Su Yuan… even if she couldn’t get first place, she definitely wouldn’t be eliminated on the second day.
Yet somehow, her name appeared on the elimination list.
Under the star-studded night sky, a young woman wrapped in winter clothing slowly approached through the snowstorm.
Her boots crunching in the snow, she stopped beside him. Su Yuan looked down at him and expressionlessly extended her hand.
“Hey, can you get up?”
“My name isn’t ‘hey,’ I’m your brother…” Su Zhe couldn’t help but quip, then asked puzzled, “Weren’t you already over the cliff? Why did you come back?”
“I got lost,” Su Yuan replied flatly.
Su Zhe: …
Su Yuan grabbed Su Zhe’s wrist with one hand, easily pulling him up from the ground.
“Little sister, you didn’t come back specially to keep your brother company, did you?” Su Zhe blinked.
“? Who would come back specially for you, you pervert.” Su Yuan rolled her eyes at him. “I told you, I got lost.”
“…Then what about becoming a Night Watchman? Didn’t you always want to be a Night Watchman to protect others?”
“It’s just a title, not that important.” Su Yuan glanced at Su Zhe, then quickly turned away. “Besides, I’ve learned everything I needed to learn these past few months. Even without a cloak and medal, I can still protect those I want to protect.
Moreover…”
Su Yuan paused, looking at the silently seated figure at the cliff top, “I feel like… things might still turn around.”
Confusion appeared in Su Zhe’s eyes.
In the distant snow, humming vehicles approached rapidly, their bright searchlights shining on the siblings, making them squint.
The vehicle stopped beside them, and an instructor stepped down, holding a list, speaking calmly:
“Su Zhe, Su Yuan, you’ve been eliminated. Come with me.”
The Su siblings exchanged glances and reluctantly followed the instructor into the vehicle.
The door closed, and Su Zhe sat by the window, feeling utterly exhausted.
He turned to say something, but saw Su Yuan gazing through the window at the new recruits trudging along the cliff, lost in thought.
Su Zhe pressed his lips together.
“Instructor, where are we going? Are we being sent back tonight?” Su Zhe couldn’t help asking. “Could we stay until the seven-day training is over? We don’t need accommodation, just… could we at least watch the Night Watchman’s oath ceremony?”
“Sent back?” The instructor raised an eyebrow, smiling. “Who said anything about sending you back?”
Su Zhe and Su Yuan were both stunned.
“Being eliminated from the bottom only means you’re out of this extreme hiking journey, not that your seven days of training are over,” the instructor said leisurely. “For the next four days, you’ll be going to a new place to continue your training.”
Hearing this, Su Yuan’s eyes lit up with spirit.
“A new place? Where?”
“The western border of Da Xia, Kayush 019 Border Defense Company.”
…
The cliff.
Lu Baozhu supported himself as he climbed to the highest point of the cliff, white steam escaping from his mouth, quickly frosting in the highland night air.
He looked back down, and now there were no other figures on the cliff. Those recruits who had fallen behind him had all been eliminated, leaving the space below black and deathly silent, like a bottomless abyss of despair.
Beside him, a figure wearing a deep red cloak slowly stood up.
Lin Qiye brushed the snow off his clothes, walked in front of him, and spoke calmly:
“You shouldn’t have been in this position, Lu Baozhu.”
Lu Baozhu kept his head down, silent.
“If you had listened to my advice before the first climb and stopped to rest, you would be ahead of everyone now.” Lin Qiye paused. “Unfortunately, your pride and arrogance made you miss this opportunity, and almost led to your downfall.”
“I…”
“I know you’re strong, the power within you and your amazing willpower give you reason to be confident and proud… but excessive arrogance and self-importance can be fatal.
This time you managed to climb out of the valley through your own strength and luck, but what about next time?
If you can’t control your pride, sooner or later, both you and your companions will die because of it.”
Lu Baozhu, who had opened his mouth to speak, slowly closed it, not refuting Lin Qiye’s words. Instead, he stood silently with his head down for a long while before walking away alone.
…
Dawn.
Over a dozen vehicles drove across the desolate land. The white belly of dawn tore through the darkness, and at the horizon’s edge, the silhouettes of several buildings appeared faintly.
They were small buildings painted white with red roofs, not new but very neat. High walls surrounded them, and on the stone monument at the entrance were carved several bright red characters:
— Kayush 019 Border Defense Company.
The vehicles stopped briefly at the entrance, and after identity verification, they slowly drove in with the eliminated recruits.
Su Yuan and Su Zhe got off the vehicle and, under the instructors’ guidance, formed into ranks. A rugged-looking man in camouflage walked out from the small building, spoke briefly with the instructor, then turned his gaze to the eighty recruits.
“So these are the temporary border defense volunteers they mentioned?” the man asked in surprise. “They’re all so young? And they seem to have military bearing… Hey, which military district are you from? What made you come to such a remote place to volunteer?”
“That’s classified,” the instructor smiled mysteriously. “They’re in your care for the next few days. Don’t go easy on them, use them however you see fit.”
“Alright, I understand.”
Soon, the instructors boarded their vehicles and drove away under the puzzled gazes of the recruits.
The man walked in front of them, his eyes scanning the group:
“At ease.”
“Attention!”
Looking at the neatly formed ranks of recruits, the man nodded with satisfaction and said:
“For the next four days, you will serve as volunteers, participating in border defense duties on Da Xia’s western border. On behalf of Kayush 019 Border Defense Company, I welcome you all.”
