Chapter 1057
Our Discord Server: https://discord.gg/PazjBDkTmW
Chapter 1057 Border Defense
Pamir Plateau.
Mount Kongur.
“Loki is here?!”
In the temporary base at the mountain peak, Bai Li Pangpang listened to An Qingyu’s description and widened his eyes in shock. “Holy shit!”
Beside him, Cao Yuan’s expression was extremely grave. “What about Seven Nights? Is he okay?”
An Qingyu sat cross-legged on the ground, trimming his wild-looking fingernails while answering, “I didn’t see him in Kunlun Void, but now Commander Zuo and Mr. Lu are jointly pursuing Loki, so nothing bad should happen.”
Hearing this, the other three people present all breathed sighs of relief.
With only a few hours left on the final day of the recruits’ journey across the Pamir Plateau, those who hadn’t been eliminated had all entered the last stretch of the route. Once they traversed the final few kilometers, they would begin climbing Mount Kongur.
Those responsible for the earlier segments of the journey, including Jiang Er and others, had all returned to the temporary base on Mount Kongur. Only Shen Qingzhu remained at the summit, overseeing the final checkpoint.
“But it’s been several days already. Why hasn’t Seven Nights returned yet?” Bai Li Pangpang’s face was still filled with worry.
“The situation in Kunlun Void is far more complex than we imagined. Perhaps he encountered some opportunity there,” An Qingyu calmly replied, recalling the gathering of immortals at the Peach Banquet in his mind.
“The recruits are about to finish their assessment soon. If Seven Nights doesn’t return to take charge, things might get difficult.”
“By the way, what about those eliminated recruits?”
“Still volunteering at the border defense company.” Bai Li Pangpang peeled a segment of tangerine, put it in his mouth, and sighed, “Who knows how many of them have had their enlightenment after so many days…”
…
Western border of Great Xia.
Kayush Border Defense Company.
Bone-chilling wind howled from the edge of the barren land, stirring up fine dust and mercilessly slapping against Su Zhe’s reddened cheeks.
He wore a thick military cap and carried a rifle. His lips trembled slightly in the cold wind. In just a few days, his once fair and delicate face had become rough and weathered.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, with hunger constantly surging. He wanted to look down to check the time, but his neck was painfully stiff.
Just then, a hand patted him on the shoulder.
“Shift change, rookie. Go get some food.”
Hearing this voice, Su Zhe felt immensely relieved. While stretching his muscles, he turned to smile at the similarly uniformed border soldier behind him. “Thanks for your hard work.”
The soldier waved his hand dismissively, his face slightly reddened from the high altitude, and smiled faintly.
The famished Su Zhe quickly rushed into the canteen, took a metal tray from the rack, got some slightly cold dishes, and sat down alone at a table to devour his meal ravenously.
“Slow down, you look like a starving ghost,” Su Yuan said, carrying his tray and sitting across from him, silently rolling his eyes. “I never saw you this hungry at the training camp.”
“That was different. At the training camp, eating Instructor An’s special fish cakes kept you from feeling hungry even after training all day,” Su Zhe pointed at the food on his plate. “The food here… has too little nutrition.”
Su Yuan didn’t respond, just picked up his chopsticks and began eating silently.
“By the way, tomorrow should be the last day of the assessment,” Su Zhe said, as if suddenly remembering something, wiping the corner of his mouth.
“Mm.”
“After tomorrow, what are your plans?”
Su Yuan’s hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly. “I don’t know.”
“Do you think we’ll really be sent back home?” Su Zhe looked around, speaking with confusion. “If we truly have no hope of staying, why did Instructor Lin send us here? What does he want to do?”
“Instructor Lin said that after elimination, the real lessons are just beginning,” Su Yuan said calmly. “He must be trying to convey something to us through this place…”
Before they could finish speaking, a voice came from behind them.
“You two siblings really get along well.” A middle-aged man with high cheekbones and a round, honest face smiled and sat down beside them.
Su Zhe knew this man. His name was Ke Changlin, who slept in the bunk above his. He was a soldier at this border defense company, and it was he who personally showed Su Zhe around when he first arrived.
Ke Changlin took out a piece of oiled paper from his pocket, placed it on the table and opened it, revealing several baked flatbreads.
“My Ana just came to visit me and brought some homemade milk cakes. Try some.”
“Ana?” Su Yuan heard these two words with confusion.
“It means mother,” Su Zhe explained. “Uncle Changlin’s mother is from an ethnic minority, his father is Han Chinese, and he grew up on the plateau.”
Su Yuan nodded, politely thanked him, and took a flatbread to taste.
“Tell me, why did two delicate young people like you come to volunteer with us?” Ke Changlin watched Su Yuan’s refined eating manner and couldn’t help but smile. “The border is bitter and cold, conditions are poor, most people can’t wait to avoid it. Young folks like you who actively come here, I’ve never seen before.”
Su Yuan and Su Zhe exchanged glances, tacitly avoiding this sensitive question, and instead asked:
“We’re just volunteers, but Uncle Changlin, you know how bad the conditions are, so why did you come to guard the border?”
Ke Changlin smiled, “Me? My home is right on this plateau, just over that mountain. I’m close to them here, so it’s convenient for Ana to visit me.
Besides, as you know, this mist has covered the border for so long, who knows what strange things might rush out from inside?
With me guarding here, my Ana and two younger brothers can live more peacefully.”
“What might come out of the mist?” Su Yuan asked, feigning ignorance.
The border defense company wasn’t a special organization like the Night Watchers that specifically dealt with “mysteries.” It was just a military border checkpoint that had been responsible for guarding the national border for over a hundred years, even before the mist descended.
The soldiers stationed here weren’t superhumans with forbidden domains, but ordinary people trained by the military, who didn’t even know about the existence of “mysteries” and deities.
“Who knows?” Ke Changlin shrugged. “The news says all creatures in the mist have died out, but looking at such a large expanse of mist every day, it always feels creepy… It’s that kind of fear of the unknown, always feeling like some monster might suddenly jump out.”
Su Zhe nodded and couldn’t help asking, “But monsters that could rush out of the mist would be terrifying, right? Could our firepower here kill them?”
“Even if we can’t kill them, we have to try,” Ke Changlin slapped the table and pointed behind him with his other hand.
“If the border is breached, what will happen to my family?”
