The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
At this moment, Ling Chen deeply realized the vast generational gap between his twenty-seven-year-old self and Ye Xiao, who was only eighteen years and three months old.
What a headache.
Ye Xiao re-tied the bandage around his right wrist and hesitantly asked, "Do you think... it's not cool?"
Faced with Ye Xiao's eager anticipation for an answer, what else could Ling Chen do?
The youngest commander of the Second Division replied sincerely without a hint of perfunctoriness, "It's very cool. It will have a particularly strong deterrent effect on the enemy."
Receiving Ling Chen's affirmation, the anxiety in Ye Xiao's heart dissipated.
He lowered his head to tie the end of the bandage but because he was using only one hand, the knot he made was crooked and ugly.
Ling Chen couldn't stand it anymore. He reached out to take Ye Xiao's hand then placed it on his thigh before he undid the unsightly knot and tied a perfectly standard bow in its place.
Ye Xiao raised his wrist before turning it over and over, and his tone full of surprise, "The knot you tied is so much prettier than mine!"
Ling Chen clicked his tongue while deeply convinced that his brain must be malfunctioning—he actually felt a bit happy being praised for tying a bow.
In the driver's seat, Jiang Cancan listened to the conversation drifting down from the roof of the vehicle while laughing so hard his whole body trembled, and his hands gripping the steering wheel nearly cramped.
He had a lot to say but had to keep his voice down to avoid being overheard by the two people with exceptional hearing on the roof, which was extremely taxing.
"Hahaha, Can Ye is dying of laughter, hahaha!" he whispered with his voice hoarse as if he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, "Our Chen Ge has been so arrogant in the military district for so many years, and finally, someone has come along who can keep him in check! Hahaha, Can Ye is so happy!"
Jiang Mu, who was flipping through a three-dimensional map to determine the direction, glanced at him sideways, "Does Can Ye want his head to be ground into the dirt by Chen Ge?"
Jiang Cancan's voice was cheerful, "They're on the roof, so they won't know, haha—ha—" But as he glanced at the team channel on the communicator, he saw the name "Ling Chen" followed by a message, "I'm sorry, I know." Jiang Cancan's "ha" got stuck in his throat, and his smile quickly froze.
Jiang Cancan: Damn, are you even human? Eavesdropping? How the hell did you hear that!
On the roof, Ling Chen turned off the communicator and looked into the distance.
The Giant Lizard Swarm had been completely left behind and not even a shadow in sight.
The plains stretched endlessly in all directions, and the armored vehicle drove forward unimpeded.
Ling Chen knocked twice on the roof of the vehicle, and soon, the speed of the armored vehicle gradually slowed down.
Ye Xiao held his longsword in his left hand and furrowing his brows in concern, "You fired so many shots earlier, is your hand okay?"
"..." Only then did Ling Chen realize that, in order to keep someone from leaving, he still had the daily task of pretending to be injured.
But it wasn't too late; he could still make up for it.
So, when Jiang Cancan handed over the driver's seat to Jiang Mu and popped his head out of the roof window, what greeted his eyes was the sight of their commander, Ling Chen, holding his right arm with his left hand while frowning and pursing his lips in a feigned display of weakness.
Jiang Cancan's face was a picture of disbelief—this acting was so bad it could sink to the core of the earth, does anyone actually believe it?
Where's the cold sweat? The pale face? It was just a dry action with none of the accompanying details!
And yet, someone did believe it.
Ye Xiao was so anxious that he didn't even care about the sword he usually never let go of for a second.
He reached out with both hands to support Ling Chen with his eyes filled with worry and he asked repeatedly, "What's wrong? Did your arm lose strength? Is it serious? Without a tripod, the recoil of the heavy sniper rifle is really too much..."
Jiang Cancan fell silent.
If his memory served him right, Ling Chen had earned the title "Sniper King" at the age of sixteen.
Back then, he would carry a heavy sniper rifle around like a whirlwind and challenging anyone to a match with the loser had to wash the winner's socks for a month.
According to reliable sources, Ling Chen had never washed his own socks thanks to this rather unorthodox method!
Ling Chen played along, "Yeah, the muscles in my right arm might be strained. It feels weak." To make it more convincing, he even let out a sharp, pained hiss.
Ye Xiao knelt on the roof of the vehicle with his eyes filled with concern. "Should I massage it for you? I know how to do it. It might help ease the pain a little."
But Ling Chen was faking it all along. His deltoids and biceps were perfectly fine—there was no need for any massage. But when he saw the almost tearful look in Ye Xiao's eyes, he extended his arm. "Alright, go ahead and massage it. It hurts quite a bit."
Ye Xiao nodded solemnly, as if he were handling a matter of great importance. He knelt on the roof and began diligently massaging Ling Chen's muscles.
Jiang Cancan, who had witnessed the entire scene, once again revised his opinion of Ling Chen's moral limits—when an old man decides to be shameless, he really goes all out!
Playing the weakling? Utterly shameless!
At this moment, Ling Chen glanced up and saw Jiang Cancan's big head peeking out.
He raised an eyebrow, as if to say—aren’t you going to scram?
Jiang Cancan stiffened his neck and glared back defiantly then quickly ducked back into the vehicle like a prairie dog while muttering to himself—Damn, my luck is terrible! I had to witness this cringe-worthy scene. I feel sorry for myself!
Ye Xiao, completely focused on Ling Chen, didn’t notice Jiang Cancan watching from behind. So, seeing Ling Chen’s expression change, he thought he might have applied too much pressure and asked nervously, "Does it hurt?"
Ling Chen looked away with his gaze falling on Ye Xiao’s slender, pale hand resting on his deltoid. He shook his head slightly and reassured him, "It feels good. Keep going."
Ye Xiao’s palms were calloused from years of wielding a sword, similar to Ling Chen’s gun-calloused hands. However, Ling Chen’s hands were larger, while Ye Xiao’s were smaller by a couple of sizes, with long, slender fingers and distinct knuckles.
The skin on the back of his hands was pale and smooth, creating a stark contrast against Ling Chen’s bulging muscles. Ling Chen couldn’t help but glance at them several times.
"Okay!" Ye Xiao smiled because he was satisfied with the affirmation, and lowered his head to continue massaging.
The armored vehicle drove for another half hour before finally stopping near a small hill with a stream flowing a few dozen meters away.
The experience of surviving on tasteless, colorless nutrient solutions for several days had left Jiang Cancan with a deep psychological scar.
As a result, Can Ye, who had never lifted a finger in the kitchen, was now unusually enthusiastic about cooking. He snatched four military helmets from Jiang Mu and hurried to the stream to wash them.
Jiang Mu glanced expressionlessly at his now empty hands but said nothing. He turned around and went back to the vehicle to fetch the canned food they needed.
Meanwhile, Ling Chen was enjoying the treatment of an injured patient. Ye Xiao even helped him unscrew the cap of the military water bottle, making Ling Chen feel as if he were already disabled.
But he had a good attitude. Self-loathing, guilt, or shame—none of these emotions had anything to do with him.
He lay on the grass while enjoying the breeze and chatted idly with Ye Xiao.
"Back in the vehicle, Cancan wanted to touch your sword. Why didn’t you let him?" His tone was gentle and not accusatory, just purely curious—or perhaps simply bored.
Ye Xiao held the scabbard with a serious expression, "Water Cutter doesn't like being touched by others."
Ling Chen understood.
Some people are particular about their personal weapons.
For instance, he once had a gun that no one else was allowed to touch.
But seeing Ye Xiao's earnest face, Ling Chen couldn't resist teasing him. He bent his long legs then looked up at Ye Xiao sitting beside him, and lowered his voice, "What if I want to touch it?"
To Ling Chen's surprise, the next second, the pitch-black longsword was handed to him by Ye Xiao without any hesitation, causing a look of astonishment to appear in his eyes.
Ye Xiao pushed the sword further towards Ling Chen, "Here you go," with his eyes filled with pure trust.
Ling Chen sat up before he took the sword in his hand with his thoughts somewhat complicated.
Over the past few days, he couldn't have failed to notice that Ye Xiao's attitude towards him was quite different—only eating food handed to him, single-mindedly protecting him, and only allowing him to touch the sword.
It even gave him the feeling that Ye Xiao had no bottom line when it came to him.
As he pondered, Ling Chen looked down at the sword in his hand.
The scabbard and hilt were pure black, with the total length estimated to be around ninety centimeters. The blade was straight with a slight upward curve at the tip, double-edged with a blade width of about five centimeters, and four blood grooves on both sides.
When unsheathed, the cold gleam of the silver-white blade reminded Ling Chen of the sword light that descended from the sky when they were besieged by Skeletal Wolves.
He wanted to ask, "Did you know me before?" but he never got the chance to ask before returning the sword.
Ling Chen: "It's a good sword."
Ye Xiao also nodded happily, "Yes, Water Cutter is great!"
Ling Chen's gaze softened.
He asked Ye Xiao, "We're out of sweet milk, but you jumped out of the carriage today to kill a giant lizard, and most importantly, didn't get hurt. You've been very good. Do you want some other reward?"
Ye Xiao didn't expect there to be a reward. He unconsciously leaned closer to Ling Chen with his eyebrows clearly showing his joy. He suppressed his excitement but his tone was eager, "Yes! I want a reward!"
"Alright." Ling Chen improvised. He searched on the ground for a while before selecting a dozen flexible and slender grass stems. He removes the leaves and straightens them then trimming the ends.
He did that while he sat leisurely and his fingers nimbly working.
As the object in his hands gradually took shape, Ye Xiao's eyes grew wider.
When Ling Chen handed the finished grass-woven cage to Ye Xiao, the joy in Ye Xiao's eyes was like spring water, unstoppable.
"How do you know how to do everything?" Ye Xiao cherished the grass-woven cage that was smaller than his palm while turning it over and over.
Seeing that he liked it, Ling Chen found a few more grass stems, and soon, a thin grass rope appeared in the hands that usually only held military knives and heavy sniper rifles.
Finally, Ling Chen bent a stem of moderate hardness, tied one end of the thin grass rope to the stem and the other end to the grass-woven cage to make a small hand-held lantern for Ye Xiao to hold. He even added a small light blue wildflower the size of a fingernail to the cage for a touch of charm.
After finishing, he lay back on the grass and asked Ye Xiao, "Do you like it?"
Ye Xiao nodded repeatedly: "I like it!"
Ling Chen: "Am I amazing?"
Ye Xiao nodded again: "Amazing!"
Ling Chen was satisfied.
How much did Ye Xiao like this grass-woven lantern? Well, Jiang Cancan had been chasing him for half an hour while insisting on seeing it but Ye Xiao refused to show it, not even a glimpse.
He carried it everywhere—while working, eating, and doing anything else.
Jiang Cancan was extremely indignant. "Our team's moral standards have been dragged down by Chen Ge! How could he stoop to using such a cheap trick to charm a little boy?"
Hearing this, Ling Chen turned his head to look at him with his tone calm but his words utterly arrogant. "I can weave a small cage. If there were fireflies, I could even catch one and put it inside. Can you?"
Jiang Cancan admitted: He couldn't—and it infuriated Can Ye!
Ye Xiao, who had been carefully playing with the grass-woven lantern, moved closer and gently tugged on the hem of Ling Chen's coat. When Ling Chen looked down at him, he asked, "Can you really put fireflies inside?"
Ling Chen hummed in affirmation. "Yes. But there are no fireflies here. When we find some, I'll catch a few for you and put them inside. Then it’ll truly be a little lantern."
Ye Xiao nodded eagerly with his eyes curved with anticipation then quietly returned to the carriage because he did not want to disturb Ling Chen and the others as they discussed matters.
That night, the group was too lazy to set up tents and squeezed into the vehicle to sleep.
Ling Chen placed his hand on Ye Xiao's shoulder to guide him to the innermost part of the vehicle and pointed. "You sleep here."
Ye Xiao, while holding his long sword in one hand and the small lantern in the other, looked up at Ling Chen and asked, "What about you?"
"I'll sleep next to you."
Ye Xiao's ears turned red again.
Ling Chen chuckled. "Why are you shy again?"
"N-no, I'm not."
"Alright, if you say so."
In the middle of the night, Ling Chen was woken up by Jiang Cancan. He opened his eyes, fully alert, and asked in a low voice, "What's wrong?"
Ling Chen's movement woke Ye Xiao as well, though he still looked a bit dazed. Ling Chen reached over to cover Ye Xiao's eyes to shield them from the light and whispered soothingly, "Go back to sleep."
Ye Xiao nodded while clutching the grass-woven lantern and drifted back to sleep.
Ling Chen gestured to Jiang Mu to stay in the vehicle while he and Jiang Cancan jumped out.
After walking a dozen steps away, Ling Chen asked Jiang Cancan, "What’s got you so panicked?"
Jiang Cancan's muscles were tense as he handed Ling Chen three metal tags and his voice was hoarse. "I went out to relieve myself and noticed something reflecting light in the grass. When I picked it up, it was a dog tag."
Ling Chen's voice grew heavy as he examined the dragon emblem engraved on the metal tags. "These are Soaring Dragon's tags."
Metal tags—every member of the Soaring Dragon Special Operations Team and the Cheetah Special Operations Team carried one, as it was bearing the name of their team and also because every mission they undertook was fraught with danger. Surviving each mission was a narrow escape from death.
In such circumstances, to avoid being unable to identify the deceased, they were required to carry their tags at all times during missions.
Now, Jiang Cancan has found these tags.
Jiang Cancan's voice was strained. "It's too dark to see if there are any signs of a struggle. But with only the tags left here, the person must already be... gone."
In the Noah System World, everything, including every person, is composed of data.
Even though it replicates the real world perfectly and allows people in the Noah World to catch colds from rain, bleed from injuries, and recover from medication, there is one thing that is different.
In the Noah World, when a person dies, they vanish immediately.
At the same time, the corresponding life-support pod in the real world executes a "deceased cleanup" procedure.
Moving the brain-dead individual to a designated location for disposal.
Death here is true death.
Jiang Cancan's eyes were slightly red. "Damn it! Didn't they say the Soaring Dragon people just entered the D Zone? Those bastards... Can Ye hasn't even taught them how to hold a gun and fight monsters, and they were already killed! I—" He took a deep breath and turned his face away.
Ling Chen stuffed three tokens into Jiang Cancan's pocket with his sharp eyes downcast. "Why get angry? They're already dead. We'll just avenge them."
After saying this, he adjusted the black coat draped over his shoulders and his gaze slightly heavy. "Let's go back. We'll avenge them."
Returning to the vehicle, Ling Chen gestured for Jiang Mu to bring Jiang Cancan back, while he lay down next to Ye Xiao.
Ye Xiao heard the commotion and sensed that the person beside him was in an unusual state, like a dormant beast provoked. He opened his eyes to look at Ling Chen while feeling concerned.
Noticing his gaze, Ling Chen was silent for a moment before abruptly asking Ye Xiao, "If one day I die, will you avenge me?"
Ye Xiao's hand holding the grass-woven lantern tightened instinctively.
Images of blood flashed through his mind as he heard himself say, "You won't die. I'll protect you."
Even if it costs me my life, I won't let you die.