The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
Quick note: Can Ye is Jiang Cancan's nickname for himself and Ling Zihui is the nickname that Jian Lan gave Ling Chen.
The battle ended quickly. Although the number of mutated geckos was large, their defense and attack capabilities were below standard, making it easy for the four of them to handle.
Jiang Cancan accidentally got swiped by a mutated gecko's tail, leaving a red welt on the back of his hand. He was making a fuss and circling around Jiang Mu, begging his adorable little brother to grab the medical spray and give it a good spray. He acted like a delicate little thing, despite being over 180 centimeters tall and weighing 81 kilograms.
Jiang Mu frowned at his noise, "Shut up and give me your hand."
Jiang Cancan, with a smug look, quickly extended his hand, "My little brother is the cutest in the world!"
Jiang Mu paused while spraying, then mercilessly poked the red welt with his finger. Jiang Cancan jumped three feet high before accusing, "Xiao Mu, you're so cold and heartless! Next time I go home, I'm telling Mom and Dad!"
Jiang Mu remained cold and heartless, "Oh, you tattletale."
Jiang Cancan: So mad!
Meanwhile, Ling Chen returned with Ye Xiao. He washed his hands twice, then pulled out two milk candies from his pocket. Ye Xiao's eyes lit up, and he reached out to take them, but Ling Chen dodged, "You haven't washed your hands. They're dirty but my hands are clean. Should I feed you?"
Ye Xiao nodded repeatedly and even held up two fingers, "I want to eat two at once."
Ling Chen clicked his tongue but didn't say anything about cavities or gaining weight. He unwrapped the candies and fed both to Ye Xiao. Watching him smile with curved eyes, Ling Chen felt a sense of satisfaction, like he was feeding a little fuzzball.
Jian Lan, who had been leaning against the hood of the armored vehicle and watching intently, pinched her arm again—earlier, he had been fiercely wielding a knife and dealing violent damage to the monsters, but now, facing Chen Ge, his earlobes were bright red! With two milk candies in his mouth and his cheeks puffed out like a little hamster!
She rubbed her nose while thinking how truly bizarre the world was!
Fang Wenzhe got out of the vehicle and limped over to stand beside Jian Lan. Following her gaze, he smiled, "I saw it too. That guy, Ye Xiao, is really impressive." He hesitated, "I noticed he’s wearing a Second Division communicator on his wrist. Is he a reserve member of the Second Division?"
Jian Lan glanced at him and nodded casually but completely ignoring the latter question, "Yeah, he’s pretty impressive."
Fang Wenzhe: "Speaking of which, half of our action team used to want to join the Second Division."
Seeing Fang Wenzhe's mood dip again, Jian Lan slapped him on the back. Fang Wenzhe nearly stumbled from the force.
‘Damn, she accidentally treated him like Jiang Cancan.’
Jian Lan withdrew her hand while awkwardly laughing, "Sorry, didn’t control my strength. Just focus on recovering and don’t overthink things. With Ling Zihui around, we can just enjoy eating and drinking!"
Fang Wenzhe wanted to say more, but seeing Jian Lan's carefree expression, he just nodded.
After Fang Wenzhe limped back to the vehicle with some difficulty, Jian Lan's smile faded.
She rubbed her nose—she wasn’t stupid.
Whether it was Fang Wenzhe's unusual interest in Ye Xiao earlier or his subtle attention now, there was something strange about it.
So, after everyone returned to their vehicles to wash up and sleep, Jian Lan sneaks over to the small armored vehicle's driver's side and forcibly dragged Jiang Cancan out.
The two of them squatted by the small stream with the moonlight casting a rather poetic scene. Jiang Cancan yawned with his eyelids drooping, "Bro, are you so excited about rejoining the team that you can't sleep? Let's make a deal, we'll talk tomorrow, okay?"
Jian Lan: "No, no, no! Comrade Jiang Cancan, procrastination is bad." she nudged Jiang Cancan with her elbow, "By the way, what's the deal with that violent little cutie? The way he jumped off the car roof was so damn intense, I was completely stunned!"
"Violent little cutie?" Jiang Cancan patted his crew cut, then realized, "Oh, you mean Ye Xiao! Let me introduce him, he's a little friend of eighteen years and three months, skilled at wielding a blade, stepping on enemies' faces and chopping them up like vegetables with a max combat power, a miraculous existence who played with Chen Ge's life and didn't get beaten up.
Out of years of comradeship, Can Ye reminds you, if you don't want to have your head rubbed into the grass by Chen Ge as soon as you come back, don't bully him."
Jiang Cancan yawned again, "As for his background, Can Ye doesn't know either, but Chen Ge and Xiao Mu trust him, so I trust him too. If you really want to know, you can go ask Chen Ge and Xiao Mu."
Played with Chen Ge's life and didn't get beaten up?
Recalling her own past when she had the misfortune to dismantle that gun and was chased all over the training ground by Ling Chen, Jian Lan's gossip fire burned fiercely, "Aren't you curious?"
Jiang Cancan: "If you're curious, you go ask, Can Ye will cheer you on from behind!"
No matter how fiercely Jian Lan's gossip fire burned, it would immediately extinguish when faced with her own commander and data analyst, she sighed, "Can we still be good brothers?"
Jiang Cancan grinned: "Oh, I'm so sorry, Can Ye has a brother that is a real one and even a twin, so I don't need you."
Jian Lan, the fifth generation single heir, fell silent.
But she was thick-skinned and broad-minded, and didn't dwell on it. Since Ling Chen and Jiang Mu trusted Ye Xiao, she didn't take it to heart. She stuffed Jiang Cancan back into the driver's seat and crawled back into the rear compartment to sleep.
……….
On the tree branch.
Ye Xiao clung to the branch while watching Jian Lan drag Jiang Cancan to the stream and the two of them whispered for a while before returning soon after. He was curious, "Why did they go to the stream?"
Ling Chen, with his eyes closed and his hand resting on Ye Xiao's nape, controlling the pressure while kneading it intermittently, answered lazily when he asked, "Probably went to hold the 132nd BFF Night Chat."
As he spoke, he leaned closer to Ye Xiao, "Haven't we finished our whispers yet? What did you want to say to the Captain before the fight?"
Ye Xiao hugged the Long Blade, the warmth from his nape inexplicably calming his mood and he moved closer to Ling Chen, not realizing he was almost in the other's embrace.
Ling Chen noticed his intention and naturally lowered his head slightly, allowing him to whisper into his ear.
"Fang Wenzhe... is a traitor, he will betray us." After saying this, Ye Xiao's heart pounded aa he instinctively bit his tongue, terrified that Ling Chen would ask him for reasons, or looking at him with suspicion and distrust.
Ling Chen's right hand was still on Ye Xiao's shoulder and after listening, he unconsciously rubbed his fingers, then used his left hand to pinch Ye Xiao's chin, "Biting your tongue again? Don't bite."
Ye Xiao stared blankly with his teeth loosening as he murmured, "He really is... I'm not lying to you. But I... I can't tell you how I know."
Ling Chen slipped his left hand back into the pocket of his camouflage pants with his right arm encircling Ye Xiao's shoulders. He leaned down with his face close to Ye Xiao's, and stared intently into his eyes. "You're hiding something from me, but what you're hiding is like the details of your mission—something you can't talk about, right?"
Ye Xiao quickly replied, "Yes, I can't say." His fingers tightened around the black scabbard until his knuckles turned white. "But I would never lie to you."
‘Some secrets I can't reveal to you, but I will never lie to you.’
Ling Chen suddenly smiled and his rough hand ruffled Ye Xiao's hair as he said softly, "I believe whatever you say."
Ye Xiao's tangled emotions relaxed all at once.
He thought, ‘as long as Ling Chen is on guard and keeps an eye on Fang Wenzhe, Jian Lan definitely won't die like before.’
Even if Ling Chen still harbors a bit of doubt toward him, it doesn't matter.
Ling Chen noticed that the muscles in Ye Xiao's shoulders had relaxed under his hand, but perhaps from the prolonged exposure to the wind, they felt a bit cold. He took off his black jacket and draped it over Ye Xiao, his tone unusually serious.
"Ye Xiao, I believe you, but without evidence, I can't convict him just because you say he's a traitor. If I wrong him, I'd be betraying the brothers of Soaring Dragon who sacrificed their lives. Of course, if he really has betrayed us, I'll personally put a bullet in him."
His words were calm and light, but a chilling intent lingered at the end.
Ye Xiao nodded. "I understand. You're the commander."
Because he was the commander, he couldn't be biased or act on impulse. Because every decision, every order, could mean the life of one or many.
Hearing Ye Xiao say this in his soft voice, Ling Chen's held breath eased, and he directly pulled the person wrapped in his jacket into his arms before resting his chin on the top of Ye Xiao's head. He sighed, not for the first time, "Why are you so well-behaved?"
Ye Xiao's ears turned red from the sudden embrace, and he stammered, "You... stop moving your chin, it's ticklish..."
Ling Chen didn't let go, his voice lowering. "Be good, let your captain hold you."
Sensing that Ling Chen's mood wasn't quite right, Ye Xiao stopped moving and let himself be held.
The night wind brushed through the forest, gentle and soft.
Ye Xiao lay in his arms for a while but caught a faint whiff of gunpowder. Hesitantly, he asked, "Captain, did something happen?"
Ling Chen leaned against the tree trunk and let out a soft "Hmm." He lowered his eyes, lost in thought.
The intelligence about Holy Judgement provided by the command center was wrong. The leader of the support team sent to the Second Division was a traitor and likely a member of Holy Judgement. Could it be that Holy Judgement had infiltrated deeper than he had imagined?
What about the command center? How many were still clean? How many had already defected?
He never overestimated people's loyalty, nor would he allow anyone to stab him in the back.
Ye Xiao didn't press further and just carefully shifted his position. He knelt on Ling Chen's thighs and straightened his back while still wearing Ling Chen's oversized jacket. He looked into Ling Chen's sharp eyes, then reached up to touch his hair before earnestly promising, "It's okay. No matter what happens, I'll protect you."
With his mind full of schemes and twists, Ling Chen was instantly amused. He grabbed Ye Xiao under the arms before cradling him like a child, and hopped down from the tree to head towards the parked car.
"It's very late. Little Fuzzball should go to sleep. Do you want to sleep next to the Captain?"
"...Yes."
"Tsk, you little clingy thing." Ling Chen said as he walked. "Drink some sweet milk before bed to help you grow taller, and don't forget to brush your teeth."
Ye Xiao, roughly slung over Ling Chen's shoulder, struggled with his arms and legs, his voice muffled. "I can walk by myself... I'm not Little Fuzzball anymore. I'm eighteen years and four months old!"
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow. "Oh, another month older? That's quite an achievement!" He casually patted Ye Xiao's bottom. "Alright, be good. The Captain will take you back to sleep. Isn't it nice to be carried and not have to walk?"
Ye Xiao's face flushed red from the pat on his bottom.
Gripping his Long Blade, he lightly bumped his head against Ling Chen's hard shoulder blade while baring his teeth like a little beast before closing his eyes and giving up the struggle.
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•
The completed novel is now available in my Ko-fi page.
If you appreciate what I do, please consider supporting me on kofi. Thank you!
•───────•°•❀•°•───────•