The Third Rebirth (REBIRTH)
After sending all the information to Bai Hengyun, Ling Chen turned around and saw Xiaoshu and Baozi sprawled out, fast asleep—they were utterly exhausted, and just finally dared to rest after fleeing for miles.
Ling Chen stood still as a sudden sense of helplessness welling up inside him, followed by a surge of intense anger. His hands instinctively clenched into fists until his veins bulge.
Then a familiar warmth enveloped him.
Ye Xiao grasped his wrist, giving it a gentle shake, and whispered, "Don't be sad. I'll share all my candy with you." Then, he handed over the Long Blade, "You can touch Water Cutter too."
Ling Chen met his clear eyes, and the tide of anger dissipated like mist. He lightly tapped Ye Xiao's nose and lowered his voice, "Come sit with me on the roof?"
Ye Xiao nodded before pointing at Xiaoshu and Baozi, "They're sleeping, so let's be quiet."
The two of them quietly opened the sunroof and climbed onto the roof. The sky was already bright, and the wind blew from all directions, as if it could cleanse the soul.
With their hands intertwined, Ling Chen remained silent, and Ye Xiao stayed quiet with him.
After a long while, Ling Chen finally spoke, with a hint of self-mockery, "I used to think my heart had been tempered enough to be strong."
Strong enough to endure failure and to bear the deaths of comrades.
His gaze fell on an indistinct point, "Before joining the Second Division, I preferred to fight alone, with a kind of arrogant bravado and thinking I was the best in the world and afraid of no one. After joining the Second Division and going on a few missions, I realized how good it feels to have someone to watch your back."
Ye Xiao propped his chin on one hand and watched him intently.
"I hate seeing comrades die in front of me. I despise my own helplessness. I also hate betrayal, because no one should die by the hand of their own comrade."
Feeling Ye Xiao tighten his grip, Ling Chen kissed the back of his hand, "Actually, I've never been a person of high morals, nor a hero. The grand cause of striving for the continuation of the human race—I can't comprehend it.
Before Commander Liang sacrificed himself, he entrusted the Second Division to me. I thought, I couldn't let him die with worries. If I could save even one more brother, it would be worth it." His usually carefree smile now carried a touch of bitterness and shame, his voice roughened, "But I didn't do well."
Since his teenage years, or perhaps since he developed a sense of self-respect, Ling Chen had rarely shown weakness in front of others—his pride wouldn't allow him to be seen as weak. Later, it became even more so. No matter the time or situation, he had to be the calmest and most rational one.
Ye Xiao knelt on the roof before reaching out to hug Ling Chen's neck and leaning against him. He thought, compared to Ling Chen, he had even less sympathy to spare, and he didn't care whether Noah World would collapse or not. Even after being reborn three times, all he wanted was to protect Ling Chen.
The malice he had felt from this world far outweighed the kindness.
"Captain, you're already amazing," Ye Xiao clumsily patted Ling Chen's head while speaking earnestly, "You can't save everyone, and you can't save the world all by yourself."
Being vulnerable for just a minute was more than enough. The lazy smile returned to his lips as Ling Chen reached out to wrap his arm around Ye Xiao's waist and affectionately nuzzled his hair. "I must have been single for ninety-nine lifetimes to have the fortune of meeting you."
Ye Xiao's ears turned slightly red as he changed the subject, "Captain, your hair has grown longer."
Ling Chen raised an eyebrow, "Then... will Little Fuzzball help me cut it?"
Forty minutes later, Ling Chen and Ye Xiao climbed down from the roof of the vehicle into the back compartment. Jiang Cancan was playing Go with Xiaoshu, who had just woken up while humming "Where is Spring... Spring—" Hearing the commotion, he instinctively glanced over and was immediately stunned, "Holy crap!"
He raised his hand to point with a trembling finger, "Chen Ge, after all these years, you finally decided to do something about your hair?"
Ling Chen narrowed his eyes, "Does it look good?"
"How could it—" Before the word "good" could leave his mouth, Jiang Cancan's mind lit up, and he quickly changed his tone, "How could it not look good! It perfectly matches Chen Ge's aura!"
Ling Chen shot him a "you better know what's good for you" look before turning back to Ye Xiao, "Can Can said it looks good."
Only then did Ye Xiao breathe a sigh of relief—it was his first time cutting Ling Chen's hair, and he had been worried he might mess it up.
Jiang Cancan also exhaled in relief—survival successful!
He knew that Ling Chen's precious hair could only be touched by his precious one.
Ling Chen looked at Xiaoshu, "Not going to sleep a bit more?"
Xiaoshu's gaze lingered on Ling Chen's head for a few moments before wisely refraining from making any comments and just replied, "I'm awake. The tension these past few days has been too much, so I can't sleep for long now."
"Mm," Ling Chen nodded, "Go to bed early tonight."
He wore his unevenly cut hair with calm composure. Jiang Cancan, feeling stifled, took a different approach and privately messaged Ling Chen on the communicator, "Chen Ge, your hair, hahaha!" The screen was filled with "ha’s” that were almost painful to look at.
Ling Chen replied, "The hair cut by Little Fuzzball is not open to any criticism."
Jiang Cancan covered his cheek with his right hand while making an exaggerated expression of mock discomfort.
…..
Time passed quickly on the road.
They didn't rest at night and kept taking turns driving, and finally arrived near their destination in the afternoon of the first day.
In the back compartment, the seven of them formed a circle.
Ling Chen leaned on his gun as he reiterated the mission objective, "Beneath the wasteland is an abandoned testing site that was previously used for chemical research. Professor Ling and General Jian have taken fifty people inside to search for an important document. Our task is to find them and, if necessary, assist them in retrieving the document. Understood?"
Xiaoshu and Baozi responded in unison, loud and clear, "Understood!"
Ling Chen realized it had been a long time since he had heard such a spirited and encouraging response. As for Jiang Cancan and the others, getting a glance of acknowledgement was already a lot.
He waved his hand before dousing their enthusiasm with cold water, "This isn't your business. You're both injured pretty badly, so why are you getting involved? You two stay with the vehicle. There are weapons on board, and the vehicle-mounted machine gun is fully equipped. If you encounter an attack, handle it as you see fit."
Xiaoshu and Baozi let out a dejected "Oh", their expressions and tones perfectly synchronized. Both wanted to request to join the team, but Ling Chen's authority was too imposing, so they obediently kept their mouths shut.
Holding a military-grade telescope, Jiang Cancan reported, "The target location is surrounded by a high-voltage fence, which doesn't seem to be electrified. There are warning signs posted around, and the rest is just overgrown weeds, scattered rocks, and a few rusted metal plates lying around."
Jiang Mu pulled up the data provided by Bai Hengyun, "According to the map, the entrance is to the southeast, offset by 0.2 from the four o'clock position, not far from where we parked."
Ling Chen nodded while helping Ye Xiao into his combat uniform jacket, and called out, "Alright, let's move, brothers. We don't know what's down there, so stay safe, got it?"
Seeing everyone acknowledge, Ling Chen put on his camouflage gloves and was the first to jump out of the vehicle.
Following the marked location on the map, Jiang Mu stood by a rock, "Can Can, move this rock."
"Xiao Mu, you should call me brother," Jiang Cancan corrected tirelessly, while eagerly stepping forward and quickly moving the large rock aside.
After the rock was moved, there was a soft "click" and a metal cylinder about calf-height rose from the ground. Jiang Mu crouched down to connect the device in his hand to the metal cylinder, and with fingers moving like a blur, bypassed the identity verification system in less than a minute before pressing the activation button.
The system was old and not very responsive. After a moment, the metal cylinder retracted, and a rusted metal plate beside it suddenly slid to the side, revealing a door.
The group descended one by one, with Jiang Cancan leading and Ling Chen bringing up the rear. They walked down the stairs for what seemed like an eternity until Jiang Mu spoke up, "The ground is flooded."
A military flashlight swept over and illuminated the water's surface. Jiang Cancan went down first to test the depth, "It's alright, only up to the calves."
With no other choice, everyone stepped into the water. It was cold, and after a few steps, Jiang Cancan muttered softly, "There won't be anything in the water, right?"
Jian Lan, who had been quiet most of the way, slapped him on the back, "Keep muttering, and I'll chop off your little thing!"
"Huh?"
So aggressive?
Jiang Cancan was startled and instinctively reached to cover his crotch. He swallowed his saliva as he didn't dare to speak, and just looked back at Jiang Mu with a pitiful expression. However, Jiang Mu was busy comparing the data and studying the layout of the testing ground, not catching his eye signal.
"The layout of the testing ground isn't too complicated. We've already entered the first floor, the lowest level, via the long ladder. We need to find a passable staircase to go up as there are three more floors."
Ling Chen asked, "Where might Professor Ling and the others have gone?"
Jiang Mu replied, "Initially, we think they might have gone to the document room, data center, or mainframe room. The document room and data center are on the third floor, and the mainframe room is on the first floor. We can reach it by continuing forward."
Ling Chen decided, "Let's check the mainframe room first." Then he instructed, "Try connecting with Professor Bai to see if there's any signal issue."
Ten seconds later, Jiang Mu reported, "The signal is normal."
Ling Chen: "Good, keep an eye on the signal for any abnormalities."
The five of them waded through the water, with Ling Chen walking at the back and reaching out to hold Ye Xiao's hand. Their posture was a bit awkward, but there was a tacit sweetness between them.
The surroundings were eerily quiet, with only the echoes of breathing and the sound of flowing water.
The water temperature was low, and the coldness crept up from his calves.
Jiang Cancan accidentally recalled the ghost story Jian Lan had told earlier, scaring himself so much that his hair stood on end. Shivering, he spoke up, "Friends, let's chat and liven up the atmosphere, shall we?"
Jiang Mu: "What should we talk about?"
Jiang Cancan thought to himself that Xiao Mu was indeed the best little brother in the world! He pondered for two seconds, "Anything is fine, as long as someone is talking. How about Can Ye sings a song for you?"
Jian Lan interrupted him, "Let's just chat."
Jiang Cancan, with his back to her, raised a middle finger.
Jian Lan casually picked a topic, "Who are you leaving your pension to?"
Jiang Cancan answered enthusiastically, "My dad was a tank soldier and became a martyr when Xiao Mu and I were very young. The recipient column in his pension form was filled with my mom's name. She cried for a long time back then, so I won't leave my pension to her. I have a younger brother named Xiao Mu, who is extremely well-behaved except for never calling me 'big brother'! But just in case he cries, I won't leave it to him either. So, I'll just throw my pension into the Second Division's public fund!"
After finishing with a grin, he asked Jian Lan, "What about you?"
"I'm also planning to throw it into the Second Division," she said in a heavy voice. "Actually, the reason I joined the Second Division was to gain the strength to protect the people I want to protect."
Jiang Cancan could tell that Jian Lan had been in a bad mood since they found out something had happened. He comforted her, "Don't be so down, buddy! You've already achieved your goal! If you get the chance, ask people outside the Second Division—just mention your name, and you'll scare the hell out of them! You're the infamous 'She-Wolf of the Second Division'—"
"Go to hell! You're the She-Wolf of the Second Division!"
Seeing her expression finally liven up a bit, Jiang Cancan felt better too. He patted his buzz cut, "That's not quite right! Even if I were a wolf, Can Ye would definitely be a male one!"
Humming a few nonsensical lyrics, Jiang Cancan reminded them, "Hey, be careful, guys. The water where I'm standing is a bit deep. It seems like the ground has sunk a bit, so watch your step."
After Jian Lan and Jiang Mu passed by, Ye Xiao was about to step forward when Ling Chen suddenly grabbed him by the waist and lifted him up, using the same old excuse, "Our Little Fuzzball has short legs. The Captain will carry you."
Ye Xiao didn't struggle. He just wrapped his arms around Ling Chen's neck and rested his chin on his shoulder.
At that moment, he felt Ling Chen whisper into his ear, "Little Fuzzball, I have a suggestion for you."
"What is it?"
"You could take advantage of this position to kiss me."
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