Chapter 17: Old Classmate
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This ti, Qin Feng did not go to the wilderness terminal but traveled the routes around the city. Even so, there were also impending dangers on this trip!
The people in the vehicle were mostly combatants among a few twig-skinny civilians.
They headed west and soon left the central area. The surrounding streets gradually beca more congested, crowded, and even began to appear dirty. It was increasingly disorderly and lacking from every aspect the further they went.
At so point, the buildings disappeared behind walls that acted as barriers. They arrived at a safe zone surrounded by large plots of lush and green paddies. Watchtowers were erected every hundred ters, tightly guarded by gunners and their submachine guns.
A broadcast began to play:
“Dear passengers, this is the final stop. We will soon be arriving at Chengbei’s west plantation! All combatants, please pay attention! – outside the plantation, you are to hunt and kill the ultra beast. You may bring back concrete evidence of a kill from the corpses in exchange for Chinese currency. The targets for this hunt are herbivorous giant rats, onion mantis, and threadsnakes. During special seasons, if you notice any swarm of rats, please make a report in advance.”
The last announcent, however, caught the attention of the combatants.
“If you are a participant in the battle, you will be awarded the colony’s honor rates, which can be exchanged for any battle machinery or potions at a transfer price!”
Soon, they reached the last line of defense!
This ti, it wasn’t walls that crawled all around the city, but instead, there were primitive fences built with wooden planks. Outside of the fences lay nurous traps, and there was one watchtower every hundred ters garrisoned by a countless number of combat vehicles.
The plantations covered a vast land, and in the event of a threat or shifting alliances, fences were a more convenient and budget-friendly thod of quickly isolating a section.
The vehicle ca to a stop, and its passengers alighted.
Bang!
A deafening gunshot rung from far away, followed by a piercing scream!
An angry voice shouted from the sentry tower, “F*ck! Those rat bastards have been givin’ us one hell of a ti recently!”
The guards standing on the towers had an unquestionably monotonous job. When there were no dangers, the days would just creep by slowly and uneventfully. But whenever there was any sort of disturbance, even minor ones, the guards were tasked with neutralizing the threat. The ultra beast would show up every so often, which was a nuisance to everyone.
A soldier in a dark green combat uniform opened the gate to let the passengers pass through.
“You! Yes, you! Go back!” the soldier said, pointing at soone sternly.
Qin Feng paused for a second before realizing that the soldier was not referring to him but a girl next to him.
She was slightly taller than he was, about 175cm, and was as thin as a bamboo shoot, not to ntion a chest flatter than a runway. Her growth was clearly stunted.
Not only that, Qin Feng even recognized this person.
Xiao Jing!
mories of Xiao Jing’s valiant and heroic actions as captain of the army garrison flashed in his mind. This would happen in a few years. She had even helped him on the battlefield. The Xiao Jing he rembered was highly esteed and commanding. No one would have imagined her to have looked like a malnourished teen long suffering from a famine.
“Why are you asking to go back? I can fight! I want to go out there and kill beasts!” Xiao Jing blurted nervously.
“You? You better just go ho, have so kids, and cook their als. Why are you fighting?” The soldier sniggered.
Every day, for various reasons, plenty of people ca out here to court death. After all, there was also darkness brewing within the colony. Like it or not, to be able to escape a life like this, one would have to fight their way out and beco stronger.
But not everyone could simply go out there. Won, by themselves, were valuable resources too, which was why the soldier was pressed on keeping Xiao Jing from getting herself killed.
“You! Who are you to say that won are supposed to stay at ho, have kids, and cook?!” Xiao Jing retorted angrily.
The soldier froze. “Look at yourself! So weak and small! How are you going to fight like that?! Do you even have a combat suit? Do you have weapons? Are you planning to kill the beasts with rocks? O’ perhaps yer’ bare hands? If you have none of that, get the hell out of here!”
At the relentless mansplaining, Xiao Jing’s face turned a brilliant red.
She had co out here on a whim. When the soldier called her out, she suddenly felt like taking a step back. For all that was worth, she knew in her heart that she could do nothing to defend herself; it only made her more eager to enter the battlefield.
Just as she decided to return ho, a loud voice called out, “I’ll take her with !”
Xiao Jing froze as she turned to the direction the voice was calling. When she saw the person who had spoken, she cried, “Qin Feng!”
The boy nodded at her, then said to the soldier, “She’s probably going through so hard tis right now. I’m her classmate. Let bring her with !”
Qin Feng pointed to the energy gun at his waist.
The soldier’s hardened expression softened up a little, relieved to see the energy gun and stellar combat uniform.
“Go ahead then. Rember to co back alive!”
The soldier stepped aside to let them through. He had mistakenly thought that Qin Feng had been awakened in the previous term. What he did not know was that both Qin Feng and Xiao Jing had only just received their awakening injections seven or eight days ago.
Qin Feng led Xiaojing past the gate and followed the path ahead. There were a lot of traps around the area, so it would be an absurd idea to hunt there.
“Thank you so much, Qin Feng!” Xiao Jing said, her eyes welled with grateful tears.
“You don’t have to thank . We’re old classmates!” he replied, attempting to comfort his friend. That was precisely what the past life’s Xiao Jing had told Qin Feng. Maybe it was because his previous life was so painful that he rembered every little single bit of kindness shown to him.
A drop of water shall be returned with a burst of spring.
“Thank you!” Xiao Jing was so touched by the gesture that she could hold back no further, burst into tears and sobs.
Qin Feng kept quiet. He didn’t have the slightest inkling on how to soothe her. He was a guy and had never shed a tear before even when he bled.
Moreover, he was completely clueless as to what had happened to her.
In the future, she was going to be soone that people would admire most among all her classmates.
“I’m sorry!” croaked Xiao Jing as she quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hands and forced a smile at her classmate.
“It’s okay. Look. Is there sothing wrong?”
Xiao Jing fell silent for a mont before replying, “My father wanted to get married... to a thirty-year-old man!”
COMNT
Qin Feng fell silent again. These kinds of things were very common, and he had grown accustod to it, eventually turning sowhat indifferent to the questionable practice.
As the conversation had already gone in that direction, Xiao Jing continued anyway, “I have two younger brothers – you know that already. Next year, the older one will be awakened too. My father is preparing so strengthening potions for him. He promised to marry off to soone for 80,000 Chinese currency. I didn’t think that there would be a man out there who would want a tomboy like . That guy already has a twelve-year-old child! If I marry him, I’ll beco a stepmother! What a terrible joke.
“I asked my father to give a month – I might beco an ability user or an Ancient Warrior. But they were not willing to wait. He even said that I didn’t need to beco anything, so long as his son-in-law was great!”
The more she spoke, the angrier she seed.
Qin Feng understood now. It was not that Xiao Jing’s father did not want her to beco an Ancient Warrior. He was simply afraid that he could not afford to provide for his family. Their family was so impoverished, they were almost always hungry. Right now, especially, her two brothers were growing teenagers with an appetite to match – which explained why Xiao Jing was so skinny. With other mouths to feed, how could they sacrifice what little money they had just so that Xiao Jing could beco an Ancient Warrior?!
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