Shi Lang finished showering and erased the smell on him. His body odor was back to normal. He dried himself with a towel and dressed in a clean set of black cargo pants, a round-necked black t-shirt, and black high ankle leather boots. This was military training gear, on the back of the t-shirt a few words were printed in bold.
Ragnarok.
Shi Lang walked outside and made his way to the camp master’s office, these were his instructions. He knocked on the door and a voice said, “Come in.”
He walked inside and saw Dalia sitting in the chair of the camp master. He placed his right hand over his heart and said, “Cadet Shi Lang, reporting madam camp Master.”
Dalia nodded and said, “You did good in the task. Somehow, well there were a lot of loopholes, that optimal data report has been sent to your communicator. Your training has now officially ended, you can go back to The Federation and report for the military entrance exam. Also, the merit points for completing the task will be added to your examination final score. If you place among the top ten in the federation, then you can choose the unit you want to report on your own. Any questions?”
Shi Lang nodded, and Dalia said, “Go on?”
The boy said, “Where can I find Instructor Yuu? She promised me a meal.”
Dalia smiled and said, “She is in the mess hall of the main base. You are dismissed if you have nothing else to ask.”
Shi Lang asked, “Can I keep the communicator?”
Dalia nodded and said, “It will not be used by anyone else, and as soon as you are in the civilian region it will be locked for minimal communication, like your mobile. Until it is an emergency nearby and the federation needs you to help out.”
Shi Lang saluted her and left the room. He looked around and was trying to find the other instructors but he did not spot John or Carlos. Before he knew it, he was outside the camp. He walked in confident strides and entered the main base facility building. His communicator was his Id and thus he was not stopped.
After recalling the pathway, he came to the mess hall and found a big table where Yuu sat with a plate of food in front of her. None of the soldiers sat with her. Shi Lang walked over and saluted as he said, “Cadet Shi Lang reporting Instructor.”
Yuu said, “Good to make it back alive, you know while watching the monitoring screen, I could find ten ways to kill you. You had a piece of good luck in your pocket to have made it out of there.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “It was all your blessing.”
Yuu scoffed and said, “Cheeky, go order what you want, it is my treat. The ship departs in thirty minutes, You have twenty minutes to eat.”
Shi Lang froze and then chuckled as he said, “Good plot.”
Yuu smirked lightly. The surrounding soldiers who saw this scene were shocked. Shi Lang queued up and one of the brawny men came over. The man asked him, “Kid, you from that ghost camp?”
Shi Lang smiled and nodded. The man gulped and asked, “Where did they send you?”
Shi Lang said, “I do not think I can divulge that? Can I, big brother?”
The man nodded and said, “You can. We all know, those of the ghost camp are all reapers. Instructor Yuu is one of those everyone is scared of.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “scouted a Shamanti tribe and came back.” since he had to tell he just told them, he told them half the truth.
The soldiers nodded and praised him. Soon it was his turn, he only ordered protein jelly and came back to the sit down with Yuu. The lady asked, “Why not eat more?”
Shi Lang said, “The space jump will make me puke it all. I better have this.”
Yuu took a deep breath as she stopped her chuckle. She thought he complimented her plot of limited time, but he was complimenting her for this as well. He ate quietly with a disposable spoon. Yuu asked, “Do you resent the instructors?”
Shi Lang nodded instantly without any hesitation. The lady asked again, “Is it because of the cruel training or the wrong intel data on the task/”
Shi Lang said, “Latter.”
Yuu nodded and said, “Okay, I will leave it at that.”
She would have to tell him better if he was to resent the training but since it was the deliberate exposure to danger, she would not say anything. It was their mistake after all, and he could have died. As she said earlier, it was his good luck to have survived. There were many times when he could have been torn to shreds under the hands of the Shamantis, however, he survived. This was a deliberate mistake on their part.
Shi Lang said, “I resent you all, but it is fine, when I get a rank high enough, I will have you salute me and stand in attention for a whole day to settle the account.”
Yuu nodded and said, “I will wait for that day to come.”
Shi Lang and Yuu chatted in low voices for a few minutes and the boy finished his food. He stood up and after a parting salute made his way to the spaceship. As he reached the hatch door, he found Aries standing at the side in his uniform.
The boy saluted him and Aries returned the gesture. The latter asked, “Ready to go home, Cadet?”
The boy nodded and they both boarded the ship.
…
After a few hours, Shi Lang stood at the porthole window again, watching The Federation growing bigger in size. Aries asked, “Kid, you fine?”
Shi Lang replied, “You visit hell and come back, I will ask you the same, commander.”
Aries laughed out loud at this.