Shi Lang did not know what was happening inside the monitoring room, none of the students were aware that the armors were bugged and they were under the watch of the senior officers.
Suddenly a voice sounded inside the earpieces of all the soldiers, “This is command center, you all have passed the examination. You are now ordered to retreat and hand over the rest to the commanding officer in the outpost.
Just when the people were doubting their lives, the message was repeated. Jenkins glanced at Shi Lang and the latter returned the gesture. They heaved a sigh and Shi Lang said, “Retreat, we are done here.”
He did not understand why they were commanded to return but as a soldier, the first thing was to follow the orders. Shi Lang had the injured people move first and he patiently waited in the end for the rest of the people. This was his duty, to make sure his group retreats safely.
Jenkins stood there by him and asked, “Are you thinking why did they pull us out?”
The latter nodded, and replied, “I can deduce a few reasons behind this order but there is something more.” his tone was calm as they moved through the trenches.
Jenkins asked, “What is it?”
Shi Lang said, “How come they pulled us out exactly as the intel was acquired?” questioned.
Jenkins was puzzled and then he said, “You mean, we are being watched?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “If I did not know any better I would have thought that they had telepathy. If you recall, in the data we were provided, the objective of the task was not included.”
Jenkins nodded and added, “Indeed, it was all oral. Wait, do you mean the task was not to get the palace?”
Shi Lang nodded, “If I am to speculate, I would say, our armors are bugged, and they can hear everything we did, second, you know how they first take down the satellites of the enemy planet when the attack to disable communication. So, they can also have been monitoring the movements of the enemy. However, since the other party called in for special forces, then it must have something special. We are general students, how can they place the bet on us?” the boy was using a tone that was just stating facts.
Jenkins said, “You, nerd, can you stop analyZing it all? I might revolt knowing all this.”
Shi Lang chuckled and said, “When I get a rank higher than these old people, I want them to run ten laps in the ground while doing a handstand.”
Jenkins chuckled and said, “Are you not too cruel to the heroes?”
Old military officers were treated as heroes. Their effort made the whole race so prosper. Shi Lang shook his head and said, “I am using them to motivate youth. Also, I want to abolish this, how the people manipulate us, students. All the instructors are the same. I tell you, Teacher Rosa used to grind me, then that brutal training camp, and now this. The whole experience of the student life is dampened by these paranoid teachers.”
Jenkins said, “Did you not say that the armor is bugged?”
He was hinting that everything being spoken here is heard by the higher-ups in the command center. Shi Lang said, “I will do ten rounds in the ground while doing handstands.”
The two fell silent and laughed out loud.
…
The interaction was heard by the old military officers in the command center and their foreheads were covered with black lines. The old officer said, “Den, I want these two for an hour.”
He was clenching his fists in anger. How dare these two people defy the respect of a senior officer? Den was about to nod when his communicator rang. The man accepted the call and his facial expression changed between surprise, shock, in the end, the man gulped a mouthful of saliva before responding, “Yes, acknowledged.”
He solemnly disconnected the call and the old man asked, “What is it?”
Den said, “You cannot have them for an hour. I passed their results as soon as they took the first shot. Shi Lang turns out to have been recruited already. He is not under your command and the same goes for Jenkins.”
The old man asked with a surprised expression, “Oh, which division did they choose?”
Den took a deep breath and said, “Jenkins is going to be posted to the first cavalry as a private. His father, General Edwards wishes for him to work his way from the ground.
Shi Lang’s matters are a bit complicated, I am told that my level of authority is not high enough to know, so I think he is going to some secret division. You know how the secret divisions are.”
The old man and the other officer opened their eyes wide as a saucer. The old man said, “There are so many secret divisions located on different conquered planets. The lowest rank is that of a captain. The captain is still to be seen by a major or a colonel with respect. This kid literally struck gold this time.”
The rest of them nodded. Den excused himself in the name of welcoming his students.
…
Shi Lang and the rest of the people came back to the outpost and found the troops moving out to take charge of the cleared trenches. The boy ordered the group to stand at the side in attention and let the soldiers pass. He said, “GODSPEED.”
The rest of the group echoed the same and the soldiers replied, “HAA.”
This grunt was a symbol of their acknowledgment and at the same time, respect for the good wish. The speed of the troops was faster than the group behind Shi Lang. The aura was also completely different. Unknowingly, watching such a big troupe charging ahead made the students affected. They were reeled in the domineering effect of the deathly aura surrounding the soldiers marching out.
Shi Lang had spent time in the camp on Ao. He had some knowledge about what the aura of a soldier was. They were people always ready to stake their lives on a momentary notice. He had developed some immunity against this aura as to not get lost in the might of it, however, the group behind him was not like him.
He shouted, “Wake Up.”
His voice resounded in the ears of the group and they all woke up from the daze. Shi Lang said, “Look at them and learn. This is the spirit of those who overcame the fears in their heart. This is the spirit of those who live at the edge of life and death.
Do you think they are the same as you? They all have families, they all have a home, yet here they are, staking their lives at the front. What for? So that the weak back at home can rest easy. Remember that only those with strength are asked to make sacrifices and not the other way around.”
As he stopped speaking, almost half of the students behind him bowed their heads in shame, they were the bullies back at school, and today only did they realize what it meant to be a soldier. Until a plant faces winds and sunlight, it cannot become a tree. The students were also greenhouse plants and today only did they face their first wind.
They waited for the troops to pass, only then did they move inside the outpost limits. Shi Lang had the group on stand-by and came to the Outpost In-charge office. He knocked on the door and the same indifferent voice sounded, “Come in.”
Shi Lang pushed open the door and walked inside, he took off his helmet and saluted the lady sitting on the chair in front of him. He said, “Cadet Shi Lang reporting ma’am.”
The lady nodded and said, “Your entire movement is recorded in the system, you are not needed to provide a detailed report. If you have any casualties, then take medical aid. If not, then five minutes later you are cleared to board the choppers and go back to the main spaceport.
Shi Lang nodded and after taking the orders he moved out of the office. The group did not have anyone injured seriously, and those who were injured had been treated earlier. Still, he asked them if anyone needed medical help? The group refused and they all moved to board the helicopters.
The pilots seemed to have received orders in advance. They only asked, “Rookie, take the headcount.”
Shi Lang replied, “All accounted for big brother.”
The pilot nodded with a slight smile and then the convoy took off. The rest of the journey was insignificant, however, the accumulated mental fatigue washed over them during this period. Some people recalled the scene where they killed people with their hands. Shi Lang was aware this would happen but only these people can help themselves.
Mental demons can only be conquered by those who suffer them. When the helicopters landed at the spaceport, the students got down with heavy hearts.