The soldiers struggled to suppress their laughter, their faces twitching, but no one dared to actually laugh.
They were all elites drawn from various units, temporarily formed into a new unit before coming to Meteorite Star. After a few battles, they had all figured out the temperament of their new commander, Pei Yongxin: a machine.
On the battlefield, everything had to meet mechanical standards. Everyone had to be more mechanical than the mechs.
Pei Yongxin even required his subordinates to maintain the same grooming standards as if attending a ceremony, reasoning that "flawless grooming fosters good order, and a neat appearance can calm people."
At first, his subordinates thought Pei Yongxin was an idiot. On the battlefield, they had to be as neat as if attending a ball. Did shoes polished to a mirror shine make one fearless in the face of death?
Moreover, when encountering a beast tide, people still panicked and sweated profusely.
But later, the soldiers heard that the chaos on other trains was even worse.
Many soldiers on other trains saw a beast tide for the first time and were so scared they wet their pants, uncontrollably, like a showerhead.
Some people had heart attacks from fear, their faces pale as they collapsed with a thud, and even more suffered gastrointestinal problems, some even vomiting non-stop while firing their weapons.
In short, among all the trains that went out to meet the beast tide, Pei Yongxin's Unit Six was the cleanest, with no vomit or excrement. When the train returned after the battle, the soldiers disembarked, their uniforms neat as if they had just attended a medal ceremony. That air of fighting as if on vacation sent ripples of shock through the other soldiers.
Pei Yongxin's subordinates began to secretly wonder if maintaining their attire and hairstyles was actually useful.
Recalling carefully, after every beast tide engagement, Pei Yongxin would conduct surprise inspections of their appearance. At that time, everyone was busy tidying their clothes, and it did help them quickly forget their tension.
"It's time, get on the train," Pei Yongxin glanced at his watch and waved his hand sharply.
The soldiers lined up and boarded the train.
Just as Pei Yongxin was about to board, a sharp female voice called out from behind him.
"Pei Yongxin!"
"Here!" Pei Yongxin turned and stood at attention, his face serious.
The speaker was the female division commander, a tall and beautiful woman. She was wearing casual clothes and standing at the entrance of the duty room, holding a large two-liter tea mug, her long hair smooth and flowing.
"Come here," the division commander said sternly.
Pei Yongxin brought his arms up to his waist and ran over, stopping precisely four steps away.
The division commander grabbed him by the neck, pulled him into the duty room, and then slammed the door shut.
Pei Yongxin stood at attention in the corner.
"Hands out!" the division commander commanded sharply.
Pei Yongxin extended one hand. The division commander immediately shoved the teapot into it, forcing him to hold it obediently.
The division commander crossed her arms, a pose that made her chest appear quite prominent. "Do you know why you're being confined for a night?"
"Yes."
"You're scheduled for a week of confinement outside of mission periods. Since you know you're wrong, write a self-criticism report and submit it to me. If you complete the mission, you won't have to serve the confinement." The division commander glared at him. "No less than two thousand words, understood?"
"Report! I will not write it!"
The division commander froze, her eyes widening. "Why won't you write it?"
"I know why I'm being confined, but I believe I have done nothing wrong! I will obey the confinement as I obey military discipline, but I will not admit to errors that do not exist!" Pei Yongxin's face was serious.
The division commander slapped him on the head. "Are you being stubborn, you brat! How can you say you've done nothing wrong? The rescue team captain had already flown their aircraft over, and you refused to let your subordinates evacuate, insisting on fighting there! If the beast tide had piled onto the train and soldiers had died, could you bear that responsibility?"
"I believe the density of the beast tide at that time could have been eliminated, and the vehicle's AI also believed it could be eliminated. If we had abandoned the position and fled at that time, it would have caused financial and time losses to the unit," Pei Yongxin said with a calm expression. "Not eliminating an enemy that could be eliminated, but simply abandoning the position and fleeing at the sight of a fierce advance, is not the conduct of an army! Randomly wasting trains, weapons, and ammunition is not the conduct of a soldier!"
"Don't give me that, Pei Yongxin! The company pays for the equipment if it's lost, but your life is your own! If you misjudged, and the AI misjudged, and lives were lost, you'd be court-martialed!" the division commander said angrily. "This battle isn't urgent. A delay of one day is just a delay of one day. General Jiang hasn't set any time limits for war, why are you in such a hurry, you little punk!"
"Comrade Division Commander, what you say is incorrect!" Pei Yongxin raised his voice. "We are fighting here with money from the taxpayers of the refugee planet. We are carrying out our missions with the hard-earned money of citizens, and we are here to protect the interests of the citizens! An armed train might not be worth much to the military, but it's a huge sum of money to ordinary citizens! Such waste is absolutely intolerable! If I misjudged, I will bear all the consequences, and I will die on the train! But now we have won the encounter, saved time and resources, and I will not admit that I was wrong!"
The division commander was so angry she didn't know what to say and pounded Pei Yongxin's head hard several times with her fist.
Pei Yongxin stood straight and took the blows obediently.
After a prolonged beating, the division commander gave up in frustration and snatched the teacup fiercely from his hand.
"Alright, get out of here! Old Pei, let me tell you again, if you weren't so stubborn, you wouldn't still be a deputy division commander! And you wouldn't have a woman by your side yet!"
Pei Yongxin remained expressionless, saluted, and turned to leave.
He boarded the train, and the military train immediately started, slowly accelerating out of the station.
Pei Yongxin began his inspection from the first carriage to the rear. The ten minutes after boarding were for meals, and during this time, the train had not yet left the defense perimeter of the main city, making it absolutely safe.
The aisles of the fully occupied train were crowded, with soldiers walking back and forth to fetch water. Pei Yongxin walked slowly, stopping occasionally and brushing past a few soldiers.
After finally completing his inspection, Pei Yongxin returned to the lead carriage and took his breakfast from the insulated cabinet. His meal was simple: fried dough sticks dipped in hot chocolate, with lamb chops and broccoli.
He reached into his pocket for his personal cutlery but his expression suddenly changed.
As his hand emerged from his pocket, he found a piece of paper.
To be precise, it was a folded square of paper.
Pei Yongxin slowly unfolded the square. It contained printed words.
"Pei Yongxin, I have had a crush on you for a long time. I heard you don't have a partner, and after much thought, I've finally gathered the courage to confess my feelings to you."
"I wonder if you have plans to find a partner?"
"If you do, please place a small pot of yellow daisies on your dormitory windowsill. They are sold in the military online store, twenty yuan with free shipping."
"If you don't, please place a small pot of white daisies on your dormitory windowsill."
"Once I see the signal, I will choose to contact you, or I will never bother you again."
Pei Yongxin fell silent, reading the slip of paper over and over again.
His first thought was that this was some kind of new advertisement from a flower vendor. Perhaps in a few days, all the dormitory windowsills in the unit would be filled with flowers.
However, the note had a name at the beginning.
This didn't seem like an advertisement. There was no need to go to such lengths for something costing twenty yuan.
Who could have slipped it into his pocket?
Pei Yongxin suddenly felt a stir in his heart, a warm current flowing through his chest. He was impartial and his work was like a machine, but he was also a normal man. During his leisure time, he had thought about getting married and having children, but he was always busy and quickly forgot about it.
He had brushed past many soldiers during his inspection on the military train, so his subordinates were all suspects for slipping him the note.
Pei Yongxin recalled the dozens of female soldiers under his command, especially the few who were very beautiful. Could it be one of them?
But it felt wrong. He had known this batch of subordinates for less than a week, and he had always presented a rigid and stern face. How could any girl develop feelings for him?
Could it be... the division commander?