Life as a mercenary turned into a girl is a bit difficult

"Li...Colonel Li! Why are you here?"

Lu Shengyang immediately stepped aside and stood aside and raised his hands in salute. Li Qing's figure then walked into the tent, and with him came a familiar face, the Southern Federal Central Science Ministry Research Institute, Zero Nine’s titular uncle: Ujia Xu.

From the moment he stepped into the tent, Hiiragi could clearly notice that Ling Jiu's body trembled slightly, and the spoon he was holding almost fell off the table.

"Researcher Ren and Researcher Jia seem to have a lot of topics to discuss, so I brought Researcher Wu here to have dinner first." After seeing Hiiragi Jing and Ling Jiu in the tent, combined with Lu Shengyang's Li Qing seemed to understand something: "On the contrary, you... A guard just reported to me that you seemed to have had a conflict with two ladies. Can you explain to me what happened?"

"Uh...I..."

Lu Shengyang also knew how disgraceful this kind of thing was, especially when he was knocked down by a young girl in such a way. It was so embarrassing that Lu Shengyang couldn't even speak intermittently.

"Did Lingjiu cause you any trouble?"

Ujiaxu's active inquiry once again caused Lingjiu's body to tremble. She shrunk her neck and slowly lowered her head. Looking at Hiiragi Jing's eyes, she was already convinced that Ujiaxu's treatment of Lingjiu was definitely not good.

"No, it doesn't count as a conflict. There were just some minor misunderstandings between me and Second Lieutenant Lu, and they have been solved. It's not a big deal."

Hiiragi opened her mouth and turned everyone's attention to herself. The pinholes on Lingjiu's wrist and the fear she showed just now reflected Ujiaxu's harshness from the side. Although it had nothing to do with herself, Hiiragi Jing finally decided to take action.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he took Ling Jiu out of the matter and threw it to Lu Shengyang to avoid further conflicts. With Hiiragi Jing's 'clarification', Lu Shengyang immediately followed Hiiragi Jing's words. He walked up the steps and echoed: "That's right, it's just a small misunderstanding, it's nothing."

"Really?" His eyes glanced back and forth between Li Jing and Lu Shengyang. He knew that it was not that simple. Since both of them had spoken so, Li Qing accepted this statement. At this stage, he didn't want to An unexpected conflict occurred between Lu Shengyang and the Southern Federation.

"Well, in that case, there is nothing to pursue. Researcher Wu, let's go to another tent to have dinner."

Ujiaxu nodded, but he did not immediately follow Li Qingmai. Instead, he waved to Lingjiu and made a gesture: "Lingjiu, come here."

"Yes."

The food on the plate has not been finished yet, but Lingjiu still put down his spoon and walked towards Ujiaxu. His decisive behavior showed no trace of reluctance or hesitation, but Hiiragi discovered that the stainless steel spoon left on the table There is a slight twist at the handle of the spoon.

Chapter 28 The herd attack and meeting familiar friends again

"They went deep into the jungle?"

Yesterday's time together was not long, but Hiiragi had a better understanding of Lingjiu himself during this short time together. The deepening of the understanding also promoted the change of her personal attitude. Although Lingjiu was in the research institute last time, The motive for the sudden attack on her was still a mystery, but Hiiragi Jing no longer acted so fearful, and she became more and more curious about this mysterious girl.

It's just that this kind of curiosity seems to be different from before. Apart from his concern about her identity, there seems to be other things in the girl that are more attractive to him. Even Hiiragi himself doesn't know the end of this inexplicable attraction. Where does it originate from.

In her two-year career as a mercenary, Hiei Jing has interacted with many people. Some people have worked together, and some people have just passed by in a hurry. Behind these people, there is a special and exciting secret. , the most indispensable thing for people struggling in the wasteland is probably stories.

But Hiiragi has never cared so much about a girl as he does now. His uncontrolled subconscious always unconsciously pays more attention in her direction. This subtle feeling makes Hiiragi very uncomfortable... It's like There is another consciousness that resides in this body.

She originally thought that she might be able to find some reasonable explanation for Ling Jiu today, but what Hiiragi didn't expect was that this team from the Southern Federation actually had other unexpected plans.

Deep into the jungle?

"Yes, early this morning, after meeting up with other colleagues from the Newborn City, we set off. In order to ensure their safety, half of the patrol team was also dispatched... Don't look at me like that... Well, just Even I don't understand what these guys from the Southern Federation want to do." Ren Xi chewed vaguely the dry multigrain biscuits in his mouth for breakfast, then took the cup and drank the hard grain particles in his mouth with tea. into the belly.

Compared with lunch and dinner, the breakfast at the reclamation camp seems to be a lot easier to cope with. This kind of dehydrated and hard multi-grain biscuit can be seen directly from the battle preparation warehouse of the Newborn City. It is not known how long it has been stored. The grains The proper aroma was completely replaced by a stale smell.

"Then... what exactly did you and that researcher named Jiaheng say yesterday?" Hiong Jing did not intend to give up on getting some clues from Ren Xi.

"Prying into the researcher's internal conversations is a serious illegal act, whether in New City or elsewhere in the Southern Federation..." Hiei Jing's questioning made Ren Xi feel helpless, "Well, actually, it's not something that needs to be kept secret. The information they received was nothing more than asking me about some things about the dense forest...including the experience of the forest patrol team in distress, the reclamation camp's records of the terrain and terrain of the explored areas, etc...."

"But... what's surprising is that Jiaheng actually knew about the previous investigation." Ren Xi put down the tea cup and picked up the documents to be processed. As he spoke, he recalled yesterday's conversation in his mind. In fact, She was no less doubtful than Hiiragi Jing, "I should be the only one in the reclamation camp who knows the details of the investigation report that was handed over to Newborn City. The so-called insiders, including Li Qing, only know a rough outline." , doesn’t it mean that they have direct channels to obtain information from the leadership of Newborn City?”

"Investigation? Is it the investigation of the light beam witness?"

"Otherwise?" Ren Xi shrugged, her frowning eyebrows seeming to recall some bad memories, "That Jiaheng attached great importance to this message. Although the words used in the conversation were very polite, his tone and attitude always revealed There was an aggressive aura, more like an interrogation than an inquiry. If my superiors hadn't asked me to fully cooperate, I wouldn't have bothered to pay any attention to her."

As he spoke, Ren Xi snorted and bluntly expressed his negative impression of Jiaheng.

"Then, your answer is..." The fundamental reason for that investigation was with herself. When she thought that the topics they talked about might lead to her being targeted by Jiaheng, she couldn't help but worry about her situation. .

"How else can I answer it? It's just that someone witnessed the appearance of the light beam, and then asked various personnel in the reclamation camp for confirmation... Don't worry, I didn't tell you, and she didn't struggle with the identity of the witness. There were too many, and we ended the meeting after verifying the investigation results." Ren Xi knew what Hiiragi Jing was worried about, and she immediately reassured Hiiragi Jing that he didn't need to worry too much.

"But on the other hand, the attitude of these people from the Southern Federation seems to prove the authenticity of the light pillar you witnessed that night. I may be able to make another supplementary information to ask the Newborn City to pay attention to it, but you should also understand..." Ren Xi's speaking speed suddenly slowed down, and the atmosphere around the dining table gradually became more solemn, "Essentially speaking, the development of such a thing is not a good thing..."

Hiiragi Jing naturally understood what Ren Xi meant. The confirmation of the blue light beam would raise the danger level in the forest area to the west to the same level as that in the abandoned city nuclear wasteland.

It’s just that the situation faced by the Newborn City may be more studied. After experiencing the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland incident, the Newborn City will be difficult to carry out a second large-scale military mobilization in a short period of time, otherwise the military will not easily give in and agree to the government’s plan. disarmament plan.

"Of course, we are not without any countermeasures. The plan to recruit mercenaries has actually begun to be implemented. The first batch of mercenaries is expected to arrive at the reclamation camp soon. Even if the reclamation camp adopts a wait-and-see attitude, it will not be stupid enough to not make preparations. ..." Just when Ren Xi reached out to pick up the tea cup and was about to bring it to her mouth to moisten her throat, a sudden sound outside the window made her hand freeze in mid-air. Hiiragi Jing, who had just picked up the biscuits on the table and brought it to her mouth, also There was no bite for a moment.

The time between the two of them seemed to have stopped for the last second. Whether it was Hiiragi Jing or Ren Xi, they stopped any behavior that might make any noise and listened carefully to any strange things that might come.

Finally, after a few breaths, when the similar sound came again, they finally confirmed that what they just heard was not an illusion - it was a gunshot!

After clarifying their judgment, the two of them took action quickly. Ren Xi took out the pistol from the desk drawer and stuck it in his waist. Hiiragi immediately returned to his room and quickly finished putting on his equipment.

Jinbu followed Ren Xi out of the door and saw that people in the camp outside the house were also gathering under the command of their respective team leaders and waiting for instructions. Although they had been busy with the construction of the reclamation camp after being disbanded from the standing army, their military training They have never fallen behind, and their orderly and urgent actions still prove their qualifications as a soldier.

The gunshots coming from sporadic turns became more rapid, and even the sound of heavy machine guns began to be continuous. Fortunately, the gunshots only lasted for about 1 minute. When Hiiragi Jing and Ren Xi hurried away, By the time we reached the edge of the wall the battle seemed to be coming to an end.

"What happened?"

Ren Xi saw Li Qing standing at the gate at a glance. He seemed to have just completed his combat preparations. The orderly soldier quickly ran away from him to convey the latest combat instructions to others.

"It's a group of headhunting wild dogs." Li Qing immediately replied after hearing the inquiry from Ren Xi, "They came from the southwest. The size of this headhunting wild dog group is unknown but it is very aggressive. The soldiers on the periphery have just They were repelled, and we are still not sure whether these guys will launch a second attack."

"How did they come so close to the reclamation camp? Didn't the patrol team on the outside notice it?" Ren Xi was extremely dissatisfied with the current situation of Li Qing's defense work in the reclamation camp, but Li Qing did not dare to neglect it at all. , after all, this is indeed his dereliction of duty, but the reason is difficult for even him to change.

"This headhunting wild dog group moves very fast, and the patrol team has always been responsible for the outer patrol, but... for the safety of those in the Southern Federation, we have divided half of the range force, which has also led to many There is a vacuum in patrol strength in the area, and a patrol team will be responsible for a patrol area twice as large as before..." Li Qing shook his head, and the dense beads of sweat on his forehead clearly reflected his anxiety at the moment.

"Furthermore, we have never observed this group of headhunting wild dogs before. They should come from the depths of the jungle. The area where the reclamation camp is located should be outside their past activity range. What exactly prompted them to move in this direction... I Now we need to contact Lu Shengyang immediately and ask about the situation in the Southern Federation. During this period, researcher Ren is also asked to consciously stay in a safe area and wait for the latest developments."

After a quick explanation, Li Qing left in a hurry. This encounter made the entire reclamation camp boil.

The restless herd...

After listening to Li Qing's description just now, Hiei Jing immediately recalled the abnormal behavior of the monsters in the abandoned city of JD. She had already determined in her heart that there was no doubt that the blue light beam she saw that night had caused the surrounding mutant beasts to ignite. The abnormal movements of the group pose a great threat to the surroundings.

At this time, there was suddenly a familiar roar of motors in the sky. A powered glider taking off from the camp was passing over their heads and flying towards the outside of the wall. The driver would detect the movements of this headhunting wild dog group from the sky.

While tightening defenses, the reclamation camp could only wait patiently. Fortunately, good news came from the powered glider. The attacking herd had retreated to the depths of the dense forest. It seemed that they would not attack again. attacked.

There were no other casualties reported in the reclamation camp except for one person who was bitten who was too late to evacuate the camp from the construction site.However, the crisis was still not over. The reclamation camp showed no signs of relaxing its nerves. The construction progress of the construction site came to a standstill. A large number of soldiers from the reclamation camp who had received weapons were divided into several small teams and began to set up defenses around the perimeter of the reclamation camp.

Hieragi followed Ren Xi to the trench where the battle had just taken place. In the open space in front of them lay the corpses of more than a dozen headhunting wild dogs. The soldiers around were carrying and processing these corpses. Although the meat of the headhunting wild dogs was of poor quality, they were tired of eating canned food. The soldiers in the meat reclamation camp will never let go of the rare game.

According to the reports heard, it was known that those who attacked this time were ordinary headhunting wild dogs. There were no headhunting wild dog leaders of the first level or above. Even so, Hiiragi still felt scared. The defenses of the reclamation camp were very primitive. , without strong firepower and solid fortifications, once you really encounter an advanced monster, you will pay quite heavy casualties.

Lack of manpower and supplies, the seemingly calm reclamation camp will be completely disrupted once it encounters a real crisis.

Just as Hiiragi was standing on the sandbags to assess the defense level of the reclamation camp, another strange sound came from not far away, but this time it was not a gunshot, but the sound of a car engine.

"Here they are, the mercenaries from the Firstborn City... The progress in the Firstborn City is quite rapid."

Ren Xi cleared up Hiei Jing's doubts with one sentence. There were three transport trucks driving towards here at the end of the muddy road. They slowly drove into the open space area not far away. Standing behind the carriages The mercenaries jumped out of the car one after another. According to visual inspection, there should be about 40 to [-] people. They were called and verified under the leadership of the person in charge.

The various mercenaries seemed to have noticed the situation here, after all, the smell of gunpowder smoke in the air had not dissipated.

"Since there is nothing going on here, let's go back first..." After a round of inspection, Ren Xi put down her guard and prepared to leave. Today's workload is not easy for her. The construction site can temporarily stop work, but her report can be Can't stop.

"Ah."

Just as Hiiragi quickly glanced at the mercenaries and prepared to follow Ren Xi's footsteps, suddenly, a familiar figure in the crowd froze the steps Hiiragi was about to take.

Why is he here? !

Chapter 29 The growth of two people

Lin Qin never thought that one day he would make such a bold move: accepting the recruitment commission from the reclamation camp and boarding a vehicle bound for the reclamation camp to become the first batch of mercenaries to arrive here.

The origin of all this was just that he accidentally glanced at the bulletin board of the Special Business Management Center. The recruitment commission for the reclamation camp was placed at the top and marked in the most conspicuous red. This arrangement caught his eye in an instant.

Obviously he had seen the 'high risk' level marked on the back of the commission, and he obviously had a clear understanding of his abilities, but when he thought of the uncle who was still lying in the intensive care unit of the medical department of the institute from the word 'reclamation camp', he was confused. accepted the commission.

Even at that time, Lin Qin had realized that this was an irrational behavior driven by impulsive emotions, but he still indulged his impulse. Thinking back to Lin Pingfeng's heavy injury, Lin Qin felt as if he was carrying a heavy burden on his back. An intangible sense of mission, and finally completed all the procedures for accepting the commission.

However, the impulse was just a momentary emotional catharsis. After accepting the commission and returning to his temporary residence, a practical problem quickly made him realize the current situation - he was completely unprepared and did not even have a firearm. as a weapon.

After Lin Pingfeng strongly objected to continuing to take the mercenary route, his weapons were confiscated. Perhaps they were stored in an underground shooting range, or perhaps they were sold directly on the market... No matter what, , his top priority is to obtain a weapon immediately to catch the transport truck at eight o'clock tomorrow morning.

Although all Lin Pingfeng's expenses for the medical department of the institute are fully borne by the reclamation camp, Lin Qin's own living expenses are not generous, not to mention that his purchase list goes far beyond weapons. Additional equipment such as protective gear is a significant expense.

The equipment market expenses of the underground shooting range are quite large for him, which prevents Lin Qin from going to the gathering area of ​​​​the North Gate to buy some unreliable but cheap stalls for emergency use. The only good thing is that the ammunition consumed in this operation is from The reclamation camp provided it, and he only needed to purchase firearms with a caliber suitable for the standard general-purpose rifle ammunition of the New City.

He originally thought that he had been mentally prepared after having experienced a JD abandoned city, but from the moment he boarded the transport truck bound for the reclamation camp the next morning, it was as if he had been injected with some kind of... Like an inexplicable catalyst, the hand holding the railing began to tremble, his breathing became rapid, and the tension in his heart spread uncontrollably, even more nervous than when he went to the JD Abandoned City Nuclear Wasteland.

This time he was alone without Lin Pingfeng, and the mercenaries around him were all unfamiliar faces.

It was only then that Lin Qin truly realized how dependent he was on Lin Pingfeng. Perhaps the experience of JD destroying the city did not help his growth as much as he imagined. Perhaps his uncle was After seeing this clearly, she always opposed him becoming a mercenary.

From the moment the transport truck engine started and drove away from the Newborn City, the meaning of the simple word 'high risk' began to ferment in his heart.Especially after comparing the other heavily armed mercenaries with himself, Lin Qin's heart continued to surge with increasingly complex emotions, including tension, uneasiness, fear and a trace of regret.

But from the moment he boarded the transport truck, he knew that he had no way out. This was not only to find the reason why his uncle was severely injured, but also an opportunity to prove himself. In any case, Lin Qin had no choice but to bite the bullet and continue. .

"So this is the reason why you came to the reclamation camp wearing these rags?" Although Lin Qin's description was stumbling, it was not difficult to understand what he wanted to express, and for Hieragi Jing, the behavior she despised the most was She commented unceremoniously on this mindless impulse.

"madness!"

"Tattered things are too exaggerated..." Hiiragi Jing's scolding made Lin Qin cringe and take a step back. The rhetorical question in his mouth was met with a sneer from Hiiragi Jing.

"exaggerate?"

Hiiragi Jing snatched the firearm from Lin Qin's hand and dismantled it into a pile of parts in just two or three blows: "Even the poorest scavengers don't know how to use this piece of rusty garbage. Not to mention that the rifling is almost flat, but there are still cracks and pores in the inner wall of the barrel? And your protective gear is so badly worn that you can’t even feel the deformation?! Are you looking down on the wasteland? What on earth do you think? Where is this place?!"

Hiiragi Jing's series of scoldings made Lin Qin cower and dare not raise his head. However, this girl, who was a few points shorter than him, made Lin Qin feel as majestic as his own uncle, making him unable to have the courage to argue even once. What's more, he had no way to defend himself as he had already done something wrong.

Such a long scolding made Hiiragi Jing a little tired. Lin Qin lowered his head and admitted his mistake and there was no need to continue the scolding. Hiiragi Jing took a deep breath to calm down his restless mood.

It had been so long since she'd become a mercenary that she'd been angry, which even confused her.

Hiiragi Jing has always maintained great restraint in interfering in other people's affairs, but it is difficult for Hiiragi Jing, a young mercenary who has also experienced JD to destroy the city, to treat him as an ordinary passerby.

Although he was a little naive, Lin Qin was not bad in nature. More importantly, she saw the shadow of her past in Lin Qin. Lin Qin was just like herself in the past. In her heart, she longed for the man who could freely enter and exit the city with weapons and explore. All unknown professions, and his fear and uneasiness now are the same as when he first walked out of the city gate.

"Forget it, come with me..." Hiiragi sighed helplessly, put the parts in his hands back together and stuffed them into the other person's hands, then grabbed the other person's collar and pulled him to prepare to take him away. This is a temporary gathering area for mercenaries.

"Me, where are we going?"

"Go to a researcher I know. I will ask her to help send you back to the Newborn City. Don't worry about the breach of contract. She will also help you handle it. Now you go back to the medical department of the institute to take care of you. uncle……"

"No...I won't go back."

Before Hiiragi finished her words, Lin Qin, who was still following her, suddenly stood up. Such a willful refusal made Hiiragi's anger that had just calmed down rise again.

"Do you think I'm kidding you? The danger here will not be less than when JD destroyed the city. You mercenaries will be used as the main combat force in that jungle that is not even fully mapped. Are you really Do you think that you can be self-righteous because of your experience in the ruined city? Or do you have a boring revenge mood for what happened to your uncle, hoping to use your own strength to avenge the unknown danger in the dense forest? "

Hiiragi Jing said and tugged a few more times, but Lin Qin showed a headache-inducing stubbornness, standing still and refusing to move even half a step. This made Hiiragi Jing determined to do something real.

She was not as good as Lin Qin in the Power Mountain, but when it came to skills, how could a rookie like Lin Qin be her opponent? Shen Jing suddenly took a step closer to Lin Qin, and the strength in her hands also changed from pulling to pushing. At the same time, she explored His right foot tripped slightly behind Lin Qin. Lin Qin, who had no time to regain his footing, was knocked over and fell to the ground.

"Since you are so insistent, let me ask you some of the most basic questions: Do you know how to maintain your weapons quickly and effectively? Do you know the limits of your protective gear? Do you know the correct steps when encountering different monsters? Is there any way to deal with it?" The condescending Hiiragi looked down at Lin Qin lying on the ground coldly, "This is a high-risk area, not a fertile ground for you to pursue your dream of being a mercenary..."

"I know!"

Lin Qin, who was suddenly thrown to pieces, responded loudly like a roar. Even though they had tried their best to stay away from the crowd, they attracted a lot of attention, but at this time, Hiiragi Jing didn't have much thought to care about it. All of her All attention was focused on a palm-sized notebook that Lin Qin suddenly took out from his pocket.

The plastic-wrapped book cover is damaged in many places, but the content and handwriting are still clearly visible, and the simple hand-torn bookmarks are also arranged in an extremely orderly manner.

"These are combat precautions, bullet casing identification, weapon model identification, and monster encounter guides... Some of them were told by my uncle, and some were collected by me myself..." Lin Qin, biting his lips, squeezed out his rebuttal bit by bit through his teeth. Lying on the ground, he still tried his best to stretch his arms, as if he wanted to stick this small manual on Hiiragi's face, "Including the last time the abandoned city encountered a swarm of rats, the correct approach to the red-bearded spider nest, and how to Exploring the closed underground system...the content inside is increasing at any time, and I am always remembering..."

The original confusion and uneasiness had disappeared, Lin Qin's eyes covered with tears were full of determination, and the trembling figure in the dark subway seemed to be stripped away from Hiei Jing's memory in an instant.

He is naive but he is learning, even if the next tuition fee may be death... Including Hiiragi himself, this is what most mercenaries must go through when they embark on this path.

"Tsk..." Hiei Jing slowly squatted down and looked at Lin Qin from top to bottom, as if trying to find anything strange in those eyes.

"I will ask the researcher to find a way to get you a new set of firearms and equipment. Since you insist, I am too lazy to meddle."

As she spoke, a bitter smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Hiiragi Jing's mouth: "I know I am not qualified to say this, but I still want to remind you: since you have relatives to care about, your life no longer belongs to you... …Don’t die.”

Chapter 30 Late night secret conversation

However, the attacks by a few headhunting wild dogs did not cause any deaths in the reclamation camp. Even people who were not within the protection range of the camp at that time hid in nearby safety facilities as soon as the alarm sounded to avoid danger and irregular crises. Acting is never a formal performance.

On the other hand, judging from the route of this group of headhunting wild dogs, the attack on the reclamation camp was not their long-premeditated hunting plan, but more like an accident that happened to happen on their route. A few corpses taking a detour is consistent with the probing habits of head-hunting wild dogs.

However, the impact of such emergencies can be far greater than the actual losses.

If the previous attack on an entire ranger team in the dense forest to the west made the reclamation camp realize the danger of this jungle, then this time the direct attack of the headhunting wild dogs on the reclamation camp made the reclamation camp truly feel the danger. is approaching.

This time it was a headhunting wild dog, but what about next time?