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"Xiao Liu, these three newcomers are from your squad. Take them away!" The gatekeeper uncle handed over Gu Xiaoxi and the two others to another uncle.

Liu Fei was the new squad leader for Gu Xiaoxi and her companions.

He was of average height, with a stubble of beard, and handed Gu Xiaoxi a broom, tossed Zhao Zilong a dustpan, and gave Shao Changfeng a basin of dog food, saying, "Just in time, you three will come with me. I’ll teach you how to feed the military dogs and clean the kennels first."

With that, he led the three through a large building toward a rectangular bungalow.

Gu Xiaoxi, holding the broom, felt her world was collapsing, as she went from carrying a gun to shoveling shit, a change that came about with just one sentence from the commander.

If only she had listened to him from the start.

Liu Fei told them that every month, several retired or injured dogs were sent here for care, so as time went on, there were a lot of injured and disabled dogs gathered here.

Their squad was responsible for not that many, just the forty military dogs in this kennel.

Forty kennels, daily cleaning, feeding, and airing out. Aside from that, there was nothing else to do.

No early morning training was required; they fed the military dogs promptly at eight, the only requirement being that meals were on time, lights out after ten at night, and the dormitory had to be clean and tidy.

"So, your duties aren’t heavy. As long as you do your jobs well, you can rest. It’s much more relaxing than the overload of training in the troops, huh!" Liu Fei said with a smile.

"Alright, we got it," they all said in unison.

Gu Xiaoxi looked at the kennels in front of her, various breeds of dogs, all lying on the ground, looking very spirited.

After that, Liu Fei taught them how to feed the dogs, then clean the kennels, how to communicate with the military dogs, and take them out for airing.

This task couldn’t be any more relaxing.

This unit also had a veterinarian, a military dog psychologist, akin to a large-scale rear services force.

Gu Xiaoxi stood with a broom at the entrance of the kennel, as Liu Fei had already left.

The remaining three looked at each other.

"Xiao Xi, do you think this is a good opportunity to practice our techniques more since we have plenty of time?" Shao Changfeng thought this might not be a disadvantage.

It was said that rear services had many people and light work, which compared to intense training, was practically heaven.

"Every coin has two sides. Since we’re here, we might as well just go with the flow," Gu Xiaoxi said as she held the broom and opened the iron cage in front of her. Inside, a black dog lay on the ground, fat and plump, stretching its legs, so lazy it seemed its bones were soft.

Especially since when Gu Xiaoxi stepped in, it only lifted its eyelids to glance at her, and then closed its eyes to continue sleeping.

"Why do I feel like you two are hiding something from me? Shao Changfeng, you wouldn’t have some unreliable secret with Gu Xiaoxi, would you?" Zhao Zilong, holding the dog food, had a face full of gossip.

"What secrets could we have? From now on, we’re a threesome, and there’s nothing to hide. I’m her apprentice, and I will follow her to learn martial arts in the future."

"So you gave up a bright future to come here?" Zhao Zilong thought Shao Changfeng had been kicked in the head by a donkey, and pretty badly at that.

A confident gleam flashed in Shao Changfeng’s eyes as he gave Zhao Zilong a radiant smile, "You don’t understand!" Following Gu Xiaoxi might lead to even greater prospects in the future.

"Yeah right!" Zhao Zilong turned his head away. He didn’t understand? He definitely didn’t, there had to be other secrets between Shao Changfeng and Gu Xiaoxi, like something about feelings of affection.

But all this time, he hadn’t noticed any flirting or intimate gestures between them. Their relationship seemed just like that of normal comrades, nothing unusual.

So he wasn’t sure if there really were any secrets between them.

At this moment, Gu Xiaoxi’s attention was completely on the military dog in front of her, and she didn’t hear a word of Zhao Zilong and Shao Changfeng’s conversation.

"Wow, what a fella!" Gu Xiaoxi touched her chin and clicked her tongue. This was a retired military dog?

She had seen lazy dogs but never one this lazy!

Then, Shao Changfeng took the broom and gave Gu Xiaoxi a quick glance before starting to clean, seemingly unfazed by the stinky stench of dog poop.

It’s just that his eyes were exceptionally profound, like the night itself, and no one could guess what he was thinking.

Gu Xiaoxi, hands on her hips, scrutinized the medium-sized dog in front of her. It had a tuft of white fur on its forehead in the shape of a flame, like a third eye, majestic from all angles. It looked a lot like the Flying Tiger, but its body was much less appealing than Flying Tiger’s.

"I say, this is also a military dog? It looks like some mongrel that got crippled," Gu Xiaoxi said, prodding the round belly with her broom. The military dog was too lazy to even lift an eyelid.

Zhao Zilong poured dog food into a bowl in front of the military dog and looked back, also becoming curious. He stepped forward and inspected, "This is a Castro, but its bloodline isn’t pure."

"Not pure?" Gu Xiaoxi asked in surprise, and while stroking her chin speechlessly, said, "No wonder it looks a lot like Flying Tiger. Others could be Champion Dogs, but this one just ended up mangled. It doesn’t look old either!"

Zhao Zilong was about to respond when two female soldiers approached the entrance of the kennel.

They glanced at Gu Xiaoxi and the other two, whispering to each other.

"So handsome! What’s gotten into the company this time, sending two such attractive male soldiers here?"

"I heard they were assigned to Squad Five and got transferred here just now."

"Ah, I think the one feeding the military dogs is handsome."

"I think the one cleaning the kennel is handsome... though the female soldier also looks pretty good."

"There won’t be any complicated relationship between them, would there!"

Gu Xiaoxi stopped eavesdropping, and Zhao Zilong naturally heard it too. Although the women tried to keep their voices low, their words were audible to anyone with a bit of Inner Strength, as they were not far away.

Shao Changfeng heard them as well.

So, the three of them stopped their work and looked towards the entrance.

Seeing them looking over, the two short-haired female soldiers blushed with embarrassment.

"Do you need help?" Zhang Ling and Qi Yu were both in Squad Six and were very welcoming to the new comrades.

"If you’re willing to help, then I won’t be shy about it," Gu Xiaoxi said with a sweet smile from afar.

Zhang Ling and Qi Yu were worried they would refuse, but to their surprise, Gu Xiaoxi agreed without hesitation.

Gu Xiaoxi handed over the broom to the eager Zhang Ling, while Qi Yu happily snatched the dog food from Zhao Zilong’s hand and ran off to feed the dogs.

Gu Xiaoxi watched the two female soldiers getting busy with great enthusiasm and quickly gave Shao Changfeng and Zhao Zilong a thumbs-up.

Good looks really do take you places; wherever you go, you’re well received!

She decided to stick with them from then on.

"Zhao Zilong, come over and continue, why do you say this dog isn’t purebred?" Gu Xiaoxi asked, looking at the military dog sprawled out and sound asleep in front of her.

"I don’t know!" Zhao Zilong shrugged. He had never kept dogs and didn’t understand much about them.

On the contrary, Zhang Ling was quick to eagerly tell Gu Xiaoxi, "It’s name is Xiao Xiao, and it’s the blood brother of the famous Flying Tiger."

"What?"

Zhao Zilong and Gu Xiaoxi both showed surprised expressions.

Shao Changfeng also curiously came over to have a look.

"Impossible! I’ve seen Flying Tiger, the speed it runs at is no joke. If I didn’t have some skills, it would have caught up with me last time," Gu Xiaoxi said, scratching her head, frowning, unable to see any resemblance.

"If you could outrun Flying Tiger, then you must be amazing. Flying Tiger is our squad’s Canine King and a Champion Dog," Qi Yu quickly chimed in.

"It really is Flying Tiger’s brother. However, Flying Tiger inherited the fierceness and ferocity of their father, aloof, a true-blooded Caucasian Ovcharka, while Xiao Xiao inherited the gentleness of their mother, a great white bear of a dog. That’s why it looks utterly unthreatening."

Gu Xiaoxi stroked her chin, feeling it was a pity. To think that they were brothers, one valiant and the other turned out like this, was rather unprecedented.

"Then why is it here? Even if it’s gentle it could still be used for search and rescue!" Gu Xiaoxi said with surprise.

Qi Yu’s cheeks turned red as she cheerfully explained, "It’s just like what you see, too lazy. Except for eating, drinking, and the rest, it just lies there, uninterested in anything. So, it’s simply unfit for service."

Damn!

Gu Xiaoxi was convinced.

"If it weren’t for Flying Tiger being so brave and earning many honors, the troops wouldn’t keep it just because they’re brothers. It would’ve been given away a long time ago," Zhang Ling added.

Gu Xiaoxi stroked her chin, looking at the still-sleeping creature, and couldn’t help but wonder, "Just because of a little flame-shaped white fur on its forehead, that doesn’t mean it’s mixed breed. But that doesn’t explain why it’s so lazy!"

"Xiao Xiao is just two years old, in the prime of its life, what a waste. Many dog trainers have tried to conquer it, to take it into battle. Every time, it just ignores them. It lies around all day."

Listening to Qi Yu and Zhang Ling’s explanations, Gu Xiaoxi stood up and wrinkled her nose, "As long as it’s not Flying Tiger, it’s all good. Thanks for the help, ladies, I’m going back to the dorm for a drink of water. Zhao Zilong, Shao Changfeng, keep up the good work with these beauties."

"Okay!" The two girls nodded eagerly, excited to work with the handsome soldiers.