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Quan Shaoqing hung up the phone and immediately had Lin Mi arrange for a helicopter. The two of them left the Military Department and rushed to Gu Xiaoxi’s home.

By this time, it was already eleven o’clock at night.

After hanging up, Gu Xiaoxi glanced at the sky and realized she needed to head back to sleep. With Quan Shaoqing personally taking action, she felt much more at ease.

On her way back, she ran into Shao Changfeng again at the training field.

It could be said that he was waiting for her.

Today, he had intentionally tested Gu Xiaoxi and was taken aback by her astonishing performance. Defeating Wu Gui meant her combat skills ranked among the top in the entire company.

What also surprised him was that after the extreme cross-country, Gu Xiaoxi’s physical strength had reached its limit. She looked completely drained, which didn’t seem feigned. However, he heard reports that she wasn’t in her dormitory.

Gu Xiaoxi had just reached the training field when her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten all day. She was starving.

Seeing Shao Changfeng, she waved at him from afar, then headed towards the cafeteria.

One advantage of the fourth company was that there was food even late at night. The old squad leader in the cafeteria was the exact opposite of Hu Yidao; he was kind-hearted, always smiling warmly with squinted eyes.

By eleven, practically everyone was resting. The kitchen door was also locked, but luckily, Huang Xiaochu, the duty cook, was there. Seeing Gu Xiaoxi, he greeted her warmly and served her some leftover dishes and steamed buns.

He brought the food to Gu Xiaoxi and sat opposite her.

"This drumstick was specially saved for you by the old squad leader. Seeing that you didn’t come to eat this afternoon, we were curious. Xiao Xi, where did you go?" Huang Xiaochu asked with a face full of curiosity.

At that moment, Shao Changfeng entered from outside. Hearing Huang Xiaochu’s question, he stopped at the entrance and sneakily eavesdropped.

Gu Xiaoxi chuckled, picked up the drumstick, and starting gnawing on it, ravenous from hunger. Only after she had finished the dishes and buns did she reply with a smile, "Today, I lost something important while I was running. I had to run back and search for it for a long time."

"Yo, it’s so dark. Did you find it?" Huang Xiaochu asked with a bewildered face. It must be difficult to look for things in the middle of the night!

The corner of Gu Xiaoxi’s mouth twitched, "I found it. There was no choice, the item was too important, so I had to find it."

"That’s good! Eat up! Remember to clean up the bowl after you’re done. I’m off to sleep," Huang Xiaochu said, yawning as he left.

No sooner had he left than Shao Changfeng walked in and sat opposite Gu Xiaoxi, cutting straight to the chase, "Come clean, where did you go tonight?"

"Practice Techniques!" Gu Xiaoxi didn’t plan to hide it from him since she would often be absent from the dorm in the future, and she knew she couldn’t keep it secret from him.

"Practice Techniques? What kind of techniques? Weren’t you tired today?" This was what he was most curious about.

"I’ll tell you about it later," Gu Xiaoxi said after she had cleaned up after the meal.

Then, on the training field, Gu Xiaoxi beckoned to Shao Changfeng with a finger, "Attack me!"

Shao Changfeng sized up Gu Xiaoxi, finding the young girl’s features delicate and her spirit remarkably fresh. Under the moonlight, her skin was as pale as snow, her eyes twinkling like stars, exuding a tranquil aura but with a sense of unfathomable explosive power.

Shao Changfeng immediately clenched his fist, recalling Wu Gui’s appearance earlier that day, and couldn’t help but throw his strongest punch.

Gu Xiaoxi stood her ground without dodging and instead made a fist, colliding swiftly with his. Her seemingly ordinary punch carried a fierce wind.

Shao Changfeng only felt as if his fist had hit a mountain. The next second, his body was flung backwards onto the ground, causing his blood to rush backward and a moment of suffocation in his chest.

This was his first encounter with such a formidable punch, filled with explosive power and intimidating force. This wasn’t just any ordinary Marksmanship—it seemed to carry a mysterious power beyond fathoming.

"Inner Strength?" Shao Changfeng was stunned. "You know it too?"

"Yeah! Now you know what I’ve been up to at night!" Gu Xiaoxi relaxed her fingers, feeling that she hadn’t exerted much effort with that punch. Moreover, Shao Changfeng’s skills were not bad, and yet he was sent flying directly.

This indicated that she had made yet another significant leap in progress today.

Shao Changfeng stood up from the ground, taking a long while to catch his breath before giving Gu Xiaoxi a thumbs-up, "Impressive! I can’t keep up with you anymore."

In three months as a new recruit, plus this month here, the speed of Gu Xiaoxi’s progress was meteoric.

"I heard that our fourth company has a ranking of experts, and Wu Gui is tenth. I want to know who is ahead of him," Gu Xiaoxi said.

"You want to challenge the ranking of experts?

" Shao Changfeng suddenly smiled, "I suggest you challenge it after three months. There are still recon training exercises that you haven’t practiced, as well as theoretical knowledge classes. The ranking of experts isn’t just about combat skills.

For instance, Marksmanship, the 500 obstacles, and overall exercise scores—anyone who wants to be first must pass each category. "

"So who is the first in our fourth company?"

Seeing her persistence, Shao Changfeng finally told her, "He’s off at the world military base, participating in the triennial joint military exercises. Pay more attention to our internal military information network when you get back tonight, and you’ll see the top three."

Talk with Shao Changfeng concluded.

Gu Xiaoxi returned to her dorm.

Song Jingyi, Qin Chu, and Li Chun had already fallen asleep, they didn’t notice her when she opened the door.

She turned on her computer.

Gu Xiaoxi opened the internal military information network.

The top news was about the World Military Base, the Scout Troops Competition.

The participant list from various countries was also announced.

Country A was represented by team captain Zhao Zilong, deputy captain Luo Chen, leading eight scouts to the competition.

So far, they had achieved excellent results in military quality, knowledge cultivation, military culture examination, physical training, and wilderness survival. The upcoming large-scale military exercises, which the whole world is paying close attention to, were about to start.

Gu Xiaoxi reviewed the list of ten people, and she was certain that Zhao Zilong and Luo Chen were the top two, as for the third, the name wasn’t mentioned, but it wasn’t important anymore.

All she needed to know was the first place.

As for all sorts of military training, as long as she studied diligently, she could definitely surpass everyone by a long shot. At the same time, she was confident in herself.

The next day, around noon, Quan Shaoqing called Gu Xiaoxi, "I’ve found the item. Do you need me to bring it to you?"

"I can’t keep other things here, help me open the scroll and take a photo of the words inside, send it to me," Gu Xiaoxi said, filled with anticipation and excitement.

Quan Shaoqing put down his phone, but when he tried to take a photo with it, he encountered a bizarre issue.

No matter how he tried, the photos came out blurry, and the text appeared to be in classical Chinese, which he couldn’t understand at all.

Since it was Gu Xiaoxi’s item, he didn’t dare to take it out for research casually.

"Xiao Xi, I’m afraid it’s not going to work. If you really need it, I’ll have Lin Mi send it over to you. After you’ve seen it, send it back and I will keep it safe..." Quan Shaoqing roughly explained the situation to Gu Xiaoxi.

Gu Xiaoxi figured that was the only thing to do.

She ended the call with Quan Shaoqing.

Gu Xiaoxi cheerfully headed towards the dormitory, as there was no training in the afternoon, and an expert was invited for a military theory class. This was everyone’s favorite moment, mainly because it didn’t involve sweating.

However, she had not expected to run into Zhang Jingyue right at the dormitory entrance.

It looked like she was waiting for her on purpose.

"There’s a matter!" Gu Xiaoxi thought to herself, raising an eyebrow discreetly.

"I accept my loss and will abide by the bet, bring me your clothes. I will wash them for you," Zhang Jingyue said through gritted teeth.

Upon hearing this, Song Jingyi from inside the dormitory quickly stuffed Gu Xiaoxi’s newly changed training clothes into a basin and brought her morning shoes to the door, "Make sure you wash them properly. If you dare to play any tricks, it speaks to your character."

The commotion at the entrance drew a lot of attention, and the old soldiers from the neighboring dorms came out to watch.

"Zhang Jingyue is really going to wash clothes for Gu Xiaoxi? She’s a pampered heiress whose clothes are always washed by others."

"Well, a bet’s a bet! She’s doing the right thing."

"Gu Xiaoxi should let it go. If Zhang Jingyue plays tricks and adds itching powder to the clothes, you’re going to have a problem."

"..."

The discussions behind Gu Xiaoxi were getting intense as the old soldiers were familiar with the two new troublemakers. Although they didn’t know what feud they had, the discord was obvious to everyone.

"I accept my loss with no ulterior motive. If you’re scared, then forget about it," Zhang Jingyue said angrily. It was the biggest concession she had made.

Gu Xiaoxi clicked her tongue, glanced outside the window at the sunny, clear sky, and after a moment, she waved at Zhang Jingyue, "Make sure it’s clean."

Everyone was astonished! Gu Xiaoxi actually went through with having Zhang Jingyue wash her clothes!

A part of Gu Xiaoxi felt uneasy about the decision, considering it unsafe and unwise. What if Zhang Jingyue had sabotaged her?

People around Zhang Jingyue believed that Gu Xiaoxi was being too harsh. Zhang Jingyue, born into a prestigious family and spoiled by heaven itself, excelled in basic military physical strength. She was truly heaven’s favorite and yet she was washing clothes for Gu Xiaoxi.