Lin Yi’s voice, although light, carried weight. Upon hearing the news, Xia You’s eyelashes drooped, shielding the suddenly sharp gaze in her eyes. Could it be that even the soldiers of Hua Country are not trustworthy?
"Rand, as a model among all the national military regions, requires that any official military region staff must undergo special military training," Lin Yi had previously gone to observe the feedback from new employee orientations, including Xia You and several other informal soldiers whose public announcements had just been made, which had attracted considerable controversy.
"So you mean, right now I’m still just a probationary worker?" Xia You felt slightly better upon hearing this; at least she wasn’t without hope. Every job has a probationary period, and a six-month period is reasonable. Lin Yi also closely observed Xia You’s expressions. From his childhood, Lin Yi had learned to observe the expressions of those around him, whether men, women, old, or young—a slight change in expression could reveal a person’s emotions.
"You don’t need to worry about that. In the coming month, I will arrange a military training for you. If you can complete it, then you will truly be a staff member of the National Security Department," Lin Yi, despite differing opinions, had brought Xia You in with his own plans in mind.
Xia You’s arrival had already sparked some unnecessary gossip. Even the random encounter between him and Xia You in front of the National Security Department that morning was seen as indicative of a deep relationship. Their eyes met once again; hers were very clear. She made no sound, for if necessary, she would remain silent in the face of any assignment.
Her silence was seen by Lin Yi as a sincere gesture; a ripple stirred within him. He coughed softly, and their conversation was set to continue. However, after a few short knocks on the door, Mo Xixi burst in without waiting for a response, "Reporting, Major, Junior Sergeant Mo Xixi reporting for duty."
Lin Yi and the new staff had been in the office for over half an hour and hadn’t come out, a sensational piece of news that had already spread throughout the National Security Department. Being an old member of the Department, Mo Xixi was the first to burst in.
After completing her salute, Mo Xixi grinned at Xia You, saying, "It’s lunchtime, Major Lin, no need to ramble on, I’ll take care of passing along the specifics of the mission to you."
"You two know each other?" Lin Yi’s thick eyebrows furrowed together, and the creases on his nose reappeared.
Rand, being the top military region in Hua Country, gathered many talents. Among them were notable figures; Lin Yi was famous in Rand for his quick thinking. For example, a widely known bus driver was famous for his fast driving, but all these people together weren’t as quick as Mo Xixi.
It was said that Lin Yi could plan an operation in just two hours. A military bus Lieutenant driver needed three hours for a round trip, but Mo Xixi, spreading a small piece of gossip or hacking into a home website, would only need thirty minutes—the quickest first-hand in Rand.
A small piece of gossip that was still circulating on the shuttle bus a few minutes ago would be immediately transmitted through the military region’s network by Mo Xixi’s ten fingers the next second. Mo Xixi was the administrator of Rand’s BBS. Roughly speaking, she was also involved in text handling, which is why she mentioned on the bus last night that she and Xia You were colleagues, but from today on, they became actual colleagues.
"Major Lin didn’t give you any prior information? The reason he recruited you newcomers was to keep other departments in the dark and carry out some secret missions." Upon hearing this, Mo Xixi sighed deeply, "It seems the rumors are false; you are not Major Lin’s secret girlfriend."
"..." Xia You felt it was best to keep silent; it was foolish to gossip about one’s benefactors behind their backs.
Discussions about Lin Yi’s girlfriend were less important than determining which steak was better cooked at the buffet. Rand’s food quality was excellent; there was a Western-style buffet lunch, and everyone could freely choose from meat, vegetarian, fruit, vegetable, and various beverages, with everything available except alcoholic drinks.
"Do you have a probationary period?" Xia You shifted the topic.
Mo Xixi looked about the same age as her this year, but she was already a Junior Sergeant. According to the standards for civilian female soldiers, that was considered a fast promotion.
"Of course, I do. Don’t be fooled by how I look now, I have five or six years of experience," Mo Xixi glanced behind and lowered her voice, "I transferred here when I was sixteen. Before that, I was in the Juvenile Education Institute."
Usually, people would react significantly to the mention of the Juvenile Education Institute. Mo Xixi did not mind how others viewed her, but she could not help wanting to see how this new employee would react to this news.
Xia You continued eating as usual, without even changing the frequency of her chewing.
"Your reaction is really uninteresting," Mo Xixi said and started to laugh, "I am a computer hacker. I’ve always enjoyed infiltrating various networks. That one time I hacked into the central computer of the Octagonal Building in the Rand Military District, I was caught red-handed. Ironically, the one who set up the Heaven and Earth Net and caught me was Lin Yi."
"Then you ended up in the National Security Department, working off your sentence," Xia You finally joined in the conversation after finishing her food.
"A total of five years. Only this year did I become a regular employee. My probation period is much longer than yours. Lin Yi, that seemingly perfect but internally flawed guy, during my probation only agreed to give me eight hundred yuan for basic living expenses. It’s 2064 now, yet he was using the subsidy standards from the 90s." Mo Xixi too, only from this year, got the treatment of leaving the military region and working regular hours like other soldiers.
"Eight hundred yuan?" Xia You paused when she heard the number. According to current wage standards, the starting salary for new college graduates is three thousand yuan. With this standard, she wondered how she would make ends meet by the end of the month.
"Maybe you could negotiate some terms with Lin Yi," Mo Xixi finished speaking and then felt it absurd herself. Negotiating terms with Lin Yi was like seeking death.
The dining area for officers below the school level was located on the ground floor, while the dining area for officers of school level and above was on the second floor. When Xia You and Mo Xixi left the dining area, they did not notice that in a corner on the second floor, someone’s knife and fork had dropped.
A female soldier, about 1.75 meters tall, slender like a woman yet robust like a man, with sparkling eyes and thin cheekbones, stood as straight as a javelin. In her plate was only a medium-rare steak, and when she dropped her knife, others noticed that she wasn’t using ordinary steak cutlery, but a personal dagger she carried.
The knife and fork were picked up again, the female soldier withdrew her gaze, looking at the chopped and shattered beef in her plate. The steak oozed delicious juice, and the rouge-colored sauce flowed across the plate.
"She actually didn’t die," the female soldier said, a few strands of black hair falling over her forehead, covering her indiscernible eyes.