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墨書 Inktalez
Where did you get the car? Did you borrow it, or did you apply for a ride? I hung up the phone with lingering doubts, greeted Old Tang, grabbed my Officer ID and hat, and headed toward the main gate without changing my clothes. As I approached the gate, I noticed Old Bi standing outside in casual clothes. When I walked over, Old Bi shouted from a distance, "Hey! Why are you wearing your uniform?"
"Aren't I supposed to report to the Provincial Military District?" I replied, putting on my wide-brimmed hat.
"You signed up too? Just go report and come back. Why are you wearing your uniform? Isn't today a holiday?"
"Uh! Is that so?" To be honest, I wasn't as carefree about rules as Old Bi was. I remembered when I first arrived; the Camp hadn't built the iCard Phone Booth yet. I walked from my Unit to this spot and made long-distance calls from the iCard Phone Booth outside the gate. One afternoon, while making a call in the heat, I unbuttoned two buttons on my winter coat, only to be spotted by the Deputy Chief of Staff driving out of the gate. He rolled down his window and glared at me, saying, "I'll deal with you when you get back!" Although he probably forgot about it later, it still left a significant shadow over me.
Old Bi changed into casual clothes likely for convenience in going on a date or something. Since I was returning to my Unit, there was no need for me to change clothes. "Old Bi, where's your car?" I shifted the topic.
"Isn't that it?" Old Bi pointed not far away.
I turned my gaze and saw a Red Bridge Car parked next to the iCard Phone Booth. Upon closer inspection, What the hell! Wasn't that Xu Zengjing's car?
"Old Bi, what's going on?" I asked in confusion. Why was she here?
"Isn't it a coincidence? I came to patrol the gate and happened to see her driving over to pick you up for a competition. We chatted a bit; I'm going to the competition too. She didn't believe me at first, but just then your call came in—talk about timing! After hanging up, she had already turned her car around. Since it's available, let's go! I'll hitch a ride with you!"
I had initially been hesitant about getting too close to Old Bi. Just then, Xu Zengjing poked her head out of the car window and called out, "Hey, you two! Why are you dawdling? Are we going or not?!"
Old Bi tugged at me. "It's hard to get a taxi at this hour; let's go." With that, she headed toward the car first.
At this point, I had no choice but to follow her. Once inside the car, I had to greet Xu Zengjing. She kept looking at me since she got in. "Oh, Brother Wang! You look completely different in your uniform; you've become quite charming!"
"What does that mean? So if I take off my uniform, I'm just a laborer?" I replied somewhat irritably.
She chuckled and quickly said, "No, no! I just think you look better in uniform!"
I remained silent and took off my hat to look out the window. She seemed quite observant and remarked through the rearview mirror, "What's wrong? You look so glum; don't you want to see me?"
"That's not the case." To be honest, I'm not the kind of person who sticks to a stereotype once it's formed.
"Old Wang is worried about the competition, right?" Old Bi chimed in, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh, I see. It's fine, I believe in you!" Xu Zengjing smiled and started the car.
"Hey, why do you trust him so much? Why not me? I'm also participating in the competition, you know!" Old Bi teased. I admired this about Old Bi; he was always friendly with any beautiful woman.
"That's because of you! Aren't you always saying how great my Brother Wang is? And that night, even when he met a skilled opponent, he held his own."
"Hehe, that was something Brother Wang told me afterward. Who knows, maybe he was just bragging?" Old Bi chuckled.
"Brother Wang wouldn't brag! I could believe you would, though!"
"Old Bi! Cut it out; she's driving," I interjected as the conversation spiraled further off track.
"Hehe, I'm just trying to keep the conversation going. She considers us friends, not just her drivers." Despite Old Bi's carefree demeanor, he was perceptive. His comment served as a reminder for me; after all, she didn't owe us anything and there was no need to maintain a distance.
I thought about it and realized that perhaps I had been overthinking things. It seemed that as long as someone didn't have any ulterior motives, things would flow naturally. Just like Old Bi's almost fiancée, Lulu. Although they met in a bar, Lulu understood Old Bi's personality very well. She didn't try to tie him down or change him; instead, she gave him enough freedom. Surprisingly, this kind of push-and-pull dynamic suited someone like Old Bi, as I had seen him call her several times to check in on her.
With this realization, my mood improved significantly. I let go of my thoughts and joked, "I would love to be someone's driver, but unfortunately, I don't have a license! Haha!"
"You could go take the test! It's really easy now," Jing responded quickly, sensing my change in attitude.
"Forget it. The provincial capital is still a big city; there are too many people and it's more challenging. I'll plan to take the test when I go home for vacation; a month should be enough time."
"Hehe, then once you get your license, you'll be our designated driver!" Xu Zengjing laughed.
"Hahaha, who knows when that will happen? As for my vacation this year, I'm not even sure if I'll get one!"
"I'll take the exam here! Beautiful lady, can I borrow your car to practice later?" Old Bi said with a bold face.
"Hehe, sure, but I’m not comfortable with you going alone. Brother Wang has to come along too!"
"What are you worried about? I have a girlfriend now!" Old Bi pretended to be annoyed.
...
And so, we arrived at the entrance of the Provincial Military District's Reception House, laughing and joking all the way. Since we didn't plan to stay long, Xu Zengjing parked the car at the entrance while Old Bi and I headed into the lobby, making our way straight to the registration area.
The registration area was in a corner of the lobby, featuring two tables covered with red cloth, with the words "Registration Area" displayed prominently. Coincidentally, Old Ma was there in uniform, accompanied by a Second Lieutenant and a First Sergeant sitting behind him.
Seeing us arrive, Old Ma's eyes lit up. "Hey, why did you take so long? You were supposed to register before six o'clock; it's almost five-thirty now, and many people have already registered." Old Ma handed us a roster for signing in.
I picked it up and flipped through it casually. Each page contained names from various units of the military district. To my surprise, I found two entries from the Armed Police Unit, one from the Air Force Unit, and one from the Naval Unit. Old Bi and I were listed on the last page of the roster.
Most names had signatures next to them, likely indicating registered participants, along with a number attached. Curiously, I asked Old Ma, "What does this number represent?"
Old Ma smiled as he pulled out two boxes labeled with red paper. One was marked "Equipment Group Drawing Box," and the other "Fist and Foot Group Lottery Box." "These are the drawing boxes that will determine your match order. The number next to each name is your group number, which decides who you will compete against."
Old Ma looked around and added, "Hey, I can't help you with this drawing; I'm an outsider and don't know who is strong or weak in advance. However, tonight each participating unit will report on their athletes' conditions. Once the competition schedule is announced tomorrow, I'll do my best to gather information for you so that you'll have an idea of what to expect."
"Hehe, Old Ma, as long as you're attentive, that's enough for me! My brother won't let you down!" Old Bi said with a grin while patting my shoulder. "I'll draw first!" With that, Old Bi reached his right hand through a small opening on top of the wooden box labeled Striking Group.
Old Ma tapped on the side of the box and explained, "There’s a mechanism here; whichever ball you touch will pop up here when you press it down—one at a time. Am I right? It's all random; whoever registers first gets to draw first—there's no way to rig this."
As Old Bi felt around inside, he said, "Old Ma, we’re not as desperate as you think; we don’t need to rely on rigging our groups! Ah, did we really arrive late? It seems like there aren't many balls left. Oh? This one feels good; I'll take this one." With a firm grip, he pushed down and we saw a square lid on one side of the box pop up as a white ping pong ball rolled out with "18" written on it.
"Wow, that's quite lucky! You’re going to win!" Old Ma exclaimed as he picked it up and read aloud before turning to his two assistants. "Write this down: Bia Meng, number 18. Hey Brother, it's your turn!"
I smiled and reached into the Equipment Group box, casually feeling around. Indeed, there were not many balls left inside. After a couple of tries, I finally found one. This will do! Without hesitation, I pushed the ball out, and with a light sound, it rolled out, displaying the number "9" on top.
"Nine isn't bad," Old Ma said with a grin. "Sovereign of Nine Five! In ancient times, nine was considered the highest number. What a good number!"
"Alright, Old Ma! Enough with the nonsense. Hey, Old Ma, since it's a joint competition between our two teams, why don't you treat us to a meal first? We can have a pre-event meeting," Old Bi suggested, ready to take advantage of the situation.
Fortunately, Old Ma was also straightforward. "Sure! It’ll come out of the event funds anyway! I'll do you all a favor and treat you to a nice meal today! Let’s head to the restaurant across the street!"
He raised his hand to check the time. "It's getting late; let's go directly!" He turned back to the two Second Lieutenants and said, "Zhang Wang, you two should stay here for now. One, not all the competitors have arrived yet; it’s still a while until six o'clock. Also, the leaders might come by to check on the registered competitors. If anything happens, let me know immediately. After seven o'clock, you can head over to eat and just put it on my tab."
"Understood!" The two stood up in response.
"You guys wait at the door for me; I'll be right there!" Old Ma began to pack his things.
Old Bi and I acknowledged him and walked towards the door. Just as we were about to reach it, we heard a commotion outside. Were people arguing? Wait, was that Xu Zengjing's voice?! This could be trouble!
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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