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墨書 Inktalez
I quickened my pace and opened the door just before Old Bi arrived, only to find Xu Zengjing leaning against the car door. Two tall young men with buzz cuts flanked her, one of them gripping her hand. Xu Zengjing's face was flushed as she struggled to pull her hand away.
"What are you doing?" I couldn't tolerate any nonsense and stepped forward, raising my voice.
"Huh?" The guy holding Xu Zengjing turned around, momentarily taken aback by my uniform.
"You! Let go!" I stepped closer and forcefully pulled Xu to my side. The young man hesitated for a moment before releasing her.
"Are you okay?" I asked Xu Zengjing in a low voice.
"It's nothing. This guy knocked on my window and asked for my phone number. When I refused, he wouldn't let me go. I was about to get out and find you guys when he grabbed my hand!" Xu said, clearly upset.
"Alright, it's fine now. We're here," I reassured her, catching a glimpse of Old Bi approaching.
"Gentlemen, since she doesn't want to give you her contact information, please stop bothering her," I said, looking at the two men.
"And who are you to her?" The young man who had initially grabbed Xu Zengjing exchanged glances with his companion before asking, his tone unfriendly. He wasn't bad-looking but had a fierce expression. Despite his buzz cut, his hair stood upright as if styled with mousse, reminiscent of an American soldier's hairstyle from the arcade game Street Fighter.
"This is my brother's girlfriend! You should mind your own business! Don't make a scene here!" Old Bi stepped forward and shouted. Then he leaned in closer to me and whispered, "These two are from the military; they must be reporting in. Look over there." I glanced to the side and indeed spotted two camouflage backpacks by the car.
"Who the hell are you?" The American soldier looked at me and then at Old Bi, raising his chin in question, likely thinking that Old Bi's lack of uniform made him less intimidating.
"Who the hell cares who I am?" Old Bi was not one to back down easily; he immediately stood his ground.
"Who do you think you are? Acting all tough!" The soldier took a couple of steps forward, looming over Old Bi as he stared him down. Old Bi held his ground and met his gaze defiantly. "Where did this uncouth brat come from? Acting up in the provincial capital?"
"Cao!" With a sudden shout, the "Big Soldier" moved. He raised his knee, driving it toward Old Bi's stomach. "Old Bi, watch out!" I yelled at the same time.
Old Bi's face changed dramatically as he stepped back just in time to avoid the blow. The Big Soldier, however, was relentless; his leg shot out like lightning, aiming for Old Bi's abdomen. Caught off guard, Old Bi managed to retreat a step but still received a kick to his thigh, causing him to stagger back several steps before finally dissipating the force.
"Damn it!" Old Bi exploded in anger and retaliated with a side kick. The Big Soldier responded with a kick of his own, and they collided with a loud thud.
I was about to step in to break up the fight when I suddenly realized I was still wearing my uniform. It could easily be misinterpreted on the street. Just as I hesitated, I noticed that the American Soldier's companion had intentionally moved two steps to block my path between them.
I frowned and looked at him; he met my gaze calmly. This man was of average height with no distinguishing features, but his eyes were sharp and fixed on me. If I tried to push past him, he would likely intervene.
At that moment, the door swung open, and Maliao stepped out. He paused upon seeing the scene before him and quickly scanned the area. "Stop! What are you doing?! Do you dare fight in front of the Provincial Military District?!"
His command immediately halted Old Bi and the Big Soldier. The two fighters exchanged glances and silently communicated. The young man in front of me asked, "Leader, where do we report for the military district exchange meeting?" Wait, are they actually here to check in? Our external promotion was indeed for the military district exchange meeting, but there were no specific details provided.
Upon hearing this, Maliao gained confidence and adopted an official demeanor. "Which unit are you from? I'm the contact person. Didn't I tell you to report by six? Why are you so late? And fighting at the entrance? What are you thinking? Get inside and check in! I warn you all—don't cause any trouble for me; otherwise, I'll report you to higher-ups and have your competition qualifications revoked!"
It turns out that local authority is more effective than distant power. Maliao's authoritative presence worked wonders; the two troublemakers obediently entered the Reception House after giving Maliao a salute, though they shot us a few fierce glares as they left.
As those two troublemakers disappeared into the Reception House, Maliao turned back with a different expression. "Let's go! Don't mind them; it's obvious they've been cooped up in some remote county and come out just to stir up trouble!"
I pulled Old Bi aside. "Are you okay?"
Old Bi grumbled indignantly, "Damn it! He actually struck first! Did you not see me get hit?!"
"Is this also part of the military? Your quality really varies!" Xu Zengjing chimed in halfway through her sentence but then shifted her tone. She had never been very familiar with military matters, and this incident likely gave her a new perspective on them.
"Heh heh, it's just that your charm is too great!" I joked to comfort her, only to see her face flush again. "Really?"
I chuckled lightly and changed the subject, "But I still feel bad. We should have let you come in with us. I didn't expect there would still be such unruly people around."
"Old Ma," Old Bi interjected, "you need to help us gather information on those two guys. I want to see if we might run into them during the competition. If we do, I won't hold back!"
Old Ma responded while leading everyone across the street, "That's not a problem. But hey, you guys can't get into any fights privately anymore, or it won't be good for me either. Hey, Xu Beauty, you don’t need to worry about the car; just leave it here, it’ll be fine!"
As I urged everyone to follow Old Ma, I said to Old Bi, "The guy next to him isn't easy either. If I try to break up a fight, he might go after me too."
"Hmph, back in the day, I always heard my uncle say we were tough around here. Now it seems we’re doing pretty well!"
"Let’s go!" Old Ma was already calling us at the entrance of the restaurant.
It was a small restaurant with two floors. Old Ma led us upstairs to sit down and ordered a few stir-fried dishes. As we ate and chatted, Old Ma explained the details of the upcoming tournament. Apparently, to make it fairer, the two groups would use an upper-lower pyramid format instead of a round-robin system; they would go straight into elimination rounds. The winners would advance upward, but to avoid uneven groupings, the losers would also compete against each other in pairs. In the end, the top two from the winners' group and the top two from the losers' group would draw lots to compete again for the championship and runner-up.
Old Ma continued that there would be two venues for the competition: one for barehanded fighting and another for weaponry, both happening simultaneously. Tonight, based on attendance, they would finalize the specific schedule. To avoid affecting everyone’s time too much, they planned for a maximum of five hours of matches, with the final rounds for barehanded fighting in the morning and weaponry in the afternoon.
I felt okay about it; I’d just do my best. Old Bi had no worries at all; he was ready to take on whatever came his way. Everyone was eating and chatting comfortably, except Xu Zengjing kept pestering Old Ma about wanting to watch the matches with us. I asked her, "Aren't you a student? Why aren't you going home?"
She replied defiantly, "You don’t know it’s summer vacation right now?!"
"Then why don’t you go back home?"
"I'm working as a tutor here to earn some money!"
"You’re even taking on odd jobs?! Driving your own car for side gigs?" Old Bi was surprised now while Maliao just smiled silently.
"Of course! The car was a birthday gift from my dad when I turned zero! I’ve never asked my dad for money for anything else; otherwise, how could I have gotten so mad when Brother Wang pushed my car into the water?"
"That's really not my fault!" I explained helplessly as Maliao and Old Bi both looked at me.
Maliao chuckled a few times, "If Wang Brother's sister is my sister too, that's fine. You can come to watch the match anytime, just mention my name." He glanced at me again, "Or you can come with him! Alright, I'm going to sign the bill. You guys wait for me downstairs."
I shrugged, while Old Bi grinned mischievously, and only Jing looked at us with a calm smile. A few of us stepped out of the hotel; it was getting dark. We planned to wait by Jing's car for Old Ma, say hello, and then head back to the base.
Old Bi leaned against the car and lit a cigarette. Before he could take a puff, someone tapped him on the shoulder. His hand shook, and the cigarette fell to the ground. We turned to see a person with a large Backpack repeatedly apologizing. Noticing our lack of reaction, he hurriedly asked, "Comrade, where is the Provincial Military District Guesthouse?" His tone suggested he was quite anxious.
Old Bi and I exchanged glances; it was no wonder he didn't know. The Provincial Military District Guesthouse never displayed that name; it only had the sign for the hotel, so outsiders had no idea it was the Provincial Military District Guesthouse.
"Well, this is it," I pointed casually.
"Thank you! Thank you!" The man appeared older than us but had an honest demeanor. I couldn't tell what he was doing here; if he had been carrying a camouflage Backpack, I would have thought he was an athlete reporting in. Instead, he carried a large old travel bag and dressed quite ordinarily.
Not long after he went inside, he came back out looking troubled. The lights at the entrance were now on, and we could see his frown as he walked down a few steps. Just as he reached our car, he suddenly plopped down on the steps, burying his face between his legs, looking utterly dejected. I wondered what had happened.
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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