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墨書 Inktalez
Strange incidents related to Vampire Creatures have been occurring all over the world. Some livestock animals have been found dead, but they were not eaten. Their eyes, lips, and genitals have mysteriously disappeared. Tongues were cut out, skins were torn off, and the blood drained from their bodies. What exactly is happening? Let me share an experience first, and you can judge for yourselves.
After the "Disappearance" incident, the entire unit's drill time was compressed from a month to half a month, and the location was moved to another mountainous area. This time, it was in a flat area between several mountains. However, to me, it all looked the same—similar terrain, the same sea of trees, and the same weather; it felt like nothing had changed.
The soldiers seemed to feel nothing either. They trained all day long and collapsed into their tents at night to sleep, with snoring echoing throughout. I often found myself being the last one to fall asleep amidst the snoring. However, there was a silver lining to this outing: we could always catch some wild game during training. Almost every unit had meat to eat at night. Some of the bolder leaders or squad leaders would even dig a pit during lunch to start a fire and roast meat. Thanks to everyone’s efforts, I—a city kid—finally got to see what a wild chicken looked like, what a Bamboo Rat was, and how to cook a Whole Rabbit.
I must commend Garfield. As an old Guangdong native, aside from his habit of enjoying afternoon tea at the base during thunderstorms—which I don't particularly like—he really excelled in other areas, especially his cooking skills. One morning during training, he caught a rabbit on his way back and quietly roasted it for lunch. Several squad leaders gathered around to eat; if I hadn't passed by and caught a whiff of the aroma, I might have missed out entirely. To be honest, I'm not a foodie, but that golden-brown crispy rabbit leg was tender on the inside and bursting with flavor; it was perfectly seasoned. I believe it was the best barbecue I've ever had—without exception.
After that, I issued a Secret Order within my squad: any wild game caught during drills must be turned in for communal cooking by Squad Leader Liang. The person who caught it would get first pick of the cuts, while I would handle the distribution—consider it an extra meal for everyone in our squad. If anything went wrong, I would take responsibility.
Later on, we noticed a strange phenomenon in our camp: while other units tried to avoid work whenever possible, our squad—especially mine—would rush to volunteer for any Duty Assignment. A bunch of us would scramble to finish tasks quickly so we could send some of our mountain-born soldiers into the woods to catch wild game.
After all, whoever caught more got more to share; if there was only one animal caught, then that person would choose first. This way, our squad enjoyed barbecued meat every lunch and dinner. Everyone was well-fed and happy. As we neared the end of our drills, no one seemed satisfied yet; He Baisha even clamored for us to go catch wild boar. Not only us but even Company Headquarters and Battalion staff received occasional treats from us for their enjoyment; thus, higher-ups turned a blind eye.
A saying circulated among our troops: "Guangxi Soldiers, Guangdong Squad Leaders, Hunan Cadres." This meant that not only did these three regions have significant representation among different ranks but also implied that Guangxi soldiers were honest, Guangdong squad leaders were effective, and Hunan cadres were formidable.
Honestly speaking, I was quite satisfied with Guangxi Soldiers—they could endure hardship and were obedient. More importantly, rural kids had strong practical skills; five or six Guangxi soldiers would come back every day with rabbits, Bamboo Rats, or wild chickens as if performing magic tricks. Sometimes they even brought back skinned snakes! By later stages of our drills, we were eating so much that we couldn't finish it all; live animals were sent to my and Garfield's tent for safekeeping.
One evening after dinner, while picking my teeth and returning to my tent, I noticed in one corner—a spot where no one was staying—there were already two rabbits and three wild chickens tied up; enough food until we left! I sat down on my bunk contemplating whether we should stop sending people out to catch more since we might have exhausted all nearby wildlife. Watching those soldiers take so long to return made me worry they might get into trouble if they wandered too far.
Just then, there was a commotion outside that seemed to be moving toward me. As I was about to sit up and check it out, someone flung open the tent flap and a group of people rushed in. Upon closer inspection, I saw Xuanhua leading them with a wide grin on his face—he had something slung over his shoulder: a wild boar!
I quickly stood up for a better look—it really was a wild boar! It had tusks but wasn’t very big—about a meter long—and was struggling fiercely with its mouth tied shut. Behind Xuanhua followed several Guangxi soldiers while He Baisha darted around curiously; clearly being from the city made him particularly interested in this find. Garfield trailed behind without much expression.
"Where on earth did you get this?" I asked eagerly.
"Haha! Today was lucky! We went to help Allies break through obstacles; just as we were finishing up this guy charged out unexpectedly! I just went up with an Engineer shovel and knocked it down! It tried to act tough with me—I could crush it easily!" Xuanhua buzzed excitedly.
"You guys are incredible! And Allies just let you drag it away like this?" I said incredulously.
"Hahaha, Squad Leader, I'm not stupid. I said I'm from the Special Operations Unit. Our Commander just wants to taste wild boar and bring it back for a feast at the headquarters."
"Damn," I almost fainted.
"Garfield, what do you think?" I looked over the crowd towards Garfield. He was mature and steady, so I thought it would be good to ask for his opinion. I could manage carrying a roasted rabbit, but honestly, I had no confidence about roasting a wild boar at Base.
"It's going to be troublesome; it's not easy," Garfield said with a worried expression, rubbing his hands together.
Great, my heart sank again.
"That thing is huge; we need a massive fire to cook it. It's not easy to roast. I've never roasted one before; it's really hard."
I felt like I was going to faint again.
Roasting, roasting—these guys only knew how to roast. They had been spoiled by me, and I felt like I had shot myself in the foot. I helplessly glanced at everyone; Xuanhua was chattering away, and who knows, maybe the entire Entire Camp already knew about it. I told him to put the wild boar in the corner while I took two rabbits to Company Headquarters to gauge the situation.
"Wang Pai, you've made us proud," as soon as I entered Company Headquarters, Instructor said to me. I never liked him much; he was too theoretical and dogmatic, with no common language between us. I stayed silent and looked at the Company Commander sitting inside. When he turned around and saw me, he said, "Little Wang, come here! You're just in time. Tell us how you managed to bring back a wild boar."
"Well," I quickly explained the whole story and added, "Actually, my idea was to hand it over to the Culinary Team. Everyone is about to leave; let's improve our meals. Company Commander, Instructor, look, I've brought two rabbits for you to try; the wild boar is much tastier than this."
"Sounds good! You guys seem pretty capable; you've roasted quite a bit of food," Company Commander said with a smile. "As a Local University Student and Squad Leader, you're doing well—much braver than when I was a Squad Leader."
I glanced at Instructor. "It's still thanks to Company Commander and Instructor for assigning me such a good squad; the soldiers are of high quality and have good obedience." Some insincere words had to be said.
"Alright, don't be too fake. Here's the deal: we won't take advantage of you. After you kill and roast the wild boar, send a leg over to Company Headquarters and each of the other squads. I'll cover for you in the battalion."
"Sure!" I was overjoyed. The Drill was about to end, and I really didn't want any complications. I turned around ready to leave.
"Stop!" It was Instructor's voice; I knew another lecture was coming.
"You said you all came for drill, but instead of training properly, all you do is eat. Eating is one thing, but why did you have to roast it yourself? What if you start a wildfire?" I hung my head and endured at least half an hour of scolding before I could escape.
By the time I returned to the tent, it was already past seven. The little pig was still rolling around in the corner, struggling. Garfield, Xuanhua, and He Baisha were gathered around discussing how to kill and roast it. I shooed them away. "Squad Leader, as you said, according to the rules, I'll take the hind leg to eat," Xuanhua shouted.
Let's talk about it later, I thought impatiently. Maybe we should just send it to the Culinary Team tomorrow afternoon; leaving it here is a hassle.
That night, our squad was on guard duty. It was drizzling lightly. After the duty Squad Leader finished checking on us, everyone turned off their lights and went to sleep. Listening to the sound of the rain mixed with the rustling wind through the trees, everyone fell into a deep slumber.
"Squad Leader, wake up, wake up!" A thunderous voice rang in my ear; it was Xuanhua. "What happened?" I turned over and sat up.
"The pig, the pig is missing!"
"Damn it, now there's someone stealing pigs?" That was my first thought. I glanced at my watch; it was not even five yet. "Wake a few brothers up, grab a flashlight, and let's go take a look."
After putting on my clothes, I grabbed the flashlight and made my way to the corner of the tent. This area was relatively large; it had originally been used for equipment storage but had been cleared out later for packing and loading onto vehicles. As the flashlight beam swept across the ground, my heart sank—there were large patches of blood on the ground.
To be continued; more excitement awaits tomorrow.
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