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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter One Hundred Fifty-Three: The Stage is Set
In the heavily guarded military district, an unsettling atmosphere hung in the air. On this late October day, the Gray Building, which had always seemed stagnant, finally erupted with activity.
The sentries stood rigidly at their posts, while patrol soldiers occasionally passed by outside the courtyard, casting anxious glances toward the Small Building. Since the visitors had left that morning, the Commander inside had been in a state of furious rage, with the sounds of cups shattering and harsh reprimands echoing throughout the building.
This was the Sixth Military District, hastily reorganized after the Cataclysm, located south of Tangshan and adjacent to Bohai. The Transitional Government had relocated here long before the virus outbreak spread across the region, and the North Sea Fleet had stationed itself in Bohai Bay, forming a solid defense alongside ground troops that continued to arrive.
A month ago, the South Korean Navy's First Fleet attempted to enter for refuge with over a thousand refugees. After unsuccessful negotiations, they tried to force a landing at Yantai Port. It was said that at that time, the Qingdao Base received orders to return to Bohai and unexpectedly encountered the South Korean fleet en route. What exactly transpired remains unknown; however, it was reported that the Jiaonan Water Police arrived two hours later than scheduled.
Since then, the Sixth Military District had remained calm, and there had been no breaches along the outer defenses of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.
Just days prior, the Commanders in the Gray Building were laughing and chatting, reportedly optimistic about improving conditions and expecting to have things under control by year-end. Yet, within a few days, their composure turned into overwhelming fury. The Patrol Team within the courtyard served as the Commander's bodyguards; these young individuals had accompanied their superiors through various relocations and were aware of the urgent situation but had not experienced any real turmoil. Thus, their comfortable life in the courtyard led them to boredom, prompting some curious young soldiers to gossip about what had ignited such wrath in their Commander.
"I heard there's going to be a reorganization soon; we might be heading south," one young soldier in his twenties whispered conspiratorially to his comrades.
"Are you kidding? The army group doesn’t even know where it is; are they going to send those marines into battle?" another scoffed dismissively, tearing apart his friend's baseless rumor.
"Hey! It was said by Iron Bull's personal guard; you can argue with him about it!" The first soldier protested indignantly, pulling out two sanitary balls to express his dissatisfaction.
"Stop guessing; it’s not about any troop movements. It’s just that those people who came this morning got on the Commander's nerves." Clearly, life in the military district's courtyard was indeed too comfortable; a group of idle soldiers gathered under the wall outside the Commander's Building, exchanging idle chatter.
"How do you know?" The first soldier took off his cap and fanned himself with it, puzzled. "Which unit were those people from this morning? I don’t think I’ve seen them before."
"You're lucky you haven't seen him." An older officer strolled over, and a group of young soldiers turned to look, realizing it was a member of the Imperial Guard. The young men felt a bit nervous; after all, slacking off during patrol wasn't exactly honorable.
However, the officer didn't seem to have any intention of reprimanding them. Instead, he moved closer to the wall and squatted down, blinking his eyes and spreading his hands. "Who brought cigarettes? Give me one."
The first young soldier to spread false information pulled out a pack of unmarked military-issued cigarettes and handed it to him, glancing around at his comrades, all of whom looked confused.
"Damn! The Imperial Guard really has it good!" The unfamiliar officer swore as he opened the pack, lit a cigarette, and blew a puff of smoke toward the group of young soldiers. He smacked his lips and sighed, "Damn it, you kids are living the good life. I have to go outside and scrounge for butts!"
The young men exchanged glances, unsure of this guy's background. He was dressed in neat uniform attire but had no insignia on his shoulders. Seeing that he looked to be in his late twenties and dared to wander outside the courtyard made them hesitant to treat him too casually. This wasn't a government office; typically, there weren't any idle rich kids hanging around here. Those who dared to act tough usually had real credentials.
"Hey? Why is everyone so quiet?" The officer took a couple of puffs from the cigarette and found the circle of young soldiers staring at him in silence, which amused him.
"Um... Commander, good..."
"I'm not your Commander; just call me brother." The officer waved his hand dismissively, signaling them not to be so tense. After finishing his smoke, he squinted and asked, "Is the old man still angry?"
"Uh... yeah, he's been angry all morning." The young soldier thought to himself how lucky they were; this guy dared to call the Commander 'the old man,' so he must be someone significant who just wanted a smoke.
"Hey bro, do you know why the Commander is angry?" One young soldier laughed as he approached and offered him another cigarette. "Tell us about it."
"You guys are just bored out of your minds, living leisurely lives—why worry about this?" The officer chuckled, stretching his neck with a series of cracking sounds.
The young soldier felt deflated upon seeing a centipede-like scar behind the officer's ear and instinctively took a step back.
"Alright, go do what you need to do. If you want to slack off, stay out of the way." The man extinguished his cigarette and stood up, waving the pack of cigarettes in his hand towards a young guy, smiling as he said, "Thanks."
The young man who had just lost a pack of cigarettes felt like crying. He and a few buddies watched as the somewhat foolish man walked into the courtyard, disappearing deep into the tree-lined path.
The Commander's Building was not tall, a square structure with four stories. There was a sentry stationed downstairs, and the stairs were at the back of the small building, with duty offices on either side of the corridor. Shaoshan hummed a little tune as he walked through the corridor, striding up the stairs. In no time, he reached the top floor Commander’s office.
The office was relatively large but quite empty. A desk was placed by the window, with the most ordinary storage cabinet against one wall and a single bed tucked into a corner. From the perspective of status and rank, this office seemed rather shabby.
As Shaoshan approached the door, a shadow suddenly flew out. He quickly dodged aside, and with a loud crash, a teacup shattered into pieces.
"Tsk tsk, what a guy," Shaoshan clicked his tongue and knocked on the wide-open door. "Commander?"
"Get lost!" came a rough roar from inside.
"..."
Shaoshan pouted but strode in confidently, shutting the door behind him.
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