Thrive in Catastrophe - Chap 31
Chapter 31
“Come on! You are late. Now you don’t have time for breakfast.”
“Why do I have to get up?” Xiao Yan said blankly. He was just a student reserve, he should be able to sleep as long as he wanted.
“We have to go outside and assess the situation.”
“..what does that have to do with me?” Xiao Yan said grumpily though he had a nagging suspicion.
“The new military protocol requires a tech to accompany missions. Didn’t you know that?” Mark looked at him as though he were living on another planet.
“But I am not a tech soldier. I am a reserve.” Xiao Yan announced firmly yet again. In Marks eyes he and the team had an understanding. However, Xiao Yan is acutely aware that if he takes on the tech role outside his ability he will drag the entire team down.
“In accordance with Article 32(7) of the Reserve Act, in the event of an emergency and lack of staffing, the reserve soldier must assume the duties of an official soldier, accept the dispatch, and execute the military order.” Li v walked up to Xiao Yan and squeezed his cheeks while rattling off the codex.
“If it is an emergency you should not choose me.” Xiao Yan said bluntly looking at Liv with a serious expression.
He crawled back into his bunk.
“Well, right now, it is a situation of “insufficient staffing.” Liv easily yanked Xiao Yan out of his sleeping quarters and pressed a backpack into his arms. “Don’t be so nervous. It is just an ordinary perimeter scan. You should be more confident in your abilities. You are far more useful than those techs that are all rank and no skill.”
“Really?” Xiao Yan didn’t know that he held such a high status in the hearts Heine’s special forces team.
“Move out.” Heine angled his chin slightly, and everyone followed him out of the lounge.
In order to save time, Mark grabs Xiao Yan and carries him under his arm.
Xiao Yan felt quite wronged and shouted silently.
Always hauling me around like a sack of potatoes, one day I will vomit on you.
Once they were in the craft, Xiao Yan lowered his head and rummaged through the contents of his pack. He needed to be familiar with it. If he encounters trouble out there he has to know in what way he can assist.
Opposite of Xiao is Liv, she nudges Xiao Yan with the tip of her boot.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you, why are you are so quiet?”
“I bet I know. Yesterday he was spending time with that pretty female student. He must have been cruelly rejected.” Mark gloated.
Xiao Yan pulled a strained smile but didn’t respond. Mark wasn’t exactly the sensitive type.
“Ah? I hit the nail on the head didn’t I? So you really got rejected? Was it the woman who was taking care of you when you were still out of it after the blocker? She did all that and wasn’t interested in you?”
“She has a boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend? Bah, who could be better than you?” Mark shot a sympathetic expression to Xiao Yan.
“A boyfriend that holds rank in the military.” Xiao Yan is depressing himself.
Liv and Mark looked at each other and stopped talking.
The cabin is quiet. Xiao Yan’s stomach growled, causing Mark to laugh heartily.
“Hungry now? Since you went without breakfast!” Mark took pity on him and handed him a package of military crackers.
“…er…no need……”
More of those effing biscuits? Forget it… He would rather go hungry.
They were flying over rocky mountainous terrain. The peaks were so high they seemed to prop up the sky.
Xiao Yan leans against the window and looks at the scenery with a distant expression.
