Chapter 28: He’s Here. part 1
Mǐ Qiū was clearly a little embarrassed, her cheeks flushing red.
Their large hands grasped hers tightly, refusing to let go.
Just then, Squad Leader Qí walked over. “Everyone back in line now! What do you think you’re doing? Don’t scare Guide Mǐ away!”
He paused, then continued, “From now on, Guide Mǐ Qiū is a member of our Logistics Support Department. She will be working with us, and no one is allowed to bully her. My words don’t count, and neither do yours. If I catch anyone, I won’t even give you a warning—I’ll report it straight to Commander Fù.”
Mǐ Qiū suddenly had the illusion that their eyes were all flashing with an eerie green light, staring at her like a pack of hungry wolves.
“Guide Mǐ Qiū, I really didn’t expect you to actually join us.”
Squad Leader Qí glared at him. “Did I say you could speak? Is there no discipline in the ranks?”
The Sentinel had to explain, “I just didn’t expect a Guide to join our Sentinel team. I was just curious.”
“It’s true there’s no precedent, but this is an exception.”
Squad Leader Qí said to Mǐ Qiū, “If you have anything you want to say, just say it.”
Mǐ Qiū: “Although I am a Guide, please don’t treat me specially. Whatever you can do, I can do too.”
The Sentinels looked at her, simply pursing their lips and smiling.
“Stop smiling! You’re all extra excited today, aren’t you?” Squad Leader Qí barked. “One more word and get ready for 100 push-ups!”
Everyone in the ranks finally fell silent.
After the basic reporting process was completed, Mǐ Qiū took her backpack and went to her room in the short building. Her dormitory was a single room with a very small private bathroom.
Actually, what Mǐ Qiū hadn’t expected was that although these buildings looked immovable, they actually had wheels underneath and were completely mobile. They were like safety fortresses, sometimes changing locations for security reasons.
But it was quite convenient. Mǐ Qiū was amazed by this technology.
A washbasin and toothbrush were already prepared for her in the room.
The wound on the back of Mǐ Qiū’s hand was healing relatively quickly, so she thought about taking a shower to wash off all the mud on her body.
A shower would also help relieve fatigue. Mǐ Qiū’s backpack mainly contained food and clothes. She could change into her pajamas. Knowing that the rainforest weather was hot, with an average temperature above 30 degrees Celsius, she had specifically chosen thinner clothes, so her pajamas were silky slip dresses.
Of course, since it rained sometimes, warm measures were also essential. Mǐ Qiū had thought of everything.
As for pajamas, Mǐ Qiū believed the simpler, the better. She didn’t like flashy pajamas with too many patterns. She had a winter set with pink bunny patterns, but most were solid colors.
After the water heated up, Mǐ Qiū changed into a pair of slippers and walked to the bathroom.
The bathroom inside naturally couldn’t compare to the one on the island, but although small, it had everything needed.
In a place like this, taking a good hot shower was actually a luxury.
Mǐ Qiū felt the steam surrounding her, warm and comfortable. Water droplets flowed over her limbs, dancing playfully around her. However, when the water touched her wound, it still throbbed with a dull ache.
After showering, Mǐ Qiū changed into her pajamas and came out.
There was no hair dryer in the room, so Mǐ Qiū could only let her hair hang loose over her shoulders, waiting for it to air dry.
It was almost noon, and the sun outside was warm and gentle. She thought her hair would dry faster outside. So Mǐ Qiū took a self-made small folding stool from the room and sat in an empty spot outside.
Calming down like this, she looked at the rainforest scenery around her. The dense tree trunks were surrounded by lush green woods, adding a touch of vitality.
“Eh? What are you doing? Your intentions aren’t pure, kid—”
“My intentions aren’t pure? Then why are you following me?”
Faint conversation was followed by footsteps. Mǐ Qiū felt the sound getting closer, so she turned around. One of the C-class Sentinels who had just been speaking stopped in front of her.
With brownish-yellow hair, he scratched his head a bit shyly and said to Mǐ Qiū, “There are so many of us, I’m afraid you won’t remember. How about adding me as a friend?”
Mǐ Qiū happened to be holding her light-brain, so she nodded. “Sure, okay.”
“Me too, Guide Mǐ Qiū, add me…”
A Sentinel with a sharp chin hiding behind him started to speak but was stopped by the brown-haired Sentinel. “One batch at a time, understand? We have discipline too.”
“Don’t be unreasonable. Squad Leader Qí told you to have discipline, did you follow it?”
“Just getting a contact is fine, right? Don’t think I don’t know, you gripped Guide Mǐ’s hand the hardest just now, and now you’re putting on an act for me?”
The sharp-chinned Sentinel thought to himself: Guide Mǐ’s hands are so soft and tender, who here didn’t want to hold them a little longer?
Everyone acting all proper, but deep down we’re all the same. So he said, “Squad Leader Qí probably doesn’t know about your little schemes.”
The brown-haired Sentinel said to him word by word, “You, shut, up, go, stand, over, there!”
After he left, the brown-haired Sentinel looked at Mǐ Qiū.
Because Mǐ Qiū hadn’t dried her hair, the ends were still dripping wet. Water droplets slid down her smooth, fair neck, leaving a glistening trail, making the Sentinel stare a bit blankly.
Mǐ Qiū: “Are we adding?”
Only after she spoke did the brown-haired Sentinel finally react, and the two exchanged contact information.
Then he said to Mǐ Qiū, “How about this, I’ll send you a random message, see if you receive it?”
His message came through promptly. Mǐ Qiū received it.
His message on the light-brain interface read: Guide Mǐ Qiū, you are really pretty.
Mǐ Qiū: “Mhm, I got it. The number is correct.”
After she finished speaking, seeing that he was still lingering and didn’t seem to plan on leaving, the A-class Sentinel Lóu Chēng suddenly walked towards her…
He seemed to be holding something in his hand. The A-class Sentinel’s role here was equivalent to a guard officer. Lóu Chēng said directly to the Sentinel, “I have a few words with Guide Mǐ Qiū, please excuse us.”
He left reluctantly, and then Lóu Chēng put the item into Mǐ Qiū’s palm. Mǐ Qiū realized it was a rose-red hair dryer.
“We generally don’t use this here. The superiors send supplies regularly, and this was just approved. Take it and use it.”
Mǐ Qiū: “My hair will dry outside, just shaking it a bit will do.”
Lóu Chēng said helplessly, “Do you really think you’re a washing machine spin cycle? Sometimes the wind and rain here are strong. If you don’t dry your hair, catching a cold won’t be worth it.”
Mǐ Qiū took the hair dryer. He added, “If you need anything else later, feel free to ask, don’t worry about causing trouble.”
“Okay.”
So Mǐ Qiū went back to her room and dried her hair.
It was almost lunchtime, so she planned to go see how the Sentinels cooked.
Arriving at the boiler room, Mǐ Qiū walked in and found Squad Leader Qí there as well.
He was directing one of the C-class Sentinels: “Don’t make it too salty, control the amount yourself.”
Seeing Mǐ Qiū come in, Squad Leader Qí said, “Given Guide Mǐ’s thirst for knowledge, go ahead, do you have any questions for me?”
Mǐ Qiū looked at the big black wok in front of her, filled with potatoes mixed with some black things that looked like meat chunks. “Is there meat for lunch today?”
Squad Leader Qí: “It’s all cured meat sausages. Cured meat sausages can be preserved for at least three years. They taste very fragrant with potatoes, basically acting as a seasoning.”
Mǐ Qiū said, “I want to see how it’s made.”
“Simple, leave it to him. Explain to Guide Mǐ Qiū and teach her!”
The cooking Sentinel said, “There are some seasonings on the shelf next to it. I generally pick about six of them—salt, MSG, sugar, soy sauce. Also, this red package is a seasoning sauce. As for vinegar, you can add it optionally. That’s about it. Not many ingredients, but the taste is quite good.”
“It’s like mass catering. You basically can’t go wrong with the seasonings, but the quantity must be guaranteed. Also, you need to have some strength, at least when stirring the pot, you need to ensure the flavor coats all these potatoes.”
“I want to try.”
“Squad Leader Qí?” The Sentinel looked for his opinion.
Squad Leader Qí: “Let her try. Guide Mǐ Qiū, after trying the first time, you can cook by yourself later. You have to get started sometime, so you don’t make mistakes later.”
So, the cooking Sentinel handed the spatula to Mǐ Qiū.
“Just stir like this?”
“Right.”
Mǐ Qiū felt the wok was huge; it was big enough to fit her inside.
Indeed, stirring the vegetables was very strenuous. Just stirring a couple of times took all her strength.
The cooking Sentinel emphasized to her, “Don’t let it burn. If you stir too slowly, it’s easy to burn the pot.”
As he spoke, he added some water. “Stir it before it burns. Adding some water helps, but you still need to stir continuously and quickly.”
Mǐ Qiū got the general idea. Squad Leader Qí saw her problem and said to her, “Mass catering isn’t a question of whether you know how to do it, it’s a physically demanding job. Can you handle it?”
There were over a hundred people in this team. Squad Leader Qí had said that generally, each person cooked a day’s worth of food, but for Mǐ Qiū…
Squad Leader Qí: “Guide Mǐ Qiū, from now on, I’ll cook with you.”
Mǐ Qiū originally wanted to say something, but Squad Leader Qí continued, “Considering your body is still weak, and isn’t your hand injured? Besides, I have a rough idea of your strength level. Don’t force yourself.”
As he spoke, he used the spatula to stir the vegetables in the pot twice, looking very relaxed.
With help, Mǐ Qiū completed this pot of mass catering. Of course, skipping the beginning and end, she only did the middle part, but it wasn’t bad.
In Squad Leader Qí’s words, at least Mǐ Qiū’s ambition was good.
When cooking, everyone would be together. Some packed food would be sent to the frontline. But Squad Leader Qí said she didn’t need to deliver it today, so she could just sit here and eat peacefully.
This place was just outside the kitchen, an open area with only a few tables and chairs.
Mǐ Qiū asked, “The guard officers, have they eaten?”
“We are generally divided into two batches. After our batch finishes eating, they will come in to eat. Of course, we rotate the next day.”
Mǐ Qiū picked up a piece of potato. The potato, paired with the cured meat flavor, was thoroughly soaked in the taste of the meat. The potato was fried until it was very soft and glutinous, the skin a bit sticky, and the inside seemed to melt directly in the mouth. This was much more delicious than she had imagined! If it tasted like this, Mǐ Qiū would be willing to eat it every day without getting tired of it.
Here, everyone ate from basins, and Mǐ Qiū also held an iron basin.
The iron basin was about the width of her head. Although Mǐ Qiū had always been quite a big eater, she could only fill half a basin here, but she still ate with relish. After eating, she went for a nap.
At dinner on the third day, Squad Leader Qí’s expression suddenly became very heavy. He said to everyone seated, “The two Sentinels who went to deliver food at noon today have lost contact.”
In their Logistics Support Department, food delivery usually worked like this: at noon every day, the food for the evening and the next morning would all be delivered. The packed lunch boxes were mostly preserved with ice.
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