Extreme Frontier Army: Starting from the bottom ranks, conquering the chaotic world

"clever."

Lu Jing patted the dust off his hands.

"The border troops' grain was partly allocated by the imperial court and partly requisitioned locally. Every year, the reports said the granaries were full, but in reality, this grain had long been secretly resold on the black market by the quartermasters and those powerful people, and even sold to the northern barbarians."

"If the higher-ups really come to investigate, we'll stage a few bandit raids on the camp, burn down the empty warehouse, and leave no evidence."

Lu Jing turned and walked out.

"Let's go check out the next warehouse. These vampires eat meat, but they have to leave some soup for their underlings. I don't believe they'd actually dare to empty all the warehouses."

The two of them slipped out of the warehouse through the gap they had just pried open.

Lu Jing locked the door hinges back in place.

From the outside, the door lock and sealing wax are still intact.

They continued to probe deeper into the quartermaster's quarters.

The further in you go, the higher the building specifications become, and the more frequent the patrols around the area become.

Lu Jing led Shen Qingqiu to hide behind two abandoned grain transport trucks.

There is a separate courtyard in front.

The courtyard wall was much higher than the outer warehouse, and four guards with knives stood at the entrance.

Just as Lu Jing was figuring out how to get rid of these four people silently, a night breeze blew by.

The smell in the air suddenly changed.

It has an extremely pungent, sweet, and cloying smell.

It smells like the aroma of a mixture of coarse salt and spices with a type of meat that has been left out for a long time, which is then boiled and fermented.

Upon smelling the odor, Shen Qingqiu couldn't help but gag.

"What's this smell? How come there's spoiled cured meat in the quartermaster's office?"

Lu Jing stopped moving. Damn it, this smell...

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the pungent smell.

Lu Jing's entire body suddenly broke out in goosebumps in response.

Regular lard becomes greasy and has a gamey smell when cooked for too long.

But this flavor is sickeningly sweet, cloyingly cold, and has a faint sourness that even salt and spices can't mask.

Memories deep within my mind were suddenly awakened.

past life.

Tropical rainforest.

During a cross-border rescue mission, he accidentally stumbled upon a primitive cannibalistic tribe that was not educated in the local culture.

That's the kind of flavor that's cooked in the big black pot on the campfire in the center of the tribe.

Lu Jing's pupils constricted sharply. That... that smelled like human flesh!

He closed his eyes in disbelief and took a deep breath...

When he opened his eyes again, there was only a chilling coldness in them.

He stared at the secluded courtyard: "That's a special supply of grain."

Shen Qingqiu asked in confusion, "Special supply grain? What's that?"

Lu Jing slowly stood up and took two steps toward the detached courtyard.

Then, stop.

His hand rested on the hilt of the steel saber.

Four guards with knives stood at the entrance.

These four men were different from the heavily armored infantrymen outside.

He wore lightweight leather armor and soft-soled cowhide boots.

The stance was loose, but the hand never left the hilt of the knife.

Forcing our way in is definitely not an option.

If these four people cannot be dealt with within ten moves, the crossbowmen surrounding the quartermaster will swarm in like wasps.

I have to keep playing the subservient role.

But we can't follow the same approach as before.

Lu Jing straightened the black leather patrol officer's coat he had taken from his body, pulled the wine gourd on his belt to the center, and then glanced down at the snow next to the grain cart.

The tire tracks are very fresh.

A few strands of coarse black cloth fibers clung to the edge of the wheel tracks, as if they had been scraped off from the cargo cover during transport.

The coarse cloth was still stained with dark brown oil, and it smelled exactly like the sweet, rotten stench in the wind.

Lu Jing reached out and picked up the few strands of black cloth, stuffing them into his sleeve.

"You stay here and don't show your head, no matter what noises come from inside."

After saying that, he stood up and swaggered out from behind the grain truck.

The leather boots crunched and squeaked on the snow.

The four guards immediately drew their swords, pointing the tips at the figure emerging from the darkness.

"Who goes there!"

Lu Jing quickened his pace and walked towards the tip of the knife.

As he walked to the edge of the torchlight, he suddenly let out a long burp that reeked of alcohol.

"What are you yelling about!"

He reached out and pointed at the nose of the guard at the front, cursing under his breath.

"Did Staff Officer Gu send you here as wooden stakes? The Eighth Battalion's pack of starving ravenous dogs is going to cause trouble tonight, and you four idiots are still guarding this dilapidated yard? Go keep watch at the front warehouse. If a single bag of bran goes missing, Mr. Gu will skin you alive!"

The guard was stunned.

The inspector's uniform, the sign of Gu's staff, and the rumors of the Eighth Battalion running out of food and mutiny...

The three things combined nearly destroyed the already pitiful judgment of the rank-and-file soldiers.

"Sir..." the lead guard hesitated before speaking, "This courtyard is a restricted area. Without orders from above, we dare not leave our posts."

Lu Jing sneered, took a step forward, and slammed his hand heavily on the guard's helmet.

"A warrant? I am the warrant! Mr. Gu suspects there's a mole in the outer warehouse and wants you to block the door. If you don't go, and they find a loophole tomorrow morning, the four of you will be the ones to take the blame!"

Shifting blame and fearing responsibility are common problems among minor officials in all government offices.

The Great Yan Border Army was no exception.

The four guards exchanged glances, and the leader slowly lowered the tip of his blade.

But before he could sheathe his sword, the tall, thin guard on the far right suddenly spoke up.

"wrong."

The guard stared at Lu Jing with a hint of suspicion in his eyes.

"Mr. Gu just gave instructions this afternoon that no one is allowed to leave this courtyard tonight. If there were any orders, they should have been delivered by Zhao Baihu's men, not by the patrol inspector."

Lu Jing cursed inwardly.

There really are people with brains.

While maintaining the drunken look on his face, he reached behind him and pulled the gourd from his waist.

He slammed the weapon into the tall, thin guard's chest, yelling, "You fucking know Zhao Baihu?!"

The spilled liquor covered the floor, and the pungent smell was immediately masked by the foul odor.

Lu Jing lowered his voice, his eyes darkening.

"If the warehouse at the front only throws out bran, would I need to run around in the middle of the night? Commander Zhao just came out of Mr. Gu's tent, his face as black as the bottom of a pot. He told you to go outside and keep an eye on the cart tracks, especially to see if any goods covered with black cloth have been smuggled out."

At this point, he suddenly shook out the few strands of black cloth from his sleeve and flung them directly at the face of the tall, thin guard.

"Open your dog eyes and look! This stuff was scraped off the ruts outside your door. If a corner of the goods is missing, are you going to explain that to Commander Zhao?"

The tall, thin guard's expression changed.

The lead guard also saw the few strands of black cloth and was stunned.

Those who are stationed here naturally know that the vehicles coming and going at night these past few days have all been covered with black cloth.

I also know that it's not something someone like me should ask.

The less you should ask, the less you should take responsibility for it.

"My lord, please calm down."

The lead guard finally sheathed his sword and grabbed the tall, thin guard next to him who was about to speak.

"I will go ahead and inspect the area immediately."

The four people left in a hurry.

The tall, thin guard took a few steps and then looked back.

Lu Jing stood there until those figures completely disappeared into the wind and snow before slowly exhaling a breath of stale air.

He waved in the direction of the grain truck.

Shen Qingqiu darted out like a startled rabbit and followed closely behind him.

The two pushed open the half-closed wooden door of the courtyard and slipped inside.

As soon as Shen Qingqiu entered the room, he immediately squatted down against the inner wall, shrinking himself into the shadows.

The courtyard wall is very high, blocking most of the wind and snow outside.

In the very center of the courtyard stood a sturdy warehouse built of bluestone slabs.

There was only one heavy wooden door covered with sheet metal.

In front of the wooden door stood a charcoal brazier with a missing leg, inside which were a few pieces of unburnt charcoal glowing red.

An old man was leaning against the brazier.

The old man was wrapped in a tattered sheepskin coat of indeterminate color, his head tilted to one side, as if he were dozing off.

He lost sight in his left eye; the eye socket was sunken, leaving only an unsightly scar.

His right hand was tucked into his sleeve, and a bunch of brass keys hung from the exposed half of the rope.

That cloyingly sweet and pungent smell was seeping out from the cracks in this tin-and-wood door.

Lu Jing lowered his steps, stepping on the dry snow at the corner of the wall, and slowly made his way towards the brazier.

The fact that this old man could sleep in this kind of biological weapon-level smell means his nose must have been ruined long ago.

There were still three steps to the old man.

Lu Jing slowly extended his right hand, his fingertips reaching towards the bunch of brass keys.

Once you have the key, you can go in without dismantling the door.

Two steps.

step.

I just touched the copper key.

Without any warning.

The old man, who had been dozing with his head tilted to the side, suddenly opened his right eye.

It was murky and full of red blood vessels, yet it exuded a ruthless aura as if it had crawled out of a pile of corpses.

One eye!