Girls und War

After Doragon's mood improved, he completely forgot about the previous unpleasantness and began to apologize and talk about other things.

The secretary saw this and became more and more curious about what kind of person Doragon was.

So, what is going on in Dragon's mind? Can anyone tell me?

After Natsuki walked into the dozing office, he closed the door behind him.

After eliminating the interference from the outside world, her expression towards her dozing off gradually became serious.

Fake sleep was as calm and relaxed as ever. He pointed to the guest sofa and said, "Sit down."

As he spoke, he took out the tea set, as if he wanted to have a close conversation.

Xia Shu naturally had no right to refuse, so he had to sit on the sofa obediently and give up thinking.

"I got this handmade tea set from a tea ceremony master. It's made of purple clay," Jiamei said as he washed the cups and teapot with hot water. "The tea leaves are also hand-grown. They're all natural, not factory-roasted. It's incredibly rare."

Xia Shu nodded stiffly without saying a single polite word.

If it were any other time, she might even lend a hand to other people.

But when it comes to pretending to doze off, she is unwilling to make any unnecessary movements.

What kind of mentality is this?

Even Xia Shu himself couldn't explain the slight reluctance and awkwardness in his emotions.

But she was just pretending to doze - this deep-minded girl who was neither cheerful nor pure - made Xia Shu want to stay away from her, further and further away.

He didn't even want to say a few words.

Jiamei seemed to have gotten used to Xia Shu's dishonesty when facing her, and she even enjoyed Xia Shu's unique and special treatment of her.

——After all, Miss Warm Hearth always faces the world as an idol and never hides her inner emotions to any particular person.

So the two of them, one watched while the other made tea.

Modern people have no etiquette when drinking tea.

That is to say, boil water to make tea and wash the cup first.

Once the tea is brewed and has a rich aroma, you can pour it into a cup and drink it at will.

Jiamei poured the prepared tea into two small cups and served them to Xia Shu with both hands.

Xia Shu nodded in thanks, raised his teacup and took a sip, as a way of giving face to Jiamei.

Then I just sat there, waiting for Pretend to start talking.

There was no rush to take a nap, and they drank tea and chatted.

"Doragun is a guy who always does things without thinking. He just does whatever he thinks of. Since I've known her, I haven't gotten much favor from her, but I have done a lot of things to help her. I don't ask for anything, I just hope she can remember my kindness. Don't end up not getting any mutton but getting into trouble." She complained a little bit.

After listening to her complaints, Xia Shu only hummed. It was unclear whether she had any thoughts.

Fake sleep asked with a smile, "You don't care that the two of them were here just now, what did I say to them?"

To be honest, Xia Shu really cared about it.

After Doragon came out of the door, the smile on his face was not fake. It was impossible to pretend that Doragon would let go of the new and old grudges by asking them to shake hands and make peace.

It must be because Fake Sleep told her something that made her happy.

But Xia Shu didn't want to criticize his direct superior behind his back, and he didn't want to be led by the nose by Fake Sleep.

So he just replied, "I have no right to ask about the affairs of my superior officers."

Fake Sleep felt a little bored, but still explained considerately, "I just told Doragon that your Red Dragon Squadron might get a gold-edged medal for this mission."

"Phnom Penh?" Xia Shu was a little surprised.

The change in her expression made Jiamei very satisfied, as if his frigid girlfriend had rarely developed feelings for him.

So, while the iron was hot, he said, "Not only that, you might also get a gold-edged individual military medal."

"Me?" Xia Shu was even more surprised, as if he was completely unprepared for this.

"You contributed a lot in several offensive and defensive battles." Jiamei explained.

Xia Shu looked skeptical. If anything, the other girls in the squadron had done just as much. Even Xia Shu herself couldn't convince herself that she was getting a medal based on that excuse.

Fake Sleep paused, then continued, "More importantly, you sniped and killed the ace sniper in the sea area in Kote."

Xia Shu suddenly realized.

"Just being Little Jack is definitely worth a gold-rimmed medal. You can understand this as shattering the hopes of the soldiers in the sea zone." Jiamei carefully crafted his words, speaking to Xia Shu word by word. "But to maintain the fragile friendship between the war zones, we absolutely cannot publicize this military achievement. So, we can only explain it as outstanding performance on the battlefield. Do you understand?"

Natsuki nodded.

"Very good." After Jiamei finished talking about this, he was in a good mood.

After refilling Xia Shu's tea, he continued, "Besides that, there's one more thing I want to tell you."

"What?" Although Xia Shu's words did not increase, his expression softened significantly.

"In two months, the major war zones will hold war zone competitions, did you know?" Jiamei said to Xia Shu with a smile.

"I know. It's a must-do during the New Year holidays, right?" It seemed that Xia Shu was not completely unaware of it.

"Have you seen a lot?" Jiamei asked casually.

Xia Shu thought for a moment before answering, "Not much. I always feel that the battles and confrontations in it are very deliberate, as if they were scripted. It's not very interesting."

"Oh, you mean the Red vs. Blue exercise?" Fake Me laughed. "That exercise was indeed scripted. But the other competitions weren't."

Upon hearing this, Xia Shu immediately showed a curious look.

436. Things that have been studied and decided

Seeing Xia Shu's rare interest in what he was saying, Fake Sleep continued with a touch of pretentiousness, "The confrontation exercises you mentioned are generally what the average audience is most interested in, and they also have the highest ratings. These 'programs' are all directed by dedicated military personnel to ensure that the exercises are exceptionally exciting and entertaining. But to us professionals, they seem a bit contrived and deliberate. Like a movie, right?"

Xia Shu nodded subconsciously.

"There's nothing we can do about it. How could the average audience understand so much military knowledge? We can't expect them to stare at the same battlefield for days and figure out the overall strategy, can we?" A hint of helplessness flashed across Fake Sleep's face as he continued, "This is also the difference between modern warfare and traditional sports.

Ultimately, competitive sports are a process of self-challenging, and they align with the general public's aesthetic pursuit of body art. Add to that the competitive and exciting nature of sports, and in a sense, sports are meant to be enjoyed.

"Warfare competitions, on the other hand, are different. They focus more on the results of violent games. This kind of pure violence is not meant to be appreciated. So it's normal that it's not as visually appealing as sports."

Xia Shu didn't know much about this new generation of multimedia programs, but after hearing Jiamei's professional analysis, he immediately understood a lot of things.

She also fully understands the military's use of exercise programs to attract ratings.

After all, the recruitment strategy for modern humans cannot just be about shouting slogans and promoting justice.

Sensory stimulation is the biggest source of human empathy.

He continued to drink tea while pretending to sleep. He then refilled the tea for the two of them and continued:

"Every year during the New Year holiday, there are so many online programs from various media outlets. Can we force people to watch whatever they want?

"I prefer watching interactive dramas. Is it possible that someone will force me to watch the news during the holidays?

“So there’s nothing we can do – we can only make the show as exciting as possible to grab ratings.

"Our games can't be more competitive than traditional sports programs. So to compete, we have to focus on the viewing experience.

"What do audiences like to see? Big scenes—explosions—immersive battlefields, and heroes saving the world. So we'll write scripts like that for them.

"Facts have proven that scripted battlefield exercises have the highest viewership among all war competitions."

Fake Sleep said as he took a sip of tea and asked, "When you watched the competition before, did you never watch the official games on the secondary channel?"

Xia Shu nodded and said innocently, "I rarely watch holographic programs."

"That's it," Jiamei smiled. "Ordinary viewers will only watch the exercises and competitions on the main channel. Only professional military fans with a wealth of military knowledge will watch the official competitions on the secondary channel.

"Although from a military perspective, fair competition in war zones deviates somewhat from the essence of war, the military strength demonstrated by each war zone in the competition is genuine. The value of the medals is fully guaranteed.

"And in such competitions, the number of medals won can also reflect the true strength of a certain theater."

After finishing his words, he picked up the teacup and moistened his dry throat.

Xia Shu showed an expression of sudden realization.

She savored the true meaning of the war zone competition and gradually realized the brilliant ideas contained in it.

Recruitment, confrontation, honor, and motivation.

A large number of nouns merged together and gradually formed a very grand blueprint.

Just like the Military Games, it is a great competitive event that is extremely similar to global sports games, yet completely different.

As he thought about it, Xia Shu's expression gradually softened.

But a certain sight suddenly woke her up.

She raised her head and saw that the man who was pretending to sleep was holding a teacup with a half-smile on his face, observing her face with relish.

Xia Shu felt mixed emotions, and without saying a word, he put up his defense again, putting on a cold face that was unyielding.

Fake sleep did not pay attention to these details. She was very satisfied with Xia Shu's current attitude.

Any softening is a good sign, much better than complete and utter disinterest.

She paused and continued, "Since we're talking about the War Zone Competition, I have another piece of news to tell you."

"What is it?"

"This time you will represent the Flower District and participate in the sniper competition."

Although he was mentally prepared, Xia Shu still showed a slightly surprised expression.

She thought about it for a moment and couldn't help asking, "Can I choose not to go?"

"No," Fake Sleep flatly rejected her and continued, "You have to participate in the sniper competition with Haruka and Smiley. This concerns the overall reputation of the Flower District. It's a military mission assigned by headquarters. You can't refuse."

Seeing Xia Shu's frowning and thoughtful expression, Jiamei slowed down his tone again.

"I know what you're worried about. As a sniper, if the enemy knows your combat habits too well, it will affect your performance on the battlefield.

"But think about it, we're all in this competitive environment. If you're exposed, the other enemies are exposed, too. So, we're all on the same page," she said to Xia Shu patiently. "Besides, being directly invited to the competition is a huge honor for a soldier. Others who want to participate still have to go through the preliminary rounds of the auditions."

"If you don't go, will you be worthy of the fans who support you?"

When Xia Shu heard this, his expression became a little confused again.

The front part is fine, but what’s going on with the fans?

"Anyway, command has decided that you will participate in this war zone competition." Fake Sleep made a summary speech. "Also, when you return, tell Dragon that the Red Dragon Squadron may be participating in this exercise and exhibition match. Tell her not to sign up for the auditions for the company competition. She won't have time to do both."

Xia Shu nodded, indicating that he understood.

But at this moment, she remembered something very important.

"What about the captured members of our squadron?" Xia Shu asked.

"Don't worry about that," Fake Sleep explained quickly, "I'll contact the Snow District later. Your squadron will be released soon, so just wait in the squadron."

Having said that, I have almost finished talking about dozing off.

But in order to maintain her relationship with Xia Shu, she asked Xia Shu to stay for some tea.

Only after Xia Shu said goodbye again and again did she reluctantly let Xia Shu leave her office.

This back and forth made the secretary who was seeing him off outside the door look at him with strange envy.

How should Xia Shu explain it?

Perhaps, no explanation is needed.

437. The old sergeant has always been so unique and handsome.

The frontline combat companies in several major war zones did not have a very comfortable time this time.

Because the bloody battles between the Flower District and the Snow District have never had a result, other battle zones have to be on duty full-time for fear of any accidents.

There are only standing troops, and since they are not on the front line, the rotation time remains the same as before with no changes.

The daily life of a standing army is more comfortable. There are fewer battles and the threat is not high.