Girls und War

So she wasn't in a hurry, just waiting for Dragon to continue talking to her.

After looking at the list for a while, Doragon asked Qingxian, "When will the sniper training be scheduled? Is there any this month?"

Qingxian breathed a sigh of relief, looked up and said, "There is no training this month, nor next month. Because it's the annual leave."

"So we have to wait until next year? Then we will definitely miss the next rotation." Doragon frowned.

Qingxian held his forehead and said, "So why did you send people to the training team?"

"How else can we train snipers?" Doragon was puzzled.

"Isn't there a coach in front of you?" Qingxian spread his palm towards Xia Shu.

Doragon was stunned for a moment, said "Oh, yes", and then stared at Xia Shu and fell into deep thought.

Xia Shu felt a little embarrassed by her gaze, so he turned his head and looked away.

Doragon seemed to have made up his mind and said, "Then there's no need to rush this matter. Xia Shu is in the squadron anyway, so he can't run away."

Then he turned to Xia Shu and said, "Let's talk about another thing."

Xia Shu showed an expression of listening attentively.

"You've received an invitation to the sniper ranking tournament in next month's war zone competition, right?" Doragon started first.

Xia Shu nodded.

The invitation letter was received a few days ago - it was a physical material made of gold-embossed paper, and it was a very beautiful letter.

"The top fifty members of the ranking tournament are invited to participate. It's open to renowned active snipers from around the world. If you don't receive an invitation, you'll have to compete in the auditions to secure the remaining fifty spots," Doragon said as he pulled up the squadron's registration list. "Since you've received an invitation, I won't register you for the auditions. Just prepare now and wait for the organizers' arrangements next month."

As he said that, he crossed out Xia Shu's name in the sniper declaration column.

Xia Shu nodded and asked Doragon, "Did you get the news about the exhibition match that Lieutenant Colonel Fake Sleep mentioned earlier?"

"Oh, that." Doragon took out the gold-embossed invitation from the cabinet and handed it to Xia Shu.

Xia Shu took it in his hand and took a look. It was indeed an invitation to the Red Dragon Squadron's exhibition match.

"There might be a rehearsal later, so you don't have to go." Dragon leaned back in his chair and said, "You should prepare for the sniper competition, that's more important."

Xia Shu indicated that he understood.

Doragon continued, "Also, according to regulations, all members of each zone participating in the competition will take their annual leave a month in advance. When the annual leave comes, we won't be able to take it—we have to participate in the competition.

"So, I'll give you a break now. Just wait for notification about the competition later."

Xia Shu nodded again, then asked, "What about you guys?"

"Of course we have a holiday too. We're all going on a trip together in a few days." Doragon waved his hand and continued, "But that's not what I want to talk about. It's something else."

She leaned forward towards Natsuki and asked, "Do you have a deep understanding of the sniper competition?"

Xia Shu pondered for a moment and shook his head. "Not very deeply, I only know some basic rules. I've never seen a match before."

Doragon raised a finger and said, "I guessed it. That's why I told Fake Sleep about it before."

As he flipped through his communication records, he continued to talk to Xia Shu, "Originally, I meant to find a veteran ace who has participated in sniper competitions to guide you - someone like Haruka or Smiley.

"But if you're just pretending to sleep, I've found someone else for you."

Doragon said as he sent an address to Natsuki.

"My suggestion is that after your holiday, you go directly to this person. She's a retired soldier, formerly the Chief Training Sergeant at the Flower District Sniper Academy. I heard that Chunxiang was once trained by her.

"This guy, if nothing else, has an understanding of the competition that is outstanding.

"I remember she won the Sniper Championship twice. But unfortunately, her status was already one life at that time. So she never took the top spot.

"I think this person is perfect for you to ask for advice. What do you think?"

After saying this, Doragon picked up the cup in front of him and took a sip of water.

Qingxian frowned and said, "That's mine!"

He said as he snatched the cup from Doragon's hand.

After listening to what Dragon said, Xia Shu nodded very seriously, and then said, "Thank you, Captain."

No matter what Xia Shu thinks, Dragon is willing to consider so much for her, so it is important to say thank you first.

Upon hearing this, Doragon waved his hand nonchalantly and said, "There's no need to thank me or anything like that. Without you, the squadron wouldn't be where it is today. So it's only right that I do what I can."

After saying that, the two of them looked at each other and smiled at each other in tacit understanding.

Then Doragon asked again, "So what's your opinion?"

Xia Shu nodded and said calmly, "Anyway, I'll go take a look. If she's easy to get along with, it wouldn't be a big deal to ask her for advice."

She said this because she knew that all retired veterans, especially those who had achieved some success, were very arrogant and domineering.

Their personalities were secondary. However, after years of military service and rising ranks, these men were never kind to those with lower ranks and seniority than themselves.

She has seen many veterans like this.

Xia Shu at least has some confidence in his sniper profession, and he especially doesn't like others telling him what to do.

So she had to talk to Dragon in advance and take precautions.

Otherwise, they would not be able to get along well with the other party and would end up parting on bad terms. As the middlemen, Doragon and Jiamei would both look unhappy.

Doragon heard the hidden meaning in Xia Shu's words, but didn't know what to say.

He could only sigh and said helplessly, "You aces... each one is more individualistic than the other. I don't know if you will still listen to me in a few days."

Xia Shu laughed and didn't respond.

Qingxian, on the other hand, said with a smile, "What are you talking about, Xia Shu? Your boss, Doragon, is usually more troublesome, isn't he? Hmm?"

"Damn it, how could this be!" Doragon acted like I was a good and obedient baby.

But as he spoke, he also started laughing.

The three of them laughed for a while and then decided on the arrangements for the future.

Then Xia Shu returned to the dormitory and packed his luggage.

Prepare to go to the address Doragon gave her.

500. Trains and travel are the best medicine to heal the soul

Doragon just asked Xia Shu to meet the retired old sniper whom he had never met before, and contacted the other party in advance.

In the communication, Doragon didn't know much about the lady.

All I know is that she is nearly fifty years old, but still very agile (according to Jiamei).

Doragon didn't even know what the situation was over there, so he asked Xia Shu to take a training sniper rifle and carry it all the way there before leaving.

She also said that if Xia Shu needed bullets for training, he could tell her and she would find a way.

Xia Shu was naturally very touched by the fact that he put himself in her shoes.

But she has a different opinion on carrying a gun around.

This matter was against the rules no matter what, and it was also dangerous. In her opinion, it would be better to invite the old soldier to the squadron.

However, Doragon still felt that it would be better to ask for advice on this matter.

Because the other party means the same thing.

In that case, Xia Shu had nothing to say.

He could only wear military casual clothes, carry a large gun case, and walk out of the camp neatly.

Luggage for travel can be mailed in advance, but real guns cannot.

So Xia Shu could only carry the gun through security and go through a special channel. He also kept the gun case next to him all the way to avoid it out of his sight.

This put a lot of pressure on her along the way.

In addition, the casual outfit Xia Shu was wearing was the same one she and Aier had discussed when they were in the recruit company—a military uniform with a small skirt that might be used in some occasion.

Originally, she didn't understand what it meant to "go out as a soldier on non-official business."

But now she understands.

This is a very complex, privileged, and non-normal holiday status.

In other words, it is recommended that you wear casual clothes during normal holidays, dress like a little girl of the same age, and fully enjoy your own holiday.

However, during non-normal vacations, you may be recalled or assigned to a mission at any time, so you are expected to remember your military status. Therefore, you are required to wear a special set of military casual clothes that are half work and half casual.

Or there's another possibility, which is that the costume design department was really bored - so they specially designed a set of super rare special suits that they thought looked the best, which was between the identities of students and soldiers.

So that those special people can wear this suit to show off on very rare occasions, highlighting its special rarity and rarity.

But the original design purpose was that active-duty girls tried their best to turn various tasks into "non-official situations"; and after many beautiful girls violated the rules and wore this long-admired little skirt during holidays, this military uniform eventually became a common holiday wear.

Therefore, due to the above reasons, this set of clothes has become the most popular women's military uniform that is loved and sought after by the military and even the whole world.

However, Xia Shu still feels that this set of clothes is not as good as the daily wear of those beauty experts in terms of aesthetics.

It seems that the status of beauty in human aesthetics is ultimately no match for the rarity and uniqueness of the object itself.

After Xia Shu got off the train, he took the aerial elevator down to the surface.

The address Doragon gave her was in an old urban area outside the large complex city.

It is the kind of single-layer city line built on the plains that has been abandoned by modern civilization.

This type of single-story city has low space utilization, simple and inconvenient roads, and is not conducive to traffic planning. Therefore, humans gave up building cities in this way hundreds of years ago.

Today's new cities all use super-giant urban frameworks that are composed of dozens or hundreds of floors and can reach a height of several kilometers.

Although these cities occupy a smaller area, with a megacity covering only a few hundred square kilometers, their actual usable area may be dozens of times more than that of traditional cities.

The abandoned old urban areas were dismantled and razed bit by bit, and restored to their original environment.

This is a long and painstaking task.

In the early stages of environmental protection, large cities may have to be demolished as quickly as possible. However, once greenery covers more than 60 percent of the world's land, demolition of the remaining old urban areas will become irrelevant.

Letting time weather these reinforced concrete naturally and preserving a part of the history left by humankind may be more meaningful to mankind.

The place Xia Shu was going to was just like this, a small residential town that was in the process of decay.

Such residential areas are usually very quaint and peaceful, with a unique historical charm, so many elderly people like to live there.

But the transportation there was not very developed, and trains were rare. Xia Shu could only wait for the urban rail train that only ran every hour to reach the old town dozens of kilometers away.

Xia Shu had no clear idea of ​​the people who lived in such a place.

In her impression, the people living in the old town are probably all easy-going elderly people.

With this thought in mind, the image of the lady she had never met gradually softened in her heart.

Xia Shu waited at the station for about forty minutes before the train slowly pulled into the platform.

The long wait made her a little sleepy, but the heavy gun box on her back kept reminding her to stay alert.

So after getting on the train, she stood by the door, holding the hanging ring.

This old-fashioned urban rail train has a distinct feel to it, reminiscent of a former subway train. It's similar to the subway in every way, except for the lack of subway support and the fact that the train often floats in the air on a non-physical magnetic track.

Passengers sat in groups of three or four on uncomfortable hard chairs. I guess this design is to prevent passengers from getting sleepy and missing their destination.

This made Xia Shu feel a little nostalgic, and a gentle smile appeared on his face.

A white-haired old lady next to her looked at her with a smile and asked, "Why don't you sit down, little girl?"

Natsuki politely replied, "I'll be getting off soon, so no need."

The old lady muttered, "It's great to be young. I was like this when I was young...", while falling into distant memories.

The train slowly drove out of the platform, and the carriage announced the next few stations and travel times.

Beyond the city, all that remained were greenery and crisscrossing rivers. Ignoring the massive, egg-shaped city, nature reigned supreme, with no signs of human life visible.

Xia Shu looked at the scenery outside through the car window, and his mood seemed to be healed in some way.

This healing comes from the harmonious atmosphere between nature and humans.

From a free and simple mind.