Girls und War

Xia Shu turned over and punched Fafna in the stomach, saying, "Don't sleep anymore, it's time to go eat. Otherwise, the restaurant will be closed soon."

As he said this, he dragged his tired body to his feet and began to prepare to close the training platform.

Fafna's blood rushed to her head by Xia Shu's sudden punch, and she suddenly lost her sleepiness.

She was both laughing and angry. Looking at Xia Shu's back in front of her, she rushed up, hugged her, and dragged her to the ground.

"Hey! Stop playing! Go eat!" Before Xia Shu could finish his words, he was armbared by Farna and his face was buried in the inside of Farna's thigh.

Natsuki couldn't break free and slapped his legs desperately. Fafner ignored him and didn't release the armbar until Natsuki was suffocated between her snow-white legs.

"Four times." Fafna stood up with a smile, opened the management interface, and logged out of the holographic space.

Natsuki lay on the table, weakly hammering the surface. He looked like a poor office worker who had been ravaged by life but could only passively enjoy it.

Half an hour later, Xia Shu and Fafner left the training ground and appeared in the corridor outside the cafeteria.

It was almost lights-out time, and they were almost the last group to come over to eat.

It always feels awkward to sit in an empty hall and eat.

So after they ordered their meals, they took them to the corridor outside and ate them under the street lights, taking turns to eat as a midnight snack.

In the distance, I could faintly hear someone singing while bathing. Someone yelled a few words, and then the voice stopped, apparently not daring to sing anymore.

After a while, the lights-out whistle sounded.

The lights in several dormitory buildings were soon turned off, and the place was plunged into darkness.

Xia Shu and Fafna had also finished their meals by this time, so they sat on the grass and watched the cleaning robot collect the food scraps.

Then the two of them lay on the grass, looking at the stars in the sky and fell silent.

Not long after, the two of them received calls from Pigeon at the same time, asking them where they were and why they hadn't returned to the dormitory yet.

Xia Shu replied that the two of them were eating in the cafeteria and would go back later.

After receiving Xia Shu's message, the pigeon just replied, "I know," and then said no more.

Seeing that Xia Shu had replied, Fafna was too lazy to reply, so she ignored the pigeon's communication and started counting the stars.

After a while, Xia Shu suddenly thought of something and asked Fafna, "I haven't heard you talk about your past before. So which war zone were you in before? Was it the Eagle Zone?"

After hearing what Xia Shu said, Fafna was silent for a moment, then replied, "It's not the Eagle District, it's the Sea District. I used to be the deputy company commander of a frontline combat unit in the Sea District."

The conversation was very calm, as if he had not experienced anything particularly terrible.

Xia Shu felt relieved when he heard her say that.

She was afraid that she would accidentally expose other people's scars and suddenly break the friendship they had worked so hard to build.

Xia Shu didn't ask any further, but Fafnir continued, "I was originally a resident of the Cantilever VI space station and grew up on a colony satellite. Later, I decided to join the army, so I returned to Earth and submitted an application to the Ocean District."

At this point, Fafner paused, then continued, "There wasn't any particular reason for joining the Sea District. The genetic map simply showed that I had a direct blood relationship with them. So, without giving it much thought, I just joined."

Upon hearing this, Xia Shu asked curiously, "Then why did you switch jobs here? Is the promotion channel over there blocked?"

Fafnir thought for a moment and replied, "The promotion channel... isn't blocked. My rank advancement has always been smooth, and I have made many achievements for the squadron. Moreover, I was highly regarded by a Vice Admiral of the Sea District at that time—oh, her name was Guinevere—and she planned to transfer me to the General Staff of the headquarters..."

"Then why don't you continue serving there and come to the flower district?" Xia Shu seemed very curious about this.

Fafna fell into deep thought, and it seemed difficult for her to come up with an accurate explanation.

After a while, she turned over, leaned sideways, supported her head with her hands, looked at Xia Shu's profile and asked, "How much do you agree with the combat philosophy of your war zone?"

Before Xia Shu could answer, Fafnir continued, "I didn't think about this question at first, but after a few years of military service, I found that my combat philosophy was somewhat inconsistent with that of the Sea District's military. The Sea District's troop construction philosophy tends to be offensive and aggressive. But I cannot agree with this military philosophy.

"I believe the core of military construction should be moderate and harmonious. It shouldn't be too aggressive, nor too conservative. And this is exactly what I believe in, and that's where the Flower District aligns with my philosophy."

After hearing what Fafna said, Xia Shu understood why she changed jobs.

Admittedly, it is very normal to choose different war zones due to different military concepts.

But today's soldiers or officers rarely pay attention to the core construction concept of the war zone.

This is a bit like the core strategic goal announced when a company was founded. It looks very beautiful, but in fact it is very empty.

As a company grows, few people care about this kind of thing.

After all, it's just a slogan, just shout it a few times.

If we really take slogans as development dogmas, I am afraid that most industries in the world will starve to death.

This principle also applies to the construction of war zones.

Perhaps by standing at a high vantage point, one can analyze the specific development direction of a war zone from a global perspective.

But when you are actually in it, the construction concept of the war zone actually has little to do with individuals.

Most officers and soldiers will regard the military concepts of the war zone as something similar to regulations and laws that they should learn and memorize.

There are very few soldiers like Fafner who are so serious about their ideals.

725. Love is stillborn

Xia Shu was not quite sure about the specific construction concepts of each war zone.

As for the flower district, all she knew were slogans like "coordination", "coexistence", "upright law" and "seeking victory".

Usually, officers and soldiers who join the army rarely do any in-depth research on the concept of military construction.

They will only analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different war zones and choose the troops that are more suitable for them in terms of promotion path.

Or simply because of admiration for a certain idol, you choose a battle zone that you have a special psychological affinity for.

People like Fafner who are obsessed with military ideas will be regarded as freaks and stubborn by most people.

Fafna just didn't want others to think this way, so she was very secretive about her previous experiences and was unwilling to reveal even a little bit of it.

After figuring this out, Xia Shu also had a deeper understanding of Fafner.

She turned her head to look at Fafner, and their eyes met.

Now, Xia Shu was sure that Fafna already considered him as her friend.

Otherwise, she would not expose such private inner thoughts that might even be ridiculed.

Seeing Xia Shu's understanding look, Fafna also breathed a sigh of relief.

Then she lay down on the grass and looked up at the starry sky.

After a while, Fafna spoke again, "It sounds ridiculous, but I really think that different philosophies will also lead to different mental states for soldiers in the war zone. But if I say this, I'll usually be laughed at. After all, no one really cares about what the ideology is. Everyone just thinks about how to get promoted and how to make military achievements."

When Xia Shu heard what Fafna said, he just said "ah".

It was neither agreement nor disagreement, it was just an emphatic repetition of Farna's statement.

Fafna was slightly dissatisfied with Xia Shu's response, so she stretched out her fist and hit her on the waist.

Natsuki felt pain and twisted his body slightly, but said nothing, as if he wanted to move on from the topic.

Fafna stretched out her fist, wanting to hit him again.

Seeing this, Xia Shu could only reach out and grab her fist, then pull it to her abdomen and press it with both hands.

The two of them remained silent for a while again.

Then Xia Shu opened his mouth again and said, "Since you told me your little secret, I will tell you one of mine."

Fafna couldn't help but whispered, "This is not a little secret..."

Xia Shu ignored it and continued to talk to himself, "Actually, as I told you before, I received the admission letter from the Lieutenant Academy..."

"how?"

"What I said is true."

"..."

"..."

"Huh?" Fafna sat up suddenly, leaned in front of Xia Shu, stared into her eyes and asked, "What nonsense are you talking about?"

Xia Shu also looked back at Fafna and said sincerely, "Do you think I'm talking nonsense?"

Fafna was stunned for a moment, pulled the hand out of Xia Shu's arms, then stretched out her hands to hold Xia Shu's face and asked, "Are you kidding me?"

Xia Shu's face was squeezed, and he said incoherently, "What a snake nest! The four roars are opening the pot and the bowl."

Fafna loosened her grip and looked Xia Shu up and down as if getting to know her all over again. Then she said, "I can't believe it. I can't believe it. We agreed to walk together for life, but you secretly betrayed our non-commissioned officer camp."

Xia Shu touched his face and slowly sat up, and asked helplessly, "Why did I betray you?"

"You're about to become an officer, and yet you're still betraying me?" Fafna thought for a moment, then continued, "Oh? That's not right. Didn't you receive your admission letter? Then how can you still be an instructor here? Is this some special rule of the Flower District?"

"There's no rule!" Xia Shu sighed and said, "It was Pigeon who adjusted my enrollment time specifically to allow me to come here as a combat instructor!"

As he said this, he repeated to Fafna the agreement they had reached earlier in Jiamei's place.

"Can we play like this?" Fafna's first reaction was the same as Xia Shu's. She had no idea what the pigeon was trying to do.

But she quickly accepted the fact and said to Xia Shu, "So, you will be assigned to the cadet team and learn while being taught?"

"I don't know how to arrange it yet." Xia Shu waved his hands helplessly and said, "According to Pigeon, she will find someone to replace me when the time comes."

"But can we find someone in the Flower District who is better at fighting than you? Also, even if we find someone, how can they teach you? No, do you still need to be taught?" Fafna didn't know how to think about this matter for a moment.

This is too magical and too irrational.

While the teacher is teaching in the academy, she is also a student. While the students are studying in the academy, she is also teaching.

Too weird to understand.

Natsuki, however, looked as if he was thinking seriously, and continued, "That's not quite right. Although I'm an instructor, I don't know anything about officers. So, I'll have to learn about lieutenant officers from the instructors later."

Fafna also remembered this and asked, "Then the Sergeant... the Sergeant was admitted to the military academy. Is there a precedent for this?"

"I think should not be……"

"Oh, no..." Fafna frowned again and asked, "Do you really need to retake the military academy entrance exam? You've spent so many years honing your skills as a non-commissioned officer, and now you have to start all over again as an officer - time is precious! How many years will it take for you to be promoted to the same rank as a sergeant major? Is it worth it?"

Xia Shu thought about it and felt that Fafna might not understand the situation on her side very well, so she said, "Actually, I'm not even eighteen years old yet."

The subtext is that I still have a lot of time to waste.

Upon hearing this, Fafna jumped up from the ground as if frightened.

She looked at Natsuki with an incredulous expression and repeated, "Seventeen?"

Natsuki nodded.

It seemed as if some emotion in Fafna's heart was broken.

It seemed that in her impression, the trust between the two people that had been hard-earned had vanished into nothingness.

Maybe Xia Shu didn't mean it, but Fafna still felt that the age gap was not something that could be easily eliminated.

At the same time, what was lost was the hope of ending her single journey that had finally appeared in her long-term solo career.

Yes, the girl thought she was about to fall in love, so she opened her heart and tried to exchange her sincerity for sincerity.

I didn't expect that I would really get my true love, but the final outcome was far from what I expected.

It turns out that the gap between the two is all-encompassing.

Fafna raised her head, and a feeling of extreme emptiness suddenly enveloped her.

Xia Shu was a little worried, so he asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." Fafna looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle, her eyes bright and sad.

“I’m commemorating my lost youth.”

726. The work of a combat instructor is a long and arduous journey

Xia Shu didn't know how Fafna's youth training was going.

But this does not hinder the friendly friendship between the two.

Although Fafna would feel a sense of loss whenever she saw Xia Shu from then on, Xia Shu didn't know where this feeling of loss came from.