The Military Queen-Chapter 41 - 33 The tide rider

Not 98 players, but precisely 100 players seemed to emerge unscathed from "Military Road".

The tracking officers were examining the data on the brain scanners hesitantly looked towards two people. Both Player Zero and Player 500 had no signal response from their brain scanners.

"She was the first one to walk in, Player Zero," the lieutenant who had previously led Xia You and her partner into the tracking room, remembered, recognizing Xia You. His finger had just pointed at Xia You when he felt that she was not that Player Zero.

Although it is said that the bird that sticks its head out gets shot, as the Player Zero who was manipulated to be the first one to enter "Military Road", what her face actually looked like – the officers present had already forgotten.

But now, everyone present, upon seeing her again, were left with an almost indelible impression. Player Zero had a very clean face, from pupils to brows, every part could only be described with that one word. Emerging from the dark door of "Military Road" that saw no sunlight, every strand of hair down to her feet shone with dazzling light, highlighting her fair skin and delicate features even more prominently.

What could cause such a dramatic change in a person’s demeanor in just two months?

Compared to the contemplation of the officers and Major Lin Yi, as soon as Player Zero and Player 500 stepped out of the door, after quickly confirming that they had indeed left "Military Road," they started sizing each other up.

Aside from the somewhat bitter "Woodcutter" career, the "Military Road" system had chosen to look favorably upon Player 500. He had undergone the least change in appearance out of all the players, with fine brows and slender frame, looking too delicate for a soldier. From Player Zero’s perspective, one could see a red mole located where a woman’s earring would typically be, on the exquisite helix of his ear.

"Xia You," Player Zero saw that Player 500’s brow twitched non-stop, and his nostrils flared rhythmically, evidently recalling the untimely and unpleasant cut he had just received. As the saying goes, one does not slap the face that is offered with a smile, so it’s always prudent to greet first.

"Yu Xiaonan," Player 500 clenched his white teeth and forced out three words, his eyes and face turning into a mask as he shook hands with Xia You.

A deep cough revealed Major Lin Yi’s mood of displeasure, as he was being thoroughly ignored for the first time, "The two of you have worked hard," said Major Lin Yi, deliberately nodding at Xia You. The earlier voice had come from Yu Xiaonan, who had emerged from the left.

"Thank you for your concern, sir, it wasn’t tough at that time," Xia You did not complain at all, whether it was the seventy-two hours of darkness or being trapped in the uncertain wilderness of Dinosaur Forest, she never felt it was tough while she was there. One virtue of human nature is that at the height of pain, one forgets the pain. People often drown in the surge that rises after suffering, overwhelmed by memories and public opinion. Pain also has a delayed effect.

Major Lin Yi had a mouth skilled in argument, but this time, he did not know how to respond to her words.

From the position in the tracking room and the military rank on Major Lin Yi’s shoulder, it was not difficult to see that he was the main person in charge of this project. Thus, he should also be able to answer the questions in her heart.

"What exactly is ’Military Road’, and what roles were we really playing?" Xia You looked straight at Major Lin Yi, seizing the opportunity to find out the reasons behind everything that happened before being ushered out of the tracking room. The tall, slender man a few steps away was the same man from the loudspeaker that day.

Some men have memorable voices, but when they appear in person, they can be a letdown. However, this major was a rarity, whose voice and appearance were equally remarkable. He pondered how to answer Xia You’s pressing question, his expressive eyebrows drawn together, a few fine lines forming on his prominent nose.

"Bring the records here," Major Lin Yi took out various written notes and oral records left by the players who had exited "Military Road" a few days earlier. "These two questions are questions you yourselves should be answering."

There was a "clap... clap" of applause from Yu Xiaonan, who had been silent since exiting, as he started clapping his hands, "Not bad for Major Lin Yi who is known as ’White Impermanence.’ With a background in the National Security Department’s archives division, he knows how to use documents as weapons to counter various questions. Since the National Security Department won’t answer, then allow me to do so."

Yu Xiaonan wanted to wash away the extremely poor impression he had left on Xia You within "Military Road." Now energized, he grabbed the stack of documents and threw them on the ground, "Military Road is a military simulation system that provides a realistic combat training environment for soldiers in peacetime. Due to its pre-release state and having never been publicly beta-tested, potential unknown risks may exist, hence the selection of five hundred experimenters from the public."

The lieutenants in the tracking room became alert upon hearing military secrets being fluently disclosed by an ordinary player, several of them ready to move forward and intervene.

"Continue speaking," said Major Lin Yi calmly, giving the impression that the National Security Department was not the only party privy to the project.

"Unfortunately, the number of people who signed up in the end was pitifully small. As a last resort, the National Security Department had to ask several major military regions to select outstanding military personnel to participate in this project. How could each military region agree to send the troops they painstakingly trained into such a death trap? And so we have the likes of you and me, and those unlucky lab rats." Yu Xiaonan sought to provoke Xia You’s emotions, hoping that she would clash with these lieutenants and disappear silently and unobtrusively from this world without him lifting a finger.

The sea was calm; after hearing these words, Xia You’s demeanor remained unchanged, not even the flicker of an eyelid. Yu Xiaonan’s voice was like fine wine and also like poison, falling into Xia You’s ears, it became like a commercial film polluting the screens of the day, filled with excessive sensationalism and bombastic plots. Once the show’s over, only some sunflower seed shells and cola cans are left behind – nothing else.

After listening, she calmly picked up the A4 papers from the ground, orderly arranged them, and then handed them back to Major Lin Yi.

Xia You’s behavior gave the impression that she was just a passerby, or perhaps an observer, as if everything that had occurred had little to do with her. She did not at all seem like a participant or a victim.

A strange feeling surfaced in Yu Xiaonan’s heart as he looked at Xia You in amazement, for after hearing all this, she actually asked a question: "Is everyone who successfully walked out now a member of Rand?"