Shu Bai stared blankly at Li Yuheng, his pure black eyes revealing no emotion.
Li Yuheng felt a little uneasy under his gaze, but he maintained a smiling expression, even tilting his head and blinking deliberately, trying to show his "sincere and harmless" nature.
Just when Li Yuheng thought that Shu Bai would reluctantly accept this "peace pork chop", a very faint smile suddenly appeared on the corner of Shu Bai's mouth.
The next second, the fork in Shu Bai's hand was no longer a utensil, but transformed into an unexpected murder weapon.
He struck with lightning speed!
Instead of taking the piece of meat that Li Yuheng "returned," he stabbed directly at the uncut piece of steak on Li Yuheng's plate.
"Huh?! Wait a minute—"
Li Yuheng had no idea this development would happen.
With a precise thrust of the fork into the center of the steak, Shu Bai lifted his wrist, and the entire piece of meat was cleanly pierced.
"Now it's mine."
Shu Bai's voice was calm and composed, carrying a hint of exhilaration at winning a victory.
In front of Li Yuheng's stunned expression, he slowly and methodically placed the piece of meat, which was much larger than the one he had "returned," onto his own plate.
"...Shallow-White Sentinel! You're repaying kindness with enmity! You're crossing the river and burning the bridge! You're using the millstone and then discarding the donkey!"
"All's fair in war. I learned that from you."
"Ah! My heart! It hurts so much! It hurts even more than being stabbed by the mouthparts of a Zerg!"
Shu Bai ignored his dramatic performance and focused on enjoying her lunch.
But the corners of his tightly pressed lips curved upwards almost imperceptibly before he quickly pressed them back down.
Li Yuheng wailed for a while, but when he saw that no one was there to cheer him on, he stopped.
He watched Shu Bai eat, then suddenly chuckled and said, "But speaking of which, isn't the meat you stole especially delicious?"
Shu Bai paused, looked up and glanced at him.
"Okay, okay, I won't say anything more. Let's eat."
...
After lunch, the two walked out of the small restaurant one after the other.
"Sentinel Shubai, what's the schedule for this afternoon? Routine training? Or going back to your room to meditate... oh wait, I mean, contemplate?"
Shu Bai stared straight ahead, his voice flat: "There's no fixed schedule. Usually, we train on our own or go to the medical department for routine monitoring."
Although most of those monitoring efforts were in vain for him.
“Training on your own is so boring,” Li Yuheng immediately chimed in, her tone light. “I asked Supervisor Zhao, and he suggested that in order to stabilize your mental state as quickly as possible, we… well, increase our time together and build rapport. He said that this would be incredibly effective in strengthening our mental bond, maybe even more so than counseling!”
He paused, then added, "Manager Zhao assured me that as long as we spend more time together, the atmosphere is right, and we're in good spirits, the needle will just jump straight to green! There's no stopping it!"
Shu Bai didn't stop walking, but quickly glanced at the monitoring watch on her wrist.
The stubborn pointer remained mockingly stationary in the same old spot.
He expressed skepticism about this claim.
"How about it?" Li Yuheng leaned closer, grinning. "Sharing a tour of this Third War Zone with your personal guide?"
His eyes sparkled, filled with an irresistible anticipation.
"……what ever."
"Shall we start with the living area? Let me see the food in this S-class danger zone... I just ate lunch, but I might get hungry again after walking around for a while?"
Shu Bai: "..."
His guide seemed to be a complete idiot.
...
The base's simulated tactical training center.
This place is equipped with a state-of-the-art holographic simulation system that can highly recreate various battlefield environments and Zerg enemies.
“Come on, Shu Bai Sentinel,” Li Yuheng said excitedly, pulling up the menu. “Show me how this S-rank Sentinel, who got straight A in the Tower’s graduation exam, stomped on noobs—no, I mean, how he cleaned up the battlefield so elegantly and efficiently?”
Shu Bai pursed her lips, but did not refuse.
He skillfully set the parameters and selected the most difficult insect swarm attack mode.
Simulated startup.
Wow! That prediction! Brilliant!
"Wow, that reaction speed is incredible, even the cameras can't keep up!"
"Wow, that legwork! That waist strength! Incredible!"
Li Yuheng's praise was exaggerated and noisy, but strangely, it wasn't annoying.
Shu Bai was completely absorbed in the simulated battle, as if blocking out all external sounds, but his tightly clenched lips loosened almost imperceptibly at Li Yuheng's exaggerated exclamation once again.
In five minutes, the most difficult insect swarm was completely wiped out.
The system rating popped up—a perfect SSS-level rating.
Li Yuheng immediately clapped his hands, leaned close to the rating screen, and loudly proclaimed, "SSS! Did you see that?! SSS!"
The sentries who were also conducting simulation training nearby were already stunned, their eyes filled with awe as they looked at Shu Bai.
Shu Bai suppressed the surging emotions in her chest and glanced at Li Yuheng indifferently: "It's just a simulation."
“A simulation will reveal the true skill!” Li Yuheng immediately retorted. “Your combat awareness and efficiency are incredible. You haven’t been on the battlefield for six years and you still maintain this level of skill. You’re practically a born war god! Those Zerg would all flee with their hives overnight if they saw you!”
Shu Bai: "...Shut up."
But when he turned around to adjust the next simulation scene, his back seemed to straighten a little more.
For the rest of the afternoon, Li Yuheng kept "messing around" with different things.
Every time Shu Bai displays abilities far beyond those of ordinary people, Li Yuheng's exaggerated flattery will start right on time, and he will kiss her from every angle.
Shu Bai went from being expressionless and wanting to hit someone at first, to being too lazy to talk to people but her ears would turn red, and finally to being almost numb. She would even occasionally twitch her lips because of Li Yuheng's outrageous analogy.
The pointer on the monitoring dial on his wrist remained stubbornly fixed.
But Shu Bai himself didn't realize that he looked at the pointer less often, and his brows were no longer always furrowed.
Li Yuheng maintained a high level of enthusiasm and focus throughout the process.
...
As the sun sets, I walk back to my dormitory.
"How was it, Sentinel Shu Bai? How did the afternoon of 'team building' go? Feeling refreshed and like you could take on ten more?"
"…good."
"Just so-so? I've worked so hard as a sparring partner and a straight man, and all I get is 'so-so'? Sentinel Shu Bai, you're so cold-blooded, so heartless, and so unreasonable!"
Shu Bai glanced at Li Yuheng, who was joking around, but didn't say anything. Instead, she suddenly reached out and grabbed his wrist, then turned and walked towards the small restaurant.
"Huh? Wait, wait, wait!"
Caught off guard by being pulled away, Li Yuheng quickly said, "No need, no need, thank you Shubai! I appreciate your kindness! But I'm not hungry yet... and after a whole afternoon of running around, I'm covered in sweat. I want to go back to my dorm and take a shower first!"
Shu Bai stopped in her tracks, but didn't let go of his wrist.
He turned his head and his gaze lingered for a moment on Li Yuheng's smiling face, as if judging the truthfulness of his words.
"……what ever."
Finally, he let go, his voice still flat, revealing no emotion.
"What? Is Sentinel Shu Bai trying to invite me to dinner? Has he finally been moved even a little by my sincerity?"
Li Yuheng's fingers naturally slid into the gaps between his sparse white fingers, their ten fingers interlocked, their palms pressed together.
The cool evening breeze swept through the base corridor, but it couldn't dispel the rising temperature where the two were clasped together.
Shu Bai didn't answer, but stared at the hand that Li Yuheng was holding. "Why are you holding my hand?"
"Didn't you take my hand first?"
"let go."
What if I say no?
“Li Yuheng, don’t push your luck.”
"Okay, I've let go. Take it back now. I promise I won't resist."
"……hehe."
…
"Does the dinner you invited me to still stand?"
"When did I ever say I'd invite you?"
"Isn't that what you meant when you dragged me to the cafeteria earlier?"
"...You're overthinking it."
"Shallow-white sentinels, saying one thing and meaning another is not a good habit."
"Li Xiangdao, you talk too much."
"Then if I don't say anything, will you hold my hand?"
"...No, I won't."
…
"Then I'll hold your hand, okay?"
"release."
"What if I said this was a tactical coordination exercise?"
"Do you think I'm a fool?"
"When you are Shu Bai."
"..."
"Then let's find another reason? Like my hands are cold."
"The base maintains a constant temperature of 25 degrees Celsius."
"But your fingers are really cold. Let me warm them up for you."
"...You're so annoying."
"I have to put up with the annoyance, since you were the one who held my hand first."
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