These words were so sharp and harsh that they instantly silenced everyone around, and they all turned to look at them.
Chen Xiaocao's face flushed bright red instantly, tears welled up in her eyes, and her lips trembled. She wanted to retort, but because of anger and grievance, she couldn't utter a single word.
Wang Xiaoya trembled with anger, standing in front of Chen Xiaocao like a mother hen protecting her chicks, pointing her finger at Zhao Yan and cursing:
"You're talking nonsense! You're slandering me! Xiaocao is not that kind of person! Stop trying to sow discord here! You're incompetent, so you throw mud at others. Have you no shame?"
"I'm talking nonsense?" Zhao Yan sneered as if she had heard the biggest joke in the world. "Then tell me, why didn't Su An choose someone else, but instead chose someone who would only drag the team down? There are at least a dozen or twenty female soldiers in the whole battalion who are better than her. Why did Su An choose her? Isn't it because he pities her? What is he doing? Is he doing charity in our battalion? It's hilarious! Does he think this is a shelter?"
"You!" Wang Xiaoya was so angry she couldn't speak.
Su Tang, pulling the still dazed Chen Xiaocao along, intended to head straight to the registration desk, too lazy to waste words with this kind of person.
But Zhao Yan's words about "doing charity" and "shelter," as well as the blatant contempt in her eyes when she looked at Chen Xiaocao, made her stop in her tracks.
She may not care what others think of her, but she cannot tolerate others publicly humiliating her friend like this.
Su Tang slowly turned around, raised her eyes, and calmly looked at Zhao Yan.
"Are you done talking?"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it sounded like it carried shards of ice, making the surrounding temperature drop several degrees.
Zhao Yan felt a chill run down her spine under her gaze, but emboldened by the number of people around her, she retorted defiantly, "What? You did it and you're afraid people will talk about it? If you have nothing to hide, then explain yourself!"
Su Tang suddenly smiled, a faint smile that sent a chill down Zhao Yan's spine for no apparent reason.
“First,” Su Tang held up a finger, her voice clear to everyone, “it’s my freedom to choose who my teammates are. The instructor only said it’s free to form teams, he didn’t say I had to choose a shooting expert. It’s my right, and you have no right to interfere.”
“Second,” she held up a second finger, her gaze sweeping over Zhao Yan’s face, “you said Chen Xiaocao is a burden. True, her shooting score isn’t good. But she has me. I have an exemption for the next round; our team is 100% safe this round. And what about you?”
Su Tang's lips curled into a mocking smile. "Your shooting scores are mediocre, and your field experience is unremarkable. You're just a bunch of rabble on the edge of elimination. It's hard to say who's the burden and who's stuck in the mud."
Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan's expression changed instantly.
Su Tang's words hit her most vulnerable spot.
Besides her fighting skills, firearms were her weakness. If it weren't for the need to safely pass the next assessment, why would she have been willing to humbly invite Su An to team up?
"You're talking nonsense!" Zhao Yan retorted, her tone fierce but her voice weak.
"Whether I'm talking nonsense or not, you know it in your heart." Su Tang didn't give her a chance to refute, and her tone suddenly turned cold.
"Zhao Yan, you keep talking about unity, but last time during the armed cross-country race, who deliberately knocked down Chen Xiaocao in order to win first place? You talk a lot about strength, but is your strength just for bullying teammates who are weaker than you? If someone would resort to underhanded tactics against their comrades in training, would they be willing to shoot their own comrades in the back for a steamed bun on the real battlefield?"
“Let me tell you, I chose Chen Xiaocao because she is kind and reliable. I trust her completely! As for you,” Su Tang’s gaze swept across Zhao Yan’s face like a knife, “a selfish and wicked person like you, even if you have excellent marksmanship, I would still find you an eyesore to be my teammate!”
Every word is piercing to the heart!
A deathly silence fell over the surroundings. Some of the people who had previously been on good terms with Zhao Yan and thought she was loyal now looked at her with suspicion.
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