15: Chapter 15 The Heartbroken Lin Sisi

6:30 AM, the cafeteria.

The long metal tables were filled with bleary-eyed student soldiers, many of whom were still not used to waking up at this hour.

Lin Mo sat in a corner, a plate of grayish-brown mushy food and a cup of water set before him.

He ate slowly with his uninjured right hand, his left hand wrapped in bandages and hidden inside his sleeve.

After a night of recovery, his condition had improved significantly. Although most of the Rotten Wolf's claw venom had been metabolized by his body, the wound still needed time to heal.

"I need to find a safer place today."

"With my arm injured, I can't risk a head-on fight. It's best to find stray, unranked ferocious beasts and slowly farm them—steady progress is key."

Lin Mo wasn't in a hurry now. Since there were no camp missions recently, he could move freely and had plenty of time to farm slaughter value.

He had just taken two bites when several attractive figures walked over.

Lin Sisi led the way. She was wearing a tight combat suit today with her hair tied in a high ponytail, revealing her fair neck. Her eyes were slightly red and swollen, as if she hadn't slept well.

Beside her were Ye Zhixia and four or five other girls, all appearing to be students from the Elite Assault Team.

Lin Sisi spotted Lin Mo immediately—or rather, she had come specifically for him.

She walked quickly to Lin Mo's table, her gaze lingering on his left arm for quite a while.

Although Lin Mo had hidden the bandages in his sleeve, the pale yellow medicinal stains seeping through the cuff still exposed his injury.

"Lin Mo!"

"What happened to your arm?!"

There was a clear sense of anxiety in Lin Sisi's voice.

Quite a few people in the cafeteria looked over.

In a corner, several students from Lingwu University also looked up. That lunatic Shen Fei sat among them, grinning at Lin Mo, which left Lin Mo feeling somewhat bewildered.

Lin Mo put down his spoon: "I accidentally scratched it during training."

"Training?"

"What kind of training leaves a wound like that?"

Ye Zhixia took a step forward and examined Lin Mo's arm closely, her expression clearly skeptical.

Quickly, without waiting for Lin Mo's answer, Ye Zhixia began her own analysis.

"The bandages go from your wrist to your upper arm, which means the wound is very long."

"The medicine is so yellow; it must be a mix of military-grade anti-inflammatory powder and rot-venom neutralizer..."

"I bet... your wound was infected by beast toxins. You left the camp last night!"

It wasn't a question, but a statement of fact.

The chatter in the cafeteria quieted down.

Left the camp? At night? Who was so reckless and bold?

Lin Mo glanced at Ye Zhixia.

This girl wasn't just pretty; her powers of observation were very sharp.

He didn't plan on continuing the deception; the wound was right there, and it couldn't be hidden.

"You're right. I went out last night to familiarize myself with the environment."

"Are you crazy?!"

Lin Sisi's voice suddenly rose in pitch.

"Leaving the camp alone at night?! Do you know how dangerous the mountains are?! Have you forgotten everything Battalion Commander Yuan Shoucheng said yesterday?!"

Her reaction was so intense that everyone around looked over.

Even Shen Fei stopped his silly grinning and tilted his head, curiously observing the scene.

Ye Zhixia looked at Lin Sisi, then at Lin Mo, her brow furrowing slightly.

"Sisi, you're so concerned about him... you don't actually like him, do you?"

"Pfft—" A girl nearby almost sprayed her water.

Lin Sisi's face instantly flushed bright red, from her neck all the way to the tips of her ears.

She opened her mouth to argue, but couldn't get a single word out, only waving her hands in a fluster.

Lin Mo was also stunned for a moment, followed by a surge of awkwardness.

He and Lin Sisi indeed had a good relationship—they had been classmates for over a decade since childhood—but it ended there; there was no deeper connection.

At this moment, with their relationship so bluntly called out by Ye Zhixia, the atmosphere instantly became strange.

"Ahem."

"Sisi, did you... need something from me so early in the morning?"

Lin Mo cleared his throat to break the silence.

Only then did Lin Sisi snap out of it. She took a few deep breaths to calm her emotions, though a blush still lingered on her face.

"It's... it's like this... Xiaxia spoke with the captain of the Elite Assault Team, and the captain agreed that you can train with us for the next few days!"

Lin Sisi tried her best to make her voice sound normal.

"Huh?"

"Train with you?"

Lin Mo was suddenly caught between laughter and tears.

How could he possibly have the time!

Seeing Lin Mo seemingly dazed, Ye Zhixia spoke up with dissatisfaction:

"Hey, hey, don't just stand there dazed. Thank Sisi immediately!"

Lin Sisi also smiled, saying as if presenting a treasure:

"The captain said that if you perform well in training, you can join us on some low-risk missions! You can gain some experience, and when the battalion commander has missions later, it'll improve your survival rate!"

As she finished, many surrounding students showed expressions of envy.

Being able to train with the Elite Assault Team and even participate in missions was a dream opportunity for many students in logistics and patrol squads.

But Lin Mo's reaction exceeded everyone's expectations.

He smiled awkwardly and said, "No thanks. I appreciate the offer, but I have my own arrangements."

The cafeteria went silent for a moment.

The smile on Lin Sisi's face froze.

She stared blankly at Lin Mo, as if she hadn't understood his words.

"You... what did you say?"

"I said, no thanks."

"I'm used to training alone. The Assault Team's schedule would mess up my rhythm."

Lin Mo spoke seriously.

"Rhythm? What rhythm?!"

Lin Sisi's emotions were becoming agitated.

"Lin Mo, do you have any idea how rare this opportunity is?! To get this for you, Xiaxia even owes the captain a favor! I... I also..."

She couldn't go on, her eyes turning red again.

Ye Zhixia's expression turned cold.

She took a step forward, shielding Lin Sisi, and glared at Lin Mo indignantly, saying:

"Lin Mo, do you think you're really something special?"

Lin Mo didn't speak.

"Just because you went out of the camp alone at night and came back with an injury, you think you're some big shot?"

"What do you think the front line is? A playground?"

"Do you know that last night, there were sounds of battle near the North Mountain, with energy intensity reaching Rank 2!!"

"You were lucky to come back alive. If you had gone to the North Mountain last night, you'd be a dead man by now!"

Ye Zhixia grew angrier as she spoke, looking as if she wanted to charge forward and bite Lin Mo.

"Sisi had the best intentions, worried that something would happen to you at the Bait Post. She begged me for help over a dozen times. I only lowered myself to ask the captain for a favor for Sisi's sake, and what do I get in return? This reckless, self-righteous attitude of yours!"

The surrounding girls began to chime in, all showing looks of disdain.

"Exactly! Talk about being ungrateful!"

"Sisi, forget it. Why do you even care about someone like him?"

"Just let him fend for himself!"

"He really thinks he's some kind of genius, putting on such airs here..."

The sounds of the argument grew louder.

Many students from other schools also looked over, pointing and whispering about Lin Mo.

Lin Sisi looked at Lin Mo, at his face that was calm to the point of being cold, at his bandaged arm, and at the detached look in his eyes—as if he were completely out of place with everything around him.

She suddenly felt very tired.

"Lin Mo..."

"Are you really... not going?"

Lin Sisi's voice was very soft.

Lin Mo was silent for two seconds before shaking his head: "No."

In that instant, the light in Lin Sisi's eyes completely died out.

She lowered her head, turned around, and pushed through the crowd to leave.

"Sisi!"

Ye Zhixia glared at Lin Mo and hurriedly chased after her.

The other girls followed as well, not forgetting to throw several contemptuous looks at Lin Mo before they left.

The cafeteria returned to its noisy state.

But Lin Mo could feel that people were looking at him more and more frequently.

Seeing this, he lost his appetite for breakfast. He picked up his water cup, finished the last sip, and then stood up to leave the cafeteria.

...