bookrandom Chapter 361: The Second Test
Chapter 361: The Second Test
Zhong Ming instantly recalled the scene of their last meeting.
Cough cough, what meeting? I didn't meet her at her bedside. The last time I saw her was in Pingzhou. We're not close, really not close.
"Enter."
Zhong Ming called out and gave Captain 01 a fake smile as he entered.
"Captain, what can I do for you?"
She waved her hand and said, "You're also a captain, so we're now equals." She spoke as she walked, and soon she was in front of Zhong Ming.
“That won’t do. You can say that if you come to the guard team to find me, but in the maintenance team, you are my superior, both morally and logically.”
Zhong Ming leaned back slightly, and although she didn't move, her eyes slowly examined his face, scrutinizing it carefully.
"Captain, is something wrong?"
"Hmm, I've come to ask you what specific pills you need, and the detailed schedule for your shifts between the guard team and the maintenance group. You can't just come and go as you please, treating this place like an inpatient ward, can you?" She rolled her eyes.
"Ahem," Zhong Ming said somewhat awkwardly, "Don't worry, it's a minor injury. As long as you don't fight with anyone, normal maintenance will be fine. This was just an accident."
She took out a bottle of pills from her storage bag and asked, "Would a low-grade Qi-Nourishing Pill be effective?"
"This... team leader, isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
"Is it useful or not?"
"Uh, it works."
With a loud thud, the bottle of pills slammed heavily onto the table. Zhong Ming's eyelids twitched, and he suspected that if she had used any more force, she could have cracked the table.
"Well... thank you, team leader."
Zhong Ming suddenly felt that the room was like a cage. What was causing this suffocating sense of oppression?
"Okay, next question, how long exactly are you staying here?"
"Unless there is an emergency, two months is certain."
"Then get to work properly." She suddenly reverted to her bossy self, reprimanding him in a commanding tone.
Zhong Ming swallowed hard, not daring to do anything rash, and asked in a low voice, "Um... after the shell maintenance is finished, is there any free time? Can I... do some side work?"
"Ok?"
She clearly hadn't thought about that; she's working non-stop every day, how could you possibly have the time to make extra money?
"The maintenance team has sufficient funds."
"Are military merit points... calculated on a piece-rate basis?"
The amount of artillery shells is basically fixed each day, unless they are stockpiled from missions in the previous days.
"Basically, yes, but if you spend more than six hours a day completing tasks, plus your own cultivation time, are you sure you have extra time?"
The six hours she mentioned refers to the time it takes to inject spiritual energy into the cannonballs, not the time it takes for you to meditate and recover after your spiritual energy is depleted.
"I don't know, but how about... we give it a try?"
"Hmph, hmph." She sneered a few times and said, "If you can do it, I'll allow you to upgrade magical artifacts."
"Huh? How did you know, team leader?"
She paused for a moment, then said, "You don't know, but I do?"
"You...you should know, right? It's not written in my genealogy."
Her expression grew even colder, and she reprimanded, "Understanding the strengths of each group member is a group leader's duty. In your eyes, am I an unqualified group leader?"
Next, she gave Zhong Ming a long "ideological education" session, before finally closing the door heavily and leaving.
To be honest, Zhong Ming had no idea why she was angry.
Never mind that, let's learn how to maintain artillery shells first.
So, he spent the evening at the maintenance team's work site.
That same evening, strange noises kept coming from the Third Guard's building.
......
The next day, a fierce wind howled. Cliff City is often windy, but today it was particularly strong. Small objects were being blown into the air every now and then, and people had to be careful of things falling from the sky when walking in the camp.
Inside the small building, Zhong Mingxue scratched his head in frustration. The spirit patterns on the cannonballs weren't complicated, but one wrong step could easily lead to disaster.
He returned to his previous practice of controlling spiritual energy, only this time it was even more... torturous, the punishment mechanism was a real needle in your hand.
As the day passed, his simulator had completed the maintenance of thirty shells. In reality, about nine shells were activated, one of which exploded, leaving his entire arm covered in blood spots.
"He walked wearily toward his room, wanting nothing more than to hug his cool, scaly armor and cultivate comfortably for a while before opening his eyes to greet a new day."
After reaching the ninth level of Qi Refining, his need for sleep was greatly reduced. For ordinary peak Qi Refining cultivators, sitting in meditation on a futon for a whole night is sufficient for sleep, and they only need to sleep once every half month.
But Zhong Ming is different. His cultivation involves stepping on magical artifacts and holding them on his head. Imagine being exposed to a long hook-and-sickle spear in the cold of late spring all night. It's not necessarily tiring, but to say you've rested well is just bravado. Even if you're not mentally exhausted, your body will be stiff.
Just as he was carefully considering his options, he suddenly noticed that Number 01 was loitering near his door again.
When she saw him return, a hint of displeasure appeared on her face.
"Why are you so late coming back? Don't you take your injury seriously? You can only work better if you're healthy. Do I have to teach you that?"
Zhong Ming stared at her speechlessly. Even the old Taoist priest had never treated him like this. It was like the emperor wasn't worried, but the eunuch was.
"Thank you for your concern, team leader."
She glanced at it disdainfully a few times, and Zhong Ming felt like she was being treated like a dog. Then she said indifferently, "Didn't you ask me yesterday how I knew about your abilities? Take a look at this."
She brandished a silver needle in her hand, and Zhong Ming made a look of sudden realization.
"Oh~ you're that girl. I always thought you were one of the beauties from the medical team." Zhong Ming's respectful expression vanished considerably. "Team leader, today... is it another time to grind silver needles?"
She nodded and handed over several spirit stones and silver needles.
"Five hours of practice a day is enough for you. No matter how much you practice, just come back and get to work. I'm granting you a special pardon. By the way, can I come and get these things tomorrow morning?"
“Sure, of course, making money isn’t hard work.” Zhong Ming watched her leave, sighed, and started working.
.....
As for Number 01, after the second test of Zhong Ming ended, she began to doubt her own memory.
If he wasn't lying, and my memory wasn't lying either, then there are only a few explanations left: either some bastard deliberately impersonated Master Cuihong to play a prank, or there was something wrong with the medicine that day that the medical team cultivators didn't tell her about.
Seriously, don't let me find out who played this prank!