Chapter Ninety-One: Gao Ning’s Analysis

Within just a few minutes, he had already grasped the situation.

First, the mission had not failed, which meant William Cage was still alive. The key to the world’s reset would therefore fall to the heroine, Rita Vrataski.

Second, the reset had not affected the Red Alert units. Gao the Second, the remaining terror drones, and more than a hundred fury beasts were still entrenched in the Luxembourg region.

Third, the heroine would be in danger. The Wolf Fang squad had surely set its sights on her.

Before her save-and-load ability was erased, William Cage was temporarily safe.

But Gao Ning also needed to find the male lead as quickly as possible and put him under control.

At the same time, he had to confirm where he would respawn, and keep a few terror drones lying in ambush around the area year-round, ready to seize control the moment he appeared.

Fourth, using the heroine as bait, he had to devote part of his attention to laying traps and wait for the Wolf Fang squad to walk into them.

Fifth, the gene mutation device worked astonishingly well, and the respawn interval was exceptionally short. It really only took ten minutes.

So Gao Ning now had three things to do: first, have Gao the Second rendezvous with him at once and remain invisible to protect him at his side.

Second, take control of the male lead.

Third, set the trap.

From the instructor’s words, it was not hard to tell that war could break out at any moment.

Communications were under strict control, but barracks management was comparatively lax.

It was not without its advantages that the enemy was a monster; at the very least, there was no need to worry about spies, infiltrators, or anything of the sort.

The two sides’ forces stood in plain view. There was only direct, head-on collision, one harder fist winning over the other. Simple and brutal.

Although the alien creatures were not as formidable as the insect hordes, they were still exceptionally dangerous. They might be somewhat fragile in themselves, and machine-gun fire could tear their bodies to pieces, but they were swift and elusive.

They could fight at range or in close quarters. The tentacles on their backs twisted together, and they could even launch long-range energy beams, making aircraft and missiles difficult to use effectively.

Gao Ning followed the crowd around the barracks for a turn before being assigned to Squad C.

The squad was at full strength, with twenty-eight men in all, more than half of them recruits.

The veterans in the camp were relaxed, listening to music, working out, and playing cards. The recruits were more restrained; aside from their bedding, they scarcely had any personal belongings.

Last time he had left too quickly, but this closer look revealed that there were actually two women in the unit.

Both wore sports tanks. One sat cross-legged on her bed, fiddling with a computer, while the other was on the floor doing high-knee drills, panting hard, her ponytail bouncing with every movement. If not for her rather ordinary looks and unremarkable figure, she might have drawn a great deal of attention.

Even so, glances still swept toward her from time to time, and the female soldier remained perfectly calm.

Women like her, who even bathed alongside the men, were long used to such looks.

"Hello, my name’s Carter. I’m from Florida!"

Just as Gao Ning found his bunk, a head poked out from the upper bed.

The boy had a head full of blond hair and a youthful face; he was clearly barely grown, lean of build yet very tall, with large hands.

His uniform was at least two sizes too big, hanging on him like a sack.

Gao Ning looked at him and smiled. "I’m Gao Ning. I’m from New York!"

"New York? That’s a great place! I hear it’s deep in the rear area and hasn’t been hit by anything yet. Why’d you come here?"

Carter whistled, looking surprised.

Gao Ning shrugged and tossed the supplies in his hands onto the bed. "No idea. Probably because I was hot-headed."

"Man, I get it!" Carter said, reaching out to pat Gao Ning on the shoulder and flashing a thumbs-up.

Gao Ning rolled his eyes inwardly.

You get nothing.

After chatting idly with the young man on the upper bunk for a while, the scar-faced instructor walked in, and the aide at his side shouted, "Attention!"

Everyone immediately put down what they were doing and straightened up on the spot; those lying in bed simply sprang down.

Gao Ning delayed for about a second before standing beside Carter.

Since he intended to remain hidden in the barracks, he had better not stand out.

The scar-faced man glanced toward the card-playing veterans and said calmly, "Now that the recruits have arrived, even if the veterans cannot serve as examples, they should not drag the recruits down.

War could begin at any moment. Intelligence indicates that the enemy’s main force has already gathered on the front lines from eastern France and may come charging in at any time.

This is no time for recreation. You will undergo strict training.

And the situation on the battlefield is uncertain. Training may be interrupted at any moment so you can be sent to the front. If, by then, you can’t even fire a gun before being thrown into the war, then don’t blame me when you die for not teaching you!"

With that, the scar-faced man turned and left. The aide shouted a dismissal and followed him out.

The atmosphere inside the tent immediately loosened, and the veterans went about their business as if nothing had happened.

The white young man who had been called out earlier sat on his bed with a carefree look and pulled out the deck of cards hidden beneath the blanket.

"Come on, come on! The battlefield changes in an instant. You never know whether you’ll live to see tomorrow, so if you don’t play a few hands now, you might not even have a head to play with next time!"

As he spoke, the white young man even beckoned to the recruits. "Anyone want in? Ten bucks will do. If you don’t have the money, you can owe it first!"

The recruits exchanged glances, but no one stepped forward.

The white young man did not care. He shrugged and called a few others over to continue.

Gao Ning simply lay down on his bed, crossed his hands behind his head, and recalled how many days had passed before the reset.

More than twenty terror drones had spawned, which meant over a hundred hours had gone by—that was to say, five or six days?

But the arithmetic was not so simple. Who knew how many days it would take for the heroine to die this time?

In the afternoon, some materials were issued, mainly learning manuals for the exoskeletal mechs.

Gao Ning flipped through them at random without paying much attention.

When he had previously obtained one from an arms dealer, he and Gao the Second had studied it carefully together.

So while he could not claim to use it skillfully, he at least knew how to fire a gun.

At night, after lights-out in the barracks, Gao the Second came invisibly to Gao Ning’s side.

He had brought ten terror drones with him, while the fury beasts had still been left in Luxembourg and were currently in standby mode.

The two did not speak. Two of the terror drones were simply disguised and hidden within the barracks.

Gao the Second took the remaining eight straight to the training ground.

The heroine held the rank of sergeant, which was high for a recruit camp, so she had her own dedicated training ground.

Gao Ning did not know which direction it was in, but he remembered there were eight-legged monsters roaming around inside.

They used mechanical agility to imitate the creatures and assist in training. Whether the effect was any good was hard to say, but they certainly looked intimidating.

A tailcoat might not be suitable for a head-on brawl, but it was very useful for stealth.

Gao the Second spent most of the night invisibly circling the recruit camp before finally finding the familiar training ground.

With a wave of his hand, the terror drones spread out on their own, disguising themselves and going into hiding.