Chapter 126: Elite Interns

Jiang Xi’s perception of good and evil was far from the naive, simple-minded innocence that most people assumed. On the contrary, his introspective nature allowed him to spend more time and effort observing and discovering the world around him.

He had ample time to study every person he encountered.

After the apocalypse, with normal social order shattered, the myriad experiences he lived through not only shaped and improved him but also ruthlessly exposed the many shifts in human mentality under such harsh conditions.

No wonder the books he once read said that only the sun and the human heart are too intense to gaze upon directly. Gradually, he grasped the essence of this, and through this partial understanding combined with real-life experiences, he began to break free from the shell that once confined him.

Now, there was no ivory tower left—he had to “grow up.”

So, while someone else was complaining during a meal, Jiang Xi put down his chopsticks and said, “Please don’t disturb others while eating. If you don’t like the food, you should find a way to make something better, because good things won’t just jump out of your mouth.”

He looked at the other person seriously, with a stubbornness rare in adults accustomed to social niceties and face-saving, until the other sheepishly lowered their head and apologized. Only then did Jiang Xi resume eating.

He ate slowly but finished everything. Later, when he saw the snacks and stored food his sister had left for him, he unwrapped a cookie and ate it slowly, finally feeling about sixty or seventy percent full.

“Isn’t sister coming back soon?”

Jiang Huan... indeed wouldn’t be back anytime soon.

After the selection ended, aside from a few who were clearly unfit to stay, most were allowed to remain. However, she, along with Xie Congzhou and two other particularly outstanding trainees, were directly transferred to an area beyond the ninth-level fishing net for “practical training.”

This meant parting ways with Kui Shu, who barely passed.

Jiang Huan requested to return to the gathering point but was denied; only permission to pick up her younger brother was granted.

She wrote a letter for Kui Shu to deliver back home, saying, “This one is for my brother, and these are for Liu Ling and Wang Ping. Kui Shu, please make sure they get these.” She worried her brother would be uneasy otherwise.

Kui Shu promised to personally watch them open the letters.

Jiang Huan watched Kui Shu board the ship, then adjusted her gear. She had been issued a new set of exclusive combat armor.

Compared to the training suits, this combat armor was not only brand new but carried a distinctly high-tech aura. Apart from the helmet, which inevitably resembled a spacesuit, the body suit was tight-fitting like a wetsuit. It was equipped with emergency medical supplies, and inside the helmet was a purified breathing pouch that could sustain underwater breathing for forty minutes—though with intense activity, maybe only ten minutes. Still, it was impressive.

Near the tenth-level fishing net lay another base. Compared to the island they had seen before, this was yet another new tier. The faces of the people coming and going were grave—no one was in the mood for jokes, not even willing to spare a smile.

Their transportation was amphibious, with wheels that extended on land, rotated in the water, and formed a frame during flight.

Weapons were no longer just knives and dried fish used to lure sea beasts.

Instead, they carried compact speakers emitting triple-frequency supersonic sounds and neurotoxins specifically targeting sea beasts.

Moreover, this sea area housed a laboratory capable of processing sea beasts with lower toxin absorption into edible fish meat.

Jiang Huan had no idea technology had advanced this far.

So what about places with even higher numbers?

“From levels one to three, humans can no longer enter the water. It’s basically all machines. Even if there are operators, they risk their lives controlling the machines from sealed rooms. Exposure to the air there is dangerous,” she was told.

Levels three to five were reserved for elites. When Xiaoming and his teammates ambushed a mutated dolphin ten times its normal size, covered in spines, he cut two fingers in the fight and had to amputate them to survive after returning to shore.

Jiang Huan glanced at his hand.

He wore gloves with no indentations.

Now she realized he must have been using his left hand for most tasks, which at the time she mistakenly thought meant he was left-handed. She hadn't known the full story.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Xiaoming took the initiative to lighten the mood. Not everyone was so unlucky, he said. “That’s why training is so intense, and the selection bar is so high. Xiao Jiang, I have high hopes for you and Xiao Xie. You’re both newcomers now, but you’ll soon become elites. Then, with greater authority comes better treatment for your families.”

Jiang Huan nodded. That was also the reason she persevered.

Going to a quieter, safer environment with better facilities and possibly recreational activities meant she wouldn’t have to constantly deal with trivial daily annoyances.

Although this was meant to be reserve force management, Jiang Huan noticed Xie Congzhou seemed unenthusiastic.

Wondering if he was worried about his family, she patted his shoulder and gestured to talk aside.

He followed her behind a tree, where it was relatively secluded, though anyone approaching would be noticed immediately.

“Worried about Grandpa Xie?”

“Yes,” Xie Congzhou admitted, though more than that, he was tangled in some unspoken inner turmoil.

This seawater...

Seeing Jiang Huan’s concerned gaze, he quickly pulled his thoughts away from that matter. “I just feel uncomfortable being separated suddenly after always being together.”

“I heard elite members can apply for video calls with family. Let’s work hard to join the elite team. We’ll get monthly leave and even be flown back by helicopter.”

Xie Congzhou seemed genuinely relieved by this. He stopped drifting off afterward.

Their previous team leader, Xiaoming, was still with them at the ninth level but no longer rushed practical exercises. Instead, they spent three days reviewing sea beast characteristics and killing methods, and watched compilations of recorded kills by team members.

Jiang Huan noticed the name Wu Bing repeatedly appearing. Many of the kill records were hers.

From the photos, she was a slender, short-haired girl.

Despite her frail frame, she had broken nearly all the records for newcomers and was among the top in the elite team.

Seeing Jiang Huan’s admiration, Xiaoming’s expression shifted to a meaningful smile. “If you make the elite team, you’ll get to know her.”

The implication in his tone was unmistakable.

Over those three days, they took countless quizzes. Although it sounded like the relentless exam drills of senior high school, no one dared complain.

The more you remembered now, the better you’d understand the sea beasts you faced in practice—knowledge is victory. So everyone studied not only by day but also late into the night.

Jiang Huan and Xie Congzhou studied closely together, which actually gave them extra tutoring, but to others, they already appeared like a couple.

(End of chapter)