“Sister Yue, what does ‘special operations’ mean?” Cen Qiaoqiao suddenly asked on the way back.
“Literally, it means unconventional warfare. For example virus warfare, bacterial warfare.”
“Hiss—like in movies? Poison gas, mutant insects and stuff?”
Jiang Fuyue thought for a moment. “Probably something even more advanced than that.”
Anything that could be made into a movie was just the leftover concept of biochemical warfare while the real global level of biochemical research was probably decades ahead of what anyone could imagine.
“Sister Yue, how do you know so much about this?”
“Isn’t it common sense?”
“…”
Sorry for interrupting. I’ll just walk by myself.
That night, there was no emergency assembly whistle. Since they didn’t have to line up in the morning either, everyone slept especially soundly, even in their dreams, the song ‘Unity Is Strength’ played on a loop…
The third day of military training passed amidst the ringing chorus of military songs.
In the morning, sunlight slanted through the window, casting mottled reflections on the floor.
Jiang Fuyue got up to wash up, with Liu Sisi following right after.
When it was about time, she woke up Huo Fanjin and Cen Qiaoqiao.
At eight o’clock in the morning, the four of them arrived at the lecture hall.
By then, most people were already there.
Seats were divided by school. Ming University’s section was way in the back, in a corner, naturally, the view wasn’t great.
Cen Qiaoqiao pouted. “They’re totally looking down on us! So rude!”
Huo Fanjin said, “You’ll get used to it. With Ming University’s reputation, well…”
Around them, other complaints began to rise—
“What the h*ll? Playing favorites now?”
“Why do we have to sit in the back, while Q University and B University get the front?”
“Sure, I don’t care about some theory lecture, but that doesn’t mean they can push us around!”
“Exactly!”
“Whether I listen or not is my business but this seating arrangement is the organizer’s problem!”
“Change seats—!”
“Change seats—!”
Soon, the chants of protest drowned out all other conversation.
Cen Qiaoqiao looked conflicted. “Should I… join in and shout too?”
But before she could decide, she saw Jiang Fuyue suddenly stand up and call out, “Change seats—!”
Cen Qiaoqiao: “?”
What’s going on?
Even Sister Yue is joining in?
Although she found it hard to believe, she immediately jumped up, clenched her fist, raised her arm, and yelled, “Change seats—!”
Liu Sisi followed suit.
Huo Fanjin was dumbfounded, eyes wide—
Was this really the same Jiang Fuyue she knew?
“Little Jinjin, why are you still sitting? Get up and shout with us! Change seats—!”
“Ah? Oh!” Huo Fanjin snapped out of it, sprang up like a spring, and shouted at the top of her lungs, “Change seats—!”
The commotion quickly drew the attention of the staff. Unable to quiet them down, they immediately reported it to their superiors.
Whether because the uproar was too loud or someone felt guilty, it didn’t take long before someone came out to rearrange the seating.
They were still in the back, but moved from the far right corner to the center section.
The Ming University students were finally satisfied.
“Now this feels like a proper seat.”
“So raising a fuss really works, huh?”
“Unbelievable! The instructors didn’t even come out to shut us down, this is a miracle!”
“…”
At 8:15, a staff member stepped onto the stage and made a brief announcement:
“…You can think of this session as a kind of popular science lecture… We’ve specially invited a top national biochemical expert—Dr. Xie Dingyuan, the actual controller of Hanqing Biotech, PhD from the Academy of Medical Sciences’ Institute of Bioengineering, and the developer of the Nova Virus C99 vaccine—”
“Professor Xie Dingyuan!”
