Top Warzone Analyst Extra 2 and 3

Extra 2: Reunite

The owl crouched on Cheng Feng’s back, its claws hooked onto the backpack strap, constantly looking around in all directions. As Cheng Feng bent down, it swayed left and right, nearly falling off, so it simply leaped forward and landed on the corner of the table.

The instructor in charge of registration was guiding Cheng Feng through filling in her information. Upon seeing her full name, he exclaimed in surprise, “So you’re that Purple Star from the United Federation University!”

Cheng Feng smiled sheepishly. A student behind him leaned forward and chimed in, “Not from the United Federation University – from the Alliance!”

The instructor leaned past him to chat with the talkative young man in the back, and took the opportunity to give the owl a stroke. The soft texture instantly made him reluctant to let go. His eyes lit up, and he used both hands to pet the owl from the top of its head all the way down.

“This fur is so soft, so smooth, so stress-relieving.”

The registration form for the Expeditionary Force was over two pages long with extensive information. Cheng Feng hadn’t filled out many forms before and was carefully following the reference format line by line, responding vaguely with a few grunts in acknowledgment.

As a combat robot, even though it had lost its fighting capabilities now, it was still not some kind of mascot to be cradled in someone’s palms.

Taking advantage of the instructor’s distraction, the owl found an opportunity to slip away from his hands and dive straight into the passageway behind.

“Hey!” The instructor reached out and grabbed at it but failed to stop it. He didn’t get up to chase, though, and simply reminded Cheng Feng, “Your bird of prey got away.”

Cheng Feng replied casually, “It’ll come back.”

The owl glanced back and, seeing the figures growing distant, continued forward.

It had memorized the map posted at the entrance and also knew the dormitory number assigned to Cheng Feng, so it decided to head to the room first and wait for him there.

The path ahead led straight to the training building.

It was noon break, and many young men were walking along the road, drenched in sweat. When they spotted it flying by, they all looked up toward the sky, pointing and murmuring among themselves.

“Whoa! At first glance, I thought it was real.”

“That owl looks kind of familiar – could it be that legendary one?”

“Maybe. I heard the new students are reporting in today.”

“You reminded me – I actually really want to see that Purple Star from UFU.”

“Forget about seeing her or not. I just hope I can pass next month’s assessment smoothly. Otherwise, I’ll have to train with the juniors – how embarrassing!”

“How come it’s just a bird flying around here by itself? Give me a hand – I’ll catch it and take it to the front desk.”

The owl lowered its head slightly, logged that young man’s voice into its database, and filed him under the blacklist category. At the same time, it increased its power output and flew in a curved path, keeping away from that person who wanted to lay hands on it.

Along the way, many people eyed its plump feathers with covetous looks. The owl maintained its distance from the pedestrians. Not long into its flight, it unexpectedly scanned a few familiar faces.

It stopped. Its imperceptibly short and thick neck turned nimbly, and it selected a low ornamental plant as a perch.

Ahead, four people were walking side by side. Their military-green short-sleeved shirts were soaked through with sweat, the fabric clinging to their skin in patches of darker and lighter green. They were chatting and laughing animatedly, thoroughly engrossed in their conversation, and walked right past it without noticing its presence at all.

Jiang Linxia waved his arms excitedly and laughed, “When Cheng Feng sees us, do you think she’ll be so moved she’ll cry?”

Xin Kuang said, “She might not cry at the sight of you, but if she finds out that Yan Shen actually made it out on time today just for her, she might just well up a little.”

Yan Shen responded to his teasing with a cold sneer.

The owl carefully followed behind them.

When they reached the bulletin board at the corner, Jiang Linxia stopped and used the reflective surface of the metal frame to check his appearance, grinning as he said, “I look pretty handsome today, don’t I?”

“Doesn’t your optical computer have a camera?” Xiang Yunjian gave him a shove. “Get a move on.”

Jiang Linxia suddenly hesitated, dragging his feet and stalling for time. “You guys don’t think Cheng Feng has gotten new teammates, do you?”

Xin Kuang brushed it off. “Could new teammates ever compare to us?”

Jiang Linxia said worriedly, “Setting aside whether they can compare or not, at least they’re all classmates and closer in that regard. After she left us, didn’t Cheng Feng go on to win another MVP? We barely even exchange a few words with her in a whole year.”

“That’s because Tao Rui also graduated, so there’s one less strong competitor on the big battlefield.” Xin Kuang narrowed his eyes and said sternly, “Jiang Linxia, adjust your expression. Whatever you do, don’t say these things in front of Cheng Feng – she’ll definitely get smug. You’d be seriously ruining our grand image!”

Yan Shen looked completely indifferent. “Even after the trial training ends, there’s no guarantee we’ll all be stationed in the same unit. Cheng Feng is riding high right now – the new-generation Purple Star. Every team in the Expeditionary Force is fighting over her.”

Jiang Linxia waved his hand dismissively. “No need to guess – Cheng Feng is definitely going with Lian Sheng. General Lian doesn’t even have to do anything; just take off her jacket and wave it around in front of her, and she’ll be trailing right behind her. You have no idea how badly she’s been eyeing her hands.”

Xin Kuang said with a grave expression, “We really need to pay attention to the kid’s upbringing… Isn’t that kind of behavior unsafe?”

Xiang Yunjian was about to urge them to walk faster instead of all standing around, when Cheng Feng came running over from the entrance first.

The two sides ran into each other unexpectedly, and their expressions all stiffened for a moment.

Jiang Linxia’s facial muscles were the most expressive of all. After the initial shock, an irrepressible joy surged up. He opened his arms in welcome and called out, “Cheng Feng!”

Cheng Feng also sprinted swiftly in his direction.

Jiang Linxia was ready to lift her up, but he hadn’t expected Xiang Yunjian to play dirty -he stepped right in front of him and caught Cheng Feng instead.

The emotion he had built up suddenly deflated by half. Jiang Linxia anxiously circled around behind him and called out again, “Cheng Feng!”

Cheng Feng gave Xiang Yunjian a brief hug, then calmed down after letting go. She patted one on the shoulder and another on the arm, smiling at them in a way they hadn’t seen in a long time.

Jiang Linxia patted her head, felt it, and praised her, “Cheng Feng, you’ve grown taller!”

But Yan Shen was merciless. “It’s her shoes.”

Cheng Feng retorted, “Not my shoes!”

Xin Kuang looked her up and down, confirming that she hadn’t lost any weight and that her muscles were even more defined. He nodded in reassurance and made small talk. “How have you been this past year and a half? No one’s been bullying you, right?”

“Of course not.”

Xiang Yunjian pulled her along and said, “Let’s go eat first. Where’s your owl?”

Cheng Feng looked down at her optical computer. “It just ran off earlier – let me check the location… Oh, it’s over there. Did it run out of battery or something?”

She held the owl with one hand, while her backpack and suitcase were all taken by the four of them. Before she even had time to get familiar with her surroundings, she was already being carried along by their pace.

“Maybe we’ll be your instructors for this trial training. Better get on our good side now, you hear?”

“I heard you’ve got new teammates? Who are you planning to stick with from now on?”

“Not really! We just grind points together sometimes – not really fixed teammates. Shen Dan went off for data analysis training, so she’s not competing with us anymore.”

“Come on, let me tell you all about life in the Expeditionary Force!”

“Awesome, awesome!”

“…”

Extra 3: Date

[If I hadn’t gone out on a date with my girlfriend today.]

OP: Everyone, are you all here? My thoughts are all over the place right now, and I desperately need someone to share this with. You’ll never guess who I saw at the mall today. [Image]

“Isn’t that Cheng Feng and Xiang Yunjian? What’s so shocking about that? They’re back in the Alliance? When did that happen?”

“Inside info – Cheng Feng’s been specially assigned to the Expeditionary Force, so she gets a short break while waiting for deployment.”

“I can’t let anyone miss this photo. [Image] Xiang Yunjian carried Cheng Feng up a mountain before, and someone even took a picture of it. [Snort]”

“That’s nothing for straight guys – just pure friendship. [Shrug]”

OP: We ran into them while waiting for our order at a bubble tea shop. Cheng Feng bought some kind of cheese-topped milk tea, stirred it up with her straw, said it was awful, and then handed it to Xiang Yunjian. Xiang Yunjian… sorry, please allow me to address him respectfully as Brother Xiang. Brother Xiang leaned against the counter, watching Cheng Feng order another cup, with that kind of – how do I put it – thick, stringy look in his eyes. Sorry, that was what my girlfriend said.

“Like I said, it’s just pure straight-guy friendship. [Shrug]”

“Making a big deal out of nothing. [Shrug]”

“What about Jiang Yunjian and the others? No third wheels doesn’t really fit the straight-guy standard, does it?”

OP: It wasn’t just us who noticed – other visitors did too, since they’re pretty famous after all. Brother Xiang gave a cold, sweeping glare around, radiating killing intent (my girlfriend’s personal assessment), then pulled a hat out of his bag and put it on Cheng Feng… and then pulled her into his arms and gave her a kiss (according to my girlfriend – I didn’t see it because of my angle). My girlfriend was so shocked she dropped her bag and even bruised my arm from squeezing it.

The thread instantly heated up. Dozens and dozens of replies scrolled by.

“Holy crap! I knew they weren’t just friends – so it’s exactly like that!”

“OP, keep following them! Let me see how straight guys fall in love.”

“I think your girlfriend is right – trust a woman’s intuition!”

“Don’t apologize, OP – you’re the hero of the day!”

OP: Alright! Let me continue. We dazedly made our way to the cinema on the fifth floor. When we went to pick up our tickets, we found a crowd of people in front of the machines – if I hadn’t been quick, I would’ve missed the line entirely. We only realized after we got in that Cheng Feng and the others were watching a movie too, and their seats were just two rows ahead of us! My god, isn’t this fate?

The movie was especially touching and beautiful – we kept our eyes glued to the screen the whole time and never looked away, so I can guarantee that they were leaning against each other and fast asleep in less than half an hour.

“So sweet.”

“Gave up watching a great movie just to accompany their partner sleeping – I’m shipping it, I’m shipping it.”

“Wait… what??”

“To ship straight-guy love, you have to take an unconventional angle.”

OP: After the movie, Cheng Feng woke up hungry. I’m not saying she’s a big eater, but she definitely ate more than me and my girlfriend combined. We had dinner at a small restaurant next to the cinema, and I accidentally overate following their pace, so we had to go for a walk to digest.

We strolled slowly over to the next street. Can you believe it? We ran into them again. At this point, I was starting to believe it was fate! So we followed them, hoping to get an autograph.

As it turned out, the two of them stopped at a quiet, out-of-the-way spot. The storefront there was decorated very modestly – I’m at a loss for words, but anyway, it was the kind of place where you could explore entirely new knowledge. I felt a bit embarrassed and actually wanted to leave, but my girlfriend gritted her teeth and decided we should go in together anyway.

“Huh? That’s not really appropriate, is it? How awkward would that be?”

“Did OP get beaten up afterward? I want to know if a military student can kill someone with one punch.”

“I suspect you made up the girlfriend – it’s actually just you yourself.”

OP: [Image] “Advanced Course on Smart Robot Parts Modification” – five hundred for a two-hour class! Why is it so expensive! I want to call the consumer complaint hotline – I suspect they’re scamming people!

“[Damn]”

“[Damn]”

“[Pfft]”

“What was I even expecting? [Cold stare]”

“Can you afford the consequences of messing with me?”

OP: I’m sorry, I really didn’t mean to mess with you all. We ended up seated behind Cheng Feng again. This time, Cheng Feng was listening extremely attentively – completely focused and even volunteering to answer the teacher’s questions. She’s truly a good student. Brother Xiang, on the other hand, couldn’t keep up – he was practically falling asleep.

Cheng Feng asked him, “Are you bored?”

Brother Xiang said yes.

Cheng Feng hesitated for a moment, then said, “Why don’t you go out and play by yourself for a while? I’ll come find you later.”

She made the suggestion very seriously, and honestly, I was completely stunned at the time – I had no idea what to make of it.

But the respectable Brother Xiang – he didn’t freeze up. He rested one hand on the table, propped his head up with the other, smiled, and drawled, “It’s okay. Keeping you company while you do what you like – that’s not boring.”

After that, I don’t remember anything else. My brain functions completely shut down, folks!

Sneakily posting a photo. [Image]

“I’m shipping it, I’m shipping it!”

“So this is… what a taken man looks like?!”

“Brother Xiang, save your brothers! [Screaming]”

“Is this real? It’s not photoshopped, is it? Any tech experts out there who can verify the photo?”

Ten minutes later.

The forum completely exploded.

“No need to verify – Cheng Feng reposted it. It’s actually real! [Eagle-eyed shock]”

Translator’s Words:

This novel has officially finished now. It’s definitely not doing as well as the other novels I’ve translated before, perhaps because it’s not a particularly dramatic story, and the main character’s personality is quite peculiar. It’s interesting, considering that this novel was quite popular in China, and the author has also written many other popular books, but this particular novel didn’t receive nearly as much attention as the others.

However, thanks to everyone who has read it all the way to the end. You are the reason I didn’t give up translating it halfway through.