"You're hungry? Didn't you eat enough this morning?" Zhou Bing asked, amused.
Tang Wen silently calculated. If he ran home from here, his sister would have to start a fire and cook. Not only would he be starving by then, but he'd also definitely end up eating raw sweet potatoes and Maize again.
The Guard Battalion, on the other hand, had a mess hall. He couldn't be sure about other things, but there would definitely be ready-made staple food.
"Captain! I'm a little hungry. I could probably eat a hundred steamed buns! Does our mess hall have any?"
"A hundred steamed buns? You want me to go get them for you?" Zhou Bing was perplexed.
Tang Wen's face paled rapidly, and his lips began to crack and peel. "Captain, you have to be quick! It's hard to explain my current condition."
His legs grew weak, and he could no longer stand steadily.
"Huh? You... Just wait here." Like a gust of wind, Zhou Bing shot out the door and ran to the kitchen, where the chef happened to be steaming buns.
She exchanged a few words, tossed out a silver ingot, and carried the chef's entire ten-layer steamer back to the training hall.
Many people stared at her along the way.
'I must be an idiot to believe that kid's nonsense! Could this be some kind of illness? What would we do if this happened during a mission?'
Smelling the aroma, Tang Wen rushed over in two strides and lifted the lid of a steamer basket. He grabbed a bun and started stuffing it into his mouth.
1, 2, 3... 58, 59... 131, 132...
Zhou Bing counted silently, growing more and more astonished.
The buns in the Guard Battalion were large and generously filled, each one as big as an adult's two fists put together.
The barracks were full of big eaters, but the most anyone could eat in one sitting was about 50, and that was only if they were a famished Martial Artist.
A typical Martial Apprentice Level Guard, no matter how hungry, would hit their limit at 30.
The 10-layer steamer she had brought back contained over 20 buns in each layer.
She watched as Tang Wen devoured his way to the seventh layer, the count exceeding 150 buns.
Zhou Bing got up to pour him some water and couldn't help but ask, "Is that enough?"
Tang Wen chugged down the water with a series of gulps.
"These buns are really filling. I've had enough."
"What on earth is going on? How did you suddenly get so hungry?" Zhou Bing's heart sank.
Tang Wen had just succeeded in Meditation; he was a potential genius guaranteed to break through to the Martial Artist realm.
The reason for this sudden hunger had to be figured out. If a situation like this occurred during a mission...
...the consequences would be unimaginable.
It would be a disaster for the entire team.
Zhou Bing looked at Tang Wen with a trace of sympathy.
Tang Wen chewed a few more times, then offered the excuse he had just concocted. "Mm, it's a kind of ability. This happens every time I have a breakthrough. I need to eat a huge meal, and then my strength increases a bit."
"Increases your strength?" Zhou Bing couldn't quite wrap her head around it. A moment ago, she was thinking Tang Wen might never be able to leave the battalion again! "Really? Are there any side effects?"
Tang Wen shook his head. "The only side effect is that I have to eat dozens of pounds of food each time, with lots of meat."
"No wonder you're so strong at such a young age."
After a moment of reflection, Zhou Bing asked again, "How often does this happen?"
This would determine whether Tang Wen could go on long-term missions.
"Don't worry, Sister Bing. Generally speaking, it's controllable. I get a feeling long before it happens."
Tang Wen mentally reminded himself that he had to be careful in the future and never attempt a breakthrough without an adequate food supply.
"That's good, then." Zhou Bing felt conflicted. Just moments ago, she thought Tang Wen might be a lost cause.
Now, she was envious of his ability.
Gaining strength just by eating a big meal, without all the arduous training.
'If word of this got out, it would make countless people envious, even jealous.'
"Don't tell anyone else about this ability. I'll help you keep it a secret."
As Zhou Bing spoke, she thought of her own ability and felt a bitter pang of comparison.
"Captain, I'm full. I need to sleep for a while." After finishing all 10 baskets of buns, Tang Wen patted his belly and stood up.
Zhou Bing led him to her room.
Were there more men than women in the team? To be precise, she was the only female soldier. The other room was filled with male team members, so she had no choice but to let Tang Wen stay with her.
Tang Wen slept until six in the evening.
When he woke up, he saw Zhou Bing packing her things to go home.
"It's time. Come early tomorrow. Oh, right, this pocket watch is for you. Every new recruit in the Hunting Team gets one. See you tomorrow."
Zhou Bing felt awkward all over as she watched Tang Wen emerge from her blankets.
'Last night I slept in his bed, today he slept in mine. I guess that makes us even... yeah, right!'
Zhou Bing didn't dare to dwell on it and left in a hurry.
The treatment in the Hunting Team was excellent. The salary was three taels of silver per month, plus two hundred pounds of meat and one hundred pounds of rice.
This was even better than the treatment of a squad leader among the regular Guards.
For dinner at the battalion mess hall: stewed pork with cabbage, Maize cornbread, and all the potatoes you could eat.
Tang Wen ate a light basinful, patted his stomach, and went home to continue his Posture Stance and Meditation.
"Xiaowen, I went to the Inner City today," Tangtang said mysteriously before bedtime.
"What for?"
Tangtang giggled.
"I went to ask around about your Captain Zhou."
"Huh?"
His sister explained clearly, "She did indeed have three fiancés. The first one was frail and sickly since childhood."
"The second was a Guard. During the first winter the Silver Wolves appeared, he ran into one."
"The third was a traveling merchant who journeyed between the surrounding camps. Just three days after their engagement, he was killed by Scavengers while out on business."
Tang Wen was speechless. 'Wow, Sis, you really did some detailed digging.'
"Sounds like all three of them were very unlucky."
Tangtang nodded and continued, "They say Sister Bing used to be a Martial Arts fanatic and didn't know any of them well. The first fiancé was an engagement arranged by her father. But the man was too frail for Martial Arts Training, so the two of them were practically strangers."
"What about the others?"
The culture around marriage in the camp was not uniform.
People could fall in love freely, but arranged marriages were more common.
"The second one was a refugee from another region. He had some martial skills. After establishing himself, he had a matchmaker propose to Zhou Bing. But I heard that your Captain Zhou's uncle is a big shot. People said that man was just trying to curry favor with the Zhou Family."
"It was the same with the last one, the merchant. I heard they had barely even met a few times."
"I see."
Listening to all this gossip, Tang Wen drifted off to sleep without realizing it.
"Hmph! He's not paying any attention at all. When is he ever going to find a wife?" His sister was very dissatisfied with her brother.
In the morning, before starting his Posture Stance, Tang Wen quietly changed his underwear.
The washed black underwear hung on the clothesline, swaying in the wind.
As he held his stance, he thought, 'Do I really have to get married at fifteen?'
'Forget it. I'll focus on getting stronger first.'
During the three-month recruit period, there were no missions. The only task was to train and grow.
He didn't have to hunt to support his family, he had a salary, meals were provided at the mess hall, and he had a beautiful, fiery captain who was cold on the outside but warm on the inside to guide his Martial Arts training directly.
It was a stable job that guaranteed income regardless of the circumstances. No life-or-death struggles, and no one cared if he was late or left early.
Life was simply too comfortable.
Tang Wen often lamented how foolish he'd been on Earth. He should have just gotten an "iron rice bowl" job!
That afternoon, in the courtyard of the training hall.
"You use a blade, I'll use a spear. Come at me with everything you've got. I want to see the foundation of your Sword Skill."
After speaking, Zhou Bing grabbed a long spear, held it horizontally before her, and signaled for Tang Wen to begin with her eyes.
"Alright! Be careful, Captain."
Tang Wen closed the distance in a few steps, blade held in both hands. Zhou Bing swept her spear horizontally.
CLANG!
Sparks flew.
Tang Wen's movements didn't pause for an instant. The moment his strike ended and his blade bounced off, he put his strength into it again and brought the blade down in another chop.
When fighting a long spear with a short weapon, you can't let your opponent create distance.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
Tang Wen's strikes grew faster and heavier with each blow.
After a few clashes, Zhou Bing's wrist went numb. 'This brat's strength really has increased!'
She changed her tactics, no longer meeting his attacks head-on, instead moving around to counter-attack.
The two of them weaved and dodged, but Tang Wen could never break through Zhou Bing's defensive perimeter.
Nor could Zhou Bing force Tang Wen back to fully leverage the spear's advantage in range.
Five minutes, ten minutes... in a flash, more than half an hour had passed.
It was the first time Tang Wen had fought with such exhilaration. His high Constitution of 5.5 was on full display—one move was fast, and every move was fast.
He didn't give Zhou Bing a single chance to catch her breath or adjust.
Captain Zhou was physically and mentally exhausted.
But Tang Wen was like a perpetual motion machine. The glint of his blade became a continuous blur, his assault not letting up in the slightest.
"Stop! Let's stop. I have a general understanding of your Swordsmanship level now."
Another half an hour passed, and Zhou Bing was drenched in fragrant sweat.
To preserve her dignity as captain and avoid a complete rout, she had seized the first opportunity to call a halt to the spar.
"Captain, how was I? I didn't disappoint you, did I?" Tang Wen was still immersed in the thrill of the exchange.
Zhou Bing was speechless. 'It's not a question of whether you're good enough. You're *too* good.'
'I'm the Hunting Team Captain, a proper Martial Artist, and even I can't keep up with your stamina! Are you even capable of getting tired, you brat?'
Tang Wen didn't notice her strange state. In that short hour...
...his Wind-breaking Blade Skill Experience had soared. [Wind-breaking Blade, Mastery (517→799/3000)]
He looked at Zhou Bing and said excitedly, "Captain! Let's spar for an hour every day from now on, okay?"
Zhou Bing didn't say a word. She discreetly used her spear to support her body and secretly decided to recall all the other team members tomorrow.