Chapter 137: 136 Exercise of privilege

"Awake, are you..." Carlos approached quickly with a regretful expression on his face. He waved at Mashati to leave before he whispered to Bai E with a bitter smile, "There's something I need to tell you."From the moment Bai E saw Carlos's expression, he generally guessed the other's purpose. His face, wrapped in gauze, remained serene, "Did I fail to qualify for the military operation?"

In fact, the moment he was knocked down by the Blood God, he had already anticipated this.

Dan's rumor was that one needed to advance at least five rounds. Having fallen in the sixth, basically meant no chance.

Originally, not knowing if his performance in the heavy firepower coverage test would give him a shot, he harbored some hope, but considering Carlos's current expression... it seemed there was no hope either.

"Yes..." Carlos replied with a trace of bitterness.

During the time Bai E was unconscious, based on the data collected from all the soldiers in the camp over the past two days, the tactical analysis department had finalized the last twenty soldiers to join the secret military operation... and Bai E was not among them.

Heavy firepower coverage? Bai E's mistake rate in the latter stages rose significantly. Although he barely made it past the minimum selection criteria, there were many others far stronger. His individual scores were easily pushed back to beyond the fiftieth place.

Close-quarters combat? In real combat, weapons like daggers and combat knives would definitely be used. Due to the internal competition not allowing for bloodshed, and since proficiency in agile weapons basically carries over from the Combat Specialization Layer, there was no qualitative difference between the two.

Hence, the results of the combat competition were the standard for assessing close-quarters combat ability.

And obviously, Bai E, who fell in the sixth round, had no significant advantage among the thirty-two men.

As for Bai E's performance in physical training, it was indeed outstanding, as he recovered his strength far faster than the other soldiers.

However, fast recovery was meant to contribute more. In terms of output, in terms of taking a beating, it wasn't his turn.

Besides, none of the selected soldiers had any glaring weaknesses in endurance or recovery. In the final selection, physical performance carried less weight. Even with high scores in that area, the advantage it gave in the overall assessment wasn't enough to offset weaknesses in other areas.

No matter how outstanding Bai E's talent was, a few days of intensive training couldn't compete with those ace veterans who were equally talented but had survived longer and had more combat experience.

Not securing a spot this time was regrettable, but not unexpected.

As for other abilities that weren't so important in the selection criteria, like driving or computer hardware knowledge...

At least half of the chosen soldiers could drive. Whether they were experts was uncertain, but at a minimum, they could manage; regarding computer hardware knowledge... besides the specially trained information engineering soldiers, other types of soldiers simply didn't have the opportunity to learn such skills. There was no need to even think about it.

Thus, the roster for the military operation was locked in.

Twenty ace soldiers, among them, no Bai E...

At this moment, Bai E, hearing the news, showed no emotion in his response. Carlos didn't know whether to comfort him or to just leave it at that. He could only follow his conscience and console, "It's not really a big deal, don't be disheartened. There will be plenty of opportunities to earn military merits in the future."

"I want to try for it…" Bai E murmured softly.

If it was merely for military merits, he wouldn't care too much. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠelFirё.net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

There was plenty of time; no need to risk everything right now.

But chances to access the so-called "relics" were rare; aside from this secret military operation disclosed by Carlos, Bai E had not heard any similar information during his days in the camp.

Considering this might be his closest and only opportunity in the short term, he had to seize it firmly.

The next time... The next time he didn't know when it would be, nor what changes might occur.

But...

"Try for it?" Carlos looked puzzled.

With what could he contend?

Carlos was only there to inform Bai E of the negative result.

Even he couldn't think of a way to contend; this was a battle of tangible strength, not one that could be changed with mere words.

Despite everyone's spirited debates during meetings, when it came down to business, facts spoke louder than words.

Strength is supreme; this is the immutable truth of the military.

"Hmm..." Bai E nodded slowly, "I have a privilege."

It came from Helen.

It came from her knowledge of Advanced Physical Training Version 3.0.

Helen, who was developing this and trying to spread it among all the soldiers, had once made a promise to him after he had provided important data—

"With this... you can make almost any reasonable request of them, and I think they will agree."

The wise scholar with authority had made a promise, and now it seemed it might just come in handy.

The premise was... that the military wouldn't consider the suggestion "unreasonable".

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Carlos blinked.

After Bai E's reminder, he also recalled what Academician Helen emphasized to Marshal Weslin last night in front of a room full of officers.

"..."

If it was for the sake of Academician Helen's face, it seemed... that there really was a chance?

"I'll go and ask for you," Carlos said, excited.

As he turned to leave briskly, he also greeted An Lun, the head nurse not too far away, "Nurse Chief An Lun, please use the Number 17 Rapid Growth Spray on Bed 31B, Code 95B27. He has an important mission tomorrow and needs to recover as quickly as possible."

Injuries were commonplace in this era; one might say that as long as a person didn't die on the battlefield and could be brought back to the medical room, their life could almost certainly be saved.

Losing arms or legs might be problematic, but most other injuries had fast treatments and slow treatments available; it was just a matter of cost.

An Lun, busy with tasks at hand, rolled her eyes and ignored him. Instead, Mashati, who had been waiting nearby, responded promptly, "We've already used it first thing. He probably won't even miss lunchtime."

"This kid has quite a bit of clout..." Carlos muttered under his breath and smiled in response, "That's good to hear."

Watching Carlos walk away, Bai E became somewhat anxious.

[We're departing tomorrow...]

If they were leaving tomorrow, then today's noon would be his last chance to visit the players. With his current, bandaged-up state, it would be difficult to meet them.

The players performed brilliantly last night, proving that the new mission he had released achieved the expected outcome.

If he had to set out with the army early tomorrow and couldn't catch up today, wouldn't the wasted time without issuing a mission be a significant loss?

Watching the seconds ticking by, Bai E's anxiety reached fever pitch.

In fact, ever since he woke up, he could feel itchiness all over his body.

The cells that had died in the battle were being expelled from his body, and new cells were rapidly filled in under the influence of extraordinary medicine and his innate skills.

[Your body is rapidly repairing its injuries. Current injury repair progress is at 90%, Rapid Recovery (Unlocked) progress is at 34%.]

[You are rapidly regaining health…]

[Health +1, current health 112/120.]

...

[Feedback from the completed task, your physical strength +0.1.]

[The quest you posted—"Building Materials Required" has been submitted, please go and inspect it as soon as possible.] X3

Hurry, hurry, hurry!

Getting up...

Mashati's frail hand forcefully pressed down.

"I'm fine," Bai E tried to argue.

The girl's eyes were pure and stubborn, "You're not the one who gets to decide if you're fine or not."

"..."

"Tick-tock, tick-tock~"

[Your body is rapidly repairing its injuries. Current injury repair progress is at 99%, Rapid Recovery (Unlocked) progress is at 35%.]

[You are rapidly regaining health…]

[Health +1, current health 120/120.]

"I'm fine now!" Bai E shouted the moment he could.

"Let me check..." Nurse Chief An Lun stepped over swiftly and elegantly.

Only after a thorough examination did she nod in acknowledgment, "Indeed, you are."

She couldn't stop praising, "Such an unimaginable recovery speed... Let's get these bandages off him."

"Yes."

Mashati's nimble hands searched over his body; when the timing was almost right, Bai E suddenly tore off the last of his constraints.

He jumped out of bed, put on his shoes, and ran off like a gust of wind.

Watching Bai E's retreating figure as he fled into the distance, Mashati bit her lip lightly, "So impatient..."