My Partner was Assigned to me by the Country

The attacker nervously grasped his knife. He was a scout in the close combat unit, with above average strength. Ambush, tracking, and anti-tracking were all part of his daily training routine. He didn’t know what went wrong, but Ryan had somehow detected him, and he couldn’t even last five moves against him.

He hates it!

Ryan said, “Pure poison.”

The attacker struggled to swallow, feeling the pressure on his neck. He suspected that if he resisted, Ryan could easily snap his neck.

“Not poisoned.” To poison a knife, and harm a fellow soldier, is a violation of the competition rules and goes against the ship’s regulations. Once confirmed, it will be sent to the military court.

“What is it then?”

“It’s a type of tranquilizer. Just a little bit of it can make you lose your fighting ability. You won’t lose consciousness, nor will you become completely immobilized. It’s taken from a plant on the frigid grassland, and has no poisonous effects.” It was just a competition, not a war. There was no need to keep secrets to the grave. The old men1 all knew that once captured by the “enemy,” you might as well spill everything, useful or not.”

“Your surveillance is organized. Tell me, who organized you?” Ryan scanned the nearby bushes, barely distinguishing seven or eight figures in the crimson moonlight, but he knew there were likely more. Using so many tactics against a newcomer in the mecha engineering department, whether it was from Sierra or someone else, they really thought highly of him.

The attacker’s eyes scanned the area, nodding his chin and signaling to Ryan to loosen his grip on him. If Ryan held him too tightly, he might forget what to say due to his nervousness. Ryan chuckled, his lips curling. “Do you think you have the qualifications to negotiate with me now?”

The attacker’s mouth twitched, and he realized the reality deeply. He began to speak like a bamboo tube spilling beans, “It’s all because of Sierra Bromfield. He’s offering the latest cutting-edge combat auxiliary mechas as a reward for those who obtain your badge. Small mechas are the most desirable auxiliary weapons for the close combat forces. Who wouldn’t want them? Many people are tempted. If they can’t use them, they can sell them for a profit. The whole grassland is buzzing because of you. Tell me, how did you offend Sierra and make him go through so much trouble to get you? Could it be that you stole his husband? haha.”

Ryan silently watched the attacker laughing out loud, but the attacker gradually stopped laughing as Ryan’s gaze intensified. He forced out a couple of dry chuckles, “Heh heh, is that true? Did you really steal his husband?!” Damn, it was too explosive. He would post it on the gossip forum when he got back. It was sure to be sensational news. Would a lot of people give him tips?

“Anything else?” Ryan’s face was as calm as water, the angrier he was, the calmer he became.

“Anything else?” The attacker was a little confused, wondering what else was there.

Ryan smiled faintly, but to the attacker, that gentle smile was like a devil’s smile.

“Big brother, Please, don’t kill me, I have to support the old and young in my family, my wife is still waiting for me to go home and have children.”

Ryan: “…” The plea came out just as he opened his mouth, are you from Xingtian battleship?

The attacker smiled slyly, and his cowardly disguise deceived Ryan’s eyes. When he let his guard down, it would be time for him to counterattack… Why is the grip on my neck getting tighter and tighter? It’s completely different from what I thought!!!

“Your flexible eyes tell me that you are hiding something from me,” Ryan mercilessly forced a confession, “Speak.”

The attacker: “…” This Ryan can’t be judged by common sense at all, he’s as calm as a veteran general who’s been through killings and the battlefield. Does Sierra know what kind of enemy he’s dealing with?!

The attacker put away his contempt and decided to befriend Ryan, an opportunity that was absolutely invaluable. “Fan Lanting Francis, let’s be friends. OK, OK, don’t look at me like that. I really can’t stand the look in your eyes. Your calm, emotionless gaze is really intimidating, you know? Is that how you see your friends? I said don’t look at me like that. I will speak now, Okay? We’re all here to track down Sierra’s target. We’re just here to try it out. If we can ‘take you out,’ we can get a small mecha as a bonus. That’s it, but I heard that Sierra is in cahoots with Kage from mecha combat, organising men to torment you.”

Kage is the pilot of the Hornet.

“Torment?”

Fan Lanting looked at the person speaking, who had suddenly appeared next to Ryan without Fan Lanting noticing.

The excellent scout comrade had begun to wonder if his military career was purchased through in-app purchases.

“Yes, torment. They provoke you with endless manpower, beat you, don’t take your badge and don’t let you quit the game, making you repeatedly experience failure. If you take off your badge yourself and ‘commit suicide,’ it’s even better, proving that you’re a coward.” Fan Lanting looked at Ryan, who was quite handsome and should be a gentle and handsome guy when he smiled. How did he offend someone? “You didn’t really steal someone’s husband, did you?”

Ryan said expressionlessly, “Sierra is fickle. I share a mutual affection with my lover. He has never had, does not have, and will never have a chance. He wants to beat me, torment me? Ha, dream on. One person comes, I kill one person. A group comes, I kill a group. Sierra coveted feelings that never belonged to him and like those who were tempted, he needs a lesson. Don’t you think so?”

“…. You’re really a devil.”

Ryan: “Thanks for the compliment.”

Fan Lanting: “…” No, I’m not complimenting you! You!

Ryan reached out and took Fan Lanting’s badge, waving it in front of him. If he were on the blue team, he would have let him go, but unfortunately, they were on opposing teams.

Fan Lanting: “I thought you might let me go and report back to my team.” He quit the game. What a pity.

“There are so many people here, we don’t need you.”

Fan Lanting pouted in displeasure. “The truth hurts the most.”

People hiding in the bushes instinctively hid even deeper and Xiao Jia, who was sent to keep an eye on things by the Kage organization was one of them. When he felt a tap on his shoulder, he looked up and saw the smiling face of Harriet, also known as the Melee Rose, and then…well, then he was out. She took his badge and he was eliminated.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground, Xiao Jia foolishly gazed at the charming and curvaceous Harriet in front of him, feeling a bit hot in the nose and murmuring foolishly, “So beautiful.”

Most of the monitor’s attention was focused on Ryan. Taking advantage of the situation, Derrick and Harriet quietly sneaked past, and they “took care” of two-thirds of the guys lurking in the grass. The remaining one-third, realizing that something was wrong, quietly slipped away, and just happened to be used to report the news.

“This badge is too easy to get. If they come a few more times, we’ll have a full harvest.” Harriet threw the badge up and caught it, and the twelve red badges emitted a brightness that did not belong to the moonlight in the nightt. That was the radiance belonging to the winner. “Rya…”

“Shh.” Derrick pulled Harriet’s arm.

Harriet pouted and muttered softly, “Dating in front of single dogs, humph, really annoying.”

“You’ve talked a lot of nonsense tonight. Hurry up and find the snake cave.”

Harriet, “I was scared to death. It turned out to be the general, and you didn’t even remind me.”

Derrick, “I reminded you until my throat was hoarse, but you just wouldn’t listen.”

Harriet, “…you should have pulled me harder.”

Derrick: “I was afraid you would do more extreme things and embarrass yourself more in front of the General.”

Harriet: “…” She had to admit it was quite possible.

Harriet: “You knew all along?”

Derrick knew what she was talking about and nodded. “Yeah, for a while now. I promised to keep it a secret.”

Harriet: “Of course. With Sierra pulling that stunt, Ryan’s tournament won’t be peaceful. If they find out that Ryan is General’s… he won’t have an easy time on the Xingtian ship. “

“It won’t happen,” Derrick looked towards the two people embracing each other, revealing envy in his eyes. “The military is a place that values strength. As long as Ryan is strong enough, he can walk sideways in the Xingtian ship, and even the entire Golden Crusade. And Ryan has the capability for it.”

Ryan was a person who was no less skilled than Derrick, who was known as the King of soldiers.

The “single dog duo” worked hard to determine the location of the snake cave. Ryan, who was envied by the “single dogs,” hugged Auston tightly, very tightly. “I’m jealous. He has been by your side for so long and he still uses this way to declare his love for you. I really want to grab him right now, push him to the ground and beat him hard.”

Auston heard the childishness in Ryan’s tone and his anxious heart finally calmed down. He hugged Ryan back and said, “I am sorry”

“You don’t need to apologize. Those three words should come from Sierra. I’ll make him say it himself!”

“Sierra is arrogant and conceited. He’s very strong-willed and will never bow down to anyone. He won’t say those three words…ouch, Ryan, you’re hugging me too tightly.” 

Ryan gritted his teeth in frustration. “You’re defending him.”

“I’m just telling the truth,” Auston replied, feeling helpless.

“But I don’t want to hear the truth about him from you,” Ryan said.

“Okay”, Auston replied awkwardly, trying to coax Ryan.

“Hey, did you forget about me?” Fan Lanting. He is a big, breathing, living person next to them. Can you stop flirting and go somewhere else, you damn dog couple, huh ? He looked probingly at the person Ryan was hugging, wrapped in a black combat suit, but unable to see anything.

Without a bit of personal hue, who is this person? Let Sierra go all out and declare war on Ryan?

Ryan, who looked down at Fan Lanting, raised his hand like he was answering a question. “You’re ‘dead’ now”. 

Fan Lanting nodded obediently and made a gesture with his hand over his mouth. “Okay, okay. You’re the boss, you’re the biggest.”

The atmosphere was interrupted, so Ryan and Auston, who were not thick-skinned enough to continue, resumed to search for the snake cave. The general direction of the cave was easy to determine, but the entrance was hard to find. Only experienced hunters could find it quickly. They were all inexperienced rookies in the frigid grasslands and could only search slowly.

After a few minutes, the nearest rescue airship arrived to transport these unfortunate losers back.

“Don’t be discouraged, think about the holiday, you still have six days off, you can go to the bar to drink, and find cute girls or handsome guys to spend the night with.”

“Oh my, what happened to this young man? He was beaten so badly, and he’s bleeding so much from his nose?”

Xiao Jia kept his head down in embarrassment.

“Why are you following along? Your badge is just fine on your collar, hehehe, don’t tell me you are missing the spring night2.”

The old guy who came down from the rescue airship kept talking non-stop, determined to tease everyone.

Fan Lanting yawned lazily, “I’ve already been picked, I’m going to go up and take a nap.”

“My old brown eyes can’t be wrong, see for yourself”.

Fan Lanting tugged on his collar and looked down. Sure enough, the red camp badge was still on his collar. “That’s not right, I clearly saw Ryan take it off. Did my eyes play tricks on me? No, I have to ask. Ryan, Ryan…”

He ran up to Ryan, “You didn’t take off my badge, I clearly saw it earlier.”

“It’s just a small trick,” Ryan stood up and said with a smile, “I wouldn’t touch a friend’s badge.”

Fan Lanting : “!!!”

Without saying a word, Fan Lanting took Ryan’s hand and shook it up and down, “You’re a good friend, loyal and righteous. From now on, you’re my iron brother3, Fan Lanting Francis. Your team needs more people, so let me join in. Ha ha, it’s so exciting to team up with people from different factions.”

The teaming-up matter still had to be discussed with the current teammates. After asking Derrick and Harriet, Ryan received a positive response, and Fan Lanting became one of them. Once they found time to touch badges, they would officially become a small group recognized by the game and could stir up wind and rain on the grassland to their heart’s content.

Ryan smiled and looked into the distance, feeling like he could see Sierra stomping his feet in frustration from thousands of miles away, wracking his brain but unable to come up with a way to deal with him. In matters of feelings, everyone is selfish. If you like someone, say it early and don’t give up on pursuing them. But if the person you admire doesn’t like you back, then it’s best to preserve your dignity and let it go calmly.