"I know, I know," Jianxiong, having met him twice, was eager to pet him but recoiled several steps when the big dog bared its fangs threateningly. "Stupid dog, don’t you recognize your grandpa anymore?"
Da Bai, like Lu Chen, seemed to have a rather aloof temperament; when Su Mo approached, it sniffed the air then wagged its tail at her.
She instantly took a fancy to it and went forward to stroke the white, fluffy fur. "This must be a Samoyed, right? So cute."
Seeing the dog enjoying the attention, Jianxiong instantly felt a pang of jealousy. "No way, it’s more obedient to you than me on the first meeting!"
Li Qian patted him on the shoulder with a light chuckle.
Da Bai seemed to smell something on Su Mo, a scent heavily associated with Lu Chen. It licked her hand and wagged its tail even more vigorously. With its round, pure black eyes slightly drooping at the corners and buried in its fluffy fur, it was unbearably cute.
"This might be the only dog on the base that can recognize the commander’s wife, hahaha," Hu Ding said joyfully.
Lu Chen, holding Su Mo’s hand, didn’t have much of a reaction to the dog. If he did, it was probably recalling the first time he had seen her: "Take it away for now, and bring it back to give to you when we return."
"Woof, woof," Da Bai barked twice at Lu Chen, as if reluctant to part, then meekly allowed Hu Ding to lead it away, its furry rear wiggling in a way that made her yearn to ruffle it.
Su Mo withdrew her gaze. "Let’s go," she said.
Everyone in the training area was assembled under a wooden platform, lined up neatly, with easily a hundred people in total. They were the elite soldiers Lu Chen was taking to Southern Island this time.
They had heard early on that the Admiral’s woman would be joining them. Many turned their heads and glanced sideways, with lots of eyes drawn to that cute and adorable face.
As for Su Mo, she didn’t care about the stares; she was just watching her man standing straight in uniform on the platform, so dazzling under the sunshine.
Lu Chen stood on the platform and saw that half of the people were looking at his woman. His expression darkened instantly, and his commanding presence was unleashed. "Don’t you recognize me anymore?"
Everyone jerked to attention, quickly turning their heads and standing erect.
Lu Chen lifted his gaze and swept a look around, his aura overpowering. "Has everyone turned into a bunch of weaklings in just a few months?"
"No!" came the unanimous shout from all the soldiers below.
Lu Chen’s face remained cold as he stepped forward. "I don’t need weaklings. Pair up two by two, let’s see."
All the soldiers automatically paired up, but one was left single. He glanced at Lu Chen, remembering the scene of Lu Chen fighting with others before doomsday, getting his teeth knocked out. He began to feel a chill in his heart.
Su Mo nudged Jianxiong with her foot. "Isn’t someone missing a partner? You go."
Jianxiong was keen to join in, standing up and walking over. "I’m up!"
Seeing that Lu Chen had no objection, the one without a partner breathed a sigh of relief, but frowned hard at Jianxiong’s superhuman build.
Lu Chen’s unwavering voice echoed throughout the training area. "Begin."
At the command, the soldiers in pairs fiercely attacked each other.
Su Mo felt like she was watching a feast for the eyes: dust flew on the battlefield, soldiers with sturdy builds engaged in hand-to-hand combat, each move a potential kill. The mix of sweat and dust in the air ignited a fierce explosion of masculine hormones.
Most of the moves reminded her of what she had seen and learned from Lu Chen.
In every pair, one was bound to fall.
Jianxiong fought exhilaratingly, which in turn sparked something in Li Qian. He felt envious of the vigorous vitality and the explosive muscles of those around him.
After Jianxiong sent his opponent to the ground with a punch, all the other battles were drawing to a close.
There were more than fifty people who came out on top, Lu Chen furrowed his brows and coldly said, "Those who won, select all to go to Southern Island, the rest who are eliminated can roll back and train."
Hu Ding was somewhat surprised, "These people were all prepared by Elder Jiang."
Lu Chen gave him a look, "I don’t need so many, to go is also to court death."
He had already seen the South Sea route in the study of the Jiang Residence, he sought for people of talent, not to offer up lives needlessly.
Hu Ding fell silent, after all, Lu Chen’s judgment had never been wrong.
But the people who failed below were not convinced, they had not been informed in advance that they would be eliminated, and they immediately began to clamor, wanting to have another competition.
Listening to this, Hu Ding also looked at Lu Chen with some difficulty, "How about... one more time? Those selected to go to Southern Island have a generous reward, if they die, there is someone specifically to provide for the family."
The implication of his words was, if they were eliminated, this reward would also be taken away.
Lu Chen furrowed his brows, his gaze swept over those below, "Jianxiong."
Jianxiong immediately stood forward and bellowed, "Present!"
Lu Chen pointed at him and said in a heavy voice to those below, "Defeat him, and you will regain your eligibility."
This was his final bottom line.
Jianxiong pumped his muscles, turned around, and shouted to the back, "Who’s first!"
Someone immediately stood out.
Su Mo, resting her chin on her hand, watched Jianxiong knock someone out with a hook punch and couldn’t help shaking her head. Anyone who could beat someone with Jianxiong’s physique was no ordinary person.
Although Jianxiong was running out of steam towards the end, with the power boost points given by Su Mo, he tenaciously survived the onslaught of more than fifty people in a fight of attrition, ultimately, only five people came out victorious under his hand.
The rest would be dispersed.
Some soldiers, although respectful towards Lu Chen, were truly upset by this move and dragged Su Mo into it, "Admiral Lu, you can take a woman with you, why not consider taking someone useful?"
Lu Chen was expressionless as he looked at him, "If you win against her, I’ll let you go."
Su Mo was eager to try, and hearing his words, she immediately stood up with a beaming smile, "Great, my hands are itching too, I’ve never sparred with soldiers before."
She was personally trained by Lu Chen himself, and he was confident in her ability to deal with a few green recruits.
Now, that person was somewhat dumbfounded and his expression turned odd, "Admiral Lu, even if you don’t let me go, there’s no need to humiliate me ."
Su Mo narrowed her eyes unhappily, "Underestimating women, not good."
In the blink of an eye, she arrived in front of the soldier with a cheery expression, "All of you are skillful, so I won’t use my superpower. Shall we fight?"
Her provocative gaze irritated the soldiers somewhat, and he responded immediately, "Bring it on!"
The area around Su Mo was spontaneously cleared by the crowd, she stood there tightening her hairband, and curled her finger towards the soldier invitingly.
Being humiliated by a woman was unbearable for a soldier, but because she was the Admiral’s person, he didn’t dare to be too rough and charged forward with the intention of clasping her neck with one hand and knocking her to the ground.
In Su Mo’s eyes, she had already anticipated his position in advance. It was an involuntary activation of her Skill that left her feeling helpless. She sidestepped, and with lightning speed, grabbed the soldier’s arm. The strength boost allowed her to easily flip over a young and strong soldier.