Chapter 23

"Of course, it's a drinking contest!"

Wei Potian clapped his hands, exuding a powerful aura.

The stairs echoed with the sound of rapid footsteps as over a dozen beautiful girls came running in, each holding a bottle of strong liquor. Just by the exquisite packaging, one could tell they were all high-quality goods.

Wei Potian took two bottles, directly smashed the necks, and handed one to Qian Ye, saying, "Let's start with half a bottle! What do you say, dare you?"

Qian Ye took the bottle, his expression somewhat complicated, very complicated.

He silently poured half a bottle of liquor into a glass and slowly sipped it.

In front of Wei Potian was a large bowl. He tilted his head back, and a bowl of liquor was already down his throat. Another bowl and half a bottle was gone. By this time, Qian Ye had only taken a few small sips, at most a small glass.

"Alright, I'll drink this bottle first. You take your time, I can wait, no need to rush!" Wei Potian said with a grand air. Then he tilted his head back again, and the first bottle was gone.

By this time, Qian Ye had only had two glasses. His face was already flushed, and his eyes were somewhat dazed. It was clear that a little more and he would have to lie under the table.

Wei Potian finally felt a sense of vindication!

If he couldn't beat this kid in a fight, winning in a drinking contest was just as good. Wei Potian thought this, not feeling at all that he was just comforting himself.

Qian Ye slowly drank, both elbows on the table, holding the glass, and began to sway. But even after he finished the entire bottle, he was still swaying.

"Brave!" Wei Potian praised, then glanced at the strong liquor being warmed in the arms of the beautiful girls, with ill intent.

A moment later, another empty bottle appeared in front of Wei Potian, while Qian Ye still drank slowly, still swaying.

By this time, Wei Potian's eyes were already somewhat glazed, and his speech was gradually becoming incoherent. However, perhaps due to the deep-seated grudge with Qian Ye, as soon as he saw Qian Ye finish, he smashed open two bottles of aged liquor without a word, took the lead, and drank a bottle without stopping.

Qian Ye, on the other hand, still looked like he was about to fall under the table. By now, there were already quite a few onlookers in the tavern, and their gazes toward Qian Ye had changed from initial mockery to something strange.

This liquor was called Tequila, produced in the cold Pingxi Province, and its strength was probably among the top three in the empire. It was usually mixed into cocktails, and even when drunk straight, it wasn't consumed in such a manner. A man who could drink two large bottles and still stand was rare.

An hour later, Qian Ye sat at the table, somewhat dazed, looking at the empty bottles on the table, and then at Wei Potian and Shi Yan, who were unconscious on the table. He couldn't remember when they had fallen.

Especially Shi Yan, how did he end up on the table? This drinking contest had nothing to do with him!

Qian Ye rubbed his forehead, slowly recalling what had happened. At some point, the already somewhat delirious Wei Potian suddenly provoked Shi Yan.

Shi Yan, who also had a fiery temper, naturally didn't treat Wei Potian with any courtesy and joined the fray without a word. The one-on-one situation quickly turned into a three-way battle, and then, Wei Potian and Shi Yan were both taken down by Qian Ye.

At this point, Qian Ye was still swaying. But he was just swaying, far from actually falling.

Recalling the events, Qian Ye smiled wryly. How was he supposed to deal with these two dead pigs? In the end, Qian Ye had to carry one in each hand, swaying as he walked to the inn. And he somehow managed to return to his room accurately.

Qian Ye opened another room, threw the two men onto a bed, gave them the finger, and then swayed back to his room, falling onto the bed and falling asleep.

He didn't sleep long before he suddenly sat up, looking around in a daze. His head was very painful. The hangover feeling hadn't completely gone away.

It was just five o'clock, and it was still dark. But in the training camp, this was the time to get up and start the day's training. Nine years of such a life had made Qian Ye's body react instinctively.

Qian Ye got up and took a shower, suddenly not knowing what to do.

After graduating from the training camp, he often had this feeling. The tightly packed schedule and the constant survival pressure were suddenly gone. With large amounts of free time to arrange as he pleased, Qian Ye found himself very unaccustomed.

He silently practiced some combat techniques, and a beam of dawn light shone into the room.

By noon, Shi Yan finally appeared. The stern-faced soldier blushed slightly when he saw Qian Ye.

As for Wei Potian, he had long disappeared quietly, not having the face to see Qian Ye. He did, however, leave his belt behind, and added a note with four large characters: "Battle again someday!"

Oh, and a huge exclamation mark!

Qian Ye didn't take the note seriously, crumpled it up, and threw it in the trash. Thinking about the reason Wei Potian had initially provoked him, Qian Ye felt a strong urge to beat him up again.

But after Shi Yan introduced the background of the Wei family, Qian Ye thought for a moment, packed the necklace, bracelet, and belt, and had someone deliver them to Wei Potian's place. He added a note with eight large characters: "Three debts, pay first, then fight."

After lunch, Shi Yan took Qian Ye back to the inner camp and handed him over to the middle-aged soldier.

The middle-aged soldier looked Qian Ye up and down, suddenly smiled, and extended his hand, saying, "Welcome to Red Scorpion, rookie!"

Qian Ye also extended his hand and shook it. The hand was broad, thick, warm, and as solid as the earth, similar to Lin Xitang's.

Qian Ye didn't understand what "rookie" meant, but he could feel a sense of concern from the middle-aged soldier's words.

The middle-aged soldier looked at Shi Yan and suddenly said, "Little Shi, it seems we haven't seen each other for ten years."

"Only nine years and eleven months."

The middle-aged soldier from Red Scorpion didn't argue with Shi Yan, saying, "Why aren't you by General Lin's side?"

"Well, for this kid's matter, I had to come in person. I wouldn't trust anyone else."

The middle-aged soldier raised his eyebrows, "He has a special identity?"

"A bit. You'll understand when you see this. Qian Ye, show Colonel Wei your wound."

Qian Ye complied, pulling open his shirt to reveal the large scar.

Colonel Wei's eyes twitched, and a layer of killing intent spread across his face, but he only grunted heavily.

"Now you understand why I had to come in person, right? But this kid is indeed good, he won't disappoint you."

It was time to part ways again. These two military school classmates, who had only met three times in the nearly twenty years since graduation, knew that the next meeting might be years or even decades away.

Perhaps the next time they met, they would see each other's remains covered by the empire's flag. This was the fate of soldiers. However, they didn't hug or shake hands, but instead saluted each other and turned to leave.

This was the military style, no dragging, and the deep friendship between soldiers was kept in their hearts.

After Shi Yan left, the middle-aged soldier said to Qian Ye, "My name is Wei Lishi."

"Colonel Wei!" Qian Ye saluted, though it was still a bit unsteady.

Wei Lishi took Qian Ye aboard a floating boat and headed for Red Scorpion's base. This time, in addition to Qian Ye, Wei Lishi also selected two others, one male and one female, all about the same age as Qian Ye.

This floating boat was very different from the balloon-type airships Qian Ye had seen before. Instead of a large egg-shaped steam囊, the top was a large metal frame supporting something like a bat's wing.

All the joints on the floating boat's shell were outlined in bright red, with no other markings. The mechanical cabin was still at the rear, but the cross-shaped propellers numbered twelve, and the dense steam still spewed from the pipes.

The interior of the boat was very spacious, with shock-absorbing and sound-dampening felt on the floor. The seats were all against the walls on both sides, and it looked like they could seat about twenty people. In the middle was a row of shelves for weapon backpacks, and the remaining space was still free for walking or even close combat. Using a boat that could transport two squads to carry four people, Red Scorpion was indeed wealthy and powerful.

Wei Lishi sat in a seat and fastened his seatbelt. Qian Ye and the others followed his example.

At this moment, the door to the front cabin opened, and a large bald head poked out, saying in a hoarse voice, "Sit tight, kids! We're in a hurry!"

A strong rumbling sound soon filled the cabin, still deafening even through the walls. The cabin began to shake violently, and then it felt as if a giant hand had grabbed them and lifted them into the air!

Qian Ye and the others were firmly pressed into their seats, the intense ascent making their hearts feel like they were about to jump out of their throats, an indescribable discomfort. After a long while, the ascent finally ended, and Qian Ye looked out the window, only to be shocked to see clouds floating by!

In a short time, they were already flying through the clouds!

Qian Ye's experience with floating boats was limited to the light boat "Bluebird" and military cargo boats. The "Bluebird" was as smooth as its name, gliding and landing like flowing clouds. The cargo boat, while noisy and bumpy, required a long time to ascend and descend.

The speed of this Red Scorpion floating boat was simply a revolution in steam power. Qian Ye suddenly remembered that above black stone steam, there was another energy source called black crystal. However, Huangquan hadn't taught this, as it was the highest-level driving energy and a national strategic resource.

Qian Ye was still in shock from the scene before him when the boat suddenly began to shake violently. Qian Ye saw the propellers outside the window speed up, the blades becoming indistinguishable. Then the entire boat was kicked hard, flying off into the distance with a bang.

Qian Ye experienced the feeling of being a small boat in a storm for the first time.

From the copper pipes inside the cabin, the bald captain's voice kept coming.

"Sit tight, we're accelerating!"

"This side wind is really strong! How does the rolling feel?"

"Ah ha! There's a thundercloud ahead, we're going straight through! You can see the lightning up close!"

"What's that bald eagle? Wow, it's huge! Let's try to hit it!"

PS: This month has been crazy busy.

There will be extra updates this week, and there will be events, I promise!

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