Da-da-da—
Bootsteps cut sharply across the training ground.
Several soldiers rushed over, their eyes locked onto Qin Tian—not with warmth, but with something closer to hunger.
Curiosity.
Calculation.
"Officer Raymond… is he from the latest batch?" one of them asked, voice tight with restrained excitement. "His shooting… it's not normal."
Raymond didn't look at them.
"What 'batch'?" His tone dropped, heavy. "He's your comrade."
The air stiffened.
The soldiers flinched almost imperceptibly.
"Sorry, Officer… and—" the man hesitated, glancing at Qin Tian, "—brother."
The word sounded forced.
Unnatural.
Qin Tian said nothing.
His face remained still, eyes empty, like a mirror that refused to reflect.
That silence unsettled them more than anger would have.
It made them aware of something they didn't want to name.
"Let him join us," a buzz-cut soldier suddenly said, stepping forward. "Our company needs a sharpshooter."
"Bullshit, we need him more," another snapped immediately. "We've been bleeding men for half a month."
"Everyone's bleeding!"
Voices rose.
Tempers flared.
It wasn't about Qin Tian.
Not really.
It was about survival.
A sharpshooter wasn't a teammate.
He was a shield.
A weapon.
A chance to live one more day.
"Enough."
Raymond's voice cut through the noise like a blade.
"He's assigned to Special Forces."
Silence fell instantly.
The soldiers looked at each other.
No one argued.
Because they understood.
That was where people like him belonged.
Where they could kill more efficiently—
Or die more quietly.
"Which team?" someone asked.
Raymond's answer was simple.
"Earth Dragon."
The name spread through the group like a shadow.
No one spoke after that.
They didn't need to.
Everyone knew what that meant.
Earth Dragon Team…
Qin Tian repeated it inwardly.
A faint ripple passed through him.
Not hope.
Not fear.
Something thinner.
Anticipation… mixed with something he couldn't quite define.
Southeast Corner of the Camp
Inside a prefabricated shelter—
The air was heavy.
Not with silence—
But with what silence was trying to bury.
Three figures sat around a metal table.
Blood had dried on their uniforms.
Not all of it was theirs.
"It's my fault."
Qin Dadi's voice was hoarse, as if something inside his throat had torn.
"I took that mission."
His hands were clenched so tightly the knuckles had gone pale.
"If I hadn't… Huang Xun would still be alive."
No one interrupted.
Because no one could deny it.
Or perhaps—
No one dared to.
"Captain… it wasn't predictable," the young man said quietly. "A Tier Four Spiritualist appearing there… that wasn't in any report."
Qin Dadi didn't respond.
Because it didn't matter.
On the battlefield, reasons didn't bring people back.
"He died saving me."
The woman's voice cracked.
Her eyes were swollen, raw.
"I should've reacted faster… I'm stronger than him. I could've taken that hit."
Her lips trembled.
"He was an idiot…"
The word broke halfway through.
"Why would he… why would he stand in front of me…"
Because that's what soldiers do.
No one said it.
But all of them knew.
And that made it worse.
"Does he have family?" she asked suddenly, almost desperate.
Qin Dadi shook his head slowly.
"He told me once… his parents died early. After he enlisted… he lost contact with everyone else."
No family.
No one waiting.
No one to mourn him—
Except the people who survived him.
The woman bit down hard on her lip.
Blood surfaced.
She didn't notice.
Or didn't care.
Because pain—
Was easier than helplessness.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound was abrupt.
Intrusive.
Like something forcing its way into grief.
Qin Dadi stood, forcing his expression back into something functional.
When he opened the door—
His eyes narrowed.
"Raymond?"
Surprise flickered.
Then suspicion.
"What brings you here?"
Raymond glanced past him, taking in the room—the red eyes, the silence, the weight.
His gaze lingered for a second.
Then he understood.
Good.
"I brought you something," Raymond said.
He stepped aside.
Revealing Qin Tian.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Not softened.
Sharpened.
Qin Dadi's expression hardened.
"What is this?"
His voice carried no attempt at politeness.
"You sending garbage to my team now?"
Qin Tian didn't react.
But inside—
Something shifted.
Not anger.
Recognition.
So this was how they saw him.
Disposable.
Replaceable.
Already dead.
Raymond didn't argue.
"This 'garbage' scored 94 on the Spirit Bird test."
Silence.
Real silence this time.
"…Say that again."
Qin Dadi's grip tightened slightly.
"94."
Raymond's tone didn't change.
"If you don't want him, I'll assign him elsewhere."
He turned.
Deliberately.
"Wait."
Qin Dadi grabbed him.
Not gently.
His eyes locked onto Qin Tian now—no longer dismissive.
But searching.
Measuring.
Is this real?
Behind him, the other two stepped out.
Their grief paused—
Replaced by disbelief.
"The Spirit Bird test…?" the young man muttered.
"That's impossible…" the woman whispered.
Huang Xun's face surfaced in their minds.
His quiet pride when he spoke of that test.
His score—
Just over ninety.
And now—
This thing.
This clone—
Stood in front of them.
Matching him.
Almost reaching him.
"Raymond…" Qin Dadi's voice dropped. "You're not lying?"
"Do I look like I have time to joke?"
Raymond's gaze was flat.
Cold.
Final.
The tension snapped.
Qin Dadi exhaled sharply, his earlier anger dissolving into something awkward.
"…I spoke too soon."
He forced a rough smile.
"Leave him here."
"Zhao Zhao. Yun Long."
"Take him inside."
They approached Qin Tian.
Closer now.
Too close.
One took his arm.
Then the other.
Guiding him.
Testing him.
As if confirming—
He was real.
Qin Tian allowed it.
His body moved.
Obedient.
Precise.
Like something designed to follow.
Inside—
A question surfaced.
If I don't resist…
Is it because I choose not to?
Or because I can't?
Behind him, Raymond watched.
A faint, cold smile tugged at his lips.
Not amusement.
Expectation.
"I'm leaving him with you," Raymond said.
"Make sure he survives."
The words sounded simple.
But what they meant was not.
Qin Dadi lowered his head slightly.
His voice was quiet.
But absolute.
"Huang Xun won't die twice."
A pause.
Something dark settled in his eyes.
"Not again."
Outside—
The war continued.
Uncaring.
Unchanging.
And inside the Earth Dragon Team—
Something new had arrived.
Not a replacement.
Not yet.
But something that might become one.
And Qin Tian—
For the first time—
Felt it clearly.
Not fear of death.
But something far worse.
The fear… of becoming exactly what they needed him to be.