Zhāng 73

"Think about it, there were three gunshots just now.

The first shot was when Soldier Wang fired at me. The second shot was when the instructor shot and hit the bullet fired by Soldier Wang. The third shot was when Soldier Wang got hit.

Doesn't that explain the truth of what happened?"

Later on, the crowd scattered, and no one could even see Paige anymore, so no one continued shooting.

So those three gunshots at the end were actually very sudden.

Most people believed what Soldier Li said, but a small number of them still gossiped behind Paige's back.

Paige didn't care. However, she did feel a bit disappointed in the soldiers here.

But then she thought, there are good and bad people everywhere, and she immediately felt better.

From now on, she just needed to live her own life well and stay out of military affairs.

Still, when she looked at the people on the field, most of them were innocent civilians.

If she taught them more, they'd have better chances of surviving.

No matter how the leadership changed, their lives were still in their own hands.

So, Paige changed her training methods.

She taught the techniques one-on-one.

Those who had just been called out had no way to escape.

Although they ended up with bruised faces, experiencing it firsthand helped them learn better than just watching from the sidelines.

This time, Paige taught some basic techniques and left them to slowly digest them. There was still time to teach more later. No rush.

Besides, even if she didn't teach them fighting techniques, the intensity of her training alone would make them stand out in the camp.

That evening, when she got home, Paige saw that Ely and the others had bought a mountain of things.

New Year supplies, snacks, clothes, accessories, even red paper decorations and window flowers—everything imaginable.

"Sis, you're back! Look, we bought so many things today," Ely said excitedly, showing off his haul.

Today was the happiest day of his life.

It was also the day he spent the most money.

He used to be too scared to even look at things that cost more than ten yuan, but today, he bought them without blinking.

Well, maybe he still blinked a few times.

All those snacks on the street that he had always wanted but never had money for—he bought them all today.

He ate from the moment they left the house until they came home. He even skipped lunch.

"Wow, you bought so much. Did you have enough money? Looks like I should give you even more next time," Paige said, walking over and picking up a small stuffed toy.

"Plenty! There was so much money, we couldn't even finish spending it," Ely replied, looking at Paige like she was a spoiled rich lady.

That stack of money must've been over two thousand yuan. Paige had given them at least five thousand.

There was no way they dared to spend it all in one day.

Not to mention, it's not even possible to spend that much in a day.

With ten yuan, you could buy a cow. It's not like they were buying houses or anything.

Back in the day, that much money could let them live worry-free for a lifetime.

"Ridiculous," Paige rolled her eyes at Ely.

Having too much money and not knowing how to spend it was also kind of a headache.

Maybe she should start planning to buy a house? That way, no matter where she went, she'd always have a place to stay.

But if every place was this desolate, traveling wouldn't be much fun anyway.

The four of them put away the day's haul, and soon it was dinner time.

The house didn't feel as empty as it used to. Every little corner had some small item someone had bought.

It wasn't perfectly tidy, but it felt warm and cozy everywhere.

"Are we celebrating the New Year here this year or going back to Rin Village?" Winn asked Paige that night.

"Let's just celebrate the New Year here. There's not even a place to stay in Rin Village.

But we should go back to set up a memorial for my parents and grandparents, and your grandparents too." One thing after another had come up, and they completely forgot this important matter.

They were all killed by bombs. There weren't even ashes left. The house was gone, and everything they had used disappeared with it.

They couldn't even build a proper symbolic grave.

"Tomorrow, let's go to the clothing shop and buy each of them a set of clothes, and build a symbolic grave.

Everything else should be done with the highest standard.

Tomorrow, you get the things ordered. I'll arrange some things in the morning, and in the afternoon we'll go to the village together.

Let's find a good spot with good energy for the graves." They also had to see how things were arranged in the village.

"Alright," Winn nodded.

They stayed awake the whole night until morning.

The next day, everyone had their own tasks. As soon as the sun came up, they all left to take care of their business.

Paige returned to the camp and gathered those few people again to guide them a bit more, teaching them some new moves.

Then she let everyone on the field practice with each other. As for basic training, the assistant instructors were watching over it.

"Coach, the investigation about Soldier Wang is finished. He was kicked out of the military."

And it wasn't just being kicked out of the army camp. He was kicked out of the whole Su Province.

How he survives after that isn't their concern.

"Okay," Paige replied.

Soldier Wang's mental energy was so murky it was close to the level of a PN Soldier. Paige didn't like him at all.

Driving him far away was just fine with her.

She wanted to eliminate any future threats, but Soldier Wang hadn't actually done anything against her yet.

As for Soldier Li, getting kicked out of the military as a disabled person was already punishment enough.

If Paige kept pushing, it would make her look petty and unable to tolerate others.

She couldn't go around saying, "Your mental energy looks unstable and evil, so you should die."

That would sound ridiculous.

"Alright, handle these little things yourself.

By the way, I won't be coming this afternoon. And after that, if there's nothing important, I won't be coming anymore either." Paige decided to give herself an early New Year break.

After giving the instructions, Paige drove to the restaurant they had visited before.

She had just taken ten cabinets she'd stored in the warehouse into her space.

Now she wanted to talk to the restaurant owner and have them prepare ten tables full of dishes.

Halfway there, she suddenly remembered that making the food disappear into thin air might not look good.

So she stopped by a porcelain shop and bought one hundred plates.

She paid the store two yuan to wash all the plates clean.

"Hey, long time no see, customer! Same room as before, it's already reserved for you," Waiter Erin said when he saw Paige. He almost didn't recognize her at first.

It hadn't been long, but her whole vibe had changed.

Also, Paige was wearing a military uniform now, which made her look very powerful.

"Bring me one of every dish your shop has, and also a big bucket of rice," Paige said directly.

"Alright! Come in, customer, your food will be ready soon," Waiter Erin happily greeted her.

Paige never disappointed. She always ordered tons of food.

Waiter Erin didn't suspect anything. He just thought Paige had become an officer and was treating her colleagues to a meal.