Chapter Fifteen: The Rookie Who Keeps Watching the Drama

In the world of "Edge of Tomorrow," humanity was initially overwhelmed and bewildered by the alien creatures, but everything changed once they developed powered exoskeleton armor—suddenly, their confidence soared. From their perspective, Rita Vrataski became the "Angel of Verdun," slaying hundreds of aliens after only a brief period of training. In truth, they were unaware that she had leveraged the "reset ability" for countless sessions of practice, becoming a battle-hardened veteran, having fought hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of times.

Of those hundreds of alien kills, perhaps only a tenth were achieved by her true skill; the rest were the result of resets. While even single-handedly slaying dozens of aliens would suffice for the title "Valkyrie," the miracle humanity saw—the lone warrior striking down hundreds—was in fact a carefully orchestrated display by the aliens, a trap for mankind. The "Angel of Verdun" once fell into such a trap and lost her "angel’s wings."

Regardless, the army was in desperate need of soldiers, so someone like Zhou Shu, who volunteered, would never be turned away. The sentry simply escorted Zhou Shu straight to Sergeant Farrell.

"Sergeant Farrell, here's someone who came to enlist on his own. I’ve brought him over for you to handle."

"Oh? We get people like that?" The sergeant glanced at Zhou Shu and nodded. "Just what we need—we're short on men. Leave him to me."

Hearing this, Zhou Shu realized his hunch was correct: the shortage of personnel here was dire. How dire? Even when he later confessed he wasn't British, lacked proper papers, was an illegal immigrant who’d even smuggled himself in, and, despite his obviously youthful face, insisted he was eighteen, it didn’t matter.

"It’s no issue. I’m not British either—not even American. I’m from Kentucky. But when it comes to those disgusting aliens, we’re all Earthlings!" said the sergeant. "We’ve only one thing to do: beat them down, make them surrender, and reclaim Europe for ourselves!"

He shot a glance at Cage, then turned back to Zhou Shu. "You might not know much yet, and you lack proper identification, but you’re already better than him. At least you had the courage to volunteer for the front, instead of trying to desert."

"Once this war is over, I’m sure you’ll get your papers—and maybe even become a hero!"

Zhou Shu was thoroughly convinced—this was truly a novice’s boon, just as the assistance system had promised.

"Hunter, I apologize. You were right."

[There’s no need for apologies. All of this is part of your training. The fact that you can connect the dots and realize these things shows you’re progressing. That is enough.]

Well, the Hunter was as emotionless as ever—everything by the book.

But as someone with feelings, Zhou Shu believed that if you wrong someone, you should apologize, whether or not they require it.

He followed Sergeant Farrell into the large tent barracks at Heathrow Airport. Inside was chaos; the soldiers had little care for uniform or discipline, and their physical conditions varied greatly. The co-ed arrangement was unremarkable—they took equality seriously here. There were plenty of muscle-bound hulks, but also many thin or even outright obese soldiers.

Just moments after entering, Zhou Shu had already spotted three very overweight men—not the stocky, powerful type, but truly fat. Clearly, the crisis of manpower was real, or perhaps there was immense faith in the new powered exoskeletons. With those suits, even the obese would become genuine tactical couch potatoes, Zhou Shu mused.

Unlike the composed Zhou Shu, the sergeant’s tongue was unleashed, his disdain for Cage the deserter laid bare.

"People talk. By tonight, everyone will see you for what you are—a coward, a fraud, a thief, willing to do anything to survive," he sneered. "But there’s hope for you yet, Private Cage. Fight in this glorious war, and you can atone. The fires of battle can forge you into a true hero."

"Men like Zhou, brave enough to volunteer, have the best chance of becoming heroes. As for you, Cage—you must redeem yourself first."

"On the battlefield, there’s no high or low. No matter what kind of failure you were before, if you pay your dues, you too can become a hero."

Trailing behind, Zhou Shu nearly burst out laughing. Somebody hand him a bucket of popcorn—this was the best seat in the house. Who else could witness these classic moments live, let alone participate as the one being praised, his own bravery highlighting Cage’s cowardice all the more?

Soon, they arrived at a small compartment. Zhou Shu recognized the people inside—they were J Squad.

He stepped in; the squad members quickly straightened up, though their faces betrayed a hint of unease. The sergeant announced, "Squad, listen up. These are Private Cage and Recruit Zhou. Cage, Zhou—this is J Squad."

The J Squad members eyed the newcomers with curiosity. It was hard not to be intrigued; after all, these two "models" were rare in a recruit camp.

They looked at Cage. "That’s an officer’s uniform, isn’t it?" "No officer would end up like this. Look at his hands." "Maybe he’s a criminal officer."

Then they turned to Zhou Shu. "Is he Asian?" "Is he even eighteen?" "I bet he’s only fifteen."

One of them was shocked. "Are we sending children into battle now?"

Watching the story unfold, at once familiar from memory yet drifting toward the unknown, Zhou Shu found himself at a loss for words. Still, just as the system had said, this initial mission was only meant to familiarize him with the workings of the virtual battlefield and raise his basic abilities. Whether or not he stuck to the plot was of little consequence.

After all, with only two days’ worth of storyline, "Edge of Tomorrow" was chosen as the tutorial battleground precisely because of its simplicity and lack of twists. But as a complete novice, Zhou Shu felt it best to follow the plot for now.

It was like playing a game for the first time—you watch the cutscenes and follow the story. On a second playthrough, you’d just hit skip.

Still, the "NPCs" in this virtual battlefield seemed remarkably intelligent. Each person he interacted with had their own set plotlines, but they could also adapt and improvise, their autonomy surprisingly high—almost like real people with true independent thought.

For instance, the sentry at the gate hadn’t even appeared in the movie plot, yet Zhou Shu was able to converse naturally with him, and the sentry responded appropriately, bringing him to the sergeant for further processing.

Sergeant Farrell was the same—a new recruit walking into his hands didn’t disrupt his "script." If anything, he used Zhou Shu's presence to taunt and warn Cage, then to praise Zhou Shu at Cage’s expense.

Amazing! This place really did feel like a living world.

Hunter’s calculations, intelligence, and world-building capabilities left Zhou Shu astounded.

Surveying the realness around him—the corner of a playing card poking from beneath a blanket, the tense faces of J Squad—he simply kept silent.

The show was about to go on.

The sergeant paced the barracks. "You’re still thinking about the battlefield? That means you’re ready. I’m proud of you, because tomorrow you’ll really be leading the charge!"

"The spear’s tip, the sword’s edge, sharp and—"

He stopped at a cot with a blanket, his gaze catching something amiss. The atmosphere in J Squad’s quarters grew tense in an instant.

Everyone in J Squad stiffened, frozen in place.

Cage, out of sorts, was lost in thoughts of escape.

As for Zhou Shu—

"Hunter, could I get a watermelon?"

[Please focus on your training.]

And so, the story continued.