Chapter Eight: Discovering Liang Bing

After a lively conversation with the American soldier, Gao Ning managed to glean some understanding of the situation. He no longer felt as clueless as he had at the outset.

The American soldier was a mass-produced bio-soldier from the assembly line. Should Gao Ning have no special requests, his appearance would be assigned at random.

These soldiers were the epitome of combat efficiency—if pitted one-on-one against a current U.S. Marine, no human soldier would stand a chance. The advantages of the bio-soldiers were vast: fearlessness in the face of death and absolute obedience were but a few of their traits.

Their greatest strength, however, lay in their ease of resupply and their capacity for sustained operations. Yet for all their formidable prowess, their rate of attrition was equally high; each paratrooper’s service life was only three to six months.

In other words, roughly every half year, a bio-soldier would become unusable. The pace at which they were replaced was nothing short of astonishing.

Realizing this, Gao Ning lost any desire to name the American soldier. The man existed solely for combat—treating him as a tool of war and allowing him to die on the battlefield, rather than be recycled or left to gather dust in storage, was perhaps the greatest respect that could be afforded him.

This notion, however, lingered in Gao Ning’s mind for only a fleeting moment before it was banished entirely, replaced by unbridled excitement.

He, an ordinary homebody, had never imagined that one day he would command a private army. In this endless, shifting world, having an armed force at his side was no less than riding a dragon into battle.

What mission could a military force not accomplish?

Fifteen minutes slipped by as they got acquainted.

When the time was up, Gao Ning’s bed suddenly sank heavily on one side—the mattress nearly caved under the weight of the soldier. The bedframe groaned, and the floor felt on the verge of splitting.

Alarmed, Gao Ning hurriedly ordered the soldier to rise, quickly tidied up the room, and pushed him into the wardrobe.

He had barely finished signaling for silence when the door was knocked upon.

Outside, Sun Lijuan called, “Son, what are you doing? Why aren’t you asleep at this hour?”

Gao Ning, quietly closing the wardrobe door, mumbled, “I fell asleep and rolled out of bed!”

Sun Lijuan chuckled, “How old are you now? Still so restless in your sleep. That’s what you get for not having a girlfriend. Next time, bring a nice girl home—sleeping together will fix that, you hear?”

“Yeah, got it! Has Dad come home yet?”

Gao Ning undressed quietly, adjusted his pillow, and slipped under the covers.

“Not yet. That old fool, who knows where he’s off to. Don’t worry about him. Get some sleep!” With that, the sound of slippers shuffling down the hall faded away.

Just then, a message popped up on the Red Alert interface.

[Paratrooper has arrived. Mission Two unlocked.]

[Mission Two: Collect an artifact from another plane.]

[Reward: One special unit template.]

“What the heck is an artifact from another plane?” Gao Ning scratched his head, suddenly recalling the train’s previous mission. Could it be that Red Alert wanted the tuxedo as well?

If both parties wanted the tuxedo, who should he give it to? But wait—he vaguely remembered that there were two tuxedos in this movie universe.

Gao Ning clapped his hands. That made things easier.

And now he knew how to deploy the soldier!

About to issue a command, Gao Ning noticed on the Red Alert interface that the map now showed a soldier’s figure.

He remembered that as the paratrooper landed, a transport plane had flown over the map, dropping the American soldier.

Could the two be synchronized?

Instinctively, Gao Ning focused on the American soldier, and immediately heard the classic response: “Sir! Yes sir!”

A dialogue box appeared above the soldier, the cursor blinking, awaiting orders.

Gao Ning’s eyes lit up. If he could communicate via the Red Alert interface, things would be much simpler.

Focusing his thoughts, he swiftly entered a command:

(Monitor 70 Fleming Street. Remain hidden and prioritize your own safety. If you spot Jimmy Tang, report immediately!)

“Sir, yes sir!”

The soldier on the interface began moving at once. Simultaneously, the American soldier hidden in Gao Ning’s wardrobe slipped out soundlessly, ignoring Gao Ning in bed and climbing out the window without making a sound.

Gao Ning was momentarily stunned. He rushed to the window, but could only make out a vague shadow disappearing into the shrubbery before vanishing altogether.

“Fast enough, I’ll give him that!” Gao Ning mused, rubbing his chin and returning to bed.

As the American soldier moved, the previously blank map on the Red Alert interface began to morph, gradually filling in the nearby neighborhood’s details.

The Red Alert minimap remained unchanged, still showing the Brooklyn area. Besides Gao Ning’s own star marker, there was a yellow dot for Sun Lijuan, and another for Gao Fei, who was about two kilometers away at a bar. The map was too small to make out the bar’s name.

The green dot representing the soldier moved rapidly, a flowing dashed line guiding him—undoubtedly toward 70 Fleming Street.

On the main map, the landscape took shape—trees, buildings, all rendered with crisp detail. Cars and bustling crowds traversed the streets, clear as day.

Yet apart from the American soldier, Gao Ning could control no one else.

“Interesting—it feels like playing another version of Red Alert,” Gao Ning thought. The familiar interface had a calming effect, soothing his lingering nerves.

After all these years, Red Alert was the only real-time strategy game he’d stuck with. Though an obedient son, he’d dabbled in games—Diablo, Warcraft, even League of Legends—but never for long. As for those beautifully rendered AAA titles, he simply lacked the time.

Red Alert was the only game he truly knew.

Now, transformed into his golden finger, it aided him in the pursuit of victory as always—a feeling beyond compare.

Lost in thought, Gao Ning remembered his current role: he was still a police officer and had work in the morning.

He was about to hide the Red Alert interface and sleep when a third yellow dot appeared at the edge of the minimap.

Gao Ning froze. Sensing for a moment, two familiar characters popped up: Liang Bing!

It was her?

Wait, if yellow dots represented people he knew, then the other dot…

Gao Ning glanced at the bar marker. Sure enough, another familiar name appeared—Liu Minhong!