Enlightenment: Attaining the Dao at Age 8

Sun Yang stood at the door and stretched. ”Alright, let’s break it up. Everyone, back to your rooms.”

”Captain, you think you’ll be able to sleep tonight? What if the instructor pulls some new trick on us tomorrow? What are we gonna do?”

”What else can we do? You’re not sleeping, so am I supposed to stay up with you?” Li Chang’an said, turning to walk into the dorm. ”Worry all you want. I’m not going to babysit you!”

Sun Yang froze for a second, then chuckled. ”Alright, fine. I’m heading to bed too.”

”See you tomorrow!”

The next morning, the base’s alarm blared right on schedule. It was sharp and piercing, yanking the entire Insect Hunter Squad from their sleep.

Han Ruoxi yelled while rubbing her eyes, ”What’s going on?! I feel like I just fell asleep! Is there something wrong with this base? Can’t they pick an alarm that isn’t so damn grating?!”

Sun Yang crawled out of bed, his hair a mess, with the remains of last night’s Energy Bar still sticking out of his mouth. ”Stop yelling and get your gear on. If the instructor’s calling us to assemble, it’s definitely for a mission. Dawdle, and you can forget about breakfast!”

”Mission, mission, mission, that’s all they ever think about! They really treat us like fully automated machines!” Han Ruoxi complained as she put on her combat suit. ”Can I please request one day off? Just one!”

Shen Qiuyue, already fully geared up, stood by the door and watched them coldly. ”If you two keep dawdling, you’re not going to make it.”

”Be late, and the instructor might have you doing push-ups all day!”

”Shit!” Han Ruoxi immediately picked up the pace. ”Push-ups? Hell no! Hurry up, hurry up! Where’s the Captain? Why isn’t he out yet?”

Just then, Li Chang’an appeared at the dorm entrance, adjusting his bracers with a calm expression. ”Two minutes until assembly. If you run, you can still make it.”

Han Ruoxi immediately clutched her head and bolted out the door. ”I’m so dead! I am absolutely not being late today!”

The Insect Hunter Squad finally made it to the assembly point at the last possible second.

Instructor Wei Zhuang stood before the squad, terminal in hand, his expression stern as he scanned each of them.

”Not bad. No one’s late.” Wei Zhuang nodded. ”Today’s mission is a live-fire exercise, not another simulation.”

”You’re heading to a low-risk zone to clear out Insect Race larvae and ensure the safety of the surrounding villages.”

”The mission is simple, but don’t get complacent.”

”Clear out Insect Race larvae?” Han Ruoxi’s eyes went wide. ”Instructor, isn’t that a job for rookies? Our squad cleared the simulations. Isn’t this kind of work a little...”

”Simple?” Wei Zhuang scoffed. ”It might be simple for you, but for the villagers, it’s a matter of life and death.”

”Enough nonsense. Complete this mission, and you’ll earn more operational clearance.”

”Alright, alright, we’ll take it!” Han Ruoxi muttered, pouting. ”It’s not like we have a choice, anyway!”

Li Chang’an glanced at the mission details and nodded. ”Instructor, we’ll give it our all.”

Wei Zhuang waved them off. ”Good. The transport is waiting on the tarmac. Board within ten minutes!”

The roar of the transport’s engines filled their ears. Inside the cabin, the members of the Insect Hunter Squad each checked their gear.

Han Ruoxi frowned at the map. ”The larvae’s activity range is pretty big. How long is this cleanup going to take?”

Bai Lin, operating her terminal, spoke softly. ”There are three main nests in the zone. Each nest has roughly twenty to thirty larvae.”

”After clearing them out, we also need to destroy the nests. Estimated mission time is four hours.”

”Tch, what a workout,” Sun Yang clicked his tongue, resting his Pulse Gun on his lap. ”Still, it’s better than those high-difficulty simulations. A bit of a breather!”

Shen Qiuyue spoke coldly. ”A breather? You’d better not expect the Insect Race larvae to give you one.”

”They may be weak, but they’re numerous. One moment of carelessness and they’ll tear you to shreds.”

”I know, I know! Stop trying to scare us, Sister Qiuyue!” Sun Yang said with a wave of his hand. ”I’m way too strong. How could a bunch of larvae possibly hurt me?”

Han Ruoxi rolled her eyes. ”Yeah, you’re the strongest. Just don’t screw up when the mission starts.”

”Alright, that’s enough,” Li Chang’an said, standing up to address his teammates. ”Once we’re on the ground, we stick to our assigned roles.”

”Ruo Xi and Bai Lin, you’re on recon. Sun Yang and Qiuyue, you’ll clear the nests. I’ll provide cover.”

”No problem!” they all replied in unison.

After the transport touched down, the squad quickly moved into the designated zone.

The surrounding terrain was a weed-choked wasteland, dotted with the dilapidated remains of old buildings.

Han Ruoxi activated her Detector and began scanning for signs of the Insect Race.

”Target acquired!” Han Ruoxi shouted, pointing ahead. ”First group of larvae, two hundred meters out in the tall grass. About twenty of them!”

”Alright, let’s move out,” Li Chang’an said with a wave, signaling the team to engage.

Sun Yang charged forward first, strafing the Insect Race larvae with his Pulse Gun. The small insectoid bodies dropped one after another.

He muttered as he fired, ”This is way too easy. These larvae don’t even have the strength to fight back!”

”Don’t get cocky,” Shen Qiuyue said coldly. With a clean, efficient swing of her sword, she sliced a larva in two. ”These are just the outer guards. The ones in the nest will be tougher.”

Han Ruoxi grumbled as she zapped an insect. ”Sister Qiuyue, do you always have to be so frosty? You’re stressing me out with all that doom and gloom!”

Shen Qiuyue shot her a glance but didn’t reply, simply continuing her focused culling of the insects.

Bai Lin, who was monitoring their surroundings, warned, ”Readings are getting stronger near the nest. Be careful, there might be adult insects.”

Li Chang’an nodded. ”Everyone, stay sharp. We clear the perimeter first, then focus our firepower on the nest.”

Two hours into the mission, the Insect Hunter Squad had successfully destroyed two nests and was now advancing on the third.