Chapter 243: 243, Mooching around

"Xiaoshu, are we really going to be okay doing this?" Li Qingzheng asked in a low voice, his heart racing with unease.

Ren Xiaoshu led the way through the wilderness, their clothes now replaced with Shenji Camp uniforms, while the Shenji Camp nano-soldiers had long since departed, leaving only five to oversee the private troops' timely arrival at Fengyishan.

Now, the private troops all wore Shenji Camp uniforms, yet these five nano-soldiers were clad in private maintenance work attire, blending into the ranks.

The uniforms were originally meant for mechanics, standard issue for each fully equipped private unit.

But maintenance workers were paid well, and since some in the army knew a bit about repairs, Liu Taixu had diverted the military pay to private pockets. The clothes were issued free of charge, and if one needed to buy them separately, Liu Taixu probably deducted that money too.

Now, the private troops harbored considerable resentment toward Liu Taixu, for they could barely eat their fill—this anger had accumulated over time.

Wasn't the incident at the outpost, where a bag of rice was mixed with half a bag of sand, orchestrated by Liu Taixu's underlings?

Ren Xiaoshu, leading Li Qingzheng and the others toward the forward base, said, "What are you afraid of?"

"What if those Shenji Camp soldiers in the camp discover we left the unit without permission?" Li Qingzheng hesitated.

"Fear not," Ren Xiaoshu replied without a trace of worry: "Five people trying to watch nearly a thousand? That's only possible in dreams. They don't even recognize everyone now—it's the perfect time for us to act in secret. Once they figure out the private troops' situation, it won't be so easy to move around."

Li Qingzheng found Ren Xiaoshu's courage remarkable, yet he had to admit, Ren Xiaoshu's reasoning made sense.

Ren Xiaoshu continued, "Besides, we're just going to eat. Your camp has no military rations—we're finding our own rations. This is for the officer's benefit!"

"True," Li Qingzheng agreed: "But what if the forward base sees through our identities?"

"No problem. Stay silent for now—let me handle it," Ren Xiaoshu said calmly.

All the teammates silently looked at Ren Xiaoshu, thinking they'd never seen him afraid of anything...

The private troops' campsite was only a few kilometers from the forward base, and they had encountered Shenji Camp not long after leaving the forward base.

It wasn't because of the proximity—Ren Xiaoshu wouldn't have brought everyone here to mooch off others.

At the forward base, the sentry immediately blocked Ren Xiaoshu and the others. Li Qingzheng was about to step forward to negotiate when he saw Ren Xiaoshu kick the man aside: "Dare Shenji Camp soldiers block us? How bold!"

At noon, they had tried to enter the forward base for a meal, only to be mocked and ridiculed by the people inside, who said refugees didn't deserve to eat there.

Now, with Ren Xiaoshu seizing the opportunity, he naturally wouldn't back down.

The sentry, seeing the Shenji Camp insignia on their arms, didn't dare even fart, and Ren Xiaoshu swaggered in.

At first, Li Qingzheng and the others were a bit afraid, but as they walked, they followed Ren Xiaoshu's lead, emboldened by his presence...

Inside the forward base's cafeteria, Ren Xiaoshu and the others immediately smelled the aroma of food!

The Li army had many troops heading to the front lines, not only those advancing but also those retreating from the front. Thus, the forward base's meals were available 24 hours a day, even with 24-hour hot water in the barracks.

A group of chefs were cooking in the cafeteria, and Ren Xiaoshu and the others grabbed stainless steel trays and boldly served themselves.

The cafeteria manager approached cautiously, saying, "Sorry, we didn't receive your reception letter."

Ren Xiaoshu was taken aback—he truly didn't understand military protocol, so he didn't know that entering a forward base required a reception letter. For a moment, Li Qingzheng and the others broke into a sweat.

Without warning, Ren Xiaoshu said coldly, "Shenji Camp comes to eat your food, and you demand a reception letter? Do you look down on Shenji Camp?"

The soldiers around Ren Xiaoshu all looked at him with admiration, wondering how he could be so brazen.

The cafeteria manager, now subdued, whispered, "N-no, but may I see your officer's certificate?"

By then, a few scattered soldiers had gathered around. Ren Xiaoshu sneered, pulled out his Special Reconnaissance Unit officer's certificate, and leaned close to the manager's ear: "This certificate is known only to you. The number—go check it. Dare to leak it, and you'll regret your skin."

The manager, glancing at the certificate, froze—this person in Shenji Camp uniform had produced a Special Reconnaissance Unit certificate. How bizarre! He quickly signaled his subordinate to check the number, and the machine confirmed everything was authentic.

The manager was stunned, and when he reported this to the forward base's commander, the superior was equally baffled. They figured it must be a special case—better not to provoke them. After all, it was just a meal, let them eat and be done with it.

As Ren Xiaoshu ate, he mused that his dual identity as Shenji Camp and Special Reconnaissance Unit was quite useful...

The food in the cafeteria was abundant, with over a dozen types of meat dishes alone. Before leaving, everyone stuffed more than ten steamed buns into their pockets, leaving the cafeteria staff in awe—this was Shenji Camp? Weren't their rations supposed to be high-quality?

The cafeteria manager comforted himself: It's just thirty people. Even if they can't finish it, they can't take much.

Ren Xiaoshu led the group back to the camp, and Li Qingzheng and the others let out satisfied belches: "There should be four or five more forward bases ahead. We won't starve anyway."

"The squad leader is mighty—those buns alone could feed us for days," the soldiers in the squad praised Ren Xiaoshu, inflating his pride.

When they returned to the camp, they met others. Other combat squads saw Ren Xiaoshu and the others with oily mouths and buns in their arms, and a squad leader nearly wept with envy: "Can you spare us some buns? We've been hungry for a day."

Suddenly, the palace issued a mission: "Help comrades alleviate hunger."

Ren Xiaoshu paused, then smiled at the squad leader before him: "Let me tell you a good place—guaranteed to fill your stomach..."