Xiao Lin’s answer did not change An Fumin’s expression at all. The casino owner maintained his smile, nodding in understanding, as if it was a common occurrence. The man had even offered Xiao Lin his carriage to head to the army, but was rejected.
Xiao Lin could more or less guess that An Fumin definitely did not approach him alone. He was probably planning on approaching all of the monitors from this year. Just like he said himself, the investment now did not have any guarantees on what it would yield in the future. An Fumin did not bother to hide it, but Xiao Lin did not want to just be a rich merchant in the New World.
Dawn City’s armies were situated to the south of the city. The buildings there carried an old Chinese style. There were not many people who were leaving or entering. Xiao Lin’s letter of appointment went through various checks, but when he said he was looking for Commander Yu Mei, he received looks of surprise.
“The sixth regiment; it’s the building in the corner.” A young woman answered Xiao Lin; her rank was a lieutenant. Her curiosity was evident when she heard Xiao Lin mentioning the sixth regiment. She could not help but ask, “You-you belong to the sixth regiment?”
“Is there a problem?”
“I guess you don’t know that the sixth regiment was just established?”
Xiao Lin thought for a bit, and recalled that Yu Mei had mentioned just that, so he nodded.
The curiosity was even more evident now, but it seemed to also carry a look of pity, “You just graduated?”
“Not yet. I’m only in my first year.”
“What?”
The woman looked like she was having a stroke. Xiao Lin let out a dry cough and quickly excused himself. The surroundings were all basically army territory. Each regiment had their own area. Asking around as he walked, he quickly found himself in front of the sixth regiment, and he finally understood why he received so many odd looks on the way.
It was a square yard, and flowers and greenery grew in every corner. The old trees remained green even in the spring. The environment was not bad. As noble colonists, they would naturally not short-change themselves in that department.
However, Xiao Lin’s gaze fell only the decrepit building in the middle and his face twitched. The building only had its foundations, and there were many bricks surrounding it, indicating it was still under construction. The construction seemed to have halted, leaving an awkward-looking remnant.
Xiao Lin felt like he had come to the wrong place, but someone called out to him just as he was about to leave.
“Oh, Xiao Lin? It really is you!” Yu Mei walked over from the neighbouring courtyard. She could not help but exclaim when she saw Xiao Lin, “I could not believe it when someone said you were looking for me earlier. Have you really reached the Black Iron-rank?”
“I reached it two days ago. Ah, Major Yu, this-this courtyard…”
“Haha, you’re really something. The dean said you had a lot of potential, but I really did not believe it at first. What use is a newbie that can’t even come to the New World?”
“Yes, you’re right, but… That… This is the sixth regiment’s base of operations…”
“Did you just come to Dawn City? Have you eaten? It’s fine, you definitely haven’t. Come, come, I’ll treat you today!”
Yu Mei was obviously very enthusiastic, but she did not give Xiao Lin a chance to speak. There were constantly passersby who would turn their heads and look, and someone who was familiar with Yu Mei even smiled and greeted, “Oh, Commander Yu, did you finally recruit someone?”
“Haha, of course! My regiment was created by the dean himself. How could I not have anyone!”
Xiao Lin wanted to say something, but the woman was extremely strong. Her vice grip on his wrist was impossible to get away from. He had just arrived for a few minutes, but he was already being forcefully dragged away by Yu Mei.
After half an hour, a room within a certain restaurant was filled with familiar dishes, such as roasted duck and the like, but the smell was somewhat odd. He had already gotten used to the buffet in the academy, so the dishes there were quite unappealing.
Yu Mei had already gotten used to it, gulping the food down as she said, “The chefs in the New World are all natives. Even if we try our best to teach them, the cultural differences mean that you can never really have authentic Chinese food, but you’ll get used to it quickly.”
It was just like how Chinese food overseas never tasted like what they had in China. Xiao Lin sighed before saying, “Putting that aside, is the meal going to just be the two of us?”
Dishes filled the table, but Xiao Lin and Yu Mei were the only ones there. Yu Mei paused and said, “Relax, I have a great appetite, so it won’t go to waste. It doesn’t cost much anyway.”
Xiao Lin’s eyes twitched, saying with some exasperation, “What I mean is, are you really not going to introduce everyone else to me?”
Xiao Lin had come over this time for two reasons. The first was the promise he made with Yu Mei; the second was to first introduce himself to the other members of the sixth regiment. They would end up in war together eventually, so knowing each other beforehand was not a bad idea, but Yu Mei did not seem to be bothered with that.
“Everyone else? There’s no point getting friendly with the other regiments; they’re not really that important.” Yu Mei’s appetite was really quite impressive. She was stuffing herself with a large piece of meat as she spoke.
“I’m referring to our regiment. I’m a captain of the sixth regiment, so shouldn’t I be introducing myself to my comrades?” Xiao Lin could not help get straight to the point.
Yu Mei gulped down the meat, wiping away the oil on her mouth as she laughed. “That’s completely unnecessary. At the moment, the only official members of the sixth regiment are you and I.”
Yu Mei’s face was quite uncaring as she continued to eat, “I wanted to tell you after a few days, but since you asked, I’ll just say it now. As colonists, we have special privileges, and would never be regular soldiers like the natives are. Surely you understand that.”
Xiao Lin nodded.
Yu Mei’s smile was somewhat strange. “The first to fifth regiments understand that as well, so our people are usually officers while they recruit natives as soldiers. However, the sixth regiment is different. The soldiers we recruit are directly from the privileged class. Do you understand what I mean?”