"What's going on?"
Everyone turned their eyes toward Liulan. Liulan looked down at the wristband, which was flashing red incessantly, his expression one of confusion.
Nanwei, who had never encountered such a situation either, looked surprised. He strode over to Liulan in two quick steps to inspect the device. Only then did the others snap out of their daze.
"What's happening? Is the wristband broken?" Xie Ti asked, bewildered.
"These are military-grade wristbands. They shouldn't break that easily, should they?" Gong Yu added, sounding skeptical.
Lü Shi and Zhu Yiyi exchanged glances, both seeing an underlying sense of unease in the other's eyes. Du Jinfeng hesitated before saying, "Is it safe? Maybe we should take it off first?"
Hearing this, Liulan fiddled with it for a moment. Finding nothing obviously wrong, he decided to remove it just in case. The moment the wristband left his wrist, it returned to a steady state. Nanwei checked it over and over but couldn't draw any firm conclusions, so he finally said, "The base training system was updated recently, and the wristband's evaluation parameters were adjusted accordingly. Perhaps there was a glitch during the process."
Unlike the others, who were suspicious or worried, Bailin stood with his arms crossed and scoffed. "We're all fine, but his is glitching? I think he’s just too weak, and the wristband can't give a rating lower than 'entry-level,' so it's throwing an error."
Once they entered the camp, they were all comrades-in-arms. Bailin’s attitude was clearly inappropriate. Nanwei frowned, intending to reprimand him, but Liulan spoke first.
"Instructor, are there any other wristbands available for replacement?"
"The wristbands were distributed by the equipment team based on the number of new recruits; there are no spares," Nanwei explained helplessly.
According to base protocol, wristbands are checked repeatedly before issuance, making sudden malfunctions once in a soldier's hands highly unlikely. The most probable explanation was that Liulan failed to meet the minimum requirements for enlistment. Under the current circumstances, sending him away from the base as per regulations would be the safest course of action.
Though Nanwei had already reached a conclusion in his mind, he chose not to make a final judgment just yet to ensure fairness. "I’ll pull the records to verify," he said.
Bailin was absolutely certain that Liulan lacked the qualifications to enlist. "Instructor, the wristband already gave an error. I don't think there's any need to go through the trouble; it’s just a waste of everyone's time," he insisted.
Bailin made no effort to hide his malice toward Liulan, which even provoked Xie Ti—who hadn't wanted to stir up trouble—to speak up in his defense. "The wristband just glitched; it didn't say he was unqualified."
Bailin laughed at Xie Ti, looking at him as if he were an idiot. "What, do you want the wristband to literally speak up and tell him to get out?"
Seeing that the situation was spiraling out of control, the Assistant Director standing next to Director Zhang couldn't help but ask, "Director Zhang, shouldn't we step in?"
The live stream chat was already in an uproar over their argument, and the person in charge of the broadcast was frantic.
Director Zhang waved a hand. "It’s a variety show—conflict makes for good content. Don't worry, I believe they can handle it themselves."
Seeing that Director Zhang really had no intention of intervening, the Assistant Director assumed they would have to wait for Nanwei to pull the files. To his surprise, Liulan took action before that could happen.
Liulan clicked his tongue, walked over to stand beside Xie Ti, and locked eyes with Bailin. There wasn't a trace of panic in Liulan’s eyes, as if he hadn't even cared about the situation until Xie Ti stood up for him. He possessed a sense of quiet confidence, the origin of which no one could fathom.
He lifted his chin slightly. Despite being shorter than Bailin, he somehow gave off an air of superiority. He looked at Bailin as if he were some street hoodlum, his light gaze brimming with arrogance. Liulan didn't resort to insults or any discourteous behavior, standing in sharp contrast to Bailin, who was losing his composure by trying so desperately to cause trouble.
Having no interest in wasting his breath on Bailin, Liulan turned to Nanwei. "Instructor Nanwei, I believe my abilities exceed the testing range of this wristband. I request a replacement."
Liulan spoke with such calm and frankness that it sounded like a perfectly reasonable request. As expected, the live stream chat exploded with sarcasm and mockery, criticizing him for his lack of self-awareness.
"Why don't you just ask for a general's rank while you're at it?" Bailin sneered, trying to regain his footing.
Liulan didn't even acknowledge him, waiting only for Nanwei's reply. Hearing Bailin’s remark, Nanwei seemed to recall something. He reached into his pocket, rummaged for a moment, pulled out a different wristband, and handed it to Liulan.