“I said, that bun in your hand is mine,” she stated.

Before her words faded, the man broke into an eerie laugh, saying, “Kid, don’t cause trouble.”

“I just want my property back.”

The man looked at her. The youth appeared extremely frail, with the army’s standard red training clothes hanging loose and long on his frame. His stature was shorter than ordinary boys, making him look like an underdeveloped child.

A child challenging him was like an ignorant puppy barking at a wolf – nothing but laughable.

“Your property?” Scarface contemptuously grabbed the meat bun and, before He Yan could react, quickly stuffed it into his mouth. The already modest-sized bun was devoured in a few bites like a beast desperately consuming its prey. After finishing, he looked provocatively at He Yan and sneered, “Yours? Who can prove it? What can you do about it?”

The food had already gone into his stomach – He Yan couldn’t exactly cut open his belly to retrieve the meat bun. After speaking, he took pleasure in watching He Yan’s helpless expression, leisurely walking away with his porridge bowl.

“What can I do about it?” He Yan muttered to herself. A moment later, she smiled slightly, turned around, and took a few quick steps toward Scarface. As he was bending down to drink his porridge, He Yan kicked at his knee joint. The man’s legs buckled, nearly causing him to kneel, though he managed to steady himself after stumbling several steps. However, his porridge spilled entirely on the ground, not a drop remaining. Seeing this, he turned around furiously, recognizing He Yan, and growled through gritted teeth, “You!”

“Me?” He Yan smiled, “I did it. Who can prove it? What can you do about it?”

The youth’s eyes sparkled with cleverness and a hint of subtle provocation, inciting anger. Scarface raised his fist to step forward.

“Hey, what are you trying to do?”

Just then, a voice cut in from the side as Hong Shan approached, along with Shi Tou. Xiao Mai, seeing He Yan’s prolonged interaction with Scar Face, had suspected trouble and sent her brother and Hong Shan over.

Hong Shan and Shi Tou didn’t appear as easy to bully as He Yan – both looked strong and sturdy. Scarface refrained from acting rashly, merely snorting coldly and glaring at He Yan before saying, “Just you wait!” Then he walked away.

His tone was venomous, full of threatening intent.

“What happened?” Hong Shan asked, “What’s going on?”

“He stole my meat bun, I spilled his porridge. Fairtrade,” He Yan explained simply. Hong Shan immediately understood and looked at He Yan, sighing, “Ah… why provoke him? You should have let it go.”

“Why should I?” He Yan asked.

During her previous military service, she had often encountered such situations. Bullying was common in army camps, with the strong preying on the weak. When she first joined, having her food stolen was routine. If not for her compassionate bunkmates sharing their portions, she might have starved to death.

While instructors could prevent open conflicts, they couldn’t stop such covert theft. Moreover, she had been too weak then – so weak that even the instructors ignored her and wouldn’t defend her rights. Only after she became stronger did people stop stealing her food. Later, when she became a commander, she strictly forbade her subordinates from stealing food or bullying the weak, implementing military punishment for such offenses.

Who would have thought that after reincarnating, she’d encounter the same situation? But this time, she was no longer that timid recruit who feared speaking up about injustices. Even if Hong Shan and Shi Tou hadn’t appeared, she was more than capable of teaching Scar Face a lesson.

“That man is Wang Ba,” Hong Shan said, “He was originally a mountain bandit before somehow joining the army. He’s the most vicious among Instructor Liang’s men. I’ve heard he’s killed countless people. Now that you’ve provoked him, he’ll hold a grudge and surely set traps for you later. My brother Shi Tou and I can’t always be by your side. If he finds an opening… your days will be difficult.”

“I couldn’t just let him steal my food and accept it. Brother Shan, believe me, if he steals once, there will be a second time. If he steals daily, how am I supposed to survive?” He Yan said, “The world shouldn’t be this unfair.”

“The world is inherently unfair,” said the usually quiet Shi Tou, looking at He Yan and shaking his head slightly, disapproving of her earlier actions. “You were too impulsive.”

“If there’s no fairness, then fight for it. If you’re too weak to fight for fairness, then become stronger,” He Yan smiled slightly. “If might make it right here, then let him come find me. I guarantee… I’ll teach him about fairness.”

The youth spoke casually, her expression calm, with a faint smile in her clear eyes. The wind blew, making her headband flutter – she looked less like a soldier and more like a young noble riding through the capital’s streets. Though one might normally dismiss this as naive fearlessness, something in those eyes made such comments die unspoken.

Was it just naive fearlessness?

Her confidence didn’t seem reckless.

Shi Tou and Hong Shan said nothing more. They accompanied He Yan to the tree where Xiao Mai, knowing about the stolen meat bun, expressed regret before awkwardly consoling her: “It’s alright, Brother He. In a few days, we can go to the mountains. I’ll make some slingshots to hunt birds, or set traps for rabbits. We’ll eat wild game then – much better than the meat in those buns!”

He Yan laughed and agreed. After finishing her porridge, she rested against the tree trunk with her hands behind her head, pretending to doze.

The sun shone lazily, with rare moments of coolness under the tree. She closed her eyes, mind wandering.

While losing a meat bun was regrettable, it wasn’t worth dwelling on. During actual military campaigns, when supply lines stretched thin during siege defenses, forgot meat buns or vegetable porridge – sometimes they had to eat tree bark and roots. In the worst cases, she had even eaten kaolin clay, enduring stomach pain while desperately defending their position.

Compared to those times, this was quite fortunate.

However… as the wind brushed her cheeks, He Yan smiled. If her guess was correct, in at most five days, skills training would begin. Some would be assigned as cooking soldiers. With her current stamina, she might qualify for skills training, but how could she demonstrate her value in the shortest time possible and prove herself worthy of the vanguard unit?

That was the question.