Even though the military had given the recruits half the day off to rest and recover the next day, the morning formation, roll call, and the routine of shouting the Coalition’s motto to raise morale couldn’t be skipped.

As always, the recruits lined up on the training ground, called out their numbers, and shouted the Coalition’s motto. The window facing the field on the fourth floor of an old building not far from the training ground showed no sign of movement.

The instructor watched for a moment, then looked away and called out loudly, “You’re too quiet! Even a chicken’s louder than you! The man’s not awake yet!”

This was a tradition at the Ninth Army’s combat training base. Even this half-classical, half-colloquial quip was a fixed part of the routine[1], though no one knew which generation of soldiers had first come up with it.

The recruits snapped to attention in perfect unison, their uniforms rustling as they saluted and repeated at the top of their lungs, “For all who still draw breath, we fight with no retreat, standing firm against the heavens!”

This time, the window was pushed open.

Shen Fengting—the retired former army commander of the Ninth Army whom Han Qingyu had met once before and who tried to play matchmaker for him—stood at the window in a gray thermal undershirt and long underwear, his white hair...