Chapter 34: Someone Has Been Waiting for You for a Long Time

Afterwards, amidst the envious and astonished gazes of the crowd, Zhou Chu took out two Purification Stones and handed them to Long Aofei.

Long Aofei took them and passed them to an officer accompanying him.

Immediately following, he waved his hand, and that officer hurried over, respectfully handing over a small red box.

"Zhou Chu, this is the honor you deserve! Accept it; no matter where you are in the future, you will always be a good soldier of my Exorcism Army!"

As he spoke, Long Aofei personally opened the small box, revealing the gleaming C-Grade Honor Medal inside.

The moment Zhou Chu saw the medal, his heart could not help but stir.

The Exorcism Army fights on the front lines of the Calamity, and military merit and honor are the most important things.

These two things are often closely tied to the level of one's military rank.

Therefore, in the Exorcism Army, whether one can obtain a higher Honor Medal is the lofty wish and goal of many Exorcism Army members.

The classification of Honor Medals is basically the same as that of Soul Professions, from low to high: F-Grade Recruit, D-Grade Private, C-Grade Sergeant, Lieutenant, A-Grade Field Officer, S-Grade General, SS-Grade Commander, SSS-Grade Grand Commander.

Anyone who obtains the corresponding Honor Medal, regardless of whether they were previously a member of the Exorcism Army, will not only receive the corresponding rank of military merit but will even be considered to have the corresponding military rank.

That is to say, after Zhou Chu obtained the C-Grade Honor Medal, his military rank in the Exorcism Army leaped from a recruit to a sergeant.

Being promoted two levels at once can be considered a rare occurrence in the history of the Exorcism Army.

Not to mention, Zhou Chu was not even a formal recruit of the Exorcism Army; at best, he was just a handyman.

If it weren't for Zhou Chu's outstanding performance in this operation, he might never have obtained the qualifications to become a formal recruit.

Because there is a clear regulation in the Exorcism Army that those below an E-Grade Soul Profession are not qualified to join combat units.

If it weren't for the extreme shortage of personnel in the army recently, Zhou Chu wouldn't even have had the chance to do odd jobs in the medical team and would have been repatriated long ago.

Yet this high school student, who had bound a bottom-tier Soul Profession, wiped out two Demon Caves in less than four hours.

This was already a height that all the formal members present found difficult to reach.

As for those who had been in the Exorcism Army for a year or two, most of them were still stuck at the recruit stage, and only a very small number who had made outstanding contributions had been promoted to private.

Even those veterans who had been struggling and risking their lives in the Exorcism Army for several years had only reached the sergeant level.

Seeing Zhou Chu reach the top in almost a single step, with a military rank higher than theirs, the bitterness in their hearts was beyond words.

Where there is envy, there must be jealousy.

There were plenty of people with unbalanced hearts.

Consequently, soon someone below began to mutter with dissatisfaction.

"Damn it! A yellow-haired kid who bound an F-rank Soul Profession can receive such an honor. Why do I always feel like I've just been coasting in the army all this time?"

"Sigh, it really is true that comparing people to others is infuriating. Who told him to have someone backing him?"

"Exactly, relying on the help of a superior behind him to get the honor, he surely has no real ability, right?"

"An honor obtained by sponging off others is simply not worthy of entering the Exorcism Army."

"A high school graduate, not honestly preparing for the College Entrance Exam, what is he doing causing trouble on the front lines? And he even snatched the credit that should have belonged to us!"

"..."

Hearing these mutterings, Zhou Chu's face appeared very calm instead.

He knew that his rapid promotion would inevitably cause dissatisfaction among some people, and this was understandable.

In fact, in Zhou Chu's heart, he hadn't thought about earning much honor in the Exorcism Army during this trip to the front lines.

The main purpose was to increase his level.

Now that he had already reached the 10th Level, the next step was to undergo the First Turn; the purpose of this Calamity Front trip had already been achieved.

So, facing these people's discussions, he wouldn't pay them any mind.

There was no reason to refuse the reward he deserved just because of these people's psychological imbalance.

Besides, so what if I sponge off others?

I'm sponging off my God-level servant, what business is it of yours?

If you can't eat the grapes, you call them sour! Let you be sour to death!

Zhou Chu couldn't be bothered to argue with these people; after getting the reward he deserved, he had to hurry back for his First Turn.

Long Aofei also heard these voices, his face suddenly sank, and he shouted sternly: "All of you, shut up! Do you think wiping out two Demon Caves is such an easy thing to do?"

"Zhou Chu was able to do it, that is his ability! In the Exorcism Army, we only look at ability and contribution!"

Lin Yue'er also stood up to speak for Zhou Chu: "Everyone, don't talk about Zhou Chu like that. At Demon Cave No. 55, our medical team once faced huge danger; if it hadn't been for Zhou Chu stepping in to control those Corpse Demons, we would have died long ago."

Long Aofei nodded and said to Zhou Chu: "Little Zhou, this is what you deserve. You must remember, your ability is for fighting the Calamity and protecting the people, not for arguing about right and wrong with these people."

Zhou Chu nodded and gave a grateful smile to Long Aofei and Lin Yue'er.

Seeing such discordant voices appear in the team, Jia Mengshan also frowned and said loudly: "Stop discussing this blindly! Zhou Chu will be a member of my Exorcism Army from now on, and his performance is worth our pride."

"If you have the spare time to be jealous, you'd be better off thinking about how to improve your own abilities and contribute more to the Exorcism Army!"

Under Jia Mengshan's reprimand, those dissatisfied voices gradually quieted down.

But those who looked at Zhou Chu still had jealousy and unfriendliness in their eyes.

But that didn't matter.

He was someone who would have a bigger stage in the future; how could he look up to a small Scout Team 1 of the Exorcism Army?

"Captain Jia, I think I'd better go back and prepare for the College Entrance Exam, so I won't be able to work under you."

Zhou Chu then said to Jia Mengshan with a smile.

Jia Mengshan patted Zhou Chu's shoulder with some reluctance and said with a smile: "Good, students should prioritize their studies. Leave the fighting and killing on the front lines to us."

"If you have holidays in the future, my Scout Team 1's reserve team is always welcome to have you!"

Before boarding the plane, Long Aofei didn't forget to add a word of advice: "Little Zhou, if you change your mind, you can come to the Didu Demon Exorcism Army Headquarters to find me. As long as I say the word, I can recruit you into the National Defense University at any time."

"Don't forget, your military merit is being kept here for you."

"I understand, Chief."

"Goodbye, Chief!"

"Goodbye!"

Accompanied by the loud roar of the propellers, the helicopter slowly rose into the air and finally disappeared into the night.

Just then, Jia Mengshan walked over again and said to Zhou Chu with a smile, "Right, I haven't had a chance to tell you until now, but someone has been waiting for you for a long time!"

"Waiting for me? Who?" Zhou Chu couldn't help but be taken aback.

"Her name is He Muxue, and she claims to be your fiancée," Jia Mengshan said immediately after.