As they looked at each other, Number Three said, "It's not impossible. After all, Young Master Jun's movements are limited and his skills are weaker. If Shi Jin takes Young Master Jun with him and they end up fighting against us, Young Master Jun may not be able to fight back."

Number Two lit a cigarette and leaned against the table, saying, "Don't underestimate Young Master Jun. When we went for firearms training, he beat us many times."

Number Three and Number Five were taken aback by his words. They remembered the distant past when Lian Jun was still healthy and their faces darkened. But then they thought of Lian Jun's recent health check results and their expressions softened.

It's okay, Young Master Jun will recover soon and the future will be even brighter than the past, they thought.

Five minutes into the battle, Shi Jin and Number One met at a narrow corner of a civilian house. Shi Jin quickly dodged into the house to hide, while Number One and Number Nine followed closely, blocking the front and back doors.

"Oh no, Shi Jin is trapped," frowned Number Two.

"Young Master Jun is on the move," suddenly spoke Number Three. Number Two quickly looked at the monitor showing the location of Young Master Jun and the green dot representing him, and indeed saw Young Master Jun moving at a surprisingly fast speed.

Number Five expressed some concern, "Is it okay for Young Master Jun to run around like that?"

Number Two reassured them, "It should be fine. If there's any problem, Uncle Long will intervene in time." He gestured towards another viewing room in the direction of Uncle Long.

The battle inside the map was still raging on, and Shi Jin began to play hide-and-seek in a civilian house, looking like he was struggling to survive. Number One and Number Nine were extremely cautious, and they didn't dare to approach Shi Jin recklessly. They repeatedly tried to force him out from behind cover.

Finally, after a few more minutes, Shi Jin's range of movement became smaller and smaller under the pressure of Number One and Number Nine, and he had no choice but to run out of the house. Number One seized the opportunity and was about to shoot Shi Jin when a sudden gust of wind hit him from behind, causing his hat to be knocked off and his sensor to sound, resulting in his elimination.

Number One was stunned for a moment, put down his gun and stood up straight, looking towards Lian Jun who had just walked out from around the corner. He took off his hat and asked, "Young Master Jun, how did you break through Number Nine's defense and hide there?"

Drip, drip. On the other side, Number Nine was also eliminated by a sudden sneak attack at the same time. "Thanks to Shi Jin," Lian Jun replied, his tone filled with pride. "He did a great job of distracting you all, and you were all focused on him, paying too much attention to details, which created a blind spot that I took advantage of."

Number One immediately realized where he had lost when he remembered Shi Jin's annoying behavior of moving around in a small area earlier, and he regretfully tapped his forehead.

In the observation room, Number Two and the others were all stunned. In fact, before Number One was shot, they all thought that Number One and Number Nine were sure to win. After all, even if Lian Jun rushed to rescue Shi Jin later, the two of them would most likely not be able to break through the blockade and encirclement of Number One and Number Nine.

To their surprise, instead of hiding and observing the situation like they thought he would, Lian Jun charged straight towards the house. With his not-so-agile movements, he somehow knew exactly where Number Nine and Number One were located. Seizing the opportunity, he tricked Number Nine and snuck behind Number One. Without hesitation, he aimed at Number One's position and, at the exact moment when Number One poked his head out, Lian Jun eliminated him with a single shot.

This gave Shi Jin a chance to catch his breath and retaliate against Number Nine, who was chasing him from another direction. From a third-person perspective, everything was crystal clear. The reason why Lian Jun and Shi Jin could win the battle was all thanks to Shi Jin's perfectly timed retreat and Lian Jun's unexpected sneak attack, as well as their seamless cooperation. And how did Lian Jun manage to deceive Number Nine and sneak up behind him?

Number Three reached out and rewound the scene of Lian Jun approaching the civilian house, playing it back in slow motion. In the scene, Lian Jun approached the civilian house at a not-so-fast speed and slanted into the side of the house.

Number Nine, who was standing in a position where he could see Lian Jun, didn't pay attention to him. Yes, he didn't pay attention because after Lian Jun approached the battlefield, he quickly adjusted his state, imitated Number One's behavior and footsteps, and made Number Nine mistake him for Number One who ran over.

The real Number One was actually a little ahead of Lian Jun, heading towards the enemy's encirclement. Despite his usual sharpness, he didn't notice that an "enemy" had sneaked up behind him.

Cooperation between familiar people often relies on distinguishing between friend and foe through footsteps, breath, and behavior habits. The scene of Lian Jun disguising himself as Number One and deceiving Number Nine to infiltrate the encirclement was truly spine-chilling to those who frequently worked with Number Nine.

"Lian Jun knows us too well," Number Two said, taking a hard drag on his cigarette. "I think Number Nine will have nightmares tonight." It was a strange feeling to have unknowingly sent the "enemy" behind their comrades. But oh, how he wanted to play against Lian Jun.

He stole a wary glance at Number Three and Number Five, and began to scheme - Number One and Number Nine had just played a game, so it should be his turn next. After fifteen minutes, Number Two was left alone in the observation room, watching the two sides of the field, already arranged in a three-on-three formation.

He was so angry that he slammed the table and exclaimed, "What do you mean by balancing the strength and forcing Number Nine to stay on the battlefield? You guys who have been contaminated by the Tarantula actually teamed up to exclude me!"

On the field, Shi Jin was happily helping Lian Jun with his protective gear and asked, "How are we going to play this time?"

Lian Jun looked at his enthusiastic appearance, casually touched his leg, and glanced at the newly joined Number Three. He said, "Number One and Number Five are both steady and cautious, and Number Nine is good at collecting information. They are not people who will take risks easily. They will most likely choose positional warfare. So, we will do the opposite and play guerrilla warfare against them."

"I love guerrilla warfare!" Shi Jin became even more excited when he heard this and asked, "Should we start by analyzing the enemy's personality and behavior patterns?"

Lian Jun touched his face and smiled in response.

Number Three shrank into the corner, listening as Lian Jun pointed out the weaknesses of Number One and his companions one by one. He deeply understood one thing in his heart - it would not end well for anyone who was an enemy of Lian Jun, who knew them so well and wanted to make his lover happy.

......

Shi Jin had a very happy birthday that year. Lian Jun leaned against the bedside, watching him even when he was asleep and couldn't help but smile. He gently touched his face and bent down to kiss his forehead.

Next year, he should be able to accompany Shi Jin to play anything he wants to play.

"Happy birthday," he whispered, turning off the bedside lamp.

......

Before returning to school on Sunday, Shi Jin received a birthday gift from Lu Shan - a large box that was almost half his height.

Everyone gathered around to open the box, but upon seeing the various packaging boxes piled up inside like garbage, they fell silent. It was no surprise that Lu Shan was still so "carefree" when it came to gift-giving.

"Let's clear out the stuff," Lian Jun ordered.

Everyone snapped out of their daze, and Number Two was the first to reach into the box. He picked up a brightly colored box and shook it, saying, "Specialty products from G Province and Treasure Island. When did Lu Shan become such an ordinary middle-aged aunt? She actually sent this."

Number Nine also picked up a box and said, "The flagship version of the game console produced by XX Company, and there are several of them. Shi Jin, did you tell Senior Lu that you like games?"

Shi Jin, who only played mahjong, silently shook his head. "Is this to share the joy of gaming with friends?"

Number Two also leaned over to take a look at the game console, but quickly lost interest and returned to counting the items in the box. "A safety lock, custom tea set, ordinary red envelopes with cash, red envelopes with checks, XX basketball star's signed sneakers, XX singer's commemorative album, a bunch of game discs... Did she prepare all the money and things that children of this age might like and send them over to Shi Jin? Wait, what is this?"

He took out an exquisitely packaged rectangular wooden box from the bottom of the box. Without seeing the name of the product on it, he touched it curiously and, with Shi Jin's permission, opened the box.

A set of mahjong tiles made of white jade was revealed.

Everyone: "..."

"Wow, this is a really thoughtful gift from the leader of Tarantula," exclaimed Number Two as he closed the box and handed it over to Shi Jin. "You can keep it as a family heirloom. If I'm not mistaken, the patterns and characters on the plaque seem to have been custom-made by a specialist."

Shi Jin was speechless. This gift was truly sincere.

He turned to look at Lian Jun, silently asking for his opinion.

Lian Jun took his hand and reassured him, "Take it. I'll thank Aunt Lu on your behalf."

Shi Jin nodded and took the box, placing it carefully to the side.

......

Shi Jin returned to school with a pile of gifts and a small birthday cake that he had nowhere to put. He called Liu Yong and Luo Donghao over to share the cake with him and then forced a bunch of gifts that he didn't need onto them.

He thought the birthday gift frenzy was over for the year, but little did he know that it was just the beginning of a nightmare. Starting from Monday, he was repeatedly called out by the school gate security guard to collect a package.

The first package was from Xiang Aoting. He couldn't come in person to celebrate with Shi Jin because he was busy with Air Force procedures, so he sent the gift through a courier. It was a set of several discontinued gun models, including a customized mini gun model for Shi Jin's personal use, which he loved.

Because it was a gun model, the package was inspected again by the security personnel at the guardhouse to ensure it was safe before being allowed through the school gate. Only then was Shi Jin allowed to take it, causing a bit of a stir at the gate.

At the time, although Shi Jin felt a bit annoyed by being surrounded by people, he was still pleasantly surprised. Among his brothers, he had the best impression of Xiang Aoting, so receiving his birthday wishes made him very happy.

But then, in the afternoon, when he was called out by the gatekeeper again and faced with more than ten packages sent by Fei Yujing from abroad, he couldn't feel happy at all.

The delivery guy had a loud voice and said while organizing the list, "I advise you to find a small cart. All of these packages are for you, and you can't carry them all empty-handed. Plus, there's a box full of books that's really heavy and will tire you out."

Shi Jin: "..."