Are You Addicted? (Volume 3). The Post-Honeymoon Phase.(18+)

Episode 78

January 26th- Thursday.

Ten weeks later.

Military base in an undisclosed location.

The sound of suitcases' wheels rolling against the surface of the rugged pavement, echoed in the isolated base as seventy-five soldiers made their way toward the exit gate.

After suffering an unsparing punishment for their misbehavior, the troops, had learned their lesson all too well. They perfected their performances during training, and followed every one of the orders given to them with zero scowls, complaints, or any other type of shenanigans. No one reported late to training, no one stayed up after lights were out, and most importantly; no one used, nor thought about using any communication devices. In fact, in two months, the number of troops that passed the final test doubled itself.

Highly pleased with the impressive results of the troops' docility, the higher-ups terminated the training period in the isolated base two weeks earlier.

And so, after two and a half months, the halos of happiness returned to caper above the soldiers' heads as seventy-five of them rolled their luggage toward that attractive dreamy exit-gate they all goggled at, for the past six months.

The exchange of loud laughs, dirty jokes, and the occasional blabber, wandered through the wide-open windows of the barracks, straight into the ears of the troops that still occupied them.

The moment the good news of their early departure broke, all hundred and fifty soldiers hurried to the command center, and picked up the phones that got confiscated from them upon entering the base's gate that first day. Unfortunately for the men of war, their phones' battery ran low and drained long ago. As a result, half of the troops tarried behind to charge their phones while the other half skipped the use of the modern-day gadget; heading smartphone-less straight home.

"We are going to drink until our phones will fully charge, are you coming with us?" One of the comrades asked Bai Luo Yin as the other, Soldier Bai that is, took a final look at his suitcase before zipping it shut.

"No, I am going home."

"I thought you are charging your phone here too."

"No, it's fine. If I will just go home, it will be faster that way."

"Well, good luck man. Tell me your test results when you will get them, heh?"

Bai Luo Yin nodded with a smile. "Thank you for letting me use your phone that one time..."

"Ajjj... don't even mention it man." the comrade waved his hand in dismissiveness. "And hey, tell Gu Hai thanks for the cookies. I am not sure how we would have survived the extra ten weeks without them."

Bai Luo Yin smiled at him again. "I feel the same way." he winked at his comrade right before he waved him goodbye, and exited the joined dormitory.

After securing his luggage in the bus's cargo-hold, Bai Luo Yin grabbed a seat at the front section of the military bus near a window on the right side. The bus valiantly rose over potholes, making his bumpy way toward the Beijing's military base for two hours straight when a sedative breeze of drowsiness gently pervaded in the moving vehicle; coating the weary troops with its chloroform-like power. Knowing, a drive of four hours more was waiting for them; most of the troops allowed their heads to tumble to the side as the breeze encased them into a deep, and much-needed sleep.

High sandy mountains in different shades of brown reflected their lonely colors in Bai Luo Yin's eyes. In a place so isolated, so secluded, utterly uninhabited, without anyone to dig their fingers in their sand, or plant a tree in their ground; the mountains seemed as lonely as a single man in his fifties with no family. Overly familiar with the sour taste of loneliness due to recent events, Bai Luo Yin couldn't help but to feel a biting pinch inside as the bus drove past the gloomy mountains, having no other option but to leave them behind.