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Chapter 21 - Computers without the Internet will lose their souls!

Pickets don’t observe rest days. Whether it’s a day off or regular training time, as long as you’re in the camp, you stay prepared.

Chen Ming’s group was cautious, hiding or altering their route when encountering pickets. If unavoidable, they would tidy up, fasten buttons and zippers, line up, and briskly pass the picket post.

Though troublesome, it was an unavoidable solution. Pickets, the ‘enemies’ of all soldiers, would report rule violations without mercy, leading to criticism and intense training if caught. Chen Ming’s squad leader would remark, “Seems like we need more training.”

The veterans, either clever or fierce, were challenging to catch. Some, with good fitness, would escape, even turning it into a marathon. Chen Ming’s group reached the military activity room safely.

The so-called activity room was more like an activity building, offering a variety of facilities—table tennis, indoor basketball, swimming, and even indoor karaoke. The recruits marveled at these options, realizing the army had more than just monotonous training.

“Once I’m a veteran, I’ll come here to play on every day off!” Declared Yu Jun, impressed by the facilities. Chen Ming’s group reached the computer room on the fourth floor.

While the tempting facilities below attracted them, today’s goal was gaming. The computer room’s duty personnel hadn’t arrived yet, and the unlocked doors hinted at the camp’s secure environment.

The neatly arranged computers, all Tsinghua Tongfang, resembled a school computer lab. No high-end peripherals, just cheap black keyboards and mice. Chen Ming and his team quickly found adjacent seats, reminiscent of a team outing to an internet cafe. Choosing a corner seat, Chen Ming sat beside the gaming enthusiast, He Dong.

Turning on the computer, He Dong entered the desktop after the familiar loading screen. There was no password or login account, and the wallpapers displayed various emerald-green landscape pictures. The computer had limited software, and He Dong navigated with the mouse, realizing that even QQ was missing, not to mention any games.

Attempting to open the browser for a download, the homepage wasn’t Sogou or Baidu but a large red background with a waving red flag, leading to military websites featuring reports, news, and various military activities. Like a school computer room, the host was connected to the army’s internal network, allowing only browsing military-related webpages.

Undeterred, He Dong searched for QQ but couldn’t find it. Entering other URLs resulted in 404 errors or inaccessible pages, some displaying blank white screens.

“Ah?!” He Dong’s face reflected disappointment; his hope had turned into despair. “Are you kidding me?”

On the other end, Yu Jun shared He Dong’s frustration, encountering the same issues.

Chen Ming explained, “These computers are restricted, connecting only to the military’s internal network. Forget about QQ or downloading games. Check if there’s Spider Solitaire or something in the games section to pass the time.”

Chen Ming felt slightly disappointed, too, as the system hinted at more rewarding experiences with challenging games. Playing games like Spider Solitaire might earn sign-in rewards, but they could be useless to him.

Chen Ming and the group sat in front of the computers like deflated balloons, realizing they lacked internet access, making them dull and uninteresting.

“If you don’t leave, forget it,” He Xue suggested. “I can’t play anyway.”

Chen Ming tried to lift spirits, “Don’t rush. Let me see if there are any stand-alone games to play.”

Although the rewards for these games might not be great, Chen Ming thought, “Small gains are better than nothing.”

Skeptical, He Dong asked, “Do you really want to play Spider Solitaire or Minesweeper?”

Chen Ming nodded, “That’s fun too.”

Everyone internally rolled their eyes at Chen Ming’s enthusiasm for even simple games, realizing that he found joy in any game, no matter how basic.