Chapter 35: Old Dog Head

"You three, you'd better be well-hidden!" Vulture shouted, as if trying to scare them out of their cover.

Su Yang listened to Vulture's tone, which sounded as if he had everything under control, and felt a surge of tension. He had done his best to hide, but Vulture was a sniper from the Special Forces; he wasn't sure if his concealment would hold up.

"Watch closely, all of you, and see how I find these three."

Vulture handed his binoculars to Old Pang, climbed a tree to survey the surroundings, and then leapt down, heading straight toward a small mound of dirt.

"Take a guess, is there anyone in here?" Vulture asked, stomping firmly on the mound twice.

The trainees looked at each other, but no one answered. Vulture didn't seem to mind; instead, he said with a cunning smirk, "Any of you feeling the urge to pee? Come over here and let it out."

As soon as he spoke, the mound, covered by fallen leaves, began to stir.

"No, no, no! I'll come out, okay? Don't you dare pee!"

After Vulture stepped aside, Su Yang, who was still hidden nearby, saw Zhong Huatao crawling out of the mound. It turned out the guy had dug a hole just big enough for a person to fit inside.

"Hahahaha!" The sight of Zhong Huatao in his disheveled state nearly made everyone collapse with laughter.

Vulture then tracked down the guy from the Third Squad, who hadn't even bothered to hide properly; he had simply climbed to the top of a large tree and used a bird's nest to block the line of sight from the ground.

"There's still Su Yang!" Squad Leader Pang remarked.

Hearing this, Su Yang held his breath, not daring to move an inch. Vulture circled the area, but still couldn't find him. He took back the binoculars, observed the terrain meticulously, and eventually fixed his gaze in one direction.

"Old Pang, five o'clock, one hundred meters away, between the two pine trees."

Vulture lowered the binoculars and pinpointed Su Yang's exact location.

"Vulture, are you sure Su Yang is there?" Old Pang asked, puzzled. It looked perfectly flat; it didn't seem like a place anyone could hide.

"Go and see for yourself," Vulture said with certainty.

Watching Old Pang walk toward him, Su Yang sighed. He had thought he was well-hidden, but he had been found after all.

He stood up. "Report! I would like to know how you found me?"

Vulture walked over, picked up a dried leaf from beside Su Yang, and handed it to him. "For a novice, knowing how to use an opponent's psychology to find a hiding spot is already way beyond my expectations."

"But you still found me," Su Yang said, feeling disheartened.

"That's because you lack real combat experience. You don't know that no soldier who has actually survived the battlefield strictly adheres to textbooks. Most of those who do are already dead."

Vulture's words carried the chilling scent of real bloodshed.

"What do you mean?" Su Yang asked.

"On the battlefield, no one follows the rules learned in training because the environment is constantly changing. An excellent scout must learn to document and observe the details of their surroundings, because those subtle changes require different responses."

Vulture pointed to the leaf he had given Su Yang. "Look at this. The top leaf and the ones underneath have different moisture levels, which creates different shades of color. You disturbed them but didn't put them back correctly. The surface leaves you used to cover yourself were clearly tampered with."

Su Yang suddenly understood what he had missed. He sighed, acknowledging that this was the hallmark of an elite Langya sniper with real combat experience—a tiny, overlooked detail was all it took to expose him. It seemed he still had a lot to learn.

...

On the main boulevard of the base, a military green off-road vehicle drove in from outside. Its license plate was particularly conspicuous, as it belonged to the Military District.

Under the sidelong glances of the trainees on the roadside, the vehicle drove toward the training ground and stopped right next to the members of the Ninth Squad, who were busy cleaning the camp.

Just as they were about to grumble, a tall, burly officer stepped out from the driver's seat.

"Damn, two stripes and one star! Attention, sir!"

Seeing the two bars and one star on the officer's service uniform, the men of the Ninth Squad immediately stood at attention and saluted loudly.

"Greetings. Could you tell me where the Chief Instructor's office is?" The officer's voice was resonant and full of energy.

"Dog-Head Gao!" Su Yang recognized the man instantly, though he only dared to exclaim it in his heart.

"Sir, our Chief Instructor's office is on the third floor of the building across the way. Would you like me to take you there?" Xiao Fei, as the squad leader, naturally acted as the representative.

"No need, thank you. I'll head over there myself!"

Gao Dazhuang swept his gaze over Su Yang, his eyes lingering on his shoulder boards. He raised an eyebrow and asked, "A private? What's your name!"

"Report, sir! My name is Su Yang, from the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company of the Great Achievement Regiment!"

"So you're Su Yang! Old Miao's soldier."

Gao Dazhuang muttered thoughtfully, then walked toward the building across the way without another word.

"Su Yang, do you know that officer?" Zhong Huatao asked curiously after Gao Dazhuang had walked away.

"No!" Su Yang shook his head.

"Then how did he know your name?" Xiao Fei asked as well.

"I have no idea." Su Yang was just as confused. He was only a private, not a college-educated soldier like Zhuang Yan. Even if he had some talent, it shouldn't have been enough for the legendary "Dog-Head Gao" to know who he was.

...

In Vulture's office, Vulture pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it, and took a deep drag. He looked at Gao Dazhuang, who was sitting across from him, and asked with curiosity, "Wild Wolf, what brings you here so suddenly?"

Gao Dazhuang placed his officer's cap on the table and took a sip of tea. "The military district leadership is inspecting units under the B Group Army. I was naturally tapped to accompany them. Since I had some time today, I decided to come and see you."

Vulture looked completely unconvinced. "Cut the crap. You, Wild Wolf, don't just come to see me for no reason. It's not like I'm not going back to Langya. You're here to check out the soldiers I mentioned, aren't you?"

Gao Dazhuang didn't look up. "You know, so why ask? I just ran into that private you mentioned! Is he really that good?"

Vulture smiled. "He suits my taste. He's good at thinking, his emotions are stable, he has a combat mindset, and he has a knack for shooting. He's a good seed."

"Good shooting talent? How does he compare to you?" Gao Dazhuang looked slightly moved. He knew Vulture's capabilities—he was a "Mingdi" marksman of Langya. If Vulture said someone had talent, they probably really did.

"There's shooting training in a while. You can come and watch for yourself."

Vulture didn't go into details, leaving it to Gao Dazhuang to see for himself; after all, seeing is believing.