Chapter 7: The Especially Foolish One (4k)

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“During the Jinggangshan period, this company was renowned as the elite vanguard unit.”

“They have a glorious record in every battle in the history of the Republic.”

Listening to Zheng Sanpao’s proud words and watching the troops marching in perfect step, Su Yang couldn’t help but admit that the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company was truly impressive.

He had only skimmed the surface on television before, but now, being here in person, he felt the fierce spirit that the reconnaissance company exuded—it was truly exhilarating.

Just as Su Yang was lost in thought, an unpleasant voice cut through the air.

“If you get assigned to this company, you’re as good as dead. Never join the reconnaissance company.”

Zhuang Yan’s voice wasn’t loud but it drew everyone’s attention.

Upon hearing this, besides Su Yang and Zheng Sanpao, the other new recruits turned to look, curious about what Zhuang Yan had to say.

“What are you two talking about?” Zheng Sanpao frowned and looked at Zhuang Yan.

Su Yang found Zhuang Yan rather annoying at times—a troublemaker who didn’t know when to keep quiet.

Any soldier with a strong sense of honor would be furious hearing such words.

The company they had all struggled to get into was dismissed as worthless? And he even said, “I wouldn’t go in even if I had to die.”

Of course, Su Yang understood that for those just looking to coast through, the elite company wasn’t a good place. Places that no one cared about, like the remote Grassland Squad Five, were heaven for such soldiers.

Little training, few assessments, and high allowances.

Unfortunately, Su Yang wasn’t that kind of person. He had a strong sense of honor and wanted to join the toughest company. So hearing such words again was grating on his ears.

“Report, nothing was said!” Xiwa quickly shut his mouth, having learned not to speak rashly after some time in training.

“Are you all hoping to join this unit?” Zheng Sanpao assumed the new recruits were interested and said seriously, “Let me tell you!”

“Only the best recruits can enter the reconnaissance company, and only the best scouts can remain in the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company!”

Zheng Sanpao’s powerful voice filled each word with supreme honor. Except for Zhuang Yan and Su Yang, everyone else was inspired and stared at the passing troops.

Zheng Sanpao glanced at the indifferent Zhuang Yan, paused, then looked at the calm Su Yang and asked, “Su Yang, do you have the confidence to be the best recruit? I see you training extra every day; you must want to join the best company, right?”

He didn’t ask Zhuang Yan, who often defied him, but Su Yang, knowing he was ambitious and would give a satisfactory answer.

Su Yang didn’t disappoint. He replied loudly, “Report, I am confident. I aim to be the most outstanding soldier.”

“Good, very good. Keep it up—I hope to see you enter the reconnaissance company one day!” Zheng Sanpao clicked his tongue with satisfaction, then looked at the others, “Of course, the rest of you have the same chance. If you want to join the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company, train hard!”

He glanced again at Zhuang Yan, who merely shrugged indifferently.

“Report!” Feeling the atmosphere, Xiwa straightened and boldly asked the question on his mind.

Zheng Sanpao gave his approval.

Unfortunately, when Xiwa mentioned “special forces,” Zheng Sanpao fell silent, and the result was five kilometers of cross-country running.

After the run, back in the dorm, Su Yang fetched a basin and cold water to wash his socks—now foul-smelling.

Before joining the army, he never had athlete’s foot and changed socks regularly. But over time, he had given up washing his socks nightly.

Training made him sweat profusely every day, and the socks naturally absorbed the smell.

With several roommates suffering from athlete’s foot, the stench had become normal.

So even in winter, he was too lazy to wash daily.

Rubbing his hands, Su Yang gently submerged them and the socks in the basin and began washing.

Thanks to daily cold water face washes and cold showers, his body had adapted to the icy water.

No frostbite yet, which made him think his health was pretty good.

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In fact, three of his roommates already had frostbite covering their hands, with itchy, pus-filled wounds that scared him.

After washing his socks and wiping the grime off his face, Su Yang returned to the dorm to hear Xiwa talking to Zhuang Yan.

“Xiao Zhuang, do you think the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company the squad leader mentioned is really special forces?”

Xiwa’s mind was full of the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company Zheng Sanpao had mentioned during training.

“Why ask? Do you really want to go there? I already told you, better not go, or you’re as good as dead,” Zhuang Yan said disdainfully upon seeing Su Yang enter.

“Why? I see special forces in movies as the toughest units. Right, squad vice-leader, you said you want to join too,” Xiwa said, puzzled by Zhuang Yan’s attitude, then quickly spoke to Su Yang after he came in.

Just days ago, the class vice-leader was elected by democratic vote. Ambitious and capable Su Yang naturally won.

As for Zhuang Yan, who often defied the squad leader and got everyone punished, the new recruits neither ostracized him nor voted for him.

Zhuang Yan didn’t care, openly asking not to be voted for.

“Don’t listen to Zhuang Yan’s nonsense. The Night Tiger isn’t that scary. It’s just an elite unit with tough training. Xiwa, if you want to go, I support you—you’re physically fit and have a chance,” Su Yang explained, nodding.

Then he looked at Zhuang Yan with disapproval. “Zhuang Yan, stop spreading that negative talk. If you don’t want to go, don’t influence others.”

Zhuang Yan scoffed, “I’m not saying it to say—what’s the point of going to a company where you work yourself to death every day? Only fools would go.”

“Remember what you said today, Zhuang Yan—only fools go,” Su Yang laughed.

He wasn’t interested in whether Zhuang Yan wanted to go; after all, Zhuang Yan, a college graduate, knew what he thought.

Although they would part ways after three months, the fact they spent their recruit days together was fate.

So Su Yang gave some advice from their perspective.

Because of his knowledge gap, he could help make their paths smoother.

Even for those just wanting to finish their service and leave, he gave advice.

Not everyone, like him, wanted to stay and serve diligently.

After all, morality restrains oneself, not others.

He understood this.

He didn’t take Zhuang Yan’s words to heart; boomerangs never miss those who throw them.

There would be plenty of chances to ask Zhuang Yan how he viewed today’s Su Yang.

“Ridiculous,” Zhuang Yan was at a loss for words to Su Yang’s remarks.

“Vice-leader, do you know what special forces are?” Xiwa, seeing Zhuang Yan silent, turned to Su Yang, unwilling to give up on the question.

“The Night Tiger is just the toughest reconnaissance company, probably not special forces yet. As for special forces…”

“They’re units that endure extreme hardship, train exceptionally hard, fight fiercely, sacrifice selflessly, and have great courage,” Su Yang said seriously.

“Really? So they’re super powerful! I wish I could join,” Xiwa said hopefully.

“Don’t dream, Xiwa. Only fools get in, and the ones who get in must be pretty dumb,” Zhuang Yan interjected.

Su Yang glanced at him without retorting but nodded, “Yeah, the ones who enter are fools—fools who lose their lives for strangers they have no connection with, fools who forget they’re living people, fools who protect those who despise them so they can safely attend university while they’re called idiots.”

“I…” Zhuang Yan was speechless and fell into thought.

...

At eight in the morning, the sky was overcast, the air heavy and thick, filled with a strong earthy smell. The melted snow had turned the dirt roads into muddy paths.

Not far from the recruits’ quarters on the concrete ground, the new soldiers, no longer fatigued, were energetic and excited.

Because they were finally going to handle guns.

As passionate young men, they were naturally curious about weapons, so all fatigue vanished as they focused intently on the automatic rifle in the squad leader’s hands.

“Squad leader, what kind of gun is this? It doesn’t look like the Type 81,” Xiwa asked excitedly, eyes fixed on the rifle held by Zheng Sanpao.

The other recruits nodded; they wanted to know too. They understood some guns, but this one was unfamiliar.

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“That’s the Type 95 automatic rifle, newly issued,” Zhuang Yan, a city kid, naturally recognized the new Type 95 rifle.

“Correct. Zhuang Yan is right—this is the new Type 95 automatic rifle issued to our army. You’re lucky to get to touch the Type 95 right away; most units are still using the Type 81.”

Zheng Sanpao took up Zhuang Yan’s words and began questioning, “Do you know the differences between the Type 95 and the Type 81 rifles?”

At once, everyone shook their heads; they didn’t even know when the new rifle was introduced, let alone the differences.

Seeing this, Zheng Sanpao looked at Su Yang: “Su Yang, I know you read military books—tell us what you know.”

Su Yang sighed; all he wanted now was to handle the gun quickly, not to speak, but since the old sergeant asked, he answered, “Report: The Type 95, also called the QBZ-95, is a bullpup rifle weighing 3.25 kilograms, 725 millimeters long, firing 5.8-millimeter caliber rounds, with an effective range of 400 meters and a maximum range of 600 meters. The magazine holds 30 rounds.”

“And the Type 81 automatic rifle…” Su Yang went on, reciting all the parameters he remembered.

The new recruits listened, stunned; especially Xiwa, who said admiringly, “Vice-leader, you know so much! Even more than Xiao Zhuang.”

Zhuang Yan rolled his eyes, thinking, I’m not reading military books every day; if I read, I’d know too.

“Very good. Su Yang is right! Those are the main parameters…”

Zheng Sanpao admired Su Yang, realizing his presence was a great help in leading the recruits.

He then gave a thorough explanation of the data, personally disassembled and reassembled the rifle for everyone to see, and had them all practice disassembly and assembly.

“Su Yang, have you handled guns before?” Zheng Sanpao, noticing Su Yang was far quicker than the others in assembling and disassembling, asked curiously.

“Report, squad leader, no. But I’ve studied the rifle’s schematics many times and remember the parts clearly, so I’m a bit faster,” Su Yang calmly explained.

What he said wasn’t entirely false. He had memorized the rifle’s schematics thoroughly, and importantly, in his previous life, he had undergone military training at a base and disassembled rifles several times, so he was indeed quicker—though still slower than veterans.

“I see!” Zheng Sanpao’s stern face relaxed. It was normal to question unusual behavior, especially concerning weapons.

“Remember, the gun never leaves your hand, and you never leave your gun!”

“Never point the muzzle at a comrade!”

After repeatedly teaching proper gun handling, Zheng Sanpao emphasized safety rules. The recruits listened attentively, more obedient than ever.

“Squad leader, when can we do live-fire training?” Su Yang couldn’t help but ask.

Zheng Sanpao glanced at him. “Once you’re familiar with the gun and have mastered handling, you’ll get the chance.”

Su Yang scoffed inwardly. Wasn’t that obvious?

He wasn’t impatient, he genuinely wanted to shoot live rounds as soon as possible to test his abilities. He was going to participate in the recruit competition and intended to aim for first place.

He knew that first place would earn a third-class merit, which would greatly help his military academy application.

He understood that only by becoming an officer could he truly utilize his talents.

Over the next two weeks, besides regular physical training, military skills training intensified.

For example, grenade throwing practice—using wooden dummy grenades for safety.

No fancy maneuvers, just timed drills with a stopwatch, throwing repeatedly, and a game like hot potato, simple but prone to mistakes, sometimes bizarre ones.

Especially Yu Wei, who was so nervous with the dummy grenade he dropped it at his own feet and stood dumbfounded without jumping into the pit.

Zheng Sanpao’s furious roar echoed across the training ground.

Su Yang’s extra training subjects also increased, including throwing drills, and he persuaded Zheng Sanpao during breaks to lend him a dummy gun to practice holding, disassembling, and assembling.

As a result, Class One suffered greatly because Zheng Sanpao, seeing Su Yang’s extra training, increased the overall training load for the entire class.

This made Yu Wei and Xiwa, who were close to Su Yang, look at him differently.

Su Yang felt helpless. He had told Zheng Sanpao, but the old sergeant just said, “You’re performing better than them and training extra. What right do they have to complain?”