Chapter 10: Brother, Care for One?

“Nonsense! I already reviewed the new recruit’s family background report you gave me this morning. Qi Tian is nothing but a good-for-nothing kid who graduated high school and has been loafing around since. There’s no way he could possess such exceptional physical fitness or the remarkable internal discipline skills you mentioned. Li Yunfei, have you forgotten your reputation as the iron-faced, impartial, living executioner? If I recall correctly, I explicitly told you before not to show him any favoritism just because I brought him up. The standard I set for you is to train that kid mercilessly—push him to the brink but don’t let him die! Didn’t you hear me clearly?”

“Commander, you’ve seriously misunderstood me!” Li Yunfei said bitterly.

No matter how he explained, the voice on the other end remained utterly skeptical.

So he decided to take excerpts from today’s surveillance footage of the regiment and sent a copy directly to Commander Leng Qiangguo.

After reviewing the footage, Leng Qiangguo finally realized Li Yunfei wasn’t deceiving him.

Qi Tian’s abilities, at least so far, completely surpassed their expectations.

“Impossible! This kid… Keep training them rigorously over the next few days. Once I finish my current affairs, I’ll come see for myself,” Leng Qiangguo declared before abruptly hanging up without another word.

Li Yunfei’s eyes nearly popped out of his head.

The commander of the Southeast Military District, Leng Qiangguo, a top figure in Longguo’s military with countless honors—was actually going to personally inspect the Iron Fist Regiment because of a single recruit?

This was unprecedented, unparalleled.

Li Yunfei had served in the Iron Fist Regiment for nearly twenty years.

He vividly remembered the last time Leng Qiangguo came for an inspection was back when he first arrived as a non-commissioned officer.

Swallowing nervously, Li Yunfei’s shocked expression was impossible to conceal.

...

After dinner, all the new recruits returned to their dormitories. Under the guidance of their squad leaders, they earnestly began studying the regulations and codes.

The manual was as thick as two fingers stacked, filled with military rules, regulations, and confidentiality agreements.

Old Hei gave them two weeks to memorize everything.

Upon hearing this order, the dozen or so new recruits in Squad One instantly fell into gloom.

“No way, Squad Leader. I joined the army precisely because I didn’t want to study. Now I have to memorize all this too?”

“Is there any way to make our squad leader disappear for a few days after two weeks? Waiting online, this is urgent!”

“Squad Leader, memorizing this thick book for two weeks—why don’t you just cut me now and put me out of my misery?”

The recruits grumbled, their gazes turning expectantly toward Old Hei, hoping he might show leniency.

But Old Hei remained expressionless and stern, addressing them word by word:

“The rules and confidentiality agreements, along with other internal standards, are things every soldier must memorize. There’s no room for negotiation.

If anyone can’t recite it by the end of the training, don’t blame me for assigning you to the kitchen unit to feed the pigs!”

“Squad Leader, why don’t you just send me to feed pigs now? I used to help my father raise pigs back home—I’m pretty good at it!”

As soon as Old Hei finished speaking, a dark-skinned, muscular young man tentatively volunteered.

His name was Lin Mang. True to his name, he was straightforward and blunt in everything he did.

Qi Tian had helped him once during the midday military bedding folding session and remembered him well.

Lin Mang wasn’t cunning but spoke without much filter or tact.

He didn’t even notice Old Hei’s murderous glare:

“Trash! You joined the army just to keep raising pigs? Listen carefully, everyone!

Memorizing these rules is a hurdle every soldier must overcome. No one gets a pass. Even if you end up in the kitchen unit, you must know this by heart before you go!”

With that, Old Hei slammed the door and stormed out.

Though reluctant, Squad One had no choice but to grit their teeth and open the manual to the first section, attempting to study the “Military Safety Regulations.”

Every item was meticulously divided and explained in detail, almost to the point of being tedious.

Qi Tian scanned it briefly and immediately felt a chill crawl over his scalp.

Though he possessed elite internal discipline skills and could maintain impeccable order, that didn’t mean he understood all the rules and nuances within this manual.

For a chosen one like Qi Tian—a transmigrator—it felt overwhelming.

“Brothers, there’s a technique to memorizing. Just listen to me,” suddenly said Song Wei, standing at the front. He addressed his comrades:

“We only need to memorize the key points. Things like the origin of the military bedding or the meaning of formations don’t help in real combat. I trust Old Hei won’t test us on that.”

“Huh… makes sense. Squad Leader wants us to memorize so we can perform better in combat later, right?”

“We can totally take the essence and toss the rest. That’ll save us a lot of trouble!”

Song Wei’s words were immediately met with agreement from two soldiers who began marking highlights on the manual and memorizing them.

Qi Tian disliked this lazy approach and didn’t agree with Song Wei’s offhand remarks.

While bedding origins and formation meanings might not directly aid soldiers in battle, during certain pivotal moments—like when two armies clash—the unity and precision of formations greatly boost morale and combat effectiveness.

In other words, there was no useless content in this manual; every word was essential.

Seeing his comrades eager to follow the shortcut, Qi Tian sighed deeply and slowly rose, planning to wash his face to clear his mind.

At that moment, as he reached the restroom door, he heard a faint noise from the farthest stall.

A thin wisp of blue smoke drifted out from beneath the door, followed by a contented sigh: “Ah, that feels good!”

Qi Tian clearly remembered the first page of the manual strictly forbade smoking inside the dormitory building.

But he didn’t bother to intervene—he wasn’t one to tattle. Besides, who didn’t have a bad habit these days?

He pretended not to see, turned on the faucet, and hastily washed his face.

Inside the last stall, Zhang Meng’s face froze as he quickly stubbed out the cigarette and peeked outside.

Only after confirming no squad leaders or instructors were around did he breathe a sigh of relief.

At the same time, he recognized the figure washing his face by the door—the tough new recruit Qi Tian, who had earlier beaten Song Wei to unconsciousness and openly challenged the company commander.

To be honest, Zhang Meng admired Qi Tian deeply for his boldness.

As Qi Tian finished and turned off the faucet, preparing to leave, Zhang Meng quickly called out:

“Brother, I’m Zhang Meng from Squad Two, East Sea Sports Academy. I want to get to know you. I secretly smuggled half a pack of Chinese cigarettes—want one?”