Chapter 46: The Crafty Old Veteran's Shameless Tricks

"Now that we've cleared this hurdle, the selection for the Sharp Blade Amphibious Unit is pretty much over, right?"

Standing at the finish line, the five of them exchanged knowing smiles, and Song Wei muttered the question.

Hearing this, the other three remained silent.

Only Jiang Chong shook his head at Song Wei, offering a wry smile as he replied:

"Wei, you're underestimating the Sharp Blade Amphibious Unit. Thinking it's all over just because we crossed a single-plank bridge? Not by a long shot!"

"What? Still not over? Does that mean we're expected to keep risking our lives?! It's almost two in the morning, are they even going to let people rest?!"

Song Wei's expression darkened, and the excitement that had just risen in his chest dissipated by more than half.

Right at that moment, Lin Mang seemed to realize something and looked over at Jiang Chong:

"Chong, how did you know there were more training subjects? We only got the notice to come here yesterday, and I didn't see you talking to any veterans last night or finding out about this regiment."

"Well... to be honest, my father used to serve here. Even I didn't expect such a coincidence—not long after enlisting, I ended up right here too!"

As he spoke, Jiang Chong looked back at the tallest building of the Sharp Blade Amphibious Unit, his eyes turning slightly red, and his body beginning to tremble faintly.

The other three were visibly stunned upon hearing this.

Especially Zhang Meng and Song Wei, who had the longest-standing friendship with Jiang Chong since their days at the physical education academy.

They had made a pact to enlist together, and counting it up, they had known each other for nearly four years.

Yet in all that time, they had never once heard Jiang Chong mention this matter.

"Where is your uncle now? Is he still with Sharp Blade? If he is, Chong, once we pass the assessment, we're going to have to rely a lot on you!"

"He passed away. He died in the line of duty during an operation to capture armed drug traffickers back in 2003."

"Oh! I'm sorry, Chong, I didn't mean to..." Lin Mang clearly hadn't expected such a backstory.

Realizing he had reopened Jiang Chong's old wound, he immediately rushed to apologize.

Before he could finish, however, Jiang Chong had already composed himself, turned, and shook his head at Lin Mang: "Don't blame yourself. I made peace with it long ago."

With that, Jiang Chong subconsciously glanced at Qi Tian, his brows furrowing slightly as he asked: "Tian, judging by your expression, you don't seem surprised by my background at all?"

"I guessed it long ago, so why would I be surprised? I just didn't expect your father to have been a martyr. All I can say is, like father, like son in the Jiang family!"

"You guessed it?!"

This time, it was Jiang Chong's turn to be dumbfounded.

After all, he was certain he had never mentioned anything about his family to Qi Tian.

Besides, everyone's personnel files were sealed tight from cover to cover at the regimental headquarters, and recruits had no way of viewing them.

So how on earth did Qi Tian know?

Noticing that Jiang Chong and the others were staring at him with curious eyes, Qi Tian had no intention of keeping them in suspense and answered directly:

"Remember the cat-and-mouse game back at the Iron Fist Regiment? You said something back then that left a deep impression on me.

You mentioned that the Iron Fist Regiment used to hold a cat-and-mouse game with the recruits every year to knock down their arrogance.

But that this year was the first time recruits had beaten veterans to a pulp!

From that single sentence, it wasn't hard to deduce your family background.

You had intimate knowledge of the historical scores of the Iron Fist Regiment's cat-and-mouse games.

If your family wasn't involved in military affairs, the only alternative conclusion would be that you were a spy sent by a hostile nation."

"Hiss...

Tian, I seriously want to crack open your head and see what's actually inside it.

Just a casual remark I made back then, and you managed to deduce all that information!"

Hearing Qi Tian's explanation, Jiang Chong couldn't help but draw in a sharp breath.

He never imagined that without even realizing it, he had exposed such a glaring vulnerability!

"That's why Tian is so awesome, and why we're all willing to follow his lead!"

"The title of 'King of Recruits' isn't just for show, is it? Tian is a badass who makes history!"

A few seconds later, Zhang Meng and Song Wei chimed in with exclamations of awe.

Right at that moment, the sixth veteran to complete the single-plank bridge special training passed by them.

Hearing their chatter, the veteran let out a cold snort:

"King of Recruits? These days, any stray cat or dog dares to slap the title of 'King of Recruits' on themselves. A bunch of wet-behind-the-ears rookies who haven't seen anything of the world!"

Without giving the two any time to react, the veteran strode away, leaving the courage training ground behind.

Watching the veteran's retreating figure, the anger that had just subsided in Zhang Meng flared right back up again.

Turning to the major battalion commander in charge of recording the scores, Zhang Meng shouted angrily:

"Hey, Major sir, that veteran just walked away right after finishing his training. Does that mean we get to rest for the night?

I've already got a belly full of fire, and today I'm damn well going to teach him why the flowers are so red!"

The person addressed by Zhang Meng was Shen Biao, commander of the Second Battalion of the Sharp Blade Regiment.

He had already noticed Qi Tian and the four other reinforcement recruits.

However, since their selection was being handled by First Battalion Commander Fu Wei, Shen Biao hadn't planned on interacting with them. For now, he simply answered offhandedly:

"Tonight's training isn't over yet, but you're free to follow him if you want.

The next training item is a twenty-kilometer all-terrain loaded cross-country march.

Those who finish the courage training can head over early to rest; there's saltwater there to replenish your body's salt levels.

It's normal that you don't know since this is your first day, but make sure you don't wander around.

The duty personnel here are all carrying live ammunition. If you wander around and something happens, you're on your own!"

"What the hell, such important news and you didn't say so earlier? My throat has been burning with thirst here!"

"You didn't ask early either. Move along, move along, don't mess up my logging!"

The Second Battalion Commander waved a hand dismissively at Zhang Meng, then shifted his attention back to the assessments, ignoring him completely.

Seeing that Zhang Meng's fiery temper was about to flare up again, Qi Tian quickly stepped in to hold him back.

Then, leading his four brothers, he set off in pursuit of the veteran who had left earlier.

"The Sharp Blade Amphibious Unit truly lives up to its reputation as the fiercest reinforced regiment in our 386th Brigade—an all-terrain loaded cross-country march, and twenty kilometers at that!"

"If we tried this intensity back at the Iron Fist Regiment, we'd see it at most once a month."

"Judging by how they're acting, they clearly do this all the time. Trying to survive here is going to be tough!"

"No matter what, I have to stay here. I have reasons I can't back out!"

"We've got your back, brothers. At the very least, all of us have to pass this selection!"

As the five of them followed closely behind the veteran at a brisk pace, they chatted casually about the upcoming training.

After weaving through several turns, the veteran's figure reappeared ahead of them.

They saw him walk swiftly up to a water barrel and gulp down several mouthfuls of saltwater.

Then, looking around to make sure no one was paying attention to him, he sneaked over to the opposite side of the barrel, toward an area densely stacked with sandbags.

He casually picked up one of the sandbags and dumped out a large portion of the sand inside.

After that, as if nothing had happened, he resealed the sandbag, put it back into the stack, and placed a small pebble on top of it as a marker!

Taking in this entire scene, the corners of Qi Tian and his four brothers' mouths curved upward into identical grins.

Zhang Meng, looking excited, rolled his shoulders, producing a series of crisp cracking sounds from his bones.

With a cold chuckle, he stepped out and walked forward:

"Hey, veteran, what the hell do you think you're doing?

Can't handle the heat, so you're secretly lightening your sandbag, huh?!

Now, your Grandpa Zhang is going to give you a chance to confess: stand right there without moving and take two punches from me.

Otherwise, do you believe I'll immediately report what you've done to the selection instructors?!"