Chapter 65: Field Combat Exercise
The line was dismissed. There was no time to even open their packs. They all just slumped onto their hard plank beds and immediately fell into a deep sleep, their shoes and clothes still on, without the strength to even move a finger or a toe.
They were so tired they couldn’t even cry, like a deflated ball, with only a shriveled skin left, all of them lying on their bed boards.
“Wanfeng, thank you,” a voice murmured, as if in a dream, so tired that her eyelids couldn’t even open, but she still hadn’t forgotten.
A faint “me too” came from the other side, as if she were asleep, and the words had just slipped out of her throat.
Zhou Wanfeng was on the lower bunk. There were three packs by her bed. On the second half of the return trip, Xia Mengmeng and Lin Sha couldn’t hold on any longer. They were so tired they were on the verge of vomiting, their hair and faces as if they had been washed with water. The others were also gritting their teeth and holding on, all at the end of their rope.
Zhou Wanfeng had taken over their quilts and water bottles. She had one on her chest, two on her back, and was supporting Xia Mengmeng’s body with one arm.
Lin Sha was being supported by Jin Hongjie and Liu Shupei, one on each side.
Towards the end, even the male cadets couldn’t shout their loud and fierce slogans anymore. It was the squad leaders who were shouting the loudest. “Go on! Pull yourselves together! The finish line is just ahead!”
“Just a little longer! Encourage each other!”
Their feet were sore and numb from walking. They could feel the blisters, and then the blisters had burst, sticking to their socks.
They wished they could throw away everything they were carrying. It was too heavy.
Their backs were like floating straws, unable to bear the load. A slight breeze would make them sway and stumble, and they would fall face down.
For the last five kilometers, Xia Mengmeng had practically been supported by Zhou Wanfeng. She felt as if she had fallen asleep, and her memory was a little hazy.
After lying in bed for a long while, her brain finally started to work properly.
When the body reaches its limit, the spirit is bound to collapse. “Wanfeng, thank you,” she seemed to have said with a sense of guilt before she fell into a deep sleep.
Zhou Wanfeng closed her eyes to sleep. After such a drastic consumption of physical energy, she, on the contrary, could not fall asleep immediately like them. Her spirit was tense, and she needed time to empty her mind.
This fulfilling training life was tiring, but it was also solid.
The morning wake-up call was delayed by an hour and a half.
The new cadets had slept for more than three hours after returning to their dorms. Their youthful spirits recovered quickly. After washing their faces with cold water, most of their energy had returned. The rest of it came back after breakfast.
They were notified that the morning training would be changed to tidying up their internal affairs and sanitation.
Yu Aijun came over and told them the standards for internal affairs and sanitation. Every nook and cranny had to be taken care of.
No training, just cleaning. It was a rare chance to catch their breath.
The windows, the doors, the glass, the floor, under the beds, and even the white walls could not have a single stain.
They were in pairs.
Some fetched water, and some scrubbed.
The male cadets next door were very righteous. Seeing the female cadets carrying buckets of water, they directly took them over. “You guys wait here. We’ll carry them for you.”
Zhou Wanfeng and Xia Mengmeng were in a group. The two of them were cleaning the doors, the windows, and the glass.
Xia Mengmeng spoke softly and gently. Just by looking at her, you could tell that she was the kind of obedient and well-behaved girl. But you couldn’t underestimate a girl who wanted to be a soldier.
“Wanfeng, is it clean here?”
“Very clean.”
“Wanfeng, you go and sit on that stool and rest. I’ll clean the windows. I quite like cleaning. When I was in school, whenever I got tired of doing my homework, I would clean,” Xia Mengmeng said, looking at Zhou Wanfeng through the glass. She suddenly discovered something interesting and turned to the others in the squad. “Hey, have you guys noticed? Wanfeng’s face is the smallest among us. Look, doesn’t that count as a palm-sized face?”
It was a rare opportunity not to be out in the sun, but to be cleaning in the room. The female cadets were in a happy mood, and some were even humming a little tune as they worked.
At Xia Mengmeng’s shout, everyone looked over and saw her hand covering the glass. Although it didn’t completely cover Zhou Wanfeng’s face, her face was really not big.
“Wow, let me try too! My face is also very small,” Hu Yinping said, running over with a rag and standing next to Zhou Wanfeng with a smile.
“How do I compare to Wanfeng?” Hu Yinping said, tightening her cheeks.
Wei Jiahui compared the two and was the first to give an answer. “You’re about the same. You both have small faces.”
“Let me try too,” Lin Sha said with a chuckle, leaning over.
Zhou Wanfeng was like a reference object, standing there, cleaning the glass. After Lin Sha, Xu Yanqiu came up.
Even Jin Hongjie was about to go over, but was pulled back by Liu Shupei, who said with a smile, “You’d better not.”
This immediately made the whole dorm burst into laughter. But she herself didn’t think so and insisted on going over and putting her arm around Zhou Wanfeng’s shoulder, resting her big head on Zhou Wanfeng’s shoulder, and even swaying from side to side, showing off.
“My god, Hongjie, I didn’t think your head was that big when it was on your neck. It was fine. But now that you’re standing next to Wanfeng, your big head really is like a soaked steamed bun, swollen all around,” Xu Yanqiu’s exaggerated dialect came out.
“Hahahahahaha,” it was already a little big, but Xu Yanqiu’s analogy was too accurate. Someone was laughing so hard they had to squat down, clutching their stomach.
A smile appeared in Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes. She turned to look at Jin Hongjie and saw her touch her own head and chin, a look of shock on her face. “We’re about the same height. I stand next to you every day. Isn’t this comparison too strong?”
Without thinking about training, and since they were all girls, they all had a bit of a love for beauty.
Before they came, their skin was still fair, but now they were all tanned.
The boys were even more so. They were all heading towards the squad leaders’ dark complexions.
The dorm was only so big. The floor was almost washed with water. They didn’t dare to go in before it was inspected. They moved their stools outside to wait for it to dry.
Jin Hongjie was bored and pulled Zhou Wanfeng to arm wrestle.
Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes held a smile, and she sized up Jin Hongjie with narrowed eyes. “Are you sure you want to arm wrestle with me?”
“Oh, oh, oh! Look at her tone, her expression! I’m not going to be outdone! I can’t beat you, I can’t outrun you, but my strength is not necessarily weaker than yours!” Jin Hongjie was immediately provoked by Zhou Wanfeng.
Liu Shupei stood behind Zhou Wanfeng and was the second to sign up. “Jin Hongjie, if you lose, it’s my turn.”
“Liu Shupei, you…”
“And me! I want to try too!”
“Me too!”
“I bet on Wanfeng to win,” Xia Mengmeng said, standing directly behind Zhou Wanfeng, thoughtfully massaging her shoulders to relax her, and also helping her to roll up her sleeves.
Hu Yinping hesitated for a moment, then took a step and stood next to Zhou Wanfeng. “Go, Wanfeng!”
“You people, you’re underestimating me,” Jin Hongjie said, rolling up her sleeves and sitting down, extending her hand. “Zhou Wanfeng, come on.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s expression was relaxed. She extended her hand very casually. It was slender, thin and bony, and the joints were as sharp as ridges.
Jin Hongjie’s palm was wide, and a layer of calluses could be clearly seen in it.
Liu Shupei was the temporary referee.
She put their two hands together. “One, two, three, go!”
The moment she let go, they saw Jin Hongjie instantly grit her teeth and use her strength.
“Go, Hongjie!”
“Go, Wanfeng!”
Zhou Wanfeng’s expression was a little infuriating. She was calm and composed. On the other hand, Jin Hongjie’s body was like a tilted rope, her head always pressing to one side.
The veins on both their hands were bulging.
“Oh, Zhou Wanfeng… don’t squeeze me!” A blush appeared on Jin Hongjie’s tanned face. With her cry, all they saw was Zhou Wanfeng’s fingers tighten, holding Jin Hongjie’s palm tightly.
It was like packing a bag, the rope tightly locking the quilt.
Jin Hongjie looked up and shouted, the veins on her neck clearly visible. “Zhou Wanfeng, did you take a strength pill?”
“Go, Wanfeng!” Xia Mengmeng and Hu Yinping were very excited about their foresight.
After more than ten seconds, Jin Hongjie finally couldn’t hold on. Her whole palm was red from being squeezed. She stood up to make way and couldn’t help but blow on it. She said to Liu Shupei, who was waiting behind, “Zhou Wanfeng is a monster.”
Liu Shupei let out a breath of relief, sat in Jin Hongjie’s seat, and stretched her arms and shook her hands. She looked straight at Zhou Wanfeng. “My strength is not small. Zhou Wanfeng, use your full strength.”
Zhou Wanfeng nodded and extended her hand.
The moment the two of them started, Liu Shupei immediately took a deep breath, used her strength, and gritted her teeth.
Zhou Wanfeng lowered her eyes, her expression not changing much.
Liu Shupei felt that Zhou Wanfeng’s hand was like a hand of steel, welded there. She couldn’t help but open her mouth and ask, “Zhou Wanfeng, how… how did you train?” She also wanted to learn.
“I used a hand grip in high school,” Zhou Wanfeng said, thinking of her high school days, when she would be holding a hand grip while reciting Chinese texts and English words. Yun Jingya would always say that she was multitasking, and that she was even using such a short time.
Hearing this, Jin Hongjie said that she would get one too. “Zhou Wanfeng, how did you spend your high school? With weight bags on your feet and a hand grip in your hand. You must have planned this in advance.”
“That’s right,” Zhou Wanfeng replied, her brow furrowed as she used her strength, and the winner was decided.
Liu Shupei let out a breath and stood up, looking at the other few who were eager to try. “All of you, come and try. Wear her out.”
The male cadets next door also gathered around. Seeing Zhou Wanfeng win again and again, they couldn’t help but be curious and wanted to try too.
By the time Yu Aijun and the other squad leaders came up to inspect the internal affairs and sanitation, they saw that the hallway was packed with people.
He pulled a male cadet and asked, “What are you all gathered here for?”
“An arm wrestling competition.”
The squad leader shouted, “Inspect the internal affairs and sanitation! Hurry back to your squads!”
The crowd slowly dispersed. Inside, Zhou Wanfeng and a male cadet were still competing, and the other female cadets in the same dorm were gathered around.
Yu Aijun stood to the side and watched, not immediately stopping them.
The male cadet was gritting his teeth, and you could tell that he was using all his strength. Zhou Wanfeng’s brow was furrowed.
Hu Yinping stood up and explained for Zhou Wanfeng in a small voice, “Squad leader, Zhou Wanfeng has already competed in many rounds and hasn’t rested. She has also won against three boys from the next squad. This is the fourth.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s head was slightly tilted, and her face muscles were tense. You could tell that she was gritting her teeth and using her strength. Both of their hands were trembling, which showed that they were evenly matched in strength. It all depended on who could last longer. The moment one of them relaxed a little, the winner would be decided immediately.
About ten seconds passed. At this moment, the onlookers were not even cheering. They were holding their breath and watching with rapt attention.
With a muffled grunt from the male cadet, Yu Aijun knew that Zhou Wanfeng was launching her final attack. If this attack could be maintained for more than a second, she would win.
The winner was already decided when they saw the male cadet’s body tilt. All they saw was Zhou Wanfeng’s brow tremble, as if with a push.
The male cadet was panting heavily and stood up with a simple and honest smile. “I lost, I lost.” Seeing that there was a squad leader next to him, he immediately stood up at attention and saluted. “Hello, squad leader,” he said, and then he hurried back to his own squad.
Ever since he had talked to Zhou Wanfeng last time, Yu Aijun had been slightly moved. In Cao Baoshan’s words, he hadn’t even heard him call “Zhou Wanfeng, step out.” Had he figured it out?
It wasn’t that he had figured it out, but that he knew one thing. Zhou Wanfeng did not need anyone to polish or train her. She was a person who would not indulge herself and would always be strict with herself. She also did not need others to guide her. She had always known the path she wanted to take.
For a person like this, even if she fell, you wouldn’t have to worry about her not being able to get up, just like the trampled grass roots on the training ground. After a rain, they would take root and grow again.
Yu Aijun glanced at Zhou Wanfeng. His dark face was still serious, but he said, “The squad leader next door, Cao, has always wanted to have a match with you. When you have time, you can compete with him. He’s got a few moves. You might be able to learn something.”
With that, he called for the female cadets to go in and began to inspect their internal affairs and sanitation.
Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes trembled. She sensitively noticed the change in Yu Aijun.
The new recruit training was not always a good day, especially when it rained, for two or three days at a time. The whole sky was gray, and the rain was like the Milky Way pouring down, the sea pouring out.
The torrential rain drowned out the squad leader’s roars. The water on the ground had turned into a swamp, a natural and perfect training ground for practicing crawling.
Even for Zhou Wanfeng, in the slippery mud, her feet had no leverage. The sky was like it had been torn open, and the rain was so heavy that she couldn’t open her eyes. Her body was covered in mud, on her head, on her face, and even on her eyelashes.
The soil was muddy, and the rocks were exposed. Everyone’s fingernails were torn in the crawl. The fast and standard movements in the sunny weather were ten thousand times more difficult in the rain.
After enduring the arduous crawl, they began to learn practical combat and grappling.
They started with the breakdown of the movements. After they had learned them all, it was time for sparring, kicking, hitting, throwing, grabbing, twisting, and grappling. From being unfamiliar, to being able to do the whole set step by step, to being proficient, and then to practical combat.
“This is not for you to learn broadcast exercises. You have to learn how to use it in actual combat.”
Fall down, get up, and fight again.
Who knew how many times they had kicked and been thrown in a day.
At night, when they took off their clothes, they could see the bruises all over their bodies.
Fortunately, they were all used to it. They didn’t even bother to apply iodine solution anymore. Anyway, they still had to train later.
With a lot of training, everyone had changed. They were completely different from when they had come to the training base.
In the words of the squad leaders, they were already starting to look like soldiers.
Hearing the squad leader say this, some of their eyes were a little red.
An emergency assembly in the middle of the night, a five-kilometer night run; in the pouring rain, shouting at the top of their lungs and crawling on the muddy ground.
A thirty-kilometer night training, single bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, sandpit jumping, crossing a single-plank bridge, military boxing, and grappling.
The first time in their lives to shoot live ammunition, in the prone position, and supported shooting training. It took two days just to correct their posture and aim.
Shooting a hundred paces was a myth. Only practice makes perfect. When the right finger really pulled the trigger, and the line of sight was on the bullseye, even your breathing would affect your shot.
45 rings was a pass. Some got a dozen, and some missed the target completely. There were also some with an innate talent who could shoot 49 rings, like Zhou Wanfeng.
This name, all the new recruit cadets knew.
It was the person that their own squad leader often mentioned in training. When he was scolding them, he would definitely bring out a reference standard.
This person was Zhou Wanfeng.
In practical combat, in front of all the new recruit cadets, she had effectively demonstrated practical combat with the squad leader, and had been able to fight proficiently. For more than thirty minutes, she was still on par with the squad leader.
The title of the strongest new recruit cadet was hers and hers alone.
The first time to experience the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield was when they were throwing hand grenades. Although they were training grenades, the squad leader had said that they were identical to the real thing in both appearance and weight. Only the function had been changed. When thrown, they would also explode, and there would be smoke and dust, similar to the effect of a real grenade, but they would not cause any actual harm.
With a series of loud bangs, the thick smell of burning gunpowder filled the air. Everyone landed accurately in the landing zone.
Packing bags for outdoor survival training. Walking, fighting, eating, and living were essential skills for walking in the wild. How to dig a stove, a smoke-free stove, to be familiar with the types of edible wild vegetables, and simple outdoor reconnaissance skills, hiding, lying down, leaving the team, infiltrating the enemy’s position to reconnoiter, to be familiar with the terrain, and to report upwards.
As the hot weather became cooler, and the grass in the distance turned yellow, everyone had undergone a transformation. Their eyes had become firm after being tempered. No matter how hard or tiring it was, as long as they persevered, as long as they didn’t give up, they could get through anything.
During the military training, it was not all hard training every day. There was a bonfire party. The cadets whose birthdays were in that month were gathered together, and they celebrated their birthdays together, eating noodles for good health. They would have a singing competition, a talent show, and watch the usually stern-faced squad leader talk about his embarrassing stories when he had just enlisted. They would all listen to his instructions to learn more military skills and to train their physical fitness more often.
The three-month new recruit training period was almost over. There was a sense of reluctance, and also a sense of pride.
“Wanfeng, I’ve washed your training shoes for you,” Xia Mengmeng was very good to everyone in the same squad, but she was especially good to Zhou Wanfeng.
Not just Xia Mengmeng, but the others were also like this.
The longer they knew Zhou Wanfeng, the more they understood her. She was a cold, indifferent, and calm person. Her relationship with everyone was the same. She was not particularly familiar with anyone. She was strict with herself and very demanding of herself. But when she was helping others, she would praise them.
Occasionally, during a break, she would go to the training ground and sit there, facing the west, looking up at the sky quietly. Or she would run in circles around the training ground by herself.
She didn’t talk much. You could hardly hear her speak in the dorm. But her presence was very strong. She was the object of envy of all the female cadets.
In Xia Mengmeng’s eyes, she felt that Zhou Wanfeng was already a soldier. And sometimes, she would also give her the feeling that Zhou Wanfeng was taking care of all of them. Although they were the same age, she felt that she was more mature and calmer than anyone else.
When they came back from training in the rain, and their clothes were soaked but they still had to continue training, someone had broken down and couldn’t help but cry.
She had said in a very rational and calm voice, “In the future, you might have to crawl into a swamp full of feces and animal carcasses to save someone. You might also have to train in a stinking mud pit. In the future, you might also have to train under extreme outdoor conditions.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s cold words had shocked them.
At the same time, it also made them understand why she would still go to the training ground to run in circles after the training was over. And they suddenly understood the reason why she had been wearing weight bags on her legs and practicing with a hand grip for three years of high school. She had always been working hard towards her determined direction, and she had always been training herself in advance to adapt.
Zhou Wanfeng was different from all of them. She had set a direction for her life early on.
Perhaps after graduating from university, some would go to the grassroots and join the front line, be assigned to different military branches, or they might enter the government.
Some would also go to graduate school to continue their research and innovation.
Or they might be transferred to a local government agency.
But no matter which one, it was extremely different from what Zhou Wanfeng had said. She was talking about her own future.
Just hearing her say it, they felt that she had chosen the most difficult and the most arduous path for herself.
They wanted to ask, but they didn’t dare. Compared to Zhou Wanfeng, who had been training herself since high school, just wearing a wet and muddy training uniform seemed to be no big deal.
After getting to know Zhou Wanfeng, you would feel a kind of spirit in her that would make you feel a sense of respect.
“I just saw the squad leaders all go to the office building for a meeting,” Hu Yinping said, coming in from outside. The moment the squad leaders had a big move, it meant that something big was going to happen.
“It’s not going to be an emergency assembly and a five-kilometer run at night, is it?” Jin Hongjie was tidying up her bed. She couldn’t stand to see a single wrinkle on her bedsheet. It was uncomfortable to look at, and she had to smooth it out.
“What’s there to be afraid of? It’s not like we haven’t run it before. Whatever comes, we’ll take it,” Liu Shupei said and did things with a lot of style. She liked a challenge. But recently, she had been silently paying attention to Zhou Wanfeng.
After vaguely knowing the path that Zhou Wanfeng had chosen for herself, she had started to question her own life.
Her family had a plan for her. Her family hoped that she would be able to develop in the government in the future, or continue to go to graduate school. But the more she got to know Zhou Wanfeng, the more her heart wavered.
It was very rare. There was no study session arranged before bed.
This was strange and abnormal, and it made everyone not sleep soundly. Before midnight, a sharp whistle blew from downstairs.
The moment the whistle blew, everyone got out of bed and assembled downstairs.
The assembly was quick, but they found that the squad leaders of each squad were not there.
When the front row started to run, they had thought it was the same five-kilometer run as before. But after the front row had run out, the back row did not move for a long time. It seemed that after a fifteen-minute interval, another batch started to run.
The front and back of each squad’s line looked at each other. This silence, and the premonition that something was about to happen, made everyone’s heart jump to their throats.
They didn’t know what was in front of them. It was like the dark night in the distance, but there was also a faint sense of excitement.
Their nerves were tense. When they started to run, it was the familiar five-kilometer route, and their hearts relaxed a little.
But when they heard the familiar sound of a truck engine starting, and the headlights turning on, and the back of the truck being lowered with a crash, “Everyone, get on the truck immediately!”
With a command, they were pulled and dragged, just like when they had been brought to the training base.
With a crash, the back of the truck was closed. A thick, impenetrable cloth blocked the view on both sides. The truck started to move, and it swayed violently, like a boat in a storm.
Zhou Wanfeng held onto the armrest of the truck, one knee on the ground, maintaining the most energy-saving posture to prevent her legs from going numb, and constantly switching legs.
The people from several squads in the truck were whispering to each other. “I think… this might be an assessment, or a simulated combat exercise.”
“The squad leaders are not here. I feel like our opponents are them.”
“What you’re saying is making me all excited. Look at my goosebumps,” it was as if an electric current had passed through his body, and his blood was boiling.
“Then what will they be assessing us on? In the middle of the night?”
“Who knows? But look outside. The dark mountains in the distance tell you how complicated the terrain of the place we’re going to will be,” a cadet who was very observant said.
Zhou Wanfeng’s eyes were fixed on the outside. She basically agreed with what the cadets in the truck were saying. A field combat exercise, or a field combat assessment.