Chapter 71: A Nostalgic Person
Zhou Wanfeng saw the temporary command center. It was a house-shaped cotton tent, with simple obstacles set up around it.
The mountain road was steep, and the car was charging down, the speed so fast that it was almost out of control.
Zhou Wanfeng had driven all kinds of cars in her past life. Three-wheelers, four-wheelers, and multi-wheelers, small cars, and big cars. Later, when she was in charge of a construction site, she could even operate large cranes, loaders, bulldozers, and excavators. Although she had never gotten a proper driver’s license for some of them, it didn’t stop her from getting her hands on them.
This old-fashioned truck, if you braked too hard, the tail would easily swing out and the front would push forward, and the whole car would roll over. First, you had to lower the speed, and by using the exhaust brake, you could block the engine’s exhaust pipe to reduce the speed.
You couldn’t just tap the brakes. You had to slowly increase the pressure on the pedal until you had pressed it all the way down.
Zhou Wanfeng’s eyelids were drooping. It was as if she could fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes. The car’s speed had already been reduced to a controllable range. She aimed at the obstacles around the cotton tent.
With a bump and a sway, the car was rocking back and forth. Zhou Wanfeng’s body swayed with it. The car was a little stuffy, which made her feel sleepy in a matter of seconds.
She took off her disguise and charged straight at the obstacles.
With a loud bang, the obstacles were sent flying. The truck was in neutral, and she braked. With a crash, the whole car lurched forward, and the whole car shook. With a series of screeches, the car came to a stop, blocking the road three meters in front of the command center.
The people in the cotton tent had all rushed out when they heard the noise. The obstacles in front of them were scattered all over the place. Before they could figure out what was going on, there was a thud from the driver’s cabin. All they saw was someone kick the car door open, and before they could see the person clearly, all they saw was an iron hammer, which landed in front of them in a perfect parabola and hit the ground with a thud.
Zhou Wanfeng got out of the passenger door, her face covered in dust, the hair on her forehead as if it had been washed with water, sticking to her forehead. She stood there, panting slightly.
The next second, she brought her heels together, her legs straight in a standard at-attention posture. She saluted the company commander, the political instructor, and the others who were standing outside the cotton tent. She didn’t recognize them, but she recognized their shoulder insignias.
Her gaze was fixed on the iron hammer that was lying quietly on the ground. She pursed her lips and didn’t explain. After the salute, she turned and walked back, her steps deep and shallow, her back straight, until she reached a tree. She leaned against it, looked up, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep.
Yu Aijun ran all the way, followed by the oddly-running Cao Baoshan. The two of them ran back, covered in sweat, and saw the truck parked properly next to the command center. Especially since the command center was intact, it was just that the obstacles had been knocked over. At this moment, a soldier was in charge of cleaning up and putting them back.
The two of them were panting as they stood at the entrance of the tent and shouted in unison, “Reporting!”
“Come in.”
Yu Aijun briefly and quickly explained the situation, and that the connecting wire of the left infrared searchlight had been destroyed and was temporarily unusable.
“The light is not broken, just the wire is broken. Zhou Wanfeng was originally going to drive into the tree, but Yu Aijun and I desperately stopped her. She came out of the second checkpoint. I thought she had taken a wrong turn, but it turns out she was going to destroy this light,” Cao Baoshan said, and was glared at by Yu Aijun, telling him not to talk so much.
Yu Aijun was panting, sweat pouring down his face. He faced the company commander and the political instructor of the neighboring company and took the initiative to admit his mistake. “It’s my responsibility. I didn’t figure out her purpose in the first place, nor did I stop her in the first place.”
Cao Baoshan lowered his head and followed, saying in a small voice, “I also have a responsibility. This Zhou Wanfeng is really…” He glanced at Old Yu’s warning gaze and immediately swallowed the words he was about to say, and changed his words. “Really… amazing. She knows about infrared searchlights, and she can even drive a truck. That truck was driven better than our camp’s driver.”
The company commander, Zou Zheng, had been borrowed by Qin Zhe from the camp to help him assess the cadets. At this moment, his face was tense. He beckoned for Yu Aijun to come forward and pointed at an iron hammer on the table. “Do you know what this is?”
Cao Baoshan stood on his tiptoes and looked. His eyes were filled with doubt. It was just an ordinary hammer. There was nothing special about it.
Yu Aijun was honest and upright. “Reporting, company commander! It’s a hammer!”
Zou Zheng grabbed the hammer and slammed it on the table twice. “Zhou Wanfeng didn’t throw it as a hammer. She grabbed it, pushed off the ground, twisted her waist, and swung her arm. You tell me, what are the key points of these movements?”
Yu Aijun frowned. “It’s the key points and techniques of learning to throw a grenade.”
Cao Baoshan pressed his lips together tightly, his mouth in a downward curve. In that case, this command center shouldn’t even exist. It should have been blown up. He glanced at the signalman in the last row who was still continuing to mobilize the distribution. Logically, the command center had been taken out. What was the point of commanding?
But Cao Baoshan only dared to mutter this in his heart. He didn’t dare to say it.
The political instructor waved his hand and told the two of them to go out. “You guys go out first. No matter what, the assessment still has to continue. We’ll discuss how to implement it later.”
Hearing that he could go out, Cao Baoshan immediately pulled Yu Aijun out. The soldiers outside were still cleaning up the obstacle course. He went over and helped to tidy up.
He went up to a soldier and asked, “Where’s Zhou Wanfeng?”
The soldier pointed at a tree in the distance. “The roar was deafening at that time. When the car was coming over, the ground under my feet was shaking. I thought it was an earthquake. But when I looked, I was shocked. The car was charging down as if it were out of control. But her skills are really good. She controlled it. You didn’t see the company commander’s expression at that time. It’s impossible to describe. Especially when the hammer was thrown out of the driver’s seat, and she came out of the passenger seat, his face was green.”
“Hey, Old Yu, did you hear that? Their company commander’s face was green. If our company commander were here, a flower might have bloomed on his face,” he said, and then he nudged Yu Aijun with his elbow and whispered, “If this were a real battle, Zhou Wanfeng would have snatched a car, destroyed the enemy’s important equipment, and charged into their headquarters, and casually thrown a grenade.” He raised his chin, blinked a couple of times, and waved his hand. “It would have been leveled. What’s there to fight? It’s a good thing it’s an assessment. Otherwise, it would have been called off.”
Yu Aijun pushed Cao Baoshan away, too lazy to correct him. The two of them were in charge of guarding the equipment. Now that the equipment had been destroyed, they were both responsible.
In the second checkpoint, Gao Chunjie, Duan Hangyi, and the other participating soldiers had all received a message from the command center.
The message was: The left infrared searchlight is malfunctioning and cannot be repaired for the time being. Considering the subsequent cadet assessment, it has been decided to increase the number of people at the second checkpoint.
Originally, because of the infrared searchlight, not many people had been transferred from the neighboring company, so they could only redeploy the “killed in action” to the second checkpoint.
Sha Shaoxing, Zhao Gangzi, Old Deng, and a few other “killed in action” cadets had returned to the second checkpoint. Now, only the right side of the infrared searchlight was working, which meant that the rear command center could give the position of the left area. If someone slipped into the right area, it would be a game of cat and mouse.
A few soldiers were left in the left area, and the others were all assigned to the right area.
They said that the left light was malfunctioning, but Gao Chunjie and Duan Hangyi both knew what was going on. It must have been that cadet named Zhou Wanfeng who had destroyed the left light.
It had originally been easy. Before they came, they had even told the soldiers that they were just here to play. But in the end, they had been slapped in the face.
Gao Chunjie now wished he could slap himself. When Xu Xiaoning had asked him why he wasn’t chasing her, he should have chased her to the end.
Now, not only had she successfully passed through the second checkpoint, but an important piece of equipment had also been destroyed. It was a double loss.
“Old Sha, what’s wrong with you and Gangzi? The others are one thing, but how did you two get taken out?” Duan Hangyi was very irritable at this moment. He had lost the results he had been hoping for. He had originally planned to get a clean sweep on this batch of cadets, but in the end, one had successfully passed. 99 and 100 looked like a difference of only one point, but the meaning was different.
Old Deng was not happy to hear this. “What do you mean, the others are one thing? I was harmed by them! I didn’t even get a signal when I died! And I was even stripped of my clothes! I thought it was the two of them! I was ambushed! I died a wrongful death!”
“You’re wronged? I’m even more wronged,” Gangzi said, looking at Sha Shaoxing, indicating that the source was not him.
Sha Shaoxing patted his chest and took the responsibility. “Yes, yes, it’s all because of me. That cadet is very sinister. I thought that a scholarly soldier would be upright. You guys haven’t seen this cadet. My god, she’s so sinister and cunning. I even suspect that this person is the number one seed that Qin Zhe borrowed from the female soldiers to show off.”
“Don’t call her ‘that cadet.’ Her name is Zhou Wanfeng. She’s from this batch of cadets. Is she particularly good at fighting, with clean and fast movements, and skilled techniques?” Gao Chunjie asked from the side.
Hearing this, Sha Shaoxing said, “It’s her. I asked her what her name was, but she wouldn’t say. She counter-ambushed me, grabbed a handful of dirt and threw it in my eyes, and took the opportunity to ‘kill’ me.”
Zhao Gangzi said in a muffled voice, “Me too.”
“By the way, who took her out?” Sha Shaoxing and the others had been sent back, and they still knew what had happened in front.
Hearing this, Duan Hangyi said angrily, “Who told you she was taken out? She went into the second checkpoint and took out several people in a row.”
A glint flashed in Sha Shaoxing’s eyes. “Where is she? I’ll go and find her.”
“Find what? She’s already successfully passed through the second checkpoint. Why do you think the three of you were able to come back? Not only did she get out of the second checkpoint, but she also destroyed an infrared searchlight. She might have even completed the mission by now,” Duan Hangyi’s heart was like it was being scratched by a cat. He was a perfectionist. If it wasn’t the result he wanted, he would feel terrible.
He was so angry that he broke a branch. “Why didn’t I run into this cadet? If I had, I wouldn’t have let her get away!” he said, unconvinced. He turned to look at Gao Chunjie angrily. “You too! Such a formidable person, and you didn’t keep a close eye on her! You let her get away, and you were even played by her!”
The thought of the two of them desperately chasing after her, only for her to take a detour and directly use the cicada shedding its shell and the feint to the east and attack to the west,
the branch in his hand was broken into several pieces. “After the assessment is over, I have to meet this cadet.”
“Stop trying to make up for it. Get ready. The next batch of cadets is coming in. Pull yourselves together,” Gao Chunjie said, not thinking about it anymore. It was useless to think about it now that it had happened. But he also agreed with what Duan Hangyi had said. He also had to meet Zhou Wanfeng after the assessment.
Zhou Wanfeng had slept for an hour or two and was woken by the cold. She sat up and found that there was a piece of clothing draped over her.
“You’re awake?” A glass was handed to her. Yu Aijun was holding a large white tea mug in his own hand.
Seeing that Zhou Wanfeng was in a daze, he pushed it forward again. “Have some hot water.”
Zhou Wanfeng took it and saw that the squad leader, Yu Aijun, was missing his jacket. She said thank you.
Her throat was indeed dry and sore. She took a sip. The temperature was just right. She tilted her head back and took a big gulp.
Seeing her finish a large cup of water, Yu Aijun asked directly, “Do you know how to drive?”
Zhou Wanfeng had drunk a whole stomach of water. Her body was much warmer, and her throat was also comfortable. And she had slept for a while, so she was much more energetic now. She knew what Yu Aijun wanted to ask. “The car is not destroyed. It’s just that the brake pads will have to be adjusted later.”
“Zhou Wanfeng, answer the question honestly. Don’t change the subject,” Yu Aijun’s expression was serious, and he scolded in a cold voice.
“I can drive. I don’t have a driver’s license,” Zhou Wanfeng said, glancing at him and sighing in explanation. “My family has a car, and also a dedicated driver. When I was bored with my studies in high school, I would find something to pass the time. Aren’t all cars just four wheels and a steering wheel, a gas pedal, and a brake?” She couldn’t very well say that she had known these things in her past life.
Yu Aijun’s brow was furrowed. His tone softened. “We’ll talk about this later. Do you know that you’ve changed the meaning of this assessment?”
Zhou Wanfeng looked into the distance, her face expressionless, her demeanor calm and composed. Finally, she turned to look at Yu Aijun. “I know. This assessment is not just to spur us on. It’s also a tribute to our predecessors. They have also experienced it. In a desperate environment, they never gave up, never gave up, and used their lives to gain the hope of victory. Some things have to be done by someone. Our mission is to pass through this mountain. Someone has to clear the obstacles.”
Yu Aijun hadn’t expected Zhou Wanfeng to see it so clearly. He looked at her for a long time before he said, “Zhou Wanfeng, I remember you said that you would not deny your past self. Now, it seems that I didn’t see you clearly. I thought you were…” Yu Aijun looked at Zhou Wanfeng and lowered his head with a little guilt. “A little cold, a little withdrawn, only focused on yourself, and not caring about the people around you. This kind of person is prone to arrogance, and will slowly become detached from the masses, and will feel that everyone is a burden… and will gradually feel that others can’t tolerate them, and will go further and further down the wrong path.”
He took a deep breath. “I was narrow-minded and saw wrong. Through tonight’s events, I found that you, Zhou Wanfeng, are probably a rather nostalgic person in your heart. To be so nostalgic is also to be a person who values feelings.”
Yu Aijun stood up and took off his clothes. “You should show more expression. You’re always so cold-faced, and your gaze is also cold when you look at anyone. You’re both bold and presumptuous. If the J-chief comes one day, will you also stare at him like that?”
He took a few steps and then turned around, pointing a finger. “This matter is not over yet. It’s not that I’m praising you for doing a good job. It’s just… forget it. The company commander will find you later. Let him tell you,” Yu Aijun said, looking at Zhou Wanfeng’s dirty face. He really couldn’t bring himself to scold her anymore. To use Cao Baoshan’s words from behind his back, she had at least brought honor to their new recruit training base.