Chapter 72: Suited for the Field Army
Later, the cadets who had participated in the assessment in the forest gave their feedback. After getting off the truck and entering the entrance, they wished they could stretch their eyes to the limit. At a wind gap, there were piles of withered leaves, blocked by wild grass. From less than three meters away, it looked like a person was lying there.
Three or four people cautiously surrounded it, from the front and back. They went up aggressively, and with a step, it was empty, a pile of withered leaves.
Where it was dark, there were people hiding. Their nerves were tense, and they were afraid that even a loud breath would be heard by the surrounding enemies.
But at the first checkpoint, they were playing ambushes and guerrilla warfare.
After taking out one, they ran away.
They were elusive. You couldn’t chase after them. What if it was an ambush?
But when they got to the second checkpoint, the situation suddenly changed. How should I put it? It was like on the African savanna. At the first checkpoint, they were still a herd of wildebeest. The enemy was very sneaky, and there were no head-on attacks. At this time, if they moved as a group, the other side could only run.
But when they entered the second checkpoint, they all turned into antelopes. Large predators were everywhere, as if they were starving. They were openly looking for people in the forest. When they saw them, in less than a second, a lion’s roar would sound, and immediately, the sound of running would come from all around.
The urgent and fast sound of running was extremely stimulating to the heart. To stay in one place for even a second was to have a slow brain.
There was no time to organize. Their legs were faster than their mouths. Some went back, some went left, and some went right. In a flash, the team was instantly scattered.
There was an unlucky one who tripped and fell. He fell to the ground with a thud, and his neck was smeared with something. He “died.” He was so wronged that he was stomping his feet.
This situation was clearly from the right area. The right side of the forest was full of veterans, squad leader level, especially the few who were leading the team, Duan Hangyi, Gao Chunjie, Sha Shaoxing, and Zhao Gangzi. The few of them were like fierce tigers coming down the mountain. The moment they saw a cadet, they would blow their whistles to warn, and then they would charge over.
Their movements were neat and decisive, brave and forceful. Run? They could even be torn down from a tree.
They fled in a sorry state, but their stamina and speed were no match for the others. They were just a pitiful antelope, targeted by a group of tigers and lions. It was difficult to escape even with wings.
It was thrilling and extremely tense.
Duan Hangyi had a belly full of fire, and he was using the running and catching to offset his anger. The moment he stopped, his mind couldn’t help but wander. When he encountered a cadet who could run, he could chase them to the left forest, send them away, and then come back.
Gao Chunjie was also not feeling good. He was a little self-blaming and regretful. He had been the first to discover Zhou Wanfeng, and he had also seen that this cadet was different, with both courage and strategy, and formidable skills.
But he had still underestimated Zhou Wanfeng. He had thought that with the searchlight locking on to her position, there shouldn’t be a problem with two or three soldiers going up.
But in the end, she had counter-ambushed them and taken them out.
This was not the most uncomfortable part. Gao Chunjie now finally understood that Zhou Wanfeng had anticipated his thoughts, and that he had stubbornly believed that she would prioritize completing the mission.
Basically, if she had been able to prioritize the mission, she would have definitely been the first to pass through the second checkpoint in this assessment, and she might have even successfully completed the mission.
But in the end, for the sake of the cadets behind her, she had destroyed the searchlight. Gao Chunjie had to give Zhou Wanfeng a thumbs-up.
When the rear command center warned that a cadet was about to pass through the second checkpoint, they had already known in their hearts that it was expected.
If there was a second, there would be a third…
When the east revealed a hint of pale white, the night’s assessment was officially over.
Gao Chunjie, Duan Hangyi, and the other soldiers received a message from the rear command center and withdrew from the forest. One by one, they took off their head camouflage, their hair all wet with sweat. Their dark faces showed the results of a summer of hard training.
Gao Chunjie and Duan Hangyi instructed the soldiers to find a place to rest, and the few of them, the squad leaders, went back to the command center to report the situation.
The cadets were now in small groups, scattered to the east, west, south, and north. They didn’t care about the cold of the night and were extremely tired. They were all leaning against each other, against trees, or on their teammates’ legs, arms, and stomachs, huddled together for warmth and sleep.
As far as the eye could see, the mountain seemed to be full of cadets. In the back were a few neatly parked green military trucks. On closer inspection, the trucks were also full of cadets.
A few people were walking towards the temporary command center. But at a glance, they saw that the command center was blocked by a truck.
It was clear that the truck was not parked in the right place. The few of them frowned and walked closer, looking left and right. The obstacles had clearly been rearranged later.
Gao Chunjie looked back. This truck had clearly come down from above. The tire tracks were still there.
Duan Hangyi’s brow was furrowed. He called over a soldier who was standing guard. “What’s going on? Why is this truck parked here? Call the driver over and have him move it. It’s so inconvenient to go in and out.”
The soldier also had a difficult look on his face. He contorted his face and peeked into the command center. “Reporting, Squad Leader Duan! This truck can’t be moved for the time being,” he said, and then he pointed behind him. All they saw were a few people with their heads down, bending over and looking for something on the ground. “The car keys are missing.”
“The driver can’t find the car keys? The sniper didn’t bring his sniper rifle? Isn’t this a joke?” Sha Shaoxing said with a big yawn and a giggle.
“It wasn’t the driver who drove it…” the soldier was about to explain when a rough voice came from the cotton tent. “You guys, stop dawdling at the door! Get in here!”
“Reporting!” the few of them shouted in unison. Duan Hangyi was the first to lift the cotton curtain and go in. Gao Chunjie was at the very back. He turned and glanced several times in the direction the soldier had pointed. A figure looked familiar, especially the attire.
“Old Gao, what are you doing? Hurry up,” Sha Shaoxing in front whispered and pulled him.
The temporary control center, which was also the command center, was not large. A few long tables were brought in to place the instruments and communication equipment, a mountain map, a few small flags, and two red thermos flasks. The teacups on the table were more than half full of tea leaves. Who knew how many times they had been refilled this night.
Zou Zheng wanted to drink water. He picked up his cup, looked at it, and then put it down on the table. He looked up at the few people in front of him, his heart and throat as if they were blocked by tea leaves.
Gao Chunjie was close to the thermos flask. He directly picked one up and helped to pour water. “Company commander, have some tea.”
The few of them were also covered in dust, their hair still not completely dry from the sweat. They simply turned their backs and drank some water, not looking.
But Sha Shaoxing’s sharp eyes caught a hammer on the table and nudged Duan Hangyi next to him to take a look.
No one was blind. The iron hammer was placed in the very center. It was hard not to see it. The few of them exchanged glances. It was clear that the company commander was very angry. He didn’t even look at them. Usually, no matter how angry he was, even if the training assessment was at the bottom, he would just scold them loudly, and they would have extra training. It had never been like this.
The few of them were muttering in their hearts. The situation, the atmosphere, was completely wrong. They couldn’t help but look at the political instructor, who was drinking tea next to them.
The political instructor signaled for them to look at the iron hammer, and then he glanced outside, and that was it.
While the few of them were looking at each other,
the sound of a car suddenly came from outside. A short while later, the car stopped, and the sound of footsteps came. From the sound of it, they were coming this way.
“Cao Baoshan, Yu Aijun, what are you two doing? Come over here,” a voice came from outside. The hearts of the few people in the room all skipped a beat. This voice was familiar.
Qin Zhe came in, wearing his training uniform.
Duan Hangyi, Gao Chunjie, and the others stood at attention and saluted. When they saw Qin Zhe’s eyes sparkling as he smiled at them, they all had trouble breathing. The neighboring company commander, Qin Zhe, was always stern when he looked at people, as if he didn’t like anyone. That gaze could find a few bones in an egg.
“Company Commander Zou, you’ve worked hard. I heard that the assessment here is over, so I hurried over. I also brought a few large iron pots from the cooking squad. I’ve already had someone go down and dig a stove. Later, the soup that’s cooked can be given to the soldiers and cadets to warm their stomachs.”
“Reporting!” Cao Baoshan and Yu Aijun stood at the door and reported.
“Come in,” Zou Zheng said, putting down his water cup.
The cotton tent was not big, and with two more people coming in, it was suddenly crowded.
Qin Zhe clearly knew about the assessment. He took a step back and pointed at Cao Baoshan and Yu Aijun, as if he were handing them over to Zou Zheng to deal with. “The two of them were arranged by me to guard the equipment. I didn’t expect this loophole in the assessment. It’s a good thing the assessment ended smoothly. Otherwise, the two of them would definitely have been punished.”
Zou Zheng picked up his cup and drank some water, silent for a few seconds. He said with a stiff face, “Even if it were our people guarding, they probably wouldn’t have been able to hold on.” He pointed at Sha Shaoxing and Zhao Gangzi. “These two were taken out by her.”
He lowered his head and took another sip of tea, and sighed. “A good seedling. I haven’t seen such a formidable cadet in many years. Her head works so fast, and her skills are not bad. She took out several of us by herself. She has both courage and strategy, and her individual combat skills are mature. At a critical moment, she can disregard her personal gains and losses and only consider the overall situation. She’s a born and outstanding soldier seedling.”
He was full of praise for the good seedling, but he didn’t mention the new recruit training base. Zou Zheng really didn’t want to praise them. The facts were indeed so. In the three-month new recruit training period, could you train a block of wood to blossom? That was nonsense.
Anyone could see that Zhou Wanfeng’s excellence had nothing to do with the new recruit training base. Her foundation was already good. Those combat skills, could they be learned in three months?
To praise the new recruit training base was to praise Qin Zhe, and he was even more unwilling to do that.
However, putting aside the matter of Zhou Wanfeng wanting to drive into the command center and use an iron hammer as a grenade, he himself admired this cadet very much. He had seen too many new recruits, cadets. Even if they had gotten through the training, and had even been in the army for more than a year, some of them were still not soldiers.
After he had seen the hammer, he had been angry. But after deep thought, he had actually started to admire this cadet. He had seen some long-lost precious qualities in this cadet. He had seen these qualities in the older generation.
Qin Zhe nodded in agreement. He suddenly remembered something and turned to point at the truck at the door. “By the way, why is this truck parked here? It’s in the way. Move it, move it.”
Seeing this, Zou Zheng slammed his cup on the table. “Alright, alright! There are no outsiders here! Why are you still pretending? I don’t believe you don’t know what’s going on with this truck at the door!” He then pointed at the iron hammer. “If I don’t praise the new recruit training base a few times, and praise you for being good at leading soldiers, will you have to ask what’s going on with this hammer later?”
Qin Zhe put his hand to his mouth and coughed a few times. “I know about this hammer, but I really don’t know about this truck. The two of them didn’t say. But does this Zhou Wanfeng know how to drive? She’s so bold. I heard from Cao Baoshan that Zhou Wanfeng was originally going to drive into the equipment. When I get back, I’ll have to scold her. She’s young and a little reckless.”
“Qin Zhe, you’re just showing off in front of me, aren’t you? If she had been issued a grenade in her hand, my command center would have been gone,” Zou Zheng said with a look of disgust at Qin Zhe’s mouth, which was trying its best to stay down.
Duan Hangyi raised his hand to report. “Company commander, wait a minute. What’s going on? A truck, a grenade. What else did Zhou Wanfeng do besides destroying the left infrared searchlight?” As he spoke, Duan Hangyi deliberately turned to look at Cao Baoshan and Yu Aijun, sizing them up, as if he were about to say, “The two of you were guarding, and she still succeeded? You went easy on her, didn’t you?”
Cao Baoshan had a temper. He stood up. “Duan Hangyi, what’s with that look? I’ve fought with Zhou Wanfeng with all my strength,” he said, and even wanted to point at his lower body to make a point. Twice! Zhou Wanfeng is too vicious! But with so many people around, he was too embarrassed to say it. He said angrily, “If you don’t believe me, you can go and fight her later,” he said, and also let her hit him in the lower body a couple of times.
“I definitely have to meet…” Before Duan Hangyi could finish,
Zou Zheng waved his hand, telling the two of them to stop arguing. “Meet her, you definitely have to meet her. She took out three of us at the first checkpoint. At the second checkpoint, she was able to discover the existence of the infrared searchlight, and she even counter-ambushed and took out our soldiers, and tricked the squad leader, and successfully passed through the second checkpoint under the noses of so many of us. And she even got to the light zone without anyone discovering her true intentions. The two of you were guarding, and you had to fight her one on one? You didn’t even know what her purpose was?”
It was clear that he was scolding Cao Baoshan and Yu Aijun.
Qin Zhe touched his nose and said nothing.
Gao Chunjie pointed at the truck at the door and asked, “Did Zhou Wanfeng drive this down?” His voice was filled with a hint of disbelief.
“Yes. She snatched the car. She was originally going to drive into the tree, but this infrared searchlight is so expensive. I was standing in front of the tree at that time. If the tree was there, I was there. Old Yu was running behind the car. I thought it was over at that time, but Zhou Wanfeng made a sharp turn and broke the connecting wire. She drove straight for the command center. She was speeding all the way. Several times, I saw the front of the car and the back of the car bumping so hard they were about to separate. I’ve never seen anyone drive so crazy,” Cao Baoshan said. It was the first time he had seen someone drive like that. When she was charging down, he had thought it was over.
“Zhou Wanfeng drove down from above?” Gao Chunjie imagined the slope they had just walked down. With the weight of the truck, the speed could not have been slow. How did she stop?
“Is she crazy? What was she trying to do in an assessment?” Duan Hangyi said with a frown.
Sha Shaoxing’s mouth was wide open, but he said in a small voice, “There’s no reason to say that about her. They even used an infrared searchlight in an assessment.”
Duan Hangyi glared at him, and Sha Shaoxing pouted.
Zou Zheng picked up the iron hammer on the table and held it in his hand. “No matter if she was trying to crash into the command center or what, her driving skills are really good. She stopped very steadily. And at this time, I have to praise your new recruit training base. The grenade throwing was taught very well. She completed all the key points of the movement and the throwing technique very well, and even performed it in front of us. It’s a pity that they weren’t issued training grenades in this assessment. She had no weapon in her hand, so she just threw an iron hammer down.”
The moment the company commander’s words came out, Duan Hangyi’s face became even darker. Gao Chunjie’s brow was locked, and his lips were pressed into a thin line.
Sha Shaoxing’s eyes were wide and sparkling, as if he had heard a strange story, and he was even a little excited.
Now there was nothing he didn’t understand. No wonder the company commander had looked like that when he came in. Anyone would be in a bad mood. The rear command center had been blown up. What was there to fight in the front?
Immediately, a wave of frustration welled up in his heart.
Suddenly, the sound of the truck engine outside started.
“Did you find the keys?”
The soldier outside replied loudly, “I found them! I’m going to move the truck now!”
“Who found them?”
“It was the cadet who drove the car.”
Zou Zheng went to the door and lifted the curtain. He saw the person in the driver’s cabin and turned to ask, “Where’s that cadet?”
“I think… she went to sleep,” the soldier replied.
Hearing this, Qin Zhe turned to look at Yu Aijun. “Does Zhou Wanfeng know how to drive?”
Yu Aijun frowned. “I asked her. She can drive, but she doesn’t have a license.”
“That’s a little too bold. To dare to drive like that in a place like this for the first time, isn’t she afraid of rolling over?” Duan Hangyi muttered in a small voice.
“Her skills are very good. Not worse than a driver,” Yu Aijun said, glancing at Duan Hangyi and speaking up for his own cadet.
“Zhou Wanfeng looks bold and rash, but in reality, everything is within her precise calculations. She’s smart. Her college entrance exam score was nearly 700. An ordinary person can’t get that score. The things she dares to do are… almost a sure thing,” Cao Baoshan was definitely on his own side. He saw that the company commander was even giving him a look.
“Alright, let’s not talk about it anymore. We should summarize what we need to summarize, and criticize what we need to criticize. Let’s talk about it at the summary later. You’ve all worked hard all night. Go and rest. When you get up, you can see what kind of soup Company Commander Qin has brought for us,” Zou Zheng said, pinching the bridge of his nose. The results of the assessment had to be registered and reported, and he had to report it to the camp.
The few squad leaders looked at each other, saluted, and then left.
As for Zhou Wanfeng, she had found a quiet place to sleep. When Liu Shupei and Jin Hongjie found her, she was leaning against a tree, sleeping soundly.
“Zhou Wanfeng, get up and have some soup.”
The east had already revealed a hint of silver-red. The sun was like an egg yolk. At this moment, a fragrant smell was floating in the air, tempting people to open their eyes.
A few large, deep pots were already surrounded by the cadets.
They hadn’t even gotten close, but were surrounded from a distance. A few of the officers were trying to drive them away. “It’s not ready yet! Don’t be in a hurry! Wait a little longer!”
“Put more meat in! It’s fragrant!”
“Crack a few more eggs in! A little more egg drop won’t make the soup thin and watery!”
“Do you need to be taught?”
All they saw in the few large pots were diced potatoes, diced tomatoes, diced meat, spinach leaves, broken noodles, and egg liquid. When the pot was opened, a handful of chopped green onions and coriander leaves were added, and a drizzle of sesame oil. It was done.
With the sound of the whistle, the cadets had already lined up in their respective squads and were going up in turn.
A bowl of thick dough drop soup was not only warm, but also filling. Unfortunately, there were no spoons or chopsticks. In the wild, everyone was not particular. They would either use their hands, or tilt their heads back and drink from the bowl. They each had their own tricks. Anyway, they couldn’t waste it.
Zhou Wanfeng was sitting on a rock, holding her bowl. She looked up and saw a few people standing in front of her.
Duan Hangyi, Gao Chunjie, Sha Shaoxing, and Zhao Gangzi had come to find her. After they had returned from the command center, the few of them couldn’t sleep at all. They couldn’t describe the feeling in their hearts. They had been working so hard in the front, and their rear had been hit and bombed.
After the cadets had lined up, it was the squad leaders’ turn. Cao Baoshan and Yu Aijun each had half a bowl. They had just taken a couple of sips when they suddenly saw over there, “Old Yu, look over there! Isn’t that Duan Hangyi and his group?”
Yu Aijun handed his bowl to He Wei next to him and ran straight over.
Cao Baoshan took a sip, frowned from the heat, and also put it next to He Wei. “Old He, if you’re not full, you can have Old Yu’s. Leave mine for me.”
Zhou Wanfeng’s face had been simply washed with water. It was not as blurry as in the dark of the night. Only now did Gao Chunjie recognize her.
“You’re Zhou Wanfeng?”
Zhou Wanfeng stood up, her expression cold, and quietly looked at the few people in front of her. Her gaze was neither humble nor arrogant, neither proud nor impatient. “I am Zhou Wanfeng.”
“Zhou Wanfeng is formidable! You’ll be suited for the field army in the future,” Sha Shaoxing said, pushing the others aside and standing at the very front, his eyes sparkling with excitement. “Me, do you remember? The one you took out last night, and even stripped me of my clothes.”