ALL NOVEL Chapter 11 - What reason is there not to train such a soldier?
Chapter 11: What reason is there not to train such a soldier?
“Beep”
6:00 am sharp.
The wake-up whistle echoed through the entire military area, and squad leader Li Long sprung up from the bed like a coil, swiftly changing into his military uniform.
Others, still not embracing their soldier identity, ignored the whistle.
In response, the squad leader roared, “Get up, all of you!”
Many hadn’t realized they were in a military camp, muttering in a dreamy state: “Mom, stop making noise. Let me sleep a bit more.”
Observing this, the squad leader shouted, “Get up, get up, all of you!”
Some only now realized, groggily opening their eyes as if not having enough sleep.
Chen Ming was prepared. Having adjusted his schedule before enlisting, he quickly got up, changed clothes, and folded his bedding.
Seeing the chaos, the squad leader shook each bed individually, urging, “Get up! This isn’t your home. Everyone, get up! It’s time for exercise!”
Some finally woke up, eyes half-open, appearing sleep-deprived. In reaction, the squad leader, exasperated, shook their beds individually.
“Get up, get up! This isn’t your home. Even if your feet have sores, you’ll still run exercises for me!”
Facing the leader’s wrath, some rubbed their eyes in confusion, murmuring pleas for more sleep.
Chen Ming was okay, having adjusted his sleep schedule before enlisting. He quickly got up, changed, and folded his bedding.
With the squad leader’s call, others reluctantly got up, dressed, and folded their bedding.
Notably, the three—Yu Jun, He Dong, and He Xue—sat on their beds, rubbing their legs in evident pain.
“Ah! Ah!”
Chen Ming was startled. Not just him, but everyone looked over, even the squad leader. Yu Jun, He Dong, and He Xue sat, rubbing their legs in pain.
“Squad leader, my leg hurts. Can we skip exercise today?” He Dong, with his fat legs, pleaded to the leader.
The squad leader, recalling yesterday’s ten laps, was momentarily puzzled by their condition. It was evident these three, unaccustomed to strenuous activity, were struggling after sudden intense exercise.
The squad leader frowned, “This isn’t your homeless your leg is broken. Even with sores, you’ll run for me!”
Faced with this, the trio rubbed their legs, hoping to alleviate the pain, then dressed and freshened up. All ten squeezed onto the small balcony for water and to brush their teeth, causing chaos due to a lack of coordination.
The squad leader, frustrated, called for order, “One by one, don’t crowd. Otherwise, it’ll get even messier!”
“Quick, He Dong, can you brush your teeth faster with your size?”
“He Xue, you want to wash your hair? Why not take a bath? Put on a hat and assemble!”
Under the leader’s urging, after ten minutes of chaos, everyone finished and hurried downstairs to assemble.
“Oh, my legs!”
He Dong, He Xue, and Yu Jun limped downstairs, every step accompanied by a groan.
Looking at Chen Ming’s nonchalant demeanor, they expressed surprise.
“We all ran together yesterday, and we’re in pain. How are you fine?”
He Dong, supporting himself on the rail due to thigh muscle soreness, found every step excruciating.
Chen Ming explained, “I started training at home before enlisting to familiarize myself with the military environment. I regularly run. My leg muscles are used to this intensity.”
“Ah, got it.”
The trio realized their oversight.
“If I knew, I should’ve trained earlier.”
He Dong regretted, realizing the consequence of not exercising regularly.
Yu Jun and He Xue echoed the regret, recognizing the toll of suddenly running ten laps. The open area beneath the dormitory was already crowded, organized by classes, with everyone standing behind their respective class leaders.
Their class leader, Li Long, had been waiting downstairs, hands crossed behind his back, standing tall and imposed.
Chen Ming and the others quickly stood behind their class leader, emulating his posture, attempting to stand as straight as possible. Soon, the assembly was complete, and each class reported their numbers. Rows of soldiers stood in front of everyone:
“Today is your first day in the military and your first day of running exercises. I don’t want to see anyone falling behind, understood?”
“Understood!”
A thunderous response echoed from each soldier’s mouth, like a wave of air ready to knock down the platoon leader.
The platoon leader nodded satisfactorily: “Good, now, three kilometers of running exercises, begin!”
After that, everyone started running, following the same track Chen Ming and the others had run before. Led by their class leaders, soldiers ran, raising clouds of dust.
The three platoon leaders watched silently from above, chatting casually.
“This batch of recruits doesn’t seem to be doing well.”
A platoon leader chuckled as he observed the new recruits running and practicing. The runway became chaotic – some ran fast, some slow, and the fast couldn’t catch up with the slow.
An entire company lacked any semblance of rhythm. After a while, many were panting, and their speed slowed down.
“On the first day as soldiers, not quitting is already good. What more can you expect from them?”
“You might not have been better than them when you started.”
The three platoon leaders teased each other, commenting on the running recruits below.
“Hey, that soldier looks promising.”
“Oh, I’ve been watching him for a while.”
“A recruit who joined the army just one day ago can keep up with the squad leader’s pace, judging by how he’s not out of breath and sweating. It seems like this amount of running is nothing for him.”
“Indeed, we have a promising recruit this year.”
The three of them were talking about Chen Ming.
After the exercise started, many in the class were already struggling. Yu Jun, He Xue, and He Dong fell behind due to muscle soreness and extremely slow speed.
Only Chen Ming could consistently keep up with the squad leader in the entire recruit company, maintaining a good breathing rhythm. And looking at his demeanor, it seemed effortless, not just putting on a show for appearances.
Chen Ming’s excellence naturally caught the attention of the three platoon leaders. Clearly, they were starting to have a favorable impression of this new recruit.
After the run, they returned to their original positions to continue the assembly. Everyone was panting, and their posture wasn’t upright.
These recruits weren’t used to regular exercise, and after the three-kilometer run, their legs felt disconnected.
The three platoon leaders stood in front, seemingly unfazed. This was the usual sight every year with new recruits. They allowed the recruits some rest time, just gathering them together without giving specific instructions.
“Li Long, step forward.”
The second platoon leader suddenly called out. Chen Ming also looked towards the voice, remembering this platoon leader from the armed forces department, Lieutenant Gao Jie.
“Here!”
Squad leader Li Long quickly shouted, clenched fists hanging on both sides of his waist, ran over, stood at attention, and awaited instructions.
“What’s the name of that soldier?” Gao Jie pointed to Chen Ming, inquiring from Li Long.
After confirming he was pointing at Chen Ming, Li Long quickly responded, “Reporting, platoon leader, his name is Chen Ming.”
Gao Jie nodded, “He’s a good seedling. Nurture him well.”
Li Long saluted, “Yes!”
Afterward, he ran back to the formation.
No need to say Li Long himself would take special care of Chen Ming. He had seen it these past two days – getting punished to run ten laps, no problem. In the three-kilometer run, he was the only one keeping up with the rhythm.
With a soldier like that, why wouldn’t you invest in training?