Chapter 370 - 301: Squadron, My World

The dark building, its silhouette illuminated by the lights of the guard pavilion, housed a drooping, dozing head that was neither fat nor thin, with a slight double chin—it was the successfully slimmed-down General Han.

Standing guard and keeping watch, sitting on duty and sneaking in sleep—this was the spirit, the long-missed Squadron.

The first scene at the gate gave them the feeling of returning home.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single officer in the car who could stealthily drape an epaulette-adorned coat over him and then relish his horrified expression upon waking up.

—Even if there was, with fewer stars, it would hardly intimidate General Han.

"Honk!"

"Honk honk!"

The little fat guy in the pavilion shook, lifted his head, and was blinded by the strong headlights of Car 1.

His eyes, gradually filled with terror.

He stood up, straightened his cap, and ran out of the guardhouse, then realizing something was amiss, he went back in to frantically fasten the white duty belt he should be wearing, then charged out again, reached the big gate, noticed his hands were empty, turned back to fetch the gate’s remote control, and mashed the button several times, causing the gate to start and stop before it finally opened after quite a while.

This was bloody—part-guerrilla, part-modern-day Charlie Chaplin.

Everyone had failed to notice until now that the Squadron actually boasted so many comedic characters.

"Squad Leader... you guys are back!!"

General Han shouted. The vehicles had not yet entered the yard when the lights upstairs came on.

Of the 15 who went in the early stage, plus the three drivers and three combatants from the second batch, 21 people in total returned to the Squadron on the 31st, excluding four new recruits, Team Zhang, Platoon Leader Wu who acted with the Big Team, and the Logistics Officer, Chang Ming, leaving only two non-commissioned officers, Shen Hao and Zeng Zhigao, two "about-to-expire NCOs."

One was in his fifth year, and the other in his eighth, both ready to be discharged, and since Shen Hao had just returned from driving school, they hadn’t taken them along.

Sun Jingwu, Chen Zhenghai, Zhang Yang, and Meng Qiang were also about to expire, but they weren’t retiring and planned to continue transitioning.

Of course, it was only the end of May now; who would transition and who wouldn’t was still up in the air.

Two about-to-expire heads appeared at the window upstairs and quickly disappeared.

Car 1 was a bit smaller, and Squad Leader Fang drove it quite fast without rest, leaving both Car 2 and the bus behind, so they were the first batch to get back to the Squadron.

Everyone on the vehicle couldn’t wait for the car to drive into the garage; they were eager to step onto the Squadron’s asphalt front yard.

"Ah...! Ha! Ha!"

"Ah!"

"We’re back!"

Each person getting off the vehicle had to howl twice upon touching the ground to show their relief.

"Keep it down, other residents are sleeping nearby," Fang Huai, the last one off, closed the car door and reminded them.

Everyone instinctively looked around at the tranquil high-rises in the vicinity.

Yes, asleep.

It was four or five in the morning, and the peaceful buildings housed countless people silently sleeping within.

In Beichuan during those early hours, the silence was the same, no, even more profound—so still that even the wind could be heard, a silence that was terrifying.

Living is wonderful.

"Fang Huai, you’re back!" Han Yong, ignored by everyone else, spotted Fang Huai who was the last to get off and immediately embraced him.

"Hey, hey, easy, I’m exhausted!" Fang Huai patted Han Yong’s back.

But the feel was somewhat less substantial than before, which made him curiously glance over Han Yong’s shoulder for a moment, then he commented,

"You’ve lost weight! Have you been working out recently?... Your parents wouldn’t recognize you at this rate, would they?"

Han Yong’s weight loss had always been rapid. Since they saw each other every day, they had gotten used to it, but having been away for a while made the difference in his thinness quite apparent.

"Ah, standing guard during the day, training at night!" General Han said with a bitter expression:

"Without you, that Wang Peng bastard made us train miserably! But Squad Leader Zeng made sure we watched the news every day!

How are you guys? All well? Yesterday we watched the news, and even the UN Secretary-General came! He arrived in Yingxiu! Some teachers have already started teaching in tents; is the rescue still going on in the disaster area?"

After hearing this, Fang Huai couldn’t help but check the system.

Task Completion Degree, 176 points, time left on the task, just the last two days, it would be over on the 26th.

Only 4 points to go before he could improve his Waist Strength Increase.

During this rescue, he felt the importance of a strong waist—without it, constantly crouching and lifting heavy objects, he wouldn’t have been able to endure such prolonged rescue work.

In the disaster area, people knew him as "Superman," a reputation he gained due to his all-around physical fitness.

When this task ended, his strength increase would be complete and his internal organs would have gone through one round of enhancement.

He had a hunch that if no tasks came up for a while, it might be a long time before he could start the second round of internal organ enhancement.

If he could access the second round of heart and lung strengthening, his endurance might see a significant improvement.

Military merit value, 42.8.

This trip had earned him a First Class Merit. Given his current physical condition, the A-level Core Strength Enhancement corresponding to a First Class Merit probably couldn’t be redeemed yet.

It seemed that military merit values were hard to come by. He had just received military merit

It was a conundrum whether to exchange it for 200 military merit points or to wait until his body was ready for A-level Core Strength Enhancement.

After thinking it over, Fang Huai shook his head, "The reconstruction after the disaster has already started, everything that could be dug out has been... Beichuan might still be digging, though."

As he spoke, people had already started coming down from upstairs.

"Hello Squad Leader! Hello Instructor!" Three new recruits shouted out.

Several nodded in acknowledgment.

"Instructor Cao, you’re back!" Zeng Zhigao and Shen Hao also came over to greet them.

"Mhm," Cao Yi nodded, but his thoughts were still in Sichuan. Seeing the two men, he wanted to assign some tasks but couldn’t remember what to assign at the moment.

"Uh..."

With a blank mind, he turned to look at Fang Huai.

This was not a subconscious action, but because he felt that Fang Huai truly had the capability to organize work.

Understanding the situation, Fang Huai pointed to the vehicle, "First, let’s unload the Emergency Rescue Suits from the car. There are too many lost equipment reports to deal with right now, rest up, we’ll sort it out tomorrow. Song Lin, you take these three and handle the equipment in the car, I won’t join you in tidying up."

"Sure!" Song Lin beamed with joy.

Over the past two weeks, Wang Peng had been too enthusiastic at the Squadron, and everything Squad Leader Zeng had to delegate went to Wang Peng. It had been a long time since anyone called on him to "lead" same year soldiers in work.

Technically, whoever led, they had the same work to do, but it just sounded much more pleasant to his ears!

Fang Huai spoke up, and Cao Yi called everyone to action. Stretching themselves out lazily, they all went upstairs to rest.

Even Huang Yong, the loner who usually kept to himself, patted Fang Huai on the back as he walked by and said, "Leave these things to them, let’s go upstairs and rest. You need to take care of yourself."

"Right," Hao Chengbin had already stripped off his clothes, revealing his athletic shorts underneath. He carelessly threw his emergency rescue suit, caked in mud and ashes and worn for over ten days, onto the ground.

Feeling much lighter, he stretched his arms, walked over, clapped Fang Huai on the shoulder, and said, "Took off the clothes, come on, join me for a bath! Scrub my back for me!"

Fang Huai chuckled, but still took off his clothes and threw them over the bushes at the entrance.

Before going upstairs, he winked at a few same-year soldiers.

"Brothers, I’m too tired, I’m leaving it to you guys!"

Song Lin and Xiao Haishan immediately smiled, patted their chests in sync, and gave a thumbs up.

Brotherhood is a matter of the heart.

Fang Huai patted his chest and returned the thumbs up.

The silly rites of men.

Wang Peng stood there, looking loss and forlorn.

Fang Huai had changed.

Before leaving, he still retained a bit of a private’s deliberate humility, which made Wang Peng feel that he had a chance to catch up. But when Fang Huai returned, that humility was gone. In his conversation, he had become more composed.

And everyone respected him more.

During this time, Wang Peng’s pursuit seemed to have become meaningless.

His thoughts were confirmed by a few same-year soldiers nearby.

Xiao Haishan hooked his arm around the askew-shouldered Han Yong and said with a chuckle, "Hey, General Han, did Fang Huai come back with a big accomplishment?"

Han Yong replied helplessly, "How would I know? I’ve only talked to him briefly..."

Song Lin looked sorrowful and said, "Look at him, he’s like a leader now, the f*cking guy... When he left, he didn’t even say he would take me with him. He just went off to achieve his own glory. I’m sure he’ll become a cadre and abandon us."

Han Yong waved his hand and said, "You don’t understand anything. Even if Fang Huai becomes a cadre, it’ll be next year. Unless he comes back with a First Class Merit or an honorary title. By the time he returns from the military academy next year, you’ll be discharged."

Hearing this, Song Lin became even more melancholic, "Ah? And here I was thinking he’d look out for me once he became a cadre! That long?"

Han Yong laughed and asked, "So are you staying or not?"

"No way, I’m not staying. Staying another term would mean three more years. I’d be crazy. I would rather he become the regimental commander and make me the logistics officer," Song Lin shook his head repeatedly.

"Cut it out," Han Yong and Xiao Haishan both gave him the middle finger.

...

The squadron’s hot water was all used up.

When the group emerged from the showers, they felt as if they had ascended, surrounded by steam.

This bath was so thorough that even the dirt under their toenails was cleaned out.

Beyond the dirt and grime, they always felt there was still a scent of blood that no amount of washing could completely remove.

Back in the squad, the mess of shoes and blankets they had left scattered around the previous day were now neatly arranged.

The most awesome thing was, the moment the light was turned on, everyone’s blanket had a peace buckle on it.

"Damn..."

Fang Huai, being closest to the bed, picked up the buckle and saw that it was made of jade.

This was definitely General Han’s doing.

He laughed and said, "Fatty Han."

Hao Chengbin also laughed, knowing well who was responsible for this.

"That little rascal."

A jade buckle might only cost a few hundred bucks – not too expensive, but not cheap either.

What mattered was the thought behind it, which warmed everyone’s hearts.

The squadron had people who thought of them every day, waiting for their return.

"Ugh..."

As soon as they sat down, the three men from the Special Duty Squad let out a long sigh.

The bed.

They actually had beds.

So damn soft.

They say the beds in the military are hard, but as they sat down, compared to the hard, bug-infested ground of Beichuan Hanwang, it was like a slice of heaven.

"This is literally paradise," said Huang Yong, who was usually tough, unable to contain his excitement as he quickly made his bed.

Hao Chengbin had been hesitating about whether to call Bai Ling, but as soon as he touched the bed, he felt such relief as if his constipation had been cured. He spread out the sleeping quilts in a rush and jumped into bed.

"Don’t talk, don’t talk, Huang Yong, close the curtains, I’m going to sleep until the day after tomorrow."

Fang Huai also couldn’t help but smile.

The military, this place that looks cold and uninviting, but once you get used to it, it’s really no different from home. The familiarity and comfort, with two or three comrades cracking jokes nearby—it was warmth all around.

After making the bed, he went into the study room, plugged the phone charger into the wall socket, and sent a message to his parents:

"Back at the squadron, old man, stay safe."

He also sent one to Brother Yang:

"Back at the squadron, just took a shower, good night."

Before he even left the study room, his mobile phone lit up again.

Yang replied swiftly: Good, good night.

Fang Huai smiled and then went back to his own bed and dived into it.

The long-missed world of the living.

(So sleepy, I’ll add another Chapter in the middle of the night, going to sleep for now.)