Chapter 7: Drawing Lots

200-meter prone stationary target: ten shots, all hit the target, with six tens, three nines, and one eight.

100-meter kneeling moving target: ten shots, all hit the target, with five tens, three nines, and two eights.

50-meter standing moving target: ten shots, all hit the target, with five tens, two nines, two eights, and one seven.

Looking at this score record, Kang Lei could hardly believe his own eyes!

The reason Wang Yanbing was recently recruited into the Iron Fist Group was precisely because Fan Tianlei noticed his considerable talent for shooting.

Indeed, the facts have proven that Wang Yanbing's shooting talent is truly high.

Within the Sharpshooter Fourth Company, and even the entire Iron Fist Group, the only one who can be compared to him is He Chen Guang.

But the two of them had already completed the assessment before Liu Xiaotian; although their scores were also excellent, compared to Liu Xiaotian they were just a little bit short.

They also both hit the target with all thirty bullets, but He Chen Guang had one fewer ten and one more nine than Liu Xiaotian, while Wang Yanbing had one fewer nine and one more eight than He Chen Guang.

Otherwise, the three scores are basically the same.

This… damn, is this the score of a rookie soldier?

Who would believe it if this got out?

If you don't get beaten, that counts as running fast!

As soon as this score was announced, the first one who couldn't sit still was Gong Jian.

Of course, he wouldn't go so far as to directly demand personnel from Kang Lei or He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei on the spot, but it's normal to prepare his arguments and tactics in advance, right?

Once Liu Xiaotian's score came out, the two soldiers behind him were in for a miserable fate.

At this point, who still has the mood to look at them? With Liu Xiaotian, He Chen Guang, and Wang Yanbing's scores laid out there, even Li Erniu, who was three rings lower than Wang Yanbing but still hit the target with all thirty bullets, gets automatically overlooked, let alone anyone else.

As for Cai Xiaoxin, who only hit the target with twenty-eight bullets, it goes without saying—even Peng Donghai didn't give him a glance.

Logically speaking, such shooting scores, if placed in an ordinary unit of Liu Xiaotian's original world, would definitely be top-notch.

But in this world, especially in the Iron Fist Group, among the elite picked from the entire regiment, Cai Xiaoxin was instantly drowned out by others' halos.

Of course, Peng Donghai didn't turn against Cai Xiaoxin just because of Liu Xiaotian's performance, nor did he stop wanting to see this soldier.

But right now his mind is entirely focused on guarding against Gong Jian, and he dares not be distracted.

Peng Donghai has already gritted his teeth and sworn in his heart that if this Liu Xiaotian is poached by Gong Jian this time, he won't remain as company commander, and if necessary he'll apply for a specialty!

Of course, whether this is a spiteful idea, probably only he himself knows.

After the last soldier's assessment ended, Kang Lei immediately ordered the scores to be tallied and ranking done, then announced the results on the spot.

As expected, Liu Xiaotian is the undisputed first place in this shooting assessment! However, because he tied with He Chen Guang in the morning's close-combat assessment, his total score is just a tad lower than Wang Yanbing's, who knocked out his opponent in a single round of the close-combat assessment, placing him second.

He Chen Guang third, Li Erniu fourth.

As for Cai Xiaoxin, also from the Sixth Company, he only managed nineteenth place.

However, only twenty-four soldiers were selected to participate in this training camp. Cai Xiaoxin's score, although not the final assessment for selecting Red Blood Cell Group members, leaves his hopes almost nil.

After the scores were announced, He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei said nothing and immediately got up and left.

However, the barely concealed smile on their faces let many people guess the reason.

That Liu Xiaotian is a 'connection soldier' with someone looking out for him from above is no secret in the Sixth Company, nor even in the entire Iron Fist Group.

What's more, after taking a few steps, Fan Tianlei suddenly stopped, turned his head, and threw at Kang Lei the sentence 'Right after dismissal, have Liu Xiaotian come to regiment headquarters,' which only confirmed the officers' and soldiers' suspicions.

It looks like this kid's entry into the Red Blood Cell Group is a sure thing! Originally he was just a connection soldier, and now he's actually staging a 'salty fish turning over' success story.

Compared to that, a loser's comeback is always more admirable than a genius winning the championship, right? Looks like… the brigade commander and chief of staff really are old and crafty……

This is the idea held by officers at the company and platoon level.

I didn't expect this kid to be so deeply hidden; the brigade commander and chief of staff really have eagle eyes!

This is the idea of officers at the battalion level and above.

Even the Iron Fist Group's regimental commander Kang Lei, at this moment, can't help but admire the veteran and unique insight of He Zhijun and Fan Tianlei!

Their vision really is beyond words!

He personally presided over both the morning and afternoon assessments, leaving no doubt that Liu Xiaotian had no chance to cheat at all.

It seems I'm not qualified as a regimental commander after all! Otherwise, how could I have continually failed to notice this soldier with such potential?

Even Li Erniu, who jumped up and ran in fright the first time he drove a tank through his body in training, and who was a lovable oaf that almost caused an accident, he could see that the oaf's stubbornness would surely make him an excellent soldier—so why couldn't he see that Liu Xiaotian had been pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger all along? Just as Kang Lei was secretly regretting this in his heart, Gong Jian suddenly came over.

He didn't even need to speak; Kang Lei already knew what he was going to say.

"Don't mention those three words Liu Xiaotian, or else don't blame me for making you, this instructor, run ten kilometers on the drill field in front of your entire Fourth Company!" Kang Lei glared and swallowed back Gong Jian's words before they could leave his mouth.

Peng Donghai's eyes had been fixed on Gong Jian all along; seeing him approach Kang Lei, he immediately followed, just catching Kang Lei's words and nearly laughing out loud.

"Oh dear, I say Instructor Gong, you're being a bit underhanded, aren't you? Whenever you see something good, you just try to pocket it for yourself?"

"Today I'm putting this out there: if you can poach Liu Xiaotian, I'll quit as company commander, and worst case I'll go home to my specialty at year‑end!"

Kang Lei felt annoyed inside! If it weren't for his position, he'd go up and kick those two guys away with both feet.

"Get lost, get lost! All of you, get lost! If you want to fight, go to the training room, shut the door and go at it hammer and tongs! Don't come here to cause trouble for me!"

Liu Xiaotian, listening off to the side, really couldn't help but feel like laughing.

It seems this world actually differs somewhat from that TV drama.

At least in the TV drama, Kang Lei doesn't have such a 'simple and brutal' way of speaking.

After watching the excitement for a while, Liu Xiaotian was about to turn and leave, lest these 'superiors' get too fired up and accidentally burn him, when he heard Kang Lei shout with full vigor: 'Liu Xiaotian! Report to regiment headquarters right away! The brigade commander and chief of staff want to see you!'

(End of Chapter)