Chapter 1170

Wu Liuyi's pain did not last long. After waiting a few minutes, as new recruits ran over one after another, he was already drenched in sweat, lying there with a look of relief on his face, watching the brightening sky.

"Hoo... hhh~ Ptooey!"

Gao Cheng ran up to them, panting heavily and spitting out phlegm—a set of actions performed in one go—then immediately looked at Wu Liuyi lying on the ground, Wang Yan sitting cross-legged to the side, and the veteran soldier keeping time.

"How is it? What's the time?"

"Wang Yan, 19 minutes 32 seconds; Wu Liuyi, 19 minutes 43 seconds. Both broke twenty minutes. They're really not human; they're pure, big beasts."

"Whoa..." Gao Cheng's eyes widened. "And they were carrying over thirty kilograms of weight. This result has no rival in the entire army. Good, very good!"

"This kid messed with me, going fast then slow, just playing with me." Wu Liuyi patted Wang Yan beside him and said, "If he had run at a steady pace, he definitely could have been faster. That thirty-plus kilograms seemed like nothing to him. If he hadn't been leading the run, I would never have broken twenty minutes even if I died."

Wu Liuyi was telling the truth. The standard assessment requirement was twenty-six minutes, and that was with a fifteen-kilogram load. Even with grassroots officers setting high standards and strict requirements for their soldiers, being off by a minute or two was generally considered passing.

Not to mention cross-country running with a load, even for a regular five-kilometer run, breaking twenty minutes is quite enough for an amateur enthusiast, let alone a cross-country run that also required a thirty-kilogram load.

Although the soldiers trained all day, tempering their bodies and honing their combat skills, they were still human. At this weight, nineteen minutes was about the limit.

Of course, it had no effect on Wang Yan. Even if he were carrying fifty kilograms, he could still break the world record for a five-kilometer run; he was a true beast.

Wang Yan gave Wu Liuyi's leg a hard pat: "You're definitely going to be wrecked tomorrow."

"Even if I have to lie in bed for three days without getting up, I'm satisfied with breaking twenty minutes."

Gao Cheng took out cigarettes and handed them to the two: "It's settled then. You're the ones going to the grand competition. Bring back all those honors for me."

"Guarantee to complete the mission."

Gao Cheng laughed heartily, then stopped paying attention to them and strolled off to talk to the other new recruits.

At this moment, Shi Jin walked over. He also asked about their results, and after learning them, he could only give a thumbs-up and call them awesome.

"But I'll say it again: you must act according to your ability."

"Saying it is useless." Wang Yan said with a chuckle, "He doesn't know what 'acting according to ability' means. He just holds his breath and goes for it."

"Human potential is infinite. If you don't push yourself, no one knows what level you can reach. So, you just have to go for it."

"Yes, yes, go for it hard." Wang Yan nodded with a smile, then turned to look at Xu Sanduo, who was standing behind Shi Jin with a silly grin. "What was your time, Sanduo?"

"Twenty-five and a half minutes." Xu Sanduo grinned.

"See? I told you that you could do it. Well done."

"Actually, I got a stitch in my side halfway through, but I thought I couldn't lose face, so I gritted my teeth and finished."

"Oh, that's even better. Isn't that right, Old Squad Leader?" Wang Yan patted Wu Liuyi beside him.

The latter glanced at the grinning Xu Sanduo, looked at the anticipation in those eyes, and then looked back at the sky: "We just broke twenty minutes; you're still far behind."

He was also a proud one.

Clearly, Xu Sanduo had also figured out Wu Liuyi, and he smiled: "I'll definitely be able to improve next time."

"Hey, right, that's well said. You'll definitely improve next time." Shi Jin patted Xu Sanduo on the shoulder. "Sanduo, you just need to have this spirit to be a good soldier."

"Wang Yan told me that as long as I keep doing it, keep training hard, and study seriously, I will be a good soldier."

"Right, you will be a good soldier!" Shi Jin laughed heartily, feeling very gratified.

Xu Sanduo grinned foolishly again.

Although Wang Yan had told him not to always smile, he couldn't help it. However, when he was training, he could already ensure he was serious...

The mid-May breeze brought cool greetings to these sweating soldiers. A few small trees swayed left and right, also greeting the soldiers. Even the early birds chirped in the long sky, comforting the soldiers with a "good morning."

The soldiers, carrying heavy backpacks, trudged along listlessly, having walked another ten kilometers back to the barracks, and the return trip was a ten-kilometer forced march.

A forced march, as the name implies, is a hurried march, so the speed is naturally not slow—eight or nine kilometers per hour, marching rapidly all the way without a moment's pause, taking big strides. The intensity was not much easier than the previous armed cross-country, and perhaps even more grueling, after all, it lasted longer.

Gao Cheng was also walking rapidly. Although he was already panting, he didn't forget to joke with the soldiers and even gave a preview: before joining the company, there would be a field training exercise of over a hundred kilometers, walking just like this all the way, which drew a chorus of complaints...

They had left at four o'clock, and by the time they returned, it was already past seven.

They were told there would be no morning exercises, so the soldiers all thought they could sleep a little longer upon returning, but now it was clear there wasn't enough time. They had to tidy up, organize their interior affairs, wash up, and then go eat breakfast. After digesting for ten or twenty minutes, the morning training would begin again.

It was still drills, tactics, and physical fitness; these were the things practiced over and over in the army.

In the evening, Xu Sanduo was still doing extra training. He was intoxicated by the recognition of others and couldn't extricate himself.

He wasn't a fool. He knew how people looked at him when he arrived and how they looked at him now. In this process, he had experienced a sense of relief he had never felt before...

Wang Yan, of course, accompanied him. Not only did he accompany him, but he also pulled out the new recruits with the lowest scores in the squad to train with Xu Sanduo.

"Squad Deputy, we're so tired today. We carried twenty kilometers early in the morning, running for our lives and walking until we were dead. Just let me off."

"No way. This is for the collective; it's not a question of whether you are willing or not. You have to do it whether you can or not. Look at Xu Sanduo; he has better scores than you and works harder than you. Besides, are you the only one tired? Did I not walk with Xu Sanduo? I was carrying over thirty kilograms."

"How can I compare to you? You're a big beast, and I'm still human. My good Squad Deputy~"

"Get lost. If you nag again, I'll practice grappling with you."

Wang Yan put on a stern face, and only then did the new recruit sigh in resignation and start practicing tactical movements with Xu Sanduo.

Basic drills had been mostly practiced in the first month, with goose-stepping performed with a crisp sound. Since then, there had been continuous drill training to maintain familiarity, so there was basically no need to worry.

As for physical training, the human body's endurance is ultimately limited. Late at night, they mostly did push-ups, frog jumps, and horizontal/parallel bars. The main improvements were in various tactical movements of crawling and rolling.

Compared to this new recruit's dawdling and reluctance, Xu Sanduo was very self-conscious, training away with all his might...

Compared to the same period in the original plot, Xu Sanduo was much stronger. Even when Xu Sanduo was transferred to the Seventh Company after building the road on the grassland, he couldn't compare to how he was now.

Moreover, he didn't anger Gao Cheng again, and he didn't, like in the original drama, carry Gao Cheng's speech and say he wanted to write a letter to his father. Wang Yan had already told the new recruits in the squad about all kinds of discipline and regulations.

Many of Xu Sanduo's mistakes were because he didn't understand.

It seems memorable that when Xu Sanduo was transferred to the Seventh Company and participated in anti-infrared combat, he took two hot eggs and put them in his chest for Shi Jin to eat. At that time, Xu Sanduo's appearance really made people's teeth itch with hatred.

But in fact, Xu Sanduo had just been transferred there and didn't understand many things, and no one taught him, which is why he always made mistakes...

Just like that, the days passed one by one. In the blink of an eye, more than half a month had passed. The training of the new recruit company had finally walked through most of the way and reached the later stage.

On this morning, after morning exercises and breakfast, the new recruits returned to the barracks with light steps, their faces full of joy.

"Hey, this regular uniform was issued and only worn once to try it on. Is this what a soldier wears? It looks so handsome." A soldier stomped his feet, his leather shoes shining brightly.

This remark was agreed upon by many new recruits.

Because what people saw—soldiers walking outside, soldiers on TV—were mostly wearing regular uniforms. Including the grand military parade, the soldiers also wore regular uniforms.

The honor guards and military bands even wore dress uniforms.

Wearing a peaked cap and stomping in goose-step with big leather shoes, it was very handsome and highlighted the soldier's temperament well.

Wang Yan naturally also changed into his regular uniform and was currently buckling his duty belt.

This had been issued just a few days ago—the Type 87, both summer and winter sets, plus two sets of camouflage training uniforms. Previously, they had already changed into new training uniforms for daily training and no longer wore the set issued by the Armed Forces Department.

"Wang Yan, you look really handsome in your regular uniform!" Xu Sanduo said honestly.

"It's mainly because our Squad Deputy is tall, has broad shoulders, and big chest muscles, which fill out the clothes. Unlike us, we feel a bit short when we wear them."

"If you want to praise me, just praise me; why belittle yourself?" Wang Yan shook his head. "Everyone is handsome. You've all seen the grand military parade, right? We stand in a row and goose-step; that's also very crisp."

A new recruit said: "Squad Deputy, you're just lying to us. The soldiers in the parade have height requirements; we look different."

"You talk too much. I say it looks good, so it looks good. Why feel inferior just because of wearing clothes?"

"That's because I'm comparing myself to you."

"Then there's no way around it; you'll just have to be short." Wang Yan chuckled, looking a bit proud.

After chatting and laughing like this, when the time came, Gao Cheng, He Hongtao, and a group of veteran soldiers all came over in regular uniforms, calling everyone to assemble.

After a series of commands, the new recruits stood at ease outside the barracks.

"Listen up!"

With a 'swish' sound, all the new recruits stood at attention.

Gao Cheng stood with his hands behind his back, nodding with satisfaction, and said: "Today is the rank-conferring ceremony. Keep your appearance and demeanor tidy, and show our spirit. There are over a thousand new recruits in this batch, all together. We must overwhelm them in momentum. Do you understand?"

"Understood!"

"Louder!"

"Understood!"

Just like that, the new recruits tidied themselves up again, confirmed there were no problems, and followed the commands to march toward the playground.

At this moment, on the playground, teams of soldiers were already entering the field while shouting slogans. Clearly, they all had the same idea as Gao Cheng: to show their spirit, overwhelm other new recruit companies, and win in momentum.

For a time, the shouting on the playground shook the sky.

After a while, the over a thousand new recruits of the new recruit regiment, as well as the veteran soldiers and officers of all levels who had been temporarily transferred, all stood ready.

The 2004 T Armored Division Spring New Recruit Rank-Conferring Ceremony officially began.

First item: Welcoming the military flag.

Second item: Raising the national flag and singing the national anthem.

"Arise, ye who refuse to be slaves..."

Over a thousand people sang the national anthem loudly together, the sound shaking the wilderness. The unyielding will shook heaven and earth, and the gazes of the heroic spirits who had bathed in blood also watched from here...

After singing the national anthem, the political commissar of the new recruit regiment took the manuscript and delivered a speech, mainly talking about the glorious mission and responsibility of soldiers, and giving beautiful wishes to the new recruits who had just joined the big military family.

After the leader finished speaking, he announced the start of the rank-conferring.

This was the climax of the rank-conferring ceremony. The new recruits' moods were excited, while the veteran soldiers' moods were complex.

In a trance, they seemed to see their excited selves from that year. In a daze, they also seemed to see their close comrades-in-arms who had taken off their ranks and left with their bags...

"How does it feel?" Wu Liuyi asked with a smile.

"Feels good!" Wang Yan replied, raising his eyebrows.

"Work hard in the future; you are the best soldier."

"I knew I was the best soldier before I became a soldier."

Wu Liuyi hung the epaulets on Wang Yan's shoulders, patted Wang Yan's shoulder, and went to work on the next person, continuing until the last one, Xu Sanduo. Because Xu Sanduo was the shortest, he stood at the end of the squad.

"Squad Leader." Xu Sanduo grinned.

"Feels pretty good, huh."

"Chengcai said that only after hanging the rank are you a real soldier. I'm happy."

Hearing his name, Chengcai, standing not far away, turned his head to look, met Wu Liuyi's gaze, returned a smile, and then turned back to stand at attention.

He still maintained some relationship with Xu Sanduo and had privately apologized to Xu Sanduo, saying something about being ignorant in the past. Xu Sanduo hadn't held a grudge in the first place, thinking it was just 'joking,' so naturally, the two could still talk.

Another important reason was that they were from the same village and were fellow townsmen who had grown up together. If there were any more people, they wouldn't be able to get along, let alone communicate harmoniously. After all, if a few more fellow townsmen came, Chengcai would have someone else, and it was highly probable he would still use Xu Sanduo for fun.

However, the army didn't allow such problems to exist. They controlled it during recruitment; those recruited this year wouldn't come in the following years. Moreover, the same batch of recruits would be scattered into various companies.

This was to prevent fellow townsmen from becoming too powerful and affecting the officers' command. If a company really had dozens of people from the same place and they had the right to speak, it would be hard to say who the team would listen to...

Wu Liuyi patted Xu Sanduo on the shoulder: "Our platoon leader is right; you can be a good soldier."

"Wang Yan said I am a good soldier."

"Every time you open your mouth, it's 'this one said' or 'that one said.' What do you say yourself?"

Xu Sanduo habitually lowered his head and was silent for a moment. He raised his head and met Wu Liuyi's eyes: "I am a good soldier!"

Wu Liuyi was stunned for a moment, then laughed, patting Xu Sanduo's arm with both hands.

"You are a good soldier! Just keep this spirit."

Looking at Xu Sanduo, who was grinning foolishly again, Wu Liuyi didn't pay any more attention, turned around, and left, returning to his position to stand still...