Chapter 116: The Unit Can Truly Change a Person

Time's up!

Lu Yang, collect the test papers!

Yes!

Lu Yang stood up and began collecting the test papers from the last row.

The first two were collected smoothly, but when it reached Ding Tengfei's side.

The guy was scribbling furiously, his pen tip nearly smoking from the speed.

His frantic look was just like Light Yagami's madness in the anime "Death Note" when he executed a criminal.

"Just a moment, just a moment! You collect the ones behind first, it'll be right away!"

Lu Yang glanced at the densely packed test papers and muttered a curse under his breath.

Even though many were wrong, the examiners would probably give some sympathy points for the sheer amount of writing.

That's the advantage of the political thought exam: as long as you throw everything you know at it desperately, you'll inevitably earn some points.

Lu Yang finished collecting the people behind him, then finally collected Ding Tengfei's, and handed the test papers to Zhou Kaidong.

Zhou Kaidong put them into a kraft paper bag, left the dormitory, and prepared to collect the test papers from First Platoon and Second Platoon as well, to hand them over to the Instructor.

Just as his front foot left, a heated discussion erupted in the tent behind, with everyone frantically seeking Lu Yang for answer keys.

No further words were needed; everyone tacitly assumed Lu Yang's answers were the standard.

But to avoid affecting morale for tomorrow's assessment, he didn't reveal the standard answers.

Instead, he said the exams were over, leave the rest to fate; after all, cultural scores only count for a part, and what's more important is tomorrow's assessment performance.

Especially in front of the Regiment Commander and the unit leaders, outstanding performance would certainly earn extra points.

Hearing this, Kong Long immediately regained confidence, determined to reclaim the points lost in the cultural exam during tomorrow's assessment.

Soon after, Zhou Kaidong turned back and gathered all three squads of the platoon outside.

"Listen up!"

"Since this is a short training, each squad must arrange a guard duty roster tonight, from 9 p. m. to 5 a. m., one hour per shift."

"Our platoon's specific guard posts are as follows..."

After finishing his briefing, Zhou Kaidong disbanded the group and immediately set up the Third Squad's duty roster.

From 9 p. m. to 5 a. m., there are exactly eight people, each taking one hour.

The term "guard duty" is a new concept for everyone.

Because the New Recruit Company has no guard duty for three months.

But they have seen veterans on guard duty, especially the sentries at the hallway entrances, who always stand like statues.

And many who have never set foot in a barracks picture the unit as soldiers gripping steel rifles, defending the borders and protecting the motherland.

The two words "guard duty" are highly representative, reflecting one aspect of a soldier's humble greatness.

Regardless of wind, rain, ice, snow, or any season, silhouettes always stand at the border outposts, guarding the countless lights of families behind them.

Thus, the recruits are eager for guard duty, but there is some disagreement over who will take the 0–3 a. m. night shift.

The reason is simple: whether it's 9–12 or 3–5, one can get a fairly decent sleep in between.

But the 0–3 shift splits a sleep period in half, greatly affecting sleep quality.

And tomorrow is the assessment day; nobody wants to go face the unit leaders' evaluation panting and out of breath.

Lu Yang originally wanted to volunteer, offering to endure the toughest time slot alone for everyone.

But Zhou Kaidong vetoed it, saying the arrangement aims to let the new recruits adapt early to post‑training life.

The saying "new recruits go to the next company, veterans celebrate the New Year" is just a joke; in our unit there is no notion of seniors bullying juniors.

However, to train fresh recruits and help them integrate quickly, the roster does assign some of the tougher slots to them, especially the 0–4 a. m. guard posts.

So Zhou Kaidong means a random draw: whatever slot you draw is yours, no room for negotiation.

Unexpectedly, Lu Yang still drew the 1–2 a. m. post.

The ones before and after him are Ding Tengfei and Kong Long.

In other words, the three of them took on the three toughest shifts, allowing the others to get a decent sleep.

"When changing posts, there's a password."

Zhou Kaidong explained that this is to prevent enemy infiltrators from slipping in.

If the password doesn't match, it indicates something's wrong with the newcomer.

Lu Yang asked, "What's the password?"

Zhou Kaidong replied, "The sentry says 'sour and spicy', the relieving guard answers 'hammer'."

Kong Long raised his hand and reported, "Why isn't it 'pepper‑salt hammer'? Pepper‑salt is tasty!"

Zhou Kaidong glared, "You're being cheeky, showing off your bite? 'Pepper‑salt hammer' is tomorrow night's password!"

Oh... Oh... Oh....

The recruits nodded like chicks pecking grain, committing the code to memory.

Damn, this is still a hard nut!

Who thought of this, blame the rapeseed flower!

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it it was nine o'clock.

After the evening roll call, the recruits of each squad, rifles in hand, went to several positions near the camp to stand guard.

Most stayed planted like stakes, standing motionless like statues; however, the camp also has mobile posts, the so‑called patrols.

All the patrols are veteran Squad Leaders, especially in the field, where vigilance cannot be relaxed.

At ten p. m., a distant signal announced the Training Section lights‑out, and the lights in each tent were extinguished, preparing everyone to drift into sleep.

Without the shelter of reinforced concrete, the thin tents gathered no heat, and within moments the interior temperature dropped sharply.

Especially when the wind outside blows, the tent canvas rustles loudly, disturbing everyone's nerves and causing agitation.

The first outdoor camping experience is not as wonderful as everyone imagined.

You can even hear snoring from other tents, as well as the rustling of branches outside.

For some reason, someone recalls a ghost story Lu Yang once told about hiking companions who went camping and mountain climbing, only to meet disaster.

That instantly adds a few more degrees of cold to the already shivering crowd.

But at this moment Lu Yang has already drifted into sleep, and overall feels relatively warm.

He wraps the blanket tightly into a sleeping bag, pressing all edges beneath his body, so he doesn't have to worry about cold seeping in from below.

This way of sleeping is something he learned from Wan Baoshan in the training unit; that guy likes to wrap himself up like a big silkworm when he sleeps.

The long night drags on, sleep unwilling, and the creaking of branches outside grows louder; even a chilling wind slips in through the tent's windows and door gaps, freezing Lu Yang awake.

At this time, the night temperature can drop several degrees below zero, and outdoor water pipes can freeze.

Now Lu Yang finally understands the importance of Packing the Backpack during an emergency assembly.

If there were no bedding, the soldiers would probably freeze to death in the wilderness before even encountering the enemy.

Just then, Lu Yang sees someone sneaking in from outside, approaches Ding Tengfei's bed, and whispers for him to get up and change posts.

Ding Tengfei rubs his eyes, sits up, reluctantly puts on his clothes, grabs his rifle and walks out.

As soon as he steps out of the tent, a gust of cold wind blows away his drowsiness, freezing him into a shiver.

Reaching his assigned post a short distance away, he again employs his signature eye‑dispersion daze technique.

It's his super ability; as long as he uses this skill, he can accelerate the flow of time.

But this time, it seems to have malfunctioned a bit?

He stared off for quite a while, yet only five minutes have passed according to the clock.

"Damn, the super ability failed?"

Just as Ding Tengfei is frustrated, something suddenly goes "plap" and lands on his hat brim.

At first he thought it was bird droppings, but when he touched it, he found it was only a water droplet.

Ding Tengfei looks up; the pitch‑black sky suddenly drops large water droplets, striking his face.

At this moment, the people inside the tent are also hit by rain on the plastic canopy, the crackling sounds waking them.

They all open their eyes, half‑sit up, look outside, and a water‑y, earthy smell rushes into their nostrils.

Just from the sound you can tell the rain is heavy, but knowing someone is still on guard outside makes everyone a bit stunned.

"Squad Leader," Kong Long asks, "It's raining; do we still have to stand guard?"

"Even if it's knives falling, even hail, we still stand!"

Zhou Kaidong's reply is the same as every veteran Squad Leader's answer.

Those high‑altitude plateau regions are a hundred times harsher than here.

Whether it's scorching heat over forty degrees or sub‑zero snowfall like goose feathers, the soldiers must still hold their posts.

Since the enemy likes to exploit bad weather, the more extreme the climate, the higher the vigilance required.

Zhou Kaidong puts on slippers, walks to the doorway, lifts the curtain and glances outside.

He sees Ding Tengfei still standing in the rain like a wooden post and immediately makes a snide comment.

"That idiot, didn't he think to fetch a raincoat?"

"Lu Yang, go bring him a raincoat!"

"Yes!"

Lu Yang quickly puts on his clothes and dons a raincoat.

Then he grabs another raincoat, steps onto the slick mud outside, and runs through the downpour.

Before he gets close, he sees Ding Tengfei in the rain shouting at him.

"Who's there, password?"

"Hot and sour?"

"Hammer!"

"Correct password!"

Lu Yang watches Ding Tengfei's drenched, overly serious demeanor and can't help but feel both amused and exasperated.

In just three short months, the unit truly can transform a person inside and out, shaping an individual.