Chapter 119: A Dragon Nation Soldier

"Regiment Commander?"

Before the shooting assessment began, Gao Feng found the Regiment Commander.

Wang Zhongxi was standing alone on a hillside, smoking, gazing at the distant scenery.

The scene gave a déjà vu of a wuxia film, like a lone silhouette on a cold river, an old friend of the jianghu.

"What's up?"

"Regiment Commander, there's something I'd like to report to you: previously, when a new recruit scored a perfect mark, you awarded a third‑class merit; this time......"

Wang Zhongxi didn't answer directly, but brought up another matter: "Gao, do you know that the Division Training Base just finished its assessment yesterday?"

Gao Feng nodded: "Heard about it."

Wang Zhongxi turned to look at him: "Over there, a new recruit scored a perfect mark and was publicly rewarded with a third‑class merit by the Division leadership; you get what I mean, right?"

Gao Feng fell silent; he understood the subtext of the Regiment Commander.

Rarity makes it valuable; the Division Training Base already had someone who achieved a perfect score early and received a third‑class merit.

That means that even if the New Recruit Company in the Regiment scores the same, they cannot receive the same treatment.

Merit medals aren't abundant, especially since a commendation had already been given before.

Nevertheless, he still felt sorry for Lu Yang.

Because Gao Feng knew that, at Lu Yang's current level and his performance in the sniper training squad, scoring a perfect mark shouldn't be difficult.

But unfortunately, the third‑class merit had already been taken early by a new recruit from the Division Training Base.

Thus, not only the Special Third Regiment, but other Regiments' New Recruit Companies are also unlikely to earn a third‑class merit.

Awards and retention slots in the unit are both limited.

But there are far too many capable, willing‑to‑suffer soldiers.

After joining the unit, one learns what it means that heroes of the world are like minnows crossing a river.

Someone like Guo Yongwen can only stand out within the Regiment; if placed in the Division or even the army, he might be just ordinary and not so dazzling.

That's also the fundamental reason why the Regiment has never been able to regularize him: there are simply too many top talents.

Moreover, every year new dark horses are recruited, and some are as exceptionally gifted as Lu Yang.

According to the Regiment Commander, the one who scored a perfect ten‑ring at the Division Training Base is a super academic prodigy from Qingbei University.

Unlike the typical bookworm stereotype, that recruit excels in physical fitness, tactics, shooting, and theory.

The Division highly regards his prospects; after the lower company, he was even absorbed by the Zhencha Daitui.

The Zhencha Daitui is filled with strongmen; that's the real arena where immortals clash.

Two years ago, Guo Yongwen signed up for the selection but was eliminated midway.

With such a comparison, Gao Feng thought that Lu Yang, the "pseudo" scholar, still has a considerable gap compared to the "real" prodigy from Qingbei University.

Nevertheless, as of now, Lu Yang is essentially the most outstanding and promising recruit in the Whole Company.

If cultivated properly later, Gao Feng's unit could add another "general"!

"Assessment item: prone shooting!"

"Class One, line up!"

The shooting assessment arrived quickly.

It's still the familiar firing range, still the familiar smell.

Even the patches of varying depth on the ground are the remnants of the simple defensive positions Lu Yang and his comrades built earlier.

This made him inevitably recall the happy times when he first came here for the training camp.

At the 1–10 shooting stations, each spot is assigned a veteran Squad Leader as safety officer.

The reason for this arrangement is purely to worry that nervous new recruits might err and cause accidents.

Behind each seemingly "rigid" or "stupid" rule lies a blood‑stained lesson.

In the past, there have been cases where a new recruit's bullet jammed and the muzzle was mistakenly pointed at a comrade.

Even once, during a live‑grenade throwing drill, a unit had a hand‑grenade that failed to leave the hand, nearly causing casualties.

Gunfire rose and fell on the range, and soon Class One's recruits finished firing five rounds.

The results were, as everyone expected, ordinary and unremarkable.

Those who have never actually fired a gun, just by practicing Gun‑Pivot Aiming, aim to hit five perfect ten‑rings at a hundred meters.

Its difficulty is comparable to a frail, ailing old lady killing a 1.8‑meter strong man with a single punch.

Lu Yang noticed that when Class One's recruits removed their magazines and stood up, many wore a vacant, unfocused stare.

As if asking: Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?

The underlying cause of this scene is actually tinnitus.

Those who have done range training know that close‑range gunfire is far louder than imagined.

A single bullet firing is like a small firecracker exploding nearby, with a buzzing in the ears.

Firing five rounds in quick succession can cause eardrum pressure and muffled hearing.

Therefore many professional shooters wear earmuffs or earplugs to reduce noise.

"Damn, so nervous!"

Watching Class Two go up to fire, Kong Long's palms began to sweat nervously.

Live‑fire shooting is vastly different from the usual dry‑fire aiming.

Especially, discovering the gunshot is much louder than expected inevitably makes the first encounter unsettling.

And Ding Tengfei's chronic nervousness resurfaced; his fingers were trembling.

He even imagined the bullet rupturing the chamber or accidentally wounding someone, picturing brain matter and blood spraying out.

"Ugh!"

Imagining such a scene, Ding Tengfei's anxiety grew worse, even triggering a bit of physical fear.

For example, needing to urinate, wanting to defecate, or wanting to vomit...

At this moment, Zhou Kaidong, serving as a safety officer, was supervising the shooting assessment of the second squad's new recruits in front.

In the unit, only Lu Yang, the deputy squad leader, also noticed Ding Tengfei's panic at that moment.

He didn't say anything like "don't be nervous, relax," which would be useless, but directly told Ding Tengfei to take deep breaths.

"Take a big inhale, slowly exhale!"

"Do it a few more times, three or four, to bring your heart rate down!"

The overly nervous Ding Tengfei hesitated not at all and immediately complied.

He began deep breathing, following Lu Yang's instruction to exhale slowly.

It indeed had some effect; as his heart rate dropped, his face wasn't as pale.

"Don't think about those messy scenes; just aim at the target, fire all five rounds, and the mission is done."

"Hmm."

Kong Long also adjusted his condition according to Lu Yang's teaching.

He wasn't as nervous as Ding Tengfei; he just worried about shooting poorly and missing the target.

Soon, it was the third squad's turn to go up, with each person lying prone at their own shooting position.

The safety officer would hand over a magazine loaded with five rounds to the new recruit.

Lu Yang's safety officer was the th Class Squad Leader Li Jiang, while Ding Tengfei's safety officer on the left was Zhou Kaidong.

"Don't be nervous, relax, take deep breaths."

"Don't worry about hitting or missing; the focus is on the experience, understand?"

Zhou Kaidong naturally could see Ding Tengfei's state, so he tried to soothe him in a low voice as much as possible.

After Lu Yang and Zhou Kaidong both eased his burden, Ding Tengfei's mental state also improved greatly compared to before.

But at the moment the magazine was loaded, the safety released, and the round chambered, his mind would still uncontrollably imagine those bloody violent scenes.

In fact, anyone who picks up a gun will uncontrollably think of these things in their mind.

A gun, after all, is still a killing tool.

It is highly associated with negative words like war, bloodshed, violence, and chaos.

This is also why some new recruits feel nervous during live-fire shooting.

This thing is like a magic sword that can control the mind; worry that just gripping it will turn one into an evil person.

Fortunately, Zhou Kaidong is also an experienced veteran; when Ding Tengfei was shakily aiming at the target, he used a sentence to help steady his mind.

"The guns of Longguo's soldiers are not for killing, but to protect families and defend the homeland."

Divine doctor!

In an instant, Ding Tengfei's Parkinson's was cured!

No longer nervous, no longer trembling; since he is protecting his family, he represents justice!

"Shoot, ready!"

The duty officer's reminder came again.

The third squad's new recruits aligned their sights, and upon hearing the order to begin firing, their fingers simultaneously pulled the trigger......