Chapter 137: Just assigned to a company and given a duty—is there any justice?

Lu Yang finished washing his clothes, said nothing more, and left straight away.

He was afraid that if he said too much, Chen Panpan wouldn't understand.

As expected, watching Lu Yang leave, Chen Panpan was completely bewildered.

He knew that in the unit, the capable ones could pal around with the veteran squad leader, bum a smoke from the platoon leader, and cop a feel of the company commander's butt.

Such capable people are not rare in the training base; some even attract early attention from division leaders.

But looking at Lu Yang, he didn't have the swagger that military academy graduates, athletes, or those from military families naturally carry.

Moreover, Chen Panpan had been here for several days already and knew that the Sixth Company wasn't exactly outstanding in the regiment.

If he were truly that capable, he ought to be in the armored Seventh Company; why would he show up here and even be assigned to the same platoon as someone like me, the dead last?

Chen Panpan rubbed her socks while shaking her head and sighing.

He thought Lu Yang had come in as a troublemaker, and his days ahead would surely be rough.

Soon after, Lu Yang had his clothes dried and returned to the dormitory.

The Sixth Squad's dorm still had bunk beds, but the layout differed from that of the New Recruit Company.

The New Recruit Company had symmetrical distribution on both sides, whereas here the beds were arranged in a single vertical line, with a nightstand between each bunk serving as a divider.

The window side featured a long corridor with two desks and a row of simple low storage cabinets for belongings.

Lu Yang's bunk was by the door, still a lower bunk, and his luck was not bad.

"Yo, the newbie's done washing his clothes and is back?"

Liu Ziqiang was chatting and shooting the breeze with friends when he saw Lu Yang enter, and deliberately made a sarcastic remark.

Earlier at the regimental headquarters' shop entrance, the two of them had been toyed with by Lu Yang, and then the regiment commander gave them a dressing-down.

Not only was the battalion informed, causing each of them to receive a demerit; after returning, they were also double-teamed by the company commander and the instructor, nearly landing them in the confinement cell.

At that moment, Liu Ziqiang swore that if he ever ran into Lu Yang again in a lower company, he would give him a hard time.

As it turned out, nobody expected this kid to be assigned to their company, and coincidentally placed in the same platoon.

Moreover, when this kid ran into those two veterans, he wasn't scared, didn't lower his head or act meek—instead he came right up and got in their faces.

How could he possibly swallow that insult?

Lu Yang first ignored him, bent over to stuff the little yellow basin under the bed, stood up, and replied.

"You two want to come at me together? I like fighting even numbers—it's lucky."

"Whoa, holy shit!"

"Damn, this kid's awesome!"

"He's got spine—I'm with you. I've long been sick of Liu Ziqiang's dumb ass; let's beat him up!"

Those words directly got the other veterans in the platoon fired up.

Military life is dull and boring; everyone hopes for something lively and exciting.

As for Lu Yang, they actually don't know much about him.

Before, not every soldier in the Sixth Company had taken part in the earlier firefighting mission; only the company commander and a few others had gone.

Although they knew Lu Yang should be considered fairly good in the New Recruit Company, they weren't clear on exactly how good he was, having just met him.

As for the fact that Lu Yang was rewarded a motorcycle by the company commander the moment he got off the truck, they didn't know about that either.

All they knew was that in the evening the company commander led a welcoming ceremony that was quite elaborate.

Therefore, compared to Lu Yang being a capable new recruit,

they were more inclined to believe this kid was someone with connections and background, but limited ability and a short fuse—a hotheaded rookie.

Liu Ziqiang was amused by Lu Yang's words: "Lu Yang, are you always this arrogant, or did you just get your rank and feel all big and bad, puffed up?"

Lu Yang couldn't be bothered to say more; since a fight was inevitable, there was no point wasting breath.

He discovered that sometimes in the unit, fists work better than words.

That is what is meant by "militaries esteem martial prowess."

But just as Liu Ziqiang clenched his fist and moved toward Lu Yang with ill intent, a cough came from outside.

Immediately after, Sixth Squad Leader Cheng Jun walked in from outside, glanced around the room, and his face showed no surprise.

He had already asked about the matter involving Liu Ziqiang and the other guy at the dinner table earlier.

Although there was some misunderstanding here, the two mostly brought it on themselves.

Taking advantage of an official errand to sneak out and buy cigarettes, they didn't even bring enough money, then went to borrow from the new recruits—its nature is outright despicable.

Moreover, they could have provoked anyone, but they chose to provoke Lu Yang.

To top it off, they then ran into the regiment commander, who was cosplaying as a cashier at the shop.

These two are simply jinxed; unlucky as can be, and any punishment they get is wholly self-inflicted.

However, Cheng Jun's reason for abruptly intervening was mainly because he knew exactly what Lu Yang was capable of.

Had Cheng Jun not stepped in, Liu Ziqiang and his buddy would surely have gotten a sound thrashing.

In the unit, private brawls are forbidden, but on the training field it's considered sparring.

The same action, phrased differently, becomes legitimate; his doing so is also motivated by disciplinary concerns.

"Everyone come over, let's hold a quick squad meeting."

Lu Yang and the others immediately pulled out their stools and waited for Cheng Jun to speak.

Cheng Jun said: "Our squad has two new recruits; the veterans should set an example and look after the newcomers, not act like big shots and dump their dirty clothes and smelly socks on the new guys to wash."

"Squad leader, it's not that we made him wash; he insisted..."

An old soldier started to explain, but Cheng Jun cut him off.

Cheng Jun looked at Chen Panpan and sternly rebuked: "Chen Panpan, I don't know what you've learned at the training base, but how were the squad leaders teaching back then?"

"But in the Sixth Company, we don't allow newcomers to unilaterally wash the veterans' clothes or do dirty, tiring work; if it happens, it should only be mutual help."

Otherwise, if outsiders see it, they'll think we old-timers are bullying the new recruits, deliberately exploiting them—do you understand?

I understand......

Chen Panpan felt guilty in her heart, nervously nodding.

Seeing the veterans glare at her made her feel as if sitting on pins and needles.

He felt he might have inadvertently made some mistake.

Although he had been careful enough, he still managed to upset this group of veterans.

This made him involuntarily start to overthink, worrying whether he would be picked on next.

Cheng Jun had no idea what he was thinking; he simply followed regulations, helping the new recruits correct their bad habits.

After all, the rules for new recruits don't apply after they go to the lower company, and besides, regulations aren't necessarily the same across different units.

Liu Ziqiang.

Present.

What is your current position?

Liu Ziqiang stood tall and answered: "Report, I am currently the assistant squad leader of the sixth squad!"

He deliberately paused after saying the two words "assistant squad leader," and spoke them loudly.

The purpose of doing this was to let Lu Yang clearly realize how big the gap is between a newcomer like him and a veteran like himself.

The assistant squad leader in a grassroots company is not the same as the temporary one in the new recruit company; their weight differs.

Because, as long as Cheng Jun is gotten rid of, Liu Ziqiang will truly be the squad leader of the sixth squad.

And becoming squad leader means he would be a genuine backbone of the company, able to participate in meetings deciding major company affairs.

Cheng Jun snorted coldly: "I wasn't around those days; did the squad's regulations become this lax? What's the difference between having or not having an assistant squad leader? You might as well not be one."

Huh?

Ah, nonsense! We haven't settled the score for your previous disciplinary action yet!

Having said that, Cheng Jun turned his gaze to Lu Yang: "Lu Yang, you'll take his place as my deputy. You're familiar with this duty; I believe you can do it better than him."

Lu Yang stood up: "Yes!"

This immediately caused a thunderous uproar in the dormitory.

On the first day of the new recruit's assignment to the company, he became assistant squad leader?

Is there any justice left? Is there any law?