Chapter 152: If I can't take you with me, then I'll follow you

Lu Yang, the company commander and instructor are calling you.

Understood.

In the dormitory, Lu Yang was maintaining his rifle.

The duty officer came over and shouted, then he quickly wiped his hands and went to the company office.

The company commander and instructor shared a large office with two desks facing each other, convenient for working together and discussing work matters.

Pushing the door open, Lu Yang raised his hand in a salute: 'Company commander, instructor, are you looking for me?'

Ma Qing'an was pouring water; seeing Lu Yang enter, he nodded at him.

The newly appointed instructor of the Sixth Company, He Zhen Tao, put down his pen, looked up, and smiled at him.

That's right; after the previous instructor, Pan Yuan, left, He Zhen Tao took over his duties.

Although he had come from the battalion to the company, it was a lateral transfer, so his position and duties didn't change much.

It is said that He Zhen Tao voluntarily applied for the transfer, and the reason is simple: he still worries about Lu Yang.

Since he couldn't take Lu Yang with him when he went down to the company, he might as well just follow him.

Anyway, he's still the instructor, and Lu Yang is still his soldier.

Only, his partner changed from Seventh Company Commander Gao Feng to Sixth Company Commander Ma Qing'an.

However, considering that the two will become brothers-in-law in the future, there really isn't much difference.

And the soldiers of the Sixth Company adapted well to this new instructor, because He Zhen Tao, like Pan Yuan, is patient and easygoing.

He Zhen Tao pointed to the nearby stool: 'Have a seat and let's talk.'

Ma Qing'an then poured Lu Yang a cup of water and handed it to him: 'I called you over to ask about your preparation for next week's division competition precision shooting event.'

Lu Yang: 'Getting a placement should be no problem; I've mainly been training in shooting lately.'

Both of them are well aware of Lu Yang's talent for shooting.

From Gao Feng discovering Lu Yang's mild color weakness, to wounding a wild boar at close range at night, and his performance in the sniper training squad.

All of this proves he is a highly talented marksman, and he could even become the best sniper in the Special Third Regiment.

Therefore, for this division competition, the Sixth Company entered Lu Yang in the precision shooting event, hoping he could shine on a larger stage.

Lu Yang briefly reported his recent training and shooting scores; Ma Qing'an and He Zhen Tao nodded in satisfaction: 'If you can maintain this level on the field, placing in the top three is definitely no problem.'

Lu Yang said confidently: 'Company commander, you're underestimating me; my goal is to win first place in the entire division!'

Ma Qing'an laughed, 'Wow! You've got big talk—if you can bring a first-place win back to the company, I'll let you ride my vehicle for a day!'

No problem!

In the unit, the most feared thing is a soldier who doesn't strive or compete.

Without competition, there is no combat effectiveness, no progress.

Someone like Lu Yang, who always strives to be among the best and gives his all to bring honor to the unit, who wouldn't love him?

He Zhen Tao said: 'There's one more thing; we're preparing to have you additionally participate in a 5-kilometer run.'

Lu Yang froze: 'Five kilometers? Isn't that the event of Squad Leader Three?'

The company's competition roster was actually set last week.

Lu Yang is precision shooting, Zhou Kaidong is the 5-kilometer run, Li Jiang is grappling combat...

The events soldiers participate in are usually what they're best at, and with targeted stage improvements, they can achieve the best possible placements.

So Lu Yang wondered why the instructor and company commander would have him do this event together with Zhou Kaidong?

Not together.

Ma Qing'an shook his head: 'A couple of days ago, Zhou Kaidong accidentally sprained his ankle during training; his recovery is slow. He worries it will affect his competition results, so he voluntarily suggested swapping you in.'

He Zhen Tao then said: 'However, he's not withdrawing from the competition; he's just switching to a different event—step-back trigger.'

In plain terms, step-back trigger means grenade throwing.

Since his leg isn't usable, switch to using his hands.

According to Lu Yang's knowledge, grenade throwing is also one of Zhou Kaidong's strengths.

Compared to flying legs, it might be slightly inferior, but this is also a case of making the best of a bad situation.

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised: 'Why not have Squad Leader Cheng take it? He's even run a first-place finish in the division for the 5K.'

Ma Qing'an explained: 'In competitions, there's an unwritten rule to give newcomers a chance as much as possible. Cheng Jun has already participated twice and earned good placements; letting him go again wouldn't mean much.'

Also, Old Cheng will be transferring to logistics in the second half of the year; we talked with him, and he still hopes to leave the opportunity for you so you can perform more.

Your 5K barehanded performance is second only to Zhou Kaidong's, but I know you don't give your all in regular physical tests, so we also want you to give it a try.

If you feel pressured, forget it; we'll arrange someone else to compete—Second Squad Leader is also good at running.

Lu Yang readily agreed: 'Pressure brings motivation; since Squad Leader Three wants me to stand in for him, I'll do it!'

He Zhen Tao laughed: 'Old Ma, you see what I said earlier—I said Lu Yang would agree. When you're young, it's the time to strive and venture; who could refuse such a great performance opportunity?'

Ma Qing'an also smiled: 'That's what you said, not us forcing you. In the upcoming training, you need to adjust your focus; you can't neglect light-equipment running and shooting drills—you must keep them both advancing together.'

Yes!

Go back now; make the most of your time—there's less than a week left. We expect you to bring back two good placements!

Lu Yang saluted, left the office in high spirits, and returned to the dormitory.

Facing curious inquiries from the Sixth Platoon members, Lu Yang didn't hide anything; he directly told them that the company commander and instructor had high hopes for him, having him sign up for two events.

Cheng Jun was somewhat worried: 'There's less than a week left; you're doing both shooting and running—can you manage? I'm afraid you'll split your focus in training and end up failing at both.'

Cheng Jun's concern is not unfounded; in the past there have been cases where someone with decent talent, thinking himself the best, signed up for multiple events at once.

The ideal is to win first place in each event, but reality often is that greed leads to indigestion.

In the end, they performed poorly, suffered a crushing defeat, and didn't win any placements.

Human energy is limited; when you focus on one thing, it's hard to do well at another.

Of course, there are no absolutes in worldly affairs; there also exists an extremely small portion of those with outstanding talent, but they are an extreme minority among the extreme minority.

Fortunately, Lu Yang is a cheat; with the system's help, he can swallow and digest any amount of stuff.

However, he wasn't arrogant; to be safe, for now he'll just focus on these two strengthening drills.

Although Lu Yang was full of confidence, Cheng Jun still spoke after careful consideration.

"Like this, Lu Yang: these days you won't train with us; in the morning focus on running, at noon take a nap, in the afternoon go specifically to the shooting range to practice shooting, and at night do comprehensive physical training."

"Chen Panpan."

"Present."

"You're responsible for timing Lu Yang with a stopwatch, helping him load the bullets, and recording the scores."

"Yes!"

Chen Panpan was overjoyed.

He most liked being Lu Yang's assistant.

Because this meant no training, this week became much more relaxed.

Lu Yang had no objection, quickly assembled the gun on the ground, then prepared to go find Zhou Kaidong to borrow wearable weights.

The quickest and most effective way to practice running is to add weight.

Because it's bare-handed light gear, a backpack is really in the way.

Zhou Kaidong happened to have wearable lead weights, and any amount of weight could be added.

But as Lu Yang just arrived at the Third Squad's door, he heard a fierce argument breaking out inside the dormitory.

"Zhou Kaidong, what do you mean? You said you wouldn't run the five kilometers and didn't even say hello—don't you have any sense of hierarchy?!"

"I've already reported to the company commander and instructor, and they agreed; besides, I'm not refusing to participate—I just switched to grenade throwing—what are you getting worked up about?!"

"This is jumping the chain of command!"

"What's the matter? Got an opinion? Keep it to yourself!"

"I'm not going to argue with you; I'll just reason with you! Even if you're not competing, shouldn't we be re-selecting people in our platoon? On what grounds do you give Lu Yang of the Sixth Squad, Second Platoon, the slot without my consent—do you still have any platoon and squad honor?!"

"Whatever, I'm happy to do it! The company commander has no objection—are you jumping around like a feather duster?!"

"Zhou Kaidong, I warn you—don't stand here swearing at me, spouting filth! I demand you immediately go find that Lu Yang, have him tell the company commander to withdraw his five-kilometer slot because he can't do it, and let the second squad leader take it—this honor should rightfully belong to our first platoon, or else you......"

"Get lost, you son of a bitch!"

Before the first platoon leader could finish his chatter, hot-tempered Zhou Kaidong punched him in the face.

Kang Changyi's head was buzzing; he never expected this guy to dare lay hands on him.

"You're rebelling!"

"Bang!"

Zhou Kaidong threw another punch, squarely hitting Kang Changyi's face.

Immediately afterward, he felt his nose warm and wet, as if mucus were flowing down.

He touched it and his hand came away bloody; the first platoon leader instantly glared, his eyes bloodshot with rage.

"Damn it, Zhou Kaidong—I'll fight you to the death!"