Chapter 158: Weaponized Humans, Humanoid Mortars!

"You, why are you smiling?"

Zashi Nima seemed to have a brain lapse and almost instinctively, in a thick steppe‑accented common speech, asked this sentence.

But as soon as he opened his mouth, the breath he always kept in his chest suddenly became a bit chaotic.

Anyone who trains for long‑distance running knows clearly that running breath must never be chaotic.

When the rhythm gets messed up, the result is that the condition is affected.

Daily training is fine, especially in this kind of professional competition full of experts.

Even relying on innate advantage, one must never be careless; any slip in any step could cause losing the race.

Although Zashi Nima quickly readjusted his condition, he found Lu Yang had already passed him and swiftly overtook all those few "old sticks" ahead.

Zashi Nima mustered all his strength to chase, but after catching those "old sticks", he was surprised to find his speed could not increase and his stamina was dropping precipitously.

In other words, he was exhausted and could not run.

Is this a situation that never occurred in his previous training?

In fact, Lu Yang also didn't expect this simpleton could even speak during the quasi‑sprint phase.

Originally, he just wanted to tease the opponent, disrupt their rhythm, to more easily complete the overtake.

But he didn't expect the kid to deflate himself.

However, with the opponent's speed and stamina, maintaining it should easily secure third place.

Lu Yang stopped worrying and surged to chase, beginning to overtake the veteran who was leading in the first phase.

Lu Yang's leg muscles exploded with astonishing force; each footstep seemed to sink the ground like crushing plastic, his strides were huge, the burst even more amazing.

The veteran who was first thought victory was assured, but when he saw Lu Yang sprinting toward him, his face hardened and he immediately accelerated.

The gap between them was originally about five or six meters, but during the final‑lap sprint, the distance shrank at a visibly rapid rate.

The veteran thought, "Damn, how the heck did this guy catch up?"

Lu Yang: "Sorry, your motorbike's performance is a bit worse than mine!"

In the final half‑lap, Lu Yang was already running side by side with the veteran.

Zashi Nima, who was in third place, kept striving to catch up but never could.

The other contestants lagging behind adopted a resigned attitude, yet all clenched their teeth and launched the final sprint.

Even though missing the top three, at least aim for top five; otherwise top ten is acceptable as long as not last.

First and second, leave those to the two freakish humanoid motorbikes to fight for!

They are normal humans; normal results are fine!

"Old Wang, that super‑fast Private No. 68, is he from your regiment?"

"That's right."

Receiving Wang Zhongxi's affirmative reply, Chief of Staff Xiong Yao wore an unsurprised expression, while the corners of the other regiment commanders' eyes twitched.

They also didn't expect the opportunist Wang Zhongxi to change tactics, entering low‑key and then holding a big move.

"Old Wang, you really can hide and keep it!"

"Probably, that's another Iron Foot soldier, right?"

"He only has that three‑pronged axe; every five kilometres he's on Iron Foot. Boring, really boring!"

Wang Zhongxi, smiling, put down his binoculars: "Can't say it like that; that youngster running side by side with my troops is also a Motorized Infantry, right? It's all about footwork; seems you still lack the skill."

The taunted regiment commander was about to retort: "The outcome is unknown, don't be arrogant."

He was surprised to find his men were overtaken by Private No. 68.

And it was the kind that, no matter how hard you push, you can't catch up.

In the final tense moment, Lu Yang crossed the finish line with a slight two‑position gap, achieving a good time of 15 minutes 43 seconds.

"Hahaha, good kid, you said you'd run first, and you really came back first!"

Zhou Kaidong, holding water, laughed and ran toward Lu Yang, who was walking slowly, relaxing his body.

Lu Yang gasped heavily; the extreme exertion was too much for his body.

With his current physique, he still can't run the full five kilometres at full speed, as if nothing happened, light as a cloud.

Additional training is effective; this is his first time achieving such a good result.

Although he didn't surpass Zhou Kaidong's previous record of 15 minutes 41 seconds, the gap isn't far.

Lu Yang's system needs a growth process; achieving such terrifying results in just half a year, he's already very satisfied.

In at most a year and a half, not only Zhou Kaidong's record but even Cheng Jun's former division record of 15 minutes 39 seconds should be easily taken.

Squad Leader Cheng Jun, the holder of the division's five‑kilometre barefoot record, is the main reason he can leave a fallback.

However, even if Lu Yang can break this record in the future, it will certainly have to wait until Cheng Jun moves to the second line.

Because once this aura is broken, Lu Yang will take away what originally belonged to Cheng Jun.

No one will remember the former division five‑kilometre record holder; only that the record was broken will be remembered.

The competition within the troops remains quite fierce, and the later stages select the best among the best.

Scores are important, but those who sincerely helped you are even more worth cherishing.

Lu Yang took a sip of water, happily as expected, and said, "Squad Leader, when does the competition start? Shall I go with you to watch?"

Zhou Kaidong checked his watch: "Seems it's soon, wait for the notice."

As soon as the words fell, the loudspeaker immediately broadcast the notice for the withdrawal‑step‑detonation competition.

Lu Yang accompanied Zhou Kaidong over, and halfway met again that minority private who always wore blush.

Lu Yang voluntarily stopped his vehicle and extended a friendly hand toward him.

"Hello, I'm Lu Yang, of the Special Third Regiment, an Iron Foot soldier."

"Ni, Nima."

"Hmm?"

Lu Yang initially thought the other person was insulting him.

He was stunned for a moment before realizing that "Nima" means "sun" in Tibetan.

"Za, Zashi Nima, 441st Regiment, I'm Tibetan..."

Zashi Nima's voice was very low, and Lu Yang had to strain to hear.

He didn't even catch the last few words, so he asked again.

"I am a communications soldier."

【Detected new knowledge point: tight-step infantry, pine artillery soldier, both bitter and weary communications soldier!】

【Knowledge point analysis: Communications soldiers bear the crucial mission of team communication and relaying orders within the unit, serving as an essential bridge linking combat…】

Lu Yang was somewhat surprised; he clearly hadn't expected the other to be a communications soldier.

Zashi Nima is from an ethnic minority, and his Mandarin is halting and far from standard.

Yet a communications soldier must convey clear battlefield orders, and someone who can only manage to say Mandarin as "ordinary fa" became a communications soldier.

This made him think that the unit has its own theory regarding troop assignments; it isn't simply that you get placed in whatever you know.

Sometimes, the opposite happens: you are assigned to the unit you are least skilled at, just to train you there.

Moreover, Lu Yang felt this soldier seemed somewhat socially anxious, with a scattered gaze and a hint of natural dim‑wittedness.

He didn't know whether it was a natural trait due to personality, or simply because he had only been in the unit for half a year and hadn't fully acclimated.

After a brief greeting to get to know this comrade Nima, Lu Yang accompanied Zhou Kaidong to the grenade‑throwing competition venue.

The procedure was the same: roll call to confirm the number of participants, then they came one by one.

The judging criteria were simple: wooden‑handled grenades, whoever threw farther.

What Lu Yang didn't expect was that he actually saw Kong Long among the competitors.

Zhou Kaidong was the first to slap Kong Long's arm: "You little brat, you also came to compete, and you even chose the same event as me?"

Kong Long, seeing Zhou Kaidong, exclaimed excitedly: "Squad Leader, Assistant Squad Leader, you, you both came!"

"Come to compete, otherwise what else would you be here for?"

"Lu Yang just ran five kilometers and got first place."

"Whoa, that's so intense??"

Kong Long widened his eyes, looking at Lu Yang in disbelief.

Lu Yang gave a slight smile, wiping the sweat off his forehead: "Basic maneuver, no big deal, no big deal."

Kong Long said enviously: "I don't even know if I can place; there are so many experts, the difficulty is high, I'm afraid even the top ten will be hard to reach."

Zhou Kaidong comforted: "Just give your all in your first competition; participation matters most."

Kong Long nodded: "I'll do my best!"

The whistle sounded quickly, and those whose names were called stepped forward to collect a grenade, awaiting the throw order.

Lu Yang watched from the side; the vast majority of soldiers could only throw about fifty to sixty meters.

Soon it was Kong Long's turn; slightly nervous, after taking two deep breaths, and encouraged by Lu Yang's and Zhou Kaidong's gazes, he mustered his strength and hurled the grenade.

"Sixty‑seven meters."

When the result came out, Kong Long was quite excited.

It was his best and farthest throw so far.

This even gave him the illusion that he could win the championship.

Lu Yang gave him a thumbs‑up, not to burst his dream but to let him bask in it for a while.

Until later, Zhou Kaidong forcefully threw an astonishing eighty‑five meters, shattering his hopeful dream.

After finishing his throw, Zhou Kaidong was not pleased; he returned with a frown: "Sigh, I'm afraid I won't get a good result this time!"

Lu Yang and the other were surprised: "Even eighty‑five can't place; could there be better shooters?"

Zhou Kaidong hummed, and sure enough, two scores soon surpassed his.

Although they were only half a meter and one meter farther than Zhou Kaidong, they still outdid him.

Just as Lu Yang comforted him that third place would be fine, a tall, long‑armed soldier named Er Gua walked to the throwing spot.

His palms were wide and large, covered with thick old calluses, so the wooden‑handled grenade was squeezed in his hand as if it were water‑shrunk.

"Prepare to throw!"

Whoosh!

Lu Yang saw with his own eyes that the big guy stepped back two steps, curled his body, and hurled the grenade forcefully like throwing a flying disc.

Because of some backlight, he couldn't even see where the grenade flew to?

"One hundred twelve meters!"

The moment the result was announced, the judges were shocked.

The venue erupted in an uproar; no one expected such an outrageous score.

Zhou Kaidong helplessly spread his hands: "Tell me, how can this be beaten?"

Lu Yang widened his eyes: "That's absurd, it's like a one‑person mortar!"