Chapter 16: This Is a Menace, We Must Withdraw!

"This, the earlier Company Commander mainly mentioned training and living aspects."

"He spoke in great detail, so I won't elaborate further; I'll simply add a brief emphasis."

"Discipline, especially the ideological discipline of new recruits, is divided into three major items..."

In the company meeting room, Instructor He Zhen Tao was emphasizing the importance of new‑recruit ideological discipline.

He stressed military regulations, orders and statutes, as well as the confidentiality code.

Below, the squad and platoon leaders held pens, diligently taking minutes.

After adjournment, the meeting spirit must be conveyed through a class affairs meeting to regulate the recruits' behavior and thoughts.

The training has been underway for about ten days, yet many recruits still have not fully adapted to their current roles.

Even though they wear uniforms and are in the barracks, they remain frivolous inside, their minds still drifting in the outside glittering world, so regulating behavior and thought is essential.

It also accelerates their transformation from civilian youths into qualified soldiers.

Just as the Instructor was stressing the importance of military secrecy awareness, the outer door was suddenly knocked.

The th Class Squad Leader on hallway duty peeked in, called out a report, and then shouted toward Zhou Kaidong.

"Platoon Leader, step out for a moment; there's a situation in your squad."

"Go ahead."

Zhou Kaidong's heart lurched; he glanced at the Instructor for permission, and after receiving it, quickly left his seat.

As soon as he stepped out, he saw Lu Yang standing in the corridor, his brows immediately knitting.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Squad Leader, Ding Tengfei, he made a mistake..."

Lu Yang quickly briefed the situation and handed his Motorola phone to Zhou Kaidong.

When he took the phone, his palm was slightly sweaty; did he really hope Lu Yang was joking with him?

Zhou Kaidong took several deep breaths, prepared himself mentally, and tried to keep his mind steady.

When he saw the chat record content, along with a military‑uniform selfie captioned "Single and flirty," he almost went black‑eyed and turned away in fury.

"Where... is the person?"

"I had Kong Long keep him under control."

"Damn... he... what!!!"

Zhou Kaidong went completely berserk, punching the wall tile with a fist.

He hadn't expected that in the short time of a morning briefing, Ding Tengfei would land such a huge mess on him.

The Instructor had just been emphasizing ideological discipline and strict anti‑leak measures, and he instantly ran straight into the gun's muzzle.

This is no longer a mere eye‑drop for the Company Commander and Instructor; it's literally slathering chili water into their eyes!

Zhou Kaidong originally intended to take Lu Yang back to handle the issue, and report after the meeting ended.

But He Zhen Tao pushed the door open and came out, asking what was happening.

Zhou Kaidong, helpless, could only hand over the phone and recount the events truthfully.

He immediately felt his heart skip a beat, especially upon seeing Ding Tengfei's lewd selfie and the flood of vulgar comments below, his lower eyelid twitching wildly.

Realizing the severity, he pushed the door open and forcibly halted the meeting, calling the Company Commander out as well.

Upon learning the details, the Company Commander clutched his kidney, feeling as if the world had collapsed: "I—I'm f***ing furious to the point my liver hurts!"

…

In the Third Squad dormitory, Ding Tengfei was blocked inside by a group of people, preventing him from leaving.

He had already calmed down, no longer causing a ruckus as before, and instead seemed somewhat submissive.

"So what? I only took a few photos; how big of a deal is that?"

"Lu Yang, you're being nervous, and you all are nervous; is it necessary to make such a mountain out of a molehill?"

"Let me go; at worst the Squad Leader will come in a moment, and I'll voluntarily admit my mistake, okay?"

Outside, a rapid succession of footsteps sounded; it wasn't only Squad Leader Zhou Kaidong that Lu Yang had summoned.

The Company Commander, the Instructor, and several other Platoon Leaders all appeared at the doorway with grim faces.

Ding Tengfei barely stood up before receiving a solid flying kick.

"Bastard, do you know what you're doing?"

"Squad Leader, I didn't do it on purpose..."

The kicked‑over Ding Tengfei also seemed to realize the seriousness, his tone becoming much more meek.

"They say a real man doesn't take immediate loss; once he gets through this, he'll be a true hero again."

Zhou Kaidong scolded him harshly, then turned to the Company Commander and pleaded: "Company Commander, the main fault lies with me; my discipline was lax..."

Gao Feng coldly waved his hand: "The one at fault isn't you; it's me. I shouldn't have become your Company Commander!"

He shoved Zhou Kaidong aside, walked over and lifted Ding Tengfei: "The military confidentiality code—have you ever read it? Do you know that anything related to the unit is classified?"

"What's the point of secretly photographing the camp's buildings, and snapping your squad's training score sheet?"

"You came last in the three‑kilometer test for the squad and platoon, yet you still have the nerve to brag online?"

"If these items are intercepted, stolen, and analyzed by malicious individuals, do you realize how severely they could damage us?"

Gao Feng's final sentence was practically shouted straight from his lungs.

He was truly on the brink of exploding; this kid's mistake not only entangled Zhou Kaidong, but also dragged the Company Commander into the same mess!

It's his third year; his promotion to deputy battalion commander has never materialized, and now there's even less chance!

If things go wrong, this Captain‑Company Commander position is the end of his military career!

Ding Tengfei was also stunned; he never imagined his inadvertent action would cause such a huge mess.

He pleaded, looking at Lu Yang and Zhou Kaidong, but it was of no use.

The severe impact of the leak—don't even say a Company Commander, even a Battalion Commander couldn't contain it.

At this moment, Ding Tengfei finally realized that what Lu Yang said when he snatched the mobile phone earlier wasn't meant to scare himself…

"Company Commander, I—I know I was wrong; can't I just delete the post now?"

"I only sent it to a few friends to look at; they won't forward it…"

Gao Feng was almost laughing in anger at this kid; he's seen stupid before, but never this stupid.

If this matter could be solved so easily, they wouldn't have made such a big fuss and caused such a huge commotion.

At this point, Instructor He Zhen Tao, who had remained silent, sighed and finally spoke.

"Regarding the post, we've already deleted it, but the photos that were sent can't be recalled."

"Now that it's come to this, saying more won't help; we can only report it up the chain, and no one knows how the higher‑ups will handle it."

"But before that, you'll have to go to the confinement cell to reflect; also the regulations, the military confidentiality code, each punishable by copying two hundred times…"

After announcing the provisional decision, Ding Tengfei was taken away to be confined.

The Company Commander and the Instructor also took Zhou Kaidong away to discuss what to do next.

Before leaving, the other Squad Leaders and Platoon Leaders also shook their heads and sighed, muttering things like "hurting others and themselves."

Obviously, once this incident surfaces, it's not only Zhou Kaidong, the Squad/Platoon Leader, who is affected; the entire New Recruit Company may remain unsettled for a long time.

It may even trigger a terrifying conduct and discipline rectification, something even these veterans are extremely reluctant to endure.

During the conduct and discipline rectification, weekends, relaxation, mobile phones, lunch breaks, and even communal meals are all cancelled.

It's almost like training the soldiers to death, draining everyone's last energy, exhausting each person completely…

When the others left, the Third Squad's new recruits immediately gathered around Lu Yang, nervously starting to discuss.

"Assistant Squad Leader, no wonder we saw you so agitated earlier; so the consequences of a unit leak are this severe?"

"What exactly did Ding Tengfei film? We didn't see him taking anything in the dormitory earlier!"

"Probably he filmed secretly behind our backs; what do you think, could this kid be a spy?"

"Spy? Does he have the brains for that? Just a pure mountain cannon!"

Kong Long smacked his lips: "To say or not to say, our Squad Leader is actually quite righteous; that kick just now seemed heavy, but it actually just brushed past, and then he turned and pinned the fault on himself."

"Our Squad Leader has always been that kind of cold‑outside, warm‑inside person; everyone in the squad definitely has to protect him."

Lu Yang said helplessly, "Stop the discussion; from now on we'll do our own jobs and stop adding trouble for the Squad Leader."

Everyone suddenly felt that whether it's the Assistant Squad Leader or the Squad Leader, they're both really decent people.

The Squad Leader is usually fierce and strict, demanding everything, but it's for their own good.

The Assistant Squad Leader intervened at the critical moment, stopping the situation from worsening, showing diligence and responsibility.

On the contrary, Lu Yang thought he could have done better; at least the matter wouldn't have escalated so much.

"Heh, you're carrying it?"

"What the hell are you carrying?"

"Are you carrying your military uniform, or your future?"

"Zhou Kaidong, you're at Phase Three; do you know what Phase Three means?"

In the Company Commander's office, Gao Feng held a cigarette, trying two lighters without managing to light it.

Angry, he slapped the lighter onto the table, raised his hand to give Zhou Kaidong a lesson, but couldn't bring himself to do it.

Although this soldier wasn't trained by him directly, he's a well‑known, hard‑working good soldier in the regiment, having earned excellence and merit!

Gao Feng tossed the unlit cigarette onto the table, bitterly saying, "During the initial assessment, I already saw this soldier had serious issues; I thought, since you're a ten‑year veteran, you should be able to handle him!"

"And on a big weekend, you give me such a huge surprise. And you still say 'you're carrying it', you're a carrying pole!"

"What a damn stubborn breed! Not to mention you, even if the Sixth Company Commander showed up, this would still be enough to drink a whole pot of wine over!"

Usually, Zhou Kaidong, who is imposing in front of the Third Squad's recruits, was so scolded he couldn't lift his head.

He let the Company Commander's spit splash on his face, yet still tried every way to shoulder the responsibility.

When a recruit makes a mistake, it's because the Squad Leader didn't teach properly; the phone was also given by him to Lu Yang to send out, so he must be the primary responsible person.

He Zhen Tao urged the Company Commander to calm down and not get worked up: "The immediate priority is discussing how to handle and remedy the situation, not arguing over who's at fault."

Gao Feng, looking like his hair was on fire, raised his voice an octave: "Remedy? How to remedy? That kid didn't just post one or two pictures, he posted a whole bunch!"

"And he's still single and flirty; I'd rather hang him on the pull‑up bar and blast him with a gun, it completely disgraces our soldiers' faces!"

"If this were on the battlefield, how is his behavior any different from treason? A few photos could reveal the camp's location and kill everyone!"

"Retreat, we must retreat! Leaving such a disaster in the unit would be a generational curse lasting a thousand years!"