Chapter 163: Loyal to Duty, Be a Down-to-Earth Soldier

The bullet, as expected, hit the bullseye.

That shot made Gao Feng, Guo Yongwen, Zhou Kaidong and the others all swing their fists forcefully at the air.

That's what they call "no misfires"!

That's what they call "awesome"!

Half a year of training, and you can reach this level!

It wasn't in vain during Gao Feng's New Recruit Company days; he was sent early to the "Preliminary Shooting Class" for training!

And Lu Yang's shot finally put the lingering hearts of the other two nine‑point shooters to rest.

And the Platoon Leader of the Zhencha Daitui furrowed his already tight eyebrows even tighter.

He never imagined that, as a two‑term precision shooting champion, he would one day have his position threatened by a private.

"Who is this kid, and where does he come from?"

The Zhencha Platoon Leader was uneasy, because the overtime match with Lu Yang was about to begin.

Nevertheless, he was confident he could widen the gap in overtime and take down Lu Yang.

But as an officer who had successfully been recommended into the military academy,

competing on the same stage with a raw recruit was already a very awkward thing.

"All members of the final group, clear your chambers, stand up!"

As the referee's voice rang out, Lu Yang let out a long breath, removed the magazine and pulled the bolt back.

After the gun check, he handed the 85 Sniper back to the nearby safety officer and returned to the line behind him.

Guo Yongwen excitedly winked at him, and not far away Zhou Kaidong also burst into a grin.

Because even if Lu Yang lost the overtime, he could still return with a good second‑place ranking.

Such a result far exceeded everyone's expectations and was enough to make the Sixth Company's Company Commander and Instructor laugh their heads off.

The referee also said no nonsense and directly announced the overtime format.

"The current situation is this: two with ten points, two with nine points, but the exact ranking must be decided among the four of you."

"The overtime is simple—combat rapid fire, each person gets thirty rounds from an assault rifle; whoever finishes faster gets the higher score."

"Follow me to the combat rapid‑fire range for pre‑shooting preparations!"

On the way to the venue, the four followed, but Zhou Kaidong ran into a problem.

He knew Lu Yang was unfamiliar with this event, and the Sixth Company didn't even have a combat rapid‑fire range.

Although Lu Yang might have encountered it while in the training unit, it had been so long that he would surely suffer a big loss later.

But Lu Yang wasn't too worried, because night had fallen completely, and his eyesight gave him an advantage over the others.

Soon, the group followed to the professional range.

Combat rapid fire is a test of a shooter's reaction speed and agility.

There is a fixed marching route, with stationary targets, moving targets, and suddenly popping humanoid metal targets.

Contestants must hit every target in an extremely short time and then calculate the total score.

By now the sky was completely dark, and the range could only be lit by spotlights.

Since the spotlights are fixed light sources, they cast shadow‑covered patches across the range.

This tests not only the shooters' marksmanship but also their night‑time perception, which is Lu Yang's advantage.

During the preparation stage, the Division Chief of Staff and the regiment leaders, after reviewing the overall shooting results, also arrived near the range.

Originally, this spot was meant for going to the Cafeteria for dinner, but to watch the competition's progress, everyone chose to postpone and go later.

Division Chief of Staff Xiong Yao sized up Lu Yang, who was preparing, and curiously asked, "Regiment Commander Wang, you've been keeping this well‑hidden, but there's a new recruit in the regiment with such high shooting skill, and I didn't even know?"

Wang Zhongxi laughed and explained, "I just found out myself; it really was a bit unexpected."

"Which company did you place him in?"

"Sixth Company."

"Iron Foot Company?"

"Yes."

"That's sheer nonsense!"

Xiong Yao said somewhat dissatisfied, "Putting him in the Seventh Company is one thing, but a Motorized Infantry Company literally squanders that soldier's shooting talent!"

Wang Zhongxi explained, "I only just learned this soldier has shooting talent; had I known earlier, I would have made different arrangements and focused on his development."

Xiong Yao naturally didn't believe his story; every unit hides its good soldiers, fearing the Zhencha Daitui will take them away.

Although this was somewhat unscrupulous, as Division Chief of Staff he indeed had the authority.

"Our Division is forming an elite sniper squad; I like this soldier, so send him to the Division, and we'll take charge of his focused training."

"Chief of Staff, it's not that I'm unwilling to give him to you; the soldier is frail and sickly, full of problems; I can't add a burden to your Zhencha Daitui. Let's wait until I train him to results first, okay?"

"......"

He ran the 5‑kilometer race first in the entire Division; you call that frail and full of problems?

Even if he's a problematic soldier, with this stamina and shooting talent, just take him in and give him proper training, right?

Xiong Yao sighed, lowered his voice and reminded, "Old Wang, you can't keep this soldier in your regiment; even if you hold him now, it's only temporary. People rise to higher places, water flows down."

"You should know, sending him to us earlier is also for his benefit; more professional systematic training will let him go farther."

Wang Zhongxi laughed and said, "I get what you're saying, but at least he's still…"

Having said that, he disregarded Xiong Yao and walked forward to watch Lu Yang's match.

On the contrary, Xiong Yao wasn't in a hurry; he could understand Wang Zhongxi's love for talent.

But he knew even more clearly that as long as that soldier kept advancing, he would eventually end up in the Zhencha Daitui.

Because this is a Division‑direct unit, also the most elite, most meritorious, and strongest combat force within the Division.

That reconnaissance platoon leader had already finished shooting, and Lu Yang watched the process very carefully.

He memorized every detail in his heart and silently calculated the firing details and position.

When the referee's signal sounded, Lu Yang quickly pulled the bolt, aimed at the two fixed targets on the left, and fired.

The bullets struck the metal target, making a ping-pang sound, and sparks flew from the bullseye.

He didn't bother checking whether it was centered; he swiftly swung the muzzle and fired at the moving target to the left front.

Lu Yang's shooting motion was clean and decisive, carrying a fierce vigor; while aiming and shooting quickly, he still maintained high precision.

This made the onlookers Guo Yongwen and Zhou Kaidong feel as if they were seeing the student surpass the master—indeed, talent often outweighs effort.

As Lu Yang advanced, he suddenly stopped, silently counted two numbers in his mind, and two somewhat unclear metal chest-ring targets sprang up ahead.

These two pop-up targets were the hardest on the field, because they appeared suddenly and were backlit.

Without night-vision gear, it's hard to see the bullseye with the naked eye; one mostly has to rely on feeling.

But for Lu Yang, backlighting was no problem, because in his eyes even backlit targets were clear.

The metallic bang-bang-bang sounds kept ringing; just watching Lu Yang's match gave a pleasing feeling.

After all four had finished shooting, Lu Yang's score was still perfect, but he was a bit slower in speed, ultimately taking second place.

The two players who originally scored nine points were pushed down to fourth and fifth, and once again lost to Lu Yang in the rapid-fire shooting event.

This left the two veteran soldiers feeling extremely vexed, inexplicably annoyed; it also gave the reconnaissance platoon leader who won first place a strong sense of vigilance and crisis, even thinking he'd better not come back for the next match.

New recruits have infinite room to grow; especially someone like Lu Yang, a talent monster—who knows how high he'll reach in a year?

I'm afraid that by then, I'll be forcibly pressed to the ground and rubbed, utterly unable to resist!

Division Chief of Staff Xiong Yao over there also wore a look of astonishment, as if he had seen some rare treasure.

A motorized infantryman who can run fast is one thing, but he even shattered the rice bowl of a professional marksman—can you believe it?

Gao Feng first released his repressed emotions: 'Hahaha, second place, second place, the Special Third Regiment won, the Special Third Regiment is awesome!'

Zhou Kaidong rushed over and lifted Lu Yang up: 'Sixth Company's pride, Sixth Company's pride, hahaha!'

Gao Feng then got a hard poke in the lung tube, suffering a soul-crushing blow!

After the competition, Wang Zhongxi led the regiment's contestants to the cafeteria for a quick meal.

At the table, he praised every soldier who had signed up for the competition, regardless of whether they scored, saying they all represented the regiment.

Moreover, he especially praised Lu Yang's performance in the competition, but made no mention of any meritorious service, which left Lu Yang feeling rather vexed.

On the way back, Zhou Kaidong brought it up voluntarily, telling him not to dwell on it.

Earning merit is something you can encounter but not seek.

With so many events in the martial competition, you can't award a merit medal for every first place, can you?

Then how many medals would this competition have to give out, and how many people would receive second- or third-class merit?

If earning merit were really that easy, wouldn't everyone be recommended for military academy, and the value of the medals would be greatly diminished?

Regarding this, Lu Yang said he could understand; even without merit, it was still honor earned for the regiment and the Sixth Company, something worth being happy and celebrating.

But by the time they returned to the camp, it was already late, and the soldiers had all washed up and gone to bed.

"Assistant Squad Leader, Third Squad Leader, you're back?!"

The one standing guard at the gate happened to be Liu Ziqiang.

Seeing everyone return, he immediately came over excitedly to ask about the situation.

Upon hearing that Lu Yang had won first place in the 5-kilometer run and second in precision shooting, he was also overjoyed to the point of being beside himself.

But just then, Lu Yang proactively opened the door and got out of the vehicle, preparing to take the steel rifle from his hands.

"Assistant Squad Leader, what are you doing?"

"10-12 is your post, 0-2 is my post; it's now 00:10, so it's my turn to stand guard."

"Never mind, you just came back from the competition and got such a good result. Let me do it; the squad leader had already greeted me earlier, saying if you didn't come back tonight, I should stand guard for you."

"I just earned merit, I'm fairly excited; if I went back I couldn't sleep and might disturb everyone's rest. You go back first, don't make a fuss, and tell everyone this in the morning after you wake up."

"But......"

Liu Ziqiang still felt a bit hesitant, thinking it wasn't right to let Lu Yang stand guard.

But Lu Yang, using the order as an excuse, told him to go back to sleep.

The duty roster had already been set; whoever was supposed to stand guard, stands guard.

If he hadn't been able to return in time, that would be fine, but since he did return, how could Lu Yang feel okay letting someone else stand guard for him?

One can't abuse authority just because of a small achievement, letting others stand guard for him while he goes back to sleep soundly, can one?

Moreover, Lu Yang was indeed somewhat excited at the moment and needed to stand guard to catch some breeze to digest his excitement, so he could re-engage in the upcoming training life.

Liu Ziqiang couldn't resist, so he reluctantly handed over the rifle and let Lu Yang take over the post; seeing this, Zhou Kaidong also gave him a thumbs-up.

"Not arrogant, not impatient—this is the proper attitude of a down-to-earth soldier, doing things conscientiously!"

"Then we'll go rest first; tomorrow the company commander and instructor will hear about this and surely jump up!"

Lu Yang waved at them, took his rifle, and went to his own sentry post.

He held his waist straight, gazed forward, with a solemn expression.

Even though he had earned honor on the field, back in the camp he was just an ordinary soldier.

Therefore he ought to fulfill his duties, stand guard well at his own post......