Chapter 174: Invitation from the Division Reconnaissance Battalion

Who exactly let the chief of staff go buy cigarettes? Get out here!

The company commander gripped a pack of cigarettes, his face flushed with anger as he bellowed at the entire company.

The ranks fell silent, everyone staring at each other, wondering who dared so boldly.

The communications squad leader panicked, glancing at his squad's Zaxi Nima, and seeing his still clueless expression, he breathed a slight sigh of relief.

It must be a coincidence...

It definitely is a coincidence...

Don't scare yourself...

Seeing no one admit fault, the company commander's anger flared further, raising his voice again.

"Half an hour ago, which bastard had the division chief of staff go to the village shop with a hundred yuan to buy one pack of hard, one pack of soft, and two packs of Xiao Su cigarettes?"

"......"

"You don't even have the guts to admit your mistake, daring to act but not to own up—are you even a man?"

The communications squad leader's legs went weak, nearly kneeling, his peripheral vision again drifting to Zaxi Nima.

Yet he saw that the kid still had no reaction, as if completely unaware.

But he could be absolutely certain that the old swindler Zaxi had mentioned earlier was none other than the division chief of staff.

Perhaps he was just in plain clothes, looking like a local, so this simpleton genuinely took him for a villager.

But he didn't understand; he had clearly said either soft, or hard, or two packs of Xiao Su.

How could this kid hear 'or' as 'all'?

What kind of brain does he have, a fish's memory?

Seeing still no one step forward, the company commander was about to explode, so the communications squad leader had no choice but to take the blame himself.

"Report... it's... me..."

"Is it you, kid?"

The company commander saw the third squad leader, his back teeth grinding with a click-clack.

"Get out here!"

"Company commander, I was wrong—I didn't know that was the chief of staff!"

Faced with the communications squad leader's voluntary confession, the company commander remained fuming.

"Is this a matter of knowing or not? Have you never smoked, or what?"

"Can a hundred buys buy this many cigarettes? Even if he really were a local, your behavior is no different from extortion!"

"Say, what do you need all those cigarettes for? Don't tell me it's for yourself—you'd even pick up cigarette butts, yet you won't smoke such good stuff?"

"Uh......"

Just as the communications squad leader's face flushed red, hesitating whether to tell the truth.

Belatedly, Zaxi Nima finally reacted.

"Report, don't blame our squad leader—it's me, I forgot, I got the villager to buy cigarettes; company commander, punish me!"

"Huh?"

The company commander suddenly felt his brain wasn't up to the task.

How could one incident produce two people at fault?

Zaxi Nima hurriedly explained what had happened.

"The squad leader told me to buy cigarettes, but I was afraid of running into the military police, so I didn't dare go myself and instead found a villager."

"I misspoke; the squad leader had told me to buy just one pack, but I thought I should buy them all."

"The villager took the money and disappeared; I thought he was a crooked villager who ran off with the cash, not realizing he was a superior."

"The cigarettes were for the squad leader to give Lu Yang so he'd teach me shooting; the squad leader worried showing up empty-handed might get him refused."

In his haste and nervousness, Zaxi Nima's Mandarin became surprisingly fluent, and he babbled on at length.

The company commander and instructor exchanged a glance, momentarily unsure how to punish them.

After all, their intention in buying cigarettes was to boost military capability.

Their starting point was good and worth promoting, but the process was downright absurd.

The company commander glanced at the distant chief of staff who hadn't left yet, then sternly criticized the two and handed out a light punishment.

After all, some semblance of discipline must be observed, especially in front of a superior.

Meanwhile, Chief of Staff Xiong Yao, wearing his rank insignia, was circling and sizing up the motorcycle before him.

The Ducati, long known as a man's speed bump.

Its flashy design draws countless gazes wherever it rides.

"Are the keys on your person?"

Xiong Yao turned his head and asked Lu Yang.

Lu Yang nodded: "They're on me, but the bike belongs to the company commander; without his order I can't let you ride."

"What if I insist on riding?"

"Then I still won't give it."

Xiong Yao laughed: "You're young, but your principles are strong."

"Tell me, how did a soldier from the Special Third Regiment end up in the 441 Regiment?"

"This isn't the weekend; during drill period you're wandering all over—this is a serious violation of regulations."

Lu Yang didn't hide it either, voluntarily explaining that the company commander had given him two days off, and being unable to stay idle, he'd come to find Zhao Chuanwu to study the Through-the-back Fist.

Although Xiong Yao isn't Lu Yang's direct superior, his position and rank are what they are, and he comes from the division.

So far, the highest-ranking officer he's seen is this Chief of Staff Xiong Yao.

Xiong Yao raised his eyebrows: "They give us vacation, but instead of going out to eat something good, watch a movie, or stroll the streets, you run this far just to study?"

"What, do you have some masochistic tendency, or do you just like living a hard life?"

Lu Yang shook his head: "I want to learn more, just in case it comes in handy later."

Xiong Yao laughed heartily: "Well said—people must keep learning new things to enrich themselves."

"That's why, even though everyone serves as a conscript, some finish their two years and leave, while others stay on to become non‑commissioned officers."

"I can tell you're conscientious; your grades in school must have been decent, right?"

"No, I often failed."

Lu Yang is an honest person; he often failed in high school.

Especially English and math—they were practically impossible for him.

Xiong Yao stared for a moment: "What's your education level?"

Lu Yang: "High school graduate."

"You didn't get into college?"

"No."

"What about vocational college?"

"Neither."

"Did you underperform?"

Lu Yang: "I performed normally—I'm exactly the kind of underachiever teachers talk about, loaded with stationery; getting in would be abnormal."

"......"

Lu Yang's words left Xiong Yao speechless.

I've seen honest people before, but never someone this honest.

Everyone says when you're out in the world, face is something you give yourself—you can't even be bothered to put on an act?

He usually judges people accurately, but he misjudged Lu Yang.

This instead made Xiong Yao feel that this soldier is completely different from any he's met before.

Lu Yang also explained: "I just didn't study well before, so after joining the army I wanted to study seriously—learning while working, working while learning."

Xiong Yao smiled: "Excellent—learning while doing, doing while learning; it's never too late to mend the fence after losing the sheep. Recognizing the gap and striving to catch up is a good thing. Are you interested in joining the Division Reconnaissance Battalion?"

"If you're interested, I can transfer you right away—no need to mention your company commander; even your regiment commander would have to agree."

"The Reconnaissance Battalion is where the truly strong gather; only there will you have more room to excel."

"It's also the unit with the best treatment, most merits, and fastest promotions in the entire division—no exceptions."

"It reports directly to the division, under the staff department—that is, under my direct command,"

Lu Yang: "Chief, I'm the 4,983rd soldier of the Sixth Motorized Infantry Company."

Xiong Yao: "Is that your answer?"

Lu Yang: "Yes."

Xiong Yao looked at him with a somewhat complex expression: "Now I'm giving you a direct ticket to the Reconnaissance Battalion—once you pass this village, there's no such shop anymore; even if you wanted to come back later, it wouldn't be that easy."

Lu Yang candidly said: "Rather than taking shortcuts, I prefer to earn respect and what I want through my own ability."

Xiong Yao felt greatly relieved; a half‑year recruit being able to have such a lofty mindset.

This isn't just rare—it's extremely scarce, even exceedingly uncommon in the military.

Everyone wants to take shortcuts and climb up, but this soldier can calm his mind.

This is a quality more precious than outstanding military skill.

Xiong Yao didn't press further, but shifted the conversation: "Your company, doesn't it have a platoon leader surnamed Kang?"

"Hmm."

Lu Yang nodded.

Xiong Yao asked: "What do you think of that Kang platoon leader?"

Lu Yang had indeed heard before that the First Platoon Leader, Kang Changyi, had connections in the division.

Some even said his father was the division's chief of staff.

Otherwise, how could such a useless guy stay in an elite unit?

But the chief of staff is surnamed Xiong, while the platoon leader is surnamed Kang—obviously not a father‑son relationship.

However, since the chief of staff brought it up himself, it shows they must know each other.

Lu Yang isn't a clueless rookie either; he naturally knows what to say and what not to.

"Pretty good."

"How so?"

"He's excellent in all respects, worth learning from."

"Saying he's excellent in all aspects means he's not excellent in any—be more specific."

Lu Yang thought for a moment; he didn't want to offend anyone, nor praise too obviously, lest it look like flattery.

Moreover, he wasn't sure how Chief of Staff Xiong related to that person, so playing it safe was better.

"Kang platoon leader writes well, his ideas are constructive, he can stir soldiers' emotions during training, and he's very good at getting along with everyone!"