Chapter 188: I still haven't gotten on the vehicle, I still haven't gotten on the vehicle!

The moon shone bright, the stars were few.

The training grounds were quiet.

The soldiers who had fought all day mostly rested early and fell into deep sleep.

Except for the sentinels on duty, who were still diligently standing guard.

At that moment, inside a tent of the Sixth Company, Kang Changyi curled up, tossing and turning.

He finally sat up, put on his shoes, and hurried out of the tent toward the temporary field latrine.

Although it was summer, the temperature difference between morning and evening was still considerable; plus, a wind suddenly kicked up, blowing dust and sand into the air, momentarily blinding his eyes.

Kang Changyi turned his head away, trying to keep the wind and sand out of his mouth and nose, then, upon reaching the spot, he hastily pulled down his pants with a rustling sound.

"Platoon Leader, you have diarrhea?"

The sudden voice from behind startled him so much that his sphincter clenched.

Speaking seriously, Kang Changyi even felt that this could clamp and break a steel bar.

He turned his head and, lowering his voice, angrily rebuked the First Squad Leader who was squatting behind him to the left.

"In the middle of the night, don't you know that scaring people can scare them to death?"

"You saw me coming to take a dump, yet you didn't give me a heads‑up and even hid behind me!"

The First Squad Leader felt a bit wronged, because he had arrived first.

He had merely found a spot concealed by grass, which is why Kang Changyi hadn't noticed him.

The First Squad Leader seemed to have gone numb from squatting; he lifted his butt slightly forward, moving a bit closer.

"Platoon Leader, there's something I'm not sure whether I should tell you."

"What is it?"

"It's something I overheard unintentionally before bed; I don't know if it's true, but I feel it might still be......"

"Damn it, quit the chatter and spit it out."

Kang Changyi indeed had a bit of diarrhea; at that moment he was concentrating on evacuating.

He didn't know whether it was from eating too many radishes or from having left his navel uncovered and gotten chilled.

At first, he didn't take the First Squad Leader's words seriously, thinking it was just another trivial matter.

In the First Platoon, the Third Squad Leader Zhou Kaidong had the most fiery temperament and was the most unwilling to submit to him, often talking back over any matter.

The Second Squad Leader had a moderate disposition, a typical old slickster, speaking and acting ambiguously, aiming to neither oppose nor offend, yet also not cooperate.

Only this Platoon Leader somewhat suited his taste, though his speech always missed the point and he frequently came over to make ineffective reports.

For example, which soldier in the squad had improved at folding blankets, which soldier brought back two bottles of milk on a detail, which soldier drew maps on his blanket at night......

The First Squad Leader craned his neck, looking left, right, front, and back to make sure no one else was nearby, then cautiously spoke.

"Platoon Leader, this matter concerns you."

"Go on, I'm listening."

"I heard that after the meeting ended, the Battalion Commander retained Lu Yang and entrusted him with an important task; the Commander promised that if he could complete the task and earn further merit, he would be promoted early to Senior Private and would replace you as Acting Platoon Leader."

"What?!"

Kang Changyi's voice rose in pitch and even turned shrill!

It drew the distant sentries on patrol to frown and cast doubtful glances his way.

Someone came up with a flashlight to check, asking what had happened.

Kang Changyi, whose eyes were dazzled by the flashlight beam, angrily waved the person off and immediately turned his head to stare sternly at the First Squad Leader.

"Where did you hear this, is there any basis, did the Battalion Commander really say that?"

"I heard it from Liu Ziqiang's bragging; I'm sure it's not baseless!"

"......"

Kang Changyi's face fell.

At this moment, aside from the discomfort of his intestines churning, he felt a strong sense of crisis for the first time.

In the unit, competition is common; without competition, where would progress come from?

Yet he never imagined that his biggest rival would be a mere private.

Recalling how, at the earlier meeting, the Battalion Commander had criticized his own praising of Lu Yang, Kang Changyi grew more convinced that this must be true.

While wiping his rear, the First Squad Leader said, "Platoon Leader, I think we can't go on like this; we must fight the upcoming battle against the Third Battalion splendidly and earn more merit."

"Otherwise, your face will end up as worthless as this toilet paper!"

Having said that, he casually tossed the paper into the pit, picked up the entrenching tool stuck nearby, and buried it.

Field training lesson one: bury your own feces.

This is for hygiene, and also so that after moving, the unit's situation won't be exposed.

Otherwise, if the enemy caught up, they could estimate the unit's size just by looking at the number of feces on the ground.

Kang Changyi frowned, propped his chin on one hand, looking thoughtful: "Before, I merely made a small mistake; from now on I'll take it seriously and won't let Lu Yang steal the spotlight again."

"A lowly private thinks that after reading a few military manuals he can command troops in battle? Heh, little does he know that knowledge from paper is shallow; it's all just armchair strategy."

"Rest easy, no one can relieve me of my platoon leader post, and Lu Yang could never ride over our heads."

"I will lead you to crush the enemy's offensive, securing victory for the Sixth Company and the Second Battalion, so that everyone will earn merit!"

The First Squad Leader nodded; he was merely giving a friendly reminder, hoping Kang Changyi wouldn't make another low‑level mistake.

Whether or not we earn merit doesn't matter; just don't repeat the past by leading a bunch of people to jump into a fire pit.

But in Kang Changyi's eyes, the First Squad Leader's behavior looked more like a rank‑and‑file soldier's defiance of superior orders.

As Platoon Leader, he acknowledged Lu Yang's ability, but inexperience is inexperience.

After all, he himself was a proper graduate of a military academy, a professionally trained officer.

And Lu Yang wasn't even a non-commissioned officer, just a conscript.

This made him feel that the superiors' arrangement was truly unfair.

Even for meritorious service, just giving a commendation, issuing a certificate, or at least awarding a praise would suffice.

Give too much, and if he becomes conceited and arrogant, what then?

Kang Changyi nodded slightly, feeling he was truly a broad-minded, thorough, and all-around good platoon leader.

And he also resolved to build merit in the upcoming battle, so that everyone in the Sixth Company would look at him anew.

Kang Changyi pressed his finger to his brow, his eyes deep and mysterious: "This time, I will no longer hide my clumsiness, I will give my all, the king returns!"

"Let you see how an outstanding graduate of the National Science and Technology University's Command and Automation specialty leads troops in battle and achieves victory!"

Beep, beep-beep-beep—

The piercing emergency assembly whistle suddenly sounded.

"Emergency assembly, all units move out!"

"Emergency assembly, all units move out!"

From inside the tent came the sound of rustling.

Seeing the soldiers fully equipped, they quickly rushed out of the tent and boarded the transport vehicle.

Kang Changyi, still in the middle of defecating, was dumbfounded—wasn't the drill supposed to start at 4 a. m.? Why was it moved up?

He hurriedly wanted to grab paper to wipe his butt, but suddenly froze: "Damn, I forgot to bring paper!"

At this moment, everyone was assembling and boarding; surely no one would come bring him paper.

He simply steeled himself, grabbed a handful of dirt, and roughly wiped.

Kang Changyi quickly pulled up his shorts and rushed toward the tent.

He hurried to get dressed, pack his bag, and pick up his rifle.

But when he dawdled out of the tent, he saw the last transport vehicle already starting and driving off.

Kang Changyi panicked, covering his helmet as he hurriedly chased after, shouting, "Hey, wait for me, I haven't gotten on yet, I haven't gotten on yet!"

In the passenger seat, Sixth Company Commander Ma Qing'an looked at the embarrassed platoon leader in the rearview mirror, snorted coldly, and said, "Drive forward five hundred meters then stop!"

"Yes!"

Driver Zhou Kaidong gave a hehe smile, stepped on the accelerator, and the car lurched forward another stretch.

Lu Yang rode ahead on his motorcycle to clear the way, looked back, and couldn't help laughing.

A minor punishment to teach a major lesson, letting him remember this for a long time is also good!