Chapter 295: This Is a Newbie‑Crushing Operation

"These two honors are the rewards for the two of you bravely fighting villains during your leave, eliminating the threat to the people."

"This is yours, and this is Ding Tengfei's."

"Hm?"

Lu Yang flipped through the certificate and paused when he saw the words on it.

"Company Commander, didn't we agree they were all regiment commendations? How did I end up with a third‑class merit?"

"What, do you think your contribution doesn't deserve this third‑class merit?"

Lu Yang muttered to himself that, in terms of contribution, he felt he could have earned a first‑class merit.

Single‑handedly turned the Armed Police Headquarters into a clown on fire, leading the military region commander by the nose.

He triggered a thunderbolt, spurring a massive sweep‑cleaning operation; not only did it clear out the filth, it also helped the victims' families recover their money early.

Honestly, if I weren't worried the honor would be a hot potato, worried about being hammered to death by those Armed Police, I'd have invited a reporter for an exclusive interview.

Go apply for the Guangling Top Ten Outstanding Youth, run for the Touching Longguo Person award, and make a name that goes down in history.

Seeing Lu Yang stay silent, Ma Qing'an thought he had just earned a merit recently, so he felt psychological pressure.

"The commendation we mentioned earlier was because we didn't know the specifics, didn't know what actually happened."

"Later, after the division learned the details, they upgraded your commendation to a third‑class merit."

"In that situation, if you had struck first, it could have been classified as mutual fighting."

"But you kid are pretty clever, actually using a bait‑and‑trap law tactic; the other side struck first and drew a knife, making the process legal and thus a legitimate defense, eliminating evil and protecting the good."

Ma Qing'an handed the honor certificate and medal to Lu Yang, then began talking about matters in the unit.

"At this stage the Instructor is absent, so the Company's workload is still relatively heavy; since you're back, you'll have to endure more hardship—officers aren't just titles for nothing."

"I'm assigning you two tasks now, which will be the focus of our Company's work for the coming period."

"Hm."

Lu Yang nodded, listening attentively.

Ma Qing'an raised a finger: "The first task was personally assigned by the Regiment Commander; in two days the New Recruit Company will hold the final assessment, but the content differs from previous years."

"Recruits will no longer go to a field training camp for assessment; instead they'll undergo a three‑day‑two‑night field drill, being tested during a long‑distance march."

"The regiment has ordered our Company to form an assessment team to conduct a surprise inspection of this batch of recruits."

"The specific assessment procedures have been sent by the Training Section; just follow what's on the document."

"I intend to have you serve as the team leader of this assessment group; you may pick a few people to go with you."

Lu Yang looked excited, because this was a newbie‑crushing operation: "No problem, I'll guarantee the mission's completion!"

Ma Qing'an smiled: "Don't ever think they're just a bunch of rookie eggs and become careless; Lao He called and said that among these recruits there are a few with decent ability and strength, even some that are quite cunning."

Lu Yang: "Company Commander, you know what kind of temperament I have. I can never let my guard down at any time."

Ma Qing'an nodded: "So I'm relieved to give this task to you; if someone else took it, I'd worry the boat would capsize in the ditch."

"What's the second task?"

"The second task concerns the regiment‑scale opposing exercise half a month from now."

Ma Qing'an said gravely: "We now have a clear message— the unit that performs best in the exercise will be retained first. Supporting the Navy is the overall direction, but adapting to a new environment from scratch still puts considerable pressure on rank‑and‑file soldiers."

"If our regiment loses in the exercise, everyone in the regiment will be picked over like cabbages at a market."

"The good ones go to the Navy; the average ones are dispersed to other regiments; the poor ones may face early discharge."

"Being sent to the Navy doesn't guarantee you'll actually become a sailor. I called Pan Yuan; he said the Army‑to‑Navy transfer elimination rate is high, almost a quarter, especially the swimming and fear‑of‑water test, many fail to meet the standard."

"In other words, among Army soldiers transferring to the Navy, one out of every four will be eliminated because they can't adapt to the sea."

Lu Yang's expression turned solemn; with such a harsh elimination mechanism, no wonder so many don't want to be chosen.

As someone who's been through it, he knows how promising the Navy's future development is, and how powerful our future maritime force will be.

Although today the Longguo Navy is far better than the impoverished state of the '80s and '90s, it still lags hugely behind the West.

Therefore, to catch up with the West quickly, selecting the best among the best has become the fastest, most efficient method; and the elimination mechanism is inevitably brutal.

Ma Qing'an stared at him sharply: "So this isn't just an exercise; it's a battle to defend honor, to preserve the glory of our Special Third Regiment!"

"We still don't know which regiment the opponent is, but we must be fully prepared, especially in training, we must tighten up."

"Wen, the ideas you suggested earlier have already shown clear results; Wu, I hope you can also come up with some solutions."

"Use this one‑and‑a‑half month to launch a raid, raising the Sixth Company's combat power to the next level."

Lu Yang suddenly felt two more burdens on his shoulders.

Assessing recruits may look like newbie‑crushing, but it's actually full of deeper meaning.

New training has always been the regiment's top priority.

Whether these recruits can learn something and grasp truth in the final assessment directly affects their condition in the next company.

Therefore, as the assessment team leader, Lu Yang cannot simply bully for the sake of bullying; after the bullying, he must impart value to them, and it must be a subtle, unobtrusive value.

As for the exercise in a month and a half, it concerns the fate of the entire regiment.

From rank‑and‑file soldiers and junior commanders to the Regiment Commander and Political Commissar, all are swept by the tide of reform.

Personally, Lu Yang thinks the Navy and the Army each have their own merits.

He even wondered during the conscription physical, when checking eyesight, whether he might, like his cousin, be assigned to the Air Force.

Going to the Navy or wearing blue camouflage doesn't matter to Lu Yang, because he already knows how to swim and is decent at it.

Whether he can keep working with everyone for the defense cause is what matters to him!

"No problem, right?" Ma Qing'an asked.

"After I get back, I'll start thinking and produce a training plan within three days for your reference."

"Fine, but there's a condition: it must be better than the Training Section's plan, with better results."

"No problem!"

Lu Yang accepted these two tasks and left the office.

After putting the items back in the dormitory, he went straight to the training ground.

It was clearly noticeable that the daily training requirements had increased, and it seemed everyone was already preparing for the upcoming exercise.

But if they simply followed the training method set by the Training Section, the short‑term results would be minimal.

He had to think of a way to try to reduce the Mobo Company's disadvantage and expand its advantage.

However, before that, Lu Yang had something more important to do.

"You, come over here for a moment."

Lu Yang waved toward that side.

Just a moment ago he was swaggering and scolding the soldiers, but Acting Platoon Leader Kang Changyi immediately ran over, his butt in the air.

Shedding the previous arrogant look, they rubbed their hands with a flattering smile: "Platoon Leader, what instructions?"

Lu Yang stretched his body: "Time me; I'm running three kilometers."

Kang Changyi opened his mouth wide: "For such a trivial matter, just call the plane brother over; I'm busy right now, aren't I?"

Lu Yang glared at them: "What the heck are you busy with, just flaunting your might here; Acting Platoon Leader doesn't need to train, after you stop the Stopwatch, train with me!"

"Oh."

Seeing Kang Changyi looking humbled before Lu Yang, Zhou Kaidong and the others couldn't help but find it funny.

With Lu Yang absent, Kang Changyi, like a reveler, flaunted his might everywhere.

Still the same old habit, always pointing and nagging when there's nothing to do.

Zhou Kaidong would also often retort him a couple of times, even delivering a deadly scissor kick to knock him down.

The guy wasn't angry or upset; he got up, patted his butt, slunk away; ten minutes later, he returned, full of swagger, continuing to pontificate.

But when Lu Yang came back, he was a completely different person; sometimes even the Company Commander's words weren't as effective as Lu Yang's glare—truly a case of one thing defeating another!

"Li Jiang, take your Class Five over to the side; didn't you see the Platoon Leader is about to run?"

"Whoever that is, take the water bottle away; what if it trips the Platoon Leader?"

Kang Changyi somehow produced a loudspeaker and started clearing the field.

Efficiently, they cleared the training ground's track for Lu Yang.

Zhang Jiaheng watched from afar and spat in his mind: "Traitor!"

Lu Yang had finished his warm‑up at this point, waiting only for the word 'start', then sprinted out.

He ran extremely fast, almost at full exertion, and as he crossed the finish line, Kang Changyi immediately stopped the Stopwatch.

"What time?"

"Nine minutes fifty‑two seconds!"

"Too slow."

"Slow?"

Kang Changyi thought, "Do you know how many people can't finish within ten minutes?"

Even the top among the Mobo Infantry are few who can post that time.

Lu Yang took a short break, recovered his condition, and ran another lap.

This time he was a bit faster, taking nine minutes forty‑nine seconds.

After a week's rest, his body needed to gradually regain training condition.

He ran four consecutive times, each result improving over the previous.

Watching Lu Yang sprint in a sweat‑soaked circle, even Zhou Kaidong felt he couldn't watch any longer and urged him not to push so hard right after returning, reminding him that training requires a gradual adaptation.

Lu Yang wiped his sweat and smiled at him, "No more time, I have to hurry!"

Zhou Kaidong: "But your result is already pretty good; you're almost catching up to me."

Lu Yang said nothing; his goal wasn't Zhou Kaidong but to surpass Cheng Jun's Division three‑kilometer run record of nine minutes thirty‑five seconds.

After a brief rest, once his stamina recovered most, Lu Yang stood up again and snapped his fingers at Kang Changyi.

"My god, still running?"

"Hmm, this time I'm serious."

"What, you were just running casually before?"

"More or less."

Lu Yang stood on the starting line, and the System Light Screen materialized before his eyes.

He found the option to exchange physical attributes in the mall and used three Third‑Class Merit Medals to trade for a speed boost.

The next second, he inexplicably felt his body a bit lighter, unsure whether it was a mental effect or the system's result.

"Start!"

As Kang Changyi pressed the Stopwatch hard, Lu Yang shot forward like an arrow, his speed apparently noticeably improved.

Zhou Kaidong stood at the side, marveling: "Why does it feel like this kid is getting faster and faster? Is it an illusion? Hmm, it must be an illusion, definitely an illusion!"