Chapter 297: You Are the Fastest Man in the Entire Division

Beep—

A shrill whistle sounded in his ears.

Lu Yang moved like a startled rabbit, sprinting out at lightning speed.

Watching his speed, Xiong Yao, who was timing him beside him, showed a surprised expression.

Laypeople watch the spectacle, experts watch the technique; a soldier's running result can be judged from his start and transition handling.

During the great tournament, he had already taken notice of Lu Yang; back then Lu Yang performed well, but his handling of details was relatively immature and sloppy, not as solid and seasoned as now.

Whether running, playing basketball, or playing badminton.

The difference between veterans and novices is very obvious and especially easy to distinguish.

Nowadays Lu Yang has officially moved from the novice stage to the veteran stage.

Especially the final acceleration sprint, that burst of power was truly like a raging bull, carrying an inexplicable momentum.

The moment Lu Yang crossed the finish line, Xiong Yao simultaneously pressed the Stopwatch.

But when he saw the result on the Stopwatch, his pupils involuntarily contracted, and he was stunned.

"What is it, what is it?"

"What's the time?"

"Nine minutes, twenty‑three seconds."

"Whoa, awesome!!"

Ma Qing'an instantly jumped in place and threw a punch upward, cosplaying a Lushan Rising Dragon Overlord.

His legs seemed spring‑loaded as he charged at Lu Yang, grabbing him tightly.

Regardless of whether Lu Yang was sweating, he planted a hard kiss right on his face.

"Company Commander, I'm male."

"Lu Yang, I literally love you to death!"

Ma Qing'an could not contain himself, hugging him excitedly: "The Division record is nine minutes thirty‑six seconds; it hasn't been broken in years, and you just ran nine minutes twenty‑three seconds!"

"My heavens, you beat it by a full thirteen seconds; you're definitely the fastest man in our 17th Division!"

Lu Yang hurriedly interjected: "Hey, hey, hey, first of all, it's that I'm the fastest runner!"

Ma Qing'an laughed heartily, slapping his back vigorously: "Right, right, the fastest runner, the fastest runner, hahahaha!"

Lu Yang let out a long sigh; he hadn't expected that using the merit‑medal exchange system to add points could be this impressive.

Cheng Jun's record sat there, untouched for so many years.

Without exchanging for speed boost, even Lu Yang himself would need a year and a half of training.

Now, after spending just three Third-Class Merit Medals, he raised his speed to first in the entire Division in a short time.

If he used Second-Class or First-Class Merit Medals to exchange points, the physical prowess required would be unimaginable.

He'd probably have to become a human motorcycle; even in an army‑wide tournament he could claim first place.

He might even, at the Olympic arena, go toe‑to‑toe with those long‑standing marathon gold‑medal veterans and become an Asian sprinter!

Just thinking about it makes him a little excited!

"Lu Yang, come over and rest a bit."

Wang Zhongxi waved at Lu Yang with a smile; the more he watched this youngster, the more he liked him.

Lu Yang took the thermos cup handed by the Regiment Commander, took two sips, then twisted it back.

Xiong Yao stared at the numbers on the Stopwatch, then at Lu Yang before him, feeling an uncanny sense of unreality.

He had seen a movie called The Matrix, where the protagonist himself was a virus, called a BUG.

Now he thinks Lu Yang's existence is also very much like a BUG.

Other veterans run, sacrificing countless days, nights, and sweat for a one‑ or two‑second improvement.

He originally thought Lu Yang was merely grinding toward the record, never expecting the guy to surpass it by so much.

The absurdity is not even comparable to that time on the arena when a kid hurled a hand‑grenade as if it were a mortar shell over a hundred meters.

Xiong Yao smiled, accepting the fact: "Lu Yang, what can I say about you? How is it that every time you give me a special surprise?"

"Seems the Division's leadership promoted you exceptionally, giving you great motivation, huh?"

Lu Yang originally wanted to find an excuse, like saying he drank too much milk while visiting family, making his bones stronger.

But since the Chief of Staff had already paved a path for him, he naturally had to follow it.

"The higher the rank, the greater the ability!"

"The Division's leaders value me; I don't dare slack off a single day!"

"Only by continuously achieving more can I repay the leaders' cultivation!"

Sometimes Xiong Yao feels Lu Yang's talk is not at all like a nineteen‑year‑old youngster, but more like the seasoned veteran Wang Zhongxi.

Wang Zhongxi thinks Lu Yang is very sensible, always thinking of the collective and never speaking of his own effort.

In the eyes of him and Ma Qing'an, Lu Yang must have used the family‑visit leave to sneak in extra training.

All to give everyone a huge surprise after the holiday ends.

Ma Qing'an sighed regretfully: "Ah, it's a pity there are no upcoming competitions. If there were, I'd sign you up; you'd surely make a splash on the field, maybe even earn some merit back."

Wang Zhongxi nodded in agreement: "No, send it to the military office, see if they have any competitions."

Xiong Yao shook his head: "This year, neither the Division nor the military has any large‑scale competitions, maybe the group army over there..."

"Sigh!" He raised a finger to the sky, then recalled: "The next year's Military Games could let Lu Yang represent our Division; let's see if he can place."

"Military Games?"

Wang Zhongxi's face flashed with surprise, while Ma Qing'an was utterly shocked.

Here, the Military Games refer not to the conventional World Military Games.

But it's the domestic version, somewhat similar to the three-services grand competition.

But even so, it is still a grand exchange gathering where outstanding military personnel from all over the country come together.

In terms of scale, intensity, and ferocity, it is far more terrifying than division-level martial competitions, let alone army-level ones.

Lu Yang, on the contrary, showed exceptional excitement; if he could achieve results on such a field, the entire regiment, and even the whole division, would take pride in him!

By then, it won't just be patting the regiment commander's butt; even the division commander's butt will get two squeezes from him—hahaha!

Xiong Yao placed his hand on Lu Yang's shoulder: "Lu Yang, keep your results confidential for now, don't let them leak. Strive in the coming year to break your score into nine minutes twenty seconds, or even under nine minutes ten seconds!"

"If, next year you can win first place for our division on the Military Games field..."

Lu Yang's eyes sparkled, his depths filled with longing for a military merit medal.

More military merit not only boosts his own strength, but also helps him go further and stand higher.

After experiencing the feeling of returning home in glory, of being honored to his hometown, and seeing his parents and family proud of him, he simply couldn't get enough.

Put simply: Chief, I damn well want to make progress!

Xiong Yao took in his expectation and excitement, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned as he said: "I can tell you clearly, a second-class merit is absolutely unavoidable!"

"Chief, I will definitely work hard and keep breaking through!"

"Very good, that's exactly the confidence and determination we need!"

Xiong Yao encouraged: "As long as you can take out those armed police who only have brute strength on the field, you won't just gain fame in our division; even someone in the group army will know you!"

"Armed, police?"

Lu Yang's smile froze on his face, he stared blankly at him......