Chapter 33: The Three Don

"You, what's this attitude?"

"That's our attitude, what do you want!"

Ding Tengfei also dropped the work in his hands, his temper flaring, and stood beside Lu Yang.

Liu Cheng, fuming beyond measure, shouted: "Pick up the rice on the ground for me!"

Lu Yang glared at him: "Don't pick it up!"

Liu Cheng raised his voice: "Pick it up!"

Ding Tengfei's voice was even louder, and with a piercing edge: "Pick it up, you old man!"

Seeing he couldn't suppress the two, Liu Cheng's momentum immediately weakened a lot, but he remained aggressive: "Do you really talk to veterans like that? No sense of hierarchy at all; that's exactly how your Squad Leader taught you!"

Ding Tengfei snarled back: "You two‑cornered bastard, a damn worthless superior, really think you're a cadre?"

Lu Yang said coldly: "Since we started working, you've been pointing fingers from the side, watching us like a guard against thieves. We're here on a duty, not to be your hired labor!"

"If you keep nagging, we'll just quit the job!"

"You dare!?"

"What am I not daring? This is voluntary labor!"

"You, you, you—does this look like a work attitude? I'm going to report you to the Squad Leader!"

"You go?"

Lu Yang's attitude was very firm.

He was in the right; he wasn't afraid to argue with the Squad Leader, let alone the Company Commander.

We were working, suffering, and still being ordered around by unrelated guys, who pointed fingers and gave commands.

This petty oppression—whoever wants it, they'll have to endure it!

Liu Cheng was also fed up, but his target wasn't Lu Yang; he was purely focused on Ding Tengfei.

That guy is famously a Troublemaker and rule‑breaker; his previous "leak" caused a city‑wide storm, and now if he isn't kept an eye on, something might go wrong.

Or if a fire burns the Warehouse, the unlucky one would be him.

"I won't spar with you two; now finish the work quickly, or I'll go find your Squad Leader!"

"Ask him how he actually trains the new recruits, how the regulations are taught."

"Damn, giving you any respect?"

Ding Tengfei rolled up his sleeve to strike him, but Lu Yang stopped him.

Lu Yang said coldly: "Working is fine; either you leave or we leave, you choose."

"Respect is mutual; if you watch us like you're watching a prisoner, don't blame me for not respecting you!"

Liu Cheng didn't expect Lu Yang to be so sharp‑tongued.

He had seen the kid follow the Instructor to make a blackboard announcement, and had heard he was praised by the unit leadership.

If he ends up being reassigned to the agency's public affairs squad, Lu Yang definitely wouldn't want to offend such a person.

Maybe later he'll need to fill a form, stamp a seal, and still have to trouble that person.

Liu Cheng snorted: "I can stop watching, but you must not slack off; finish the work promptly."

"Also, the oranges and apples must be handled gently; if any gets chipped or broken, I'll still come after you!"

Watching that guy leave, Ding Tengfei's lungs were about to explode with anger.

He'd grown up and never experienced this petty oppression.

"Why did you just block me? This guy is clearly asking for a beating."

"You still want to go into the isolation cell?"

"......"

"The unit has its own rules; quarreling and fighting are completely different. Moreover, once you make the first move, even if you're right, it becomes…"

"So we just leave it at that? Can you swallow that attitude?"

"Later tell the Squad Leader, let him help us uphold justice."

"I'll go, why are you acting like a child, still filing a complaint?"

Seeing Lu Yang stare at him with an odd look, Ding Tengfei's face instantly flushed.

It was like a boomerang circling back and stabbing him.

Back then he was like a child, running to the Instructor to file a complaint against the Squad Leader.

But Lu Yang said that this was the safest and most direct method.

That Senior Private was indeed at fault, but after all he belonged to the Cook Squad.

If Ding Tengfei had actually laid a hand on their territory before, it would be like slapping the Cook Squad's face.

The New Recruit Company still has over two months left; Lu Yang doesn't want the upcoming days to be filled with sand and pebbles in the meals.

【Knowledge point detected: The Three Don'ts in the Unit!】

【Knowledge point analysis: Don't trouble the Cook Squad—disaster comes from the mouth, disaster enters through the mouth; don't trouble the sanitation staff—who hasn't had a headache or cold; don't trouble the newly‑surfaced submarine troops—extreme resentment, commonly called water monkeys!】

The system popup supplementing the knowledge point was timely.

Lu Yang also felt relieved that he had stopped Ding Tengfei earlier.

Throwing a punch feels good in the moment, but the consequences are severe.

As Assistant Squad Leader, he must consider the bigger picture and not lose the forest for the trees.

Ding Tengfei finally took the advice once, but still felt a bit aggrieved.

"Do other people on this duty get treated the same, or are we the only ones singled out?"

"Probably just us."

"Damn, on what grounds?"

"Just you."

"Me?"

Ding Tengfei pointed at his own nose, looking incredulous.

Lu Yang also spoke plainly: "Don't you have any sense of your own reputation? They're afraid you'll set the Warehouse on fire, afraid you'll cause trouble like you used to."

Ding Tengfei immediately felt stung, but still tried to retort: "Well, just target me then. What's the point of making things difficult for you?"

Lu Yang looked at him as if at a fool: "Because we're a collective; one's honor is shared, one's loss is shared."

Ding Tengfei was left speechless; he tried to speak a few times but swallowed it back.

He seemed to suddenly realize that his former self had indeed been quite reckless.

He had caused a lot of trouble for the class, for the Squad Leader, and even for the entire New Recruit Company.

Lu Yang said no more, kept his head down working, and left the rest unsaid.

Without that guy's reckless orders, the two of them worked much faster.

The rice by the wall was pulled into strands one by one, forming square pieces like wall tiles.

Even the apples and oranges were stacked in the plastic bags in a 4×4×3 arrangement, with uniform spacing between bags.

Lu Yang stood with hands on his hips, looking at the orderly result; he felt a sense of accomplishment, truly pleased by the pleasing regularity.

"Well done."

At that moment, the Cook Squad Leader, dusty and weary, had just returned from outside.

Seeing the Warehouse items neatly arranged, he immediately gave a thumbs‑up, praising the two of them for working more meticulously than the previous recruits.

He then announced that silver‑ear lotus seed soup was simmering on the stove, and after they finished, each should fetch a bowl.

With such a treat, Lu Yang didn't refuse; after all, it was their due.

Working for the Cook Squad often comes with hidden perks, because food is never scarce here.

Meanwhile, at the Flag Platform, the Third Squad recruits lined up in a row.

Their front halves of the soles rested on the edge of the Flag Platform, while their heels hovered in the air.

If Lu Yang were there now, the system would surely grant a new knowledge point: half‑sole military stance.

It's a derivative of basic military‑posture training, reducing sole‑to‑ground contact area to raise difficulty.

Advanced versions include standing on one‑third of the sole, one‑quarter, even one‑fifth—what's called the ballet‑style military‑posture training.

Anyone who's studied physics knows that the smaller the sole's contact area, the greater the pressure, and the more uncomfortable it becomes.

At this moment, Kong Long and the others were trembling violently, looking less like they were on a platform edge and more like they were on a sheer cliff.

"I'm about to collapse!"

"Mingming, we agreed to hold the stance, then relax and finish, but this is seriously torturing us."

"Whoever devised these drills is making us suffer more than execution."

"You think you're suffering? My 180‑pound frame is about to have its feet snap."

"Now you see why the Squad Leader forces you to lose weight, right?"

Kong Long was in severe discomfort, so he glanced sideways.

Seeing Zhou Kaidong supervising training over at the Second Squad, he quietly shifted his foot forward a bit.

With a larger contact area, the pressure on his foot dispersed, and he finally showed a relieved expression.

Indeed, compared with the basic version, this stance was far more comfortable.

"Kong Long, you're courting death—if the Squad Leader catches you later, will he finish you off?"

"It's fine, I'll take it easy and shift back later; he's not here anyway."

If this were a strength drill, Kong Long would bite his teeth off before slacking even a bit.

Because every ounce of effort helps him sculpt his muscle definition better.

But this pure torment is something he can't endure at all, especially after the earlier pull‑up session.

His heavier weight means a greater downward force, leaving both arms sore and swollen now.

Lu Yang's relatively lighter weight makes it easier for him; yet he still admires Lu Yang's perseverance, even thinking this guy will achieve great things.

Being willing to beg for torment and driving the veteran Squad Leader crazy, this damn guy is absolutely ruthless!

"Ah, I really envy Lu Yang and the others; they can even go to the Cafeteria for a quick snack, while we have to stand here in the cold wind as punishment."

"I have no idea what's for dinner. I actually loved the garlic‑stem stir‑fry at noon; it was damn delicious, seemed a bit… I hope they reheat it tonight, it'll be even more flavorful."

"I still prefer the yellow‑chive scrambled eggs, golden and buttery, paired with a big bite of mantou…"

"Please, stop talking; I've been starving all afternoon!"

Kong Long's mouth gushed like a flood, his stomach protesting as if issuing a general's order.

He's big‑built, eats a lot, and burns a lot; in the whole Third Squad he's the hungriest.

During the earlier political theory class his stomach was already growling, and after an afternoon of physical training, how could he listen to this?

"I can't, I really can't stand any longer; I feel I'm going hypoglycemic."

Kong Long licked his dry lips, his head feeling hazy.

Usually before afternoon training he'd drink some protein powder for nutrition.

But the Squad Leader strictly forbade him from touching it again, and with an extra three‑kilometer run at noon, his brain is now starving, eyes swollen, limbs weakening, even his stance wobbles.

"Kong Long, hang in there a bit longer, it'll be over soon!"

"Stand up straight quickly, or if the Squad Leader sees us, we'll have to get shots together."

"Long Long, stand up, Long Long you can do it!"

Kong Long kept persisting, persisting, but always felt the time dragged on.

During the wait he even smelled the aroma drifting from the Cafeteria.

This made him, already low on strength, as if a reflected light, a smile appear on his face.

"Tonight, there will be yellow chive scrambled eggs..."

As soon as the words fell, he moved his foot back a step, preparing to return to his original spot.

But he didn't know whether it was due to weak legs or a misstep, his body staggered and, to his surprise, fell backward...