Chapter 340: Imperfect Is the Norm

"I knew you couldn't be kept in the dark."

When the four of them came in, they clearly still wanted to put on a little act.

But Lu Yang saw through it at a glance, so there was no need to keep pretending.

Zhou Kaidong said helplessly, "Initially, the ruling after the exercise ended was a draw."

Guo Yongwen continued, "But the regiment questioned the final ruling; the Regiment Commander and the Political Commissar went together to the directing department, demanding a recount of casualty ratios."

Lu Yang, suspicious, asked, "The directing department refused?"

"The directing department agreed."

"And then?"

"The result after recounting was that Special Third Regiment lost."

……

This maneuver completely left Lu Yang at a loss.

Knowing the result turned out like this, it would have been better not to go to the directing department.

Zhou Kaidong said awkwardly, "They say the Regiment Commander and the Political Commissar are both regretful to the core; anyway, the final outcome is that we lost."

Lu Yang also hadn't expected this result at all; it seems the rumors from Wanbaoshan are still untrustworthy, their credibility is far too low.

He pressed, "Isn't the overall strength of the 441st Regiment weaker than ours? Why did we lose? Which link went wrong, or what mistake was made?"

Kang Changyi, with blackened eye sockets, took over, "The 441st Regiment's strength was indeed poor; they were smashed by us right away. But later we learned the other side brought in people from the Zhencha Daitui to assist."

"A full squadron—about a hundred elite reconnaissance soldiers; early on they roughly mapped our movement routes, planned arrangements, camouflage positions, and fire distribution."

"We hadn't thought of this at all; by the time we realized the situation, it was already too late......"

Zhou Kaidong: "The Second Battalion's battalion commander, plus the company commanders of two companies, were all ambushed by these reconnaissance soldiers at night; the commander was beheaded, leading to major command issues, which directly caused us to lose the exercise."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang fell silent.

Earlier, during the operation to capture the armed criminal, he had seen the strength of those reconnaissance soldiers.

Without exaggeration, he said, any one of those guys, if thrown into any company of Special Third Regiment, would be a top‑tier presence.

Simply put, that opponent's squadron of over a hundred men had capability levels almost entirely above those of the two veterans Zhou Kaidong and Guo Yongwen.

Moreover, many of them had seen actual combat; although the Zhencha Daitui's field missions are mostly perimeter patrol, search, deployment, and support, not true front‑line combatants.

But the combat experience accumulated over time, and the grasp of battlefield situations, are definitely incomparable to a group of ordinary soldiers who have never been on a battlefield.

Otherwise, they wouldn't say reconnaissance soldiers are the most formidable and versatile among regular troops.

Ding Tengfei pointed to the ligature mark on his neck: "When I was pursuing the enemy, a guy ambushed me from behind; his one move knocked me down, and I was powerless in front of him."

"Even, I felt that if the opponent wanted, a single thought could strangle me to death."

Kang Changyi, with a grim face, said, "The guy you mentioned, I also encountered; he was a somewhat handsome first‑class sergeant. I led four people to encircle him, he killed two of us, and then he ran away."

Lu Yang: "Then how did you get that eye injury?"

Kang Changyi: "Oh, I was walking at night and accidentally slammed my head into a tree."

……

He could tell it was a venting session today.

The originally secure winning situation was caught off guard by the addition of the Zhencha Daitui.

As for that somewhat handsome first‑class sergeant, he must be the top graduate from Qingbei who didn't run away.

Lu Yang had seen his gunmanship and found it indeed skillful; as for combat experience, being specially recruited into the Division's Zhencha Daitui, he naturally wouldn't be lacking.

Just after the company, Chen Panpan had once said that at their new training base there was a top‑tier expert, presumably Lan Li.

Seeing everyone looking glum, Lu Yang, the injured one, took the initiative to comfort them: "Victory and defeat are common in warfare; there are no always‑victorious generals on the training ground."

"The Zhencha Daitui's strength is recognized throughout the Division; you managed to keep the loss minimal and almost reach a draw without early detection, which is already remarkable."

"That's true in words, but deep down, it's hard to get motivated." Guo Yongwen also let out a long sigh.

He used to be in the Seventh Company, known for his explosive temper, defying heaven and earth.

This time, actually confronting the elite of the Zhencha Daitui, he was beaten with no temper left.

Even he thought that if Lu Yang could appear in the exercise, perhaps the problems could be spotted early, reducing losses and turning defeat into victory.

But saying that is useless; the exercise is over, the directing department has made the final ruling, there's no point in arguing.

Zhou Kaidong said, "Originally, before the exercise, the Company Commander said that after the exercise ends, he'll take our company to Old Fang's place to boost performance, give us a good foot massage, then go to a restaurant."

"The result turned out like this, the whole company was as limp as a frost‑bitten eggplant, and the plan to massage feet and go to a restaurant was ruined."

Ding Tengfei patted his head, bewildered: "Why, when everything was fine, did they have to mix in the Zhencha Daitui? Otherwise we would have definitely won!"

Lu Yang explained, "The higher‑ups arranged it that way probably because Special Third Regiment is too strong; they worry the soldiers become arrogant and complacent, so they need to give us a bit of hardship to spur us on."

"Real progress has never been smooth sailing; it comes after enduring setbacks, ups and downs, failures, and hardships, then moving forward resolutely."

"Lu Yang is right; it's just one performance, we'll win it back next time."

"It's just a Zhencha Daitui, what's there to be scared of?"

"Brother Lu, next time on the arena we meet them, we must beat him until he's crawling on the ground looking for teeth!"

"I'll take that on!"

Lu Yang patted his chest.

A brief chat lifted everyone's spirits.

Lu Yang, like a psychological counselor, earnestly did ideological work for everyone.

In fact, he felt he might have a bit of political‑work potential; after all, his experience and insight from two lifetimes aren't accumulated for nothing.

That afternoon, He Zhen Tao also came by, also looking wistful.

He told Lu Yang that after Ma Qing'an returned, he locked himself in his office to reflect.

Over at Gao Feng, he was similarly hit, becoming extremely irritable, igniting at the slightest spark.

Although several days have passed, the negative emotions produced by the failed exercise hang over every soldier in the regiment.

At the same time, Lu Yang also learned from He Zhen Tao that Lan Li of the reconnaissance battalion, having repeatedly earned merits, likewise received an extraordinary promotion from the division.

However, he was promoted only to second lieutenant, not to lieutenant like Lu Yang; this left He Zhen Tao somewhat puzzled, unable to figure out where the problem lay.

"That soldier, it is said, performed outstandingly during basic training, was the top scorer in the college entrance exam, was a top talent from Tsinghua/Peking University, and has earned quite a few merits."

Clearly his overall quality is outstanding, so why was he only extraordinarily promoted to second lieutenant while you became a lieutenant right away?

Lu Yang shrugged and said, "Who knows?"

But thinking that this guy opens his mouth with thunderous remarks, I guess he must be quite unpopular in the unit.

High education and strong ability do not guarantee popularity; the earlier Kang Danniang is the best example, yet she was also disliked by people.

Therefore, Lu Yang guesses, it is likely due to his personality, or perhaps his mouth.

Night fell, and the wards of the rehabilitation hospital began to turn off their lights one after another; the corridors were also quiet.

Lu Yang finished washing up early and lay on the bed, but he just stared blankly at the ceiling, unable to sleep for a long time.

The failure of the Special Third Regiment's exercise, and the listless appearance of Zhou Kaidong and his comrades, made him feel somewhat guilty.

He kept thinking, if he could have participated in the exercise, would the outcome have been different?

Although the company commander said, the world turns without anyone, and Iron Foot remains Iron Foot without anyone; but if one more person contributed effort and discovered the problem earlier, perhaps it would not have been so frantic.

Earlier, Wan Baoshan and Kong Long and his group encountered an ambush, likely because those scouts were causing trouble inside.

If I were to meet Lan Li on the exercise field, I would surely beat him up so he couldn't find his way, venting anger for everyone.

After thinking wildly for a long time, Lu Yang instead gave himself insomnia, tossing and turning for a long time without falling asleep.

He had earned a first-class merit, become a great hero, but consequently was injured and hospitalized, missed this exercise, indirectly causing the failure.

Perhaps this is what they mean by gains and losses going hand in hand; perhaps imperfection ought to be the norm of life.

In a hazy daze, Lu Yang, bathed in bright moonlight, still fell asleep in a muddled state.

He had a dream in which he seemed to be flying, drifting in the sky.

Then his foot suddenly stepped on empty air, and he plunged from the clouds, which directly woke him up in fright.

Opening his eyes, he saw the ward door pushed open, four sturdy men wearing masks and white coats walking toward the bed against the faint light.

"What are you......?"

Lu Yang hadn't finished speaking when someone forcefully covered his mouth.

Just as he was about to resist, his hands and feet were also firmly held down, leaving him unable to move.

In the struggle, Lu Yang felt one of the guys' arm, hard as if made of iron.

Afterwards, he caught sight that several people's feet were all wearing black 07-style combat boots, the boots battered as if chewed by a dog, with one guy even having several rounds of tape wrapped around them.