Chapter 373: The Entertainment Circle Is Too Deep, I

"Come, come, come, everyone stand properly, stand properly now."

"Don't move around; for the front row, let me see whether crouching looks better or sitting looks better."

"Zhou Kaidong, shift a bit to the left; don't leave such a big gap. Kang Changyi, swap places with LiMin, then lower your head a little…"

At the Special Third Regiment's headquarters, in front of the iconic sculpture—a massive hand emerging from the earth, gripping a rifle—the Sixth Company soldiers, beaming with pride, are preparing for a group photo.

The Sixth Company has about a hundred soldiers; to fit every face clearly into the frame, we need to tweak the height order a bit.

Lu Yang, as the soul of the Sixth Company, naturally stands at the central C‑position, letting others constantly swap spots; he never moves at all.

In the second row, Sun Chen and Liu Ziqiang are quietly teasing Chen Panpan, who is crouching on the ground striking a pose.

One pats her shoulder, the other provides cover; their seamless coordination makes Chen Panpan never spot the source when she turns around.

Kang Changyi, in the same row, pushes his foot up to appear taller on camera, but someone always ends up higher than his boost.

Seeing that Zhou Kaidong's rear foot is also lifted, Lu Yang finds it genuinely funny—who says men don't have a competitive streak?

Then he slowly lifts his heels, presses his tongue against the palate, trying to make his lower jaw more pronounced and look more spirited.

"Alright, stay still; keep this stance and let's take two shots."

"Okay, three, two, one, say 'cheese'."

"Cheese..."

Click!

The publicity officer in charge of shooting presses the shutter, taking two consecutive shots.

"Someone just closed their eyes; shall we do two more?"

"I'll ask, you answer: Special Third Regiment, awesome or not?"

"Awesome~"

Everyone, including Lu Yang, squints hard and laughs while answering.

The publicity officer asks again: "Iron Foot, cool or not?"

"Cool!"

"Are the Sixth Company's soldiers fierce?"

"Fierce!"

The flash fires repeatedly several times.

After the group photo, it's time for individual portraits.

At first, everyone is shy and hesitant, none willing to go first.

Until LiMin tugged at the uniform, adjusted the hat, and became the first to step forward, giving a restrained salute in front of the Special Third Regiment's giant hand sculpture.

"Um, could you make me look a bit more handsome? I want to send the photo home to my family."

"No problem."

The Sixth Company soldiers line up, scrambling forward, waiting for their turn.

Saluting, standing at attention, marching in step, doing a 'yeah' pose—every kind of stance appears.

Having served this long, many of them have never had an individual uniform photo.

Even those who have taken one before did so only within the company, never beneath the regimental headquarters' iconic building.

Lu Yang stands by the landscaped flowerbed, smiling as the individual sessions gradually turn into small group shots of three or five.

Uniforms truly are the best cosmetic surgery; at this moment, the Sixth Company is almost a Wu Yanzu per capita, each looking drop‑dead gorgeous.

Ma Qing'an walks over, pulls out a cigarette and lights it: "Aren't you going to take a picture?"

Lu Yang: "Let them go first; no rush."

Ma Qing'an exhales, asks casually: "What was the name of that song you sang last night? It was pretty good; I'll get a cassette later and listen to it."

Lu Yang pauses; the timeline hasn't even got that song yet, so even if he gave a title it couldn't be found: "An impromptu piece, made up on the spot."

Ma Qing'an turns his head, staring as if seeing a ghost: "You composed it yourself?"

"Yeah."

"Why are your eyes so wide? Didn't you sleep well?"

He Zhen Tao also walks over at this moment, asking curiously.

Ma Qing'an, shocked, says: "Lu Yang said the song he sang last night was an on‑the‑spot improvisation, he wrote it himself; how could I not believe it?"

Lu Yang laughs: "If you don't believe it, go to Baidu; you definitely won't find anything identical."

He Zhen Tao immediately stops doubting, pulls out his phone and searches.

The song's melody is graceful, its lyrics exuding a deep sense of regret.

It doesn't match the Sixth Company's current situation exactly, but the atmosphere shares many similarities.

Especially those two lines:

"If the mountains and waters I see are also seen in your eyes, I will pray with a lotus flower at each step."

"How could one know that fleeting life is but a blade of grass, time ages us, wind, moon, flowers and birds smile at the dust of fate..."

Lying in bed at night, the melody fills his mind; the after‑effect is overwhelming.

He originally thought it was sung by some obscure internet singer, but the search engine returned nothing—indeed, it was Lu Yang's impromptu creation!

He Zhen Tao grabs his arms with both hands, his face solemn: "Lu, how many more surprises have you got hidden, what is it that you still can't do?"

"Otherwise, I'll send you to the cultural troupe later; you might become a singer renowned for both virtue and art!"

"Who knows, you might even appear on TV, host shows, act in movies, land endorsements!"

Ma Qing'an jokes with a grin: "When that day comes, we'll all call you Teacher Lu and ask for your autograph, hahahaha!"

Lu Yang quickly waves his hand: "No, no, no, the entertainment world is too treacherous; I'm afraid I can't keep my grip on it."

At that moment, Zhou Kaidong, along with Liu Ziqiang and Sun Chen, runs over laughing, pulling Lu Yang to join the group photo.

Lu Yang stood there like a human-shaped standee, forced to pose, as wave after wave of people took photos with him.

His treatment rivaled a big star's, even hotter than company commander Ma Qing'an's, making him envy him badly.

"These little brats, why do they all only take photos with Lu Yang? Nobody wants a photo with us two? Am I not handsome enough? Otherwise, I'm leaving."

"Put it this way: if you wanted to take a photo with someone, who would you pick?"

"Obviously Lu Yang!"

"Then that's settled."

In front of the Special Third Regiment's sculpture, wave after wave of people came.

The Sixth Company's soldiers were no longer satisfied with normal photo requests, they started heading in a goofy direction.

On the office building of the regimental headquarters, the regiment commander stood with his hands behind his back in front of a nearly emptied office window.

Smiling, he watched below as they sometimes gathered in crowds to hug the sculpture, sometimes spread their arms to form a five-pointed star, sometimes struck the pose of the Shaolin Temple's eighteen bronze warriors.

Tan Yuanzhou walked over, took a look, his eyelids twitched twice: "Isn't this a bit... too unserious? After all, it's our regiment's symbol."

Wang Zhongxi had his hands behind his back: "I think it's fine; young people should be energetic and lively."

……

After returning from taking photos at the regimental headquarters, they simply ate breakfast and then went back to their dorms to pack their things.

Actually, their belongings had already been packed the night before; they just needed to check them once over.

In the Third Squad's dormitory, seeing Lu Yang also have his luggage ready, Zhou Kaidong's worried heart eased a little.

Earlier there had been rumors that Lu Yang might be left behind, which kept him constantly worried.

But now it seems false; otherwise Lu Yang wouldn't be so eager to pack his things.

"Actually, I've never understood why our Eastern Theater Army is being transferred to the Southern Theater Navy."

While waiting for the vehicle, LiMin plopped down on the bare bunk and asked Lu Yang her inner doubt.

But before Lu Yang could answer, Kang Changyi voluntarily stepped up to explain.

"You don't get it? This is called cross-theater transfer."

"So does that mean other theaters' armies will also have people transferred over?"

"Of course, did you think it was just us?"

Kang Changyi's understanding of the current military development policy was fairly thorough.

Moreover, his uncle was the division's chief of staff, giving him broader information channels, so he simply gave everyone a popular science explanation.

This time, in strongly supporting naval construction, the main focus is the East Sea Fleet and the South Sea Fleet.

The East Navy, like the East Army, falls under the Eastern Theater's jurisdiction; its main task is to guard against possible crises in the eastern sea area and coastal regions.

The South Navy, meanwhile, falls under the Southern Theater's jurisdiction; its main task is to respond to potential dangers in the seas near Southeast Asia and the southern coastal areas.

The southern sea area is even broader, and with many islands distributed, official uncontrollable factors are more numerous.

Therefore, the South Sea Fleet, relative to the East Sea, needs to supplement more high-quality naval personnel.

In the short term, it's unrealistic to quickly boost strength by conscripting new recruits.

Thus, drafting elite troops from the armies of various theaters and training them as naval soldiers has become the most effective approach.

"Then, besides our army's rank-and-file soldiers, will the leaders also come along?"

"Probably, since the Special Third Regiment is gone, the regiment commander and political commissar must go with us."

"At last night's dinner, when I went to propose a toast, I happened to hear that our theater army's senior leader had already received a transfer order to report to the South Sea Fleet, seemingly to serve as the navy commander."

"I get it—this is just like local officials being transferred elsewhere to become mayors, or outsiders being transferred in to become municipal party secretaries, the same principle."

A brief explanation in a few words, and everyone understood.

The seemingly simple 'personnel transfer' and 'troop strength adjustment and replenishment' hide enormous significance and strategic impact behind them.

No wonder the troops previously sealed off reorganization news so strictly, and guarded against any leaks with utmost vigilance.

Even foreign spies, risking exposure at any moment, would sneak to the division's gate to take covert photos.

Zhang Jiaheng: "I heard that over there the navy also has motorized units, or rather amphibious ones; I don't know if they have water motorcycles."

Zhou Kaidong: "Definitely, they're called amphibious motorized—how could they not have them?"

LiMin timidly asked: "What if, just like here, they also train people toward the motorcycle direction?"