Chapter 418: Stealing Techniques? Do You Really Get It?

The transport ship slowly docked.

Someone on the ship jumped down first.

They tied the mooring rope tightly to a protruding rock, securing the vessel.

There is no port here, so only a simple anchoring could be done to prevent the ship from drifting away with the waves while cargo is being moved.

The captain, a Company Commander, voluntarily jumped ashore, saluted Lao Mao, and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

Lao Mao took a drag, held it in his mouth, and said, "Pretty fast?"

The Company Commander smiled and said, "The higher‑ups ordered it: eight hundred li express, maximum speed all the way."

Lao Mao nodded, "Thanks for the effort. Bring everything down and place it on the open ground ahead."

"No problem."

The captain turned back, called out, and signaled everyone to hurry with the unloading.

Kang Changyi and Zhou Kaidong, the two who were temporarily drafted for a duty, also began to hustle.

But unlike the others, after stepping onto the island, their eyes kept darting around.

From Lao Mao's custom camouflage uniform, tactical vest, and the aura he exuded, they thought of the words "Special Operations."

Although depictions of Special Forces in current movies and TV shows have become hackneyed, and even in various urban novels they're reduced to clichéd plots about special Soldier Kings on campus.

But for any ordinary foot soldier in a grassroots unit, those three characters are an insurmountable mountain.

It's not just the impressive title; the gap in capability is even larger.

A Zhencha Daitui can easily beat the ace of a grassroots unit.

And a Special Forces unit can easily defeat several Zhencha Daitui.

Many veterans, after discharge, like to call themselves Special Forces soldiers, which proves their high value.

This is also a secret Sea Training Base on an island, a place most soldiers never get to see in their lifetimes.

Kang Changyi and Zhou Kaidong both wanted to use this rare chance to see how Special Operations are trained, hoping to pick up at least a move to take back.

Zhou Kaidong and his companion carried an unassembled military tent down from the ship, but their eyes were fixed on several squads of warriors running around the island, bearing a round log.

"Three or four people lugging such a thick, long piece of round wood—this is damn brutal, isn't it?"

"The island's terrain is uneven, and they have to carry the log down slopes; one slip could crush someone, right?"

"Damn, look at their seamless coordination—on a tough stretch, the person behind instinctively lifts the one in front."

"What does 'like wolves and tigers' mean, what does 'elite troops and valiant generals' mean? I think this bunch from the Zhencha Daitui are far tougher; this single squad could take down an entire company."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"Hmm, I heard the Company Commander say that when Special Operations clash with regular units, casualties can reach an astonishing 1:25; five or six of them can overturn a regular company, and they're enough to wipe out a Zhencha Daitui."

"Holy crap, that's insanely brutal; they're harsh on themselves and harsher on the enemy. If we could have that physique, that teamwork, that tactical level… the glory of reviving the Iron Foot is surely just around the corner!"

Just as Kang Changyi and Zhou Kaidong were whispering, Lao Mao, cigarette dangling, noticed them, furrowed his brows, and pointed his finger over.

"Hey soldier, hey soldier, I'm talking to you two, just you both!"

"Huh?"

The two turned around, staring blankly at Lao Mao as he walked toward them.

Lao Mao furrowed his brows and asked, "Why aren't you two working, and what are you muttering about?"

"Report: nothing to say!"

Zhou Kaidong naturally knew he couldn't tell the truth.

Units of this level have strict confidentiality rules.

If caught stealing techniques, they'd probably never leave.

Lao Mao snorted coldly, "Just now I clearly saw your mouths moving!"

Kang Changyi, with a flattering grin, said, "We were just discussing how we could join such an awesome, booming team. Coming here made us deeply realize how huge the gap is between ordinary units and ace units!"

Lao Mao lifted the corner of his mouth, "You've got quite the insight, huh? Which unit are you from?"

Kang Changyi: "Report, we're from the Sea Training Base's Third Battalion, and we were assigned a duty today, which gave us a serious eye‑opening!"

Hearing that they came from the Sea Training Base, Lao Mao paused.

Because he remembered clearly that Lu Yang was originally supposed to go there.

He glanced toward the island's southern side, then turned and struck the brim of Kang Changyi's hat with the Score Book in his hand.

"Hmph, full of slick flattery!"

"You think I don't know what you two are thinking?"

"You want to steal techniques, understand? Letting you watch here for a day is pointless—get moving and start working!"

Lao Mao spat at the two, covering their faces, giving them no respect at all.

Zhou Kaidong, after so many years of enlistment, hadn't been treated like a raw recruit for a long time.

But alas, they have that proud capital; a terrifying 1:25 casualty ratio is an insurmountable strength gap.

Kang Changyi returned to the cabin, grabbed a box of canned food, put it back; grabbed another box, put it back, and, fuming, scolded:

"What's so impressive, what's the hype?"

"Letting us watch for a day is also pointless?"

"If you're so capable, record us the whole time, so we can watch it repeatedly back home?"

Zhou Kaidong, bewildered, watched his bug‑like motion and asked, "What are you doing?"

Kang Changyi snorted, "I'm not happy with him, so I'm deliberately dragging my feet here, okay?"

"What's so arrogant about it? We all still have to eat, drink, relieve ourselves, and sleep, right?"

"If you lack these survival supplies, see how many days you can stay on the island!"

Zhou Kaidong: "Don't say that. I just saw them—those soldiers are all disheveled, hair and beards grown long. They've probably been on the island for quite a while."

Reconnaissance and Special Operations both have wilderness survival training; I guess they just finished the previous stage's desert island survival training.

Kang Changyi complained verbally, but inside he was envious to no end: "When can we also run training like this? Everyday swimming, running, physical training, tactical crawling—it's so boring."

Why can't we extend it toward actual combat, run some combined-arms tactics, small-unit sniper tactics, CQB close-quarters indoor combat, and so on?

Zhou Kaidong gave a wry smile and said, "Don't even think about those later things: it depends on how the assessment ends and which unit we get assigned to; if we're assigned to the reconnaissance unit, we might get a chance to experience wilderness survival."

This training isn't as simple as we see; we need specialized instructors who understand this to supervise it.

Or, after Lu Yang comes back, you few and the company commander and instructor can discuss it together—he'll definitely have a solution.

Actually I think wilderness survival is still quite necessary; at least in exercises and confrontations, those with experience and those without have worlds of difference in combat awareness.

Kang Changyi knew he was referring to the regiment-scale exercise that Lu Yang had missed earlier.

In that exercise, the Special Third Regiment should have held an absolute advantage, but was infiltrated by the Zhencha Battalion, leading to their ultimate defeat.

And jungle camouflage, infiltration ambushes, and covert entry all require a certain amount of wilderness combat survival experience as a foundation.

Put simply, without wilderness survival experience, the subsequent series of related professional training cannot be carried out at all.

Kang Changyi snorted: "He doesn't understand this; you can't learn this stuff just by reading two books. To revive the glory of the Iron Foot, I, Kang Changyi, must bear the regiment's banner—ultimately it's still up to me!"

Lu Yang has fallen behind, can't keep up with the version's pace; when he returns he'll just be a Xiao Kalami, only able to follow behind me carrying bags and shining shoes!

Zhou Kaidong is also very protective of his short comrades; he slapped him on the head: "You little Xiao Kalami, saying others are Xiao Kalas? Without anyone pressing down you just wag your tail; go back and let the company commander and instructor deal with you!"

Kang Changyi glared: "You've rebelled, a mere fourth-term non-commissioned officer daring to hit a lieutenant?"

Zhou Kaidong kicked him in the butt again: "What's it to you if I hit you? I'm still going to kick you!"

The scuffling noise once again attracted Lao Mao......