Chapter 492: I Propose Chen Panpan as Squad Leader

"You can't do this!"

"I am the Platoon Leader, the Platoon Leader of the First Company!"

"My uncle is Xiong Yao; he is the Chief of Staff of the brigade. If he finds out, he'll make sure you don't walk away alive!"

Lu Yang easily caught up with Kang Changyi, dragged him back like a dead dog, then tied him to a wooden stake and covered his eyes with a cloth.

Kang Changyi screamed in terror, trembling like a sieve, continuously begging for mercy and spouting harsh words.

Lu Yang ignored him and ordered everyone to step forward.

He personally inspected and confirmed that everyone's chambers and magazines were empty before issuing the fire‑ready command.

But the moment the crowd lifted their barrels and aimed at Kang Changyi, the previously laughing group instantly became solemn.

"Aim!"

"Fire!"

Lu Yang gave the order, and everyone's fingers pulled the triggers.

But there was no gunshot, only the sound of a dry‑fire click.

After the procedure finished, Lu Yang ripped the cloth from Kang Changyi's eyes and loosened his bindings.

Without attending to the thudding Kang Changyi, who fell to the ground trembling with fear, Lu Yang directly questioned the other five.

"How does it feel?"

The five stared at each other in silence; Lu Yang bluntly pointed at one: "Ding Tengfei, answer me—how does it feel?"

Ding Tengfei: "A bit nervous; even knowing the gun has no bullets, I still worry that pulling the trigger will make a sound and risk friendly fire."

"Zhou Kaidong, you're a veteran; give it a try?"

"Without reason, my body feels tense; I don't know if it's because he's our comrade or some other cause, unlike drills where there's no burden, the psychological pressure is heavy."

Lu Yang tossed him a magazine to load.

After Zhou Kaidong complied, Lu Yang had him disengage the safety and try to repeat the previous action.

Zhou Kaidong's earlier movements were smooth as clouds, but this time he couldn't lift the barrel, let alone aim at Kang Changyi.

"Safety off."

"Roger."

Lu Yang lifted Kang Changyi from the ground, put him back into the formation, and said, "You have psychological burdens for two reasons: first, he's a comrade; unless it's a training exercise, our barrels must never aim at a comrade."

"Second, it's out of reverence for life, a human instinct; today we discuss the second point—how to overcome the fear that instinct brings."

The group wore serious expressions, and Kang Changyi gradually recovered from his shock.

He realized belatedly that he had just become a teaching prop.

Damn it, if I'd known, I would have arrived earlier.

Lu Yang continued, "Normally we train on targets, at most dummy silhouettes, with no guilt; but once the target is a living person, can anyone pull the trigger as calmly as in training?"

"Do you think you can?"

"If it's an enemy, then yes…"

Facing Lu Yang's question, Liu Ziqiang responded.

Lu Yang kept asking, and even Chen Panpan nodded in agreement.

If it's a villain, he would pull the trigger without hesitation.

Although the answers pleased Lu Yang, he still gave the group a cold splash of reality.

"On my side, I asked the Chief of Staff to obtain a ten‑year‑old investigation report; the subject was an elite Special Forces unit from a domestic war zone."

"The investigation shows that among Special Operations soldiers who killed an enemy on the battlefield for the first time, one in every six exhibits extreme negative emotions requiring forced psychological intervention; several others show varying degrees of irritability, agitation, confusion, insomnia, nightmares, etc."

"Each Special Operations soldier is selected from thousands, even tens of thousands; their mental resilience far exceeds yours, yet even they encounter these issues."

"Therefore, I can tell you with certainty: if we send the six of you to the front now, at least half of you will develop some degree of psychological disorder from killing an enemy."

As soon as the words fell, someone immediately raised a objection.

"Report, I think this is alarmist; everyone's mental capacity varies greatly."

"If war breaks out, fueled by national hatred, eliminating the enemy would only feel like venting and avenging."

"Doesn't the internet say fear is instinct, courage is a hymn; don't doubt, just let adrenaline take over?"

Facing the doubt, Lu Yang's explanation was simple: today is a peaceful era, not a time of raging war.

Without national hatred or deep blood feuds, it's hard to put yourself in that role, which is a main reason psychological barriers form.

Lu Yang: "Among you, probably no one has truly fought a life‑or‑death battle with the enemy; no one has truly experienced that heart‑pounding combat where a single second's mistake means instant death."

"I've experienced it: even if you know the opponent is utterly wicked, when you thrust the knife into the enemy's body…"

"You still feel nauseous, your vision blurs, and your heart feels like it will burst out."

Everyone else knows this experience; Kang Changyi and Liu Ziqiang even participated in the enemy's capture operations at the time.

Naturally they know how perilous Lu Yang's experience was, otherwise he wouldn't have earned a first‑class individual merit.

But Wu Sida wasn't aware; he was surprised that Lu Yang had such an experience, so he asked a question.

"Instructor, when you fought the enemy, how did you overcome physical discomfort and inner fear?"

"Simple."

Lu Yang looked at him: "If you can't overcome it, you die; in an emergency there's no time to think, so I couldn't even decide whether I killed a person or a chicken."

Wu Sida fell silent; no wonder Lu Yang possesses such terrifying combat power.

At a young age, he was exceptionally promoted to Company Commander and also serves as a training instructor.

A soldier who has seen blood is entirely different from one who hasn't, never having been on a battlefield.

He was fortunate to have taken part in a border People's Armed Police operation to capture drug traffickers.

But because he wasn't in a front‑line combat unit, he could only help with peripheral containment.

Just hearing gunfire, without having truly experienced a life-and-death battle with the enemy.

However, Wu Sida recalled the scene back then; even just hearing gunfire made his scalp tense and his palms sweat.

So he clearly knew that what Lu Yang said was not wrong; it was a genuine summary of experience, and also a preemptive inoculation for them.

Lu Yang looked at everyone and said: "You are all elite, all outstanding soldiers; in the unit, the more outstanding you are, the more you stand out, and the closer you are to the battlefield and death."

"The destiny of a soldier is the battlefield; we do not bully others, but we also do not want to be bullied; this is the main purpose of the unit vigorously developing the navy and also preparing to build a quick reaction force."

"The Raptor Team, as the vanguard of the Quick Reaction Force, will surely follow frontline combat personnel into dangerous zones; perhaps our position will not be that far forward, but it is equally fraught with danger."

"Frontline combat personnel think about how to rescue hostages, eliminate the enemy, and complete the mission; what we need to consider is how to ensure the safety of frontline combat personnel, how to promptly notify and warn when the operation changes, and how to help them break through when enemy reinforcements arrive, bringing everyone back safely."

"From slaughtering rabbits and eating raw meat to just now letting you try pointing your gun at a living person, the purpose is all to let you gradually prepare psychologically."

He solemnly said: "One day you will truly step onto the battlefield; your gun barrels will truly point at the enemy, and bullets will pierce the enemy's chest, even their head!"

Lu Yang's words made everyone's heart chill, and a cold feeling rose up from the ground.

But just thinking that if you kill the enemy you can earn military merit and gain honor.

The six of them not only were not afraid, but instead felt a surge of hot blood, eager to jump into a big fight.

"Report, instructor!" Chen Panpan suddenly shouted: "We train day after day, honing our marksmanship and killing skills, just so that one day we can go into battle to kill the enemy and devote ourselves to the motherland and the people!"

"So, no matter how hard the training is, how difficult the process, I have no regrets!"

"Well said, good awareness!"

Lu Yang clapped loudly: "The Raptor Team still hasn't confirmed a team leader; I suggest temporarily letting Chen Panpan serve as team leader—what do you all think?"