Chapter 51: No Morals, Harming Others While Benefiting Oneself!

"Stop fidgeting; that's not a soldier's style. Hurry up."

"Regiment Commander, first of all, you promise you won't get angry?"

Wang Zhongxi laughed heartily while looking at Lu Yang.

"How could I get angry? I just want to know if, without my help, you can solve the problem on your own and find a way to stay."

"Then shall I say it?"

"Speak up, speak well, and this steel pen is yours."

"No backing out?"

"No jokes in the army!"

"Um......"

"This is an order; I'll count to three, otherwise I'll tear up this medical examination form. One......"

Lu Yang went numb; is this forcing him onto a hot grill?

Having no choice, he could only go for it!

"If you insist on withdrawing me, after entering the room I'll suddenly punch myself twice, making my nose bleed first."

Wang Zhongxi glanced at Tan Yuanzhou standing nearby, and the two showed puzzled expressions.

"What does this mean?"

"Then I'll open the window, climb onto the sill, and as I'm about to jump I'll shout outward: 'Regiment Commander is beating people, Regiment Commander is beating people!' Stirring up a scene, muddying the waters, and it will no longer be about whether to withdraw troops, but about you, Regiment Commander......"

"You're outrageous!"

Tan Yuanzhou slammed his palm on the table in anger: "It's as if you've swallowed a bear's heart and a leopard's gall! Who taught you that dirty move? Did your New Recruit Squad Leader teach you to be a soldier that way?"

"And you still play framing and sabotage, hoping the Regiment Commander will pull you into the water as a scapegoat. Do you still have any moral bottom line for your benefactor?"

Lu Yang forced out a polite yet awkward smile.

I have a moral bottom line; it's just relatively flexible.

"Since you forced me to speak, the only thing I can think of is a lose‑lose."

"You filthy scum!"

Tan Yuanzhou was fuming, as if he'd never seen such audacity before.

He was the one being withdrawn, yet he prepared to drag the Regiment Commander down with him to shift attention.

By then, the higher‑ups' focus won't be about the color‑blind being withdrawn, but about why the Regiment Commander is beating people.

With so many in Tuan Bu and the incident so big, it won't be long before it reaches the Division, and then accountability will be demanded.

At that point, the Regiment will have to downplay the incident, turn small matters into nothing, and must help resolve the withdrawal issue.

Even if Lu Yang is later locked up and disciplined, those repercussions are far smaller than the impact of the withdrawal.

It works, but the method is too ruthless, with not a single iota of moral bottom line.

Purely, it's harming others while benefiting oneself!

On the contrary, Wang Zhongxi covered his belly, tears almost laughing out of his eyes.

"Hahaha, brilliant, brilliant, what a move to fish in muddy water, all perishing together!"

"See? I told you this kid's brain is really sharp!"

"Regiment Commander, his......"

Tan Yuanzhou was about to speak when the Regiment raised a hand and cut him off.

"Come on, comrade Lu Yang, I really like your answer."

"A gentleman's word is hard for four horses to chase. Take the medical examination form and the steel pen together; they're all yours."

"Thank you, Regiment Commander!"

Lu Yang happily took them, but didn't leave right away.

The Regiment Commander noticed his little gesture and asked.

"What now?"

Lu Yang stayed silent, only fixing his gaze on the bottle of 'Hero' brand ink on the Regiment Commander's desk.

The steel pen, although later gradually phased out of the market and replaced by more convenient ballpoint pens.

It was still mainstream then, and required ink to write, so the set was inseparable.

The New Recruit Company had no canteen, nor knew where ink was sold; if Lu Yang just took a steel pen back and couldn't write, wouldn't it become a mere ornament?

Tan Yuanzhou's eyes widened; just as he was about to point and scold Lu Yang for overstepping, the Regiment Commander cheerfully stood and handed him the 'Hero' brand ink.

"Take it all together; it's all yours!"

"If you think that's not enough, look, I also have something you like; take it all!"

"No need, no need, thank you, Regiment Commander. Your people are really good; next year you'll definitely be promoted to general!"

"Hahaha, can't be promoted, can't be promoted; I'm already this age and satisfied. Go, go find your Squad Leader and Company Commander."

"Yes!"

Lu Yang gave a vigorous salute.

He took the medical form, the steel pen, and the ink, and vanished in a flash.

He left with a flower‑like smile, after all he gained a lot.

When the office door closed again, Tan Yuanzhou could hardly bear it.

"Regiment Commander, is this kid getting a bit too cheeky, overstepping?"

"That steel pen's been yours for years, and you just take it away without a hint of humility?"

Wang Zhongxi got up, walked to the window, and watched Lu Yang sprint out of the building toward the New Recruit Company, his face full of joy.

"I like straightforward soldiers, not those who pretend to refuse when they actually want it; that's not humility, it's hypocrisy."

I just want to see what, if any, differences this new recruit has from the other new recruits; I'm very satisfied with the result.

Tell me, if you were the one being discharged, would you dare to do something so crazy?

Tan Yuanzhou shook his head; he would resolutely obey orders and wait for higher‑up arrangements.

Wang Zhongxi turned his head, smiling, and said, "But this soldier dares to take the initiative. When everyone's about to be discharged, the barefoot aren't afraid of those wearing shoes—what is there to be scared of?"

"Just give him a complete upheaval, turn his world upside down!"

Tan Yuanzhou thought seriously; hearing the Regiment Commander say that, he wondered if beneath this soldier's seemingly steady temperament lay a streak of madness and stubbornness.

"But Regiment Commander, how did you know this new recruit would think differently from the others?"

"It was just by chance."

Wang Zhongxi recounted what happened at the small shop yesterday.

He heard that Lu Yang was ill, yet when faced with two veteran soldiers' harassment, his aura was not weakened at all.

Not only did he take the initiative to strike, but he also left the two veterans without a temper; Tan Yuanzhou was also astonished.

Especially those two lines, which left him both laughing and crying.

"I've been frail and sick since childhood, weak enough to be blown by the wind; I've taken more medicine than the amount of rice you've eaten, and the IV fluid I've had is beyond anything you can imagine!"

"Don't provoke me, or the sum of your allowances and discharge pay won't even cover what I demand!"

The last time I was greatly shocked was when, during a meal, I saw a bunch of electronic pickled mustard greens in a kimchi jar.

But this time, the shock Lu Yang gave him far surpasses the previous one.

"This new recruit indeed has a bit of a mischievous streak."

"Even though his physical condition is so poor, his courage is that great."

"Other new recruits, even those in the lower platoon, when they see veterans, are all deferential and meek."

"This kid, even with a fever, dares to confront two veterans head‑on, and even dares to drag you into it."

"He appears harmless to both people and animals, but in fact has extreme destructive power, and likes to wildly test the limits of rule‑breaking."

"No wonder both the Company Commander and the Instructor want to claim this soldier, both want him."

"Wrong."

Wang Zhongxi wiggled his fingers: "It's three."

Tan Yuanzhou, surprised, "Huh?"

Wang Zhongxi looked at the open ground below, where the figure hugging and bouncing with the Third Squad new recruits was, and said, "I also quite like Lu Yang this soldier."

Tan Yuanzhou helplessly smiled, finally understanding why the Regiment Commander sent that treasured fountain pen away.

He had anticipated that this kid would one day become the backbone of the regiment…