Chapter 56: Lu Yang: Squad Leader, do you know how to write the character for death?

Zhou Kaidong clutched his notebook and shuffled his way up to the reading room on the floor above.

Before even pushing the door, he smelled a strong, fragrant blend of spices.

Sure enough, when he pushed the door open, he immediately saw the Second Platoon Leader and the Third Platoon Leader looking guilty as they tried to hide something under the table.

Seeing that the newcomer was Zhou Kaidong, the two relaxed, urging him to close the door quickly.

"You scared me!"

"Why did you run to the reading room?"

Zhou Kaidong wore a puzzled expression: "Is it really worth it, you two, to hide here just to eat instant noodles?"

The two platoon leaders pulled out the two buckets of instant noodles hidden under the table, rolled their eyes in irritation: "Do you dare to eat instant noodles alone in the dorm?"

Zhou Kaidong was instantly at a loss for words: "......"

He really didn't dare.

One bucket of instant noodles, including seasoning and the noodle cake, totals just over a hundred grams.

If you soak it in the dorm and a rookie asks for some, do you give it or not?

As the Third Squad Leader, also the First Platoon Leader.

If I don't give, it looks too stingy.

If I give, these guys will split even the soup residue cleanly; you won't get a single bite.

So hiding in the reading room, closing the door and cooking a private meal became the best option.

Otherwise, you'd have to take the instant noodles to the back of the toilet stall, endure the stench, and finish it quickly.

Zhou Kaidong pulled out a stool and sat down: "You two didn't get enough to eat tonight?"

The two sighed: "Don't even mention it, we spent the afternoon taking people to Hou Shan to help till the fields. When we came back, we missed the meal time, there were hardly any leftovers, and we had to let the rookies eat first."

"No wonder I didn't see you two this afternoon; you were busy with a side production job?"

Zhou Kaidong naturally knew that the Cook Squad had made a mistake and was punished by being sent to Hou Shan to reclaim wasteland and grow vegetables.

It is said that early results are showing; the first batch of lettuce has sprouted and will be ready to eat soon.

It seems they also planted some spinach, radishes and the like, looking quite proper.

According to the two, because the scale was just emerging, the Instructor decided to reclaim a few more plots for joint planting.

Later, even if the rookies are down, the Logistics of the neighboring unit can still come over to maintain it.

That also counts as saving expenses for the unit, becoming self‑sufficient, and the results will be reported upward later!

In the afternoon, the First Platoon happened to schedule an Equipment Test, so Zhou Kaidong narrowly escaped disaster, but the other two platoon leaders weren't so lucky; it was truly exhausting.

"Enough of that, have you finished your Work Log? Let me borrow it to copy."

The Third Platoon Leader reached for Zhou Kaidong's Work Log, but he slapped it down.

"You've been copying this thing; isn't that a bit excessive? Write it yourself!"

"I'll give you a bite of the instant noodles."

"No!"

"Two bites should be fine, right?"

"At least split it in half!"

The Third Platoon Leader muttered curses as he pushed the freshly prepared spicy beef noodle over, finally exchanging it for Zhou Kaidong's Work Log.

The Second Platoon Leader hadn't finished his log either, so he also planned to borrow it to copy, otherwise he couldn't report to the Instructor.

"Whoa, you wrote that much?"

"Nonsense, just like you, only remembering to take a dump when it's about to burst!"

Zhou Kaidong looked down at the cilantro floating on the soup and couldn't help but make a snide comment.

"I just don't like cilantro!"

"You damn like it or not, it's for you!"

"Next time switch to braised beef; that flavor is classic."

"Get lost, you freeloaders are even picky!"

Just as the two were bickering, the Second Platoon Leader casually grabbed the Score Book Zhou Kaidong had brought and flipped through it.

He then let out a startled exclamation and asked, "Is that for real?"

"What's up?"

Zhou Kaidong ate while looking up.

The Second Platoon Leader pointed to a record and asked, "Your class's Lu Yang, can do forty‑five parallel‑bar dips and eighteen pull‑ups?"

Zhou Kaidong hummed, "What's up?"

The Third Platoon Leader, face full of disbelief, said, "You must have filled that in randomly; can that kid really do that many?"

Zhou Kaidong, unflustered, sucked the noodle he was holding into his mouth, covered the bowl, and pushed it back, saying, "No big deal, forty‑five dips and eighteen pull‑ups, is that a lot?"

"When I was a rookie, I could do unlimited‑time parallel‑bar dips, topping out at over sixty, and easily manage thirty pull‑ups."

The Third Platoon Leader, also exasperated, said, "You are you, he is he; with Lu Yang's build, can he really do that many?"

"I remember hearing you say that when he first enlisted, he barely made the passing grade, and that was only... how long ago?"

"Stay calm, stay calm, it's mainly because this Squad Leader taught him well."

"Pah, what does that have to do with you? Stop flattering yourself!"

"Damn it, didn't see it, this kid's still a potential stock!"

"Last month he even had a fever and a cold, went to the infirmary for IV fluids; could a fever have burned his Ren and Du meridians open, turning him into a martial arts prodigy?"

Seeing the two platoon leaders' envious looks, Zhou Kaidong felt thrilled inside.

Yes, that's the look, that's the feeling!

If I told you that Lu Yang can also do battlefield first aid and mend clothes, I'd guess you two would be weeping with envy!

Zhou Kaidong was thrilled inside, but outwardly he still had to act as if nothing special was happening.

"Oh, Lu Yang being outstanding is normal; I saw his potential early on, so I focused my energy on the others before."

"It's like some students who are born to study; you don't even need to ask, they can still achieve good grades."

"However, this fellow from his hometown is actually quite lacking, honestly a bit dim‑witted, so I have to put in more effort and work harder."

Even though Zhou Kaidong's original intention was to be a little modest and pull back a bit.

Tell the two of them that our class has both outstanding and not‑so‑outstanding members.

There's no need to envy me; I share the rain and dew equally, and I'm worrying every day too.

But his unhideable smug gaze still gave the two Platoon Leaders enough to be annoyed.

Originally, Lu Yang's strengths were internal affairs, formations, quick wit, and ideological politics; now, on top of that foundation, his physical fitness has also improved dramatically.

Such a hexagonally developed recruit, yet not assigned to his own class—how could they not be envious?

Know that a recruit's progress and performance are directly tied to the veteran Squad Leader's ability to lead, which is solid actual performance!

Zhou Kaidong coughed twice and asked, "Are you two still copying? If not, give it to me; I haven't finished mine today."

"Copy, copy, copy; wait while I finish my noodles."

The Third Platoon Leader hurriedly lifted the lid, used a fork to scoop the noodles, and ended up scooping nothing.

Damn!! They all ate it for me, not a single strand left?

The noodles are a bit too firm, I'm afraid you won't like them.

Zhou Kaidong laughed heartily, flashing his old, smug face.

Are you a dog? You've never had instant noodles, have you?

Don't you hate cilantro? You eat cleaner than a dog!

I was protecting the juniors in the class, so I snuck into the reading room to eat, yet I still couldn't keep you, you turtle brat, out!

The Third Platoon Leader gave up, furious, and insisted that Zhou Kaidong share a bowl with him.

Seeing this, Zhou Kaidong immediately started taking off his clothes, stubbornly saying he'd stay the night with him.

The whole thing drove the Third Platoon Leader completely crazy; he'd never seen such a rogue and shameless guy.

If the Second Platoon Leader hadn't blocked him, he would have fought this guy for three hundred rounds.

"Alright, alright, I'll give you a bit."

"Old Zhou, you're the same; you never know how to save a bite."

"They always say that Kong Long in your class eats like a starving pig; I think you're no better than him."

Zhou Kaidong pretended to be clueless, chuckling, and urged them to copy quickly; after they're done, he'll still need to add a bit.

Taking advantage of the lull, he, being idle, simply used the remote to secretly turn on the reading room's TV.

Secretly watching TV is a major taboo for fresh recruits, but for veterans it's just basic practice.

In their words, the TV is placed there for people to watch, right?

The New Recruit Company's TV isn't wired for cable, so there aren't many channels to receive.

After a hard search, they finally found a clear signal, just as Naruto was playing the scene at the Great Bridge, but before they could enjoy it fully, it cut off.

After the program switched, Zhou Kaidong realized it seemed to be an On‑demand TV.

At that time, internet technology wasn't advanced, and TV was the entertainment of choice for most people.

The On‑demand TV was a hallmark product of that era.

Viewers could, via telephone, pay to request the programs—or even games—they wanted to watch.

The only drawback was that the on‑demand time was too short and the price was expensive, but the rich kept coming.

"Tell me, what kind of person would be willing to spend money on this?"

"With money burning away, watching this thing for a while isn't cheap."

"Turn it off, it's noisy, causing me to copy the characters wrong."

Zhou Kaidong glanced at the Second Platoon Leader, who was using tape and paper to tear out and correct mistakes.

Finding nothing worth watching, they decided to turn off the TV.

Just as they were about to press the remote's power button, they were surprised to see someone had requested the Victoria's Secret fashion show.

Now his fingers wouldn't move, as if an invisible force held them.

Even the two platoon leaders beside him stared with eyes fixed, as if they could peel them out and stick them to the screen.

Coincidentally, Lu Yang knocked on the door and came in looking for Zhou Kaidong, then saw the screen's fiery, blood‑pumping scene.

"Squad Leader, Squad Leader?"

"Shh......"

Zhou Kaidong, without turning his head, shushed: "Lu Yang, look at how well they walk, so steady; come over and watch, learn seriously."

The Second and Third Platoon Leaders wore goofy smiles: "Hey, look at how big his chest muscles are; even if we die we couldn't develop like that!"

Lu Yang's eyes twitched at the corner, and he leaned in again to whisper a reminder.

"Squad Leader, I wanted to tell you that the Instructor is looking for you."

Zhou Kaidong's body tensed like a tiger, and the hair on his back stood up.

He slowly turned his head, and He Zhen Tao was standing at the doorway, smiling at the three of them......