Chapter 574: Would You Be My Soldier?

Late at night, drowsiness kept attacking.

At the entrance of the directing department, Feng Ming, who hadn't stood guard for a long time, found his eyelids starting to fight.

Zheng Chengfeng's chin was also drooping bit by bit, but he had to force himself to stay on duty; this is the price for playing firecrackers in the unit.

Meanwhile, on a position seized by the red side at the training ground, a private lying in the grass also nodded off at his covert post.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed the back of his collar and pulled him out of the camouflage post, startling him awake in an instant.

Immediately after, a slap landed on his steel helmet, making his already fuzzy mind even more muddled.

"Falling asleep on duty!"

"What if the enemy sneaks over now?"

The private adjusted his helmet and stared blankly at the three soldiers before him, dressed in dark combat gear with camouflage painted on their faces.

The speaker was a captain, with a Lieutenant and a first‑class non‑commissioned officer standing behind him.

He swallowed, about to ask who they were, when Lu Yang preemptively spoke.

"What's your Squad Leader's name, and which company are you from?"

"Sorry, chief, I... I just had low blood sugar..."

The private spoke in a thick rural dialect, his trembling calves shaking with panic.

He feared the other side would report his falling asleep on duty to the Company Commander.

In a confrontation earlier that year, he had been scolded by the Company Commander for dozing off; another repeat would have his skin peeled off.

But for safety, he still asked what the code word was.

"Mala?"

"Rabbit head."

"Hehe, you're one of us, so I'm relieved!"

The private exhaled, showing a goofy smile.

He quickly saluted, called out "chief", and asked which unit they belonged to.

Lu Yang was momentarily stunned, unsure which unit he should claim, so Ding Tengfei, thinking on his feet, asked, "What unit do you think we resemble?"

The private, seeing the three of them dressed up, recalled rumors before the exercise that the red side might have foreign support, and that the outside assistance was exceptionally significant, prompting a brainstorming session.

"You aren't Special Forces, are you?"

"Good eye, land tiger, sea Jiaolong, we are Jiaolong!"

Lu Yang lifted his chin slightly, mimicking Bai Yuan's smug expression.

Behind him, Kang Changyi and Ding Tengfei simultaneously switched to show‑off mode, wearing expressions that scorned the whole world.

The private's drowsiness vanished instantly, his excited eyes sparkling; the rumored foreign support was real, and it came from Jiaolong!

A feeling of admiration surged instantly; Special Forces are every ordinary foot‑soldier's dream, and he was no exception.

Before, he only heard veterans' tales of their prowess; he never expected to see them alive today!

The private was so eager he pulled out a pen, begging them to sign his name—anywhere, even on his belly!

Lu Yang and the two others, seeing the private's excited face, felt very fortunate.

Today's probing, reconnaissance, hiding and seeking were all to find the most suitable opportunity.

Heaven rewarded their hard work, finally leading them to a clueless, dim‑witted rookie.

In fact, Lu Yang wasn't sure what counted as foreign support; he only intended to find a naive rookie to intimidate, see if he could extract intel, and if not, eliminate him.

He didn't expect the other side to be so imaginative and cooperative, so he just went along with it.

After all, the term Jiaolong has always carried privilege in the Marine Corps; it lets you move freely and makes tasks easier.

As for the earlier code word, Lu Yang had secretly overheard it during the red side's shift change, perfect for confusing others.

Lu Yang asked, "Do you have a soldier here who understands information technology?"

"You mean Director Xiao Tang?"

"Yes, we were ordered to escort him for relocation; the blue army may have a squad of recon troops infiltrating, which would be detrimental to him."

"No way!? How could I not know?"

"It's classified."

"Ohhh."

The bewildered private quickly pointed a direction.

"Director Xiao Tang seems to be in the Second Battalion; I don't know the exact location—I'm just a simple soldier, I don't know much!"

"Where is the logistics warehouse? You should know that; we need to resupply some weapons and ammunition."

"I know that; I'm guarding this spot. Just follow this road straight back and you'll get there."

Seeing the kid's honest answers, Kang Changyi pressed on with his questioning.

"Where is your red side's headquarters?"

"Us... red side?"

Seeing the guy about to catch on, Kang Changyi thought it was bad and blurted out the wrong thing.

Ding Tengfei had already moved around, raising his rifle stock to knock the man out, and Lu Yang hurried to intervene.

"Although we are foreign support, strictly speaking we belong to neither your red nor blue side, but to a third‑party force."

"Ohhh, I see; it's like a local armed group or battlefield mercenaries."

"Good comprehension."

"But I really don't know where our command is; it seems to be on some island behind us. If you like, I can ask my Squad Leader, have him ask the Company Commander—he should know."

Seeing the guy reach for his radio, Lu Yang quickly held him back and shook his head.

"No need, we'll go find him directly in a moment; it's not convenient to discuss this over the radio—if the blue army hears, it'll be trouble."

"From now on, don't fall asleep while on duty; luckily you ran into us—if you'd met someone from the Blue Army, you'd already be dead."

"I'll definitely change next time!"

"Alright, let it go this time; I won't tell the Company Commander, just be careful next time."

"Yes!"

The private saluted gratefully, then silently breathed a sigh of relief.

The next second, Lu Yang turned back again; I thought he was going to scold me, but instead he handed me a Snickers.

Lu Yang smiled earnestly: "Aren't you low on blood sugar? Take it out, have a bite when you're sleepy."

"Thank you, Sir!"

The private took the Snickers as if it were a treasure, his nose tingling with excitement.

They say special forces soldiers are cold and ruthless, but this commander is way too warm‑hearted.

It was precisely this Snickers that completely dispelled his last doubt about Lu Yang and his companions' identities.

If he were from the Blue Army, he'd have been dead long ago—how could he be so kind to me?

Lu Yang: "What's your name?"

Private: "Report, I'm Li Tie Niu, fourth child in my family, nickname Si Niu!"

Lu Yang nodded at him: "Comrade Si Niu, you have good eyes, you're smart; the unit lacks a straightforward, sincere soldier like you, I like you a lot. Would you be interested in joining our Jiaolong as my soldier?"

"I… can I?"

Li Tie Niu's eyes reddened with excitement, both hands trembling.

He could never have dreamed that the perpetual laggard in the Regiment, who got scolded every few days, would one day receive an invitation to Jiaolong Special Operations.

He pinched his own thigh to confirm whether he was dreaming.

It hurt a bit—so it wasn't a dream, it was real!

If he can join Jiaolong, who will dare call him clueless or stupid in the future!

Lu Yang looked at him encouragingly: "Don't underestimate yourself; I think you have great potential, you can definitely make it. Work hard, I'll be waiting for you at Jiaolong. I'm Lao Mao, I speak for myself."

Li Tie Niu saluted excitedly: "Commander Lao Mao, I… I will work hard, I will never disappoint your expectations!"

"Alright, the future looks promising, keep striving, young man!"

Lu Yang gave him a wink, then led his men away.

Ding Tengfei and Kang Changyi glanced sideways, seeing the private who kept saluting them and wouldn't lower his hand even as they walked away, his face full of disbelief.

"Brother Lu, you really know how to spin a story; you blurt out lies, and I almost believed you?"

"That kid was never sharp to begin with; you kept teasing him, you almost coaxed him into a placenta!"

Lu Yang chuckled: "A little encouragement now and then is a good thing; maybe my offhand remark really will change his life, and that soldier Si Niu could actually become a special forces soldier in the future."

Ding Tengfei shook his head: "I think that's absurd; unless the world's IQ collectively drops to five, he'll stay the same, otherwise he'll never have a chance in this life."

Lu Yang: "You can't say it like that; the future holds infinite possibilities. In the past, who could have imagined we'd one day become Navy?"

"Alright, tighten up; the front line is about to kick off. Win or lose, it'll be decided tonight."

"Hmm."

Only after Lu Yang and his group vanished completely into the pitch‑black forest did Li Tie Niu lower his hand.

This was his first recognition and commendation since enlisting, especially coming from the Jiaolong commander.

Although he didn't know much, he understood the prestige of Special Forces and the weight the name Jiaolong carries in the Marine Corps.

Looking at the Snickers in his hand, Li Tie Niu felt warmth inside, tore open the wrapper and took a small bite, sweet to his heart.

"I must work hard, become a special forces soldier, make my comrades envy me, and make the Squad Leader and Company Commander proud of me!"

Li Tie Niu slipped back into the grass, continuing his covert sentry duty.

When sleepy, he licked a piece of the Snickers Lu Yang gave him; meant to perk him up, but the more he ate, the sleepier he became.

His jaw dropped uncontrollably after a moment, yawning like a monster devouring people, unable to stop.

He tried pinching his thigh, but it was useless; it was as if a sleepy bug had crawled onto his eyelids, singing a lullaby, making his eyelids close involuntarily.

Suddenly his waist‑mounted radio vibrated; Li Tie Niu jolted, kicked his right leg, forcing himself to wake up.

He quickly pulled it out, pressed the answer button, and held it to his ear.

"Position nine, position nine, received reply, received reply."

"Received…"

Li Tie Niu let out a huge yawn, tears welling at the corners of his eyes.

"Attention, change communication channel in one hour, keep the line clear, especially do not fall asleep!"

"Yes, Company Commander, I'm not sleepy at all… not sleepy."

The moment he finished the last word, Li Tie Niu could no longer resist the drowsiness; his head thumped onto the ground.

The sky became his blanket, the ground his bed, weeds his bedding, and he fell into a deep sleep.