Chapter One: The Promise

  Sitting on the train to Guanhai City, Cong Ye's mind couldn't help but recall the scene from that evening a year ago.

  After lunch, the reconnaissance platoon where Congye was training on the playground suddenly received an order from the regimental headquarters. Due to the discovery of four armed illegal border crossers by the border observation post, they were hiding in a dense forest near the national border line. The reconnaissance platoon was required to have the deputy platoon leader lead a class to enter the forest for reconnaissance. Once the whereabouts of the four criminals were found, they would be killed on the spot. The regimental headquarters had received information from outside the border that these four cross-border criminals had blood-stained hands and were extremely brutal thugs.

  The third squad where Cong Ye was in, led by Squad Leader Zhi Xiaokang, entered the dense forest fully armed at the first time. After a night of searching, no trace of the four criminals was found. In the morning, Squad Leader Zhi Xiaokang brought his twelve men to a relatively open location to rest and report the situation to the battalion headquarters.

  Congye and three other warriors were arranged by Zhi Xiaokang to take on the task of sentry duty. The squad leader used a satellite phone to communicate with the battalion headquarters. Congye's position was just opposite the squad leader, more than 20 meters north of Zhi Xiaokang.

  Although the sound of Zhi Xiaokang reporting to the team department came into his ears, Cong Ye did not dare to distract himself from listening to the report. Since joining the army, their unit's location was in an area where terrorists from a certain country frequently operated, and at ordinary times, whether it was training or meetings, the head of the unit always emphasized the need to be on high alert at all times, never relaxing their vigilance.

  Just as Cong Ye was concentrating his mind and observing the forest in front of him, a sharp gunshot suddenly came from behind.

  "Bang——"

  "Long live Chairman Mao! Long live the Great Leader!"

  Suddenly, it was the cry of his comrades, Cong Ye quickly turned around and found that Squad Leader Zhi Xiao Kang had fallen to the ground. The rest of his comrades were surrounding him, shouting. Although Cong Ye wanted to run over and take a look at what had happened to Squad Leader Zhi, with whom he had always gotten along very well, there was no order, so he couldn't leave his post and could only continue to be responsible for keeping watch on the dense forest in front of him.

  "You four continue to stay vigilant and guard the body of Pai Long, the rest follow me."

  No need to look back, Cong Ye knew it was the voice of Class Leader Lin Feng. Corpse? Did Pai Zhang sacrifice himself?! Cong Ye, who usually spoke little and didn't show his emotions on his face, felt a sour nose, almost unable to hold back tears. Just then, suddenly saw in front of the forest, a bush moved automatically without wind. Cong Ye raised the submachine gun in his hand, instantly pulled the trigger, a burst of bullets shot out like raindrops.

  "Ah."

  "Oh no."

  After two consecutive mournful cries, the forest in front of me fell silent again.

  Soon, the left side of the body, that is, the west side, also transmitted dense gunfire. After a while, Class Leader Lin Feng brought back all the remaining people. First, they went to the shrub where Cong Ye had swept and announced:

  "Four rioters have been killed, two people clean up the battlefield. Two people cut some branches to make a stretcher and take turns carrying the bodies of the four dead back to camp."

  "Hey kid, where are you going?"

  Across from him, a man in his sixties suddenly appeared in the seat, interrupting Cong Ye's reverie with one sentence.

  "Uncle, I'm going to Guanhaiwei Town."

  "Look at you wearing old military uniform, have you just been demobilized?"

  "Yes, just left the troops."

  "Going back to Haicheng is like going home, or visiting relatives and friends? To be honest with you, I also served in the army back then."

  "Going to Guanhai City to see a friend. Which unit did Uncle serve in?"

  "Snow Mountain Border Guard Station."

  "Oh, it turns out we're from the same unit."

  The uncle opposite was very talkative, leaving Cong Ye no time to think about other things. Along the way, the two of them were chatting about life in the troops and it seemed they had a lot in common. However, that uncle got off at the stop before Guanhai City.

  Listening to the train attendant's broadcast, Cong Ye knew that there were still 40 kilometers before arriving at Guanhai City. He got up and went to the toilet, then came back and continued leaning against the back of his seat, closing his eyes to rest.

  Cong Ye couldn't remember how they carried the stretcher back to the troops from the dense forest on the high mountain. The terrain there was not only complex but also very treacherous, and it was difficult for one person to walk alone, let alone carry someone.

  After walking for four hours, they finally left the forest, and the troops sent by the headquarters to meet them also arrived. An ambulance was also dispatched, but Squad Leader Zhi Xiaokang had been shot in the head and stopped breathing immediately, without even having time to leave a last word.

  Returning to the camp, Congye seemed not to feel tired at all, but instead felt a bit numb, not just physically, but also mentally. Since enlisting in the army for a year and a half, Congye had already considered this place as his home. He had even prepared himself to participate in the annual military academy entrance examination. Recently, whenever he had time, Congye would seize every opportunity to review his high school courses. Originally, Congye's score in the college entrance examination was only five points lower than the admission line for a key university. Not wanting to attend just any university, he resolutely enlisted in the army, planning all along to participate in the military academy recruitment in the troops.

  Congye wanted to take the military school entrance exam, after being known by Zhang Zhixiaokang, he was given a lot of care from all aspects, with the purpose of squeezing out more time for Congye to review. Congye was deeply grateful to Zhixiaokang for this.

  To this day, Cong Ye still clearly remembers a conversation between him and the platoon leader that day.

  "What plans does Cong Ye have for the future?"

  "Paichang, you know, I come from an orphanage. Since I chose to be a soldier, I've always considered the army as my home. Whether or not I get into military school, I'll spend my whole life in the army."

  "Haha, if I couldn't get into military school, the most I could do is choose to be a volunteer soldier and then become an officer. According to the army's regulations, the longest time is five three-year terms, which adds up to 18 years in total. But it's impossible to stay in the army for a lifetime."

  "Can't you be transferred to the logistics work of the troops?"

  "I'm afraid not."

  "Then I must get into military school. What about you, Platoon Leader?"

  "I? I can't stay in the army for a lifetime. At home, there's my frail elderly mother and my wife who has been married to me for five years but still hasn't borne any children. My younger sister is also studying at university, everything relies on my sister-in-law alone, I really can't bear it. Let's take another year or two and then choose to leave the army."

  "After working hard and finally getting into a military academy, with such a bright future ahead, how can you consider switching careers?"

  "Hehe, if there were other choices, I wouldn't have switched careers. I also liked the troops. Besides, it's a peaceful era now, if it were wartime, I naturally wouldn't choose to switch careers either."

  Congye very much understands the mood of the squad leader, from his attitude towards the soldiers, it can be seen that he is a person who loves the military camp. Moreover, the squad leader is indeed a hot-blooded young man, if it were wartime, even if someone pointed a gun at him, he probably wouldn't leave the troops either.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for taking this train. The train has now arrived safely at its destination, Guanhaiwei Railway Station. Please take your luggage with you and disembark in order."

  The train's broadcast interrupted Congye's reminiscence of the past. He picked up a neatly tied luggage package from the luggage rack, followed the crowd out of the train station, took a random public bus to the city center, found a nearby small hotel and checked in.

  After washing up and having lunch, I didn't go out immediately, but lay down in the hotel room to rest for a while. After all, I had been on the train for over ten hours and was still feeling tired. Lying on the bed, Congye couldn't fall asleep at all, his mind still thinking about the past with Pai Changji and Xiao Kang.

  。

  One weekend, following a long queue, they arrived at the nearest border town to the military camp. As they strolled around, the squad leader said to Cong Ye:

  "My hometown's Guanhai City is about this big too, but there are three sides surrounded by the sea, and the climate is much better than here."

  "Older brother's wife, what does she do? Why has she never come to visit us before?"

  "She used to work in a hospital, but later quit her job to take care of my mother and opened a small clinic by the street. Since my mother has always been physically weak and can't be left alone for a moment, your sister-in-law is not convenient to go out far."

  "Isn't Guanghe City very beautiful?"

  "Of course it is. If you want to return to the countryside in the future, just let me know and I'll help you find a job in Guanhai City."

  "That's a good attitude, but can you put your words into action?"

  "Want me and you to be together?"

  The two of them chatted and laughed for a while, when suddenly, Zhixiaokang said with some sadness:

  "It's really hard for me to leave you all, if conditions permit, it would be great if I could stay."

  "Even if you really change careers, we are still brothers, you are still my squad leader, and I will visit you when I have time."

  "Alright, I'll remember what you said. When the time comes, be sure to go to Guanhai City and look for me and your sister-in-law."

  "Definitely, definitely. If one day I really don't want to stay in the army anymore, I'll go settle down in Guanhai City and let the platoon leader take care of me."

  "Haha, by then it's really unclear who will be taking care of whom?"

  "If I have the ability, I will take good care of Pai Zhang, to repay his concern for me over the past year."

  "We are all brothers, you are new recruits, and it's not just about taking care of you, but also others."

  "To be honest, it's a blessing for everyone that they can meet a platoon leader like you."

  "Haha, so you all think you owe me a favor now?"

  "Of course."

  "Alright, I'll remember what you said, and I'll make sure to pay you back in the future."

  Although he could tell that Xiao Kang was joking, Cong Ye still replied seriously:

  "If there is an opportunity, I will definitely repay double."

  It was just such a half-true, half-false sentence that after Longzhi's sacrifice, Congye couldn't help but think of Longzhi's often-mentioned frail and sickly old mother, his sister-in-law, and his university-student younger sister. He resolutely gave up on taking the military academy exam and chose to leave the army after more than a year in the troops. After completing all the discharge procedures, Congye merely bid farewell to his comrades before hastily boarding the train to Guanhaicheng.