Insufficient balance

  I turned off the computer and walked into the simple bathroom, opening the faucet to slowly savor the fine tactile sensation of warm water sliding down my body. On the competitive platform that gathered elite soldiers from all over the world, I spent a whole three months, constantly fighting with the best soldiers, striving to learn various strategic command skills from them. I don't know how much I've grown, but I do know that now I'm both sour and stinky, no less than a homeless beggar sleeping on the streets, and with just one wipe, I can scrape off a thick layer of dirt.

  I had just applied a layer of soap in the bathroom when the door was suddenly kicked open. Zhang Sun Ting covered his nose and tossed me the military uniform I had worn for three months, shouting: "No time to smell good now! Hurry up and follow me to the playground. The commander-in-chief who hasn't been seen for several months has surfaced this time and will personally preside over the mobilization meeting. Everyone in the whole school must attend!"

  I quickly put on the sweat-stained clothes and said in a low voice: "It seems that our border war with India is about to begin!"

  Looking at Zhang Sun Ting's puzzled face, I explained: "The military competition I participated in is a touchstone for commanders to test their tactical skills and demeanor without bloodshed. For soldiers in peacetime, this competition has great appeal. More than 300 people from the Chinese military alone have put down their work to participate in the competition. Even Japan, with its small land area, has nearly 200 professional soldiers participating. However, India, a country with the largest population in the world, which invests 40% of its GDP in military equipment and recklessly increases its military capabilities without considering the consequences, has less than 100 people participating in the competition. This makes one wonder. In the competition, the Indian military is also unusually restrained on the border issue with China. Combining these two points, plus our regimental commander's sudden mobilization meeting, it's not hard to infer the truth hidden beneath the surface of peace."

  Chang Sun Ting shouted: "Did you meet some kind of alchemist in that competition? You can actually turn a crazy warrior who would risk his life at any moment into a military strategist, it's really making people look at him in a new light after three months!"

  Three months! In these three months, I experienced a kaleidoscope of colors that ordinary people can't experience in their entire lives. I learned countless precious lessons that can only be exchanged with blood. All this was made possible by Zhang Sun Ting's solo support of the tofu house, allowing me to wholeheartedly devote myself to the battles on the competitive platform.

  I patted Long Sun-ting's shoulder, looking at his slightly thin face, and said softly: "It's been a tough time for you, thank you, my brother!"

  Chang Sun Ting gazed at me absent-mindedly, and suddenly a mysterious feeling welled up in his heart. When I gently patted him on the shoulder, he found himself having an utterly unexpected feeling of being favored, looking into my eyes with unprecedented calmness and composure. Chang Sun Ting faintly sensed in the air a hint of the unique aura that only belonged to the strong.

  Arriving at the training ground, Yang Qing was already waiting there. The warriors of the entire school stood in formation by company on the training ground. We three guys responsible for grinding tofu saw Captain Zhang waving at us from a distance and simply followed the momentum to join his company.

  "Fu Yuxue, where have you been hiding for this period of time? You haven't shown up for several months already." Zhang Banshang stretched out his hand, which had gotten a bit fatter, and flapped it twice in front of his nose, furrowing his brow. "How long has it been since your uniform was washed? It looks like you've soaked the clothes in Shanxi old vinegar for a whole day. From several feet away, I can smell a strong stench of sweat. And your hair is already half a foot long! If you don't get it cut soon, you'll be daring to run around on the drill ground. If the instructor sees you, you're dead meat under his fiery temper! The instructor was once a shooting champion, and his eyes are sharp as eagles!"

  There were over 10,000 people on the playground, how could Master Long have such good eyesight? However, to be on the safe side, I still carefully bent my body and hid behind Zhangsun Ting's back.

  Five minutes later, the principal finally appeared on the playground with several team leaders. It was my first time seeing the highest authority of X School. I secretly despised Zhang class leader for a while. The principal's face turned pale, with dark circles under his eyes, looking like a giant panda at first glance. Although his eyes were not bad, full of excitement and strong fighting spirit, he looked like a gambler who had stayed up all night playing mahjong.

  Commander Hong grabbed the microphone and shouted: "Now our X Division mobilization meeting is officially starting, we welcome Commander Dai to give a speech with warm applause..."

  "Alright, listen up! I'm Dai Bing, your leader. We don't have time for introductions, so let's get straight to the point. We've just received orders - we're heading into battle!"

  Even if they were professional soldiers who had undergone rigorous training, as soon as the instructor's voice fell, a commotion still erupted on the playground. Chang Sun Ting stretched out a big thumb to me and said in a low voice: "Awesome!"

  "Silence!" The deputy commander slammed his hand on the table, stood up abruptly and bellowed: "Since everyone has come to this place to be a soldier, they should have made mental preparations for going into battle. I hereby declare that from this moment on, all leave is cancelled. Anyone who dares to try to pull strings to get out of here as a deserter, even if it means sacrificing my position as deputy commander, I will personally bring him back and assign him directly to the vanguard!"

  I find myself somewhat liking this deputy commander, he climbed to the high position of his superior, yet still hasn't learned the politician's hypocrisy and roundaboutness, doing things cleanly and efficiently while maintaining a bit of rare domineering aura. With a wave of his hand, he said: "We still have three weeks of war preparation time, using an old saying, training is sweating more, battlefield bleeding less, if you want to come back alive, then give me all your might and go train desperately! Otherwise, even without getting married, you'll be done for, can you justify the effort you put into sending greeting cards and playing guitar in front of the girls' dormitory just to deceive that girlfriend of yours?"

  A faint smile spread among the soldiers, and several battalion commanders and political commissars exchanged a look of surprise. How could their usually stern leader have changed so much in just a few months? He was actually able to make jokes and boost morale with a playful tone!

  "We and India have not yet fully resolved the border issue left over from history, and the demarcation of the border line has been a long-standing problem. Although we have repeatedly shown restraint in the face of provocation by the Indian military, they have continued to create friction on the border, even opening fire on unarmed civilians! Recently, they concentrated their forces along the border and crossed the security line defined by the Border Friendship Treaty yesterday, destroying two of our border sentry posts and leaving 24 soldiers missing. The voice of the deputy commander echoed throughout the room, his fist clenched as he shouted: "In dealing with a mad dog that doesn't know how to retreat, we can't just show kindness; we must first give it a good beating, make it hurt so much that it becomes obedient. If we only use gentle means to appease it, it will become more and more brazen, thinking us weak and incompetent."

  What the substitute teacher said really resonated with me! We have a surprising similarity in our approach to dealing with mad dogs, and even our battle cries are identical. It seems he is also an eagle faction character who likes to use the dual strategy of left carrot and right stick.

  "If everyone has no problem, the meeting is over. I'll give you all half a day to write your own wills. Party members don't forget to pay the party dues that are due! From tomorrow on, everyone's training volume will be doubled! Does anyone have any questions now?!"

  Yes!

  Who else can shout louder than a giant speaker?

  The deputy commander looked at the long hair coming out from under my military cap and frowned, saying: "Which regiment are you from? What kind of soldier are you?"

  "Reporting to the teacher, I am a tofu grinder!"

  "Whoa..."

  The surrounding soldiers couldn't help but burst out laughing, I was completely unaffected and loudly reported: "We've been enlisted for more than half a year, but we haven't even received the most basic new recruit training. If we go to the battlefield like this, except for being targets for the enemy's guns, I don't think we can do anything else!"

  Dai Bing looked at me sternly and said: "What do you mean by that?"

  "Guns, I want guns!" I shouted wildly: "On the battlefield, the enemy doesn't care if we're new recruits who only know how to grind tofu or old soldiers with rich combat experience. Bullets won't have eyes! Rather than entrusting my fate to others and expecting their protection, I'd rather hold the weapon in my own hands. Even if I die on the battlefield, I'll take down multiple enemies with me!"

  Dai Bing gazed astonishingly at the soldier below who dared to speak out boldly, this new recruit's courage was truly commendable. When he let out a loud roar, an astonishing killing aura burst forth from his body. Dai Bing was extremely clear that only veteran soldiers who had been through countless life-and-death struggles and broke through their limits would possess such a strong killing aura. Having been in the army for many years and having seen numerous people, this was still the first time he had witnessed such an intense killing aura.

  Such a soldier was actually sent to grind tofu?!

  He wants to test my courage, staring at me deadpan and shouting: "You want a gun? No problem! But once the war starts and our troops are deployed on the front line, I'll send you straight to the forefront of the battlefield. Dare to accept this challenge?"

  The surrounding soldiers looked at me with pitiful eyes, in their eyes I was a fool who dared to make conditions for the instructor, embarrassed him in public, and now offended the instructor and was directly killed by him.

  "Bring it on!" I loudly laughed in front of tens of thousands of people, shouting: "I came to this bird-that-doesn't-lay-eggs place in Xinjiang to be a soldier, and I've been waiting for this day! Give me a gun, give me plenty of bullets, and three weeks' time is enough for me to play with the gun until it's worn out!"

  Although I used to practice shooting in the army, shooting has become my weakest link now. A martial arts expert with poor marksmanship on the battlefield is a chilling thought.

  If he had met such a presumptuous guy before, Dai Bing would have immediately called the military police to throw him into solitary confinement and let him calm down first. But now, Dai Bing couldn't help but reveal an admiring smile, saying: "Alright, I'll give you a submachine gun, will 10,000 rounds of ammunition be enough?"

  I hadn't even responded yet when Zhangsun Ting beside me replied in a low voice: "Not enough!"

  The smile in Dai Bing's eyes grew thicker as he looked at Zhang Sun Ting and asked, "Then how many bullets do you think are needed?"

  "Two people, of course, would need at least 20,000 bullets."

  Yang Qing raised his hand, and under everyone's gaze, he said a bit shyly: "I want to be an excellent sniper, in three weeks I only need 1,000 sniper rifle bullets."

  In just half a year, have they become brothers who will follow each other to life and death? Dai Bing looked at the three new recruits below the stage. As a qualified commander, he could clearly feel that among these three soldiers, there was already a bond of life and death that was thicker than blood ties. Such soldiers would burst out with the most astonishing combat power on the battlefield. Most importantly, he couldn't find any fear in the eyes of these three soldiers. On the soldier with the thickest killing aura, he could even feel an inner frenzy and excitement. This kind of warrior, once they enter the battlefield, will surely be a crazy fighter who can give the enemy the greatest psychological pressure.

  "It's not even worth considering," Deputy Commander Du said resolutely, "Alright, I'll give you 21,000 rounds of ammunition. If you can't finish them off within three weeks, then take the explosives and prepare to perish together with the enemy tanks!"

  (Xiao Yao: A friend asked me how to choose a martial art to learn, so I'll briefly introduce China's national martial arts. National martial arts are divided into two schools: Southern and Northern. The Southern school emphasizes speed, shortness, and accuracy, such as Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do, inch punch, and front kick, which belong to the Southern school of martial arts. This type of technique is suitable for people with flexible bodies and good explosive power.

  The Northern school focuses on giving the body sufficient attacking space, using maximum strength to attack the opponent, causing the greatest damage possible. For example, in movies, we often see action scenes like backflip side kick, backflip side punch, high kick, high pressure leg, whirlwind kick, and double segment kick. This type of martial art is suitable for people with strong bodies and good resistance to impact.

  When choosing a martial art, you must consider your physical condition. For example, when I was 20 years old, my height was 174 cm, weight 70 kg, which is considered middleweight. However, I loved sports and had very little body fat, mostly muscle built through training. Therefore, I chose comprehensive training that emphasizes both strength and speed, leaning towards the Northern school of martial arts.)