Insufficient balance

  If I were to be expelled from the military, what face would I have to see Wan Ying and Chen Yi? Moreover, it's only been less than two weeks since that professional bodyguard's murder case, and it's likely that the matter hasn't been settled yet. If I were to rashly return now, I'd probably be jumping into a trap! Thinking of this makes my heart skip a beat.

  A sharp pain shot through my waist, and Zhangsun Ting pinched me secretly, muttering in a low voice: "Idiot, the trial hasn't even started yet. If we think we're guilty ourselves, then we'll really be finished. No matter what, put away that shy little wife's expression of yours and show me an air of calmness and innocence!"

  The principal was even more furious, shouting: "Zhang Sun Ting, what are you doing? Do you have any military bearing at all? You're fighting and resisting the constabulary, and now facing a superior officer, you still dare to whisper to each other like little hoodlums!"

  "Sorry, sir!" Chang Sun Ting's face turned solemn as he stood at attention in a standard military posture, saluting the lieutenant colonel. As he straightened his waist and lifted his chest, a natural air of a soldier emanated from him. He looked straight ahead and shouted loudly: "Reporting to the officer, we didn't get into a fight! We were just practicing hand-to-hand combat! Although we're just two cooks, we hope to become stronger in actual combat, so that we can live up to the glorious title of X Corps soldiers! As members of the Xinjiang Military Region's X Corps, we had already prepared ourselves for the possibility of bleeding and sacrificing on the battlefield before we even enlisted!"

  "Damn it, this guy is really something, looks like I'm the only one who can be a bad person. No big deal, just a fight and then disperse, won't have to worry about being locked up in prison when we get home. I also looked serious and dignified, with a fierce aura emanating from my body, and after saluting the lieutenant colonel, I shouted: "Reporting to the officer, we were in our free time after dismissal, chose the special fighting training ground for practice, and I don't think we did anything wrong. As soldiers, when fighting to win, we must learn to encounter gods and kill them, encounter demons and slay them, use iron fists to thoroughly smash everything that dares to block our way. We two are fighting for the honor and mission of being a soldier, those military police and medical personnel were knocked down, we have no idea when. And..."

  I swept a disdainful glance at the soldiers and medical staff lying all over the ground: "What kind of soldiers are those who can be knocked down by just two cooks? On the battlefield, they will only become a burden to everyone! These military police will only hide behind the troops, doing some recording and investigation work is already enough, but medical personnel have to shuttle back and forth on the battlefield to rescue the wounded, shouldering the important mission of saving soldiers' lives. How can those brave warriors who are fighting on the battlefield be at ease if they are so fragile?! Our heroes can die under the enemy's gunfire, but they absolutely cannot die due to their comrades' incompetence! Whether we are cooks or medical personnel, our job is to prevent our heroes from shedding blood and tears again!!

  I don't know if it was my impressive speech that earned everyone's respect, or if the lieutenant colonel was just so unpopular that everyone couldn't wait to see him humiliated, but the hundreds of soldiers watching actually started applauding enthusiastically!

  "Stop right there!" The middle-aged officer was almost stunned, as he had never seen anyone as reckless and unscrupulous as us two. With the surrounding soldiers applauding in support of us, his brain short-circuited for a moment, and he couldn't find any counterarguments to our words. He simply stretched out his trembling hand and pointed at us, saying: "You... you two... get out of here!"

  It has come to this, I might as well go all out and take a step forward, shouting loudly: "Although in the military camp, soldiers take obeying orders as their duty, but we don't obey!"

  Chang Sun Ting stood behind him, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes as he stared at the insignia on the middle school student's shoulder, lost in thought.

  "You two troublemakers, what mistake have you made again? Since you know that soldiers take obeying orders as their duty, what's there to disobey?"

  A familiar voice came from outside, without needing to be ordered, the surrounding soldiers automatically made way for her. Bu Shanna walked in with a faintly angry face, and both Long Sun Ting and I let out a long sigh of relief. We had already reached an opposing extreme with Colonel Gong, now finally one of "our own people" had arrived.

  Seeing the two of us in a miserable state and the gendarmes scattered all around, Buxianna's eyes flashed with a hint of panic, and she exclaimed: "What on earth have you done wrong? Not only did you fail to cooperate honestly, but you even resisted and hit the gendarmes! You'll be taken to a military tribunal for trial if you keep this up!"

  She probably thought the "stone" incident had been exposed, right? I immediately helped her stabilize the military morale: "We were just practicing combat skills during our break, and we got too carried away, making the military police think we were fighting. As a result, they came to mediate and were accidentally knocked unconscious by us, seventeen or eighteen of them. The lieutenant colonel arrived and, without distinguishing between right and wrong, wanted us to pack up and leave. Officer Bu, you are a true warrior, you should understand that when we fully commit to battle, we will instinctively attack any object that invades our safe distance. These military police and medical personnel were simply caught in the crossfire of our battle."

  Nuo nodded and replied: "Yes, you're right! But..."

  "Even if you accidentally knocked out a dozen constables, that can be overlooked. But you openly disobeyed military orders, violating the most basic principles of being a soldier. What do you have to say for yourselves?"

  I and Zhang Sun Ting hung our heads in shame, listening to the teachings with a red face. In my heart, I gave a big thumbs up and shouted: "High, really high!" Bu Shanna only used a few words to lightly shift everyone's attention from beating the constable to offending the superior officer, the difference between these two is really immeasurable.

  The middle school principal suddenly gained spirit and shouted: "Right, they have openly violated orders and broken military rules, immediately let them roll back home with their backpacks!"

  His appearance not only caused a stir among the surrounding soldiers, but also made Bo Shuna frown and whisper: "Commander Hong, with so many soldiers around, please pay attention to your image!"

  "Silence!" Bu Shanna's low command immediately stopped the murmurs of all the soldiers around her. She pointed at me and Chang Sun-ting, saying: "You two come with me to Commander Hong's office! Everyone else disperse immediately and attend to your own duties."

  When we arrived at Commander Hong's office, Bu Shanna locked the two of us outside and looked at Commander Hong seriously: "Old Hong, you were too rash today. If I hadn't arrived in time, you would have made at least two enemies for yourself!"

  "Two enemies? Haha, Captain Bu, you're really good at telling jokes. Aren't they just two ordinary new recruits? If we can't even handle them, how am I supposed to survive in the army?"

  "Ordinary new recruits?" Bo Shanna shook her head and said, "Team Leader Hong, let's be honest with each other. Do you really think they're ordinary new recruits? Can an ordinary family raise such excellent boys? After the last new recruit selection competition, I wanted to transfer them into the anti-terrorism squad. You also know that to join our anti-terrorism squad, we must conduct identity investigations and assessments on members. As a result, I used my own A-level authority, but I couldn't pull out any files on them!"

  "What?" Captain Hong's eyes widened and he said: "Could it be that all their files have been added to the S-level confidential lock?"

  "Both of these people are shrouded in secrecy from head to toe. Fu Yinxue's file is S-level, and I was able to dig up some information on him through local media and the internet - he's the son of General Fu Honghua. But what's strange is that it wasn't the military that classified his file as secret, but rather the Shanxi Province National Security Department. This is already quite unusual, but what really shocked me was Long Sunting - he actually has an S++-level ultra-secret file jointly classified by both the military and national security systems. Even the National Security Bureau needs to request permission from higher-ups, in addition to getting approval from the military, just to open his file. I have every reason to believe that 'Long Sunting' is not his real name - he's probably the beloved son of some high-ranking leader in Beijing who's truly at the core of power."

  After listening to Bo Shuna's introduction, Hong Tuanzhang couldn't help but take a cold breath. He could almost foresee the tragic fate he would face if he really let these two ancestors roll back home with their backpacks. However, he had already made a tough statement in public, and if he were to send the two ancestors away unscathed, his reputation in the military camp would also be ruined.

  Seeing Hong's concern, Bu Shanna said generously: "If Team Leader Hong believes me, I'll take care of this matter for you. I guarantee that you won't lose face and it won't cause trouble for yourself."

  Commander Hong naturally nodded repeatedly at this good opportunity.

  Bo Shanna summoned the two of us into her office, solemnly saying: "I've already discussed your matter with Captain Hong in detail. Considering you're both new recruits who haven't received systematic training yet, some minor mistakes can be forgiven. However, not punishing you also wouldn't be fair to others. So..."

  Behind Commander Hong, Bo Shenna flashed a triumphant smile at me. This smile suddenly added an inexplicable charm to her body, leaving both Long Sun Ting and I momentarily stunned. She seemed very satisfied with the effect of this smile and continued: "I'll have you two do hard labor for the first half of the year. I've already applied to our superiors to set up a tofu workshop, and the stone mill and supporting equipment will be sent over with the next batch of supplies. You two will be responsible for providing enough tofu for the entire division every day. Here, I need to explain something: in order to save electricity and not put pressure on the military camp's power generation, the stone mill is not electric. You'll have to push it yourselves to grind the soybeans. Do you accept this punishment?"

  I and Zhang Sun Ting simultaneously froze for a moment, then under the slightly worried gaze of Hong Tuanzhang, we shouted in unison: "Yes, obeying orders!"