Article 16 Chapter 1 Clause 3

  When the whistle sounded in the air, some new recruits were still talking nonsense, while Xiao Lie jumped up suddenly.

  "Emergency assembly!" he shouted loudly as he put on his clothes.

  But there was no response in the dormitory, and it was quiet.

  "Stop making noise, I'm still dreaming." Li Yifan murmured in her sleep.

  "Emergency assembly!" This time Xiao Lie's voice was much louder.

  The dormitory suddenly became chaotic with people jumping up and down like chickens and dogs.

  Wu Minghui looked at his watch and frowned, involuntarily cursing: "Damn it, he's been calling for half a day and these guys are only responding now."

  Xiao Lie was the first to run out with his belt tied neatly, and when he appeared, all the old soldiers' eyes lit up in front of him. Although his speed was indeed slower than that of the old soldiers, he was an excellent figure among the new recruits. After Xiao Lie ran out, the new recruits finally came out one after another.

  Wu Minghui couldn't help but frown as he saw the new recruits' behavior, some of whom had their clothes on sloppily, others who had put their shoes on backwards, and still others who were even tying their shoelaces in the middle of the formation.

  "Do you know, China is going to perish soon!" Wu Minghui shouted loudly: "Do you know why? Because the country has soldiers like you, because of you, it's strange if China doesn't perish in three years. From now on, you can proudly tell your sons and grandsons who have become slaves to others: It was soldiers like you who made China perish back then. By the way, slaves rarely have descendants."

  Wu Minghui shouted loudly, the spotlight on the playground shone on half of his face, which was particularly gloomy. After hearing Wu Minghui's words, many people felt a burning sensation on their faces.

  "Don't tell me you're new recruits here, don't tell me you've just arrived and know nothing, and don't say you haven't received any training. I can tell you, there's no reason! No excuse! If they're facing the enemy, will your enemy wait for you to learn before attacking? Your enemies will kill you at the fastest speed. What is a soldier? A soldier has no reason! No excuse! Because soldiers are the country's first line of defense and last line of defense, behind you are tens of millions of parents and relatives. You came here with only one purpose, to protect our parents, brothers, sisters, and defend our home!"

  Wu Minghui apparently felt he hadn't scolded enough.

  "Look at you, do you know what speed is? If a shell is flying towards you, are you going to take a nap first and then get up? Fine, sleep, don't even bother getting up, just wait for the enemy to kill all our families. A soldier without speed is nothing but a pile of trash, good for nothing. Here, you're nothing."

  No one spoke, nor did anyone dare to speak. The new recruits hung their heads low, afraid of being pierced by that scorching gaze. At this moment, Xiao Lie, who raised his head and puffed out his chest, stood out a bit too much, causing the old soldiers to take an extra glance at him.

  "You're not convinced?" Wu Minghui asked Xiao Lie.

  "Report, I admit it, there's nothing to dispute. Mistakes are mistakes, no excuses, no justifications! Report complete."

  Xiao Lie's response and manner made the old soldiers feel that there was nothing to pick on, which made their impression of him even deeper.

  Many times when thinking back to that day, although it was the first day, new recruits immediately felt what the reality of the army was like. That reality won't give you a gentle warning; from the very beginning, it tells you that a soldier's first rule is to obey orders as their duty, and then naturally you have to learn its rhythm, no excuses, no reasons.

  "Everyone is present, target 607 meters ahead enemy position, advance at a run." Wu Minghui ordered.

  After yesterday's lesson, the soldiers learned to pay attention to running. If you don't count breathing problems, new recruits found that it wasn't so unbearable even at minus ten degrees or so. When the body is in a state of exercise and blood keeps flowing, it doesn't seem so cold either. It's just that when the freezing air suddenly enters the lungs through the nostrils, it's extremely unbearable.

  "It's really tiring running." Li Yifan was getting a bit overwhelmed, his breathing somewhat urgent.

  "Do you know why we have to run?" Xiao Lie said while running.

  "I don't know."

  "On the prairie, the first thing a lamb learns after birth is to run, because if it can't run, it may be eaten by other animals. All animals learn to move or run as soon as they are born, but humans cry at birth. If our intelligence were not high enough, we would face death as soon as we are born."

  "Is it true or false? Why is that?" Li Yifan asked, usually he was most concerned about whether there were new snack varieties on the market, or whether the latest comic book series had gone on sale yet. It was clear that this natural knowledge was a bit too far away from him before.

  "Life lies in movement." Liu Ye said.

  "In the natural world, humans are the most fragile. Soldiers stand in the most dangerous place, if we don't learn to run, then we can only wait for our fate of being killed." Xiao Lie said, as he spoke these words, he suddenly remembered that familiar face, the one that made him willing to join the army, the one he told himself all this.

  Every day, new recruits not only have to learn basic drills but also study politics. For political classes, the new recruits feel most comfortable because it's the only time they won't be freezing outside in the cold. You know, practicing military posture in an environment of nearly minus twenty degrees is a very painful thing. Although studying military regulations can be a bit dull, being in a warm room still feels like heaven.

  "How's it going? Have you found a suitable target?" Wu Minghui asked the new squad leaders sitting in the office.

  "Haha, Lian Chang, what do you think of Xiao Lie that kid?" Zhao Zhuang Jie said.

  When he finished speaking, the other new squad leaders let out a soft sigh of relief.

  "Hmm, that's him, I suppose. The kid doesn't seem too bad, decent quality and relatively stable. Hope he can hold up. Having over a hundred new recruits staring at him isn't an easy task." Wu Minghui said to himself.

  Xiao Zhan, who was practicing his military posture, couldn't help but let out a sneeze.

  "When I was very young, I liked to be a soldier and thought that one day I must be a soldier. However, I knew my shortcoming is being a bit fat, of course, this is not my fault, as both my father and mother are a bit fat. I guess it's hard to change such genes later in life. Of course, no matter where you are, if you don't have a special skill, it's hard to get by. So, I must have a unique skill." Li Yifan said.

  After hearing Li Yifan's words, some new recruits couldn't help but look at him.

  "When I was very young, I started training, with at least two hours of training every day, no matter the wind or rain, I would persevere. I could stay still in one place for several hours, whether it was winter or summer, and tolerate all kinds of insects and smells. When the enemy reveals his weakness, I would strike a fatal blow. Anyone who is targeted by me will have their life countdown begin, and just one bullet can end it, never needing a second shot. Once, I waited for three days in the same spot for someone to appear. In that battle, when I hit him, his people went crazy and counterattacked me, but I took out eleven of them before jumping into the river to escape. From then on, they called me... " Li Yifan's expression was solemn as he said, word by word: "The King of Snipers."

  Sigh.

  As they listened to Li Yifan's description, some of the new recruits' eyes gradually revealed a hint of admiration. Xiao Lie couldn't help but take a few more glances at him, thinking that this kid didn't seem like much at first glance.

  "Why don't you go take the police academy exam then? The special police also need people like you now." Liu Ye said: "So where did you receive your training?"

  "Internet cafe." Li Yifan said.

  "Huh?" Liu Ye didn't react.

  "I started playing games when I was young, and after CS came out, I liked to use sniper rifles to kill people. And my nickname 'Sniper King' wasn't undeserved. A foreign company even took notice of this skill of mine and invited me to go abroad to develop it. Yeah, as they say, 'industry is refined through longevity'."

  After hearing Li Yifan's description, everyone had a black face, and they were all played by this kid just now.

  "How can you look at me like that? Although we won't be facing the enemy face-to-face in battle now, with the advancement of technology, our future way of fighting will fundamentally be invisible to the enemy. When a large number of AI robots can be deployed on the battlefield, the combat mode at that time may be like playing games in front of the computer today. I just took a step ahead."

  "Oh, I see. So, tell me, the vanguard of the army, how are you going to get through these three months? Next time the company commander tells you to run, you can explain this principle to him, and then you won't have to run anymore." Liu Ye said.

  At the mere thought of Wu Minghui, who was like a god of plague, the new recruits couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines.

  "Hey, Liu Ye, tell me, why did you join the army?" a new recruit asked.

  "I was in a tricky situation, it was the time when I was about to graduate from high school, and I didn't know what I wanted to do afterwards. If I went to university, there were so many students graduating, and finding a job would be a hassle too. My dad saw that I wasn't interested in going to university, so he asked me to help him with his pork stall instead. Around that time, I was browsing online and stumbled upon this novel called 'Full Metal Warrior'. At first, I thought it was science fiction, which isn't really my thing because it's a bit unrealistic. But since I had nothing else to read, I clicked on it and got hooked. It was written by someone named Yuan Nu, and at the time, I felt that it was different from other military novels I'd read before - it seemed like the author had actual military experience, maybe even as a special forces soldier (that's just my guess). I thought to myself, 'only someone who's actually been in the army could write something so realistic'."

  "Ah, you're talking about 'Full Metal Jacket'? I've seen that one too. That's what made me want to join the army." A new recruit said, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

  "I saw Yuan Nu write about his story with Xiao Ruo, and I cried. I thought to myself that I should also find a nurse sister as my girlfriend in the army. Besides, after training my body well here, I'll have capital to chase girls when I get out." Liu Ye said with a smile.

  The new recruits couldn't help but laugh after hearing Liu Ye's words. In a society where masculine qualities are lacking, veterans who have experienced military life have also become the first choice for some unmarried young women, and Liu Ye's words undoubtedly spoke out the hearts of many people.