Chapter 52: This is how steel is forged

  Zi Yunfei stretched out his legs and sat comfortably on the long bench in the bathroom, waiting for the physical examination. The clean floor was stained with a row of muddy footprints by him, and even the chair was smeared with mud from his clothes. He narrowed his eyes slightly, staring intently at Fang Xiaotong, his dark pupils following her every move. His gaze was like a rough finger, wandering over her delicate face and the slender curves hidden under her nurse uniform.

  In his bright and shining eyes, there was a purely masculine appreciation and admiration, as if he had spotted a delicious prey.

  Fang Xiaotong lifted her chin, almost glaring at the man covered in mud and dirt with angry eyes. This man was too presumptuous, daring to undress her with his gaze! If possible, she really wanted to call Chen Jianfeng to have this man kicked out of the training camp! But she thought dejectedly, not to mention kicking someone out, it's possible that no one would even answer her phone.

  This idea made her even angrier, she clenched her fists and glared at Qi Yunfei with anger.

  Zi Yunfei, however, raised the corner of his mouth and gave her a lazy smile. The dry mud that had been stuck to his face fell off in droves as he smiled, landing on his body.

  "How rude! How uncouth! Bastard!" Fang Xiaotong cursed inwardly, watching as Qi Yunfei swaggered over to her, shaking his shoulders. She suddenly stood up and said to her colleague beside her, "I'm not feeling well, you take over for a while."

  Fang Xiaotong walked out with her hands in the pockets of her nurse uniform, but didn't expect Qi Yunfei to suddenly jump in front of her as she was walking slowly. She was shocked and froze on the spot, slightly opening her mouth, but unable to make a sound.

  Zi Yunfei lowered his head and leaned in close to her face, happily saying: "Hello."

  Always holding his hands at the door of the toilet, waiting for Ma Xiangdong to see Qi Yunfei's unusual movement, he smiled with a hiss and turned back to ask Xu Mingliang with a gloomy face: "What's wrong?"

  Xu Mingliang simply waved his hand, turned around and left. After walking a few steps, he came back and said to Ma Xiangdong: "Tonight, find an opportunity to warn him that during the training period, no disciplinary action is allowed. As for leaving here afterwards, we don't care."

  Zhan Peng was also watching Qi Yunfei's movements, but his personality was becoming more and more like that of a professional sniper - always using a detached attitude to calmly observe everything. So, even though Chu Heng was secretly poking him while stifling a laugh, there was no expression on his face, as if nothing had happened at all.

  In August, the azure sky hangs a sun like a fireball, there is not a wisp of cloud in the sky, the sun bakes the ground to a scorching heat, a gust of wind blows and a hot wave rises from the ground, making people feel suffocated. The small grass cannot withstand the scorching sun, its leaves curl up into thin strips, trees stretch out their thick and dense branches, trying to block out the dazzling sunlight.

  Just after Army Day, trainees officially started professional training and group training.

  Xu Mingliang divided the trainees into four teams, with six trainees in each team. Zhan Peng, Qi Yunfei, and Chu Heng were assigned to the first team. In addition to the necessary tactical coordination training, route selection, formation selection, and special vehicle driving, as a sniper, Zhan Peng also had to receive specialized sniper tactics, basic ballistics, and intelligence analysis training.

  "Combat Advance Formation: All team members advance in an alternating formation. Members 1, 2, and 3 face forward with their guns at the ready, while members 2 and 3 are positioned on either side of member 1, slightly behind. The three members' lines of sight are parallel and do not overlap, while the remaining members behind them hold their guns to the left and right, keeping watch.

  Ma Xiangdong drew a diagram on the blackboard as he explained the tactical formation of special teams to the trainees.

  Defensive Advance Formation: Used for retreat or escort missions, this formation is the same as the combat formation, but with the last member facing backward with their gun at the ready. The second-to-last member pulls back the last member while retreating."

  Perhaps it was because the physical training was too exhausting, some students had already started snoring in their seats. Xu Mingliang, who was standing at the back of the classroom, waved his hand to signal Ma Xiangdong to stop teaching.

  "Go out for a run around the block, wake yourself up."

  The trainees lined up on the playground and just started running, when the sound of a car horn came from the entrance of the training camp. A cross-country vehicle driven by Jin Huan and Chen Jianfeng drove into the playground of the training camp, and the two got out of their respective vehicles.

  Xu Mingliang ran over and bowed, then nodded at Lin Ruolan who got off the car afterwards. Perhaps it was because they had been through life and death together on the battlefield that his attitude towards Lin Ruolan was naturally close and intimate, like a kind and affable older brother next door.

  Jin Huang returned the courtesy and asked: "How is it? What stage of training have you reached?"

  "Tactical formation explanation is in progress, next step is to divide them into small groups and send them to the mountains for a long-distance training exercise." Xu Mingliang gave a brief report on the performance of the trainees.

  "Long-distance training?" Chen Jianfeng hesitated for a moment, "Going so fast? Have you had wilderness survival training?"

  "They've done it twice already and their results aren't bad; now they're being sent to the mountains, so they won't starve to death."

  Their arrival caused a stir, with several students running and secretly glancing over at the car. Since the training camp opened, Jin Huan and Chen Jianfeng had both come several times, each time showing off their skills to varying degrees, so when the students saw them, they naturally felt excited.

  Chu Heng glanced at Huo Ting who was running ahead of them and lowered his voice to ask Qi Yunfei, "Hey, did you see? This time there's a girl too."

  Before Qi Yunfei could answer, No. 42 whispered behind them: "She's quite pretty, isn't she? Such a young lieutenant colonel. What do you think she does?"

  "Dummy, didn't you see her wearing a cheetah armband? Maybe she's a female special forces soldier?" Qi Yunfei's eyes rolled around Lin Ruolan's body in a circle, clicking his tongue in admiration: "So beautiful! Someone who looks so beautiful can't possibly be hiding a few tricks up their sleeve, right?"

  Chu Heng nudged him with his shoulder and said with a smile: "Why don't you go ask her?"

  Zhan Peng turned his head, rarely revealing a look of surprise as he sized up Lin Ruolan. Qi Yunfei immediately teased him, saying: "Hey, when did you develop this interest?"

  "Get out! Do you think I'm afraid of you?" Zhang Peng cursed under his breath, no longer looking at Lin Ruolan, and sped up with a flick of his arms.

  Huò Tīng noticed the commotion of several people, turned his head and stared at them with a fierce gaze. He glanced at Jīn Hào and others standing in the center of the playground, lowered his voice and coarsely scolded: "You understand nothing! That is a woman who has been through life and death with the captain on the battlefield, risen from the pile of dead bodies. Listen to me, no one is allowed to have any thoughts about her, otherwise I will strangle you all to death!" He said, and deliberately gave Qí Yún Fēi a fierce glare.

  Chu Heng stuck out his tongue and sped up, running shoulder to shoulder with Zhai Yunfei. Zhai Yunfei shrugged and glanced at Lin Ruolan, but met Jin Huang's displeased gaze instead, quickly refocusing on the race.

  Chen Jianfeng casually took a step to the side, blocking Lin Ruolan behind him. He smiled and asked Xu Mingliang: "When are you going to start your long-distance training? I and Jin Da will stay here for a few days to take a closer look at the quality of this batch of students."

  Xu Mingliang said with surprise: "I have discussed with Xiang Dong, and we plan to scatter them in the mountain tomorrow morning. To be honest, I don't feel very confident about this, and I was just about to ask you two leaders for guidance."

  Jin Hao curled his lip and laughed, scolding: "Cut the crap! You've also learned this diplomatic rhetoric. It's cool here, we're here to escape the heat, not to give guidance. What good food and drink do you have, hurry up and contribute!"

  Xu Mingliang scratched his head and smiled, "No problem, I'll get someone to clean the room right away. Lin Canmou, it's too hot on this playground, let's go upstairs first and cool off in the office for a bit." He then turned to Ma Xiangdong and said: "Get the cooking class to immediately go to the fruit garden at the back of the mountain to pick some fresh fruit and send it to the office."

  "Go." Jin Huan patted Lin Ruolan's back lightly. "After the sun sets, I'll take you on a tour around."

  Lin Ruo Lan, who was standing at the bottom of the fourth floor, scanned the entire training camp and responded with a sound. The corner of her eye caught a glimpse of a white-clothed figure flashing behind the tree, and she guessed it was Fang Xiao Tong. Having learned from last time, she quickly shifted her gaze away, seeing but not seeing.

  Xu Mingliang beckoned with one hand, and an instructor ran over, leading Lin Ruolan towards the instructors' building.

  Fang Xiaotong, who had just received the news and rushed over, hid behind a tree in the distance and secretly looked at Chen Jianfeng. Her heart was filled with wild joy, and she happily said to herself: "He's here, he finally remembered me."

  Zi Yunfei, who was running, had sharp eyes and saw her hiding there. He winked at her with a wild smile on his curved thin lips.

  This Qi Yunfei is absolutely the most shameless man she has ever seen. For this entire month, apart from training time, he has been trying every possible way to get close to her. One day his head hurts all over, the next day his stomach aches terribly. And then he openly declares to the whole team that he is ardently pursuing her. Such brazen behavior leaves her astonished and speechless.

  Fang Xiaotong glared back furiously, then hastily glanced at Chen Jianfeng, afraid of letting him see her ferocious expression.

  However, Chen Jianfeng did not look at her position even once. He and Jin Huang walked slowly towards the equipment warehouse accompanied by Xu Mingliang.

  Xu Mingliang asked while walking: "Jin Da, how is Lei Meng's condition? Has it improved?"

  "It's a good thing he managed to pull through." Jin Huan let out a soft sigh, his eyes filled with regret: "During the Army Day celebrations, Jianfeng and I made a special trip to Beijing to visit him. He had lost a lot of weight, was divorced, and his mental state was far from what it used to be."

  Xu Mingliang sighed in his heart, and for a moment, there was a sense of loss and confusion in his eyes, and he also unknowingly let out a sigh.

  "After a few days, he was discharged from the hospital. As for being a special forces soldier, that's not possible anymore. Our military district headquarters still has a vacancy for an operations staff officer, and Jin Da pulled some strings to arrange him there. Once your training is over on your end, you can go visit him. You're both fellow soldiers of the same year, and comrades who went through life and death together on the battlefield. It'll be good for you to go give him some comfort." Chen Jianfeng said as he walked along with Feng Xiangyu.

  Xu Mingliang hesitated for a moment, then said in a low voice: "Jin Da, I'd like to thank you on behalf of Lei Meng. If it weren't for you, he would have been stripped of his military uniform by now. He's a born soldier, and the thought of how he'll spend his days after we arrive at our destination is unbearable."

  Jin Huang stopped and gazed at the dense forest behind the camp, sighing: "Since our battalion was formed, we have been fighting in all directions, our reputation is renowned, but casualties are also increasing day by day. Every time a comrade is killed or wounded, it feels like a knife cut to my heart."

  Xu Mingliang took a step forward, turned around and faced Jin Huang solemnly, saying: "We are soldiers, from the moment we put on this military uniform, we have made preparations to sacrifice for our country! Jin Da, I believe Lei Hong will not regret it, nor will those brothers who died in battle."

  Jin Huang didn't say a word, he just patted his shoulder heavily.

  Chen Jianfeng waved his hand, "Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. Come on, go take a look at your equipment storage."