Chapter 23: The Divine Gunman

  Zhang Peng was lying in the shade of a tree, resting with his gun by his side, waiting for the next round of training. Yesterday's heavy rain had made the training ground muddy and impassable. Although his clothes were covered in mud, the holes on them had been carefully mended. Zhang Peng now not only trained with the team but also tried to attend cultural classes at the recruit squad every day. The instructors tried their best to schedule his training in the morning so that he wouldn't miss out on either end. Apart from attending classes, Zhang Peng had also become a "secret courier". Since the team was under closed training and trainees were not allowed to go out, Zhang Peng used his privileged position to help others send letters, buy cigarettes for smokers, bring in soap, and even sneak in two bottles of wine.

  That afternoon, Zhang Peng went to class without noticing that his pants had a hole in the back, revealing his underwear. The other students teased him, and Zhang Peng had no choice but to take off his shirt and tie it around his waist. When everyone saw the groove on his shoulder from the rifle strap, the purple-red mark on his right shoulder socket, and the bruises on his arms, no one could laugh anymore. Some people admired him, while others thought he was asking for trouble.

  Zhang Peng arrived at his seat, and Li Ye wanted to comfort him with a few words, but her eyes turned red, and she couldn't speak. After class, she insisted that Zhang Peng go back and change his clothes, telling him to bring the torn clothes back. Zhang Peng looked at Li Ye's stubborn expression, as if saying "I won't do it unless you wait for me all day," so he had no choice but to comply.

  The next day, when Zhang Peng brought the clothes back, he found that all the holes had been mended, and extra fabric had been added to the elbows, knees, and especially the buttocks. He looked at Li Ye's red and swollen fingers and didn't know how to thank her!

  "Zhang Peng, it's your turn!" the instructor shouted. Zhang Peng quickly stood up and slung his rifle over his left shoulder and right armpit, so that when shooting, he could push the gun forward to form a stable triangle, without needing to open the folding stock of the Type 56 assault rifle, allowing for very good shooting accuracy.

  Zhang Peng took the magazine and quickly rushed into the training field, raised his gun to knock down a target hidden in a foxhole, then quickly lay down and shot down two moving targets that suddenly appeared in front of him. After standing up, he slung the submachine gun over his shoulder, drew his pistol, and quickly approached a high wall. He used his left hand to push off the ground and vaulted over the wall, shooting down the target behind it. As soon as he landed, he holstered his pistol, brought the submachine gun back into position, and charged into the cemetery, crouching and weaving between the graves. His eyes scanned constantly for targets that might appear at any moment. After knocking down five targets, he rushed up a rickety bridge, running and shooting at the same time. In front of a 30-meter zip line, he drew his pistol again and grabbed the pulley with one hand, sliding forward as he shot down targets. Zhang Peng was still firing at a target 30 meters away while sliding. After landing, Zhang Peng rushed forward, changing the magazine in his pistol. During the shooting process, it was crucial not to wait until all the bullets were fired before replacing the magazine, reloading, and aiming again, because this would take only a few seconds but could be a matter of life and death. If there were still bullets left in the chamber when he replaced the magazine with a new one full of ammunition, he could save time by not having to reload.

  In front of Zhang Peng, a 40-meter-long open space appeared, which was the "enemy's" minefield. He had to borrow the craters inside to cross over. Zhang Peng quickly jumped from one crater to another like a startled rabbit, staying in the same crater for no more than two seconds to avoid being suppressed by enemy fire. After smoothly passing through the minefield, he adopted a low posture and crawled quickly through a section of barbed wire to arrive at the front of the trench. He shot down several half-exposed targets, replaced the remaining two bullets with a new magazine, drew his pistol, and rolled into the trench from one end, entering in a prone position on his back.

  This trench warfare method was summarized by Zhang Peng after experiencing several failures. In his previous attempts, he used the abdominal landing method to enter, which had a large element of luck. When the "enemy" appeared in front of him, he could shoot and kill them, but if they were behind him, he would be shot and killed before he could turn around. After landing, Zhang Peng raised his right arm, first using his pistol to shoot down the target in front of him, then quickly turning back to shoot down the target at his feet. After standing up, he holstered his pistol, unfolded the stock of his submachine gun, and leaned against the trench with his shoulder, searching forward sideways towards the other end of the trench. Zhang Peng constantly changed positions, shooting and killing "enemies" that appeared from hiding holes and corners, until he reached the enemy's hideout. With a burst of gunfire, Zhang Peng first fired two short bursts, then flashed into the room to finish off the "un dead enemies".

  "It took eight minutes, reporting ammunition consumption!" Instructor Li Yong said at the end. "Yes, 46 rounds of submachine gun ammo and 10 rounds of pistol ammo were fired. Report complete!" Zhang Peng removed his hat and wiped the mud off his face.

  "Impossible?! 50 targets, you used a total of 56 bullets!" The instructor exclaimed in surprise.

  Zhang Peng removed the magazine from his gun, pulled back the bolt to eject the bullet in the barrel, and handed over the replaced magazine and ammunition package on his body to Instructor Li.

  "Almost perfect!" Instructor Li patted Zhang Peng's shoulder in praise after counting the remaining ammunition. Zhang Peng had unintentionally broken Instructor Li's long-held record for rapid shooting during this training session.

  Zhang Peng did not participate in the final shooting assessment. One week before the end of the training team, he returned to the student team for formation training to prepare for the August 1st Army Day parade, but the instructors and students of the shooting training team all believed that Zhang Peng was the real champion, the deserved "uncrowned king"!

  Zhang Peng returned to the student army and hastily took the final exam. The results were, of course, Li Ye first and he second, with only a few points difference. Zhang Peng's classmate was also very diligent in studying culture!

  After the Army Day, Wu Guan, Li Yan and Li Weiguo, more than a dozen old students, are about to graduate. This military parade is their last activity in the student army and also their graduation ceremony. The old students have been in the troops for two or three years, and it's impossible that they didn't gain anything from this experience. At that time, very few children of military families could get into college, most of them joined the army, and a small number went to the countryside as educated youth, but this experience in the student army will be a valuable asset for them throughout their lives.

  The instructor of the student army decided to conduct an intensive training for half a month to improve the team's level, and arranged a compact training plan:

  06:00-6:10 Get up early

  06:10-07:00 Platoon training

  07:00-07:30 Wash and tidy up internal affairs

  08: 00-12: 00 team formation training;

  13:00-18:30 Platoon training drill

  19:00-21:00 Combination Training

  The weather in the provincial capital in July is scorching, often reaching temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius, with surface temperatures frequently exceeding 40 degrees. The recruits' drill training is proceeding in full swing, and no matter how hot the weather gets, the training remains uninterrupted, continuing as usual. Every day, braving the sweltering heat, they wear military caps on their heads, liberation shoes on their feet, and neat uniforms, holding 7-kilogram semi-automatic rifles, practicing precise movements in formation, racing across the training ground. Almost every time they return from morning or afternoon drills, their clothes are completely soaked through with sweat, from head to toe, inside and out, not a single thread remaining dry.

  Stand at attention and stare. 40 seconds can blink, standing still in the high temperature of over 30 degrees Celsius for half an hour in military posture. For some "pampered" recruits, it's really hard to bear. After 15 minutes, the scalp starts to feel numb, and the sweat on the eyelashes also starts to flow into the eyes, the sweat and tears converge in the eye sockets, and then overflow from the eye sockets, dripping onto the body and ground, and quickly drying up in the sun.

  In basic training, first practice one step with two movements, then practice continuous positive steps. On the playground, instructors draw white lines at a distance of each step to ensure consistent pace. Finally, practice continuous positive steps and decompose the gun into three steps: drawing the gun, turning the gun face, and chopping the gun. The key to chopping the gun is to be uniform and fast, with both hands working together well. When chopping down, it must accurately chop at the right armpit joint; the head and gun must be consistent, the action must be decisive, and the movement must be neat and have a strong momentum. This action requires powerful arms, good coordination between the two hands, and standardized movements. When drawing the gun, it's like hitting the gun handle, first standing the gun up, hitting with the palm of the hand, and the sound must be uniform, can't make a loud noise. To practice this, those girls suffered, almost everyone's small hands were red and swollen in the end.

  But for the collective honor, no one complained of hardship or tiredness. Everyone gritted their teeth and persisted. To show their determination, the student army hung a large banner that read: "Is it bitter? Think about the Red Army's 25,000-mile march! Is it tiring? Think about the revolutionary veterans!" As the flag bearer, Wu Quan not only followed the team to practice formation but also repeated the actions of raising and lowering the flag hundreds of times a day. His hands were constantly rubbing against the flagpole, causing his palms to crack and fester, filling with blood blisters. The flagpole was stained with dry blood, and he no longer had his usual careless look.

  Hard work, harvest. On August 1st, Zhang Peng and the new recruits arrived at the military department's grand square under the leadership of their captain. The square was filled with red flags waving in the wind, colorful flags fluttering, people crowded together, and everywhere was green. Various armbands and sleeve badges appeared here. Eight infantry teams stood neatly on one side of the square, with the new recruits' team at the end. The army commander first inspected each participating team amidst shouts of "Long live the leader!" and "Raise your vigilance, defend the motherland!". The parade began, and to the majestic tune of the "People's Liberation Army March", the bright red August 1st military flag led the way, followed by the A-military flag riddled with bullet holes, accompanied by the honor guard teams of each division, regiment, and battalion as they passed through the reviewing stand.

  The majestic and stirring military song, the powerful and rhythmic footsteps, made everyone present feel a surge of emotions. Zhang Peng couldn't help but puff out his chest again, gripping his gun tightly, filled with pride! The new recruits' team had entered, Wu Quan held the team flag at the front, Li Weiguo and Li Yan held Type 56 assault rifles on either side as guards, the team leader and an instructor led the way, and the new recruits followed closely behind in powerful and neat footsteps. When they heard the command "Eyes right!", they changed from shoulder arms to present arms, and from quick march to slow march, passing through the reviewing stand to be reviewed. Although the new recruits' formation was not very neat due to height and number limitations, their tender voices couldn't drown out the roars of other teams, but they were filled with a fearless and bold momentum like "a newborn calf not afraid of a tiger". The leaders on the reviewing stand and the crowd frequently applauded in praise.