Chapter 38: Armed Off-road Champion

  "Hold still, I'll adjust your gear for you." Qu Mingjun pulled Choi Tae-oh, who was moving his body around, and tightened the bullet pouch on his back, making it stick closely to his chest.

  "Hey, no big deal, it's just a 5K run, I can dash down with my eyes closed." Cui Ze shook his body from side to side and said: "Alright, don't mention it. Do you want to tighten your gear?"

  "No need, I've already adjusted," said Qu Mingjun, looking ahead at the starting line where several military instructors were huddled around an instructor holding a roster, listening to him say something.

  Yes, coming soon.

  "Brothers, come over here." Qu Mingjun gathered the ten people from the 14th squad together.

  "Listen up, when we start running later, let's get as close together as possible, I'll lead with Cui Ze. You guys control your pace, don't rush. We need to make sure we're in the front row of all the contestants. Once we hit Route 2, everyone starts speeding up like we do in training. After passing the shooting range, go all out and sprint as fast as you can!" Qu Mingjun said seriously.

  "Don't worry, team leader."

  "You've said that over 800 times already. Aren't you tired of it?" Cui Ze couldn't help but laugh.

  "Come on, Captain said it already, train soldiers for a thousand days and use them at one moment. Don't be careless and become the last one in an instant." Qu Mingjun couldn't help but scold Cui Ze with one sentence.

  "Am I that kind of person? Rest assured, brother, I will definitely rush into the top ten." Cui Ze was stimulated and issued a military order.

  "There's no joking in the army!" Qu Mingjun deliberately continued to provoke him.

  "Alright, if you can't even make it into the top ten, I'll cover all your clothes and socks. "Chui Ze thought for a moment, not feeling reassured, "Just one week, okay?"

  As soon as he heard that sentence, all ten people burst out laughing. Qu Mingjun still wanted to laugh and say something, but the whistle at the starting line sounded.

  Qu Mingjun stood at the starting line, gently shaking his legs to get his muscles excited first. He looked around and saw that everyone else was lean and mean-looking. It seemed that this first place wouldn't easily fall into the pocket of Team 14 after all.

  "Take your marks—"

  The referee held up the starting pistol in his hand and still had a whistle in his mouth.

  All the contestants stopped their activities and stood at the starting line waiting for the referee's gunshot...

  Qū Míng Jùn slung his rifle over his back, his right hand gripping the barrel...

  Choi Jae had his rifle slung over one shoulder, his right hand gripping the sling...

  Bang!

  No fanfare, no extra movements, all the participating students started this armed five-kilometer cross-country with their heads down.

  Qu Mingjun initially ran to the back of the few people in the front, adjusted his pace, and followed them at a steady speed. The ten people from Team 14 silently followed Qu Mingjun, adjusting their pace and breathing to match his.

  It must be said that this time, each team sent out their elite troops. After everyone ran a lap around the playground, it was hard to see anyone being left behind, instead, they were chasing and competing for the top few spots.

  No matter what they say, Qu Mingjun only followed his original plan, ensuring that he led the team with the participating students and remained in the first echelon of the entire team.

  They ran past the car team and the service corps, and gradually, uneven breathing sounds began to spread within the team.

  This competition is too fierce, and now everyone is basically still in the same echelon, unable to pull away from each other.

  Qu Mingjun heard that someone behind him from his own family was starting to breathe irregularly, and he felt a little anxious in his heart. After thinking for a moment, he slowed down a bit and ran shoulder to shoulder with Cui Ze.

  "You lead the team at your own pace, I'll go for first place." Qu Mingjun said in a low voice to Choi Tae.

  "Hmm? Hmm?" Choi Ze didn't want to speak, afraid of wasting his energy, but he quickly reacted and was very puzzled.

  "I'm going to exhaust their physical strength, this won't do. You lead the team and slightly increase the speed, don't let them get too far behind." Qu Mingjun said as he dashed out.

  Choi Jae-gang wanted to ask what if you didn't have the strength, but before he could even ask, he saw Kook Min-joon sprinting to first place in one breath.

  At this time, the originally very tacit team of fourteen was inexplicably disrupted by Qu Mingjun's sudden rush, and Cui Ze hurriedly made several gestures to gather the team and start running at their own pace.

  Qu Mingjun took a few deep breaths, adjusted his internal breathing, and then started accelerating rapidly.

  As expected, Qu Mingjun, who was entrusted by the team captain as the leader of the armed five-kilometer cross-country group, could still maintain a regular breathing rhythm when he sprinted forward at a speed close to a dash in the final stage.

  As expected, the foreign students following Qu Mingjun were in disarray. At first, they could still keep up with him without falling behind, but as Qu Mingjun's speed increased, the students' speed, pace and breathing all fell into chaos.

  Some gritted their teeth and puffed up to keep up, some had already started panting heavily, and others looked like they couldn't keep up and began to slow down.

  At this time, the nine students of Team 14, who were lagging behind, accelerated under the leadership of Cui Ze, and one by one surpassed the students in front of them, pulling away from them.

  Qu Mingjun ran as fast as he could, and finally got a bit out of breath. Especially the rifle slung over his shoulder kept rubbing against his head, which was quite annoying.

  At this time, he turned his head and took a look. Not bad, there were still a few people who could keep up with him. However, judging from the situation, they didn't seem to be doing too well. Some of them were already panting heavily, while others had started holding their waists with one hand.

  But what made Qu Mingjun happy was that the people of Team 14, led by Cui Ze, were not pulled too far apart, and it seemed they were still catching up with other students one by one.

  Come on. Qu Mingjun secretly gave Cui Ze and the others a boost, and he himself started to slow down slightly, continuing to lead the way towards the target range.

  After passing the shooting range, it's all downhill from here. The few people who were still following Qu Mingjun had already started to struggle and were gradually left behind by Qu Mingjun.

  It's started, and now it can't be helped. Qu Mingjun once again accelerated down the slope, speeding away wildly.

  Losing is one thing, but losing face is another. All the cadets who had crossed the shooting range began to charge at full speed, including Choi Jae and his nine teammates from Squad 14.

  Charge!

  Qu Mingjun was the first to cross the finish line, his lungs burning with a fiery pain, his legs suddenly weakening, luckily being held up by his brothers from Class 6 who came to cheer him on. This time he really played with his life on the line.

  The military stadium as a terminal is now a red flag fluttering, the faces of people coming and going are all written with urgent and excited words.

  The second one is back.

  Third place, back again, it's Choi Jae, great!

  ……

  Qu Mingjun sat on a small stool, holding a bottle of mineral water and gulping it down. He watched as Cui Ze was helped back by others.

  Choi Tae saw Qu Mei Jun smile, before he could say anything, "Wow" a mouthful, dry heaved for a while. Looks like the downhill rush was too fierce, his stomach started to rebel.

  "Here, have some water." Qu Mingjun casually tossed over a bottle of mineral water.

  "Ugh... damn it! It's been a long time since I've had this kind of desperate sprinting taste." Cui Ze picked up the water bottle, rinsed his mouth, and said with some excitement.

  At this time, all ten people from the 14th team ran back, and they all entered the top 80. There were more than 20 teams participating in the competition, with over 200 players. The 14th team, as a new team, won the first and third place in the armed cross-country race, and their overall score was also among the best.

  At this time, team leader Yan Weidong ran back from the referee with an excited face, and even had a bit of a bounce like a little kid.

  "Qu Mingjun!"

  "Arrived!"

  "Sit down! Don't get up." Yan Weidong hastily patted downwards, "Not bad, very good indeed."

  "Ah... Ah?" Qu Mingjun was perplexed.

  "Do you know how fast you ran?"

  "A little faster than before."

  "Haha, you little devil broke the record of Shimmen Armed Off-Road! You're now the champion of Shimmen Armed Off-Road! Good kid! You've given our 14th team a good reputation!" Yan Weidong burst out laughing.

  Is it that exaggerated? Qu Mingjun was a bit stunned for a moment. I actually broke the record of the entire hospital? Is it possible? Is it impossible?

  Choi Jae and a few others looked at Go Min-joon with envy on their faces.

  After a good while, Qu Mingjun also came back to his senses, grinning from ear to ear, unsure whether he should let out three loud guffaws to vent his excitement.

  "Awesome, cow! Brother!" Cui Ze slapped his own thigh, his face filled with surprise and admiration. Several people in the team who were present came over to congratulate him.

  "No, nothing." Qu Mingjun was a bit at a loss for what to say.

  "Look, you're laughing like a flower." Cui Ze shook his head and laughed too.

  ……

  After resting for a day, Qu Mingjun participated in the individual combat tactics competition. After all, armed cross-country consumed too much of his energy, and although he had rested for a day, it still affected the individual combat tactics test. After the assessment was completed, Qu Mingjun ranked fifth, which was also a very good result, but he was still somewhat dissatisfied, however, there was nothing to do but wait until next time to perform again.

  "Feng Shaojun, Guo Xiangyang, Qu Mingjun, Cui Ze come over here, the others prepare to go to the cafeteria." Captain Yan Weidong called out in front of the door before dinner on the day when the military competition had just ended.

  The 14th squadron students stayed in place and were organized by the duty officer to sing a song before dinner, while Mingjun and his three companions strangely walked towards the captain.

  "After dinner, pack your bags and get ready to leave the squad!" Yan Weidong said with his hands behind his back.

  "Yes! What?" The four people were shocked!