Chapter 29: Challenge it! Conquer it!

  The weather is getting hotter and hotter. It's said that Chongqing, Wuhan, Nanjing, and Nanchang are the four major furnaces in the country, but when summer arrives, Shimen's temperature can reach the highest in the country. Usually, Qu Mingjun and others have already changed into light green short-sleeved uniforms, but as scouts, they spend most of their time wearing camouflage uniforms and still have to endure the scorching heat.

  Today, their class on the simulator is individual combat tactics. The purpose of this lesson is to teach Qu Mingjun and others how to respond to various battlefield environments as a single soldier and complete combat tasks. They need to learn how to advance, use terrain features, master high and low postures for crawling movements, learn how to attack enemy armored targets, etc., etc.

  Ma Xiaotian stood in the ranks, sweating profusely. This wasn't because of the weather, but rather because individual combat tactics involved crawling on the ground, so he had a sudden inspiration and wore a set of athletic pants underneath, thinking that this would add an extra layer of cushioning, which was great. As a result, in this sweltering heat, all he could do was keep sweating nonstop.

  Qu Mingjun wasn't afraid, but Wang Jin had already heard about the cruelty of individual combat tactics class and had asked for leave in advance to buy wrist guards, knee pads, and elbow pads for a few people to wear during training.

  "……Comrades, we've all more or less understood the various postures of movement. Next, I'll explain to everyone what a leap forward is. A leap forward refers to a training method used when quickly passing through open areas under enemy fire. First, please ask Instructor Liang to demonstrate for us a continuous action." Instructor Wang said in front of the formation.

  The tactical class for individual soldiers was a major course, and this time five instructors came. Instructor Wang introduced himself as the head of the Individual Teaching Group of the Tactical Research Office, slightly older in age, while the other four instructors were very young, each with a lean and capable appearance. During the large class, Instructor Wang gave an overall introduction, led the training exercises, and corrected the movements, with one young instructor per district.

  This time, the instructor Liang who was pointed out by Instructor Wang happened to be the instructor in charge of Qu Mingjun's second district team. He was very young and seemed to have just graduated from the Academy of Land Forces when Qu Mingjun and his classmates entered school, so he could also be considered their senior fellow apprentice. This time, he wore a full set of tactical gear, holding a rifle, standing spiritedly at the front side of the formation.

  Wang instructor took a step back and ordered the first two rows of the formation to crouch down, then gave tactical orders to Liang instructor.

  "Ready!"

  Liāng Jiào Guān swiftly crouched down with his back bent and right hand holding a gun, eyes fixed intently on the front.

  "Forward!" A sharp command rang out, startling Qu Mingjun and the others. How could Instructor Wang, who usually spoke in a gentle tone during lectures, suddenly give orders in such a high-pitched voice?

  Only seeing Liang Jiao's back, he still maintained a cat-like posture and quickly sprinted forward with large strides.

  "Enemy fire at will!"

  Liango officer, in a high-speed run, quickly took a big step forward with his left foot and rapidly sank towards the direction of his left shoulder. Before he could even react, Liang's left hand was already on the ground, and his entire body followed in sequence - left hand, left hip, left leg - as he slid forward, relying on the inertia from his previous high-speed run. Everyone heard a "swish-swash" sound, and a cloud of dust flew up. Amazingly, Liang slid out for five or six meters on the uneven mountain terrain, which was not some smooth ice surface or wooden floor, but actual rough earth with rocks, weeds, and small stones.

  Everyone's heart seemed to have been hit hard, and the breath was stuck in their stomach. No one could see how Officer Liang put the gun from his right hand into his left hand and turned into a prone shooting position.

  Can such a ground slide out for five or six meters? Qu Mingjun was also stunned, in the case of basically lying on one side of the body, under this kind of ground conditions, how much inertia did Liang's high-speed running bring just now? Just looking at the long sliding mark left behind by Liang, Qu Mingjun couldn't help but grit his teeth, and more people were stunned with their mouths open.

  But this action is really cool, no mistake, neat and efficient, brave and decisive, not a single bit of hesitation or delay, so cool!!!

  "Clap! Clap clap clap!" Qu Mingjun couldn't help but applaud. The 14th team members, who were like waking up from a dream, started clapping one after another. In the sky above the individual combat training ground, a flock of foraging birds suddenly took flight.

  "Enemy eliminated!" Captain Wang gave his final order with a smile, looking very satisfied with Lieutenant Liang's demonstration.

  Liāo Jiào Guān swiftly withdrew his right hand from the gun, and with his left hand supporting himself on the ground, he sprang up like a crouching leopard spotting prey, instantly recovering to an upright position and dashing forward. Only then did he slowly come to a stop, stand at attention, turn around, and run back to Wáng Jiào Guān's side.

  Everyone once again responded with the warmest applause.

  Among the applause, Qu Mingjun heard Cui Ze whispering to Guo Xiangyang: "Old Guo, can you do this move?"

  Guo Xiangyang shook his head, with a look of admiration on his face, "No way."

  "I thought we had all learned this stuff before, no need to follow these kids around. Now it seems that what we practiced was useless, look at Instructor Liang." Cui Ze muttered under his breath.

  "Are you a teacher? Can you compare?" Guo Xiangyang smiled slightly.

  Captain Wang waited for the applause to subside before standing in front of the formation and explaining the key points of the entire jumping movement. At the same time, he had Lieutenant Liang perform some slow movements and emphasized several places where mistakes were easily made. For example, if the center of gravity is too high, one will fall over; for example, during the sliding process, if the right foot does not press down on the ground, it is impossible to maintain balance in a sideways position, etc.

  Finally, Coach Liang demonstrated a series of consecutive movements again, still swift and decisive, neat and efficient. Once again won a warm applause.

  Then each team leader began training. Although the entire left side and front were already a mess, Lieutenant Liang still noticed to lower his head and pat the floating soil on his body when he walked in front of the second team, adjusting his equipment.

  "Comrade Instructor, the Second Platoon has 36 men participating in individual combat tactics training, but only 34 are present. Two are absent due to illness. Please instruct! On duty, Feng Shaoyun!"

  After the troops took a short rest, Lieutenant Liang came to the front of the formation. Before he even spoke, the Second Squad erupted in another round of warm applause. The soldiers were so simple-minded; as long as you had real talent and achievements to show for it, you would win their unanimous admiration and earn their sincere respect.

  Liāo Jiào Guān smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "Alright alright, thank you comrades. I don't know if everyone understood the key points of the action that Officer Wáng explained earlier? Are there any questions?"

  "Report to the instructor!" The team fell silent for a moment before Wang Jin shouted loudly.

  "Go ahead!"

  "Coach, how can you slide so far and look so cool on the ground?"

  Suddenly, laughter broke out in the queue, and many old soldiers turned their heads to look at Wang Jin.

  This little rascal, Qu Mingjun is quite amusing.

  "This requires a lot of practice. The jump movement is actually very simple and not difficult. However, this action tests the spiritual quality and bravery of a warrior more than any other individual action. You need to be both bold and meticulous at the same time. Hesitation on the spot can be fatal. I've seen many comrades who got themselves injured because they were afraid when they fell down, they retreated, which directly led to the failure of the movement's key points, and also made themselves very miserable. Next, I'll explain some places where it's easy to make mistakes and hurt yourself, such as during running..."

  "I know it's unrealistic to expect everyone to overcome their psychological barriers all at once, but I want to encourage everyone to bravely lie down on the basis of fully grasping the movement essentials and conquer their fear psychology. When you can make a beautiful and perfect jump action, you will know that this action is actually so simple."

  After Director Liang finished his explanation, he looked at the students with eager expressions and suddenly shouted loudly: "Remember! Challenge it! Conquer it!"

  "Clap, clap, clap, clap......" Compared to before, this round of applause was more enthusiastic and longer-lasting.

  After the class was opened, Class Leader Guo Xiangyang followed the command to lead his classmates to start the jump training. First, he let a few old soldiers demonstrate to the local students one by one. Although they were not as handsome and elegant as Instructor Liang, the old soldiers still grasped the movements very well. Then, under the leadership of the old soldiers, the local students began to familiarize themselves with the movement essentials and fumbled through the actions.

  Qu Mingjun looked at the ground in front of him, recalling the instructor's movements, and suddenly found that his heart was not as strong and unyielding as he had imagined. As soon as he thought about having to lie down on the ground while running at high speed, he felt a little tense. However, it was also hard for him to say whether this feeling was fear or excitement.

  Ma Xiao Tian went up and... "thud", fell over, gritting his teeth and walking back.

  Wang Jin went up and... "Ah yo." He sprained his wrist and jumped straight up on the spot.

  He arrived at Qu Mingjun's place, ran quickly, fell down... fell... Qu Mingjun took a tumble and stood up again.

  "Come back, come back!" Guo Xiangyang's loud voice rang out.

  Ran quickly again... fell... tumbled... and ended up doing a somersault.

  "Qu Mingjun, what's wrong with you?" Guo Xiangyang was puzzled. "Haven't eaten yet? You're so soft and weak, can't even compare to Ma Xiaotian's movements."

  "He must be scared, what a coward." Cui Ze didn't know when he ran over.

  Damn it! Don't misunderstand, Qu Mingjun wasn't scolding Cui Ze, but was secretly scolding himself in his heart. Was he really afraid? It's just a simple action, but why did he become fearful and hesitant when the time came, not knowing what to say or do?

  "You go first and show me your moves!" Guo Xiangyang glared at Cui Ze, saying to Qu Mingjun.

  Choi Jae smiled and squatted down beside Kook Min-joon with his gun, saying "What's wrong? Are you really scared?"

  "Unbelievable? The great and powerful Qu Da, the typical strong and fearless one, actually has a time when he's afraid? Tsk tsk, looking at this delicate and tender skin, it's really... don't get hurt, it's heart-wrenching, ah?" Cui Ze suddenly became extremely vicious.

  "Say it again!" Qu Mingjun glared at Cui Ze's face with anger.

  "Cui Ze, what are you doing? Go over there and direct Ma Xiaotian!" Guo Xiangyang kicked Cui Ze's butt.

  "Hey, some people are just what they are. They fall apart at critical moments." Cui Ze lazily stood up, not paying any attention to Qu Mingjun's bright red face and tightly clenched fists.

  Guo Xiangyang furrowed his brow and rebuked in a low voice, "What nonsense are you spouting? Qu Mingjun, don't bother with him."

  "Am I talking nonsense?" Cui Ze instead gained momentum, "Then let him come up with a good one. We don't ask him to slide far, can he just follow the action and lie down smoothly?"