The First Part Chapter One Enlistment and Schooling

  It was already late at night, and the alarm clock on the table had reached 1 o'clock. Except for the ticking sound of the clock, only some low and intermittent snoring sounds could be heard in the dormitory.

  It's just the beginning of September, and the summer heat in Shicheng is struggling to give way to the cool autumn. Fortunately, at night, you can still hear the wind rustling through the treetops, and even with the dormitory doors wide open, a hint of coolness can be felt. The brothers who had been training hard all day were already fast asleep, lulled by the cool breeze.

  Qu Jun, who was lying on the upper berth of the second bunk bed on the east side of the dormitory, didn't have a bit of sleepiness.

  Today, no, it should be yesterday. Yesterday was the thirteenth day of school and also Qu Mingjun's 18th birthday. However, this memorable day for Qu Mingjun was not different from the previous days of school.

  In the morning at six o'clock, he got up and went to queue for exercise; At six forty, he returned, washed and tidied up his dormitory chores; At seven ten, he had breakfast; At seven forty, he assembled and started his first physical education class; By eleven fifty, all four classes in the morning were over; At twelve o'clock, he had lunch and then took a nap.

  In the afternoon at one thirty, he got up and tidied up his dormitory chores; At one fifty, he assembled and started his four physical education classes; At six o'clock in the evening, he had dinner; At seven o'clock in the evening, they were organized to watch news together; At eight o'clock in the evening, he continued with physical training; At ten o'clock at night, lights out.

  Qu Mingjun let out a sigh, slightly moving his somewhat sore muscles, causing the bed board to creak softly. These days, the high-intensity physical training had been so exhausting that even Qu Mingjun himself, who was in good physical condition, felt tired, not to mention the little fatty surnamed Ma on the lower bunk.

  Was coming to this place called "Dongdian" or "Shi Men Military Academy" really the choice he wanted? Qu Mingjun thought back to the day he enrolled...

  With a "thud", the stylish Qu Mingjun, sporting a long middle parting, threw his slightly heavy American camouflage backpack to the ground and looked up at the military school gate with narrowed eyes.

  The gate, a dozen meters high and painted in a deep blue-gray color, had a wide entrance that could accommodate three large trucks passing through at the same time. Behind the gate was a straight asphalt road leading to distant hills. The bluestone foundation of the gate exuded an air of solemnity and majesty. On either side of the gate, eight bright red characters were painted on the snow-white walls: "Unity, Tension, Seriousness, and Vigor". Above the center of the gate, a huge military emblem hung straight and level, its golden edges reflecting dazzling light, causing Qu Mingjun to squint slightly.

  "Hey, buddy, are you here for enrollment too?" a Mandarin voice with a hint of southern accent sounded from the side.

  Qū Míng Jùn turned his head to look, and beside him was a young man with a luggage bag, slightly thin, dark-skinned, standing there at some point. He was leaning on the doorframe, looking at the military emblem above the gate, making "tsk" sounds in his mouth, "Look at this gate, it's majestic, I reckon it's from over a decade ago, although it lacks some fashion, but this is what a military school should be like!"

  "This kid is a self-starter, putting down his right hand and grinning at Qu Mingjun: "Wang Jin, new student of the 96th class of the Reconnaissance Department of the Stone Gate Army Academy of the Chinese People's Liberation Army. Brother, please advise me!"

  Qū Míng Jùn looked at the hand that was quickly extended to his nose, furrowed his brow and said: "Qū Míng Jùn." Then he didn't shake hands with Wáng Jìn either, but instead lowered his head, picked up his own bag, and walked towards the guard at the door.

  "Hmm..." Wang Jin looked at his hand stretching out in the air, feeling a bit awkward, muttered something to himself, then picked up his bag and followed.

  "Hello, are you a new student? Please show me your admission notice." The guard at the entrance, who was about 1.8 meters tall and looked like he could be a model, gave a suave salute and stretched out his right hand wearing spotless white gloves.

  Qu Mingjun turned around and opened his camouflage backpack, reaching in to grab his admission notice. Wang Bin, who had been holding his own admission notice in his pocket, quickly handed it over.

  "Oh, it's the reconnaissance department." The guard at the door exchanged a slightly smiling glance with the guard officer who was sitting and registering next to him, and handed over the admission notice. "From here, head west all the way, turn north at the road on the east side of the specialized repair building, and the specific reporting location is in front of the grandstand on the big parade ground, there is an indication map."

  "Oh! Thank you!" Wang Jin saw the guard salute again, and hastily returned a sloppy salute, not caring that he wasn't actually a real soldier yet, nor was he wearing a military uniform. Fortunately, the guard just smiled at this foolish young man, having encountered many like him before.

  Qu Ming was about to hand over the notice in his hand when he suddenly heard a sharp and piercing screeching sound of brakes from behind.

  Wang Bin turned his head and exclaimed, "Wow! Niu Ah, let's speed up!"

  Actually, it wasn't just one stretched Mercedes that arrived at the military school gate, but a fleet of cars. However, the stretched Mercedes was too eye-catching for that era, so Wang Jin automatically ignored the several ordinary cars in front and behind. Not only Wang Jin, but also the guard officer who had been on duty at the gate for several years, had never seen such a luxurious fleet before, and his face showed a surprised expression.

  Qu Mingjun let out a somewhat helpless sigh after seeing the black license plate.

  Several men in black suits, looking like bodyguards, quickly ran down from the two cars in front and behind the Mercedes-Benz, spreading out to surround it. One of them was about to get in and open the door when it opened by itself.

  A middle-aged man with a resolute and stern expression got off the car, pushed away the surrounding bodyguards, and shouted loudly: "Qu Mingjun, come here!"

  Wang Jin looked at Qu Mingjun beside him with a dazed and somewhat difficult expression.

  Qu Mingjun put his backpack under the guard's feet and turned around to walk away, walking all the way to the front of that middle-aged man.

  The two of them stared at each other like this for a while, and after a moment, the middle-aged man spoke up. "Have you made your decision? Don't you regret it?"

  "Of course, there has never been a word of regret in my dictionary!" Qu Mingjun said coldly.

  "Just for those few old rumors, you came all the way here to be a soldier? What doesn't the Qu family have that you need to rely on this to vent your anger?" The middle-aged man's eyebrows were furrowed with thick, unerasable worry.

  "You know me, I'll always be the strongest!" The determination in Qu Mingjun's eyes never wavered.

  Middle-aged man dumb words.

  A crisp, sharp sound of a leather shoe heel hitting the ground, and suddenly the guard officer who was originally sitting down appeared beside the motorcade's security detail, standing at attention. "Sorry, this is a military restricted area, parking is strictly prohibited, please move the motorcade to the parking lot on the north side."

  The middle-aged man stared blankly at Qu Mingjun for a while, let out a long sigh, ignored the guard, and said to Qu Mingjun: "Alright, I hope you can prove yourself as soon as possible and go home as soon as possible!"

  A moment later, the motorcade drove away in a cloud of dust. Qu Mingjun followed the guard back into the entrance and handed over his admission notice.

  The guard officer sat down and reached out to take the notice, reading it with a hint of amusement in his eyes: "Qu Mingjun, Military Reconnaissance Department 96-level freshman?"

  "Yes!" Still a cold and somewhat disdainful expression.

  "Welcome to school, I hope I won't see you here again in three months!" After registering, the security officer smiled and waved his hand to let him go.

  "Three months? What do you mean?" Wang Jiong had just woken up from the shock of the car team, looking at Qu Mingjun's expression with some awe, but still being piqued by the guard officer's words.

  Qiu Mingjun ignored his question and walked towards the courtyard with his bag on his back.

  The guard officer smiled at Wang Jin and said, "Go report now, you'll know soon enough!"