Chapter Fifty-two: No Fight, No Deal

  Qu Mingjun seems to be a natural-born competitive type, and under various emotional entanglements, he becomes more and more excited. On the shooting range, he plays with various firearms more and more skillfully. In the final 50-meter 92-style handgun 5-shot shooting, he almost shot like a machine gun. When other contestants had just fired their second shot, he had already finished shooting and reported back. The target looked very clear, with 5 bullet holes almost all crowded into the center of the 10th ring. This made the other seven contestants feel heavy-hearted, and the pressure had become unbearable.

  The referee calculated the time it took for the eight contestants in the third group to arrive at the shooting range and their shooting times. Qu Mingjun had the shortest time, and the second fastest person was also a contestant from Chun Cheng Lu Institute, but his total time was more than 5 minutes slower than Qu Mingjun's. As for accuracy, it's hard to say. So Qu Mingjun took back the model of the Type 95 rifle and set off towards the individual tactical field first, while others had to wait at the shooting range until their own slow-down times were up before departing one after another.

  The individual tactical training ground is not far from the shooting range and is also a temporarily opened site. Several temporary excavated earthbags, pits, and mounds are placed in order, and standardized iron wire mesh facilities are deeply buried in the soil. In the last few facilities, even a real 59-style tank was pulled over and placed in the tactical action area where the tank was blown up with explosive tubes. There are also simple indoor facilities such as doors and windows set up with wooden boards, and the trees are readily available. The entire site looks much wilder than the fixed sites inside the academy.

  Qu Mingjun grasped the five minutes very well, quickly running to the individual tactical training ground, and under the leadership of the referee's timing, began the assessment of individual tactics.

  Although Qu Mingjun had been consciously conserving his strength, after going through two major projects he was also slightly out of breath, but it didn't matter, now was the perfect moment, without hesitation, Qu Mingjun began the individual combat tactics competition according to the referee's command.

  Enemy fire incoming! Jump forward!

  Beautiful! On the half-withered yellow grass, Qu Mingjun unexpectedly slid out for more than three meters. The several observers from the observation team couldn't help but applaud and cheer him on.

  Crouching, lateral movement, using earth mounds, rolling in, utilizing pits, and utilizing earth bags. Each action added a touch of beauty under Qu Mingjun's standard individual combat tactics, the officers from the observation team discussed and praised without end.

  At this time, Qu Mingjun had already entered a state of complete focus, only seeing him by the mound, picking up the explosive tube, quickly jumping up, crouching low and rapidly dodging left and right as he ran to the back of the tank, placing the tube, pulling the string, then fiercely running to the front of the mound, jumping up and turning around, hiding behind the mound. Only a faint "boom" sound was heard, as the simulated explosive tube emitted a burst of blue smoke, Qu Mingjun quickly jumped up and advanced towards the indoor tactical training ground.

  Perfect, simply perfect. The second little contestant from Chun Cheng Lu's institute who ran over is now heading to another single-soldier tactical route under the judge's lead. Seeing his movements, I couldn't help but shake my head slightly, with a somewhat disappointed expression.

  Qiu Mingjun finally arrived at the last event of today, hand grenade throwing. He almost caught up with the last person in the second group. To be honest, the Shimen Lu Institute team hadn't practiced this event much, they only experienced it for about an hour the day before the competition. Although everyone had enough arm strength, accurately throwing the hand grenade into a two-meter diameter circle 35 meters away was still largely dependent on luck. Moreover, other land institutes' teams probably didn't practice this event beforehand either, so everyone should be on the same starting line.

  Qū Míng Jùn picked up the hand grenade, weighed it slightly, and regardless of whether he threw it accurately or not, his actions had to be done properly. With a backhand motion, he twisted his waist, ran two steps, and then used his waist strength to fling the grenade high into the air, which rolled forward and smashed ahead.

  Yeah, a bit far. Qu Mingjun's second grenade was adjusted and successfully thrown into the white circle. The third one, in! The fourth one, in!! The fifth one, almost, his hand slipped slightly, the distance was closer, but didn't enter the white circle.

  Thus, Qu Mingjun ended his personal performance on the first day of the Military Grand Competition with a score of three hand grenades hitting the white circle at the last test site.

  "Hello!" After trying, Qu Mingjun felt a little soft in his legs. At this time, he was sitting on the ground in the rest area with Feng Shaojun and others, talking about his own results. At this time, the short player from Chun Cheng Lu Institute, who was also in the third group, walked over.

  "Hello!" Qu Mingjun hastily stood up and shook hands with the other person who had extended his hand.

  "Hehe, nice to meet you. I'm a contestant from Chun Cheng Lu Yuan, my name is Tu Bao." The contestant from Chun Cheng Lu Yuan spoke in Mandarin that wasn't particularly standard.

  "Hello, I'm Qu Mingjun, from Shimendang Institute." Qu Mingjun was puzzled, "Tubao, what's this name?"

  "Hehe, I'm Miao ethnicity." Tudou seemed to have noticed Qu Mingjun's confusion and explained voluntarily.

  "Oh, I see. So you're a Miao brother, hello! " Qu Mingjun suddenly realized. He was knowledgeable and had heard that the Miao people's names were basically named according to the five elements of gold, wood, water, fire, and earth. Whatever element was missing would be used as the name. Only then would they add their surname or family name after the given name. But Tu Bao only mentioned his first name, not his last name, which was also a way of treating Qu Mingjun as a relatively familiar friend."

  "Just now during the martial arts competition, you were amazing. Our group's first place definitely belongs to you. I really admire you, you're a good guy." Tǔ Bǎo stretched out his thumb, with an expression of sincere admiration.

  "Haha, you're just as impressive! Your rock climbing skills are amazing! You're a great guy too." Qu Mingjun hastily praised him.

  "Hey, I'm a natural at rock climbing. I used to climb around the house when I was little, so I'm used to it. As for the rest, I don't think I can compare to you."

  "Where, where." Qu Mingjun smiled and chatted with Tu Bao, although they were opponents during the competition, but after the game ended, they were all good brothers who served in the army together. The two were also fond of each other, so naturally, they quickly lost a bit of reserve and gained more warmth.

  The first day of the martial arts competition has ended. The members of the 14th team performed differently in their respective groups, with some doing well and others being average. However, the results of the competition will only be announced on the last day, so the scores from the first day cannot determine each person's overall achievement for the three days. Therefore, Captain Fan and his men only asked about the situation of the matches, gathered information about a few people who stood out in each group, and briefly analyzed them to everyone. After all, one must know oneself and know others to win every battle without danger.

  In the afternoon, team leaders went to attend a meeting to get the competition events and situation for the next day. Qu Mingjun and others in the dormitory were relaxing and chatting with each other.

  Soon, Captain Fan and Lieutenant Li returned, and everyone immediately gathered in the dormitory.

  "We've already received tomorrow's combat subject." Captain Li got straight to the point and addressed everyone's main concern, "Tomorrow's combat will only have one content: advancing in complex terrain under enemy conditions. We'll set out early tomorrow morning; specific time will be announced later. In addition to your standard equipment, each of you will also receive a dagger, a canteen, a map, and a compass. You will be randomly dropped off at some location in the mountains and are required to reach the designated assembly point on the map by 3 pm tomorrow."

  Is it really that simple? The team members couldn't believe what they had just heard for a moment.

  "Do you think tomorrow's trial is easy?" Fan Shaoxiao walked over and sat on the bed, asking everyone.

  Everyone looked around and nodded in agreement. It made sense, after all, reconnaissance soldiers were skilled at identifying directions and navigating through unfamiliar terrain. Although not everyone present was from the reconnaissance department, they had all learned and practiced wilderness navigation using maps. The journey might be long and arduous, especially in mountainous regions, but it shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

  "You're wrong to think that," said Captain Fan sternly. "This time, we'll be conducting a complex terrain march under enemy conditions. What I mean by 'enemy conditions' is that within this area, some personnel and teams will be pretending to be the enemy. They may set up ambushes in fixed areas or patrol along routes. If you're discovered by them, your martial arts competition tomorrow can be considered over. And with a score of zero. As for complex terrain, I estimate that there will be multiple types of terrain on your route, including mountains, forests, lakes, and deep gorges."

  This is getting tricky, Qu Mingjun thought. If it were just a complex terrain, he could grope his way through and walk around according to the map, and eventually find a vantage point and a gathering point. However, while walking, he also had to be on guard against the enemy's hidden sentries and search parties that might be set up anywhere, which would inevitably make him feel like every bush was an enemy soldier.

  "There's another important thing." Captain Li interrupted, "The mountainous area we're heading to this time is part of the original forest protection zone. Although there aren't any wild beasts roaming around, the terrain is extremely complex and the trees block out the sky. You'll be deep in the woods, making it difficult to find direction and the correct route. Moreover, this time the duration will be very long, with no resupply whatsoever, just a canteen of water. You must also prepare for wilderness survival."

  The members of the Shimen Luyuan training team and Captain Fan and Lieutenant Li discussed how to ensure that tomorrow's martial arts competition goes smoothly for two hours, during which Captain Fan and Lieutenant Li, as well as some old soldiers, shared their wilderness survival experience and knowledge with each other, taking the strengths of others to make up for their own weaknesses, and indeed gained a lot of knowledge.

  Everyone went to bed early at night, because no one knew when they would set off the next day. It was necessary to keep a good physical condition.

  At 3:00 AM, a sudden whistle gathered all the contestants together. The seventy-two contestants, dressed in full gear as on the first day, boarded four trucks respectively. Each truck had an instructor inside who issued some equipment to the eighteen people on board.