Defending the Country's Birth (4)

  After listening to Director Zhao's words, Liu Jian looked over at Tian San, who was currently rushing forward with Guo Da at the front of the team.

  "Can't you just not pick a fight with me? I didn't offend you today, did I?" Guo Da looked at Tian San who was stubbornly clinging to him and thought to himself, "This kid has gone crazy early in the morning, what is he trying to do?"

  "You haven't offended me, but someone has. What's wrong? Afraid of losing to me?" Tian San said and immediately sped up.

  Guo Da waved his hand towards the troops behind him and followed closely.

  Two people took turns competing to be the first, but in fact they were enjoying themselves and didn't care about the others behind them. Chen Meng and Tian Ming were already exhausted, after calculating their route, Chen Meng stopped and shook his head.

  "I'm done! These two are crazy, they've run at least three kilometers without stopping. Forget it, I won't compete with them!" Tian Ming was the first to give up, he really didn't have the energy to keep going, exhausted, he sat down by the side of the road and started eating his dry rations.

  At this time, the troops behind could not see any shadow, but in reality, other regiments had already ordered a rest, and only Guofang Sheng and the first battalion of the first company did not stop because they were more energetic.

  However, the road is rugged and winding, although not as bumpy as a small path, but with many turns, which inadvertently lengthens the marching distance. Before they knew it, Tian San and Guo Da led their respective teams to the Daihu area of Jiuyan Mountain without distinction between front and back. The ancient trees are towering here, and in this September weather, it also feels a bit damp and cold, with misty fog between the trees, and there is still a gentle stream between the rocks, which is said to be natural mineral water.

  And here is also the first assessment point, air raid!

  When the air raid alarm went from far to near, Guo Da immediately ordered all national defense personnel to lie down, while Tian San required everyone in the first battalion and company to turn their backs on the alarm and find a tree to lean against.

  "This Tian San, is he trying to get me killed?! Feng Leping saw Tian San making everyone stand up and was furious. Liu Jian was delighted at this time, in his view, Guo Da still understood the tactical application better, and this round was won by Guo Da!"

  Zhao Zhiping just shook his head and sighed, but then nodded in affirmation, which made Liu Jian and Feng Liping both incomprehensible.

  "Haven't you figured it out yet? Do you think Guo Da won this round?" Zhao Zhiping asked Liu Jian, looking at the two of them with eager eyes.

  Liu Jian nodded without hesitation.

  "No! This round, Tian Zhiqiang wins! Do you know why? First, the air raid is from top to bottom, so it's a surprise attack; second, this place was originally densely forested, and lying down or seeking cover are basically the same, but if enemy planes directly strafe, do you think Guo Da and the others would still be alive?"

  Zhao Zhiping's words made the two of them suddenly enlightened, and neither of them dared to believe that Tian San, this little kid, had actually won this round.

  "The current world situation is changing rapidly, if we still follow the original thinking, it's hard to win the war!" Zhao Zhiping said with a heavy heart, he was worried that Guo Da and his fellow graduates could really adapt to the reform requirements of the troops.

  Tian San, a person with no relation to national defense whatsoever, possesses innate military command ability and adaptability on the battlefield. These are crucial in any battle, whether it's traditional warfare or modern information-based warfare.

  "Director, don't praise this kid too much. He just got lucky like a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse. I think he just didn't want to get his clothes dirty on the ground, otherwise he would have had to wash them again!" Feng Liping thought it was unexpected that Director Zhao had such a high evaluation of Tian San, and she couldn't quite believe it, so she could only downplay Tian San's victory this time as a fluke. That way, if Tian San lost in the end, he wouldn't lose too much face.

  However, Zhao Zhiping just smiled at her words and signaled the driver to proceed to the next assessment point.

  After the first round of fighting, Zhao Zhiping saw that both Guo Da and Tian San's teams were extremely exhausted, so he ordered them to rest in place. Everyone was really too tired, and they didn't care if the ground was clean or not, they just sat down with a thud, unfastened their belts, took out dry rations and milk from their bags, and devoured everything in one breath.

  The inspecting officer kept reminding everyone through the loudspeaker that if they didn't save their dry rations, it would be impossible to eat later. Because this time's exercise doesn't allow buying food on the spot, but as the saying goes "above there are policies, below there are countermeasures", many people had already stockpiled extra dry rations in advance.

  But still because too tired, dry rations no matter how much, all eaten in one breath.

  The time for rest passed quickly, and when the departure signal light flashed again in the air, everyone reluctantly stood up. They didn't know how long the road ahead was, but they knew that their legs would not want to stand up and continue moving forward at the moment they sat down.

  They walked out of the dense forest and came to a clearing. Tian San and others had already arrived at the mountain waist. They looked back at the road they had traveled, and found that it was not far away. The university was just at the foot of the mountain, and everyone was surprised why they didn't come up directly from the small path?

  The inspecting instructor knew what everyone was thinking, so he used the loudspeaker to tell everyone, "This is boot camp, it will never be easy and there are no shortcuts! The next checkpoint is the toxic fog area, good luck!" After finishing speaking, he disappeared in a gust of wind before everyone's eyes.

  The vegetation on Mount Jinyun is rich and has obvious vertical distribution of climate characteristics. It's only halfway up the mountain, but even a gentle breeze can make you feel a bit chilly.

  The mountain waist also has many farmhouse music, but they are all fish houses. Although September has entered late summer, there are still many people who come here to avoid the heat, and all the farmhouses seen along the way are busy with joy.

  Smelling the pungent aroma, listening to the rumbling of his stomach, Tian San secretly glanced at the time and found that it was already half past ten. They had been marching for four and a half hours, but they had only reached halfway up the mountain! Some people had begun to disregard discipline and were directly heading up the mountain via small paths.

  "Tian Zhiqiang, where did you say the Poison Fog Zone was? How come we've been walking for so long and still haven't seen it?" Although they had rested for half an hour, another hour of long-distance running had left Zhang Bin exhausted. However, what he was more concerned about in his heart was the next assessment point.

  Tian San listened and looked around in all directions, but saw nothing.

  Perhaps, because there are many farmers here, no one will notice the burning of a pile of garbage, it's just an assessment. And this assessment, in order to avoid Guo Da and Tian San's teams being too close together, and also to let the non-military students rest for a while, Zhao Zhiping specially let the military students start first, while Tian San and his team had to return to their original position.

  Many people have passed through the poisonous fog zone, but almost no one has discovered and taken any measures.

  When Guo Da smelled the pungent sulfide gas, he immediately signaled everyone to stop advancing, take anti-poison measures and quickly pass through the poisonous fog area. Moreover, the entire national defense team passed through in just 20 seconds, within the set safety time limit.

  Tian Sanming understood the next checkpoint, and perhaps he couldn't discover it in time, so he asked the more careful Shi Xueyong to take over as temporary commander. Perhaps changing commanders on the spot was taboo, but this allowed all 500 people from Company One to pass through the poisonous fog zone safely, taking only one minute, yet exceeding the safety time limit.

  In this game, Zhao Zhiping did not make any comments, he simply announced Guo Da's victory.

  Behind them, there were no more evaluations. Walking among the bamboo forests, most people had already forgotten that they came for training and excitedly took out their cameras to take commemorative photos of their visit. The instructors didn't ask anymore, and the patrol cars were nowhere to be seen. Zhao Zhiping had arrived at the assembly point for training a long time ago, waiting for Guo Da and Tian San's arrival.

  At 11:30, when Tian San arrived at the gathering point, Guo Da had already assembled all the national defense students and was standing upright in the sun for training. The other troops had long since given themselves a holiday, and the new students were already mixed with tourists, wandering around the entire mountain.

  "It took five hours and thirteen minutes! Tian Zhiqiang, assemble everyone!" Feng Liping was no longer in a daze, her whole person suddenly became spirited, and her usual dignity was revealed without a doubt. Tian San looked at the others, who were already exhausted and scattered all over the place, how could they be assembled?

  Orders are orders, military commands are like mountains.

  "Assembly!" With one order, everyone responded immediately. Perhaps they still remembered that if they won first place this time, they would be one step closer to the honor of being overall champions.

  Without reporting, Feng Liping gave the order to camp on the spot, this order made everyone almost crazy! They didn't think that they would experience the real life of wild camping. Everyone got moving actively, the tents were quickly set up, and many people comfortably crawled inside to cool off.

  No training was conducted in the afternoon, and the others went down the mountain, leaving only the National Defense students and the 1st Battalion 1st Company. Because their assessment has not ended yet, this exercise, the 1st Battalion 1st Company and the National Defense students must have wins and losses, and the final showdown is tonight.

  The night at the top of Mount Jiyun was very quiet, without the hustle and bustle of the city at the foot of the mountain. Raising one's head could really feel "the stars within reach". Many people had fallen asleep in their tents, but Tian San sat quietly outside, enjoying the tranquility bestowed upon him by nature. However, he didn't know that danger was slowly approaching him.