Chapter 6: Emergency Assembly

  The evening breeze gently brushes against the palm tree branches outside the window, and the soft rustling sound makes one feel uncomfortable in their sleep.

  As three short and urgent whistle sounds rang out outside the door, Jiang Yuru suddenly opened her eyes and looked towards the window. Outside the window was pitch black, without even a glimmer of light from the military camp's street lamps, and all she could hear by her ear was Qiu Lin's smacking lips, who knows whether it was because of dreaming about delicious food or not.

  Turning back, the clock on the wall showed it was 2 o'clock in the morning.

  "Am I hallucinating?" Jiang Yurou muttered to herself, involuntarily rubbing her temples and letting out a long sigh before lying back down.

  "Assembly!"

  Sun Fan's voice rang out outside the door, loud and thick, penetrating the dormitory door, startling Jiang Yuru to sit up again, looking towards the direction of the main hall.

  Again the three short blasts of the assembly whistle, followed by Sun's command to assemble, and then Jiang Yurong heard the sound of footsteps pattering in the corridor.

  "It's not a hallucination! It's real, assemble!" Jiang Yuruo didn't dare to delay for another moment, got up and ran to Qiu Lin's side, shaking her violently while shouting loudly: "Qiu Lin, assemble! Qiu Lin!"

  But Qiu Lin slept too soundly and seemed to have not heard Jiang Yu Ruo's cries for help.

  The footsteps outside the door became sparse, this was already a reminder to Jiang Yuru that others had almost all arrived downstairs, now only she and Qiu Lin were left.

  Qiu Lin!

  She didn't dare to just shout for Qiu Lin to get up, so Jiang Yu Ruo started folding the quilt while shouting, but it was such a rush that the quilt couldn't be folded neatly. But now she couldn't care about that anymore, she could only shout at Qiu Lin while hastily folding the quilt.

  Finally, the quilt was neatly stacked. At this time, Jiang Yurou was already sweating profusely, and with just a slight movement, the beads of sweat on her eyebrows would fall onto the bed sheet, scattering like small flowers.

  She got up, put on camouflage, grabbed a camouflage hat, and ran to the door. Jiang Yuru still hesitated and looked back at Qiu Lin who was sleeping soundly. She opened the door and rushed down to the large hall downstairs.

  "Report! Flying Shark Squadron's carrier-based aircraft trainee Jiang Yurou requests to join the ranks!"

  "Get in line!"

  "Yes!"

  Everyone was drowsy, but they had to open their eyes wide in front of Sun Fan and Zhuo Yi, showing a spirited appearance.

  However, Sun Fan only kept looking at the watch, his left hand had not been put down since Jiang Yurou entered. He didn't say a word either, and Zhuo Yi standing beside him also didn't say a word, nor did anyone else dare to utter a single word. Everyone just stood quietly in this vast hall where five fingers could be faintly seen, waiting for the unknown events that were about to unfold.

  Time ticked away second by second, and the sleepiness that had just been startled awake slowly returned to everyone's body. Some people started yawning, and even though they tried their best to stifle the sound, it still stood out in the quiet atmosphere.

  It was unclear how much time had passed, roughly about ten minutes, when Sun Bao's left hand finally came down.

  As his left hand fell, everyone once again straightened up and gazed forward with bated breath, waiting for Sun Fu's next words.

  "Five minutes! From the time Comrade Jiang Yuru joined to now, a full five minutes have passed and our team still hasn't assembled. I don't want to mention names or criticize anyone. Unfortunately, you are all a team. Even if only six of you remain in the end, as long as you stay here for one day, you will be a team for that whole day. So when your comrades violate discipline, you will also be punished!"

  Everyone was shocked by Sun Fu's words and couldn't help but take a deep breath of cold air, thinking about what kind of punishment awaited them.

  "It's very simple, 300 seconds, you can combine to complete 300 times from push-ups, sit-ups and squats in three ways." As he spoke, Sun Fan put his hands behind his back and shouted loudly: "Start!"

  As his voice fell, murmurs also rose distinctly in the ranks.

  "Isn't this just another way of saying three hundred?"

  "Why should we be punished for someone else's mistake?"

  "Is this the rhythm we've been practicing?"

  "Stop all the nonsense, every second counts!"

  At this remark, someone suddenly shouted: "Report! I request to withdraw from training!"

  Listening to this, Sun Bao couldn't help but sneer, "Hmph! I finally heard someone wanting to quit, only it's a pity that now isn't the time when you can just say you want to quit and then quit." As he spoke, Sun Bao raised his left hand again to glance at his watch, saying: "Before I officially announce that you can leave, you can choose to be passive, choose not to obey orders. But the price is, the punishment you receive will be doubled and counted onto your fellow soldiers!"

  "This is corporal punishment!"

  "Not bad, this is corporal punishment, and it's naked corporal punishment! How about it, aren't you convinced? Unfortunately, none of you have any reason to refute." As he spoke, Sun Fan glanced at the noisy students with a sideways glance, his sharp eyes flashing with a fierce light for an instant, which made Jiang Yurou's heart tremble involuntarily.

  "It's not like half a month ago when you were still in college. At that time, your main task was to complete the study of professional courses and learn solid theoretical knowledge. At that time, you had a relatively relaxed environment and enjoyed more freedom than the military camp. But now, you are a soldier with an honor star on your shoulder, shouldering the heavy responsibility of national defense for the country's future, carrying the great mission of national rejuvenation!"

  Sun said, pausing for a moment and letting out a sigh before continuing: "But do you think anyone among you dares to say they are truly capable of undertaking this mission?"

  In the hall, everyone fell silent, they had no words to refute Sun Fu's remarks.

  "Remember, your solemn oath in front of the military flag is not something that can be fulfilled by simply clenching your right fist and reciting the words a few times. A soldier's promise requires blood! Sweat! Tears to forge! Only then can it become strong iron bones to protect the family and defend the country!"

  "So, no matter where you're from, once you're here, there's no room for argument. A soldier's duty is to obey orders, this isn't a university classroom where you can ask questions freely! Three sets of one hundred, start now, push-ups, ready!"

  No one dared to speak again, all the trainees quickly dispersed in a drill formation, swiftly dropping down into a standard and neat prone position, with their hands supporting the ground and their eyes fixed intently on the front.

  "Ah!"

  With Sun's order, all the trainees moved into action. Perhaps their movements were not uniform and their techniques differed, but that one spirit of sincere obedience was kept exceptionally consistent.

  Two!

  Jiang Yuruo didn't know how many more push-ups she could hold out for, but she couldn't hold on any longer. However, deep down inside, she knew that she had no reason to retreat.

  Three!

  "Four!"

  ……

  Thirty-one!

  Some students' arms were trembling non-stop, but they still gritted their teeth, held their breath, and slowly pushed themselves up with red faces and ears.

  "Thirty-two!"

  Jiang Yuruo didn't know why she persisted to this point, but she was very clear that she had made it to the thirty-second one. This far exceeded the requirements for girls in physical education class at school, where they only needed to do ten, and not even standard ones, to pass.

  Although she was here, she knew her movements were still not very standard, but at least she had surpassed her previous self in number.

  "Thirty-three!"

  Perhaps it's because of numbness, the body has lost its senses, but there is a consciousness that persists.

  "Thirty-four!"

  "Thirty-five!"

  ……

  Fifty-three!

  "Report!" Someone in the formation finally couldn't hold it in and shouted out.

  But Sun Fu did not respond to him and continued shouting: "Fifty-four!"

  "Report!"

  "Fifty-four!"

  "Report!"

  "Fifty-four!"

  "Report..."

  "Shut up, stop yelling, how many fifty-fours do you want us to do?" Someone cut off the person who was shouting the report, and others also responded in unison, casting contemptuous glances at the reporting student.

  Jiang Yurou also looked back, and that person's face was already pale, cold sweat had long since soaked through the camouflage, and beads of sweat were dripping down his clearly defined facial features.

  He really couldn't take it anymore, and finally shouted "Report!" in a very weak voice before fainting.

  "Fifty-five!" Sun Bu didn't respond to him, but the medical soldier who had been waiting outside the door did. They quickly put the fainted student on a stretcher and carried him out.

  "Fifty-six!"

  The training did not end because of one person's fainting, Sun Feng's shouting voice still echoed in the hall, and it was difficult to calm down.

  "Fifty-seven!"

  "Fifty-eight!"

  ……

  Ninety-seven!

  The first hundred is finally coming to an end, and everyone starts shouting. That kind of shout, as if seeing victory, is thick and powerful.

  Ninety-eight!

  "Ninety-eight!" It seemed like victory was within sight, and everyone shouted along with Sun's command. At this moment, they seemed to have survived the limit, looking more spirited than when they first got up.

  "Ninety-nine!"

  "Ninety-nine!"

  "One hundred!"

  "One hundred!" Everyone roared, but instead of jumping up to report after finishing the last push-up in the instructions, each person propped themselves up.

  They simply looked up at Sun Fan, the beads of sweat on their eyebrows dripping into their eye sockets, stinging them to blink involuntarily, but the corners of their mouths were confidently raised. They smiled at Sun Fan, without any intention of standing up.

  Jiang Yuruo didn't lift her head, she lowered it and quietly waited for what was going to happen next.

  "One hundred and one!"

  Perhaps this is the best celebration of victory, which is to transcend and keep transcending!