Chapter Twenty-Three: The Mock Exam

  When Xu Ming walked to the finish line with the iron trunk on his back, several boys burst into cheers and rushed towards the iron trunk in a hurry.

  The major smiled and fired a shot into the sky, instantly restoring everyone's movements to their original state, standing still and not daring to move.

  "Wasting drinking water is punishable by death." The lieutenant colonel said calmly, "Even if it's me, there will be no exception. Sergeants, give them each a cup."

  "Oh yeah"

  Several boys burst into cheers.

  Drinking water has always been strictly controlled, and families who can't afford to buy water are only allocated about 300ml per person per day. Since entering the base, they haven't had much water either, so seeing so much water today is really exciting!

  Today's treatment is obviously much better than yesterday. This morning, after morning exercises, we were arranged to have Instructor Jack come and teach theoretical courses.

  This morning's theoretical class was mainly about the aiming and shooting of firearms, basic precautions and action essentials, as well as some battlefield camouflage and sign language applications.

  Mr. Jack's good times are always so short, and the two hours passed quickly. It was already nearing noon when Major dispatched someone to bring a large box by car.

  When everyone thought it was lunchtime, they opened the box and found that it was actually a box of slow-moving ammunition. Various types of bullets and magazines were mixed together in one box. The soldiers transporting the ammunition told everyone to pick out the bullets needed for their own weapons and then solve their own lunch, with two hours to do so.

  Several people were stunned at once. So many bullets are mixed together, what's the difference between picking green beans from soybeans? And it's limited to two hours, can you even bring your own lunch while choosing ammunition?

  Only Kap and Xu Ming might be secretly happy, the crossbow is a cold weapon, the crossbow arrow is very eye-catching in the bullets, and Xu Ming's sniper rifle has very long bullets, which are easiest to distinguish.

  Everyone's eyes were fixed on Xu Ming, and Xu Ming thought to himself that being the leader wasn't easy. He cleared his throat and said, "Actually, it's quite simple. Caruso used a heavy machine gun, so the bullets are slightly larger in diameter than usual. As for everyone else's submachine guns and assault rifles, just by looking at the similar bullets and pressing them into the magazine, you can easily tell."

  "And also, there are some spare magazines in this box. You can fill the magazines with bullets first and then put them into the gun to try. Actually, this is a test of our understanding of bullets. In situations like this, many ammunition factories produce bullets that do not match the model mentioned by Instructor Jack. The difference between calibers is only a few millimeters, making it difficult to distinguish. This requires us to have more contact with these bullets and develop a keen eye."

  Ka Pu originally wanted to mock Xu Ming, thinking he would only use such a clumsy method, but after hearing what Xu Ming said next, his face suddenly changed to one of shock.

  He can't have really come down from the battlefield, can he?

  Maya looked at her man with a face full of admiration, just like several other boys, her two small eyes shining brightly.

  "Alright, time is limited, we only have at most one hour to choose bullets and we must also have an hour to eat, otherwise this afternoon will be a disaster."

  Xu Ming said and beckoned two boys to pour all the ammunition in the box onto the ground, several people surrounded a circle, selecting their own suitable ammunition.

  The bullets of the sniper rifle were almost indistinguishable, but Xu Ming still touched each bullet and tried it in the magazine. The AWM sniper rifle's magazine capacity was only ten rounds, and there was no spare magazine, only a soft cloth pouch.

  Soft cloth pouch is specially prepared for snipers, used to simply store bullets, unlike other conventional weapons, at least one spare magazine. Once the bullets in the gun are fired, they can be quickly replaced.

  Snipers don't need it, if a sniper has already reached the point where there is no time to reload, they are probably already dead.

  Xu Ming was very satisfied with the soft cloth pouch that had been sent over, which could hold a full 80 rounds of ammunition. Together with the 10 rounds in the magazine, this would be enough even for a breakout battle.

  Although these bullets look brand new, with a smooth and shiny surface, Xu Ming still reminded everyone that each bullet has been inspected, especially in conjunction with Instructor Jack's theoretical knowledge on distinguishing between blank cartridges and deformed bullets.

  In his view, this was originally a small-scale mock exam, and the content of the exam should be Jack's theoretical practice and wilderness survival.

  As expected, Xu Ming was very careful in his selection, and he had a total of 90 rounds, but he still managed to pick out 7 duds and 6 slightly deformed bullets. These bullets not only wouldn't fire, but were also prone to jamming, and on the battlefield, a single mistake with a bullet could be fatal.

  With the samples picked out by Xu Ming, everyone carefully identified their own bullets again. The eight of them spent more than an hour selecting all the unusable bullets and putting them back in the box, which was handed over to the soldiers.

  The soldier glanced at the bullets in the box and unexpectedly pulled out a piece of paper from the jeep to compare with each bullet. The eight people all took a cold breath, and it was indeed an examination. The eyes of the other seven people looking at Xu Ming suddenly changed completely.

  After 5 minutes, the soldiers confirmed that everything was correct, let them fill their stomachs by themselves, and then drove away.

  Xu Ming tidied up his equipment and smiled, saying: "Alright, the rest of the time is ours now. Whether we can fill our bellies or not depends on fate."

  Several people looked towards the cliff wall leading to the big mountain, which might be the only mountainous area in the base. The mountainous area was not large, just a small stone mountain, with dense shrubs all over the middle of the mountain, and sparse small trees on the top.

  This mountain should have been rarely visited before the war came. There were no roads at the foot of the mountain, and there were cliffs everywhere, but fortunately they were not very high.

  Xu Ming had the eight people disperse and find their own way into the mountains, to gather again in ten minutes. He also briefly instructed them on matters of attention, reminding them to load their guns, remove the safety catch, and be prepared for any unexpected situation or accidental discharge.

  After making these arrangements, Xu Ming took Maya in a direction to take a look. The foot of the mountain was very steep, almost straight up and down, with few gentle slopes, and there were also shrubs and vines.

  Xu Ming parted the shrubs, picked a leaf and sniffed it. It was a type of plant with mild toxicity that couldn't be eaten. He pulled Maya to the edge of the stone wall, where vines were growing everywhere. The vines were thriving, and even in late autumn, they didn't show any signs of withering.

  Rubbed the stone wall, picked off a piece of leaves from the rattan, squeezed hard, and the leaf juice flowed into the palm.

  "The mountain body is vertical, with an angle close to 90 degrees. The stone wall has vines and is easy to slip, making climbing very dangerous. The shrubs below have a general water content, but the vines have a high water content, suggesting that there should be a natural large sinkhole at the waist of the mountain, and there should be water in the sinkhole."