Chapter 2: The Second Newbie Brigade and I Got Hammered (Again)

  The guy in the lower bunk was that ace from a certain reconnaissance battalion who overtook me during the 10,000-meter cross-country run. He's a five-year veteran with the nickname "Motor". You can imagine how good he is at running. Originally, I didn't talk to him at the training base because we both knew we were each other's absolute rivals in this project. If there was really going to be a showdown, it would be between us two in the 10,000-meter armed cross-country run. We both understood this very clearly. So we didn't speak, but our impression of each other was very deep because during training, we were constantly probing and observing each other every day. I knew his climbing skills were average, while everything else was top-notch, but not as outstanding as the 10,000-meter run. I think he also knew my swimming skills were average because if you didn't pay attention to our company commander, he wouldn't be idle, carrying a pair of binoculars on his neck every day, standing on the mountain, observing our training to see who was the seed player, where the weaknesses were, and how to suppress their advantages. In all competitive events around the world, there is the concept of "competition espionage". It's just that we reconnaissance soldiers are more open and professional about it. Everyone understands this without needing to say it out loud. When we meet on the mountain, we just exchange greetings and then go our separate ways because there's nothing to discuss, and no one tells the truth. False information can interfere with your own judgment. These are the principles of old reconnaissance tactics.

  I and he were training at 10,000 meters every day, shouting slogans, sometimes also deceiving each other to slow down the speed, but in our hearts we both knew that the final match was actually just between me and him. But I finally disappeared from the top three of the 10,000-meter armed cross-country race. If I had performed normally at this score, I should have been ranked among the top 10 overall. This is clear to me, and I believe it's clear to everyone else too. However, no one paid attention to me because I'm just a small soldier, not from a well-known unit, so nobody bothered with me, let alone took care of me.

  But I really felt uncomfortable and wanted to talk to someone, it was around my 18th birthday, and I was still a very childish person. Madabanchang was lying on the bed watching martial arts novels, and when he heard this, he was stunned for half a day, because we had been in the new training team for several days, although we were upper and lower bunks, but hadn't spoken before. He must have thought I was quite weird, not someone who could talk easily, so he didn't take the initiative to talk to me either. I wasn't brave enough, but after holding it in for several days, I really couldn't bear it anymore, so I dared to speak up. Madabanchang looked at me for half a day, probably saw that I had just cried, and laughed: "What are you crying about, kid? Hurry up and come down."

  My tears came down pitter-patter. Commander Ma Da is so great! Commander Ma Da is from Sichuan, so the soldiers from Sichuan are really good, no wonder Brecht wrote a play called "The Good Person of Szechwan"! I suddenly flipped over and sat up, Commander Ma Da made room for me to sit on his bed, we were facing each other, my tears gushed out and he handed me a handkerchief, I wiped away but still had a runny nose, so I blew it. Ma Da laughed uncontrollably: "What are you crying about? Aren't you usually quite tough?"

  At that time, I suddenly remembered that I was still a child back then. Although I could run and climb rocks, I was indeed still a child. After crying comfortably, I stopped crying. Mada used his rough hands to wipe away the remaining tears from my eyes, and he also thought of me as a child. So I smiled, because I really was still a child, that's why I missed Chen Pai so much, because he was like an older brother to me.

  He gave me a cigarette and we both smoked while chatting. That's when I found out that Madada was from Mianyang, Sichuan, the place where colored TVs were made. However, he wasn't from the city, but rather from the countryside. He finished middle school in his hometown, but his family couldn't afford to support him, so he worked as a migrant worker for two years to earn money for his younger brother's education. After his brother finished middle school, Madada joined the army because there were no other options, and being a migrant worker wasn't a viable path. Although Madada didn't have much education, he was absolutely clever. However, after the military service system reform, rural soldiers who became officers could receive salaries and enjoy cadre treatment, unlike in the past when it was difficult to transfer to a volunteer army. If they persevered for over a decade, they could even get preferential treatment when leaving the army, which was considered a good career path. Madada became a scout because he was physically fit, had experience working as a migrant worker, and was from a mountainous area, so he could climb quickly. He participated in martial arts competitions and joined the special forces team to secure a better future for himself. Unlike Chen Pai, he wasn't a professional military officer and didn't think too much about it.

  Mada and I were initially rivals, then became good friends, later became comrades who ate from the same pot, and eventually became brothers who relied on each other for life and death. Finally, he remained in my memory, becoming another unmentionable wound in my military career.

  Because the motor and I chatted, so the new recruits from their school didn't treat me as an outsider anymore. The new recruit is a three-year sergeant, from Chibi, Hubei Province, his family lives in the county town, he graduated from high school, joined the army because he liked it and also to find work back home easily. He became a scout soldier because he had been training gymnastics since childhood and was very flexible, during the new recruit battalion's training, his single bar exercise shocked the whole regiment, he couldn't not do it. He is similar to Chen in that he wants to be a special forces soldier, because he thinks it's good, but can't explain why, just smiling foolishly saying "it's just good".

  We hit it off, and then the rest of them started talking to me. I became friends with all the soldiers because even though we didn't know each other, everyone knew each other's names. The masters who came for training were all familiar with each other. We chatted, and they treated me like a little brother, just like one of their own privates. They were originally all squad leaders, unlike me, a private. I was thrilled to have so many squad leaders, and they thought I was pretty good too, not as annoying as I looked. I'll tell you about their names and stories later.

  In fact, the three lieutenants were relatively isolated and intentionally isolated themselves because they were going to be special warfare officers after becoming cadres. All three were platoon leaders of reconnaissance companies, but not from the same unit, and they didn't have a close relationship with me like Chen did. Although they also played cards, trained, and ate together with us, they read military literature, foreign language textbooks, and other such things, not martial arts novels. They often chatted, but talked about things we didn't want to listen to, such as "the reasons for the failure of the Blue Light Commando in the Iranian hostage crisis" or "the role of special forces in the Falklands War". We soldiers didn't talk about that stuff, we just talked about our hometowns, interesting stories, comrades, and the dirty laundry of cadres. Of course, I never dared to mention the dirty secrets of that dog-headed high school team, not only was I afraid, but even now I'm not a person who speaks nonsense. However, I do like telling jokes. But at the time, I still didn't say anything.

  I didn't tell them I had a little shadow, because at that time I thought it was still a secret in my heart and should be my own pleasure.