Chapter 2: The Second New Soldier Regiment, and I Got Hammered Again (1)

  That major was as stunned as I was when he saw me, he didn't expect me to be his soldier, and I didn't expect him to be my superior from then on. At that time, I already had experience surviving in the army, knowing that direct superiors are not to be offended at all costs, now if I have to be a soldier, even if it's an old gun, I'll do whatever he asks me to do, including washing his feet, that's what maturity is all about.

  That major looked at me like that, according to my experience as a private in the army for more than half a year, I knew something was going wrong.

  Anyone who has been a soldier knows that the cadres in the army must maintain their absolute authority in front of you. The army is not a school, so there is no freedom to speak of, and it must have absolute compulsoriness; the army is not a prison, so it cannot be treated with a set of rules for prisoners, but it must have reason, benefit, and order, and be good at persuading and being gentle. However, it is also absolutely necessary to give you a big stick at critical moments. All are young men, if you don't beat them for three days, they will go up to the house and uncover the tiles. But the premise is the absolute authority of direct superiors, discipline is secondary. 18- or 19-year-old soldiers are not more mature than us, they do not know what humanity is, because most of their cultural level is indeed not that high. Therefore, cadres must have absolute authority and be like grandfathers in the eyes of soldiers, otherwise, how can you manage? That is to say, any of your own things that can make soldiers gossip should not exist, although we all gossip about this cadre or that cadre, but most jokes are untraceable. However, once found, they must be severely punished, so as to kill one and warn a hundred, and others will calm down and dare not casually gossip. If such a trend is discovered, it must be prevented before it happens. What kind of jokes are these? Many.

  For example, cadres fear their wives.

  For example, I saw a special forces lieutenant colonel who was not only afraid of his wife but also smiled at the little nurse soldier, and that little nurse had some kind of relationship with me, which means that every time he accompanied his wife to the hospital, I might have known about it, although I really didn't know and didn't care to know. But he didn't care about that, just like cutting off the source of a leak, isolating the source of SARS, no need to investigate further. Especially since I was still in his direct command, I wasn't in the same system as him, and even if I were to say something, he wouldn't be afraid, as long as his own soldiers didn't know about it.

  Trouble now, this little soldier really came and is still under his own hands.

  I believe he has seen my file, but I also believe that he can't recognize me because the silly one-inch photo was taken when I just joined the army, and even Xiaoying took half a day to recognize me after my changes, let alone him?

  I knew I was in trouble the moment I looked into his eyes. Not only would he take advantage of me, but he would also go to great lengths to drive me away in order to maintain his absolute authority. I knew he would do this and when he did, I figured that Old Cannon would be no match for him - it's like a small ghost meeting the King of Hell. It's simple logic, what is Old Cannon anyway? He's just a sergeant in an infantry battalion's artillery unit. What kind of person can rise to the rank of deputy commander in a special forces brigade? You don't even need to think about it to understand. Just thinking about it gives me goosebumps.

  He looked at me, I looked at him.

  All the way to our 20 field army reconnaissance team's ace special troops rookie squad, we stood in line without taking our eyes off each other. We looked at each other like two Go masters, thinking about what the next move would be.

  I'm even more at a loss. I know he can easily take me down, and I wouldn't dare mention that little thing, besides, I'm not that kind of person either. But he doesn't know, he's just afraid that I'll say something, no matter whether I say it or not, first get rid of me and then his mind will be at ease, otherwise, sooner or later I'll be a troublemaker.

  Although I am a genius scout and a brother in the eyes of Miao Lian Chen, but what about in his eyes? Bullshit, all the team members here are selected from the top of the scouting competition, what can I do as a small soldier?

  I knew this time it's going to be tough, looks like I'll have to admit defeat at his hands.

  We stood in line, he was still looking at me, but didn't say anything. The light in his eyes was completely different from the gentle look he had when we were in front of my little shadow at the general hospital.

  It's a murderous gaze.

  I couldn't help but shudder. He was warning me, threatening me, hinting that if I surrendered, he would show mercy to those under him.

  But I couldn't lose, I couldn't let him look down on our little mountain village's bird team, that small reconnaissance company. There are heroes everywhere, it's not like your special forces are stronger than us.

  For my sprout.

  For my... Chen Pai.

  I swear that once I get my hands on those dog tags and insignia they hold so dear, I'll throw them all away. It's not easy to join the Special Forces' new training team, but there's always the freedom to leave whenever you want. I'm leaving, right after the graduation exam. I want to give this "Wolf Fang" unit a good slap in the face, to wake them up and make them realize what they're really made of. They think just because they're called "Special Forces", they're superior to our mountain reconnaissance company? We're all soldiers, and I'm not weaker than any of you! Whatever you can do, we mountain reconnaissance soldiers can do too, and even better than anyone else!

  I'm going to give this "Wolf's Fang" special forces battalion, which has been arrogant since its establishment, a good lesson!

  For this, my courage gradually rose up, and even reached the point of righteous indignation, to the extent that I would rather die than yield, and would not give in even if it cost me my life!

  My eyes began to have a killing intent. He saw it. Our eyes both had a killing intent A special forces major and a scout private were staring at each other like this.

  It's been half a day without any news. Everyone is waiting. Those special troops who came to pick us up, the lieutenant and the company officers, all noticed it. Gradually, our fellow brothers who came with me also noticed it. Everyone held their breath, not daring to speak, keeping silent, this is the best way, in any case, it's not good to talk too much, the troops are the same. I know everyone hopes I will back down, so that Colonel can save face, otherwise, it won't end well, but I just won't!

  I have my Miao and Chen troops. I am in the mountain valley that infantry regiment's little scout company, brothers. And I also have my Xiao Ying!

  I won't give up!

  We just looked at each other like that, and kept looking. The lieutenant colonel finally said lightly: "Take him away." Then he turned around and left, without even the usual opening remarks. I watched his back, my heart started to feel hairy, I didn't know if I won or lost this first round.