Chapter 2: 17. Colluding to cheat and deceive high school teams (1)

  Xiao Ying is kissing my forehead, kissing my nose, little by little.

  Cool lips.

  Cool arm.

  Cool embrace.

  There is also a cool fragrance.

  She was wearing a white nurse's uniform, no, it was a white fairy-like cold and proud dress that I couldn't describe with any words, anyway, she looked as beautiful as a fairy. She held me and flew on the cloud, lightly kissing my lips. Then I felt her injecting something delicious like nectar into my lips, I couldn't open my mouth, then I felt it flowing down, a small part flowed in through the gap between my teeth, and a large part flowed out from the gap between my teeth, that large part all flowed out of my lips to my neck, to my chest, to my heart pit, then that thing was flowing on my heart pit, burning hot, the part that flowed into my throat was also burning hot...

  I slowly opened my eyes.

  The little shadow slowly disappeared.

  I vaguely saw a dark and silly face with a surprised expression, speaking in Cantonese dialect just like in the movies: "Wake up! Wake up!"

  Xiao Ying completely disappeared.

  As I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself lying in the arms of a sergeant. This sergeant was unfamiliar to me, wearing the camouflage uniform of the Dog Head Brigade without his beret, which was neatly folded and tucked into his shoulder badge. He smiled foolishly: "You're awake? You scared us half to death!" Then I felt like I was still floating on clouds. The sergeant held a canteen and poured something down my throat - it wasn't water, water isn't that spicy... Suddenly I coughed up a mouthful of liquor and was completely awake.

  I took a look and saw that it was already bright outside, and subconsciously asked: "What time is it?!"

  A rough voice said: "Eleven o'clock."

  "What?!"

  I sat up suddenly, and my head was dizzy. What's going to happen now?! Isn't this a complete failure?! I'm still at least 50 kilometers away from the target, and I have to cross the swamp and go through the forest. With the time I have now, it's absolutely not enough! That dog-headed high school team will definitely kick me out of the new training team like a football! I wanted to stand up, but my body swayed and I sat back down again. It was only then that I realized I was on a rubber boat.

  My ankle started hurting again, but it hurt differently. I looked down and saw that my shoes were off, my socks were off, wrapped in a clean camouflage short-sleeved shirt torn fabric, then there was the kind of burning pain, like the one inside my throat.

  I looked down at my own shirt and saw that it had been removed, my chest was wet and painful, but not from water, it was scorching hot. I knew this was the liquor. I knew that officer had saved me.

  "What the f**k are you doing?!" A rough voice sounded behind me. I turned around to see a broad back, wearing an old man's sweat-stained camouflage pants and a peasant's straw hat, not even turning his head as he spoke to me with such arrogance. Is this Dog Head Squadron? This officer must be one of them, but he doesn't seem like it... Does Dog Head Squadron have someone so stout?

  "I have to rush back before dark! Otherwise, the damned high...". I realized that everyone here was from Dog Head Squadron, so I changed my words and said: "The high school team is about to eliminate me!"

  "You cursed right! He's absolutely a son of a bitch!" The figure with his back to me picked up the fishing rod that hadn't caught any fish: "The bait's been eaten again! What kind of river is this, where all the fish only eat the bait and don't bite the hook?! It's all just a waste of money!" I thought he was the quartermaster sergeant from the Dog Head Regiment's kitchen squad, so I quickly said: "Sergeant, Sergeant, thank you for saving me, I have to go now, please send me back to where I came from." Just as the sergeant was about to speak, the man in the straw hat turned around. I saw a face that was blacker than black, it was literally the darkest face I'd ever seen since arriving at Dog Head Regiment! Compared to him, the high school team looked like white people! Later on, my judgment was proven correct - our Dog Head Regiment had three famous "black faces": the first was the one I saw now, the second was the high school team, and the third was me. I was also incredibly excited, being with the high school team was shameful, but being mentioned in the same breath as this person was an immense honor! Because we loved him more than anything, if he just said a word, we'd rush into boiling water or walk through fire without hesitation!

  "What are you doing?" the big black-faced man asked me.

  "I have to go back to the original place, I have to walk by myself, I can't cheat, or the high school team will send me back, and I won't be able to come back!" I was so anxious that tears were about to come out. I stood up and looked around at the vast river with reeds on both sides, and quickly said: "Take advantage of no one being around, class leader, you take me back! I'll walk from the original place!"

  That Guangdong officer immediately glared at me, but I didn't realize what was wrong with myself. The dark face asked me: "Is it bad for me to take you for a while? Look at your ankle, how can you walk back so far within the specified time?"

  I said it's not good. Da Hei Lian was a bit surprised: "Why is it not good?" I said: "A soldier who loses face doesn't lose his life, at most he can come back next year, but cheating now would be shameful even if we win." At that time, I was speaking from the heart, heaven knows that I always felt my brothers and my little shadow were watching me. As a man, one cannot cheat, otherwise what kind of man would I be? How could I face them?! Da Hei Lian looked at me for half a day, looking at my young but absolutely serious face. The officer then quickly said: "Alright, we'll let you go down, you can walk by yourself."

  I stubbornly shook my head: "No! I want to walk from where I originally fell!"

  The officer was slightly unhappy: "Then we rescued you in vain?"

  "I didn't ask you to save me!" I said to him, anyway, we're all birdmen of the Dog Head Troop, so I don't care about anything anymore, and I'm already prepared to come again next year.

  Big Black Face laughed: "Son of a bitch, I didn't think you were still quite capable!"

  Although I was unhappy with him calling me a fool, I didn't dare say anything because his tone was calm and obviously not that of an ordinary person. At the time, I thought he was an old soldier or a sly veteran, and judging from his physique, he must have been a skilled chef! Moreover, for some reason, when I looked at him, I felt a sense of awe, respect, and an inexplicable closeness to him. His age was similar to my father's, and the feeling in his eyes was exactly the same. At that moment, I was so moved that I couldn't help myself.

  I just miss my dad, he loved me so much. Even when he hit me, he couldn't bear to hit my head, and even when he spanked me, it wasn't as painful as this damn high school team beating me up wherever they wanted. I started crying silently.

  "Ma's got a big belly and it's still dropping golden eggs!" Big Black Face laughed, "How old is she?"

  "Eighteen."

  Big Black Face looked at me again: "Really?"

  "Less than half a month."

  The big black face looked at me for half a day before saying in a low voice: "Still just a kid!"

  I got anxious: "I'm not a child!"

  The soldier then pulled me, I ignored him, and I said to the big black face: "I'm not a kid anymore, I'm 18!"

  Big Black Face smiled: "Cheng Cheng, you're no longer a child, but a man now!"

  I'm satisfied this time, I won't say anything more.

  "How dare you speak like that!" The officer shouted at me.

  "Get out of my sight, you son of a bitch! When did I ever ask for your opinion?!" The big black-faced officer glared at that soldier, and with just one glance from him, I felt a chill run down my spine. This was a fierce glare, even more intimidating than the Dog Head High School team. At that moment, I thought to myself, "The Dog Head Battalion is truly something else, even their cooks are like this!" The officer didn't dare say another word and quickly retreated to the side to row the boat. As he did, I caught a glimpse of a handgun holster on his waist. The Dog Head Battalion was indeed wealthy, but also incredibly arrogant! Even their cooks brought handguns when they went fishing! I took a closer look at the handgun, and it seemed different from the Type 77 I had used before - it looked bigger. My eyes grew greedy, just like those of a scout who had spotted a good gun.

  The big black face saw it and said to the officer, "Bring your turtle box over!" The officer quickly took off his pistol and handed it to the big black face. The big black face then nodded at me. The officer hesitated for a moment, but still gave it to me, not forgetting to press the button with his right thumb to remove the magazine. I held the empty gun, but still liked it very much, better than ours, bigger and heavier, with a better feel in my hand, because the handle was made of engineering plastic. It looked just like the foreign guns in the movies, not like our 77s which were small and narrow, like ladies' accessories! And the barrel was also thicker than ours, obviously with a larger caliber! This gun was really damn good! At that time, I liked two things about this dog-headed battalion, one was the big black face, who treated me well, and the other was this big black pistol. The gun had "GQ92" and a serial number engraved on it.

  "Domestic 92?" I've never even heard of it, "I thought it was an American gun!"

  "Our own." Big Black Face smiled, "Don't look at others, the guns are still a few good ones, can be used together!"

  I love this gun so much! I held the empty gun and pulled the trigger, but it wouldn't budge. I didn't know what to do because my old 77 never did this. This gun is too advanced - without bullets, you can't even pull the bolt back. Ah, if I could shoot with this gun, I'd be so cool! Big Black Face took it from me and expertly fixed it, then handed it back. Now the safety was off, and I aimed at a bird flying in the sky. The bird flew by, and as it passed behind Big Black Face's back, my gun followed its movement...

  At that moment, the officer suddenly pounced on me and locked my throat. I was so focused on playing with the gun that I didn't notice anything, and as a result, I was choked and pressed onto the boat. He was absolutely ruthless and didn't hold back at all - it wasn't training, he was dead serious! My throat was suddenly constricted, the gun fell to the boat, and I started kicking my legs and rolling my eyes on the boat. The officer's vicious expression was definitely not joking with me! Just then, Big Black Face kicked him into the river: "What are you getting so worked up about? There's no bullets!" The officer looked pitifully at Big Black Face from the river, not daring to come back up.

  Those eyes were absolutely faithful wolf dog's eyes. I touched my own neck and coughed.

  "Come on up!" The officer flipped over and came up, I took a look, damn, the movement was so agile that it's not something an ordinary cook could do! Our regiment's cooks, no matter how hard they trained, couldn't reach this level! This must be a master of many years! The Dog Head Battalion is indeed a special battalion, even their cooks are special cooks! Later when I joined the Dog Head Battalion and saw the real special cooking class, I was shocked again, and still felt that it's incredibly awesome! The officer didn't dare to come over, just vigilantly staring at me like a wary big wolf dog, ready to pounce on me at any moment.

  Big Black Face didn't even look at him and asked me: "How is it?"

  I coughed and shook my head: "It's nothing, class monitor."

  I still looked at the gun, but I knew it wasn't mine and I couldn't touch it casually, or else I would get hit again. The big black face looked at the officer: "Bullets?" The officer hesitated. The big black face glared at him. The officer didn't dare hesitate, took out a cartridge clip and handed it to the big black face. The big black face handed the gun and cartridge clip in front of me: "Do you know how to play with this?" The officer was a bit tense, but the big black face just gave him a look and he immediately sat down there, clenching his fists tightly and staring at me tensely. I could tell that he was afraid of the big black face and didn't even bother with him.

  "Kidding me? I'm also a scout from the martial arts competition!"

  "Ha! Not easy, brother! After all these years, you're the first private to make it through the scout sniper competition to this godforsaken place!"

  I immediately felt a sense of familiarity, it's absolutely a dog-eat-dog place.

  Big black face handed me: "Play, let me see?"

  I don't dare to receive it, look at that officer.

  Big Black Face: "Don't bother with him, he's happy on his own!"

  I was delighted, and in an instant I snatched the gun and magazine from the big black face's hand, quickly loading it. With a swift motion, the scout shot out of his right arm, stretching straight, while his left hand slid onto the barrel, and with a smooth motion, the bullet was already chambered, the pistol ready to fire! The movement was so agile that it was completely unaffected by the injury to his right hand!

  I raised my gun and aimed at a distance. My peripheral vision saw the officer standing up, ready to pounce on me at any moment, but there was no target.

  "Looks quite flashy!" Da Hei Lian laughed, "How's the level?"

  "What's there to say?"

  I confidently say that this is absolutely no problem! My advantage is that I run fast and shoot accurately! My right hand is violently calling for the smell of gunpowder, and it's even starting to tremble slightly! In this dog-headed squad, I haven't fired a shot in half a month, not even touched one! Do you know my mood? Now with such a good gun in my hands, how much I yearn to fire two shots! But I don't dare! Because I know the team's regulations, bullets are registered and strictly controlled. If I fire one shot, this big black-faced squad leader will have a hard time going back to report. So I'm holding the gun but not daring to shoot, my index finger lightly pressing on the trigger.

  The big black face watched my movements very carefully, then nodded: "Fire two shots and I'll take a look." I looked at the sergeant: "Can we do that, Sergeant?"

  Big Black Face said: "Don't mind him, what he says doesn't count, what I say counts!"

  I'm so happy that I'm about to burst with joy, it's too cool! This year has been a blast, and shooting two rounds of birdie golf is just the icing on the cake for me joining the Dog Head Brigade!

  I looked at Da Hei Lian: "Class monitor, what am I hitting?"

  "What's the point of shooting? The bird from earlier is gone, and when it's time to use it, it's nowhere to be found. Just like that high...!" He cursed the name of the Dog Head High School team, but I was too focused on holding the gun to listen. He looked around and saw nothing but a vast expanse of water. He took off his straw hat, held it up, and asked me, "If I throw this out, can you hit it?"

  I just nodded, it's too easy for him to throw how high and far! Big black face said: "How about we make a bet?"

  "I asked: 'How about we gamble? I just received this month's allowance, where shall we go to drink?' "

  Big Black Face: "I don't drink, you'd better not either. This damn place is dry."

  I said: "It's not me, I'm afraid you want to drink."

  Big Black Face licked his lips: "I want to drink, but I can't drink even more."

  "I said: 'Then let's secretly drink? I'll buy it at the service company and look for you in the cooking class?'"

  Dahui's face turned black with anger, but then he smiled: "Alright, forget it. I won't drink anymore. When I say I won't drink, I won't drink."

  "What should we do then? What are you betting on?"

  Big Black Face said: "There are 15 bullets in a clip."

  I was taken aback: "So many?"

  Big Black Face: "The point is not this, I'll throw away this straw hat. If you hit all of them, I'll send you back to where you came from. If you can't hit them, you'll come with me and I'll take you back. Don't tell those dog-day high school teams how it went." I hesitated, how could this be? PLA soldiers are one by one, two by two, no big deal if I come again next year. How can I cheat? 15 bullets will run out in no time! How long can this straw hat fly?

  "Alright, stop shooting this gun, I'll send you back." He said, and then came over to take the gun.

  I quickly said: "I bet I bet!"

  Big Black Face smiled: "Do you concede defeat?"

  I nodded and raised my gun, ready: "If you want to gamble, I'll admit defeat!" The temptation of the gun was too great! Especially such a bird's gun! Damn it, even if it's cheating, I'll admit it. The People's Liberation Army says one is one and two is two, but cheating a high school team doesn't count as cheating! I waited seriously.

  The big black face took off the straw hat, revealing a buzz cut. At this time, I saw that the white hair on his temples was just like my father's, and my heart warmed up. Before I could think of my father, the straw hat had already flown away. The straw hat flew very high and far away.

  I raised my gun and fired rapidly. Bang, bang, bang, bang... The deafening gunfire was simply too bird-like, it was unbearable! My muzzle chased after that straw hat, the hat was riddled with bullets in mid-air, changing its shape and posture, full of holes.

  But it still fell down!

  I hastily pulled the trigger repeatedly. However, I could still see that the last bullet hit the water surface without hitting the already fallen straw hat remnants.

  The muzzle was still smoking, and I stared blankly with my eyes open. The dark face took over my gun and pulled the slide of the gun, which had already been empty and hung on the machine. He didn't have any bullets left. Then he threw the pistol to the officer: "Give you back, Wang Ba He Zi! Set sail!"

  I'm still standing there stupidly. The officer took over the gun and replaced it with a new full magazine, then started the small engine on the rubber boat and drove away. The rubber boat began to sail against the wind and waves in the middle of the river, and soon passed under the bridge with birds chirping non-stop on both banks. I'm still standing there stupidly. Da Hei Lian (Big Black Face) laughed: "Son of a bitch, regret it?"

  I gritted my teeth and said, "A soldier's words are like spilled water! No regrets! Weren't we just going to team up and cheat the high school team? I'll do it!"

  Big Black Face smiled: "Right! Let's team up and cheat this high school team!"

  The rubber boat is drifting along the river, taking in the scenery, so beautiful it's breathtaking. I'm feeling incredibly happy, and my inner child is coming out. Big Black Face looks at me with a thoughtful expression: "You're still just a kid!" I say: "I'm not a kid, I'm 18 and a soldier!"

  Da Hei Lian just wryly smiled: "Right, right, is Lie Bing! Just enlisted last year?"

  I nodded: "Right! Monitor, how long have you been a soldier?"

  The big black face smiled bitterly, the smile was rich in meaning, I could see the faint tears in his eyes, he looked at the scenery of the two places, the wind blowing across his weathered face, after a long time: "Twenty-one years."

  I was taken aback: "Huh? Then what rank are you?"

  "No rank." He smiled wryly, "When I was a soldier, I was as old as you are now, but later I wasn't a soldier anymore."

  I nodded: "Oh, so you're an old military factory?"

  Big Black Face smiled: "Right, old comrade."

  We chatted all the way, and the riverbank flew by on both sides. For the first time, I had a leisurely mind to look at the scenery around this dog-headed regiment, which was really beautiful beyond words. Later, I never saw such a beautiful view in any scenic tourist area. That day was the happiest day for me since I came to this damned dog-headed regiment. Because I colluded with this big black-faced old soldier who was about the same age as my father and cheated his damned high school team!

  And his gaze at me was just like a father looking at his son.

  Under 18 years old, actually, it's still an age that needs love.