Chapter 12: The New Recruits' Competition Begins

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At dawn, a crimson sun emerged over the distant horizon. The squads of the recruit company had already gathered on the parade ground beneath the flagpole, awaiting Company Commander Song's roll call.

Su Yang stood among the ranks, swallowing the steamed bun he had just hurriedly stuffed into his mouth.

Today was the day the top recruits from the company would head to the divisional headquarters to compete in the recruit’s grand contest. Thus, there was no morning drill; instead, they had gotten up, tidied their quarters, then rushed to the mess hall to quickly fill their stomachs.

“Today is the day we test the results of our three months of hard training! Especially those comrades who will represent the Daguang Regiment in the big competition—remember this well!” Company Commander Song’s hoarse voice rang out, filled with fiery passion.

“The Daguang Regiment has always been either silent or first when it comes to competition. Though you are all recruits, you are part of the Daguang Regiment. So, even if you can’t, you must! You have to fight for first place! Understand?”

“Understood!”

The recruits, especially the top performers, shouted back with voices that echoed into the sky, adding energy to the morning air.

“Good! That’s the spirit. We’re all men here! Whether you’re going to compete or staying behind for assessment, I want one hundred and twenty percent effort from everyone. Let the other regiments know that the recruits of the Daguang Regiment are the best!”

“Daguang Regiment, kill! Kill! Kill!” Su Yang joined in, shouting with all his might.

“Daguang Regiment, kill! Kill! Kill!”

Su Yang’s lead inspired the recruits to raise their voices to their fullest volume, expressing their determination.

“Alright, now for roll call. The top recruits on the list, get on the trucks in order and head to the competition site!”

Company Commander Song glanced at Su Yang with satisfaction, nodded, and began calling names from a list.

“First Squad, Su Yang!”

“Present!”

Called upon, Su Yang immediately jogged over to the truck.

“Chen Xiwa!”

“Present!” Xiwa, smiling brightly, followed Su Yang’s pace.

Soon, all the top recruits gathered, about twenty in total, each among the best in their respective subjects.

“All aboard, prepare to depart!”

After the rest were taken away by their squad leaders to continue training, the top recruits boarded the trucks and left the recruit company, heading for the divisional headquarters.

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“Deputy Squad Leader, don’t you think it’s a pity about Xiao Zhuang? If he were here, he’d definitely be competing with us,” Chen Xiwa said as he looked towards the training ground and then glanced toward the confinement cell where Zhuang Yan was held.

“He might not even want to compete if he were here! You don’t know his personality,” Su Yang shook his head. He knew Zhuang Yan’s character best; at this time, Zhuang really had no interest in these things.

Of course, if he hadn’t gotten into trouble with the veteran, even if he didn’t want to compete, the company leadership would have assigned him to participate.

“That’s true. Deputy Squad Leader, do you think we really have a chance to go to the Night Tiger Reconnaissance Company?” Xiwa nodded sincerely and then asked about the unit assignments after graduation.

“I don’t know for sure. But Xiwa, here’s what I do know: as long as you perform well, even if the unit you go to isn’t a reconnaissance company, it will still be a good unit.”

Leaning against the back of the truck, Su Yang looked out at the passing scenery and spoke with conviction.

For nearly three months, he had stayed within the recruit company and had barely seen the surrounding environment of the garrison.

“I have to get into the reconnaissance company. Deputy Squad Leader, when I joined the army, my father was in reconnaissance. He said recon soldiers are the toughest,” Xiwa said with hopeful eyes.

“Then work hard!” Su Yang could only encourage him. At this point, he wasn’t even sure if Xiwa could make it into reconnaissance. Although Xiwa was one of the top recruits in the company, that only made it more uncertain.

...

Soon, the trucks entered a small town and arrived at the garrison housing the divisional headquarters.

The recruit company had been training at the regiment’s garrison, which Su Yang had known when he first arrived. Now he finally understood that the division headquarters was stationed in town.

This meant the Daguang Regiment was relatively fortunate, only about an hour’s drive from the division headquarters. Some officers and soldiers could occasionally go into town for competitions or specialized training.

If they were out in the barren western deserts, hundreds of kilometers away with few people around, Su Yang thought, that kind of life would be truly grueling. Conscripts might endure it for a few years before discharge, but junior officers and non-commissioned officers would have to endure sand and hardship indefinitely.

He felt that being a soldier truly required enough sacrifice; otherwise, one simply could not last.

The recruits entered the division headquarters and were quickly taken to the training ground without much rest.

The mobilization meeting for the recruit grand contest was brief, held in the presence of division leaders. It wasn’t like the long speeches Su Yang had imagined from university sports meets.

The military valued efficiency, and the division leaders were no different—brief when possible.

Once the meeting ended, the one-day competition for the top recruits commenced in earnest.

The recruit contest had few events, all from the recruit company’s training syllabus.

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Physical fitness, tactical maneuvers, battlefield first aid, grenade throwing, automatic rifle disassembly and assembly, live-fire shooting, and so forth.

The difference was that the difficulty of some physical fitness events had been increased.

For example, the recruit company’s run was three kilometers; the competition run was five kilometers.

The passing standards for the pull-up bar had also been raised significantly.

No one was surprised by the changes, as the company had informed everyone about the competition content in advance.

So there was little fear—young and fearless, they were eager to try their best and show their skills.

They also understood that their performance today would likely determine their future assignments.

Soon, under the direction of division leaders, the competition unfolded in full swing.

Su Yang approached his first event and achieved a perfect score.

“Daguang Regiment’s Su Yang, pull-up bar event, completed 45 repetitions, score 100 points,” the scorer announced.

Leaders and soldiers from the Daguang Regiment watching the competition broke into applause.

“Well done, Su Yang! Starting off strong with a good omen for the Daguang Regiment!”

After finishing the event, Su Yang saw Company Commander Song grinning widely, even slipping into thick Sichuan dialect in his excitement.

“Thank you, Commander, for the encouragement! I’ll keep pushing forward!” Su Yang rubbed his slightly sore shoulder and smiled.

This event was different from the abdominal bar routine; it primarily tested upper body strength. He had trained consistently for three months, previously managing just over thirty pull-ups and never breaking forty.

Today he surpassed that, and it felt fantastic.

“Good, keep it up in the next event. Let’s bring home first place for the Daguang Regiment!”

Company Commander Song looked at Su Yang with satisfaction.

“Yes! I will,” Su Yang saluted him and then turned to head to his next event.

Watching his figure, Commander Song sighed and muttered, “I wonder if the instructor managed to get more people from the regiment...”