Chapter 5: As Long as No One Dies

After watching the standard procedure for making the military bed once, the new recruits were filled with confidence. They spread their blankets flat on the ground and began to try it themselves.

Xu Guoqing said nothing, his face stern as he stood at the front of the formation, supervising. The ten squad leaders each stood before their respective squads, observing the recruits’ comprehension.

Soon, whispers and murmurs arose within the ranks.

“Brother, do you remember how many centimeters the company commander said for the crease?”

“You’re asking me? Who else can I ask? Didn’t you see I’m stuck here too?”

Within the first squad, Song Wei’s mind was in chaos. No matter how he adjusted, he couldn’t replicate the steps Xu Guoqing had demonstrated earlier.

He furtively glanced toward Qi Tian’s side, wanting to check on his progress.

At that moment, Qi Tian had only just completed the first step of spreading the blanket flat. He was squatting silently, a vacant expression on his face, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Song Wei relaxed. It seemed the kid was just physically stronger; otherwise, he was as much a novice as the rest of them.

What Song Wei didn’t realize was that Qi Tian’s vacant look was all an act. If he wanted, he could perfectly replicate Xu Guoqing’s earlier demonstration at any time. But doing so would draw too much attention.

Qi Tian didn’t want to be the standout.

So he deliberately slowed his pace, trying to keep in sync with the others.

Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind them.

Qi Tian glanced out of the corner of his eye to see a well-built colonel, around forty years old, striding briskly toward them.

“Company Commander Xu, the morale of the new recruits in this company is high. Using rest time to teach them housekeeping deserves praise!” the colonel said.

Hearing this, Xu Guoqing quickly ordered, “All stand at attention!”

The flustered new recruits scrambled to form ranks and straighten their posture as much as possible.

Although they did not know the identity of the middle-aged man, judging from the solemn and tense expressions on the company commander and squad leaders’ faces, he was likely a high-ranking officer.

At such a moment, causing trouble would be unwise.

“Reporting to the regimental commander: Helping the new recruits grow quickly is our duty!” Xu Guoqing responded respectfully.

“That’s well said. When judging a soldier’s military bearing, what matters most is how they maintain their quarters. Carry on!” Lieutenant Colonel Li Yunfei, commander of the Iron Fist Regiment, smiled and nodded in approval.

He then pulled Xu Guoqing aside and asked in a voice only they could hear, “Xiao Xu, how’s that kid I asked you to keep an eye on?”

“Regimental Commander, Qi Tian’s discipline is a bit lacking, and he swears quite a bit. But his physical fitness is outstanding—even the sports students can’t keep up with him!”

“Looks like you’re quite fond of him,” Li Yunfei teased.

“We all get a little rough when we’re on the battlefield. The swearing is something I can work on training out later. But his physical fitness—I’m truly satisfied.”

Then Xu Guoqing changed the subject and asked, “Regimental Commander, you’re not resting at noon and came here, could it be that you came specially for this kid...?”

“I received a call from headquarters, telling me to come see how this kid is doing. If possible, train him to his limits, just don’t let him get killed!”

“Why…?” Xu Guoqing was stunned by Li Yunfei’s reply.

It turned out the order to focus on Qi Tian didn’t come from Li Yunfei, but from someone even higher in rank.

Most importantly, the “special care” mentioned wasn’t about simply looking after the kid in daily matters.

It meant pushing him to the brink.

To be honest, Xu Guoqing had never heard of such “care.”

“The higher-ups’ intentions—we’d better not ask too many questions and just follow orders,” Li Yunfei said with a knowing smile.

Patting Xu Guoqing twice on the shoulder, he turned and walked downstairs.

Xu Guoqing stood rooted to the spot, stunned.

He knew Qi Tian’s background inside and out but could not fathom how a mere civilian like him had managed to offend a superior officer above the rank of a colonel so badly.

Taking several deep breaths to calm his shock, Xu Guoqing instinctively glanced toward where Qi Tian was.

There, a perfectly square, plump blanket lay folded on the ground like a freshly baked loaf of bread.

Qi Tian himself was now assisting other flustered recruits nearby, offering guidance.

If anyone else had folded the blanket as neatly as Qi Tian did, Xu Guoqing would have praised them lavishly.

After all, these recruits had just joined the military and were learning to fold blankets for the first time. Achieving such precise edges and corners without a single wrinkle was already exceptional.

Besides, the blankets were filled with this year’s new cotton. Even if one wanted to compress it thinner, it would take time. It was impossible to do so in such a short span.

Yet the person who folded this blanket so perfectly was none other than Qi Tian, the very recruit Li Yunfei had ordered to be trained to the limits.

Xu Guoqing’s expression darkened.

He strode over to Qi Tian’s blanket and kicked it forcefully across the ground.

“What a worthless blanket! What’s there to be proud of?! Qi Tian, get back here and fold it again! And without reporting, leaving your post without permission, talking to other comrades—two hundred push-ups, one movement one stop!”

Xu Guoqing’s words silenced the recruits in the first squad who moments before had been whispering and asking Qi Tian about folding techniques. The entire area fell into a pin-drop silence.

Qi Tian was stunned.

According to the elite housekeeping skills recently rewarded to him by the system, this blanket was already top-notch in the new recruits’ company.

If it were in the dormitory, pressing it on the bed board for two days to compress the cotton inside, even the inspection team responsible for supervising quarters wouldn’t find a single fault.

Yet to Xu Guoqing, it was utterly worthless.

No, the blanket itself was flawless.

Could it be that...

A sense of foreboding quietly crept into Qi Tian’s heart.

He vaguely felt that Company Commander Xu Guoqing’s sudden harshness toward him was very likely connected to the brief, hurried visit of the regimental commander just now.