Chapter 213: Squeeze A Detachment Dry!!
Yuan Lang brought the group to downstairs of the Pumpkin Building, and the two veteran A sentries guarding the stairwell entrance saluted together, their eyes full of admiration as they looked at Yuan Lang.
It was clear how high Yuan Lang’s prestige was in A Team!
Yuan Lang wasn’t wearing his military cap and didn’t return the salute.
He simply nodded.
Then he simply told Wu Liu Yi and the other two that this was just a temporary dormitory for the training camp, hoping it wouldn’t be their only dormitory in A Team.
Hinting that he hoped they could pass the training selection instead of being eliminated midway.
Wu Liu Yi and Xu Sanduo didn’t speak; Xu Sanduo didn’t understand the meaning in the words, while Wu Liu Yi had no way to respond.
Because he didn’t want to stay in A Team, but it wasn’t good to directly reject Yuan Lang’s face.
The best method was to not speak.
Only Cheng Cai, with very high emotional intelligence, shouted back in a very clever way: “Thank you for the leader’s encouragement; we will definitely persist to the end.”
Persisting to the end was flawless, and Yuan Lang couldn’t detect any issue.
After all, stating persistence to the end of the training camp didn’t mean staying in A Team, which satisfied Yuan Lang’s anticipation of the three staying.
If they left at the end, it wouldn’t be breaking their word.
So Yuan Lang didn’t say anything more and bellowed in his big voice: “Qi Huan!”
“Here!”
Qi Huan, who had fully entered the Butcher role and was starting to abuse the pumpkins, responded with a very loud voice and came running down from the third floor, thump thump thump.
“Has the undisciplined pumpkin Qi arrived?”
Yuan Lang unbuttoned his jacket, draped his coat over his shoulders, and slightly raised his head to ask.
Yuan Lang had brought Xu Sanduo and the others all the way here with a very amiable and approachable expression on his face, even speaking with a smile.
But when he said “pumpkin,” the aura about him completely changed.
Not to mention Cheng Cai with his online emotional intelligence and intelligence quotient, or Wu Liu Yi who had been around the troops for so long, even the relatively simple-minded Xu Sanduo felt something was off.
Yuan Lang’s “aura” had changed!
“Report, forty-four on the list, forty-one have arrived.” Qi Huan answered.
“Here, these are the last three; I’m handing them all over to you now for safekeeping. Help arrange them,” Yuan Lang said.
“No room, full.” Qi Huan answered.
“Just three non-commissioned officers, go through the motions, find some place to squeeze them in.” Yuan Lang arranged.
Qi Huan had just said there were forty-four quotas upstairs, only forty-one had arrived, meaning three spots left, exactly matching Wu Liu Yi, Cheng Cai, and the others.
Now he said no room, full up—the words contradicted severely front and back.
Yet Yuan Lang didn’t question it and even cooperated.
If Chen Jun were here, he could spot it easily.
This was Yuan Lang and Qi Huan singing a double act, aiming to start with an intimidation stick upon meeting, ruthlessly suppressing the cadets’ tempers to prepare for the upcoming training.
Wu Liu Yi and the other two, without experience of such routines, truly fell for Yuan Lang and Qi Huan’s double act ploy.
They thought there really was no room here, and having just arrived, they’d be sent back, equivalent to being toyed with, and their faces all changed.
“Got it, I’ll figure out a way.”
Qi Huan caught the three’s expressions with his peripheral vision; the intimidation stick had worked, so he quit while ahead.
“I’m right across from you; come find me if there’s anything.”
Yuan Lang left a very eerie smile, dumped Cheng Cai and the other two to Qi Huan, and strode toward Chen Jun waiting in the middle.
The naive Xu Sanduo thought it was good for him and foolishly grinned along.
“What are you looking at? What are you grinning at? Be serious!”
Qi Huan walked up to Xu Sanduo, Wu Liu Yi, and Cheng Cai with a dark face and immediately roared at the top of his lungs, spraying them with spittle.
Xu Sanduo, Cheng Cai, and Wu Liu Yi, who had thought the squad leader would welcome them smiling like when new recruits entered the company, were all startled and immediately wiped the grins off their faces.
With uneasy yet inexplicably excited moods, they began their first hurdle upon entering camp—
Inventory of personal items!
Meanwhile, Chen Jun watched the three’s backs from afar, his thoughts drifting back to his previous life in a daze.
Back then, he had stood there just like that, getting sprayed with spittle by Qi Huan trying to establish authority, but from standing in that spot, he began his “cheat-mode” life.
Now in this life, his identity had drastically changed, from an abused pumpkin to one of the Butchers.
Chen Jun’s identity had changed, and his goal had changed.
This Pumpkin Building, which once gave him no good impression, now nearly made him unable to hold back his inner excitement, almost spurting excitement from his eyes.
Because the over forty pumpkins living in this building were all the talents he wanted to “shear” away.
“All mine, all of them mine; I must get them all, not one can escape.”
Seeing Yuan Lang walking toward him, Chen Jun steeled himself inwardly, promptly adjusted his emotions, and reined in his eyes.
Avoiding early detection of his “ill intentions” by the shrewd, demon-eyed Yuan Lang.
“Deputy Company Commander Chen, let’s go, this way.”
Chen Jun, who had specially studied micro-expressions and psychology, had extremely strong emotional adjustment ability; Yuan Lang detected no anomaly and led the way ahead.
“Got it.”
Chen Jun nodded and followed behind him.
The two arrived at the Butcher Building stairwell entrance, where two veteran A members stood guard one left and one right; seeing them approach, they saluted in unison.
“You, come here.”
Yuan Lang pointed at the guard on the left, then turned to Chen Jun: “Deputy Company Commander Chen, inconvenient to see the captain with luggage; I’ll have someone send yours to the dormitory first, right next to mine for easy oversight.”
“Lieutenant Colonel Yuan considers everything; thank you.”
Chen Jun set his travel bag on the ground and took off his backpack to place it down too.
“You, take the stuff to the room next to mine.”
After issuing the order to the sentry, Yuan Lang led Chen Jun up the stairs to the second floor and knocked on the captain’s office door.
“Report, leader: Deputy Company Commander Chen of the Seventh Reconnaissance Combined Arms Company, Seventh Hundred and Second Regiment, T Division, Eighty-fourth Group Army, reporting to you.”
Chen Jun entered, gave a standard military salute, and reported his background per the rhetoric.
“Comrade Chen Jun, welcome.”
Tie Lu had received Yuan Lang’s call in advance and had indeed been waiting in the office; seeing Chen Jun enter, he immediately rose from behind the desk and walked over.
He gestured to the adjacent sofa area: “Sit, sit and chat.”
Then he arranged: “Yuan Lang, pour some water; let’s all sit and chat.”
A mere little deputy company commander getting a full colonel captain to rise and greet him, and a lieutenant colonel to personally serve tea and water.
Not to mention unprecedented in the entire army, at least an unprecedented scene in A Team.
“As I guessed, Yuan Lang brought back the special warfare theory I gave him, but my theory was too advanced; Tie Lu couldn’t understand it at all, got the treasure but didn’t know how to use it.”
Chen Jun’s mind turned slightly, and he read Tie Lu’s signal.
His confidence surged instantly!
This world has no hatred without cause, no love without cause; especially when seeking something from someone, one is extra courteous.
Tie Lu’s current attitude perfectly fit this basic logic.
That was, Tie Lu needed something from Chen Jun!
This wasn’t due to Tie Lu’s personal ability shortfall; it was purely Chen Jun’s deliberate design.
When Chen Jun wrote those three theories, he intentionally complicated simple words and made simple logic more profound and obscure.
Precisely so Tie Lu and Yuan Lang would understand these three theories were absolute treasures, yet unable to fully comprehend the content.
Ultimately, from only half-understanding, they’d itch unbearably and suffer torment.
Forced to seek help from Chen Jun.
Thus, Chen Jun’s goal achieved: he could pinch Yuan Lang and Tie Lu dead to rights and continue further exploiting the two.
Squeeze A Team dry!
Fatten up Steel Seventh Company!
With Tie Lu’s attitude so good now, Chen Jun had ample reason to judge his plan successful and could start preparing for plan step two ahead of time.
Tie Lu had no idea he’d fallen into the trap.
Nor did he expect twenty-something Chen Jun to have so much “dirty water” in his belly, to set him up, and a chain trap at that.
Thus, his vigilance wasn’t high; his mind was mainly on resolving the theory doubts.
After sitting in the sofa area with Chen Jun, Tie Lu exchanged a few pleasantries casually, then under inner urgency, pulled out the document and went straight to the core.
The various problem points he’d specially compiled into a file from studying the three special warfare theories these days, he now sought explanations from Chen Jun.
“Not even arranged a dormitory yet, feet just landed, and straight to work?”
Chen Jun was amused by Tie Lu’s urgency but laughed inwardly; the more urgent Tie Lu, the more he valued the special warfare theory.
The more Tie Lu valued the three special warfare theories, the greater Chen Jun’s right to speak.
Because theory was just theory, couldn’t be used directly; to put it into practice, there was a crucial step—
Converting theory into training plans!
As long as Chen Jun controlled that step, he’d have Tie Lu by the throat; the more Tie Lu valued the special warfare theory, the tighter the pinch.
Like a pork-selling boss giving passersby a free pack of dumpling wrappers.
Tie Lu now had Chen Jun’s dumpling wrappers; to turn them into tasty dumplings, he’d have to spend more at Chen Jun’s to buy pork.
Chen Jun had already profited from the wrappers and smoothly proposed three demands.
To buy pork later, that money…
Tie Lu would have to bleed!
Unfortunately, Tie Lu was completely unaware he’d jumped into Chen Jun’s chain trap, his mind full only of those three special warfare theories.
To draw Tie Lu deeper, Chen Jun answered his questions with total openness.
Yuan Lang was originally just a bystander listener, but what Chen Jun said was too captivating; he unwittingly got pulled in.
All entered Chen Jun’s rhythm, thoroughly trapped.
The three discussed theory in that office for a full day straight, even lunch and dinner eaten there.
If not for the opening show that evening, with Yuan Lang needing to deliver a grand gift of stewed pumpkins.
Plus Chen Jun just arrived, needing rest.
With Yuan Lang and Tie Lu’s enthusiasm, they’d probably stay up all night without sleeping, unable to quench the fire without talking till dawn.
While Chen Jun was “caught” by Tie Lu studying theory in the office.
Qi Huan’s work didn’t stop: first, giving Wu Liu Yi, Cheng Cai, and Xu Sanduo a dressing-down, then arranging them to store their gear, finally assigning dormitories.
To keep hammering Wu Liu Yi and the other two, Qi Huan deliberately split the three up.
Wu Liu Yi, very similar to Qi Huan in certain ways and instinctively gaining Qi Huan’s good impression, was pulled out alone into a separate dormitory.
Every cadet was personally arranged by Qi Huan; he knew their personalities and tempers clearly.
The seemingly dumb Xu Sanduo who only grinned foolishly, and the very shrewd and slick Cheng Cai, were assigned to the original drama’s dormitory.
Wu Zhe had the highest rank among all cadets; Tuo Yonggang was clearly a prickly soldier.
Putting the two non-commissioned officers Xu Sanduo and Cheng Cai into the same dorm as Wu Zhe and Tuo Yonggang would surely be uncomfortable in Qi Huan’s view.
And indeed, the start wasn’t ideal.
Wu Zhe the bookish one was okay, mouth full of “keep a normal mind,” good mentality, not angry at two non-commissioned officers joining.
Instead, he proactively lowered his stance, telling Cheng Cai and Xu Sanduo not to call him leader.
But Tuo Yonggang, straightforward hot-tempered, plus parachute trooper sense of superiority, was a bit unhappy sharing a dorm with officers.
His words carried some teasing.
But with Wu Zhe mediating in the middle, plus Cheng Cai’s extreme slickness, this was small potatoes for him.
Not only not angry at Tuo Yonggang’s teasing, he generously introduced himself and Xu Sanduo.
Especially adding at the end that their Steel Seventh Company was the army’s first combined arms company and was expanding into a combined arms battalion.
Chen Jun’s assigned task wasn’t forgotten by Cheng Cai.
Those who could come here for training camp were top students from various troops, with broader info channels and more connections.
Whether Tuo Yonggang or Wu Zhe, they knew combined arms tactics.
Hearing Cheng Cai say they two came from a combined arms company, and the army’s first established one, Wu Zhe and Tuo Yonggang were greatly surprised.
Especially Tuo Yonggang, who had just looked down a bit, whose attitude improved a lot at once.
In 1998 with military reform officially underway, Wu Zhe and Tuo Yonggang clearly knew combined arms tactics’ value and how substantial combined arms companies were.
Ordinary companies were nothing, but combined arms companies were completely different.
Even parachute units had no superiority before combined arms companies, and in reform value, far inferior.
At this point, the two finally understood…
These two non-commissioned officers Cheng Cai and Xu Sanduo could enter the professional all-officer team training camp precisely because they came from a combined arms company.
And so.
The butterfly effect brought by Chen Jun began influencing A Team.
Letting Cheng Cai and Xu Sanduo, with brand-new identities, at faster speed, higher starting tone, quickly gain recognition from Tuo Yonggang and Wu Zhe, becoming training camp dormmates with them.
Officially beginning their A Team journey!
