Chapter 216: Wu Zhe Goes Head-to-head With Yuan Lang!
Heaven and hell.
Often, there is only a step between them.
The cadets never dreamed that just yesterday they were comfortably envisioning their future in the dormitory, and after a night’s sleep, the sky fell, and they plunged into hell.
The morning’s 10-kilometer warm-up run was merely the beginning of the torment.
After running ten kilometers, returning to the dormitory to wash up, and finishing breakfast, the cadets returned to the training ground, where their true hellish life began.
After breakfast, it was still physical training. After lunch, it was still physical training. After dinner, it was still physical training.
Push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups, and wall squats, one hundred of each; 400-meter cross-country runs and free climbing, once in the morning and once in the afternoon.
All exercises had to be performed with a load, and the load would not be less than twenty-five kilograms.
They had to complete it before mealtime, or they would not eat.
The most absurd part was that these were just the scheduled exercises, not all the training the cadets would do in a day; in addition to these, other training would be randomly arranged.
As long as they could keep up with the training and made no mistakes, it was fine. Once they fell behind, they would be deducted points endlessly.
Until they lost all one hundred points and were sent away.
The cadets participating in the training camp, in their original units, usually only did physical training in the afternoon, with the rest of the time dedicated to professional and indoor classes.
Their day, from waking up to sleeping, was entirely filled with physical training; they had never experienced anything like it before.
Such high-intensity physical training.
Just hearing about it made their scalps tingle.
Fortunately, they were all “Soldier Kings” from their respective companies, and their physical fitness far surpassed that of ordinary soldiers. On the first day, everyone could keep up.
However, in the middle of the first day’s training, Yuan Lang would suddenly have an idea, and it would be implemented on the spot.
The cadets were truly tormented by Yuan Lang’s tricks, developing psychological shadows from them, and even their sleep at night was restless.
After washing up, they all dared not get into bed, remaining nervously dressed and ready.
This was in case Yuan Lang suddenly issued another order, and if they took off their clothes and went to bed and couldn’t get ready in time, they would suffer more torturous treatment.
Fortunately, the time dragged on until half-past nine, when Qi Huan gave the order to turn off the lights.
Yuan Lang did not appear again to cause any more trouble.
Thinking that the lights-out signal meant the end, and that Brigade A would surely give them time to rest and recover, the tense cadets finally relaxed.
They finally took off their clothes and lay down in bed, enjoying the rare moment of relaxation after the day’s ordeal.
Alas.
The cadets had thought too simply.
On the first day, they were at least allowed to sleep through the night, only being roused by an emergency assembly call at past four in the morning, which basically met their daily sleep requirement.
The second day was even more exaggerated than the first. Yuan Lang appeared at just one o’clock.
Even Butcher Qi Huan felt a pang of sympathy, thinking it was too harsh to make the cadets, who had a full day of training, get up for training after only three hours of sleep.
However, Yuan Lang had his own ideas and plans, and he dismissed them with a simple “I have a watch.”
“Beep beep beep beep…”
The emergency assembly whistle sounded again.
The cadets, who had just fallen into a deep sleep, woke up feeling groggy and disoriented from not getting enough sleep. Their bodies couldn’t keep up.
What would normally take a minute to assemble stretched to over two minutes, with the cadets trickling in.
As a result, a dozen or so cadets had five points deducted.
Especially Tuo Yonggang, who liked to sleep in his underwear, and lived on the highest third floor dormitory, was the last to get downstairs and into the formation.
Yuan Lang showed no mercy, his face dark, and deducted two more points from him.
Tuo Yonggang’s face, already tanned, became even darker upon hearing that he had lost seven points. The anger and dissatisfaction in his eyes intensified.
“Staring at the chief instructor with your eyes, another point deducted.” Yuan Lang did not hesitate to deduct another point.
Tuo Yonggang was truly flustered now. The anger inside him boiled over, but to avoid further deductions, he could only force himself to endure.
Bottled-up anger does not dissipate; it only ferments and intensifies with time.
This also laid the groundwork for his eventual elimination.
With a dark expression, after deducting points from the cadets, Yuan Lang’s face broke into a bright smile, and he delivered good news to everyone: they were going to watch the sunrise on the mountain.
The distance was not far, only fifty kilometers.
He even calculated the time with a smile, stating that they definitely wouldn’t see the sunrise if they walked, so he decided they would run there, which would be just enough time.
However, the brighter Yuan Lang’s smile was, the more pained the cadets’ expressions were.
Running fifty kilometers in over three hours…
This was going to kill them!
Unable to comprehend this training method, the cadets rightfully began to complain, protesting their dissatisfaction with this training.
Tuo Yonggang questioned why they weren’t notified in advance, to which Yuan Lang retorted by offering him a wet nurse, and deducted five points!
Wu Zhe, using the argument that the human body has a physiological limit, beyond which permanent damage can occur, tried to persuade Yuan Lang from a scientific perspective.
Yuan Lang directly mocked Wu Zhe for speaking like a sissy and deducted two points for questioning an instructor’s order.
In the army, being called a sissy was the most offensive insult. Being insulted to his face like this, Wu Zhe, a young and ambitious man with a proud heart, could not bear such humiliation.
Enraged, he immediately charged out of the formation, intending to confront Yuan Lang directly.
Cheng Cai wanted to grab him and mediate.
But remembering the task Chen Jun had assigned him, he looked up and met Chen Jun’s gaze behind Yuan Lang, winking at him.
Cheng Cai, with his high emotional intelligence, understood Chen Jun’s meaning.
The hand that had already reached out was abruptly withdrawn.
This led to a situation that did not occur in the original plot. Because of Cheng Cai’s single action of retracting his hand, Wu Zhe and Yuan Lang erupted into a direct conflict.
With his mind filled with rage, Wu Zhe pushed through the formation and walked towards Yuan Lang.
Seeing this, Yuan Lang’s smile widened, and he added fuel to the fire by taunting, “Number thirty-nine, with that posture, are you trying to fight me?”
“Violence is the act of a stupid brute, and insulting and trampling on another’s dignity is even more despicable.”
Wu Zhe said as he walked up to Yuan Lang, countering him in a scholar’s manner: “I want to lodge a formal protest, to report your abuse of power and arbitrary insults. We are here for a training camp, not your slaves.”
“Abuse of power? Hahaha.”
Yuan Lang burst into laughter upon hearing this and retorted with the look of an idiot: “Here, my word is the rule. Disregarding formation discipline and talking back to an instructor, deduct five points.”
“This is dictatorship. I reserve my rights and will file a complaint with my superiors,” Wu Zhe continued to resist.
“Feel free to complain. Want to go now? Take off your skin, and you can go anytime. I won’t stop you. Brigade A doesn’t need cowards who fear hardship.” Yuan Lang was completely unfazed.
“What a great opportunity!”
Seeing the two of them clashing, Chen Jun on the side was secretly delighted.
Chen Jun knew that in the original plot, Wu Zhe had grown extremely fast and was not eliminated. To recruit him, he would need to use a precious quota, and even then, it wasn’t guaranteed.
After all, to transfer Wu Zhe to Steel Seventh Company, Wu Zhe himself had to be willing first.
If he could somehow provoke Wu Zhe’s emotions, cause a conflict between him and Brigade A, and make him give up the idea of joining Brigade A, it would be very difficult to pull him away.
The argument between Wu Zhe and Yuan Lang, in Chen Jun’s view, was a golden opportunity.
So, he decisively stepped forward to intervene, saying, “Number thirty-nine, I know you’re upset right now, but don’t be anxious. This is indeed where the chief instructor calls the shots. The rules he sets, if you want to pass the training camp, you have to listen to him.”
Chen Jun dared not reveal his intentions too overtly, so his instigating words could not be blatant.
He had to hold back a little, adding a small spark.
Wu Zhe was grateful that Chen Jun had stepped out to help him smooth things over. However, he was already angered by Yuan Lang’s dictatorial and overbearing behavior. Chen Jun’s specific mention that to pass the training camp, one had to listen to Yuan Lang, struck a nerve.
It felt like an insider deal, completely lacking fairness.
This made Wu Zhe even more furious!
He desperately wanted to take off his uniform right then and report to his superiors, but he remembered Yuan Lang’s words about not needing cowards who fear hardship.
If he really left now, it would make him seem like he was leaving because he feared hardship.
Wu Zhe did not want to leave such a stain on his record.
So, he suppressed his anger and decided that he would prove his strength and only then complain to his superiors after passing the training camp.
“I will prove myself, and I will also prove how serious the mistake you made today was.”
Wu Zhe said coldly, left a sentence, and turned to rejoin the formation.
“As expected of a top student, his mind is so clear.”
Wu Zhe did not erupt directly and give up. Although this disappointed Chen Jun a little, it also proved Wu Zhe’s excellence, making Chen Jun even happier.
“Threatening the instructor, deduct five more points.”
Yuan Lang was also extremely protective of talent. He valued this young dual-degree master very highly. Since Wu Zhe did not continue to cause trouble, he did not pursue it further and simply ended the conversation with a point deduction.
And Wu Zhe, after angrily rushing forward to question, ultimately got no result and was deducted several more points.
The remaining cadets were warned by example. Intimidated by Yuan Lang’s overbearing dictatorship, even if they were dissatisfied in their hearts, most did not dare to step forward.
The situation was completely subdued by Yuan Lang!
Only the “kind-hearted” Xu Sanduo, whose thought process was different from others, believed that Yuan Lang was tough on the outside but soft on the inside, and not as fierce as he appeared.
While everyone else remained silent, he still reported and stepped forward.
He even waited for Yuan Lang to approach him and whispered to Yuan Lang that he knew Yuan Lang was a good person, not the bad person he claimed to be.
He even offered Yuan Lang specific suggestions, saying that he didn’t need to be so cold-blooded and ruthless, but should use words to inspire everyone, telling them that the training had meaning, and beautiful dreams awaited them ahead.
Xu Sanduo assumed the role of a peacemaker, even daring to teach Yuan Lang how to lead soldiers, almost making Yuan Lang unable to hold back his laughter.
He had never encountered such an innocent person before.
Xu Sanduo was the only one!
In gratitude for Xu Sanduo’s kindness, Yuan Lang decisively deducted ten points from Xu Sanduo and gave him a four-word evaluation: overly naive.
Xu Sanduo, who had been smiling cheerfully, instantly became miserable.
“Strict generals lead strict soldiers. That is the leadership principle here. Those who achieve extraordinary things are the ones who rise above others. With your strength, what is there to be unconvinced about?”
Yuan Lang, in order to smooth out the “troublemakers” among the cadets, turned back to the formation and said sternly, “I hope you haven’t forgotten how badly my soldiers beat you during the confrontation exercise. What right do you have to complain here?
If you want to talk about rules, reasoning, or scientific leadership, that’s fine, but please show your capabilities and beat me, okay?”
Yuan Lang’s heart-piercing words silenced the entire formation.
Indeed.
As the most professional blue army unit in the country, whether it was Wu Zhe’s Marine Corps or Tuo Yonggang’s paratrooper unit, all except Steel Seventh Company had been soundly defeated by Brigade A.
What right does a loser have to speak in front of the victor?
Suddenly discovering a loophole after speaking, Yuan Lang, worried that the “Three Musketeers” of Steel Seventh Company might stir up trouble, immediately turned with a dark expression and headed towards the off-road vehicle parked nearby.
As he walked, he called out to Chen Jun, “Assistant Instructor Chen, would you like to go watch the sunrise together?”
“I’ve already seen the sunrise.”
Chen Jun smiled meaningfully and added, “The captain still needs to discuss with me tomorrow, so I need to get enough sleep tonight.”
“Alright then.”
Yuan Lang felt that Chen Jun’s words were a bit strange, but it wasn’t a big deal, so he didn’t think too much about it and drove to the starting point first.
At this time, dozens of meter-long logs, each over a meter in length, were already piled on the ground at the urgent march starting point.
Each log weighed over twenty kilograms.
When Qi Huan led the cadet team over, to the cadets’ nearly despairing expressions, each was assigned to carry a log, marking the first major challenge of the training camp.
The 50-kilometer hike was already exhausting, and they also had to carry a load of forty to fifty pounds.
This was truly a hurdle for the cadets.
Cadets who could persevere through this test would have their physical fitness basically meet the standard and would be qualified to even touch the threshold of Brigade A.
For those who couldn’t keep up, their points were no longer important.
Because they would be sent away directly!
The cadets were aware of this situation, but they were not people who feared hardship or fatigue. They were all mentally prepared to give their all for themselves.
However, there is always a gap between thoughts and actions!
The cadets could hold on for the first thirty kilometers, but in the last twenty kilometers, their bodies reached their limit, and the cadets began to experience problems one after another.
Vomiting while running was the most common, and some cadets even fainted.
However, humans are amazing creatures.
When the body can no longer endure and reaches its limit, as long as a person’s willpower is firm enough, they can break through their shackles and unleash their potential.
And the cadets who came to participate in the training camp were all extraordinary individuals.
The most abundant thing they possessed was willpower.
Therefore, even though they ran while vomiting, not a single cadet was sent to the ambulance and eliminated. Even those who fainted, after being resuscitated, would return to the team and persevere.
Furthermore, unity is strength. The cadets supported and helped each other as they endured the torment.
Through this mutual assistance, their comradeship rapidly grew.
True friendship is revealed in times of hardship, just like this.
Among them, the “Three Musketeers” of Steel Seventh Company had an absolute leading advantage in running, and therefore, they helped the most people.
The three of them busied themselves with various forms of assistance, which greatly boosted their popularity.
They almost became the most popular figures!
In addition, since they joined the army, they had introduced themselves as being from Steel Seventh Company to almost everyone they met, establishing significant recognition in advance.
This also made the name Steel Seventh Company, ingrained in the minds of every cadet.
They developed a good impression of the Three Musketeers.
And consequently, a good impression of Steel Seventh Company.
Even Chen Jun, who was fast asleep in his dormitory, did not expect Wu Liu Yi, Cheng Cai, and Xu Sanduo to make such a name for themselves in the team so quickly.
This directly lowered the difficulty of recruiting the eliminated cadets in the future by one level.
