Chapter 17: Lao Pao Is Stunned
“This is nothing? Veteran Soldier, your mental fortitude is lacking. And how do you know the one who’ll suffer is me and not you?”
Another sentence with the word “lacking,” the Veteran Soldier was provoked into skyrocketing blood pressure, his face turning red.
Others didn’t know what was going on, but his comrades who had been with him for a long time knew this was a sign he was getting heated.
“Lao Cui, take it easy. This kid’s still a New Recruit.”
A comrade in the formation kindly reminded Cui Lianhe that the New Recruit thought he had some achievements in the New Recruit Company and his tail was up in the sky, they had all been through it and knew the drill.
Being provoked wasn’t a big deal, but they feared someone like Cui Lianhe who, when heated, might go too hard on the New Recruit and cause injury, making the scene spiral out of control.
Seeing the Veteran Soldier he had provoked get held back by comrades, Chang Ning had finally stirred this up, how could he just give up easily?
“Lao Cui, no more chit-chat. I’m naturally arrogant and haven’t bowed to anyone. Seeing you’re tall and burly, you wouldn’t be a softie, would you?”
Chang Ning kept fanning the flames, his words even more biting. Cui Lianhe could no longer suppress his anger: “Kid, what do you want to compete in? Pick any Scout training event, and today I’ll teach you how to be a man!”
Cui Lianhe dared to say this in front of everyone because he had the confidence.
This guy was a five-year Veteran Soldier; if Lao Pao hadn’t parachuted in, he would be the Squad Leader of First Squad.
Moreover, Cui Lianhe had once earned an individual Second-class Merit, broken Military Region records in training multiple times, and the 100-meter Speed Shooting record that Chang Ning broke last time was his.
After another year as Squad Leader to hone himself, he could get promoted to officer; who would dare underestimate such an outstanding talent.
“Fine, I won’t waste everyone’s time. Let’s do five kilometers Load Bearing.”
As soon as Chang Ning spoke, worry appeared on Xi Wa’s face. He knew Chang Ning’s Physical Fitness was formidable; back in the New Recruit Company, no one in his company, not even the Squad Leader, could match him, but this time his opponent Cui Lianhe was no pushover either.
Coincidentally, the Military Region’s shortest time record for five kilometers Load Bearing was also held by him, and no one had broken it to this day.
“I advise you to pick something else; this event is my strongest.”
Cui Lianhe kindly reminded Chang Ning; he didn’t want to bully a Rookie, as it would ruin his Reputation if word got out. He was in a critical period for promotion to officer and couldn’t afford carelessness.
“Miao Lian said our Scouts need to train iron feet! So in our company, five kilometers Load Bearing is the most basic training event, and you being good at it is perfect because my specialty is competing with Elites!”
To be honest, Chang Ning’s current “I’m number one” attitude was too obnoxious; if Lao Pao didn’t know his real personality, he would want to punch this guy himself.
“Let’s start.”
He even brought up Miao Lian; with words like that, what was there to wait for? Just go for it!
Today, Cui Lianhe would make this New Recruit in front of him understand why the flowers are so red!
The two went to the place where Bricks for Load Bearing were stacked, silently put the Bricks into their Backpacks, then handed the Backpacks to Lao Pao.
Although everyone knew no one would cheat, to show the competition’s fairness, the Process had to be followed.
“Weight’s fine, begin.”
At the Order, the two who were already prepared dashed out immediately, but Cui Lianhe didn’t sprint right away.
Everyone knew long-distance running couldn’t start with full sprint; Stamina had to be allocated reasonably.
Cui Lianhe, who had held the army-wide record for so long, naturally knew this, so at the start, he fell two body lengths behind Chang Ning, and the gap between them was slowly widening.
Chang Ning didn’t play by the rules; though not at full sprint, he used seventy to eighty percent effort, roughly matching a normal person’s 100-meter sprint speed.
“A Rookie is just a Rookie, can’t even allocate Physical Fitness properly, and dares to provoke a Veteran Soldier. Is the New Recruit Company that cushy now? They let this kind of person out.”
Seeing Chang Ning act so recklessly, Cui Lianhe’s competitive spirit waned. He thought it was an expert, but turned out to be a noob—disappointing!
With Chang Ning being such a reckless fool, Cui Lianhe figured another lap and he’d be done. Then he could slowly accelerate and lap Chang Ning a few times to show him a Veteran Soldier’s Strength.
Seeing Chang Ning now over ten meters ahead, Cui Lianhe wasn’t anxious at all, still maintaining his own Rhythm.
Running needs your own Rhythm; if the Rhythm doesn’t break, Stamina allocation stays reasonable, and victory will be his.
A familiar scene reappeared; Xi Wa recalled how in the New Recruit Company, Chang Ning had lapped him and Xiao Zhuang several times like this.
Could Chang Ning really win this time? Xi Wa was skeptical; on the surface, Chang Ning had no chance of winning—the Strength gap was too big.
“Holy crap! This New Recruit’s got something.”
A Veteran Soldier in the formation was shocked by Chang Ning; Chang Ning had lapped Cui Lianhe once, with no sign of slowing, meaning his Stamina was still plentiful.
“Could the record be broken?”
“Who knows? I still think Lao Cui has the edge.”
……
Because of Chang Ning’s performance, whispering discussions started in the formation. Lao Pao didn’t care; he wasn’t shocked now. In terms of Physical Fitness, he couldn’t match Lao Cui, but Chang Ning surprised him.
What! This isn’t right! Why hasn’t his speed slowed?
Cui Lianhe, halfway through, was getting out of breath and saw Chang Ning still sprinting—this was unacceptable. Where did this freak come from?
At this moment, Lao Cui knew he had lost.
The Result was as Lao Cui expected: Chang Ning lapped him twice, and that was with Chang Ning holding back.
Chang Ning’s goal was to win, not to crush someone; it wasn’t worth making an enemy over this.
“Chang Ning, you broke the record!!!”
The happiest was Chen Xiwa; he hadn’t expected Chang Ning to actually do it. But he also felt a bit deflated inside—his batchmate Chang Ning had become so excellent, while he was still smug about joining the Reconnaissance Company.
“You broke the record just like that?”
Chang Ning truly didn’t know about the army-wide record and didn’t Pay Attention to it. Who knew he’d accidentally break it—quite a surprise.
“Good kid, I thought you’d slacked off after going to the Cookhouse, but you broke the record right in front of me.”
One of his soldiers breaking the record put light on Lao Pao’s face; he could boast outside with more confidence than others.
“Chang Ning, congrats.”
His own record broken by Chang Ning, Cui Lianhe felt a bit down inside but had no jealousy. The guy won fair and square with Strength, and besides, records are meant to be broken.
Thinking this, Lao Cui realized he’d been a bit arrogant lately because of the upcoming promotion to officer. He had to thank Chang Ning for waking him up.
Thanks to Li Jia Ge Ge Zhen Shuai, Book Friend 201802122138844081, Dark One, Tobacco Flavor, Yuan Tongtong, cong05, Gēn Mò Shuō Chuān, Gone See Ya, above readers’ Recommendation Tickets, thanks for the support!!!
