Chapter 24: Training Begins!

"Heh, Chu An, your head really looks like it was chewed on by a dog!"

As Chu An climbed out of the water and began to dress, one of the new recruits from his former dormitory, who was standing in the queue waiting for a haircut, spoke up with a grin.

Chu An immediately shot him a glare. "You'll be the same in a minute!"

"Heh!"

The recruit didn't seem to mind, continuing to chuckle. He had given up on caring. Since the outcome was unavoidable, he figured he might as well laugh while he still had hair. It seemed as though all these squad leaders had been trained by the same legendary, incompetent "dog squad leader" from their old company. Not a single one of them could give a decent haircut. They all seemed to be carving globes, leaving everyone’s scalp uneven and patchy, with dark spots here and white patches there.

Ignoring the recruit, Chu An briskly changed into the fresh clothes he had just been issued. In truth, he wasn't cold anymore. Back in the river, his teeth had been chattering, but now that he was out, his whole body was steaming.

"Come on, come on! Get dressed and come have a bowl of ginger soup first!" a veteran from the mess squad called out from the side. They had arrived with a cart only after the recruits had entered the water. The instructor had stated on the bank that since they were all new recruits, they should be looked after, and everyone was to have a bowl of ginger soup after their bath to ward off the chill. In reality, it was simply to prevent them from catching colds and hindering subsequent training.

After half an hour, all the new recruits had finished their haircuts and baths. The two companies were then marched back. Chu An had assumed they would be allowed to wash their clothes, as he had intended to do so by the riverbank earlier, but the instructor had stopped him, saying they would wash them later.

However, no sooner had Chu An and the others returned to the dormitory and set their gear down than a whistle blew outside.

"Assemble!"

Tong Lianzhong’s resonant, powerful voice rang out once more. Led by their squad leaders, the new recruits from every squad quickly exited the barracks and gathered on the nearby parade ground track. This time, however, the instructor was absent, as was the unidentified officer who had organized them earlier.

"Attention!"

"At ease!"

After issuing the two commands, Tong Lianzhong looked to the side. "Squad Leader One!"

"Here!" the leader of the first squad replied loudly.

This scene drew curious glances from many of the recruits, as none of them had known the first squad leader was also a platoon leader. But there was clearly no time for anyone to dwell on it.

Once the platoon leader stepped out of the ranks, Tong Lianzhong ordered, "You will now conduct count-off training!"

"Yes, sir!"

The platoon leader responded and stepped directly in front of the formation. "We are now conducting count-off training. Starting from the first squad, the lead soldier of each squad will begin the count!" He swept his gaze over the crowd and shouted, "Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" the recruits replied in unison.

"Good. We’ll train separately, starting with the first squad!" He fixed his eyes on the lead soldier of his own squad. "Begin counting!"

"One!"

The lead soldier hurriedly called out the number, and the second recruit followed promptly with a "two," making no mistakes. But when they reached five, a problem arose. The sixth soldier followed suit by also shouting "five." The soldier who was supposed to say "seven" let out a startled "Ah!" after his number, looking to his left in confusion.

"Cai Guiqing, what are you doing? Do you not know what comes after five?" The platoon leader roared, glaring at the recruit before him. Since this was a soldier from his own squad, he could address him by name.

"R-reporting... Squad... no, Platoon Leader, I know... it’s just... I’m a bit nervous... I meant to shout six, but..."

Chu An couldn't see the recruit's face from the back, but he could tell from the voice that the soldier sounded like he was on the verge of tears.

"Enough, what are you panicking about? It’s just counting, no one is going to eat you. Relax, take three seconds to breathe, and we’ll do it again!" The platoon leader stopped yelling. As a veteran, he knew all too well that scolding would only make a recruit more nervous, and nervousness only led to more mistakes.

"Yes, sir!" The recruit hurriedly complied. Even from the back, Chu An could see his exaggerated deep breathing.

Three seconds passed in a flash. The first squad's count-off training began again.

"One... two... six... eleven..." This time, the first squad made no mistakes.

However...

"The counting must be loud, and the speed must be fast! Why are you dragging your feet? Again!" The platoon leader seemed to ignore the other squads, focusing solely on putting his own men through the wringer. They were forced to repeat the count from one to eleven seven or eight times. The shouting alone made the recruits in the other eight squads cringe.

Regardless of their anxiety, their turn eventually came. Once the first squad finished, it was the second squad's turn. The only difference was that the protagonist of the scolding had changed. The platoon leader became a mere tool, repeatedly shouting "Count off!" while Squad Leader Liu took over the role of the drill sergeant.

"Did you not eat today? Where is your voice?"

"What are you shouting blindly for? You knew you were four a second ago, how did you become three now? Three, my foot! If you shout nonsense again, see if I don't kick you!"

Squad Leader Liu was becoming unrecognizable. Or rather, all the squad leaders were. The friendly demeanor from before they were assigned to squads had vanished. He had fully evolved from an Agumon into a Greymon, and some of the other squad leaders had already evolved into WarGreymon.

A simple count-off training exercise took nearly twenty minutes just to get from the first to the ninth squad. Afterward, Tong Lianzhong, who had been watching the spectacle, ordered them to disperse.

...

"It’s such a struggle just to count to a few numbers. Even the pigs in our old company know to grunt and huddle together when you get close to them. I think your brains are worse than a pig's!"

Inside the dormitory, old Wang slammed the door and began to vent. He was furious; when the fourth squad had trained, they had also taken five tries to get the count-off right. Several recruits who had stumbled hung their heads.

"That's enough, strip off your clothes and get into bed!"

Suddenly, he issued an order that left everyone bewildered. Strip and get into bed? What time was it? Well, nobody knew. In this day and age, wristwatches were a luxury. Perhaps some recruits from wealthy families might have brought one, but there were none in the fourth squad. Even if they had, the watches would have been confiscated during the initial inspection. But you didn't need a watch to see the sky—the sun was still hanging low in the western sky, and sunlight was streaming in through the rear windows. Why were they sleeping now?

"Squad leader... it's not night time yet!" a recruit named Gong Liqun whispered.

"No kidding, do you think I don't know that?" Old Wang shot him a glare. He looked at the group again. "I will emphasize this one last time: you are soldiers now! A soldier's duty is to obey orders at all times. You are not to question my commands; you are only to execute them. Do you understand?" He emphasized the last "Do you understand?"

Immediately, the recruits snapped to attention and replied loudly, "Yes, sir!"

"Then what are you waiting for? Strip and get into bed!"

This time, no one dared to ask questions. Chu An did the same, heading to his bunk and starting to undress. He guessed that they weren't actually going to be allowed to sleep; this was likely just another drill. It was even possible that a whistle would blow shortly, forcing them to jump out of bed and run outside to count off again. As it turned out, Chu An was right, though he hadn't anticipated everything.

"Beep-beep!"

"Everyone pack your rucksacks! Do not put your hats on when you come out to assemble!"