Chapter 118: Wang Ye Is Dumbfounded Too
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Wang Ye!”
Wu Jianfeng’s booming voice echoed across the training ground.
Unwilling to appear unprepared, Wu Jianfeng decided to call Wang Ye over for a conversation in the presence of the battalion commander.
As the company commander and his second stood there, everyone became aware of the Battalion Commander’s presence. Even if the new recruits were unfamiliar with him, the veterans recognized him immediately.
“Move it! The captain is summoning you. And that other one is our battalion commander. Go over there and show some respect!” Ye Sanshi lightly nudged Wang Ye while giving him further instructions.
Taking a deep breath, Wang Ye nodded, trying to regain his composure.
The 400-meter obstacle had drained his stamina, but the second run wasn’t as daunting as the first.
During the first run, he relied solely on his physical strength without employing any techniques.
With all eyes on him, both veterans and recruits, Wang Ye jogged over to where Wu Jianfeng stood.
“Don’t just stand there gawking! Fall in!” barked a platoon leader from behind.
“Why are you back so early today, Dad?” a little girl rushed to the door as the car pulled up in front of the regiment commander’s house.
“Daddy wanted to come back and spend some time with you!” The commander squatted down, affectionately stroking his daughter’s hair and then glanced at his wife standing in the doorway.
“Yanzi, you didn’t open the milk that Wu Jianfeng sent, did you?”
“No, why? What’s the matter?” The regiment commander’s wife asked, puzzled by her husband’s concern over a seemingly small issue.
“It’s nothing… If you haven’t opened it, just leave it there!” The commander stood up, holding his daughter’s hand, and headed towards the door.
Looking at the milk box outside, he sighed, “This box of milk has caused me quite a bit of trouble.”
“What happened?”
The wife inquired, trying to understand the situation.
“Never mind,” he sighed again, addressing his wife. “Don’t ask any further. I’ll go sit in the study. If anyone comes looking for me, just tell them I’m not at home. It doesn’t matter who it is.”
“Hmm?”
His wife was taken aback, not quite comprehending the sudden change in his demeanor.
But the regiment commander didn’t feel like explaining. He didn’t want to linger at the door either, as he feared someone might spot him.
He simply wanted some time alone, away from Wu Jianfeng, Lin Hai, the Chief of Staff, and everyone else.
All he craved was solitude for now.
“Go on, keep up the good work. I’ll wait for you to break Huang Dayong’s results!” The battalion commander encouraged Wang Ye before concluding their brief conversation.
“Yes, sir!” Wang Ye responded with a salute before turning around and jogging back to join the other recruits who had already gathered.
Wu Jianfeng nodded to the battalion commander, and both of them followed behind Wang Ye. Wang Ye knew better than to continue following the battalion commander, so he returned to his place in the lineup.
“Let’s go… Let’s go back,” Wu Jianfeng said to the recruits without further reprimand, leading them back to their designated area.
He had prepared a script for how he would scold the recruits after their 400-meter training, but now, after witnessing Wang Ye’s impressive performance, he found himself unable to go through with it.
His veteran company had just been humiliated, and he couldn’t muster the mood or face to reprimand the new recruits. Moreover, he realized that reprimanding them now might not be effective as they might not be convinced after witnessing Wang Ye’s abilities firsthand.
The blow had not succeeded, and Wu Jianfeng understood that sometimes actions speak louder than words. Perhaps the best way to regain the recruits’ respect and motivate them was to lead by example and push them to improve.
And so, they returned to the camp, everyone deep in their thoughts and reflecting on the events of the day.
By the time Wang Ye returned to the recruit company, it was already past mealtime. Despite being hungry, he had anticipated this and decided to eat later. After a quick meal, he headed straight to the classroom to catch up on the news.
However, when he returned to the dormitory, planning to change his clothes stained with yellow mud, Ye Sanshi stopped him in his tracks.
“Hmm?” Wang Ye looked at Ye Sanshi, and the others in the dormitory shared a similar expression, their faces turning bitter.
“Class monitor, is it true? We still have to train tonight. We just finished the assessment,” Gu Yingnan said in a dry tone.
Qin Li, who was beside Wang Ye, wanted to complain as well, but he restrained himself. After struggling through the 400-meter obstacle, he had cursed Ye Sanshi when he was pulled back from the pit. Now he didn’t dare to utter a word, fearing another round of scolding.
“Haha…” Ye Sanshi replied with a fake smile, then glanced at the rest of the recruits. “Do you really think this is the time to relax and study? The hard days have just begun. Be mentally prepared. If you want to become qualified soldiers, you must go through trials!”
His words sent a shiver down everyone’s spine, and they knew he wasn’t kidding.
Soon enough, his words were confirmed. Resting in the dormitory for less than ten minutes, the sound of a whistle echoed downstairs.
“Shh, shh!”
“Gather downstairs!” The captain’s voice rang out, signaling the recruits to assemble once again.
The recruits exchanged glances, understanding that their training was far from over, and more challenges lay ahead. With heavy hearts, they made their way downstairs to face whatever awaited them next.
“Do you all think you won today?”
Downstairs, after the new recruits had assembled, Wu Jianfeng stood on the stairs at the entrance of the corridor, looking down at the recruits with his hands behind his back.
“The arrogant veterans left dejectedly in the end. They were defeated by the new recruits. Do you feel very glorious and proud?”
Wu Jianfeng’s questioning was met with silence, as no recruit dared to answer. While they were part of the winning team, they knew they hadn’t beaten the veterans themselves—it was Wang Ye who had accomplished that feat. As a result, the recruits in the front row didn’t dare to turn around, but those in the second and third rows couldn’t help but sneak glances at Wang Ye.
“Yes, Wang Ye is powerful and outstanding. As your company commander, I wholeheartedly admit this. In fact, I’m not afraid to tell you that I went to the regiment commander today, argued with him, sought help from the chief of staff, and confronted our regiment’s chief of staff, all for Wang Ye’s sake!”
These words shocked Wang Ye and all the recruits in the company. Even the veterans stood stiffly, their attention now fixed on Wu Jianfeng.
“Hehe, what are you looking at?
Let me tell you, talents are highly valued in the army.
But what about you?
Do you all think you’re as exceptional as Wang Ye?
Do you believe you have the right to make me confront the regiment commander and the chief of staff on your behalf?
Let me make it clear—you need to face reality.
Wang Ye won, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t win as well.
In this entire company, besides Wang Ye, only one person managed to run for two minutes, and only half of you exceeded two minutes and thirty seconds.
Do you know what this means?
Let me spell it out for you—you’re not even qualified to raise pigs!
Two minutes and thirty seconds. Even the ladies from our service center ran faster than you guys. Yet, you still have the audacity to smile. If I were you, I wouldn’t be able to eat tonight.”
“You’re awesome!” a soft voice came from behind Wang Ye.
Though he didn’t turn around, he knew it was his fellow countryman, Yan Zhiming.
He didn’t reply to him, and Wang Ye understood why he couldn’t respond.
In fact, even Wang Ye himself was stunned at this moment.
He hadn’t expected that his performance would have such significant repercussions, implicating the Chief of Staff, the regiment commander, and the committee. And he had even encountered a battalion commander he had met before.
To be honest, at this moment, Wang Ye felt a mixture of pride and nervousness.
Had he gone too far today?
However, he quickly pushed aside these thoughts. Regretting his actions now wouldn’t change anything.
Besides, if given another chance, he would still make the same choice.
He couldn’t let a third-class merit slip away.
He wasn’t sadistic, so he didn’t have the patience to endure hardships indefinitely.
Moreover, in the past month, he had become accustomed to the pace of his improvement.
Yet, he had also put on a bit of an act.
When he thought about it, Wang Ye felt that no one could have known that he was pretending to be exhausted after running the first time.
“Platoon Leader Yi, take him away!” Wu Jianfeng’s roar broke into Wang Ye’s thoughts.
A few minutes later, Wang Ye realized why Ye Sanshi had stopped him from changing his clothes.
On the side of the training ground’s track, a pile of truck tires had been set up for tonight’s training.
All the recruits were ordered to lie down, and each person had a truck tire attached to them by a rope.
Once everything was ready, the second squad leader demonstrated crawling forward.
“Complete one round for me. The last ten will earn another round later!”