Chapter 213: Divide the Troops into the Lower Teams, Wang Ye Stays
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
At one o’clock in the afternoon, the recruits who had just transitioned from civilians yesterday emerged from the dormitory as a group.
As they stepped outside, Wang Ye and the others spotted a gathering of individuals not far away.
They were all officers, 1.2,13…
Wu Jianfeng held a folder in his grasp.
Once the duty platoon leader had organized the platoon, he wasted no time on idle chatter.
“Now! Commence troop division!”
With that, he swiftly opened the folder he had held for less than ten minutes.
“Luo Xiong, Wan Baojiang…”
In a consecutive list, there were ten names. Five of them were the deputy leaders of each squad, while the other five were the taller recruits in the company who had demonstrated exceptional training progress.
These ten were regarded as the true cream of the crop within the entire company.
As he recited these names, Wu Jianfeng’s already sour mood took a turn for the worse.
These were all top-notch soldiers he had personally trained.
Even though he had mentally prepared himself for this, he couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow and purse his lips.
The chief of staff was being exceedingly harsh. Taking away ten outstanding soldiers all at once was quite the blow.
If this were in previous years, or more accurately, if it weren’t for Wang Ye this year, he wouldn’t have allowed this to happen, no matter the consequences.
After all, he wasn’t the one leading the police detective company, so why should he give up ten of his finest soldiers in one fell swoop?
This year, the entire recruit company had only a handful of individuals. These ten exceptional soldiers essentially constituted half of the company’s top-ranking individuals, and it was worth noting that five of them held the position of deputy squad leaders.
Nevertheless, he had no choice but to bear the pain in his heart.
“Come on, all ten of you, follow me!”
Standing nearby was a tall, 1.8-meter tall first lieutenant who quickly approached them.
“Brother Wang, brothers, farewell!” Wan Baojiang from Class Five whispered. He then hoisted his backpack and carried his belongings away.
Wang Ye observed him as he passed by and encouraged him, “Do your best. Look for me when you come back in the future, four times in a row!”
At this moment, Wang Ye was unsure where these ten individuals would be headed. Wu Jianfeng hadn’t disclosed the destination, but Wang Ye had a hunch.
The Iron Bones Hero Regiment was a select unit, and these ten were all outstanding performers. They wouldn’t be assigned to just any company.
After all, this group constituted half of the company’s top recruits. Unless the regiment commander was directly involved, which other company commander would have the authority to make such a decision, unless they had some kind of high-ranking connection?
Even if his father held the position of regiment commander, it might not be enough to facilitate such a move.
At the very least, it would require influence at the level of a General or something of that caliber.
11
Liu Jun… Yan Zhiming…”
Up ahead, Wu Jianfeng watched as the ten individuals from Wan Baojiang were led aside and lined up. He didn’t pay much attention anymore and continued calling out names.
The group sizes varied, with the smallest having just five members.
The recruit company initially comprised 95 recruits, with Deng Hai being the only exception. Today, there were 94 individuals present, and 14 of them were being reassigned. Including Wang Ye and the other 10 who were staying behind, that accounted for a total of 15 remaining.
“Fourth Bro, have a cigarette!”
“Fourth Company Commander, come on… Don’t let anger affect your health. Have a smoke. Take one of mine. Taking attendance can be quite exhausting. Let the nicotine soothe your throat!”
After Wang Ye and the other ten completed the roll call, and Wu Jianfeng informed them to stay where they were, the officers who had come to collect them quickly approached.
Some of the first lieutenants were hesitant and remained polite, while some of the captains hurriedly offered their cigarettes.
“No, no, I’m not in the mood right now. Go away, go away, I’m busy!”
Wu Jianfeng wore a stern expression, showing no courtesy.
Certainly, his mood was exceptionally sour.
A single deserter would have been manageable.
According to the plan, he would retain half of the soldiers he had painstakingly trained and then select a few soldiers with similar potential to bolster his company.
But now?
Only ten remained!
Furthermore, among these ten, only Wang Ye was considered a competent soldier. The rest, excluding Chef Zhang Ping’an, were ordinary soldiers from their respective classes.
When he first began training the new recruits, these types of soldiers were not even on his radar.
After all, he led the Iron Blood Fourth Company, an elite unit.
However, there was no other option now. The remaining eight could be attributed to the higher-ups recognizing his efforts in guiding the recruits, so they were reluctant to take them all away.
Otherwise, there would be nothing left.
Except for Wang Ye and Zhang Ping’an, he could only pick those that the other companies didn’t want.
In essence, each class had its lowest performers, such as Qin Li and Yan Zhiming from Class Five.
However, it was impossible for him to take these soldiers. Now, all these soldiers were being collected and reassigned by these demanding companies.
It was a bit frustrating. Even though he had anticipated that this day would come and believed that protecting Wang Ye was worth it, he couldn’t help but feel irritated.
“Alright then… Fourth Bro, see you later!”
“Indeed, Fourth Brother, we can let you off today. We’ll take our leave!”
These individuals hadn’t been particularly polite; they were merely making their stance clear by presenting their cigarettes. Now that Wu Jianfeng had dismissed them, they hastily retreated with their men.
They had taken advantage of the situation!
While they hadn’t managed to snatch Wang Ye, the other companies had secured two excellent soldiers.
Typically, it would be quite challenging for a company that didn’t have the opportunity to train new recruits to acquire top-notch soldiers.
But this year, the Chief of Staff had feasted while leaving them with a bit of broth…
Soon, the recruit company, which had originally consisted of nearly a hundred members, and the nine veteran squad leaders were gone, leaving behind only seven veteran squad leaders, Wu Jianfeng, Kang Hua, Wang Ye, and ten others.
Not all of the nine veteran squad leaders belonged to the 4th Company.
There were only seven of them, with two being drafted in from other companies. As the recruit company was officially disbanded, they naturally followed their respective company officers and departed with the recruits.
“Brother Wang…” Zhang Ping’an was still standing in his original spot. He turned his head and softly called out.
In Class Five, aside from Ye Sanshi, only the two of them remained.
This guy was quite clueless. There weren’t many people around now, and Wu Jianfeng and Kang Hua were still present. His voice and actions were overly conspicuous.
However, Wu Jianfeng merely cast a glance at him and then addressed everyone, “Wang Ye stays, the rest head to the 4th Company!”
A platoon leader promptly led the nine individuals into two rows, and they departed with the other class monitors.
Ye Sanshi was among them. He didn’t have time to exchange words with Wang Ye now. He only gave Wang Ye a quick look and followed the group.
The class monitors and the others hadn’t brought their luggage with them. Although they had packed it, their belongings remained in the classroom. After seeing off the recruits, they would return to collect their bags.
For a moment, only Kang Hua, Wu Jianfeng, and Wang Ye remained.
However, there was one class monitor who didn’t follow the others.
The third class monitor remained motionless, wearing an expression as if everyone owed him five million dollars.
“Alright, wipe that sour face off.” Wu Jianfeng addressed him before turning his attention to Wang Ye. “Wang Ye, come with me!”
Wang Ye was quite perplexed. He didn’t understand what was happening.
Why had they been split up like this? Why was he being retained?
Yes, he was special. He had been selected by Wu Jianfeng from the start. But wasn’t he supposed to be heading to the Fourth Company?
Why had he been kept within the recruit company?
Was he being assigned to do overtime work?
He was utterly baffled. He glanced at the third squad leader, then at Kang Hua. In the end, Wang Ye swiftly grabbed his belongings and followed them.
“Bring your identification documents, wallet, and personal items. Leave the rest here,” Wu Jianfeng instructed once they were in the office.
Wang Ye complied without uttering a word.
He was eager to find out what Wu Jianfeng had in store.
“Later, follow me out of the camp. Deng Hai is also from Xiangnan, and he’s from a city near yours. You should be able to understand their dialect, right?”
“Uh…”
Wang Ye looked at him in astonishment.
In his mind, Wang Ye was cursing furiously.
What’s going on here? Are you taking me to Deng Hai’s place to look for him?
With this idea in mind, Wang Ye didn’t hesitate. He nodded and replied, “If you speak slowly, I should be able to understand. If you speak quickly, I might not catch it. Also, I don’t know how to speak it fluently.”
What Wang Ye said was true. Deng Hai hailed from Xiangnan, and during their initial days of bonding, they had communicated and found out that they came from neighboring cities. Moreover, the county town wasn’t too far from Wang Ye’s hometown.
Regarding speaking in their hometown dialect, Wang Ye had never been to Deng Hai’s county, but in his previous life, he had known two people from there. He had also heard Deng Hai make phone calls in their dialect, so he could grasp the basics of it.
“Very well, it’s good that you can understand some of it. Come along!”
Wang Ye snapped to attention and replied with a crisp “Yes, sir.
11
In truth, Wang Ye wasn’t particularly eager to go.
Apart from occasional conflicts, he and Deng Hai had no camaraderie to speak of. Now, they were about to head offline, and yet, they had to visit Deng Hai’s house to help locate him.
However, since Wu Jianfeng had given the order, he had to comply respectfully.
Furthermore, Wang Ye didn’t appear to have the authority to refuse.
Wu Jianfeng was the company commander, and he had issued the command. How could Wang Ye refuse to go?
Of course, Wang Ye could have claimed not to understand the local dialect there. In that case, he might have been excused from going.
However, Wang Ye didn’t want to deceive Wu Jianfeng.
Soon, Wang Ye began sifting through his wallet.
“Captain, should I pack some civilian clothes?” Wang Ye looked at the civilian attire in his luggage and inquired.
“No need. This is a mission, not a vacation. We’ll stick to our military uniforms.”
“Understood!”
Wang Ye didn’t ask any further questions.
Shortly after, he gathered his belongings and followed Wu Jianfeng out of the office.
Outside the door, the Third Company Commander and Kang Hua were waiting.
Aside from the two of them, another vehicle arrived.
The SUV that Wang Ye had ridden in before.
He boarded the SUV, and they departed from the recruit company.
Their journey took them to the train station, where Wang Ye and the others had disembarked when they joined the army.