Chapter 423: A Drill Is a Real Battle
Translator: Dragon Boat Translation Editor: Dragon Boat Translation
“Boom-”
In the mountains, the sudden sound of an explosion echoed around the resting area of the new recruits.
“Damn!” Immediately, the new recruits who were having breakfast were startled.
Even Wang Ye, despite being mentally prepared, couldn’t help but tense up when the explosion occurred.
Although he knew this would happen, he had no idea when those hidden guys would detonate.
Of course, his reaction was just a momentary tension inside. He still had his steamed buns and milk in hand, not even a drop spilled.
“Enemy attack!”
Wang Ye abandoned his breakfast, holding the steamed buns and milk, and shouted loudly at the new recruits.
After shouting, he himself scurried behind the food truck as if he were diving for cover.
He had scoped out this spot early in the morning.
Hiding behind the food truck, he could continue to eat while watching the commotion unfold.
“Quick, find cover!”
The other squad leaders also appeared frantic now, shouting at the new recruits while seeking cover themselves.
One by one, their actions seemed quite staged.
But the situation didn’t give the new recruits any time for consideration, just like last year when Wang Ye and his group faced a similar situation.
“Bang Bang-”
A series of gunshots rang out.
Wang Ye hid behind the food truck, watching the new recruits who were panicking, dropping their buns and milk and fleeing in disarray. He couldn’t help but find it a bit amusing.
Thinking back to last year, his own buns had also been scared away.
But last year, he hadn’t been as scared as these new recruits were now.
His gaze swept over the new recruits, especially those under his command.
This was Wang Ye’s responsibility.
During the surprise attack, he needed to assess his new recruits’ ability to handle emergencies.
This year’s training was somewhat different from last year’s for Wang Ye and his group. The timing was different, and they were also involved in several assessments for the new recruits during the training.
However, this didn’t mean that they would skip the activities required during the training.
The morning surprise attack and explosion, for example, were unavoidable.
“Hey, Captain Leader Wang, that soldier over there, is he one of yours? He’s running towards the rear!” At that moment, a soldier from the kitchen staff standing next to Wang Ye spoke with a smile.
Wang Ye looked over and his expression darkened.
Indeed, there were two soldiers from his squad, one in front of the other, running towards the woods behind, along with a few soldiers from other squads who were crouched low and sprinting in the same direction.
Ignoring the soldier from the kitchen staff, Wang Ye continued to watch with a stern expression.
Fortunately, the rest of Wang Ye’s squad performed well. They all quickly found cover nearby without directly running away.
After observing for a while, Wang Ye walked out with a stern face.
He put the whistle to his lips.
“Tweet tweet-”
The sharp sound of the whistle cut through the chaos. In an instant, the recruits, who had been in a state of confusion, seemed as if they had been struck on the head.
They collectively looked baffled.
The sound of the whistle made the recruits very sensitive, and now, seeing Wang Ye standing there blowing the whistle as if nothing had happened, and watching their own squad leaders calmly standing up and walking out, they quickly realized that the earlier explosion and gunfire were not from a real enemy attack.
Embarrassment washed over some of the recruits who hadn’t performed well just now.
Some recruits were so scared that they had actually wet themselves, and now they blushed like pigs’ behinds, wishing they could dig a hole and bury themselves.
“Assemble!” Wang Ye shouted loudly.
Immediately, the recruits who had been standing dazed in the surroundings shook themselves awake and moved quickly.
On the periphery, those who had run away quickly turned back, now feeling even more embarrassed as they returned.
Wang Ye didn’t scold them; his duty as the duty squad leader today was to gather the troops, and someone else would handle the scolding and lecture.
“Look at yourselves, are you still soldiers?” After the formation was complete, Jiang Huai, who took over the position, began to scold them with a stern face.
Wang Ye stood behind him, intentionally wearing a stern expression as well.
“Are you proud of wearing that uniform? If it had been a real attack just now, did your performance resemble that of a soldier? Some of you even ran to the rear. You were on the verge of deserting in the face of the enemy. Let me tell you, soldiers like you would be shot on the battlefield…”
Jiang Huai scolded them for seven or eight minutes before dismissing the formation.
Of course, after dismissal, it didn’t mean they were off the hook.
Wang Ye and the others began to order the new recruits in their respective squads to pick up the food that had been thrown on the ground and trampled on.
After they had picked up everything, Wang Ye led the Class 5 to the side.
Staring at the row of new recruits in front of him, Wang Ye scolded the two who had lowered their heads, “Why are you hanging your heads? Weren’t you running fast just now?”
The two of them kept their heads down. Jiang Huai had already made them feel ashamed.
“Hmph, so spineless!
Both of you, remember this: after we leave this training, when someone asks who the squad leader of the new recruits’ company is, you can say anything, even lie, but remember, don’t say it’s me, got it? I can’t afford to lose face!”
Last year, the words often spoken by veteran squad leaders like Ye Sanshi were now passed on by Wang Ye to the two new recruits who had run away earlier.
Instantly, both of their faces turned as red as a pig’s liver.
But they had nothing to say.
Wang Ye didn’t keep scolding them either.
Not every recruit could remain fearless in the face of danger, and not every recruit would remember that they were soldiers in such situations.
Some people were simply not suited for frontline duty due to their natural disposition. It could only be said that through this training, the recruits’ capabilities could be assessed, and when it came time to assign them to their respective units after training, priority could be given to placing them in rear logistics units.
“Finish eating everything in your hands!” Wang Ye ordered sternly.
This time, nothing troublesome happened, and everyone obediently started eating.
It was the same in other squads.
This was because Jiang Huai this year was truly ruthless. He had intentionally set up Wang Ye and the others when the new recruits had just entered the camp a few days ago.
He had deliberately made Wang Ye drop half a steamed bun into a slop bucket while having breakfast one day.
Then, the whole company, led by him, had dipped their steamed buns into the slop and eaten half of them.
The recruits who had experienced such situations before naturally didn’t resist when facing them today.
Those who had resisted had been taught a lesson from the start.
The training continued in an orderly fashion.
In the afternoon, the entire company conducted live ammunition shooting and live grenade throwing exercises.
There were no accidents this year, unlike last year when some recruits had mishandled live grenades.
“Let me tell you, this training is for combat readiness, and the possibility of enemy attacks can occur anytime, anywhere. You must be extremely vigilant, especially during night shifts. You need to treat this as if it were a real war, understand?”
In the evening, as he assigned tonight’s guard duty, Wang Ye admonished his recruits with a serious tone.
He couldn’t directly tell them that there would be attempts to attack the guards at night in the coming days, so he had to remind them in this way.
“Yes, sir!”
The recruits responded in unison.
“Don’t take this lightly. A soldier must always remain vigilant. Remember, when you’re on guard duty, you’re not only responsible for yourselves but also for the safety of your comrades.
So, even during the most exhausting hours from two to four in the morning, if you really can’t stay awake, pinch your own thigh, apply some menthol oil to your temples.
Let me make it clear, i’ll be checking the guards at any time. If i catch anyone sleeping on duty, 1 guarantee that even before you leave for your next assignment, I’ll leave you with a memory you’ll never forget for the rest of your life!
Is that clear?” Wang Ye stared fiercely at them as he shouted.
“Yes!” The recruits responded loudly once again.
“Good, now follow me!”
Wang Ye was going to take them to arrange guard positions and shift schedules.
Tonight, the positions had already been assigned. Each squad was responsible for a fixed day and night post, without any rotating guards.
“Company Commander, can you tell us if the attack will happen tonight?”
In the evening, after the entire company had finished their duties and the sentinels were in position, Wang Ye and the other veteran soldiers gathered in the company commander’s tent for a meeting.
After discussing the main topics, Wang Ye suddenly smiled and looked at Jiang
Huai.
“What’s up?” Jiang Huai asked, looking vigilant.
In fact, after speaking, he quickly added, “You didn’t leak any information, did you? 1’11 tell you, you’re not allowed to tell the recruits about the attack!”
Jiang Huai’s reaction was quite intense.
In reality, Jiang Huai was in a conflicting position right now.
As the company commander of the new recruits, he naturally hoped that the reconnaissance unit’s attack would not succeed. After all, he was in charge of the new recruits, and if they could thwart the recon unit, it would not only reflect his competence as a squad leader but also add a significant achievement to his military career.
However, the problem was that he was also the deputy company commander of the reconnaissance company.
The performance of the recon unit was directly related to his role as the deputy company commander.
Moreover, last year, the recon unit had already lost a significant member.
“If you didn’t say anything, 1 trust you. 1 won’t break the rules!” Wang Ye continued to smile.
He didn’t have the same concerns as Jiang Huai.
But when Jiang Huai saw Wang Ye’s smile, he immediately felt a bit annoyed and gave Wang Ye an unfriendly glare. “You’re such a pain, just you!”
“Haha!”
This time, everyone in the tent, except Jiang Huai, burst into laughter.
They all understood what Jiang Huai meant.
If it weren’t for Wang Ye’s involvement, Jiang Huai, who was leading the new recruits, wouldn’t be blamed if they managed to thwart the recon unit. Others wouldn’t mock the recon unit, especially since he was the deputy company commander of the reconnaissance company.
People would only praise his capabilities as a deputy company commander, leading new recruits to defeat experienced soldiers.
In other words, if that scenario had unfolded, he could have been promoted to company commander next year.
Unfortunately, thanks to Wang Ye’s actions last year, Jiang Huai found himself in a dilemma this year.
“Company Commander, don’t worry, I really didn’t say anything!” Wang Ye chuckled, reassuring Jiang Huai.
Actually, this year, Wang Ye had some confidence in his new recruits.
During the training period in the New Recruits Company, Wang Ye had considered this matter.
So, after the squad drills, whenever there were mistakes or trainees who couldn’t keep up with the training in his squad or platoon, his punishment was to make them stand guard duty at night either with himself or with their squad leader.
During such times, Wang Ye would intentionally test them.
When standing guard with their squad leader, Wang Ye would sneak around at midnight.
When standing guard with himself, Wang Ye would use the excuse of checking the guards and disappear for twenty minutes or so.
He would hide in the dark and watch them, waiting for them to get drowsy before coming out.
This long-term training enhanced their alertness when on guard duty.
In this situation, it became increasingly difficult for the recon unit to approach the guards without being detected and without triggering an alarm.
“All right, let’s stop talking about this. Everyone, go rest!”
Jiang Huai didn’t respond to Wang Ye, he just wore an irritated expression and issued the dismissal order.
Immediately, Wang Ye and the others stood up and left.
After leaving the tent, Zhou Qi whispered to Wang Ye, “If the recon unit still fails this year, those guys will definitely have a hard time!”
“Hehe, let’s hope so!”
Wang Ye didn’t know that if the recon unit failed this year, Platoon Leader Tian would have to switch to pig farming. But he knew that if they did fail this year, they would definitely be in for a tough time.
Even the chief of staff would be in trouble.
Two years in a row!
But Wang Ye hadn’t shown any mercy from the beginning.
Exercises were treated as real battles.
Warfare was not a child’s game, and there were no personal favors to be found in combat.
Moreover, he wasn’t afraid of the chief of staff. After all, he was in the Fourth Company, and in a few more months, he would be leaving for school. What did he have to worry about!
At this moment, Wang Ye still didn’t know that after this round of training for the new recruits, he wouldn’t be returning to the Fourth Company. He would be directly transferred to the Criminal Investigation Company….