Chapter 69: Competing for the First Place

Gao Yuan was very familiar with communal living; it felt as if he had returned to his student days, where some would grind their teeth in their sleep, others snored, and there were those who talked in their dreams.

Of course, staying up late and chatting before going to sleep was a must. It was only the first day, and everyone was still excited.

But by the time the second day dawned, excitement and anticipation had turned into constant complaints.

"Are we going to do target practice?"

"Is it time to practice with guns?"

"I think so; otherwise, what's the point of calling it military training?"

Ten people per team, each team lined up in a row, with the team leader at the front and the deputy team leader at the back, and Gao Yuan stood right behind their team leader, Zhang Zhe.

Listening to his comrades whispering amongst themselves, Gao Yuan couldn't help but find it amusing, prompting him to scoff quietly to himself.

Practice shooting? This bunch had a misunderstanding about military training. Guns were definitely something to be practiced, but it was just that—a practice. These guys still didn't know what their role was supposed to be.

And to think they could start practicing with guns just because they're under Wei Guo's command?

Dream on.

Wei Guo was only interested in doing one thing: physical training.

To Wei Guo, physical fitness was the foundation of all military skills, whether these volunteers were to use guns or knives, they had to train in physical fitness first.

Zhang Zhe was a veteran; he had served for five years as a second-class non-commissioned officer and was a heavy machine gunner, whereas Sun Wang had been in the army for two years, coming from the infantry.

Zhang Zhe and Sun Wang both knew what they were about to face, so they could only offer knowing smiles in response to the delirious murmurs of the new recruits who had never set foot in a military camp before.

As expected, Wei Guo arrived, decked out in a set of camouflage gear. As soon as he stood with his hands on his hips, the training officially began.

Preaching was the job of the instructor; for someone like Wei Guo, there was only one thing to do—train as planned, with little inclination to explain anything to anyone.

"Everyone present, see that hill over there? Let's run up there. Oh, and let me tell you, the first one to reach the top gets a reward, but the last one won't be having breakfast. Team leaders, lead your groups. On my command, start running!"

Practice formations? No such thing; they started with running, running until they were half-dead, to begin with.

Gao Yuan was used to this; he truly was.

Zhang Zhe's movements were impeccable. Although he had been discharged four years ago, his military postures and turns were still as crisp and sharp as ever.

But the others, including Gao Yuan, were a mess. Wei Guo had taught him a lot of things, but never how to stand in formation.

The chaotic throng of five hundred people started their run, with the voices of various team leaders, and even reprimands, audible along the way.

"Slow down! Come back! What the hell are you running that hard for!"

"Maintain a steady pace! Are you trying to race or what!"

Zhang Zhe ran with a smile, slowing down slightly and advising at the side of the formation, "Pay attention, guys. You've got to allocate your energy wisely. This is our first run, and some of us will fall behind. But it's okay; there's bound to be someone doing worse, so we don't need to be first, but we absolutely can't be last—otherwise, no breakfast."

Li Xiaodong wasn't fat, and he was young, but just 200 meters into the run he began to gasp for breath.

"Captain, what are you afraid of? No matter what, you won't be the last; I, on the other hand, might be. I've been drinking at bars every day. Ahh, I feel so weak."

Gao Yuan wasn't sure what job Li Xiaodong had, but he knew he was a rich second-generation. One could tell just by looking at his clothes, shoes, and mannerisms—everything on him was branded, right down to his underwear. No one would bother to pick out branded clothes to wear before running away in a disaster, so he must always dress in branded outfits.

Zhang Zhe replied with disdain, "What do you know? In the army, when it comes to group actions, personal achievements don't count! If you're first, that doesn't make us first. If you're last, that'll make all of us last. We'll be measured by the slowest person, got it?"

"Ah, does that mean... if I'm the last, nobody gets to eat?"

Running easily, Zhang Zhe confirmed, "That's right, exactly. So you all listen up; if anyone causes me to miss out on breakfast, I'll make sure they regret it!"

After saying that, Zhang Zhe pointed ahead and shouted, "Look ahead! That's our target. Follow my pace, keep a steady rhythm, don't speed up and slow down randomly, and regulate your breathing."

Zhang Zhe was experienced and didn't bother with the pace of other teams. He ran at a moderate pace and, after noticing that Li Xiaodong and Wang Mingyu from the second group were lagging due to a lack of stamina, he slowed down further.

"It's just three kilometers in total; it's nothing. This is just the beginning; the real test of endurance comes later. Just stick with me."

The team began to stretch out as differences in stamina started to show, but Gao Yuan's group was still running at a steady pace. Meanwhile, some of the other groups were starting to fall behind.

Li Xiaodong may have lacked stamina, but that didn't matter. He wasn't the worst, and these days no young person should consider themselves exceptionally strong, nor should they think too poorly of themselves, because there will always be someone even less fit to be at the bottom.

At the hilltop, a flag had been planted. Once they circled the flag, they started running back, and by this time, Li Xiaodong was panting heavily.

"I can't... I can't keep running…"

Zhang Zhe's face turned stern as he shouted, "Keep running, or you'll have me to answer to! Run, run!"

Li Xiaodong stopped, hands on his knees, and bent over, gasping, "I can't run anymore; I really can't keep up."

Zhang Zhe didn't say another word. He stopped and walked to the side of the road to pick up a thin tree branch.

"You know, corporal punishment is not allowed in the military now."

Li Xiaodong was taken aback for a moment, then he said to Zhang Zhe, "What's the problem? You're not thinking of punishing me physically, are you?"

"When I was training those new recruits, I kept telling myself not to hit anyone. Sometimes I was so angry I felt like beating a few idiots to death, but you really can't hit people, so I kept thinking, how great it would be if I could beat someone up during training one day."

Li Xiaodong stood up, with a wary look on his face, he said, "You dare hit me and see what happens! I'm telling you! I won't stand for that!"

Zhang Zhe said with a serious face, "Now, you're not a new recruit, and I'm not a veteran. We're both volunteers, so if you don't run, I'll whip you because there's no rule against corporal punishment in the training regulations."

"There are no training regulations at all!"

Zhang Zhe burst into laughter, he waved a tree branch through the air, making a whooshing sound before chuckling, "So I can beat people even more, and even if you want to snitch, that will only happen after I've beaten you. If you want to fight me, heh heh..."

Team after team ran past, but Zhang Zhe just stood there reasoning with Li Xiaodong without any sign of hurry, while the others stood there too, watching to see what would become of Li Xiaodong, and of course, to take a break as well.

Fight Zhang Zhe? Li Xiaodong wasn't so foolish as to do that. Setting aside the possibility of punishment for hitting the team leader, the problem was he knew he couldn't beat him.

So Li Xiaodong started running again.

Once he started running again, he fell behind the other teams. At this point, Zhang Zhe, who was running in front, began to slightly speed up, and as he did, Li Xiaodong quickly fell behind.

"Sun Wang!"

"Present."

"You lead the team at the front."

"Yes!"

Sun Wang moved to the front to set the pace, but Li Xiaodong really couldn't run anymore, and Wang Mingyu also slowed down his speed.

Wang Mingyu didn't dare to stop outright like Li Xiaodong, but seeing Li Xiaodong slow down, he felt emboldened to do the same.

At that moment, Zhang Zhe struck with his stick.

Li Xiaodong screamed in pain as he took a heavy blow from the stick to his buttocks; it hurt, it hurt a lot.

"Fuck!"

"Run faster!"

Li Xiaodong really wanted to fight Zhang Zhe, but he restrained himself. Then Zhang Zhe struck Wang Mingyu's buttocks with the stick with much less force.

"Catch up! Run!"

Li Xiaodong and Wang Mingyu's speed picked up because Zhang Zhe really lashed them, and it really hurt.

"After we get back, I'm not done with you!"

"Well, we can talk about that later, after we get back. Run! Run faster!"

Zhang Zhe was following behind and suddenly yelled, "First Squad has to be first! Run! Faster!"

On the return journey, the speed had decreased for everyone, but all the teams were trying to pick up the pace again.

No one said it was a race, but every person, or at least every team leader, treated it like one—an important race.

The speed began to increase, halfway through the return route, many had truly hit their limits.

Li Xiaodong endured several beatings, but now he really couldn't run anymore. Zhang Zhe struck him hard again with the stick, and Li Xiaodong only sped up a little unsteadily, then quickly slowed down again.

"Damn it, you're useless; it's just five kilometers! And there's no load to carry."

Li Xiaodong was almost foaming at the mouth. He staggered to a stop and said, "I really can't do it, I really can't..."

Zhang Zhe grabbed Li Xiaodong's arm and said, "I'll run with you. Sun Wang!"

Sun Wang stopped, and when Wang Mingyu struggled to run past him, he grabbed Wang Mingyu's arm.

With two squad leaders carrying one person each, the speed immediately picked up significantly, and at this point, they had reached the top three positions.

For Gao Yuan, the distance was not a problem at all; he had plenty of stamina left. When he saw Tong Siming was also almost out of strength, he grabbed his arm and pulled him forward.

Zhang Zhe got excited, he shouted loudly, "Comrades... brothers! The finish line is right ahead, how many are watching us, think about the beauties back at the camp—don't you want to be first? We've run this race, we've competed, why not push to grab the first place? Charge!"

Sun Wang followed with a loud cry, "Charge! Push it, charge!"

Actually, Gao Yuan always thought yelling slogans like this was silly, but for some reason, he couldn't help but join in at that moment.

"Brothers, give it your all, charge!"

The speed increased once more; Gao Yuan's team was lucky to have only three people who were weaker, so they had the strength to vie for first place.