Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Chapter 180 Entering the Military for Experiential Training

The next morning, Zhang Qilin arrived at Zhang Yimou's studio in Kyoto on time.

He explained the situation to the receptionist, who smiled and led him inside, saying, "Director Zhang is waiting for you in his office."

Zhang Qilin followed the young lady to the door of Director Zhang's office.

After the young woman knocked and received permission, she opened the door, stood to the side, and gestured for Zhang Qilin to come in.

Zhang Qilin nodded his thanks and went into the office.

Inside the office, Director Zhang was sitting behind a large desk, with movie posters and storyboard sketches on the wall.

Upon seeing Zhang Qilin enter, Zhang Yi sized him up.

Looking at Zhang Qilin's fair skin, he couldn't help but frown.

He pointed to the chair opposite him: "Qi Lin, you're here. Have a seat."

After Zhang Qilin sat down, he asked, "Director Zhang, why did you call me here—"

Zhang Yi poured himself a cup of tea and pushed it towards Zhang Qilin.

"You weren't implicated in Xiang Dong's matter, were you?" His voice was calm, revealing little emotion.

Zhang Qilin was startled; he hadn't expected Zhang Yi to ask about this.

Did Director Zhang get some information from somewhere?

No way, he was very careful. Apart from Sun Yu and a few close friends, no one knew that he was the one pulling the strings behind the scenes.

Where did Zhang Yi find out?

Zhang Qilin knew that now was not the time to lose his composure.

He quickly regained his composure and tentatively asked, "You mean—"

"Things are chaotic outside," Zhang Yimou said calmly. "Xiang Dong's matter seems to be over, but nobody knows what will happen next. And you're an actor in the '1911 Revolution' film crew. Whatever happens, you'll be in charge—"

Hearing Zhang Yi's words, Zhang Qilin secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

It turns out that the problem wasn't that they discovered he was the one who did it, but rather that they were worried he would be implicated.

He was about to say something when he heard Zhang Yi continue, "I originally planned to arrange for you to experience military life next month, but it seems I have to do it earlier. Once you're inside, everything outside will be none of your business."

"The role of Instructor Li isn't something you can just do by putting on a military uniform. I need you to cultivate a soldier's demeanor over two months. It's not something you can act out; it's something that emanates from you."

After listening to Zhang Yimou's words, Zhang Qilin remained silent for a few seconds, then looked up and asked, "Director Zhang, can I go a few days later?"

Zhang Yi frowned.

Zhang Qilin quickly explained, "I still have some things to take care of here. It will take me three to five days at most. Once I'm done, I'll leave immediately."

Zhang Yi did not answer immediately.

He looked at Zhang Qilin with a scrutinizing gaze.

"What is it?"

Zhang Qilin hesitated for a moment.

He can't tell the truth.

"It's a private matter," Zhang Qilin said carefully, "I need to handle it personally, and it can be resolved in three to five days."

Zhang stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to see right through him.

Zhang Qilin did not flinch, but calmly faced his own light.

A moment later, Zhang Yi looked away, picked up a pen from the table, and changed a few words on the training plan.

"Five days," he handed over the revised plan. "Five days from now, regardless of whether things are finished or not, you must set off."

Zhang Qilin immediately said, "Thank you, Director Zhang."

"Don't thank me," Zhang Yi said seriously, "I only have one request: finish what you're doing in the next five days and don't post anything else online."

Zhang Qilin nodded: "Don't worry, I know what to do."

"Hmm," Zhang Yimou's tone softened a bit, "I've already made contact with the military. The conditions will be quite tough, but if you want to play Instructor Li well, you have to endure this hardship. Five days from now, a car will come to pick you up directly. You don't need to bring anything; the military will provide everything for you."

As he spoke, he took a folded piece of paper from the drawer and pushed it in front of Zhang Qilin.

"Here's the contact number. Keep it safe. Once you get there, forget you're an actor, forget everything else, and treat yourself like a new recruit."

Zhang Qilin put away the note: "Thank you, Director Zhang."

"Go," Zhang Yi waved his hand, "Take care of your business as soon as possible and report to the army."

Zhang Qilin left Zhang Yimou's office and contacted Dong Qiyu to continue the search.

After several days of running around, we finally found a suitable candidate.

The next morning at six o'clock, before it was fully light.

An unmarked car was parked at the entrance of the alley where Zhang Qilin lived.

The person who came to pick him up was a dark-skinned young man with a buzz cut. After knocking on the door, he only said, "Zhang Qilin?"

"it's me."

"Let's go."

Zhang Qilin locked the door and got into the car.

We drove out of the city, got on the highway, and headed north.

We arrived at a military airport, took a flight for an unknown amount of time, and then got off the plane and boarded a military jeep, which took more than half an hour of bumpy travel before we finally arrived at our destination.

This is a camp hidden in the folds of the mountains. It is not large in scale, but its layout is well-organized.

The training ground was filled with all sorts of equipment he had never seen before, and sporadic gunshots echoed from the distant shooting range, the sound reverberating through the valley.

A lean, dark-skinned officer stood at the entrance to the barracks.

She was in her early thirties and was looking him up and down.

"Zhang Qilin?"

"Yes."

"Come with me."

The officer turned and left, walking very quickly.

Zhang Qilin hurriedly followed, almost having to jog to keep up with the other person's pace.

The two walked through the camp and entered a simple office.

The walls were covered with banners and training photos, and several topographic maps were spread out on the desk.

"I know you're an actor, here to experience life," the officer's voice was devoid of any emotion, "but I don't care what you did outside. Once you're here, you're a new recruit, understand?"

1

"Understood," Zhang Qilin replied loudly.

"My name is Zheng Feng, the training staff officer of the special operations brigade, and also your instructor for this period of time," Zheng Feng introduced. "You look far from being a soldier right now."

Zhang Qilin did not argue, but listened quietly.

"Your training period is two months," Zheng Feng said, taking out a training schedule. "The first two weeks will be basic physical training, the middle three weeks will be tactical skills and shooting, and the last three weeks will be comprehensive drills and live-fire assessments. You'll have half a day off each week, your cell phone will be handed in, and you're not allowed to contact the outside world during training. Any questions?"

"no."

"Okay," Zheng Feng took a training uniform out of the drawer and pushed it in front of Zhang Qilin. "Change your clothes. Assemble on the parade ground in fifteen minutes. If you are even one second late, you will be punished with an extra five kilometers."

After changing his clothes, Zhang Qilin found Zheng Feng on the playground.

It is 4:30 pm.

Zheng Feng held a stopwatch in his hand, glanced at Zhang Qilin, and pointed to the track.

"Run five kilometers first, let me see your current condition."

Without wasting any words, Zhang Qilin stepped onto the starting line.

"run!"

As soon as Zheng Feng finished speaking, Zhang Qilin rushed out.

While at the Beijing Film Academy, he studied martial arts routines under the school's martial arts teacher, and his physical fitness was considered quite good at the school.

But five kilometers was not easy for him. By the third lap, his breathing became erratic and his legs felt like they were filled with lead.

Zheng Feng stood by the track, timing himself with a stopwatch, without saying a word.

When he reached the last lap, Zhang Qilin was almost entirely relying on willpower to keep going.

Sweat blurred his vision, and his lungs burned as if they were about to explode, but he gritted his teeth and didn't stop for a moment.

"Twenty-four minutes and thirty-seven seconds." Zheng Feng pressed the stopwatch, expressionless. "The passing score is twenty-one minutes. Your score is near the bottom here."

Zhang Qilin was bent over, his hands supporting his knees, panting heavily, unable to speak.

"Rest for five minutes, then do push-ups, sit-ups, and pull-ups, two sets of each, until exhaustion."

After Zheng Feng finished speaking, he turned and left, leaving Zhang Qilin alone on the playground.

Watching Zheng Feng's departing figure, Zhang Qilin took a deep breath and began to stretch.

Five minutes later, Zheng Feng returned on time.

Zhang Qilin lay down on the ground and started doing push-ups. The first thirty were relatively easy, but his arms started to tremble when he did the fortieth one, and by the fiftieth one, each push-up felt like a struggle.

"Fifty-six, exhausted," Zheng Feng squatted down and counted the numbers expressionlessly. "Do you actors only train your upper body? Your core strength is too weak."

Next came sit-ups. Zhang Qilin did sixty-eight with all his might, and his abdominal muscles felt like they were on fire.

Pull-ups were his nightmare. The first time, he could only do four before he couldn't go any further, hanging on the bar like a dehydrated fish.

Zheng Feng scribbled a few lines in his notebook and then said, "That's all for today. I'm going to the cafeteria for lunch. I'll be back in the dorm at 6:30, and lights out at 7:00."

Zhang Qilin dragged his aching body toward the cafeteria.

He got a meal and sat in the corner, eating slowly.

The food wasn't particularly good, but the portions were generous and filling.

But he was so exhausted that he couldn't eat anything. However, he forced himself to finish everything on his plate in preparation for tomorrow's training.

Back in the dormitory, he saw that each room was for four people, with iron-framed beds, white sheets folded like tofu blocks, and quilts with sharp edges.

Zhang Qilin was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the bed, not wanting to come.

At 7:00 sharp, the lights-out whistle blew, and the entire camp was plunged into darkness instantly.

In the days that followed, Zhang Qilin truly experienced what it meant to undergo grueling training.

I get out of bed at 5:30 every morning, do a 5-kilometer cross-country run with weights, and then spend the morning doing physical training.

Temporary push-ups, supine sitting up —

Each item has a minimum standard. If you don't meet it, you have to start over. If you still can't meet it after starting over, you have to practice more until you pass.

The afternoon session was for tactical skills training.

Zheng Feng stood to the side, holding a stopwatch, meticulously recording every movement with a blank expression.

Evenings were dedicated to theoretical study, covering weapons basics, tactical principles, and sniper theory.

By the end of the first week, Zhang Qilin had lost eight pounds.

In the second week, the intensity of physical training doubled.

In the third week, Zhang Qilin touched a gun for the first time.

It was a Type 85 sniper rifle, with a long, slender barrel and a cold, metallic sheen.

When Zheng Feng handed the gun to him, he took it; it felt heavy.

"This is a design based on the Soviet Dragunov sniper rifle, with a 7.62mm caliber and an effective range of 1300 meters," Zheng Feng said, as he disassembled the weapon and laid out the parts one by one. "You need to know how to disassemble, assemble, maintain, and calibrate it before you can shoot."

Zhang Qilin handed it over very carefully, practicing each step repeatedly until he could disassemble and reassemble the gun even with his eyes closed.

The first live-fire exercise took place on the Friday of the third week.

Week 4 —

Week 5 —

One afternoon in the sixth week, Zheng Feng took him to an unfamiliar mountainous area.

"Today's training subject is wilderness survival, forty-eight hours. We only have a dagger, a bottle of water, and two snake biscuits," Zheng Feng pointed to the distant mountains and forests. "In this area, you will have to find your own water source, find food, and build a shelter. Meet here at this time tomorrow."

Zhang Qilin took the equipment, asked no further questions, and turned to walk into the forest.

During the day, he walked through the forest, using a dagger to sharpen tree branches as fishing tools. He squatted by the stream for an hour before catching two palm-sized fish.

He used a flint to start a fire and grilled the fish. Although it was fishy and burnt, he ate every last bit.

At night, the temperature plummeted below zero. He built a makeshift shelter with branches and leaves, huddled inside, and listened to the distant cries of wild animals, not sleeping a wink all night.

The next morning, he found a spring, filled it with water, and picked some wild fruits to eat.

In the afternoon, when he arrived at the meeting point on time, Zheng Feng looked at him and simply said, "Not bad."

After more than a month of training.

Zhang Qilin's transformation is complete.

His weight has stabilized at 70 kilograms, his body opening rate has dropped to 12%, and the muscle lines in his arms and shoulders are clearly visible.

His skin turned a deep wheat color from the sun.

Zheng Feng's evaluation of him changed from barely passing to being like a soldier.

Zhang Qilin knew that even if he were given another two months, he still wouldn't be able to compare to these truly skilled soldiers.

He's currently only a reserve soldier, but if you want to send a telegram to him, that should be enough to show the spirit of a soldier.

But after this period of training, he wanted to experience what it was like to be a soldier who survived the Battle of Zijin Mountain.

Only after experiencing it firsthand could he understand the soldiers of that era, and thus better interpret Instructor Li.

That evening, after lights out, Zhang Qilin silently prayed, "Activate the reincarnation of the woman in blue."