I enlisted four times! My former unit blacklisted me.

Seeing his dejected appearance, Wu Hanfeng laughed and scolded, "Alright, stop with the sob story. What's so great about the training unit? Aren't you afraid of hardship? Let me tell you, rumors say the training unit is every sergeant's nightmare!"

"Getting up early to make your bed, memorizing orders at night, and having to rush to assemble all the time—it's ten times worse than basic training. You're so much more comfortable in the regiment, running errands and going out to inspect troops whenever you want. Isn't that better than suffering like this?"

"How can that be the same!" He Dong retorted, sticking his neck out. "I want to learn skills from you, Brother Feng! You went to the training team, who am I supposed to learn from?!"

Seeing him like this, everyone could no longer laugh; they all felt a little sorry for him.

This kid really idolizes Wu Hanfeng, calling him "Brother Feng" all the time, and following him everywhere like a little tail.

Everyone else is away for training camp, and he's the only one left out. Anyone would feel bad about that.

Chen Zhiyuan quickly smoothed things over, saying, "He Dong, don't be discouraged. There will be plenty of opportunities. If it doesn't work out this time, there will be another. Just do your best in the group, solidify your foundation, and I'll sign you up first for the next training camp, okay?"

"Besides, they'll be back in three months; it's not like they're never coming back."

"When they come back, let Wu Hanfeng teach you everything he's learned, wouldn't that be better?"

He Dong didn't speak, but just nodded silently.

Looking at him like that, Wu Hanfeng felt a little soft-hearted.

He reached out and hooked his arm around He Dong's neck, pulling him closer. "Alright, why the long face? It's like someone owes you money."

"It's just a training team, what's so special about it?"

"When I get back, I'll take you out and conquer the world!"

As Chen Zhiyuan walked from the training ground to the company headquarters, his steps were unsteady.

As soon as he turned into the company headquarters, he rushed upstairs in a few quick steps. When he pushed open the door to the political instructor Wang Tao's office, the smile on his face finally broke down and stretched to his ears.

"Old Wang! Old Wang! It's done!"

Wang Tao was hunched over his desk writing political education notes when he looked up and saw Wang Tao's happier expression than during the New Year. His pen paused. "Look how happy you are. Did those five guys all agree?"

"Of course!" Chen Zhiyuan said with a smile, "Wu Hanfeng led the way, and Zhao Yihang, Qian Kun, Ma Teng, and Sun Dawei—all five of them went to the division's training team for three months! A full three months!"

As he spoke, he held up three fingers and waved them in front of Wang Tao's eyes, "My God, we've finally made it! These plague carriers can finally be packed up and sent away!"

Wang Tao put down his pen, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh: "Good thing, really good thing. To be honest, ever since Wu Hanfeng set up the special operations squad and was seconded to the military police, I haven't had a single day of peace."

"you do not say!"

Chen Zhiyuan said, "For the past three months, we haven't had to stare at our phones every day for fear of getting into trouble, or get up in the middle of the night to clean up after these kids."

"We don't have to worry about what kind of trouble they'll cause on the training field, and we can even save half the trouble of housekeeping inspections."

"In the past, the first thing I would do every morning when I woke up was to ask the communications officer if Wu Hanfeng had done anything strange that day."

"Now it's all good. Once they go to the training team, they'll be under the supervision of the instructors. They'll be folding blankets and memorizing regulations every day, with all sorts of training subjects scheduled. I'll see if they still have the energy to run around checking for contraband."

"The training camp is notoriously tough; even the most unruly soldier will be completely tamed after three months."

"No matter how much trouble Wu Hanfeng can cause, once he's on the division headquarters' territory, he can't just act like he does in our regiment, can he?"

Wang Tao smiled wryly: "That's hard to say. With his personality, I'm afraid if he went to the training team, even the training team leader would have a headache."

"He might come back in three months and not have improved much in terms of skills, but his ability to detect contraband might have become even more refined."

"Hey, let him improve, as long as he doesn't cause trouble for our group." Chen Zhiyuan waved his hand dismissively. "At worst, he can check when he comes back, we'll hide ours. I'll just lock the snacks in the safe, I don't believe he can break into my safe."

The two chatted away, becoming happier and happier as they talked, as if they could already see the peaceful and tranquil days to come for the next three months.

Chen Zhiyuan calculated the time and frowned slightly, saying, "There's still more than half a month before we set off. I think we should apply to the group to let them leave earlier? Anyway, staying in the group will only lead to trouble every day. The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll have peace and quiet."

"Don't rush him," Wang Tao said with a smile, stopping him. "The more you rush him, the more likely that kid will cause trouble. Just follow the normal procedure and get him off safely; that's better than anything else."

"Besides, before leaving, I still have to do some ideological work and fill out forms; there's a ton of stuff to do."

"That's true." Chen Zhiyuan nodded, then sighed. "Actually, these kids are all promising talents, their military skills are undeniable, but they're just too mischievous."

"It's good for them to go to the training camp to hone their skills. They'll all come back as key personnel, and our combat effectiveness can be raised to another level."

"Of course," Wang Tao said. "Otherwise, would the regiment have given all five spots to our company? It's because they value these promising talents."

Just as the two were chatting enthusiastically, even discussing whether to have an extra dish to celebrate that evening, a soft cough suddenly came from the office doorway.

"Oh, so you really want us to leave?"

The laughter inside the room stopped abruptly.

The two of them suddenly looked up.

They discovered that Wu Hanfeng had been leaning against the doorway, watching them with a half-smile.

Chen Zhiyuan and Wang Tao exchanged a glance, both seeing the words "We're done for, we've been caught" in each other's eyes.

Wu Hanfeng was leaning against the door frame, one hand in his training pants pocket.

In his other hand, he twirled a silver-white military police helmet. His eyes, hidden beneath the brim, curved into two crescent moons, and a nonchalant smile played on his lips as he watched them with great interest.

I don't know how long he'd been standing there, or how much he'd been listening to.

Sunlight shone from behind him, casting a long shadow on the ground. Although he was smiling, Chen Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat, and a chill ran down his spine.

Is this kid a cat?

They walk without making a sound!

Chen Zhiyuan quickly forced himself to adopt the airs of a company commander:

"Wu Hanfeng? Why aren't you training on the field? What are you doing at the company headquarters?"

Wu Hanfeng smiled slightly: "What do you care what I'm doing here? Anyway, the training of our special operations squad is not under your jurisdiction."

Chen Zhiyuan: "..."

Wu Hanfeng: "Old Chen, Old Wang, what's got you so happy? Tell me so I can share in your joy!"

"Is it because your grandma gave birth, or are you just happy that you can finally get rid of us plague monsters?"

"After three whole months, it's finally quiet, isn't it, Company Commander?"

Chen Zhiyuan blushed and almost choked on his saliva.

So, this kid heard everything we just said?

He coughed awkwardly twice: "You rascal, how can you talk like that? What do you mean by 'plague god'? Don't you know how to use your words? We're just happy for you! happier than when my grandma gave birth!"

"Exactly." Wang Tao quickly smoothed things over, smiling as he said, "The training camp for reserve backbone personnel in the training team is so competitive that so many people would kill to get in, but the regiment gave all five spots to our company. That's such a huge show of trust."

"We are happy for you. We think this is a great opportunity. Go there, learn well, and you will all come back as the backbone of the company."

"Oh, really?" Wu Hanfeng drawled, slowly tracing names on the military police helmet with his finger. "I thought the company commander and political instructor were eager for us to leave so we wouldn't cause trouble in the regiment."

"I think I just heard someone say they couldn't wait to put us on the bus tomorrow?"

Chen Zhiyuan: "..."

He now truly understands what it means to be in a socially awkward situation.

Being caught talking badly about someone behind their back, especially by that kid Wu Hanfeng, is a feeling worse than the last hundred meters of a five-kilometer run.