I enlisted four times! My former unit blacklisted me.

The people below looked somewhat smug, but no one dared to show it.

"That's right, you guys are pretty awesome." Qin Gang nodded. "If you weren't awesome, you wouldn't be standing here. But I have some bad news for you today—from the moment you stepped into the training team's gates, all your previous awesomeness is completely null and void."

"Once you're here, it'll be three months. No matter if you're a private or a sergeant, no matter which regiment you came from, and no matter what your level was in your previous unit, once you're here, you'll all have one identity—trainees."

"What does 'trainee' mean? Trainee is the lowest level. Above you are squad leaders, above the squad leaders are company commanders, and above the company commanders are me. Each level has the power to manage you, and each level has the ability to deal with you."

"So, the first thing—forget all the sense of superiority you had in your previous workplace. Those achievements that you could be proud of in your previous workplace are nothing here."

Upon hearing this, the trainees below displayed a variety of expressions.

Some were unconvinced, some felt guilty, and some remained expressionless.

But Qin Gang didn't care what they thought at all, and continued:

"The second thing is the rules of the training camp. When you were in basic training, your squad leader taught you the rules. At that time, you didn't understand, so your squad leader would coax you and pamper you, teaching you again and again until you understood. Because you were new recruits, it was understandable that you didn't know anything."

His tone suddenly turned cold.

"But here—don't expect me to fool you."

"You are no longer new recruits; you are the elite selected from each regiment, the future backbone, and the future squad leaders."

"Top performers should act like top performers, and key personnel should meet the standards of key personnel."

"The same rules might be taught to you ten times by your squad leader in basic training, but I'll only say them once here."

"You understood it the first time, OK, do as instructed. Didn't understand it the first time?"

"It's okay, I have plenty of ways to make you understand."

He glanced at the four company commanders below the stage.

The four company commanders all revealed meaningful smiles.

That smile was even more unsettling than Qin Gang's cold expression.

"The third thing—obedience. In the training corps, these two words are more important than your lives."

"If I say one, you can't say two. If the squad leader says go east, you can't go west."

"The team leader told you to run ten laps. If you run one less lap, the whole class has to start all over again."

"If you can't finish a hundred push-ups, the squad leader will stay with you. You can rest whenever you finish."

"I know what you're thinking—why? Aren't these rules too harsh? We're here for training, not to get beaten up."

"Let me tell you why."

"Even if you go to the battlefield in the future, your soldiers will ask you what makes you so special! Even if you become squad leaders, the soldiers you lead will complain about the rules and the tough training!"

"What will you do then? Coax them? Pamper them? Or show them with your strength that soldiers should act like soldiers?"

"The training team isn't here to treat us to a meal. My rules here can be summed up in one word—strict. Strict training, strict management, strict discipline."

"Those who can handle it will be transformed in three months, becoming formidable backbone members of the organization. Those who can't—"

He pointed to the gate at the end of the playground.

"Do you see that door?"

Everyone turned their heads in unison to look at the iron gate.

"If you can't stand it, you can leave now. Once you step out that door, I won't even say a word to stop you. But remember this—"

"It's easy to leave, but want to come back in? No way. The training team doesn't eliminate people; it just extends the training period."

"If you can't make it through three months, you stay. Four months, five months, six months—you can get out whenever you're done."

"Of course, there's one last way—"

"If you still can't pass the six-month evaluation period, I'll personally sign 'Recommendation not to promote' on your evaluation form and send you back to your original unit. That's the last bit of face you'll save, and it's the last thing I want to sign."

"I hope I won't have to sign that form this year."

Upon hearing this, all the trainees became somewhat nervous.

Just then, before the trainees could even process the terrifying news that "three months would become six months," they heard the captain roar with a powerful voice:

"Attention, everyone! Dismissed! Go back and change! Fully armed, carrying 20 kilograms of weight, assemble on the parade ground in ten minutes for a 5-kilometer cross-country run!"

A commotion immediately broke out in the group.

"What?! Run now?!"

"Damn, what time is it? I haven't even had lunch yet! My stomach is growling!"

"Five kilometers armed? Twenty kilograms of weight? Are you serious?"

"I thought today was just for registration and settling into the dorm, and training wouldn't start until tomorrow... I haven't even had a sip of water, and I'm already being forced to leave?"

"My legs are still numb. I sat in a truck for most of the day, and my butt hasn't recovered yet..."

Complaints rose and fell, but no one dared to speak out loud.

The lingering impact of Qin Gang's words was still felt, and nobody wanted to be the first unlucky one to be singled out and have their training camp extended.

However, the reactions of a few people standing in the first squadron's formation were out of place with those around them.

Zhao Yihang blinked, turned to look at Qian Kun, opened his mouth as if to say something, but then stopped himself.

Qian Kun turned to look at him, his eyes filled with confusion, and asked in a low voice, "Yihang, did you hear that clearly? Captain Qin said... twenty kilograms?"

Zhao Yihang nodded slightly.

"Five kilometers?"

Zhao Yihang nodded again.

The two were silent for two seconds, then turned around to look at Ma Teng and Sun Dawei behind them.

Ma Teng's expression was also strange: "That's it?"

Sun Dawei looked bewildered: "I thought I misheard... Was it really 20 kilograms for 5 kilometers? Not 20 kilograms for 10 kilometers? Or 30 kilograms for 5 kilometers?"

"Shh! Keep your voice down!" Zhao Yihang quickly glared at the two of them. "Don't let anyone hear us, it's too conspicuous."

But his worries were unnecessary.

The other trainees around them were busy sighing and complaining, and no one noticed what these four greenhorns were whispering about.

Qian Kun licked his chapped lips and lowered his voice, "Seriously, when we were in the special forces unit, how many times did Brother Feng lead us to escape?"

"It depends on my mood," Ma Teng said. "When I'm in a good mood, I run 30 kilograms at 10 kilometers, and when I'm in a bad mood, I run 40 kilograms at 15 kilometers. You remember the worst time, right? I stuffed two stones in my backpack, and by the end, I felt like my knees weren't even mine anymore."

"Stop talking, stop talking, my knee is still aching."

"So... twenty kilograms over five kilometers, would you consider that a warm-up for us?"

Zhao Yihang nodded: "Strictly speaking, it doesn't even qualify as a warm-up."

The four of them exchanged glances and saw the same expression on each other's faces—the unreal feeling of suddenly discovering how gentle the outside world is after being used to being abused.

"I think," Qian Kun said, "that the training intensity of our special operations squad might really be a bit... excessive?"

"What does 'exceeding the standard' mean? It means being far ahead!"

At this moment, Hao Qiang was walking at the very back of the group, his expression more distressed than anyone else's.

He is truly suffering.

It wasn't because of the 20 kilograms and 5 kilometers—for him, that intensity was just so-so; after all, he was the top 5-kilometer runner in the whole regiment, and armed cross-country running was one of his strengths.

What's tough on him is that he'll have to spend time on the same training field as Wu Hanfeng again.

"Twenty kilograms over five kilometers... Wu Hanfeng shouldn't get dizzy from running like that, right?"

"No, that's not right. He fainted last time while lightly equipped. If he runs fully armed, what if he feels the load isn't enough and stuffs more stones into his backpack? What if he just collapses again while running?"

"Should I help him up or not? If I help him up, what if he tries to extort money from me? If I don't help him up, will the squad leader say I have no camaraderie?"

"God, please let him finish these five kilometers safely, don't get dizzy, don't get dizzy, please don't get dizzy..."