I enlisted four times! My former unit blacklisted me.

Back in the dormitory, the ten students from Class One began to frantically change their clothes.

The training unit's equipment had been distributed to each platoon's dormitory well in advance, and each person had a standard set of individual carrying gear on their bedside table.

Training uniform, combat boots, Kevlar helmet, tactical vest, magazine pouch, water bottle pouch, gas mask pouch, plus an empty backpack.

"Stuff your backpacks! If you can't carry 20 kilograms, figure it out yourselves! Bricks, stones, sandbags, whatever you want, but if you're short even an ounce when you weigh it, the whole class has to start over!" Song Yizhou stood at the door and urged loudly.

The trainees hurriedly stuffed things into their backpacks.

There were ready-made sandbags and bricks downstairs in the training team's dormitory building, which were specially prepared for this situation. Obviously, this tradition of running away as soon as you enter the door has continued for many years.

Zhao Yihang picked up a 20-kilogram sandbag and weighed it in his hand, his expression somewhat subtle.

"What's wrong?" Qian Kun asked in a low voice.

"It's nothing." Zhao Yihang stuffed the sandbag into his backpack, zipped it up, tested the weight on his back, and smiled wryly, "It just feels...too light, I'm not used to it."

"Who says otherwise?" Qian Kun slung his backpack over his shoulder and stretched. "I feel like I'm not carrying anything with this on. How did Brother Feng train us? He's made us all a bit abnormal."

"Nonsense, if Brother Feng himself is abnormal, how can the soldiers he trains be normal?" Ma Teng said with a smile. "This is what they call 'birds of a feather flock together'."

"You three!" Song Yizhou's voice suddenly came from behind, startling the three of them. "What are you dawdling about? You've been chatting away! Should I make you some tea?"

"No need, class monitor! We'll be right there!" the three shouted in unison, and dashed out of the dormitory.

Ten minutes later, the sharp assembly whistle rang out again on the playground.

One hundred and fifteen trainees, fully armed and carrying 20-kilogram backpacks, lined up in four square formations on the parade ground.

This time the line was much more orderly—not because of improved discipline, but because the weight on their backs made them too weak to move.

Qin Gang strode up to the platform, followed by four company commanders.

He glanced at the sea of ​​heads below the stage, his face still expressionless.

"Is everyone here?"

"Reporting, Battalion Commander! First Company, all in formation!" "Second Company, all in formation!" "Third Company, all in formation!" "Fourth Company, all in formation!"

The four company commanders reported in turn, each voice louder than the last.

"Okay." Qin Gang put his hands behind his back and scanned the first row to the last row.

"The 5-kilometer cross-country run with full gear is one of the regular training subjects for the training team. Starting today, you will run it at least twice a day."

"You all know the standards for this subject in your original unit. But what I'm telling you now is that the standards in your original unit don't apply in the training team."

"In the training team, the passing standard for the armed 5-kilometer run is 19 minutes."

As soon as he finished speaking, a collective gasp of astonishment rippled through the crowd below.

"Ten...nineteen minutes?"

"Holy crap, how is this possible?! Our company's excellent standard is only twenty minutes!"

"My best time is only 21 minutes and 30 seconds. Nineteen minutes? This is going to kill me!"

"Oh no, oh no, this is really the end... I trained for two months before coming here, and I finally managed to break 21 minutes, thinking I was set for life, but they tell me it's 19 minutes?!"

"Nineteen minutes for a cross-country run with full gear? Even the top runners in the battalion probably can't do that! That standard is outrageous!"

Over at the Fourth Company, a soldier from the division's reconnaissance battalion muttered under his breath, "Nineteen minutes for a five-kilometer armed run? That's among the top ranks in the division's reconnaissance battalion. The training unit uses that as the passing grade? Are they crazy?"

Qin Gang looked at everyone's reactions without any emotion; he was already used to it.

He continued calmly, "Remember what I just said—I only say what I say once. If you have any objections to my standards, you can argue with me about the test scores, but don't argue with me verbally."

"Those who argue with words, either show some skills or get lost."

"In the training team, everything is judged by ability, results, and attitude!"

Nineteen minutes—it's not that difficult, but it's not that easy either.

"Since you were selected as the top athletes from each regiment, you should have this ambition—if others can run a sub-19-minute time, why can't you?"

"It's okay if you can't make it. If you can't make it in one day, train for two days. If you can't make it in a week, train for a month."

"If you can't make it in a month, then train for three, four, or five months."

"As I said, the training team doesn't eliminate people, it only extends the training time. You'll only pass this subject when you can run under 19 minutes."

"The same standards apply. You will only be able to leave the training team when you all meet them."

Qin Gang waved his hand dismissively: "Dismissed! Prepare to begin!"

The trainees scattered and surged toward the starting line on the playground.

Some people were stretching their wrists and ankles, some were bending over to tie their shoelaces, and some were repeatedly adjusting the shoulder straps of their backpacks. The expressions on their faces were all very serious.

The number nineteen minutes felt like a heavy stone, pressing down on everyone's hearts.

In the formation of the Fourth Company, several soldiers from the division's reconnaissance battalion gathered together, warming up and exchanging hushed conversations.

"Zhang Hai, what's your best time for the 5km armed run? You're one of the best in our battalion."

The soldier named Zhang Hai was a dark-skinned, thin second-year soldier. Upon hearing this, he scratched his head and said, "The best time I ran was nineteen and a half minutes, and that was when I was in particularly good form."

"If I play normally, I'll score between 20 and 21 points. Nineteen minutes... to be honest, I'm really not sure."

"Damn, even you only got 19 and a half? Then I have no chance at all."

"Do you know Zhao Peng from the Second Company? He's the top runner in the 5-kilometer race in the Second Regiment. I heard he can run it in under 18 minutes and 30 seconds."

"Eighteen and a half minutes? Holy crap, that's a sure win!"

"Not necessarily. The Third Company also has a few tough guys. And have you forgotten? There's also a second-term sergeant in this training camp, a veteran who's been in and out of the company four times."

"You mean Wu Hanfeng? A veteran from the second phase participating in the reserve backbone training, something just doesn't seem right to me. Either he's just coasting along, or he's really capable. But if he's really capable, how could he have waited until the second phase before coming to this training?"

"Who knows? We'll find out once we start running."