You've already received a first-class merit award, why are you pretending to be a new recruit a

It's 11 p.m.

Only the even breathing and occasional snoring could be heard in the recruits' dormitory. After a long day, the recruits were exhausted and sleeping soundly.

Xiao Longteng lay on the lower bunk by the window, his eyes closed, but he was not asleep.

His consciousness hovered in the shallow layers, every nerve ending in his body extending outwards. The biological clock cultivated over four years of infiltration couldn't be turned off so easily. In that training camp, deep sleep was equivalent to death.

There are insects chirping outside the window.

A faint metallic scraping sound came from the direction of the corridor.

Xiao Longteng opened his eyes.

The clanking of belt buckles. The slapping of military boots on the terrazzo floor. The footsteps were jumbled, at least three people.

He turned over and sat up without making a sound.

I glanced at my watch. 11:15.

Emergency assembly.

He quickly put on his training uniform. His movements were swift and precise in the darkness; he didn't even need to check the position of each button. He tightened his shoelaces, tucked his trouser legs into his boots, and began packing his backpack.

Hands moved nimbly in the darkness. The backpack straps were laid out in three sections and two pieces; the entire process was completed without a single rework.

"stand up."

Xiao Longteng walked to Chen Jingxing's bedside and nudged his shoulder.

"Um... what's up, Brother Xiao? What time is it...?"

"Emergency assembly, quick!"

The sound was very soft and brief. Chen Jingxing shuddered and jumped out of bed.

"Holy crap, is this for real?"

"Put on your shoes and pack your bag."

Xiao Longteng didn't explain further and turned to wake up the next person.

He had just dragged the last recruit out of bed when the whistle blew in the corridor.

"Beep—beep—beep—"

"Emergency assembly! Recruit company, assemble on the parade ground!"

Wang Dashan's roar echoed through the corridor.

The dormitory erupted into chaos. The recruits banged on table corners, kicked their shoes, and pulled at their blankets in the darkness.

"Where are my pants? Who took my pants?"

"Don't push me, the backpack strap knot is tangled!"

Xiao Longteng had finished packing. The backpack was neatly strapped to his shoulder, with the water bottle and gas mask hanging on either side, in perfect positions.

He walked up behind the recruit struggling with the backpack strap, reached out and gave it a couple of nudges, and the knot came undone. He then re-tied it and tightened it.

"Walk."

"Thanks, Brother Xiao!"

"Class One, come downstairs with me." Xiao Longteng opened the dormitory door and was the first to rush into the corridor.

While Class One was standing in formation on the playground, the other dormitories were still making a racket.

A night breeze blew by, carrying the chill of early winter. Xiao Longteng stood on the far right of the line, his body taut in a straight line.

Three minutes later, the other recruits from different platoons began to run downstairs. Some were barefoot, some had their backpacks dragging on the ground, and some had their hats on backwards.

Company Commander Lei Zhan and Political Instructor stood at the front of the column.

Lei Zhan swept the flashlight in his hand across the front of the formation. The beam swept over the crooked recruits one by one, finally stopping at the first squad.

Class One stood the most orderly. Although their equipment had some flaws, at least the people were all present and all their belongings were with them.

Lei Zhan walked up to Xiao Longteng.

The flashlight beam shone on his face. Xiao Longteng squinted slightly, but didn't move.

Lei Zhan shone his flashlight on the backpack. It was neatly tied with three horizontal straps and two vertical straps, the four corners pinched into shape. The gas mask pouch was hanging two fingers below his left ribcage, and the water bottle was on his right side.

Standard tactical carrying method.

Lei Zhan reached out and tugged at the backpack strap. It was tight and not loose.

"What's your name?"

"Reporting to the company commander, it's recruit Xiao Longteng!"

"Where were you before?"

"Reporting to the company commander, a logistics support brigade of a certain unit."

Lei Zhan's flashlight lingered on Xiao Longteng for two more seconds.

Logistics support brigade.

He didn't ask any further questions, and turned to look at Wang Dashan.

"Class 1 assembled in 3 minutes and 20 seconds, passing. All other classes—try again!"

A wail erupted across the playground.

"What are you yelling about? Go back and reorganize. We'll meet again in five minutes!"

It wasn't until 1 a.m. that the new recruits were finally allowed to go back to sleep.

Back in the dormitory, everyone collapsed onto their beds.

"Brother Xiao, we owe you a lot tonight," Chen Jingxing said, kicking off his shoes. "If you hadn't called us in advance, we would have been in big trouble today."

"Yeah, Brother Xiao, how did you pack that backpack? Teach me tomorrow."

Xiao Longteng sat on the edge of the bed, wiping the dust off his tactical boots with a dry towel.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow."

The dormitory door was pushed open.

The man who came in was tall and had tanned skin. Li Qiang from Class 3, who trained in track and field before enlisting, had a good foundation in sprinting. He was in the lead in the three-kilometer race this afternoon, but was overtaken by Xiao Longteng in the end.

During the emergency assembly just now, the third squad came in last and was punished by the company commander with two rounds of reprimands.

Li Qiang walked up to Xiao Longteng and looked down at him.

"Xiao Longteng?"

Xiao Longteng didn't look up and continued polishing shoes.

"Your platoon runs so fast, the company commander puts our platoon at the bottom. You're pretty proud of yourself, aren't you?"

Chen Jingxing stood up to speak, but Xiao Longteng stopped him with a look.

"It has nothing to do with me," Xiao Longteng said in a flat voice.

"None of your business?" Li Qiang sneered and reached out to grab Xiao Longteng's shoulder.

Xiao Longteng did not dodge.

Li Qiang's hand landed on his shoulder and gripped it tightly.

Then Li Qiang's expression changed.

He exerted force, but Xiao Longteng's body didn't move at all. He sat there, as if welded to the bed. The muscles under his shoulder were abnormally hard, not the kind you get from working out in a gym, but something else entirely.

Xiao Longteng then raised his head.

He looked at Li Qiang.

There was no anger, no provocation, no emotion whatsoever. She simply stared at him.

Li Qiang loosened his grip.

He couldn't explain why he loosened his grip.

The man sat there, neither fighting back nor standing up, nor even uttering a harsh word.

But Li Qiang just didn't want to keep his hand on that shoulder.

"We'll talk about it tomorrow." Xiao Longteng lowered his head and continued polishing his shoes. "Lights out."

Li Qiang stood there for a few seconds, then turned and left.

Chen Jingxing breathed a sigh of relief as the dormitory door closed.

"Brother Xiao, you're incredibly patient—"

"sleep."

Xiao Longteng folded the towel and placed it in a fixed position on the bedside table.

He lay down and pulled the covers up.

The chirping of insects outside the window began again. He closed his eyes, his breathing gradually slowing down.

Wang Dashan stood at the end of the corridor, just watching Li Qiang return to the dormitory of Class 3.

He glanced down at the roster in his hand and turned to Xiao Longteng's page.

A circle has been drawn next to the name.

Wang Dashan thought for a moment and then added another circle outside the first one.