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

"stand at attention!"

As soon as Lei Zhan shouted, the atmosphere on the entire playground froze instantly.

The morning's basic drill assessment has officially begun.

This thing looks simple, but it's actually more grueling than running three kilometers.

Stand with your toes pointing outwards at a 60-degree angle, knees straight, chest out, shoulders level, and fingers close to the seams of your pants.

Anyone who dares to move will have points deducted from the class's score.

Anyone who's even a fraction of a second slower gets scolded, including the class monitor.

Lei Zhan paced back and forth in front of the team, holding his clipboard, like a lion surveying its territory.

"Class Two, Sun Ming, right foot turned outwards! One point deducted!"

"Class 7, incomplete formation! Deduct two points!"

"Li Qiang from Class 3, why are your fingers clenched so tightly? Are you going up on stage to receive an award?"

Li Qiang's face instantly turned red.

Chen Jingxing stood in the first class's line, sweat pouring down his forehead like a leak.

He secretly glanced at Xiao Longteng diagonally in front of him out of the corner of his eye.

The man stood there, like a nail driven into the concrete. Disciplined, standard, yet devoid of emotion. While others gritted their teeth and endured, he seemed to have placed himself within a pre-set mold, not a fraction more, not a fraction less.

Wang Dashan's voice drifted from the side: "Chen Jingxing, what are you looking at?"

Chen Jingxing quickly looked away.

Twenty minutes later, Liu Hai's legs started to tremble. He had the worst physical fitness, and his legs had long since given out.

"Liu Hai, what are you shaking for!" Wang Dashan's roar came crashing down.

Liu Hai shuddered in fright, shaking even more violently, and reported in a tearful voice, "Reporting, squad leader, my... my legs are numb."

"If your legs are numb, just grit your teeth and stand! Are you the only one in the whole company whose legs are numb?"

Liu Hai's face turned red, and he dared not utter another sound, but his breathing became increasingly erratic.

Standing to his left rear, Xiao Longteng took advantage of the moment when Wang Dashan turned around and lightly tapped the heel of his right combat boot on the cement ground.

"despair."

A sound.

There was no reaction from the bangs.

"despair."

Another sound, very slow.

Liu Hai subconsciously followed the rhythm, trying to calm his rapid breathing. His legs were still numb, but the suffocating feeling in his chest, as if it were about to explode, miraculously subsided.

"Take a five-minute break!"

As soon as Lei Zhan blew his whistle, Chen Jingxing was the first to sit down on the ground and gulp down water from his water bottle.

"I give up, I'm really convinced. I used to think standing was the easiest thing to do, but now I feel like lying down is a luxury."

Liu Hai squatted on the ground, his head buried in his knees, trying to unscrew the kettle for a long time but failing.

Xiao Longteng walked over, took it with one hand, unscrewed it, and handed it back.

Liu Hai took the water bottle, his voice muffled: "Brother Xiao, did I hold you back again?"

"I... I always make mistakes too," he said, his voice trailing off. "Several times, points have been deducted from the class because of me."

Xiao Longteng didn't say anything, but squatted down in front of him.

He reached out, untied the shoelaces that had come loose from his bangs, re-threaded them through the eyelets, tightened them, pressed the knot down as low as possible, and then tucked the excess trouser leg tightly into the boot.

The whole movement was as fast as a phantom.

Then, he flicked his finger on the belt around his bangs, and the belt buckle, which was off by an inch, instantly returned to its original position.

Liu Hai stood there, not daring to move an inch.

Chen Jingxing, watching from the side, exclaimed in astonishment: "Brother Xiao, you've done an even more thorough check-up than my mom did when she took me to elementary school."

Xiao Longteng ignored him and casually straightened the backpack strap that was crooked in his bangs.

"Loose shoelaces, messy turns. Trouser legs stuck, slow starts. Off-center belt, most noticeable." He stood up. "Remember the order, from bottom to top."

Liu Hai nodded vigorously: "Mmm!"

Chen Jingxing immediately handed over his water bottle: "Brother Xiao, can you help me too..."

Xiao Longteng glanced at him.

"Put the kettle lid on first."

Chen Jingxing looked down; water had already spilled onto half of his trouser leg.

Li Lei, who had been silent the whole time, couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Wang Dashan stood not far away, watching all of this unfold, neither scolding nor praising.

The training was even more intense in the afternoon, and after dinner, the dormitory was deathly quiet.

Liu Hai sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at his boots. He had still lost points during the day, though fewer than in the morning.

After wiping his face, Xiao Longteng walked over to him and draped the towel over the rack.

"Do it again."

Liu Hai quickly stood up and started checking from his feet. Shoelaces, trouser cuffs, belt... By the third step, the end of his belt was sticking up again, and he couldn't tuck it in properly.

Xiao Longteng reached out, hooked his index finger inward at the end of the belt, and pressed it down, so that the excess part fit perfectly inside.

"It's a technique."

Liu Hai tried to do it once, but he was clumsy.

Chen Jingxing shook his head: "Liu Hai, your hands are suited for holding a hoe, not for delicate work."

Liu Hai got anxious: "I really used to use a hoe."

"Isn't that perfect?" Chen Jingxing slapped his thigh. "I'll go to the mess hall from now on..."

"Chen Jingxing," Xiao Longteng called out.

Chen Jingxing immediately shut up: "Just kidding, just kidding!"

The dormitory door was pushed open, and Wang Dashan walked in, slamming a small wooden ruler onto the table.

"Stand up, everyone. The instructor will be checking the bunks tonight."

"What are you checking during the room inspection?" Chen Jingxing's face turned pale.

"Check if you've taken yourselves seriously as soldiers!" Wang Dashan pointed at each person, "I won't go into the blankets. Shoes, toes facing outwards, a fist's distance from the edge of the bed. Towels folded in half, edges aligned. Water cup handles all facing right, washbasins under the bed, edge aligned with the bed leg. Anyone who messes up will have extra practice tomorrow morning."

He glanced at Xiao Longteng again, "Especially those who have served in the military, don't think you know everything!"

Xiao Longteng stood at attention: "Yes, sir!"

Twenty minutes later, the whole class sat up straight.

Unhurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, first from Class Two, then Class Three. Instructor Zhou Zhengguo's voice was calm, but his words sent shivers down the spines of Class One.

"Sun Ming, your shoe tip is crooked."

"Li Qiang, what happened to the injury on the back of your hand? Go get some ointment. Also, the basin under your bed is about two fingers' width away from the bed leg."

Chen Jingxing sat in the dormitory, barely daring to breathe: "It's over, he can even see two fingers."

Wang Dashan glared at him and lowered his voice: "If you say another word, I'll let him see you first!"

The footsteps stopped at the door.

Wang Dashan stood at attention: "Instructor!"

Zhou Zhengguo walked in, a captain with a smile on his face, but the atmosphere in the room became more tense rather than calm.

He didn't take a ruler; he just walked along, looking around.

"Li Lei, the corner of the blanket is nice, but your shoes are too far to the outside; you'll easily kick them off when you get up tomorrow morning."

"yes!"

He walked to Chen Jingxing's bedside, and Chen Jingxing was so nervous that his knees bumped against the stool, causing the stool to move half an inch away.

Just as Zhou Zhengguo arrived, Xiao Longteng subtly hooked his right foot to the side, the tip of his shoe lightly touching the leg of the stool.

The stool instantly returned to the inside of the table line.

Chen Jingxing was completely unaware.

Zhou Zhengguo paused for a moment, not pointing it out, but simply looked at Chen Jingxing: "Did you talk too much during training during the day?"

Chen Jingxing honestly confessed: "Reporting to the instructor, it's just occasionally."

Zhou Zhengguo nodded and walked to Liu Hai's bedside.

"Are your feet blistered?"

Liu Hai was stunned: "N-no."

"Your left shoelace is tighter than your right, it will make you walk unevenly. Adjust it tomorrow. If it really gets blistered, just report it, it's not embarrassing."

Liu Hai nodded vigorously: "Yes!"

Finally, Zhou Zhengguo went to Xiao Longteng's bedside.

The room became completely quiet.

Xiao Longteng's bed was so clean it looked like a display piece. The blankets, water cups, towels, washbasins, and shoes were all arranged as if they had been calculated by a computer.

Beside the bed, there was a small booklet of regulations, its spine pressed against the bed frame, the edges flush with the pillow.

Zhou Zhengguo paused for a long time.

"Xiao Longteng".

"arrive."

"Re-enlistment?"

"Yes."

"Public file revealed, corporal discharged."

"Yes."

Zhou Zhengguo pointed to the shoes under the bed. "Were the housekeeping standards this strict in my previous workplace?"

Xiao Longteng paused for half a second.

"Reporting to the instructor, this is a personal habit."

Zhou Zhengguo picked up the booklet and turned to the folded page. There were no folded corners, no notes, only a thin thread serving as a bookmark.

He put the book back in its original place, at the exact same angle and position as before he picked it up.

"Keep watching."

"Yes."

As Zhou Zhengguo turned around and passed Wang Dashan's bed, he reached out and opened the loosely closed roster.

Next to Xiao Longteng's name are two circles, one inside the other.

Wang Dashan's Adam's apple bobbed.

Zhou Zhengguo glanced at it, then closed the roster, put it back in its place, and said to Wang Dashan, "Overall, not bad. Don't let your guard down. The recruit training has just begun, and the problems will come later."

"clear!"

After Zhou Zhengguo left, Wang Dashan told him to go wash up. He followed him out and caught up with the instructor at the stairwell.

"Instructor, give me a straight answer," Wang Dashan said in a low voice, "What's the situation with that kid?"

Zhou Zhengguo didn't answer directly: "Just follow the instructions in the file. Follow the basic training and regulations. Don't give him special treatment, and don't deliberately suppress him."

"Just treat it as a regular second enlistment?"

"Yes," Zhou Zhengguo looked down at the dark parade ground. "Some soldiers have stories to tell. The more you press them, the deeper they'll hide. You're still the squad leader, so you have to lead them. Don't let him become your squad's second squad leader."

Wang Dashan was a little embarrassed: "Do you think I'd let a new recruit steal my job?"

Zhou Zhengguo smiled, took two steps down, then stopped: "Also, keep an eye on him, but don't be too deliberate. This soldier is too alert; the more you watch him, the more he'll back down."

Wang Dashan was stunned for a moment before finally replying, "Yes."

Lights out.

The dormitory was plunged into darkness.

Chen Jingxing rolled over and muttered to himself, "Brother Xiao, if we have to do drills again tomorrow, I might really be done for..."

No one responded to him.

Xiao Longteng lay on the lower bunk with his eyes open.

The camp was very quiet.

The memory of a rainy night during my four years of infiltration in a foreign country is like a rusty iron gate being suddenly pushed open.

My right hand unconsciously slipped out from under the covers, fingers spread, and pressed against the cold edge of the bed.

With a flick of his wrist, he can roll off the bed and into an attack position in 0.3 seconds.

He closed his eyes and forced himself to relax.