First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Self-Awareness

Lin Lie stopped ahead and turned back to ask, "Do you want me to accompany you for a meal?"

Lian Sheng replied, "No need."

Lin Lie nodded. She had only asked casually.

She checked the time on her wrist—clearly very busy—but still added another question: "Has anyone been bullying you here?"

This recent incident was obviously a misunderstanding. To be honest, she was still quite displeased about it.

"No," Lian Sheng said. "Just a normal duel."

Lin Lie gave a noncommittal hum.

Lian Sheng had never needed her to worry, and the two of them had never shared much common ground for conversation.

"I'm leaving," Lin Lie said.

Lian Sheng waved at her.

Lian Sheng ambled out of the building. Outside, the sun was directly in her line of sight, glaringly bright. She raised a hand to shield her eyes, then swung her jacket over her shoulder and continued walking.

Unexpectedly, someone was waiting for her outside.

A male student fell into step beside her and asked, "How did you do that earlier? One move to take down your opponent? What did you use?"

Lian Sheng smiled. "A stun gun."

"Hah, definitely not," the guy said, gesturing emphatically. "Stun guns leave traces that can be detected, but the infirmary didn't find anything. So it couldn't have been that."

Lian Sheng said, "Then it must've been my fist."

"Your fist... could do that to someone?" The guy rubbed his nose, skeptical but still curious. "What's the trick?"

Lian Sheng crooked her fingers into a gesture, then mimed a forward strike.

"Oh...?" The guy copied the motion, half-convinced. "Really?"

Lian Sheng said, "Guess."

One battle to fame—this was truly a battle that had made her famous in every sense of the word.

Lian Sheng's mysterious finishing move became the stuff of legend in the academy. In less than an hour, it had spread across all four grades and every department.

Much of this was thanks to the opposing instructor's description of it as "something straight out of a ghost story."

He genuinely felt like he'd seen a ghost.

By the time Lian Sheng emerged, lunchtime was long over. Everyone had already been to the cafeteria and returned.

Latecomers weren't served at the cafeteria, and there were no convenience stores or similar places around. What awaited her was nearly six hours of high-intensity training in the afternoon and evening.

It was downright tragic.

During the break, everyone sat at the morning assembly point, waiting for the afternoon drills to begin.

Lian Sheng fanned herself with her cap. People around her kept sneaking glances her way.

They seemed to want to talk to her but didn't dare.

Lian Sheng chuckled to herself. The new recruits back in the day had looked at her the same way.

Before long, Instructor Fu approached.

Noticing the shadow falling over her, Lian Sheng looked up. Instructor Fu, face stern, held out a bag. "Here. Have you eaten?"

Lian Sheng took it with both hands. "Thanks."

Inside were two buns and a cup of soy milk. She took them out and ate with satisfaction.

Instructor Fu coughed. "No. I misunderstood you earlier. My apologies."

Lian Sheng nibbled on a corner of the bun. "Oh."

Instructor Fu: "..."

He'd sincerely apologized, and all he got in return was an "oh"?

No—getting an "oh" was already good. At least it wasn't "get lost." Lian Sheng's expression this morning had been downright murderous.

After delivering the food, he gave Lian Sheng another glance, then decided to leave quietly.

Half an hour later, the break ended, and the instructors began leading the students in formal training.

The first day was all about cross-country running and endurance tests. The instructors took them sprinting along different mountain paths.

The Command Department's route was always the flattest. But as long as it was a mountain path, the uneven terrain would disrupt their pacing, making it extremely draining. Their team of over forty people, including five girls, trekked through the woods for over half an hour before collapsing.

Among them, Lian Sheng was the best—she achieved a perfect last place.

Noticing her struggle, Instructor Fu specifically trailed behind her, blowing his whistle to keep her moving.

Every time Lian Sheng slowed, the shrill sound of the whistle pierced her ears.

She glanced back silently, then kept running.

Stamina was her hard limit. No matter how Lian Sheng adjusted her breathing or pacing, she could clearly feel her physical limits.

Her body was telling her to stop. So after completing one lap and returning to the assembly point, she did.

Instructor Fu's eyes bulged. He rushed to her side and blew his whistle furiously.

Lian Sheng covered her ears, marching in place as she began to cool down.

The girls ahead saw this, and their willpower instantly crumbled. They stopped too.

Instructor Fu lowered his whistle and jabbed a finger forward. "Keep running! I didn't say you could stop!"

The girls decided to follow Lian Sheng's lead.

Lian Sheng stood rooted, her face pale. At his words, she merely flicked him a glance. After a long pause, she finally said softly, "I can't run anymore."

Instructor Fu didn't need to hear her to know what she was saying. "Move your feet and you'll keep running. How far have you even gone to say you can't?"

Lian Sheng licked the metallic taste of blood from her teeth. "I know my own body best."

Instructor Fu said, "And I know your training limits best."

Lian Sheng tilted her head with a sigh and extended her wrist toward him. "Take my pulse yourself. I've hit my limit."

Instructor Fu planted his hands on his hips, brow furrowing. "I've seen plenty of soldiers like you!"

Lian Sheng lowered her arm and began stretching her legs around him. "And I've seen plenty of instructors like you."

Instructor Fu: "Oh?"

Lian Sheng wiped the sweat from her forehead. She was sweating way too much. She said, "None of them ended well."

Instructor Fu: "..."

For a moment, he thought she was cursing him. But Lian Sheng's expression was utterly guileless, as if she were simply stating a fact.

Because she was.

Instructor Fu took a deep breath and barked, "Run! Even if I end badly, that's no reason for you to stop!"

Lian Sheng: "My legs, my rules."

Instructor Fu: "Right now, this is a military exercise. Your legs are under my command!"

Lian Sheng pointed at her legs. "Then try calling them."

Instructor Fu, furious, laughed. "Have you forgotten that military orders are absolute?!"

Lian Sheng frowned. A general in the field is not bound by royal orders. After a pause, she added, "Have you forgotten that?"

Instructor Fu choked, too angry to speak.

He'd never encountered a soldier this stubborn. Never.

Several girls in the distance wiped their brows and came over. "Instructor, can we rest first? We'll finish the run later, okay?"

Instructor Fu stared fixedly at Lian Sheng, waiting for her to move.

Lian Sheng stared back, equally frustrated.

Maybe the soldiers he'd trained before had always slacked off prematurely, so pushing them harder could unlock their potential. Or maybe he'd never trained someone as weak as her. But she had genuinely reached her limit.

Did she have the energy to keep arguing with him?

Continuing would be bad, so she wouldn't.

As the standoff dragged on, the doctor who had been observing stepped forward, hands in his pockets. "Hold on."

He looked young, wearing glasses. A head taller than Instructor Fu, he stood around 190 cm. But wrinkles already creased the corners of his eyes.

Seriously... even the medics in the military department were this tall.

"Some people misjudge their limits, but others don't," the doctor said. "Let me test her vitals. Don't worry—our exercises are safe."

He handed Lian Sheng a device—a small metal sphere—and told her to hold it in her mouth. Then he rolled up her sleeve and attached something to her wrist.

A few minutes later, the doctor turned to Instructor Fu. "Her heart rate, red blood cell count, and muscle lactate levels are all past safe thresholds. I don't recommend she continue training. She needs rest."

His tone was flat, devoid of emotion, but Instructor Fu still felt the weight of accusation in his gaze.

This was the second major mistake he'd made today, both involving the same person.

Instructor Fu was deeply embarrassed, questioning his life choices.

Being scolded by a doctor would haunt him forever.

Lian Sheng, standing to the side, spat out the sphere and said kindly, "I forgive you."

This "forgiveness" stung even more than sarcasm. Right now, he didn't really need Lian Sheng's absolution.

Instructor Fu shuffled his feet, feeling utterly mortified. Turning to the doctor, he said, "Can you test them too?"

The girls eagerly stepped forward.

The doctor ran the tests expressionlessly, then put the device away.

The girls looked at him expectantly. Slowly, he said, "You can still run a few more kilometers. Very robust."

The four girls: "......!"

Instructor Fu's confidence surged, and he couldn't wait to leave. "Run! Now! Anyone who falls behind gets an extra hour of punishment tonight!"

The girls wailed as they resumed running. Instructor Fu didn't look back as he sprinted off.

Lian Sheng rubbed her brow, then followed the doctor into the infirmary.

Once inside, they exchanged a glance. Without a word, Lian Sheng walked straight to a small bed and sat down.

The doctor returned to his desk and booted up his optical computer. "With stamina like yours, why join the military academy?"

Lian Sheng took off her shoes and patted them. "Because I'm a born commander."

These shoes were great. Didn't hurt her feet. She loved them.

The doctor paused and turned to her. "I've never met anyone as arrogant as you."

Lian Sheng: "Let's tentatively call it ambition. Thank you."

The doctor said, "I don't recommend lying down. I suggest you keep moving. Stretch a bit."

Lian Sheng saw the logic in that. No point wasting the run. Even if her limbs currently felt like they belonged to someone else.

The infirmary was tightly packed—during the later stages of exercises, it would be overcrowded—so the beds were close together with little open space.

Lian Sheng walked to the doorway and began stretching.

When Zhao Zhuoluo pushed the door open, the first thing he saw was an enlarged rear end. He startled.

Hearing the noise, Lian Sheng straightened up and stepped aside, gesturing. "After you."

His face was flushed from exertion, and he was carrying a comrade on his back. He was also very tall. After setting the guy down on a bed, he handed him over to the doctor.

Lian Sheng asked, "What happened to him?"

Zhao Zhuoluo: "Points match. Lost."

Lian Sheng frowned. "Fainted from anger?"

Zhao Zhuoluo was baffled by her logic. "...I knocked him out."

The guy on the bed weakly protested, "I didn't faint."

The doctor examined him and nodded. "He's fine. Just exhausted. Rest a bit."

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