First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Shooting

Zhao Zhuoluo, hearing these words, shook out his arms and prepared to go out to continue training.

Lian Sheng said in an utterly astonished tone: "You're just leaving like that?"

Zhao Zhuoluo hesitated in his steps: "What?"

Lian Sheng looked at the injured student and said: "Nothing. I just thought that when you injure someone, you should at least fulfill the most basic moral duty of looking after them."

Zhao Zhuoluo: "......"

Zhao Zhuoluo hesitated for a moment, as if considering her words. Then he sat down nearby and actually began caretaking duties.

Doctor Lin looked at him somewhat surprised but didn't say anything.

Lian Sheng pulled up a chair and sat beside him, asking: "What's the points competition?"

"...It's about earning points," Zhao Zhuoluo said. "Command department has at least one match per day, other majors have two per day. Individual combat department has four per day."

Lian Sheng: "You...?"

"Individual Combat Department, same year as you," the doctor interjected. "A star student. Won first place in points twice in previous years."

Lian Sheng nodded: "Impressive."

Zhao Zhuoluo glanced at her briefly, somewhat bewildered. Who was this person?

Lian Sheng asked again: "What are the points for?"

Zhao Zhuoluo considered for a moment before explaining: "Points are merits. Instructors also give scores during regular training, to be used on the final day of actual combat."

Lian Sheng: "What actual combat?"

"Red vs. White Faction Battle," Zhao Zhuoluo paused, then added: "Basically a large-scale brawl."

Lian Sheng: "For assigning positions?"

Zhao Zhuoluo: "Mhm."

Lian Sheng nodded in understanding. So that's how it was.

In their Command Department, all four years combined had over a hundred students, but there would only be one Commander-in-Chief.

No matter where you went, it was the same—in the end, it all came down to strength.

In that case, the points system was indeed quite interesting.

The doctor, sitting nearby typing on his optical computer, reminded them: "You've rested enough. Drink some water and you can leave. I don't accept refugees here."

Lian Sheng's limbs were still somewhat sore and weak, but she had mostly recovered. She stood up and stretched, saying to her new acquaintance: "I'm leaving. Are you staying here?"

Zhao Zhuoluo said expressionlessly: "Fulfilling basic moral caretaking duties."

Lian Sheng: "In a fair duel, what moral caretaking obligations are there? If enemy soldiers die on the battlefield, do you need to look after their entire family? Support an entire army?"

Zhao Zhuoluo: "......"

Flames seemed ready to shoot from Zhao Zhuoluo's eyes. Wasn't that exactly what she had just said earlier?!

"I was just saying it casually earlier," Lian Sheng nodded in commentary. "You're a good person."

Zhao Zhuoluo: "......"

Lian Sheng: "Now that I've finished asking questions, you can leave."

Zhao Zhuoluo: "......"

To hell with her! This person was utterly incomprehensible!

Zhao Zhuoluo stood up and directly pulled open the door to leave.

The patient on the bed raised a hand to wave at them. The doctor looked at him and shooed him away: "You can leave in half an hour too."

The patient: "......"

Lian Sheng rejoined the training group and continued running along the mountain trail.

The beginning was always painful. Lian Sheng's physical stamina was weak, and going straight into cross-country running placed too much strain on her body. She could only proceed intermittently, advancing with difficulty.

Having learned his lesson, Instructor Fu didn't push her anymore. After basically assigning the tasks, he let her slowly catch up on her own.

But he discovered that every time he stopped, he could see Lian Sheng following behind. Although she was slow, based on her speed, it was clear she wasn't slacking off. Considering her previously tested physical condition—without anyone supervising, she could still consistently push herself to the edge of her limits.

Perseverance.

This person's perseverance was terrifying.

Training continued until 4 PM, then dinner, an hour's rest, and then more training.

After collapsing earlier, Lian Sheng had little appetite and mostly felt nauseous. Still, she forced down another bowl of rice with water.

By 8 PM, Lian Sheng was three laps behind the team's average. Everyone stood waiting for her to return.

Those ahead grew somewhat impatient, urging her from a distance.

Lian Sheng wiped her face and joined the formation.

Instructor Fu blew his whistle and finally announced: "Dismissed!"

Lian Sheng heaved a deep sigh, about to sit down and rest properly, when she saw everyone sprint out at breakneck speed. Fast as lightning, swift as the wind—none of the half-dead lethargy from before remained.

Lian Sheng looked down the mountain from afar—they had all disappeared.

Lian Sheng turned to Instructor Fu in shock: "Is there a midnight snack?"

"......" Instructor Fu gave her a sidelong glance. "Are you dreaming?"

When Lian Sheng leisurely made her way down the mountain, swinging her cap, she understood why everyone had been so frantic.

The line for the showers stretched a hundred meters long. Lian Sheng stood at the very end with her washbasin, sinking into deep contemplation.

By the time she finally finished bathing, it was nearly midnight.

She returned to her luggage, set down the basin, rubbed her head, and circled the scattered tent components.

A few students nearby had also just returned, quietly arranging their bedding. Seeing her standing there blankly, they considered offering help.

Then they saw this legendary woman simply shake out the tent's outer canvas, wrap herself entirely in it, lie directly on the mattress, cover her eyes with clothes, turn over, and prepare to sleep.

The classmates were dumbfounded.

Was such an outrageous maneuver even possible?!

They didn't interfere further, quickly finishing their own setups and going to sleep.

When the night patrol teacher came by and saw a woman sleeping wrapped in a tent, he was utterly stunned.

In all his years of supervising students, he'd never seen anyone live so freely.

After watching for a while, he went over and nudged Lian Sheng, asking: "Student, student—where's your tent?"

Lian Sheng responded groggily: "On me."

Patrol teacher: "Why not set it up?"

Of course, it was because she didn't know how.

Lian Sheng didn't know if she answered out loud, but she really didn't want to talk right now. She shrugged her shoulders and kept sleeping.

After receiving the patrol's report, Instructor Fu came first thing in the morning.

After surveying the area, he blew his whistle.

The students jolted awake, crawling out of their blankets in confusion.

Outside, the sky was still dark, dimly lit by a few weak lamps. Looking up, they saw Instructor Fu's expression was particularly grim.

"Lian Sheng!" Instructor Fu pointed at her and shouted: "Why don't you have a tent?!"

Lian Sheng was still wrapped in hers, sitting upright as she made a puzzled sound.

Instructor Fu scolded coldly: "Why didn't any of you help your classmate set up her tent? Isolating someone in the military? She's your future comrade-in-arms! Is this how you treat someone who'd fight alongside you through life and death?"

Scolded like this, the students' drowsiness vanished. They hung their heads in silence.

Lian Sheng said: "I didn't have time to ask."

After yesterday's training load, who had energy to help others?

Even if they'd been willing, Lian Sheng wouldn't have wanted to set it up. Moving her limbs caused spasms of pain—her muscles were too strained. How you slept didn't matter—why be so particular?

"And you!" Instructor Fu pointed at her. "As a military academy student, you don't even know how to set up a tent?"

Lian Sheng rubbed her short hair: "Isn't knowing how to sleep enough?"

Instructor Fu: "......"

Instructor Fu strode over, yanked the tent off her, and waved: "Move aside."

Lian Sheng sullenly relocated to a nearby rock.

Instructor Fu spread out the materials and crouched to assemble her tent. After some hesitation, a few male students pulled on their jackets and came to help.

Instructor Fu glanced at them and nodded: "These students—no points deduction. Everyone else—one point deduction!"

The students wailed: "What—?!" The helpers' faces immediately brightened.

Those penalized felt somewhat indignant. Just as they were about to protest, Instructor Fu loudly declared: "Lian Sheng—five point deduction!"

Lian Sheng's hand paused mid-hair-ruffle.

Huh?

Though she found the deduction somewhat inexplicable, she didn't speak up—after all, he was helping her with the tent.

Standing nearby, Lian Sheng carefully observed, roughly understanding the tent's connections and structure.

...She still didn't see the need to set it up. Throwing it over herself was fine.

With multiple people helping, the tent was quickly assembled, just as Lian Sheng fully woke up. She roughly tossed her belongings inside and followed the instructor to assemble.

This time, several large boxes were placed at the assembly area. They contained black equipment Lian Sheng didn't recognize.

"Today we're practicing wilderness marksmanship!" Instructor Fu announced, hands behind his back. "Your lunch and dinner will depend on your hunting!"

Lian Sheng glanced at her peers—their expressions held excitement, anticipation, and enthusiasm.

Probably a good thing.

Instructor Fu said: "Although the bullets are rubber pellets, high-speed impacts can still be dangerous. Everyone must wear protective gear and absolutely cannot remove it before the activity ends. Additionally, any hits on your teammates during shooting will result in point deductions. Understood?!"

The students shouted: "Understood!"

Instructor Fu continued: "We've released sufficient ducks and rabbits in the woods, all marked with military insignia. Hunting large forest animals is prohibited—instructors and support teams will supervise. For disputed prey, come to us for arbitration. No private violent resolutions. Understood?!"

Students: "Understood!"

"This activity uses four-person squads with team-based scoring. Note! Each person only gets ten bullets!" Instructor Fu pointed forward. "Each row has four people. Now turn and get to know your partners."

As he finished speaking, the group erupted in chatter—some relieved, some disappointed.

The male student in Lian Sheng's row turned to look at her, clicked his tongue, and made a "how unlucky" face.

Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow.

Instructor Fu stepped back to the boxes: "Now, based on your strengths, choose suitable firearms! Front rows first—come forward in order!"

The group burst into barely contained cheers.

The weapons brought this time were decommissioned military replicas, not actually suited for hunting.

But modern military firearms were too lethal for student use, and most were mounted on mechs.

Fundamentally, both types trained hand-eye coordination with similar parameters, so older models were used for exercises.

The first in line stepped up, selecting a semi-automatic rifle and resting it against his chest.

Instructor Fu pointed at distant targets. The student aimed and fired, landing near the bullseye.

The crowd cheered encouragingly, applauding.

Instructor Fu waved him toward the ammunition station.

One by one they took turns, with Instructor Fu offering minor corrections until it was Lian Sheng's turn.

Seeing others choose effortlessly, Lian Sheng didn't dwell on firearm differences. She simply picked a large, eye-catching one, shouldered it, and aimed.

Back when she shot arrows, if not piercing fleas through willows, she at least never missed.

Lian Sheng adjusted her aim and pulled the trigger.

As the bullet left the barrel, recoil slammed into her shoulder. Caught off guard, Lian Sheng lost her grip and stumbled back as the rifle struck her.

Ignoring the dull shoulder pain, her entire arm felt numb from the shock.

The crowd: "......"

Instructor Fu stepped forward to retrieve the gun, staring at her in disbelief: "What are you doing?!"

Lian Sheng shook out her arm and said calmly: "I might not be suited for this. Not strong enough."

"You don't know guns, yet you picked a submachine gun?" Instructor Fu said. "Your grip was wrong—of course the recoil was strong!"

Lian Sheng paused: "You couldn't have said that earlier?"

Instructor Fu: "......"

How could he have guessed a third-year military academy student wouldn't know how to handle firearms?!

Instructor Fu suppressed his temper, reminding himself to be patient.

Returning the submachine gun, he selected a compact semi-automatic revolver for her. Then he personally adjusted her grip and had her fire again.

Lian Sheng's movements made it clear—she was a complete novice, holding a gun for the first time in her life, unaware even of basic firearm distinctions.

Her three teammates looked grim, already foreseeing her ten wasted shots.

"I refuse to team with her!" One teammate raised his hand angrily. "This directly gives our squad dead weight. Why is someone like her even in military academy?"

Instructor Fu crossed his arms: "This is military arrangement—unconditional compliance!"

The student stiffened his neck: "I object! She's a bug! Ask any squad if they'd want her! How are we supposed to score like this?"

Instructor Fu scanned the crowd—everyone averted their eyes.

Nobody was pleased. This wasn't a teammate—it was a zero.

Instructor Fu frowned slightly. This was becoming problematic.

Without a word, Lian Sheng raised her arm and fired at the distant target.

This shot hit the outer ring—better than the first.

Her teammates pressed their lips together, still dissatisfied.

Then she reloaded, adjusted, and fired again.

This one landed between the fifth and sixth rings.

"Whoa—!" someone exclaimed. "Not bad. Lucky shot."

Instructor Fu wanted to stop her, but Lian Sheng reloaded once more. Interest piqued, the crowd watched the target.

This time Lian Sheng didn't fire immediately—she squinted, constantly adjusting before gently squeezing the trigger.

The bullet flew straight, piercing the target.

Dead center!

The crowd erupted in gasps and shouts.

Bullseye!

Luck? Surely no one improved that fast!

"What just happened?!"

"That's insane luck!"

"Genius, haha!"

Even if luck, it was impressive. Scattered applause broke out.

Instructor Fu was also stunned.

He knew some had natural shooting talent, but he didn't believe anyone could master it in three shots without prior training.

Yet Lian Sheng had clearly stated she'd never held a gun. So he attributed her bullseye to luck—or perhaps her "novice" claim was a joke.

Lian Sheng joking... the thought was terrifying.

Just as Instructor Fu was about to question her, Lian Sheng reloaded a fourth time.

Another bullseye.

As if crushing all doubts, three more crisp shots followed in rapid succession—all dead center.

Six bullets spent.

Silence fell. The crowd forgot to breathe, necks craning like idiots between Lian Sheng and the target.

Lian Sheng calmly lowered the gun, leisurely blowing across the barrel.

"I refuse to team with him," Lian Sheng said flatly. "He'll drag me down."

---

Translator's note: The series will be updated daily at ~18:30 UTC for now, anyone interested in reading ahead can request for advanced chapters on Ko-fi. I plan to publish the first part of the series, consisting of 147 chapters, as an ePub on my Ko-fi soon.

Another series from the same author, The Day I Hold My Blade, is set for release in May 2025. I'll update the series page shortly. Hope for your continued support!

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