First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 9
Chapter 9: Supplies
In the afternoon, the official cross-country run began.
The students hadn't yet recovered from the intense competition of the morning, their bodies still weary and exhausted. Looking around, the most energetic person seemed to be Lian Sheng.
Instructor Fu stood with his hands behind his back at the front of the formation, surveying the group: "Today there's no set route—choose any location on the mountain to start running. Everyone must wear an activity tracker. If you don't complete today's running quota, you won't be allowed to rest! No sleep until you finish!"
The students raised their heads and responded: "Yes, sir!"
The sun was particularly fierce today. Standing under its glare, sweat poured down their faces.
Based on past experience, if they wanted to finish by 8 p.m., then excluding half an hour for meals, there would be virtually no time for breaks. Even while eating, they couldn't stop moving.
The female students had it slightly better, but the situation was still far from optimistic.
There weren't many female students in the Military Academy to begin with. Most of the few who were present had received help from their classmates and were exempt from this cross-country punishment.
This made Lian Sheng and her companions appear especially pitiful.
Instructor Fu took a few steps forward, lifting his chin: "I'd like to commend one student here—Meng Jiangwu. Even after submitting his prey, he still chose to participate in this cross-country run. This is extremely rare among command students, and I hope everyone can learn from his example!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding students erupted in exclamations of regret.
"If you didn't want it, you could've given it to me! What a waste!"
"What was the point of fighting tooth and nail this morning? We nearly turned against each other over this, just so you could join the cross-country run?!"
Zheng Lei was also shocked, turning to ask: "What's going on with you?"
Meng Jiangwu coughed and continued standing at attention.
Instructor Fu bellowed: "Quiet, all of you!"
His voice turned cold: "Don't you understand the purpose of these exercises yet? It's to accumulate experience and train yourselves! You're already half soldiers—start showing some awareness! If you're just here to slack off and avoid work, you might as well get out now!"
The students lowered their gazes, standing straight in silence.
Instructor Fu pointed emphatically in Lian Sheng's direction. Though he didn't say it aloud, his meaning was clear.
Anyone could tell she'd been slacking off in the morning, severely disrupting their training rhythm. This didn't align with their planned schedule.
Instructor Fu looked toward the group of victors resting by the campsite and asked: "Does anyone else want to participate?"
The students quickly shook their heads.
Instructor Fu clicked his tongue and turned back: "Starting now, everyone go get your trackers. We'll still be waiting here at the campsite. Any cheating will be severely punished. Don't underestimate your instructors—understood?"
The students: "Understood!"
Instructor Fu raised his hand and waved: "Go!"
The group scattered, heading to the supply point to collect their trackers, pinning them to their chests before running up the mountain.
Meng Jiangwu walked over to Lian Sheng and casually remarked: "There's a flat area near the mountainside that's easier to run on—we usually go there. You know about it, right?"
Lian Sheng glanced at him: "Is that where everyone is?"
Meng Jiangwu: "Pretty much. There are always lots of people there."
The two began jogging slowly up the mountain. Zheng Lei and Shen Yu passed them, waving before moving ahead.
Lian Sheng asked: "Why did you suddenly decide to join the cross-country run?"
Meng Jiangwu lifted his chin proudly: "To accumulate experience and train myself!"
Lian Sheng said flatly: "Oh..."
Meng Jiangwu: "..."
Seeing her expression, Meng Jiangwu grew irritated: "What's that supposed to mean? You think I'm lying to you?"
Lian Sheng seemed not to hear him, abruptly changing the subject: "Instructor Fu was very pleased that you joined."
Meng Jiangwu: "Huh?"
Lian Sheng slowed her pace, moving to the edge of the path. Meng Jiangwu matched her speed.
"I think Instructor Fu was acting strange today," Lian Sheng said. "If the rewards and punishments for the hunt were rules they established, then they shouldn't interfere with anything within those rules. Yet today he actively encouraged you to participate."
Meng Jiangwu found this utterly baffling: "Teachers always like diligent students. What's so strange about that?"
Lian Sheng said: "No. If rest is considered a reward, then not only did he praise those who voluntarily gave up their reward, he even urged others to do the same. That's very problematic behavior. It could dampen future enthusiasm and create dissatisfaction among the victors. They might as well scrap this mechanism and use points as rewards instead."
Meng Jiangwu felt utterly exasperated: "You're overthinking this."
Lian Sheng stuffed her hands in her pockets and turned to give him an impassive look.
Meng Jiangwu felt his scalp prickle slightly and said: "Getting more familiar with the mountain terrain would be good for you, since we'll be having individual and squad combat exercises soon."
"Oh." Lian Sheng nodded. "I see."
Meng Jiangwu was getting impatient: "What exactly do you see?!"
Lian Sheng said: "On the first day, we do cross-country running to learn the mountain terrain, then start hunting activities. The more prey you catch in the first hunt, the harder the second one becomes. Even though I've only participated for a few days, I think the overall exercise process is already quite well-designed. I don't believe each day of the exercise should be viewed in isolation."
Meng Jiangwu frowned thoughtfully.
Lian Sheng asked: "Is there anyone else who submitted prey but still chose to do the cross-country run?"
"Yes. Zhao Zhuoluo and his team." Meng Jiangwu paused. "You know Zhao Zhuoluo, right?"
Lian Sheng pointed ahead: "Let's go up first and take a look."
The two reached the mountainside.
This area was naturally flatter, and after years of being trampled by people, it had formed a broad path.
Sure enough, there were many people running laps around the mountain.
Lian Sheng and Meng Jiangwu ran opposite directions around the mountainside before meeting up again.
Meng Jiangwu wiped his sweat: "Didn't see them."
Lian Sheng wasn't surprised: "Let's look for them. See if they'll tell us anything."
Meng Jiangwu nodded and followed Lian Sheng further up the mountain.
After a few steps, Lian Sheng turned back: "Actually, let's split up. No need to search together."
Meng Jiangwu was momentarily stunned before huffing and lifting his chin: "I just happened to be going the same way. You think I was following you?" With that, he swaggered off toward a side path.
Lian Sheng: "..."
What she'd said was clearly factual. With the mountain being so vast, how could searching together be efficient?
Higher up, the terrain grew steeper and more overgrown with weeds. Some areas seemed deliberately arranged with thorny bushes. This stretch was indeed difficult to traverse, and Lian Sheng moved slowly.
After over an hour of arduous climbing, Lian Sheng finally spotted a moving figure and immediately gave chase.
Upon getting closer, she saw it was Zhao Zhuoluo.
He hadn't expected her either—perhaps thinking it was one of his teammates, he'd waited briefly. Upon recognizing her, he resumed running.
Lian Sheng greeted him: "Hey."
Zhao Zhuoluo gave her a fleeting glance but still stopped.
Lian Sheng caught up and asked: "What are you doing up here?"
Zhao Zhuoluo: "You like talking while running?"
"No," Lian Sheng said. "I'm running to talk to you."
Zhao Zhuoluo wiped the sweat from his face and countered: "What are you doing up here?"
Lian Sheng: "To see what you're doing."
Zhao Zhuoluo didn't respond, silently continuing his run, though he didn't shoo Lian Sheng away either. She followed quietly, observing.
Zhao Zhuoluo's route seemed aimless, but his gaze kept scanning the ground and corners. His actions were already quite telling.
Lian Sheng asked: "What are you looking for?"
Zhao Zhuoluo: "Markers."
Zhao Zhuoluo stopped, pushing aside grass to crouch before a shrub. He pointed ahead: "See that?"
Lian Sheng crouched beside him and looked.
A small triangular metal tag, no bigger than a finger joint, was hidden among the shrub's dense foliage. If not for the occasional glint of sunlight, it would've been nearly invisible.
But finding such small objects in the mountains wasn't unusual. Even if Lian Sheng had seen it herself, she wouldn't have paid it any mind.
Zhao Zhuoluo said: "This is tomorrow's supply drop point."
Lian Sheng: "What supplies?"
"Bullets, water, food," Zhao Zhuoluo said. "They're usually hidden in obscure, shaded areas closer to the mountaintop and replaced before the activity begins. You can look for them yourself."
Lian Sheng understood: "I see."
Those who won the second hunting competition weren't necessarily the ultimate victors. Those who participated in the cross-country run might not necessarily seize this opportunity either. Any disadvantage could be transformed into an advantage. On the ever-changing battlefield, nothing was certain until the very end.
Victory had always required both physical strength and intelligence.
Quite interesting.
As Zhao Zhuoluo prepared to leave, Lian Sheng remained crouched and said: "Thanks for telling me."
"No need," Zhao Zhuoluo said, tilting his head. "You've never participated in combat exercises before, yet you managed to deduce this much—that's already impressive. Even if I hadn't told you, an instructor would've reminded you eventually. After all, this is also part of the test, and you passed."
Lian Sheng thought for a moment before crawling over to retrieve the metal tag and placing it in the middle of the path.
She wasn't sure if supplies were distributed based on these metal tags or fixed locations. Might as well test it.
Obscure, shaded, closer to the mountaintop?
Lian Sheng stood in the middle of the path, hands on hips as she surveyed her surroundings.
If she were the instructor, being particularly malicious, she'd add another condition—difficult to retrieve.
The shrub from earlier had been lush. Hiding supplies beneath it would indeed be discreet. But there were no tall plants nearby to conceal one's presence, and it was located near a main path up the mountain. When the time came, many people would likely pass by.
Even if someone found it, others might notice and start fighting over it.
Lian Sheng glanced down at the activity tracker on her chest, feeling the road ahead was long, and continued her search.
Before nightfall, relying on her intuition, Lian Sheng found five metal tags in total. However, three were in very odd locations—perhaps deliberately moved.
When she circled back to the starting point, the one she'd left in the middle of the path was also gone.
How... interesting!
Searching in the dark would be difficult, so Lian Sheng went down for dinner before completing the rest of her run on the mountainside.
It was past midnight by the time she returned to submit her task and retire to her tent.
Ty for the update~~
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