SCOM - Chapter 28
Chapter 28
Evening training classes weren't long; instructors could only teach at the military academy training grounds. On Saturday and Sunday, with two full days available, the seven students were dragged out early in the morning for wilderness training.
In the dense forest wilderness, the seven military students from the First Military Academy stood side by side. Four instructors and a rescue medical team waited in a temporarily erected tent opposite them. After a while, the instructors emerged from the tent and stood before the military students.
"The weapons for the military academy drill are randomly provided by the four major military academies; anything could appear. You have two days to reach the endpoint and capture the flag. Additionally, after this training ends, you will choose a captain yourselves. During the drill, the captain will be fully responsible for leading the competition." Jia Hailan tilted his head and glanced to the side.
He Yue turned around, went into the tent, and dragged out a long wooden box. Kang Guang brought seven wilderness survival packs. Everything was placed in front of the military students.
Jia Hailan raised his hand, looking at the timer on his optical computer: "These are the weapons for this training. Take everything, prepare to start."
Qian Mao, walking at the very front, went straight over and opened the long wooden box. Inside was a pile of weapons, firearms, and a bag of tools.
"Too bad, no shoulder cannon." Guan Xue carried a survival pack, walked over, handed one to Qian Mao, looked down, and quickly declared before anyone else, "I want that submachine gun."
There was only one submachine gun, three rifles, two daggers, and one...
Jiang Hong squatted in front of the long wooden box, rummaged through it, then pulled something out with two fingers, asking the instructor with a shocked expression, "What's this?"
"You don't even recognize this?" Kang Guang grinned mockingly. "You might as well withdraw from the competition early."
Jiang Hong looked at the slingshot in his hand: "..." Of course, he recognized it, he just couldn't imagine why a slingshot was mixed in with a pile of weapons.
"This is good stuff. With strong technique, it can reach a range of a hundred meters. The key is that the 'pellet' can be replaced with almost anything." Qian Mao took the slingshot from his hand, carefully examining the frame, rubber bands, and pouch. "The rubber bands have excellent elasticity. Later, I'll just install a sight on the frame."
Jiang Hong and Yan Yan each took a rifle. Ding Wuming, lagging behind, thought for a moment and decided to choose a dagger.
Ji Yuezhi walked over, picked up the last rifle, and handed it to Qian Mao.
"Thanks." Qian Mao paused, accepted the rifle. Although he was proficient with various weapons and firearms, it didn't mean he knew how to use all of them. The rifle was indeed the weapon he was most comfortable with.
One dagger and the slingshot remained. Now, only Ji Yuezhi and Zuo Luohuan were empty-handed from the wooden box.
Zuo Luohuan stood to the side, looked at Ji Yuezhi, and asked nonchalantly, "Do you know how to use a slingshot?"
Ji Yuezhi's pair of clear, cold eyes looked at Zuo Luohuan, stating frankly, "No."
As soon as his voice fell, Zuo Luohuan stepped forward, bent down, picked up the slingshot, and raised her eyebrows slightly. "Coincidentally, I know a little. I'll teach you when I have the chance later."
Hearing this, Guan Xue hugged her submachine gun, immediately sidled up to Zuo Luohuan, and said cloyingly, "Big shot, teach me too~"
Zuo Luohuan glanced at her, leaving only a single airy word: "Scram."
With weapons and survival packs distributed, the seven turned and walked into the dense forest wilderness. As soon as they left, the instructors started the timer.
"Who do you think will become captain upon their return this time?" Bai Feng asked.
"There are only two candidates for captain, Zuo Luohuan and Ji Yuezhi," Jia Hailan pondered. "It's hard to say."
"Something even you, Commander Jia, find hard to say." Kang Guang looked surprised.
Jia Hailan's gaze pierced through the dense forest, as if seeing the seven military students who had already walked far away: "Ji Yuezhi is naturally suited for command. He has the strength and organizational skills; he can definitely handle being captain. Zuo Luohuan... is strong, and should be able to command too, but her temperament is unstable. It's hard to say what she might do."
"That's true." Kang Guang reached up, touching the scar beside his mouth, his eyes deep. This Zuo Luohuan was indeed sometimes hard to figure out.
...
The dense forest was full of wild beasts, insects, and poisons. As soon as the seven entered, they checked if their hands, feet, and clothes were properly tucked in. Jiang Hong lowered his head, stroking his rifle, and suddenly discovered it was broken.
"There's a problem with this gun." Jiang Hong couldn't move the safety latch at all.
"Let me see." Qian Mao took it, dismantled it on the spot. "The parts inside are rusted. I'll clean it once. Everyone else, bring your weapons over too."
This kind of thing had happened once during a military academy drill. Early on, when the Southern District provided weapons and firearms for the drill, high frequencies of barrel explosions occurred during use. Students from several military academies were affected. At that time, only the Northern Military Academy had a student from the Weapons Development Department who checked the weapons beforehand, avoiding the disaster.
However, now, weapon problems had become part of the drill's test.
After checking all the firearms, the seven set off again. Qian Mao walked in the very middle, holding a small, short wooden stick. He borrowed Ding Wuming's dagger to cut a two-centimeter thick round wooden piece, preparing to make a sight for the slingshot.
Yan Yan took the lead at the front, Ji Yuezhi was second, the others were in the middle, and Zuo Luohuan brought up the rear.
The path through the dense forest was rugged and difficult. They needed to find the route on the map to reach the endpoint and capture the flag. Along the way, they might encounter wild beasts, and perhaps 'additions' from the instructors.
"Cross this mountain forest, there are two choices on the other side, water route or mountain path." Ji Yuezhi held the only map. "The river on the water route is too wide, not sure if we can swim across. Plus, there are things underwater, difficult to deal with."
"Then let's continue on the mountain path." Jiang Hong leaned over to look at the map. "There's an abandoned highway on this mountain, should be easier to walk."
Ji Yuezhi's gaze swept over the others, waiting for their opinions.
"I'll follow the seniors," Yan Yan said, scratching his head. He knew his place clearly.
"I can't swim the water route," Qian Mao said. "If there's something underwater, I'll only drag you down."
Finally, everyone's gaze turned to Zuo Luohuan standing at the back, fiddling with the slingshot with lowered head. Sensing the stares, she looked up and said casually, "Either way works for me."
With no objections from the seven, they proceeded along the decided route. The endpoint was in another village. Reaching it within two days without any transportation wouldn't be easy.
Yan Yan held his gun, his tall body nimbly leaping over roadside bushes and obstacles, incredibly agile.
After walking for a long time, Ji Yuezhi, behind, suddenly called out to Yan Yan: "Don't move!"
"What's wrong?" Yan Yan heard his voice and glanced over nervously.
Ji Yuezhi pointed to a spot less than half a meter in front of Yan Yan: "There's a trap under your feet."
The ground was covered in fallen leaves, looking no different from elsewhere at first glance. Ji Yuezhi walked forward a few steps, squatted down, reached out, and gently brushed away the dead leaves. A pale yellow line was revealed. He pulled hard, and a two-meter wide net carrying the dead leaves instantly fell downwards.
Yan Yan looked inside and couldn't help sucking in a breath. This two-meter wide deep pit was densely packed with upward-pointing blade tips. If someone stepped in, they'd be directly impaled.
"Not real knives." Qian Mao found a rock nearby, threw it down onto the blade tips. The blades in that area slowly retracted, and red liquid, like blood, simultaneously appeared on the tips. "These are retractable fake knives underneath. Falling in won't cause injury or death."
"Will there be traps like this in the military drill?" Ding Wuming asked, somewhat alarmed.
"Yes, and with real knives." Jiang Hong crossed his arms. "Every drill has a death quota, didn't you know?"
"Is it too late to withdraw now?" Guan Xue glanced at the gleaming white blade tips in the pit, hugged her submachine gun, and joked.
While several people focused on the deep pit, no one noticed a slight movement in the surrounding pile of dead leaves. An earth-yellow patterned snake coiled in the fallen leaves, its head camouflaged perfectly like a dead leaf, suddenly launched an attack, biting fiercely towards its nearest prey. Its mouth gaped wide, revealing two venomous fangs, already faintly glistening with venom.
The next second, two muffled thuds echoed as flesh was struck.
"Damn!" Jiang Hong jumped in fright.
When the two stones whizzed past his ear, he hadn't had time to dodge. He could only watch as the two stones shot downwards, one hitting the snake's head, the other its body. Both stones completely pierced the dead-leaf viper.
The others also subconsciously looked towards the instantly killed snake. Its muscle memory hadn't faded yet; bearing two bloody holes, it continuously writhed on the ground. And the two stones that pierced the snake continued forward, embedding themselves deeply into the base of a tree trunk.
The person closest to the snake was Ji Yuezhi. His first glance, however, was towards the direction the stones came from.
The dense forest wind blew in gusts, the leaves overhead occasionally rustling. Zuo Luohuan stood before a tree, strands of hair by her face gently lifted by the wind. She held the black slingshot, nonchalantly flicking the rubber band. Meeting Ji Yuezhi's gaze, she smirked. "Lots of snakes and insects in the mountains, be careful."
Ji Yuezhi turned his head to look at the dead snake, avoiding her gaze, and offered a word of thanks.
"This slingshot is amazing!" Jiang Hong, nearly hit by the stones, had the deepest impression of its power. His eyes lit up with interest, running over to Zuo Luohuan. "Luohuan, let me try."
He had never played with this kind of weapon, or rather, never imagined a slingshot could have such killing power.
Even Qian Mao, after watching, was somewhat amazed. He knew a well-used slingshot had some killing power, but didn't expect it could achieve the piercing force of a bullet, and Zuo Luohuan had fired two stones.
Jiang Hong tried it and found he couldn't even aim properly. Not wanting to waste time, he had to give up and return the slingshot to Zuo Luohuan.
The group skirted the deep pit and the dead snake, treading even more carefully now.
Continuing forward, by the time they crossed this dense forest, the sky had already darkened. Their survival packs only contained one biscuit, simple medicine, and two bottles of purified water. The group turned on their optical computer lights. Before them lay the two paths mentioned earlier.
Under the moonlight, the large river to the left shimmered. The breeze brushing against their faces carried a hint of pleasantness. However, everyone's gaze was fixed on the winding mountain to the right. They had to cross this mountain to reach the village, find the endpoint, and capture the flag.
However, the group didn't rush off. They set up camp on the spot, preparing to rest and replenish their energy.
"The mountain path won't be easy. Cracks overgrown with grass, unstable ground, some dark areas might collapse." Zuo Luohuan didn't sit down with the others, continuing to stand guard on the perimeter. "We might encounter something."
"Something?" Ding Wuming didn't quite understand. "Senior Sister, are they wild beasts?"
Zuo Luohuan raised her eyes towards the distant mountain shrouded in darkness: "No."
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