First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 31

Chapter 31: Points

Lian Sheng stood up, stretching her limbs and preparing to continue with renewed vigor.

The instructor turned and gestured in a circle: "Come on, come on, let's have a military song. Have you prepared your final number yet?"

His companion waved a hand dismissively: "Prepare what? Who has time for that?"

"We've rehearsed and are ready," the instructor said. "Let me sing one for you."

The crowd made scoffing noises.

A group of instructors began singing loudly behind Lian Sheng.

Lian Sheng could barely understand what they were singing—there was no real melody, just a bunch of grown men yelling off-key.

She shook her head and continued with her remaining tasks.

The last set was particularly difficult for Lian Sheng, with frequent stops and starts as she ran.

As if heaven itself disapproved, the rain that had lightened to a drizzle returned to its previous torrential downpour right as the instructors started singing.

Lian Sheng turned to glare at them with deep resentment.

After running in the rain for so long, her raincoat was practically useless. Water had long since seeped in from the edges, soaking her completely. Combined with the strong wind, it had become more of a hindrance than protection.

The final set took over half an hour, but she finally completed all her tasks just before midnight.

Lian Sheng put down her backpack and bent over to rub her legs.

Her muscles had no strength left—when she stood straight, she could feel her calves trembling violently. After stopping, waves of cramping pain rose from the soles of her feet.

She kicked her legs to alleviate the awful sensation.

The instructor clapped and cheered happily: "Good! It's over, pack up and return to camp!"

The other instructors joined in the applause: "Not bad, not bad, impressive work, little sister."

Some things could be taught and trained—techniques, physical ability. But other things, like willpower, could only come from the students themselves.

A soldier who "knows how" to slack off is smart, but a soldier who makes a habit of slacking off is undoubtedly useless.

The other instructors began putting equipment back in place before shutting everything down. Lian Sheng wiped her face and turned to head back to her campsite.

Instructor Fu followed leisurely behind her.

Lian Sheng kept looking back, wiping her face as she said: "How embarrassing, making you escort me back."

Instructor Fu: "..."

Lian Sheng asked: "Does your conscience hurt?"

"..." Instructor Fu snapped, "Your conscience doesn't hurt, so why should mine?!"

Lian Sheng turned her head back and said flatly: "Oh."

They soon reached their campsite. Water had already begun pooling by the riverbank. The terrain sloped slightly downward here, making their tents look like they were floating on water.

Lian Sheng could now vividly imagine the sound of a river flowing past her ears.

She took a few steps forward, the water rising above her ankles. Lian Sheng waded slowly toward her tent to grab a change of clothes before heading to wash up.

Instructor Fu stood in the middle of the campsite, took out his ever-present whistle, and blew it with full force: "Third Company, Twelfth Platoon, attention! Assemble immediately! You have ten minutes to pack your bedding and fall in line. Move, move, move!"

Lian Sheng: "..."

The students stumbled out of their tents, bleary-eyed. Meng Jiangwu carefully opened his tent flap to prevent water from flooding in.

Lian Sheng: "...You slept hugging your bedding?"

"Countermeasures for every policy," Meng Jiangwu said. "I packed yours too, hurry up, hurry up, keep up!"

During rainy days, they carried their bedding in waterproof bags. If they actually slept under them, there wouldn't be enough time to pack up.

Lian Sheng opened her tent flap, saw the bedding inside, and dragged it out to strap onto her back.

The other students did the same—changing clothes quickly before running out.

A nearby student saw Lian Sheng and asked: "You just got back? You finished running?"

Lian Sheng wiped her face: "Yeah."

The students gasped in admiration: "Wow—"

Zheng Lei stood behind her and, worried the rain might drown out his voice, shouted: "You're freaking amazing, bro!"

"What do you mean finished running? It's only just begun!" Instructor Fu could barely keep his eyes open from the rain pelting his face. He pointed to the side and barked: "All of you, lap around the field, starting now!"

"Instructor!" A female student raised her hand. "Didn't we used to do this at two? Why is it midnight now?"

Instructor Fu snapped: "What? Need to pick an auspicious time for running? Should we light some incense and perform a ritual too?"

The girl said: "But didn't Lian Sheng just get back? And now she has to run two more laps around the mountain base?"

Lian Sheng shook her head silently.

Compared to washing up, sleeping for a bit, then being dragged out to run again, it was better to get it all over with in one go.

She fully supported starting the run now.

Instructor Fu said: "Your performance during the instructor competition was terrible! Absolutely terrible! And you still dare to plead for mercy?"

The students protested innocently: "We didn't do anything, Instructor!"

Lian Sheng, Meng Jiangwu, and the others kept their heads down, staying silent.

Instructor Fu said: "Rules are rules—there's no room for negotiation! Start running now, single file, move out!"

The students lined up and ran onto the main path, where they saw other departments already training. In the distance, they could make out moving figures. Half the streetlights had been turned off, leaving the road dimly lit. Combined with the heavy bedding on their backs, everyone ran at a slow pace.

Originally, their night movement training was conducted without lights, but they still didn't trust these students enough for that.

They hadn't gone far when they encountered another group stopped by the roadside.

They seemed to be freshmen who didn't know any better, as their instructor was yelling at them: "Do you get to pick the weather during war?! If you're willing, is the enemy willing? As soldiers, do you clock in on sunny days and take breaks when it rains? Does it depend on your mood?!"

Lian Sheng turned her head. Did all these instructors follow the same script when berating trainees?

Meng Jiangwu and the others were still worried about Lian Sheng, who looked like she was about to collapse.

Seeing her staggering steps, her head hanging low, someone couldn't help but ask: "Are you okay?"

Lian Sheng shook her head: "I'm fine."

They felt slightly reassured—until they heard her weak, strained voice continue: " Separated by ten thousand miles, our paths diverge utterly. In life, we belong to different worlds; in death, we'll be ghosts of foreign lands. This is our eternal farewell. Please give my regards to old friends, and serve our lord faithfully. "

Meng Jiangwu turned back: "What does that mean?"

Shen Yu adjusted his glasses and said: "It means we're about to part ways in life and death, never to meet again. Give my greetings to old friends and remain loyal to our superiors."

The others: "..."

That definitely didn't sound like "I'm fine"!

Given her current state, there was no way she could finish these two laps on her own—or even keep up with the group. Dragging herself along until dawn would only mean another round of training. A truly miserable prospect.

In the end, she was practically pushed along by Meng Jiangwu and the others, barely managing to stay with the group until they returned to camp.

Afterward, she nearly fell asleep in the shower.

The next day at six in the morning, it was time for early training.

Today's tests were for jumping and flexibility—Lian Sheng failed outright. After several attempts cost her ten points, she resigned herself to resting on the sidelines.

At noon, she followed the group to the cafeteria for lunch. Though still somewhat listless, she didn't stand out too much among the equally exhausted crowd.

They arrived slightly late, ending up at the back of the line.

Seeing Lian Sheng's expression, Meng Jiangwu said: "We should've come back later during the exercise yesterday. We could've scored more points on the mountain, and you wouldn't have had to run so late." It had been pure suffering.

The others nodded in agreement.

Lian Sheng took a long drink of water and exhaled deeply: "I chose to come back because, given the circumstances at the time, staying on the mountain might not have earned us more points. Plus, competition would've intensified, physical strain would've increased, and risks would've multiplied. The marginal returns weren't worth the effort."

Lian Sheng continued: "As for those fifteen sets last night: one, I should've done them. Two, I could do them. Three, I wanted to do them. Not wanting to lose points was the main reason, but not the decisive one. Understand?"

The smell of food wafted over, making Lian Sheng's stomach growl loudly.

The line moved forward. Meng Jiangwu peeked ahead and sighed: "Potatoes again, tomato and egg stir-fry again, fried fish fillet again."

Zheng Lei and Shen Yu sighed along with him.

"How wonderful," Lian Sheng said, raising an eyebrow. "Vegetables and meat—you're far too ungrateful."

Back in her day, marching conditions were poor. Their rations were dried flatbread with almost no moisture—hard, flavorless, and nearly impossible to break. Eating it was less about chewing and more about taking a bite and washing it down with water.

Disgusting → no appetite. Indigestible → filling.

Once, a new recruit choked on his ration. He drank an entire bucket of water just to soften the bread enough to swallow it. It might as well have been a bone.

Compared to that, the food here wasn't just decent—it was luxurious.

"The main issue is hunger," Lian Sheng said regretfully. "There's just too little."

Zheng Lei exclaimed: "Don't you dare say you eat little, my dear Lian! You had three heaping bowls yesterday!"

The cafeteria ladies, ever generous with their portions, packed the rice down firmly and piled it high. Even he had only managed two bowls at most.

Lian Sheng said: "Natural talent from birth. Good stomach."

Shen Yu said: "Speaking of which, your mom last time—she's a colonel, right? What about your dad?"

Lian Sheng: "I don't know."

Shen Yu: "Uh..."

An awkward silence fell. Thinking he'd upset her, Shen Yu quickly changed the subject.

Lian Sheng shrugged innocently.

She genuinely didn't know.

When it was her turn, the cafeteria worker didn't even look up as she slid a tray through the window.

Meng Jiangwu leaned over and said: "Auntie, this one eats a lot—give her extra."

"No, it's 'sister,'" Lian Sheng corrected. "It's fine, I can just eat more rice."

The worker looked up, delighted: "Oh my, a girl! Don't be like that—young people should eat more vegetables!"

With that, she scooped another fish fillet onto Lian Sheng's plate: "Enough? Want more?"

Lian Sheng thanked her profusely: "Thank you, you've worked hard."

A woman in charge of the kitchen—now that was impressive. Kitchen duty was no easy job, full of physical labor.

Everyone in the military worked hard.

Carrying her tray, she spotted Zhao Zhuoluo and his group. Their table still had half the seats empty, so she went over to join them.

"Huh?" Zhao Zhuoluo asked in surprise. "Why do you have two pieces?"

Lian Sheng picked up her chopsticks and said calmly: "Why embarrass yourself?"

Zhao Zhuoluo: "..."

After two days of routine training, Lian Sheng felt like she'd shed a layer of skin. Along with it went her points.

When Meng Jiangwu calculated her score from the Red vs. White battle, he couldn't help but gloat. Just a lowly foot soldier now!

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