First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 128
Chapter 128: Familiarity
The instructor saw they weren't responding and maintained his posture while urging: "Come over quickly, don't just stand there! Observe carefully!"
The students felt their intelligence was being insulted.
"This is pointless, instructor," a student shouted. "Who wants to go 'pew pew' here?"
Fang Jianchen immediately lost interest and began edging toward the exit: "My mech adaptation is still far from sufficient. I'll head back first."
Zhao Zhuoluo and others silently pressed themselves against the wall, also preparing to leave discreetly.
"What's all this noise? Stay where you are! Trying to rebel?" The instructor barked sharply. "Think you can leave after coming here? Dream on! Everyone return to your positions!"
The students milled about reluctantly near the doorway.
Lian Sheng asked: "So is this testing performance or imagination?"
The instructor said disappointedly: "You all are really quite stupid."
The instructor turned back, raised his arm, then narrowed his eyes and said very seriously: "Pew!"
"......" The students, "......"
This was probably just killing time out of boredom.
"Ah!" Lian Sheng, standing behind the instructor, saw what happened before her and her eyelids twitched slightly as she exclaimed in shock: "It actually fired."
The students: "What?"
Lian Sheng said: "It really fired. There's a display."
Fang Jianchen took two steps to stand behind her shooting platform and saw that the isolation board serving as a barrier now displayed a distant 3D image - a tall tower that had been blown apart in the middle, leaving only half standing. A simple score of "81" was displayed on it.
"Huh..." Fang Jianchen muttered, "So it really is training?"
"Nonsense! Did you think I was bluffing you? What kind of person do you take me for? Do you think our base has this much free time?" The instructor stood up and smoothed his hair saying: "See that? Everyone go practice now! Don't think this is funny - sensor operation is exactly this concept. You're not directly dueling with an opponent, you need imagination! At the same time, you must be sufficiently proficient and intimately familiar with your mech."
Hearing this, Fang Jianchen reached back to grab his shoulder. Because the sensor equipment was still on, there was indeed a slight tactile feedback. He swung the gun on his back around to hold it in front of him.
But relying on empty imagination, he had no idea where the muzzle was actually aimed.
"Reporting, instructor!" Fang Jianchen said, "During Sanyao battles, I can see my weapons through the mech's vision system. But right now there's nothing - I don't know where I'm aiming. I clearly don't need to imagine this."
Holding his weapon, he slowly felt for the trigger based on the not-very-obvious sensor feedback. This was truly bizarre, giving him an inexplicable feeling of being scammed.
"You all really...don't waste time on unnecessary actions like drawing weapons. On the battlefield, shooting opportunities are measured in milliseconds or even microseconds." The instructor shook his head, looking somewhat helpless as he said: "What's the normal attack sequence? Draw weapon, aim, shoot. To pursue absolute speed, an excellent mech pilot has already prepared his aim while drawing the weapon. He knows exactly where his muzzle is pointing - all that's left is minor adjustments based on visual confirmation."
The instructor waved for the students to gather around, then crouched back into position. He nodded at Lian Sheng: "Come up front and select one. Rapid three-round rotation."
Lian Sheng walked to the shooting platform and saw several options on the screen. Following instructions, she selected the function.
"Alright, now let me explain the specific training rules." The instructor half-crouched, one hand on his knee, with a very calm expression: "First, pay attention to the prompts on the board ahead."
Everyone focused on the whiteboard in front.
A countdown appeared on the whiteboard. When it ended, the screen displayed a frozen image of a high-rise building with a red circle marking the shooting point at the rooftop. Simultaneously, a new 3-second countdown and a row of codes appeared in the upper left corner.
"A3L. Represents the third weapon on the left arm." The instructor said while already touching the designated position and accurately drawing the gun. He raised his hand to fire a shot, then quickly returned to position with his hand at his chest, ready for the next instruction.
The score flashed briefly on the whiteboard - nearly hitting the red point, still fluctuating around eighty.
"The A3L's characteristics are long attack range with stable trajectory, but limited coverage - suitable for urban use." While explaining the first weapon's features, he had already switched equipment three times.
The images on the whiteboard kept changing, with identical weapon requirements each time. But the instructor's aiming, shooting, and weapon switching... was truly seamless without interruption.
After demonstrating several times, the instructor stopped and stood up.
"Step back behind the red line at the shooting platform to reset. If you drop your weapon during training, exit and reset." The instructor said, "Of course, this is an unforgivable mistake. If you actually do something this stupid in reality, you can say goodbye to the entire military."
"Does everyone understand? For projectile weapons, this is the most basic speed. At this speed, sixty percent accuracy is the minimum standard. Otherwise, you have no qualifications to pilot a mech." The instructor glanced at them disdainfully: "Can you handle this? Do you even know which way your weapons face?"
Fang Jianchen stepped forward: "Can I give it a try?"
The instructor gave him a sidelong glance, ignored his question, and pulled out a seemingly confused student to press in front of the shooting platform: "You go!"
The male student looked up and said tactfully: "Instructor, I haven't studied sniping to this level. My skills are insufficient - I need more training."
The instructor glared: "When I say try, you try! Weren't you just looking down on me? Didn't you want shooting training? Didn't you want to play with mechs? Go!"
The student imitated his stance, crouching and placing his hands in the same position.
Regardless of actual skill level, at least the posture was learned correctly. The instructor nodded slightly behind him.
New prompts appeared on the isolation board. The student looked as if facing a formidable enemy. His hand touched his right shoulder, then hesitated.
The instructor tsked: "B2S is the second short gun on the right hand! What are you touching there?"
The student quickly turned to grab the short gun.
After this slight delay, the countdown on the board had already ended, displaying new requirements.
The instructor changed his standing posture, frowning: "If you know what caliber weapon should be used in this scenario and where that weapon is installed, you can draw the equipment immediately without looking at prompts!"
The student became flustered - having just drawn the gun, he wanted to holster it but was in a hurry to find another. So he let go to grab the new target weapon.
"Damn it!" The instructor lightly kicked his buttocks and shouted: "What are you doing? Such a perfect demonstration of mistakes. Do you really want to quit the military circle?"
The student lowered his hands and voluntarily stepped back.
"Does everyone understand now?" The instructor proudly placed his hands on his hips and pointed at them: "Look at your level - still thinking about leaving? Where would you go? University students may have grown small wings, but you can't fly. Stay put - here you listen to the instructor."
Fang Jianchen lowered his head and muttered: "We're not Sophie - where would wings come from?"
"Therefore, this shooting training is equipment-switching training. While continuously switching equipment, become proficient with weapon usage!" The instructor said, "I know some of you prefer using the same weapon from start to finish during matches - this is a major taboo. Regardless of position, melee or ranged, you must develop equipment-switching awareness!"
The base strictly categorized over a dozen sets of firearms based on caliber, lethal range and distance, mounted on the mechs. This applied even to primarily melee-oriented mechs. Sniper-type mechs had even more meticulous classifications.
The Sanyao system never had such specifics - their equipment could only be roughly described as large, medium or small. So they were truly unfamiliar with the weapon placements here.
"All students must fire at least five hundred rounds, with no upper limit. Now quickly go learn about your weapons - find Instructor Liu in the adjacent training room." The instructor scanned them, "You've been wearing this set of equipment for almost a full day, staring at screens in the next room for almost a full day - has anyone studied its structure and weapons?"
Fang Jianchen proudly raised his hand: "I studied it!"
The instructor, repeatedly contradicted: "You shut up! I was asking those who don't know!"
The students obediently admitted fault, then turned to go identify weapons next door.
Lian Sheng felt along her arms, confirming the equipment before starting shooting practice. Fang Jianchen explained the different weapons, their positions and suitable scenarios to several roommates beside her.
After reviewing configurations, students gradually returned, selected positions and clicked start. Several instructors from next door also came over to patrol and observe.
The entire training area was filled with "pew pew" sounds. Lian Sheng felt somewhat embarrassed.
The images on the board kept switching - some wilderness areas, some combat zones, others urban districts.
A male student aimed his gun at the target and boldly shouted: "Pew!"
The screen directly displayed a bloody red, with a score: -500.
The student screamed in horror: "What the—! How did this happen?"
"You killed people - five innocent civilians." The instructor appeared behind him like a ghost and said: "Here it's just minus five hundred points - in reality you'd be finished."
Relying on his legendary imagination, the student adjusted his muzzle and fired again.
Blood splattered, -800.
The student jumped up agitated: "I definitely hit the bullseye!"
"......" The instructor took a deep breath and forcefully pointed at the shooting platform: "Switch equipment!"
The student nervously checked the screen: "Switch to what? It doesn't say."
The instructor roared: "What do you think? Using heavy artillery with large caliber in a densely populated area - clearly you grabbed the wrong equipment from the start!"
Student: "......"
The student stepped back to reset, saying: "Heavens, I've already broken a thousand! Negative!"
"Let me inform everyone." The instructor said with hands behind his back, "Your training scores haven't been tallied yet. Better watch yourselves."
Everyone had nearly forgotten this. Hearing this, they paused and said in unison: "Didn't you say there were no penalties?!"
"Is this a penalty? These are your own achievements and standards!" The instructor said, "The instructors were a bit lenient with you, so you forgot this is a training camp? Forgot why you're here?"
The students immediately stopped fooling around and began focusing on shooting.
Lian Sheng flicked her hand and asked: "Do we have to say 'pew'? Can't we say 'bang'?"
The instructor said: "Why say 'pew'? Didn't I say you can either manually shoot or give verbal commands?"
The students: "......"
The instructor checked the time and wanted to have the professional shooting instructor from downstairs take over, when Fang Jianchen screamed again.
"Why?" Fang Jianchen said dumbfounded, "I hit the bullseye, dead center. Secondary damage counts against me too?"
He had shot at a building,
"Wrong angle! There are silhouettes here but not there. This means there were civilians who failed to evacuate in time on this side - you should have shot from over there with the muzzle angled significantly upward." The instructor pointed diagonally, "No independent judgment skills?"
Fang Jianchen: "...Could we get all the rules at once?"
The instructor retorted: "Is this your business or mine?"
In the shooting training room that morning, the students racked up massive negative scores through their efforts. Those maintaining total scores around zero were already considered brave.
They had selected the slowest rotation speed - if they couldn't keep up with scene changes, points were directly deducted. And the generated maps couldn't be modified except through shooting or failure.
At such times, the horror of urban maps became apparent. Whether accidental injuries, stray shots, or building collapses causing secondary damage - all counted as deductions.
Every time an urban scene appeared, everyone's hearts tightened. Should they let the countdown pass and directly lose two hundred points, or attempt it and risk even higher deductions?
Unfortunately, urban maps appeared more frequently than any other type.
Full of malice.
The minimum shooting requirement was five hundred rounds per person - this didn't take much time.
But after five hundred rounds, some people's scores had broken negative ten thousand, startling even themselves. Although the exact scoring method was unclear, to prevent accidents, they decided to try making up their negative points.
As training progressed, students gradually adapted to weapon positions and functions. Combined with the relatively large target areas on the boards, they finally began getting on track.
From morning until noon, after nearly nine continuous hours of weapon-drawing motions, their brains and arms began reacting reflexively. Upon seeing prompts, their hands already moved toward correct positions subconsciously. So they kept accelerating, with scores slowly rising.
They never wanted to hear the words "draw weapon" again in their lives.
"I've finally broken even!" A male student pounded the table and stood up, tears in his eyes: "Dad's going back to climb railings."
A buddy nearby said: "So fast? Wait for me!"
The student strode toward the exit without looking back. Halfway there, he suddenly paused, then inexplicably detoured toward Lian Sheng's area.
He firmly believed everyone must have things they're not good at - even within the same field.
Standing at Lian Sheng's side, he saw her shooting and resetting expressionlessly without pause, appearing extremely proficient.
The student stepped forward for a closer look.
Lian Sheng was using the same rapid three-second rotation as the instructor had demonstrated. His smoothest was only rapid five.
The student looked up nervously at the score display above. It was a long string of numbers - the exact figure didn't matter as his heart skipped a beat and he immediately averted his gaze without counting carefully. But the kill streak beside it already showcased her ability.
Her eyes were fixed intently on the screen. From prolonged crouching, her thighs trembled slightly. Yet her upper body and arms remained perfectly steady.
Despite such tedious training, despite already reaching this level, she maintained complete focus.
The student recalled someone's saying:
People only become strong when they want to be strong.
So what was he doing now? Who was he perfunctorily facing?
He quietly walked away and returned to his own shooting platform.
A buddy nearby asked in surprise: "Really coming back?"
The student said hoarsely: "Don't talk. Draw your weapon."
Buddy: "......"
Not long after he left, Fang Jianchen came over from another row and asked: "How's it going?"
Lian Sheng sighed: "187 kill streak."
Her arms were too sore - slightly off.
Fang Jianchen grinned: "Then I win. 211."
Lian Sheng shrugged.
"Use your charm to get me four chicken legs - two spicy, two not. I also want extra vegetables. Get them from window number two in the middle." Fang Jianchen snorted, "That guy has had it in for me - I'll make him personally serve me!"
"......" Lian Sheng lamented, "Alas, the emperor inquires about spirits, not his people's welfare."
The mech training content was initially what interested everyone most, and what convinced them to endure the hellish early high-intensity training.
—No matter what, they had to experience real mechs. Otherwise they'd just be Sanyao game players, unworthy of being called mech pilots.
However, after actually starting, they only found it tedious - incredibly tedious.
Just the same thing over and over, yet this one thing firmly stumped them.
Those skilled seemed to adapt immediately, while the unskilled expended effort only to remain stuck.
The instructors gave no hints, only occasionally correcting mistakes in passing.
Continuous failure was frustrating, and comparative skill gaps were demoralizing. After the initial novelty faded, burnout set in.
The atmosphere in Lian Sheng's shooting room remained decent, as most were attack mech pilots without high shooting standards to begin with. Failure couldn't defeat them. And through repeated training, effects were obvious. Though boring, they persevered.
The students in the adjacent iron frame area were more distraught.
With the shooting room full, only those successfully reaching the iron frame's end could go practice.
To free up space, Lian Sheng's group was expelled from the shooting room. Either join physical training with instructors or be recruited as student coaches.
After a full day of tumbling, some reached the end - but their times were at least double Lian Sheng's record. More remained stuck midway.
That evening, all students were moved to the fourth floor. The iron frame area became overcrowded, making training even harder.
Frustrated students asked: "Instructor, aren't there any other techniques? Can we learn shooting instead?"
The instructor looked up: "So impatient, yet want to master mechs?"
The base could only teach basic operations - the rest involved classified information beyond their clearance. Yet except for a few individuals, even these basics had much room for improvement.
What could be done? Teach students how to walk? Besides tumbling their way forward, were there shortcuts?
The instructor stood: "Tomorrow everyone rests."
Students looked up.
The instructor removed his cap: "Do whatever you want - the base has no arrangements. Training rooms and cafeteria remain open all day, but students needn't report."
Students were surprised.
"Field march starts the day after. Adjust your rest and stamina. After the march, training ends." The instructor said, "But a reminder: dress warmly. It's heated here, but still snowing outside. We'll pass snowy mountains during this march, perhaps wade icy rivers. Bring extra socks and shoes. However, the fixed load is twenty kilograms - extras don't count. Be prudent!"
The base training's latter half focused on marches.
There were short marches (fifty kilometers in one day) for adaptation, then a three-day, two-night long march (130 kilometers).
Distance-wise it wasn't difficult - if they could endure the cold.
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Ty for the update!
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