First Battlefield Commander! - Chapter 236
Chapter 236: Extra 5: Instructor Lian and Her Little Companions
Most of the students had arrived and were sitting at the foot of the mountain, listening to Lian Xun's attempts at offering both comfort and criticism. Only then did Lian Sheng emerge from the building, a popsicle stick dangling from her mouth, to check on them.
Lian Sheng looked at her students with a face full of concern.
Lian Sheng asked, "Are you happy?"
The crowd: "..."
The crowd: "..."
The crowd: "..."
A male student muttered softly, "Happy about what? We're not masochists."
Lian Sheng looked at him and said, "Constantly courting death, I thought you were."
The male student: "..."
Everyone turned their faces towards that male student, eyes blazing with hostile glares.
Why did you have to answer? Why stick your neck out?! Don't you know her style by now?!
"Yu Yang." Lian Sheng turned to him. "You survived until the end, not bad."
Yu Yang replied in a level tone, "Thank you, Instructor."
He didn't feel it was praise, nor did he think it was something worthy of praise. So what if he survived until the end? When he finally saw the instructor, his first reaction was still to turn and flee.
Lian Sheng asked, "Well? Do you know where you lost?"
Yu Yang said very straightforwardly, "Skill."
Lian Sheng asked with her hands behind her back, "And then?"
Yu Yang: "Then what?"
"Hmm..." Lian Sheng said, "Ding Xuexi, you say."
Ding Xuexi: "...Command?"
Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow, then looked at the others. "What about you guys, you tell me."
The crowd agonized:
"Lost because we weren't cunning enough."
"Not ruthless enough."
"Lost because I was too kind."
"...Why don't I know anything? What happened to you guys on the mountain?"
"It's a long story..."
Lian Sheng also felt it was a long story.
By now, the sky had darkened; their activity had ended rather late. Fatigue and hunger were written all over the students' faces. Their clothes were stained with various soils and grass leaves from ambushes, looking utterly wretched. They looked like a troop of defeated soldiers. They only had a bit of energy left for bantering with her.
Lian Sheng waved her hand and said, "Forget it. First, clean yourselves up and return the equipment. Then hurry up and eat dinner. Come back at eight tonight for the summary and report."
"There's no night run training tonight, and tomorrow morning's training is also suspended for half a day to let you adjust. Training resumes as usual in the afternoon," Lian Sheng said. "Before the Red vs. White Faction Battle, to help you build some confidence, your instructor has scheduled several points competitions for you. Those who like fighting, those who want to practice, don't miss this opportunity."
The crowd perked up slightly.
They had earned far fewer points this time; they had to find other opportunities to make up for it.
Yu Yang sensed something was off and asked, "You said 'most' are?"
Lian Sheng said, "First, second, and fourth-year students from the Individual Combat Department. Don't go bullying friends from other departments. How fun it is to just fight amongst ourselves."
Everyone: "..."
They knew this person had no good intentions!
Lian Sheng's conscience was alive and kicking as she said, "Dismissed!"
The students obeyed the order, dispersing raggedly. They didn't have much time; they still needed to stay sharp, go eat dinner, and come back to listen to more lecturing.
Lian Xun followed behind Lian Sheng, pointing at her hand and saying, "I want one too."
The popsicle she had been eating earlier was now finished. Lian Sheng said bluntly, "There are no more."
"I want one too." Lian Xun threatened seriously, "I'm going to cry!"
Lian Sheng crouched down, scooped him up in a reverse hold, and headed towards the rest building.
"Really, there are no more. We only bought one box, not even enough for the instructors to share, how could there be any left for you?" Lian Sheng threatened him back. "What popsicle are you eating? Go ahead and cry, let me show you off to everyone. There really aren't any boys here who still cry. Your tears will become a unique mark of this place. In the future, everyone who comes here will know, 'Oh, that so-and-so...'"
"Ah—" Lian Xun wouldn't let her continue, burying his head in her shoulder, unable to understand, feeling particularly wronged. "Why do you have to fight with me for food?"
Lian Sheng's expression didn't change. "I'm just teaching you to learn self-control."
Lian Sheng carried him around the room, washed him up, changed his clothes, and then tossed him onto the bed.
Lian Sheng: "Lights out, time for sleep, okay?"
Lian Xun felt hurt and ignored her again.
This sister must have been picked up from somewhere; everyone else at the base treated him much better.
For the next two days, the students' enthusiasm for combat was high, but their overall morale was low. That enthusiasm was likely an intermittent outburst built on frustration and anger; they showed little reaction to Lian Sheng's various provocations and arrangements. This caused Lian Sheng's own enthusiasm to plummet.
The defeat in the instructor confrontation match was harder for them to bear than losing in the Red vs. White Faction Battle.
Even the usual highlight of combat exercises, the grand occasion for showing off, couldn't mask the comrades' listlessness.
Lian Sheng stepped on a stone, nudging it around in a circle with the tip of her foot. She looked at the comrades jumping over obstacles in the distance, clapped her hands, and called out, "Assemble!"
The crowd ran back, bewildered, quickly formed ranks, and reported numbers.
Lian Sheng said, "Everyone sit down. Rest now."
The students all sat down on the ground. Lian Sheng sat down opposite them and said, "Let's have a frank discussion. Give you some ideological education."
A male student raised his hand. "Instructor, are you talking about baring our souls? The height, weight, measurements kind?"
Lian Sheng smiled very amiably. "If you mean that kind of frankness, I'm more interested in the structure of your internal organs. Want to try?"
The student shook his head, breaking out in a cold sweat.
Lian Sheng said, "When I took you over, your school's instructors told me your biggest problem is division. I believe you yourselves are aware of this too."
"The reason for the division is insufficient understanding of each other, not knowing the correct way to cooperate, perhaps even resisting it. This leads to various vicious cycles," Lian Sheng said. "Actually, I personally agree that outstanding students can have a fixed team, because tacit cooperation can promote the exertion of individual strength and further development. For the military command, it also saves the work of reassignment, which is something they are happy to see. But this doesn't mean you can give up the opportunity to cooperate with others."
Lian Sheng held up a finger. "Cooperating with different people, even complete strangers, what does it mean? It means you need sufficient environmental observation skills, danger awareness, and emergency flexibility. This requires you to divert some of your observation power from the enemy onto your own teammates. You need to overlook the entire battle situation and then process it in your brain. Your mind will constantly be in a tense state. However, when accidents occur, you can also respond and adapt more quickly."
"I'm telling you, humanity progresses. Just like the invention of transportation tools can save the labor of walking, it doesn't mean you don't need your legs anymore." Lian Sheng supported herself with both hands, scooting a little closer to them. "My dear students, a real battlefield isn't as simple as your exercises, where you can use various borderline methods to evade the commander's arrangements if you feel like it, and then choose comfortable combinations to complete tasks. I'm not showing off my rich experience to you; I just want to remind you of one thing: all the classmates around you now will be living, breathing lives when you reach the war zone."
Lian Sheng: "An operation, whether it's a small team or a large fleet, you won't be familiar with everyone. Substitute your current behavior into a real-life scenario. Think about it yourselves: how disgusting, how despicable, how vulgar. Is it acceptable? Bullshit!"
"Don't think you'll be heroes, and never go into battle with a hero mentality. Heroes all die young, comrades! Even someone as witty and brave as Lian Sheng lost an arm; you guys would lose at least a head!" Lian Sheng said sincerely. "Cooperation, cooperation is the only way you can survive. To put it bluntly, on the battlefield, you are just a moving ball of flesh, and flesh balls are very fragile. If you don't even know how to unite, what's the difference between you and trash!"
"..." The crowd, "..."
A male student raised his hand to object, "Instructor, but we do cooperate."
The crowd chimed in one after another.
They felt it wasn't that serious; they were clearly very cooperative. Their attachment to their original teams hadn't reached that point; it was just that a group of people with comparable strength could more confidently entrust their backs to each other, making actions more convenient.
Don't people naturally seek familiar methods to break through?
"We're easy to talk to, we cooperate actively, isn't it going well? Our teams assign tasks to each other," the male student said. "Choosing guns, positioning, planning – it's all decided after discussion. Isn't this also experience in cooperation?"
"And there's Yu Yang and Ding Xuexi! How is their cooperation with their own team members not cooperation? They aren't always together usually, but they still follow orders and complete tasks!"
"Yeah, yeah!"
"Instructor, you can't force two people to connect heart-to-heart overnight; even dating isn't that fast!"
Lian Sheng slapped the ground, looking disgusted. "That's not called cooperation, at best, you're just in the same frame! What are you doing? What do you think cooperation is? Of course, different teams need different positions, otherwise, are you conjoined twins squeezed together? You don't understand the charm of cooperation at all, you think you're so capable!"
Being scolded, the crowd couldn't help but laugh.
A male student asked weakly, "Instructor, why did the school assign us to you?"
Lian Sheng thought for a moment and said, "Probably because I'm relatively rational and impartial. Even if I can't teach you, I can violently straighten you out."
Lian Sheng added, "Or edify you with my beauty. After all, there aren't many women here."
Lian Sheng continued, pulling the topic back. "Geniuses are few; the ordinary are the majority. If I were a commander, I'd prefer soldiers with strong adaptability. A group of outstanding individual soldiers who aren't good at cooperating are weaker than you imagine. If you don't believe me, we can try it out."
The crowd looked at her, bewildered.
"Don't you really want to defeat me? I'll give you another chance. This time, I'll give you all the advantages," Lian Sheng said. "The teams for the Red vs. White Faction Battle won't be randomly assigned this time. We'll play a custom match."
Lian Sheng: "We will rank according to performance. The top-performing students, which means almost all the students from the Individual Combat Department, will be assigned together to the Red Faction. Your commanders will be that famous golden duo. That should count as your strongest combination, right?"
The crowd was in an uproar, asking in surprise, "Then what about the rest?"
Lian Sheng: "The rest are your opponents."
A student shouted, "Then what's the point of fighting? Is there even a need to fight?"
Lian Sheng raised an eyebrow. "Of course. Because their commander and vice-commander are me and my little partner."
The crowd looked at her doubtfully.
Lian Sheng said, "Don't worry, I will compete fairly with you. That means I won't do any cheating like peeking at surveillance or seeking outside help. I can also move with the White Team, but I won't make any attacks. Satisfied now?"
The students argued amongst themselves for a while, then found time to reply, "Satisfied about what, Instructor? Are you trying to be Dugu Qiubai, seeking defeat?"
Lian Sheng: "I'm really looking forward to you guys giving me a fatal blow."
The crowd didn't believe it and expressed ridicule.
Lian Sheng raised her hand and glanced at the time. "We've already arranged the specific details. The Red vs. White Faction Battle will start tomorrow morning at 7 AM. It's currently 3 PM. The specific faction rosters will be announced publicly at 4 PM, you can go check then. Before the match starts, you have enough time to find your comrades for arrangements, analysis, and team formation, then prepare for tomorrow's match. Strategy is confidential, remember not to leak it. If you have any more questions, don't consult me. Because I will be taking my vice-commander to find my team members and discuss the grand plan to deal with you. Goodbye."
As she spoke, she stood up, nodded at them, and turned to leave.
The students behind her laughed heartily:
"Keep pretending, go on, Instructor."
"Come back, Instructor, we won't laugh at you."
"Instructor, what about today's training then? Are we still continuing?"
Then Lian Sheng walked further and further away, eventually sitting down on the command platform, crossing her arms and watching the crowd below.
At four in the afternoon, the broadcast began announcing matters related to the Red vs. White Faction Battle. Unexpectedly, the faction rosters were released early this time, stating that the remaining training time was canceled to allow them time for discussion and arrangement.
It also designated the east and west sides of the training ground as bases for the Red and White factions to hold discussions.
Unsuspecting students opened their optical computers to check the rosters.
The rules for the faction battle changed slightly every year, so they weren't too surprised, merely thinking that perhaps this time, the school administration wanted to test the commanders in a different way.
However, after glancing at the roster, along with the departments and points listed below, everyone was dumbfounded.
Never before, since the inception of the Red vs. White Faction Battle, had there been such a polarized team arrangement.
Most of the Individual Combat students were on the Red Team, and most of the Command students were on the White Team. A casual glance made it clear that this table was based on points earned in combat exercises and usual performance.
The position of Red Team Commander read: Huang Hao, Chen Yuzhou.
The position of White Team Commander read: We Can Win, No Surprises.
...What the heck?
Their first reaction was that the data hadn't been properly randomized and reassigned. Just as they were about to report it upwards, another sentence appeared above the table: "There are no errors in this table. White Team members, please proceed quickly to the command platform to assemble."
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