The Assistant Squad Leader Project-I'm In

Fang Huai carried a large guitar case upstairs. Paired with his camouflage uniform, he looked like he was heading to the rooftop to scout the terrain.

Hao Chengbin was all smiles as he patted Fang Huai on the shoulder.

"You brat, the more skills, the better..."

Fang Huai looked modest. "Hehe, I just practiced for fun at home."

Behind them, Wang Jian said nothing. With his head lowered, he frantically texted Chief of Staff Huang at his own detachment.

Wang Jian: Chief of Staff, that soldier I mentioned before, Fang Huai—by the time he gets assigned to a unit, we probably won't be able to get him. Could you maybe call Staff Officer Yang at the New Recruit Regiment early and put in a

Wang Jian cautiously looked up. Once he confirmed no one was paying attention to him, he typed the final word, "good word?" and sent it.

This Fang Huai was getting more famous and more sought-after by the day. If they waited until unit assignments to ask for him, Anshun Detachment, ranked dead last in the province, would probably be too late.

Guizhou was already one of the poorest provinces in the country. It had nine cities and prefectures, and Anshun ranked ninth in economic performance this year.

Anshun Detachment was benefiting from its parent's wealth... no, benefiting from its parent's poverty.

Guiyang was the provincial capital and the big boss. Zunyi had Moutai and the conference site. Liupanshui and Bijie had mines...

Anshun? Anshun had snakes.

Once the Political Instructor returned, he might start fighting for Fang Huai too.

The Political Instructor was from Liupanshui Detachment.

Liupanshui had mines everywhere, and its benefits were even better than those in the provincial capital. For hazardous-duty allowances, they paid five hundred; Guiyang paid eight hundred; Liupanshui paid a thousand...

Half the company's NCOs were from Liupanshui Detachment. Whenever they talked about benefits, they held their heads high.

"Ah, our detachment keeps handing out money! Position allowances one moment, holiday bonuses the next, and NCO performance bonuses at the end of the year! I can't spend it all. I just can't spend it all!"

Anshun Detachment NCOs: "What? What do you mean, NCO performance bonuses?"

This competition was fucking brutal.

The moment the guitar reached the dormitory, it drew a crowd.

An instrument—such a rare thing in the New Recruit Regiment—was practically spiritual nourishment capable of stirring up their dull lives.

Especially on a weekend surrounded by the Buddhist chants of military regulations.

Yue Tao clasped his hands behind his back like Zhao Benshan and circled the half-open guitar case by the bed for a long time. He curled his thick upper lip and made a sound of certainty.

"Mm... none of you definitely know how to use this thing."

Hao Chengbin could not stand watching this clown act stupid any longer. "Bullshit! We didn't bring it back for you to play! It's for Fang Huai!"

Zhao Bing laughed. "Squad Leader! We all saw Fang Huai playing downstairs just now! Everyone around him was applauding, but we couldn't hear anything! Let the Assistant Squad Leader perform for us!"

Hao Chengbin checked the time. There were still forty minutes until dinner, so he gave Fang Huai a questioning look.

Fang Huai was about to speak when Lu Zexian teased, "Squad Leader, Yue Tao said he could play too when he saw the guitar just now! He was even making hand gestures over there!"

As he spoke, he held both hands up and strummed the air, looking like a rocker.

"Yeah, yeah! Yue Tao said it himself!"

The squad loved watching Yue Tao put on a show, especially his trick of "left hand six, right hand seven." He had mastered it so well it looked real.

They could not let him play an idiot. He was too convincing.

Who would have thought Yue Tao would look unconvinced? He shouted, "Do all of you think I can't play? Do all of you think I can't play?"

Everyone had been subdued all morning, but the moment the Squad Leader returned, they livened up and began egging him on. "Yue Tao, give us one!"

What was the fun in watching someone who could actually play guitar? Watching an idiot play was the real entertainment!

Amid the calls of his audience, Yue Tao gradually lost himself.

Hao Chengbin was in a great mood. He waved a hand and began rubbing the leg he had fallen on earlier, acting as if he heard nothing.

If you want to play, play. Do whatever the hell you want.

Having received permission, Yue Tao immediately tipped back his head, cupped his fists, and gave everyone a shake.

Fang Huai wanted to remind him not to damage it, but when he saw Yue Tao take out the guitar, cross one leg over the other, and rest his right thumb on the fifth string, he knew what he was about to do.

So he said nothing.

Yue Tao struck a pose and shouted.

"Prepare to be dazzled!"

5323, 1323, 5323, 1323, 5323...

Yue Tao narrowed his eyes, looking utterly absorbed. Every now and then, when he lost track of the strings, he lowered his head for a glance.

After cycling through it seven or eight times, everyone began staring blankly.

"What song is that?"

Yue Tao answered confidently, "You can sing any song to it!"

Lu Zexian refused to believe him and howled along to the rhythm.

"Roam the Four Directions! Ah, the road is long, the waters stretch on..."

The rough singing style struck straight at the soul. It was absolute carnage.

Brother Tao's rhythm fell apart. He stopped and glared at Lu Zexian, annoyed that Lu Zexian had disturbed his musical microbes.

"Can't you sing something gentler?"

Lu Zexian immediately shot back, "Then change the key if you've got the guts! Play 'I Really Want to Live Another Five Hundred Years'!"

Fang Huai was speechless. "It's called 'Borrow Another Five Hundred Years from Heaven'!"

Yue Tao felt mocked. Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'll borrow a thousand years! I'll take all your lifespans!"

"Hahahahaha..." A burst of wild laughter erupted.

"Let Fang Huai play us a couple songs instead!" everyone suggested.

Fang Huai did not refuse. He played and sang a song he knew fairly well, A-mei's "If You've Heard It Too."

It was not that he particularly liked the song. He had mainly heard someone humming it on the stairs a couple days ago. There had been many classic songs in the past decade, during the era when Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the mainland's pop gods battled it out. He was not sure which songs had been released yet, so he did not dare sing carelessly.

"That sounds amazing..."

"Play another one!"

The others being impressed was one thing, but Hao Chengbin actually sat upright, suddenly alert.

"This song... you wrote it too?"

Fang Huai looked a little awkward. "It's by A-mei, Squad Leader... Maybe it's a new song, so you haven't heard it."

"Oh..." Hao Chengbin leaned back against the wall.

"I was thinking, when I propose to my girlfriend, I could have you write me a song."

Hao Chengbin clearly had no idea what a song was worth. He said it casually.

But Fang Huai froze.

Huh? This blockhead Hao Chengbin knew how to propose?

Fang Huai's eyes flickered as he smiled. "Even if I wanted to help you, I can't get out, Squad Leader."

"It's fine, I'll propose at our squadron... you just—" Hao Chengbin suddenly stopped.

He had let it slip.

The other recruits caught the implication too.

"Squad Leader, you're taking Fang Huai to your squadron?"

Hao Chengbin gave a chuckle without answering. He turned to Fang Huai and asked, "Fang Huai, do you want to come to our squadron with me? A new squadron."

Of course Fang Huai wanted to go, but he was not sure whether Hao Chengbin had that kind of pull. He asked, "Squad Leader... can you transfer me over there?"

"No." Hao Chengbin answered bluntly. "But the Detachment Captain of Special Services can. I've already called them."

"They agreed?" Fang Huai pressed.

Hao Chengbin fell silent for a while.

"Give it two days. If you agree, I'll give you an answer in two days."

"Of course I agree!" Fang Huai stood up, making his sincerity clear.

"Good! Keep performing well!" Hao Chengbin immediately revealed a gratified smile.

Fang Huai smiled as well.

I just don't know whether you really have the ability. If this falls through, I'll have to handle it myself.

They exchanged looks, deeply envious. Provincial Capital Special Services!

But they also knew Fang Huai's abilities were beyond anything they could match, so they could only click their tongues in private.

Hao Chengbin took in their envious expressions and smiled as he gave them hope.

"You don't need to be jealous either. Perform well! When I request recruits, I'll try to ask for two more! But whether you can get into Special Services depends on luck! Provincial City Detachment is pretty good too!"

Today was the weekend.

It was also the day Steel Seventh Company began to diverge completely from Fang Huai's memories of his previous life.

Over the course of one afternoon, the legendary story of Ninth Squad's Assistant Squad Leader, Fang Huai, began spreading among the squad leaders.

The cause was naturally Sixth Squad's leader. Wang Jian wished Fang Huai would stay as low-profile and unnoticed as possible. After all, beyond Hao Chengbin, he did not want Liupanshui Detachment becoming another rival in the fight for recruits.

Firefighters were far more eager to snatch recruits than other units, because a squadron only had a dozen or twenty people at full strength, rarely more than thirty. That included three or four officers. Add two or three outstanding recruits, train them properly, and it was entirely possible to elevate the entire squadron's work by a whole level.

A versatile talent like Fang Huai, placed in a squadron, was a guarantee that the officers could rest easy.

But Sixth Squad Leader Yang Hui was not only nicknamed "Flying on the Bars"; he also had the mouth of a matchmaker. And unlike Hao Chengbin, as a first-term NCO, Yang Hui was naturally different from veteran NCOs like Hao Chengbin and Pan Zhaohui, who took pleasure in going home and heading out. They could not leave, so their main entertainment was bragging.

Over one afternoon, he praised Fang Huai to the skies.

His physical fitness was excellent; everyone had witnessed his Parallel Bars and Horizontal Bar results.

His emotional intelligence was high; Ninth Squad was managed in perfect order.

He had technical skills. According to clerk Huang Yi, Fang Huai was more than qualified to be Huang Yi's master. Of course, Huang Yi's exact words were, "Compared with you idiots who only know how to play CS, Red Alert, and StarCraft, you're all clueless trash."

He could speak well. With that Xinwen Lianbo-style summary, he was qualified to be their Political Instructor.

And he even had artistic talent. He could play guitar and sing, and he could write songs. Even the Chief of Staff said he wanted to request merit recognition for him!

He was the complete package—the "other people's Assistant Squad Leader."

Yang Hui raised an idea, and everyone agreed. In the end, they concluded that the problem might lie with the position of "Assistant Squad Leader."

The squad leaders refused to accept it!

I carry the same squad leader authority bestowed by the Party and the people. So what, I can't pick a decent Assistant Squad Leader?

The main problem was that they had not properly stirred up the recruits' enthusiasm to show off!

There should be Assistant Squad Leaders. If they truly could not select one, then they would train one.

The Assistant Squad Leader project—I'm in!

There was a squad meeting on Sunday night.

After dinner, every squad hurriedly launched the "Assistant Squad Leader Selection" project, notifying their recruits to prepare all their talents. That night, the squad leaders would inspect the troops!

Anyone with special talents could first be promoted to acting Assistant Squad Leader!

For every squad to collectively select Assistant Squad Leaders just one week after training began was explosive in any military unit.

After Cao Peng found out what had happened, he specifically came to Ninth Squad to tell Fang Huai. He also asked how he could become an Assistant Squad Leader.

Naturally, Fang Huai enthusiastically offered advice: before the weekend ended, wait until the Squad Leader was gone, then wash his clothes... and blanket.

Cao Peng looked at him with contempt. "I treat you like a brother, and you treat me like an idiot."

Fang Huai laughed and fired back. "You think you can be an Assistant Squad Leader? You're the one treating me like an idiot! Your only chance to become one is to go to your uncle's detachment and have him appoint you directly. An Assistant Squad Leader personally appointed by the Detachment Captain—you'd be more badass than the Squad Leader."

Jokes aside.

When Fang Huai passed through the corridor and heard two recruits who had just come back from the restroom talking about performing the roasted corn bit from the Yunnan-dialect cartoon Happy Montage for their Squad Leader, he could not help feeling that he had committed a sin.

How many beatings would those recruits take when they got back?

Fuck, Steel Seventh Company barely had any Assistant Squad Leaders in his previous life. He only remembered one or two. This time... why did it feel like a fantasy novel?

Before the protagonist became a half-step grandmaster, half-step grandmasters across the entire continent were few and far between. The moment the protagonist leveled up, half-step grandmasters became as common as dogs?

I'm Fang Huai, not Fang Ping, damn it!