The Hunt Begins

"Yes!"

Huang Yi casually pointed at the computer. "Turn it on. It's right there on the desktop."

Jiang Peng bent down to reach for the tower.

Huang Yi's expression abruptly changed. "It's already on! Just turn on the monitor!!!"

Too late.

Five minutes later, everyone stood there with their hands on their hips.

Jiang Peng let his hands hang at his sides as he watched the computer slowly boot up.

Huang Yi stared blankly ahead, muttering nonstop. "Fuck, it took me over an hour to make... Why didn't I save it? Fuck..."

Jiang Peng gritted his teeth. "Squad Leader, don't worry. I'll stay up tonight and make it for you!"

Fang Huai stood behind them, deep in thought.

One filled-out equipment form, one company of ninety recruits—other than the model numbers, everything was the same... and it had taken over an hour?

With Huang Yi's skill level, he wasn't even good enough to be my apprentice, was he?

Wang Jian stood up, looking righteous and resolute.

"Forget it. The new comrades need to sleep. Huang Yi, teach me. I'll make it."

Then everyone stood around the computer with their hands behind their backs, eyes determined and brows tightly furrowed, as though they were tackling the difficult problem of precision-guiding a nuclear missile.

Huang Yi decided to let Jiang Peng give it a try. He opened a Word document, drew borders, spaced the rows, and set up the columns.

Then he stood up.

"You do it. Just fill these things in."

The confidence returned to Jiang Peng's face. Holding the papers, he looked like a mathematician as he began entering the completed information from the forms one item at a time.

His typing... was barely passable. Huang Yi's assessment was that he was even worse than Company Commander Wang.

"The font's too big. Change it," Huang Yi reminded him.

Jiang Peng looked up and realized it really was too big. He searched around blankly for quite a while before finally finding the font size option. He changed it to Size 4, wasn't satisfied, then changed it to Size 5 and kept typing.

Watching this rookie routine made Fang Huai's ten toes curl tightly against the floor.

"What about the ones you typed before? You're not changing them? The sizes don't match!" Huang Yi reminded him, while also realizing that this recruit really didn't know how to use office software. He only knew how to type.

Jiang Peng gave an "Oh," deleted everything he had typed before, changed the font again, and began retyping it all one character at a time.

Hao Chengbin watched and nodded. At the very least, Jiang Peng typed... faster than he did.

But Wang Jian wasn't very satisfied.

Huang Yi was even less satisfied, but he didn't want to say anything.

A voice suddenly broke the silence in the office.

"...Squad Leader, let me do it. Everyone's been standing here for a while."

Everyone turned around. Fang Huai wore a helpless expression.

Hao Chengbin made the decision first. "Jiang Peng, get up. Let Fang Huai try."

Jiang Peng wanted to argue, but seeing the huge blank area on the computer and the thick stack of papers in his hand, he could only stand up.

He looked at Fang Huai, his eyes faintly unconvinced.

Fang Huai couldn't be bothered with him. Having taken control of the situation, he sat down, turned back, and questioned Huang Yi first.

"Squad Leader, why use Word for data summaries when you could use Excel?"

Huang Yi made a strange choking sound.

"They're... the same!"

"How could they possibly be the same?" Fang Huai's voice wasn't loud. Then he sighed.

He turned back to the search bar and opened all the recently used documents in one go, carefully searching through the spreadsheets.

Everyone noticed something was off. These actions clearly weren't being done with the mouse—Fang Huai was extremely proficient with keyboard shortcuts.

After a while, he found a document.

"This squad assignment sheet... has all the recruits' names, right?" Fang Huai compared it roughly against the table and asked.

Huang Yi's eyes lit up. He slapped his hand down hard and said, "Mine was an old version!... But we'll have to check it. Some people have changed squads already!"

"Nine squads... ninety people. Easy." Fang Huai dragged over the names and copied them all, then opened Excel and created a new spreadsheet.

He checked the print preview. It was obviously much better-looking than the previous one.

Everyone looked at one another.

At that moment, the most embarrassed person in the office was no longer Jiang Peng, but Huang Yi.

Wang Jian also looked doubtful. This guy seemed more familiar with it than you were!

Fang Huai moved the mouse to the row marker on the left side of the name column, and the cursor turned into an arrow.

Ctrl+C.

"The names just need a few minor adjustments..."

"For the uniforms, L is the most common size. Set them all to L first, then adjust a few..."

"Hats... 56."

"Squad Leader Huang, enter the formula for the totals here..."

For the next ten or so minutes, everyone stayed quiet. Fang Huai operated the computer while explaining. In Huang Yi's daze, he felt as though the old communications squad leader from the detachment was teaching him again, and he edged closer and closer.

Fang Huai's mastery of shortcuts and his efficiency were simply outrageous.

No, they were only outrageous to the few people in this office.

"Done. Are there any other forms? I can finish them for you before lights-out."

"No... There are some tomorrow. Do you type fast? Help me with them." Huang Yi's tone now carried a hint of negotiation.

"No problem. I use Wubi, so I'm fairly fast."

As Fang Huai spoke, someone patted his face.

Hao Chengbin held out a handful of peanuts, unable to hide the admiration in his eyes.

"Young man, you've been hiding your talents."

Fang Huai instantly returned to his plain, honest self and chuckled. "Reporting, Squad Leader! My family has a computer. I got curious and learned a bit before."

Hao Chengbin waved a hand. "You brat, you're just being modest."

Huang Yi hunched over with his hands behind his back and leaned closer. "What else can you do?"

Fang Huai casually clicked a few Microsoft programs on the desktop. "I know all of these. I'm more familiar with WPS and PowerPoint, mainly for making presentation courseware and stuff. I can also do CAD drafting, but it doesn't look like this computer has it. If you're interested, Squad Leader, I can teach you."

Huang Yi quickly exchanged a look with Wang Jian.

He was the one!

"Mm, your technical skills are good. Come to company headquarters more often from now on. We'll train you properly—don't let your talents go to waste!"

With one leader-like conclusion from Wang Jian, doing manual labor became "training." His grasp of PUA tactics was extremely practiced.

"Hey! Don't make him work for nothing!" Hao Chengbin glared, hands behind his back.

Wang Jian waved broadly. "No problem! I'll treat everyone to a late-night snack!"

"Alright, you two go back to the squad room first." Hao Chengbin waved them away in satisfaction.

"Yes, Squad Leader!" Fang Huai saw that his mission completion had reached (3/12), and he beamed with joy.

What would the next reward be?

When they returned to the squad room, eight pairs of expectant eyes greeted them the moment they entered.

Everyone had finished washing up and tidied their beds and washbasins. Bored out of their minds, they had been waiting for the two of them to bring back some news.

Being called to work overtime at company headquarters meant they might get access to resources no one else could get later.

Cigarettes, snacks, that sort of thing.

"Sorry, brothers. I didn't get picked. Your future happy lives will depend on him now."

After Jiang Peng pointed at Fang Huai, he sat down on his bed, resentment thick in his eyes.

Fang Huai smiled and handed out two peanuts to each person.

"All I got was some peanuts. They said we could get late-night snacks when we work in the future. If the company commander and squad leader agree, I'll definitely bring some back for you."

"Big brother, can you bring back a cigarette?" Chen Zhongqiang wailed from the top bunk.

The other smokers also looked excited. They hadn't smoked all evening, and withdrawal was already setting in. Their hearts were itching for one.

"Yeah! Fang Huai, can you bring back a cigarette? We'll each take two puffs!"

Fang Huai rolled his eyes. "You guys are dreaming. Even if cigarettes got into my hands, they'd still be contraband. If you want to smoke, you can only wait for the squad leader to hand them out! Train hard. When the timing's right, I'll risk my life and ask the squad leader."

"Alright!"

"Good brother! We're counting on you!"

While washing up, they had already asked around with the other squads. The squad leaders in the other squads had made it clear: forget about smoking from now on. It was impossible.

The smokers all sank into grief.

Now that Ninth Squad had someone who could go to company headquarters and get "resources," hope was better than no hope at all!

"Don't tell the other squads! If word gets out, it definitely won't happen! Lights-out is coming soon, so get to sleep."

As Fang Huai spoke, he picked up his little green basin filled with toiletries, grabbed the thermos by the doorway, casually switched off the lights, and walked out of the squad room.

Wash-up was at nine thirty, lights-out at ten. By now, most people had finished washing and returned to their rooms.

Jiang Peng followed him out with his basin as well.

The washroom was fairly large, with around twenty faucets along the sinks on both sides. They all ran cold water. Hot water had to be fetched from the boiler room next door. Fang Huai filled the empty thermos with boiling water, poured some into the basin, tested the temperature, and handed it to Jiang Peng.

"Thanks." Jiang Peng still said it politely.

Fang Huai waved it off. "No problem. Give me the thermos when you're done."

"You... how were your grades in high school?"

"Not good."

"What about sports? I heard they're doing physical fitness tests in a couple of days."

"Not good either." Fang Huai squeezed out some shampoo bought by the squad leader and began dry-rubbing it into his hair.

Jiang Peng relaxed.

He probably had just liked playing with computers before. It wasn't like he had any other strengths.

When someone entered a new environment and discovered that their formerly mediocre self was destined to be the head of a chicken rather than the tail of a phoenix, they began making new calculations.

Fang Huai had a high school education, was also applying to military academy, and was good with computers. He was undoubtedly a rival worth comparing himself against.

Jiang Peng quickly brushed his teeth and washed his face, then used the wash water to roughly rinse his feet. Before leaving, he said,

"Ah... I took a martial arts class in college. My fitness is pretty good."

Fang Huai's mouth twitched.

What a lunatic.

Hao Chengbin didn't return until after the lights-out whistle blew. The first thing he said upon entering was, "Get to sleep early. We're getting up at five tomorrow morning, and I'll teach you how to fold blankets."

A chorus of groans rang out.

Half an hour later, the room was unusually quiet—even quieter than it had been yesterday, when there had only been four people. Everyone was having trouble falling asleep, yet no one spoke.

On their first day in the military, everyone felt at least a little homesick.

"You all can't sleep, can you?"

Hao Chengbin's bed was closest to the door. Fang Huai could see him texting while he spoke.

No one answered for a long while.

Bang!

Hao Chengbin lifted his leg and kicked the top bunk's bedboard.

Zhao Bing, the recruit from Huaihua on the top bunk, immediately sat up.

"Squad Leader! What is it?"

His dull, blank tone made laughter ripple through the room.

Hao Chengbin laughed and scolded him. "Who are you fooling? You've been tossing and turning. If you can't sleep, you can't sleep. Let's chat for a bit!"

Someone asked, "About what?"

"Do any of you have girlfriends?" Knowing these kids were surely homesick, Hao Chengbin deliberately threw out a man's topic.

Sure enough, Yue Tao, across from Hao Chengbin, sat up excitedly.

"Squad Leader, I do!"

Chen Zhongqiang loudly exposed him. "You've got jack shit! You little brat, all you do is brag!"

Hao Chengbin shouted, "And you're not a little brat? Why are you pretending to be some old toad?"

"Hahaha..."

Chen Zhongqiang said helplessly, "Squad Leader, I'm really not pretending! I asked him two days ago. One moment he said his girlfriend looked like Maggie Cheung, and the next he said she looked like Cecilia Cheung! Look at him! Dark as a refugee—if that isn't bragging, what is?"

Yue Tao said gloomily, "How am I ugly? My lips are just a little thick and my skin's a little dark! My girlfriend says that's sexy!"

Hao Chengbin burst into laughter. "Hahaha... Yue Tao is pretty ugly!"

Another explosion of laughter filled the room.

Soon, everyone began talking about their girlfriends, or girls they liked.

"I like my middle school deskmate. She liked me too, but we never made it official."

"Bullshit! Unrequited love, right?" Hao Chengbin shot down every single one of them.

"Right! Those with girlfriends, show us some photos! Do you have photo booth stickers? I do!"

"You've got jack shit! You definitely stole someone else's!"

"Haha..."

A smile appeared at the corner of Fang Huai's mouth too. He knew Hao Chengbin was giving everyone some psychological counseling, so he didn't join in.

But the topic quickly turned to Fang Huai.

Jiang Peng asked, "Fang Huai, there are lots of pretty girls in Chongqing, right? Do you have a girlfriend?"

Everyone fell silent. Hao Chengbin was curious too. He put down his phone and looked in Fang Huai's direction.

He always felt that this kid looked cheerful, but kept a lot bottled up inside.

After a while, Fang Huai said gloomily, "No. Our Fang family practices the Evil-Repelling Sword Manual: with no women in your heart, you naturally become a god when you draw your sword. The first page of the manual says: first, cut down the one you love!"

"Whoa! So your dad cut down your mom too?" Hao Chengbin shot back again.

"Hahahaha..."

Fang Huai rolled his eyes. "Class monitor! I was joking! It's called self-deprecating humor!"

Hao Chengbin suddenly sat up. "Hey, let me tell you guys, I used to have a girlfriend. I met her when I went to Jiefangbei in Chongqing. Whoa, she was gorgeous!

If you guys don't have girlfriends, have Fang Huai introduce you to some later. There are really tons of beautiful women in Chongqing!"

Yue Tao perked up, his tone turning flattering. "Brother Fang! Introduce me to one?"

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"That girlfriend... doesn't really count!"

"What do you mean, doesn't really count??"

Yue Tao immediately became a little bashful.

"...It's just that I'm not sure whether she agreed or not! Anyway, her brother enlisted with me. I asked her, but she didn't say anything!"

Fang Huai froze as he listened.

Fuck, isn't this Brother Yang?

Thinking back, he had actually had a crush on Yang Shaoqing for a while, but ultimately hadn't dared make a move. If he had pursued Yang Shaoqing, even getting rejected would have been better than ending up with that Huang Jiaojiao.

Unfortunately, by now, he was no longer interested in that childish stuff called love. Other than dopamine, it was hormones; summed up, it was all sexual impulse.

Everyone was chatting enthusiastically when someone suddenly sat up angrily.

Peng Yingqirui.

He was the only one who had been immersed in sleep, and his irritation at being woken up was considerable. "What time is it? You're still chatting?? Can you just sleep?"

This guy was ruthless. He even shut Hao Chengbin up.

Hao Chengbin couldn't find a reason to curse him out for a long while, so he could only say resentfully, "Sleep, sleep!"

Most of everyone's homesickness faded away. They had probably realized that in the army, a bunch of men bragging and shooting the breeze could be pretty fun too. They each drifted off to sleep with faint smiles on their faces.

They celebrated too soon.

The next day, the promised five o'clock became four forty. All's fair in war.

"Pheeew!! Pheeew! Pheeew!!"

The beads inside the whistles rattled wildly, and when the group got up, they were all hit with surging sympathetic nervous activity and racing hearts.

With a snap, daylight instantly flooded the room, revealing Hao Chengbin leaning against the doorway with a positively wicked grin.

Christmas Eve had passed.

The hunt had begun.