The air still carried a hint of dampness in the early morning. The first rays of sunlight had only just fallen across the earth when the wake-up call sounded through the camp.
The sound carried remarkably far. Lü Qinglong's eyes snapped open the moment he heard it.
Staring at the completely unfamiliar ceiling, he realized that he was already in the military.
He sat up and quickly made his bed.
Only then did he notice that some of the other recruits seemed to be awake, but they were all still lying in bed, reluctant to get up.
Before joining the army, they hadn't gotten up this early at home, either.
"Thump, thump!"
Lü Qinglong reached out and knocked twice on the bed frame.
The noise was loud, and the recruits in the squad immediately woke up.
"What's going on? Why's it so noisy this early?"
Ji Baichang, who slept on the bunk above Lü Qinglong, poked his head down and asked irritably.
He was clearly grumpy in the mornings and hated having his sleep disturbed.
But when he saw Lü Qinglong's big face, he instantly snapped out of his drowsiness. His pupils even contracted sharply.
Now fully awake, he looked around at his surroundings and realized that he really was in the military.
He gave Lü Qinglong an awkward smile and said,
"Sorry, I'm a bit grumpy when I wake up."
"How about this? When we get our phones or whatever, I'll buy you a drink."
Ji Baichang's tone had made Lü Qinglong uncomfortable at first, but seeing that he was just grumpy after waking up, Lü Qinglong didn't feel like making an issue of it.
After all, it was their first day in the army. They'd only just arrived and hadn't adjusted yet, so this was perfectly normal.
"Put on your camouflage uniforms and get outside to form up," Squad Leader Chen Ting called to the men in the squad who were still reluctant to get out of bed. Then, unhurriedly, he got dressed in his camouflage uniform, put on a pair of camouflage rubber boots, and left the barracks first.
"Get dressed! What are you dragging your feet for? Didn't you hear what the squad leader just said?"
Lü Qinglong had put on his camouflage uniform and boots. He was about to check whether the other recruits were ready when he turned around and saw someone still lying in bed, apparently intending to go back to sleep.
In the military, everyone shared in the glory, and everyone shared in the blame.
In other words, no matter how outstanding you were, it wouldn't matter if someone else dragged you down.
This was even more serious in New Recruit Company. It was common for one person's mistake to land the whole squad in trouble.
Lü Qinglong hadn't believed that anyone in the military could be so stupid. Couldn't they just do what they were told?
But here he was, on the very first day, and after Squad Leader Chen Ting had spoken, someone was still planning to go back to sleep.
Lü Qinglong was furious. He grabbed the man's blanket with his right hand and yanked hard, pulling him right out of bed and onto the floor along with it.
The recruit was still dazed. Then he looked up and saw a pair of eyes blazing with fury, as if they could devour him.
"Seriously? The squad leader just told you to get dressed and form up outside. Are your ears broken? Why are you still sleeping?"
Lü Qinglong gripped the recruit by the collar and stared coldly at him.
"B-Brother... I... I was looking for my underwear... I wasn't trying to go back to sleep..."
The recruit panicked and hurriedly explained in a trembling voice.
"Hmph."
"Don't let it happen again."
Lü Qinglong tossed the recruit back onto his bed, then turned and swept his gaze over the others.
"What kind of monster is this..."
When the other recruits saw Lü Qinglong looking at them, they immediately jumped out of bed and started getting dressed. They were nothing like the lazy lot from a moment ago.
"Good. Head out and form up," Lü Qinglong said quietly, then took his place at the back of the recruit formation.
The recruits quickly lined up by height and headed out.
When they left the barracks, they saw two other squads of recruits already standing on the open ground ahead.
Song Si was relatively short, so he stood at the head of the line and led his squad to the far left.
After a while, recruits from other squads began emerging from the barracks and gathering on the open ground.
"Hey, what the hell was that noise from your squad? I heard shouting coming from over there. Did your squad leader chew you out too?"
"I knew it. Those veterans were all smiles while we were washing our feet yesterday, but today they've already started yelling at us!"
"Does that mean they'll be beating us in a couple of days?"
One of Song Si's cousins had been assigned to the neighboring squad. Standing beside him, he lowered his voice and asked.
"What do you mean, our squad leader yelled at us? He didn't."
"It was Brother Long from our squad. He couldn't stand seeing someone sleep in, so he yelled at him."
Song Si rolled his eyes at his cousin.
"Who's Brother Long? What is this, some kind of gang?"
The recruit from the neighboring squad muttered, then fell silent.
A sergeant had appeared in front of them, his eyes already fixed on him.
"I'll be your duty soldier for the next three months."
"Today's the first day for all you new recruits. You took a while to form up, and your awareness of the whistle is pretty poor. When you get back, have your squad leaders teach you properly."
"This morning, each squad will learn how to fold their blankets. This afternoon, you'll have formation drills and a physical fitness assessment. That's the plan for today."
"Before breakfast, send one person from each squad to collect a tray for every recruit in your squad."
"Right, dismissed."
The duty soldier spoke for about five minutes, but most of the recruits were completely confused. They hadn't even understood what he was talking about.
They only caught the final word: "Dismissed."
The loose formation broke apart, and the recruits lazily returned to their squads.
Strangely, when Lü Qinglong stood still, hardly anyone noticed him. They instinctively treated him like a piece of decoration.
But the moment he moved, his massive frame and every powerful gesture made it impossible for anyone to overlook him.
"Holy crap, that's a recruit? Where'd this guy come from? What squad is he in?"
A veteran beside him stared at Lü Qinglong's monstrous build and asked in astonishment.
"Sixth Squad Leader, that recruit's in First Squad. He's probably got connections. I saw the company commander personally tell me last night to send him to First Squad."
The veteran who answered was the corporal who had been the duty soldier the previous night.
"First Squad? Chen Ting's squad, the one that came down from the Special Operations Brigade? Then they'll definitely be able to handle him."
"I was wondering—if someone like that refused to follow orders, even all the veterans in our company together might not be able to beat him. Luckily, he's under Squad Leader Chen."
Sixth Squad Leader let out a sigh of relief. He watched Lü Qinglong's back and continued to marvel.
He was also the instructor for the recruits' hand-to-hand combat training. He didn't even want to imagine what would happen if Lü Qinglong refused to follow orders and challenged him to a fight. He could only hope Chen Ting would keep him in line.
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