You Can't Take a Nap at Noon?

"Hey, the Cookhouse Squad's door is closed."

"Bang, bang, bang!"

Lü Qinglong raised a hand and knocked twice on the Cookhouse Squad's door. The thunderous noise startled the veterans playing games inside, nearly sending one of them tumbling off his little stool.

"Seriously, who knocks on our door that loudly? Doesn't he have any sense?"

"Could it be that big, beefy recruit, here to bring us the giant metal basins?"

"That makes sense. I'll get the door!"

A veteran with the rank of Corporal put away his phone and strode angrily toward the door, cursing under his breath.

"What kind of damn soldier is this? Does he not know to knock more quietly? What if he breaks our metal door?!"

Then the veteran yanked open the Cookhouse Squad's door.

"Huh? Is it dark already? Wasn't it just daylight a moment ago?"

The veteran scratched his head in confusion. Everything in front of him was pitch-black.

The weather forecast said it wasn't going to rain today, either. How had it suddenly gotten dark?

"Oi! (VERY LOUD)"

"Squad leader, look up!"

Lü Qinglong's booming voice and the sudden loud shout scared the veteran so badly that he dropped straight onto his rear.

Only then did he slowly look up—and come face-to-face with Lü Qinglong's terrifying visage.

At the same time, the other veterans playing on their phones heard the commotion and looked up. When they saw Lü Qinglong's fierce features and outrageous build, their eyes all went wide.

"Squad leader, I've washed your Cookhouse Squad's metal trays. Where should I put them?"

Lü Qinglong held two huge metal basins in one hand and asked the veterans from the Cookhouse Squad.

The veteran who had opened the door hadn't exactly been polite, but Lü Qinglong had just eaten and was in a good mood. He didn't feel like holding it against anyone.

After three or four seconds, one of the veterans finally pointed stiffly at the floor.

"Uh, you can just set them on the ground. You can put the trays anywhere."

"Okay."

Lü Qinglong nodded and neatly set the basins down near the kitchenware rack, then strode out of the Cookhouse Squad.

The veterans didn't dare breathe properly until Lü Qinglong had disappeared from view.

"Good Lord! Is that guy even human? He looks more like a monster than a monster!"

"When he came in, I swear I thought a bear had stood up!"

"Seriously, he's terrifying. No wonder he eats so much. With a build like that, I guess it makes sense that he can put away a lot."

The Cookhouse Squad veterans had all forgotten about their games. They stared blankly at the direction Lü Qinglong had gone.

"So does that mean our workload is going to double from now on?"

One of the veterans tentatively asked.

"Obviously. We just have to cook a little more. But to be fair, what if we don't make enough for him one day? Do you think he'll fly into a rage and beat us up?"

"That's definitely possible! It's rare for a recruit to hit a veteran, but with a physique like his..."

The veteran didn't dare finish the thought.

In the army, recruits who dared to openly hit veterans usually met a miserable end.

There were plenty of veterans here. If one recruit dared to hit a veteran, a whole group of them would gang up and beat him.

No matter how tough you were—whether you were a sanda champion or a King of Fighters—you had to behave yourself and listen to your squad leader once you joined the army.

But with Lü Qinglong's physique...

Even if ten veterans went after him, he could probably take them all down with ease, couldn't he?

When Lü Qinglong came out of the Cookhouse Squad, he joined the other recruits from First Squad and marched back to their Barracks.

"Nap time! We can finally get some rest. I had no idea there was a midday break in the army. This is way better than the places where I used to work."

Back in the barracks, Song Si stretched and flopped comfortably onto his bed.

"Where did you work before? At the companies my dad runs, we strictly follow a nine-to-five schedule, and we get two hours off at noon. Isn't a midday break normal?"

Ji Baichang climbed onto the top bunk, lay down on his bed, and asked with a disgruntled look.

Could there really still be people who worked without a lunch break, from morning till night?

"I get it now. You're just a rich young master. You have no idea how hard life is for us working stiffs."

"I picked up all kinds of special skills from my years on the job!"

"For example, when I wake up feeling completely refreshed, I know I've overslept."

"When I was a waiter, I could tell what customers wanted to eat just by asking."

"And my master—he's been an electrician for over twenty years. He can tell if there's electricity just by touching something."

???

Ji Baichang listened to Song Si's nonsense and rolled his eyes, speechless.

"Fine, fine. You're getting pretty absurd, aren't you?"

"I know you're trying to lighten the mood in the squad with all this, but don't get started just yet."

The recruits chatted and laughed in the barracks. Most of them were already lying on their beds. Song Si had even stripped down to his underwear.

The only one sitting on a little stool was Lü Qinglong. He was fiddling with the hand gripper he'd swiped from the iron gym.

After a while, squad leader Chen Ting walked in. When he saw that the recruits were already lying on their beds, his eyes narrowed.

"Who told you to get into bed?"

Chen Ting's voice wasn't loud, but to the recruits, it sounded like a thunderclap.

They all sat up and looked at Chen Ting in confusion.

Hadn't the duty officer said they had a midday break? Why couldn't they sleep in bed?

"Squad leader, the duty officer said we had a midday break. Doesn't that mean we can sleep in bed?"

Song Si got up and started putting on his clothes as he asked Chen Ting, puzzled.

"You even took your clothes off?"

"Can you even fold your blankets into neat tofu blocks yet? Look at Lü Qinglong's—his blanket is folded better than yours, and he's still practicing his grip at noon. And you just went straight to sleep?"

"And you, Song Si. Why do I feel like the way you talk to me is getting stranger and stranger? Who's the squad leader here, you or me?"

Chen Ting narrowed his eyes and gave a cold laugh.

"Come on. Everyone, assemble in the open space in the middle."

Song Si was reluctant, but he knew that picking a fight with the squad leader right now wouldn't be a good idea.

So he obediently joined the other recruits and stood with them in the open space in the middle of the barracks.

"Remember, during your three months in New Recruit Company, you are not to get into bed during the noon break without my permission."

"I wasn't going to make an issue of this today. You're all new recruits, after all."

"But because of Song Si, I've changed my mind."

"Since you have formation drills this afternoon, you can forget about sleeping at noon. I'll teach you a formation movement in advance."

"Everyone, squat!"

"Left leg forward, buttocks resting on your right heel!"