Jade Feet ≠ Prison Feet

"Fine, I'll take them off here, then."

Seeing that all the other recruits had said the same, Lü Qinglong figured that, as a grown man, he couldn't fuss over it like a little girl.

With that, he yanked off the camouflage boots covering his Prison Feet.

A moment later, a truly horrifying stench filled the entire First Squad room.

The other recruits had still been grinning moments ago. Now Ji Baichang, who stood closest to Lü Qinglong, twitched his nose.

Then he quietly walked out, tears sliding from his... eyes.

"Where are you going? Why are you heading straight outside?"

Xue Daochao asked Ji Baichang in confusion.

He was standing closest to Ji Baichang. His face went pale, and he followed Ji Baichang outside.

I'm done for. I didn't read my fortune today.

Tears slid uncontrollably from his eyes.

"What is going on with you guys?"

Song Si asked, baffled.

In the time it took to take a single breath, another recruit had joined them in the hallway, silently shedding tears.

A little while later, Squad Leader Chen Ting came in through the barracks door, a sheet of paper in his hand.

As he approached the First Squad room, he saw a line of recruits standing there with tears streaming down their faces. A huge question mark appeared over his head:

?

"What are you doing? Why aren't you cleaning?"

"Squad Leader, you'll understand when you go inside."

Ji Baichang pointed at the room and covered his nose.

"What's going on?"

Chen Ting glanced at Lü Qinglong changing his shoes inside, then at the other recruits' reactions outside. He had a vague idea of what had happened.

A veteran was a veteran. He turned to Ji Baichang and said, "Next time, tell Lü Qinglong to change his shoes outside in the hallway. Same goes for the rest of you. Don't change your shoes in the room. The smell's pretty strong."

With that, he turned and headed to the next room.

Right away, he heard the recruits in the next room call out, "Hello, Squad Leader!"

Clearly, that squad leader, who loved trying to earn a promotion, had whipped them into excellent shape.

"Great. The recruits in the next room have already turned into a bunch of weirdos."

Ji Baichang couldn't help muttering to himself.

"What kind of perverted thing are you saying?"

Xue Daochao rolled his eyes.

"I'm an old hand at this. I can tell exactly what you're going to say as soon as you open your mouth!"

"Down-to-earth Daoist!"

"All right, the room doesn't smell anymore. I've changed my shoes."

Lü Qinglong pushed open the room's door and opened the window on the other side to air it out. Only then did the room stop smelling.

It wasn't really his fault, right? He'd warned them before taking off his shoes that they might smell a little, but they hadn't listened.

How was that any different from a saintess knowing goblins were lying in wait in a cave ahead, yet walking right in anyway?

(Figure 1)

"Qinglong, the squad leader said that next time you need to change your shoes, it might be better to do it outside. The room may not have enough airflow."

Ji Baichang had truly mastered the art of phrasing things tactfully.

"Okay, I'll be more careful next time."

Lü Qinglong scratched his head.

Once everyone had put on their caps and belts, they cleaned the room.

Squad Leader Chen Ting had explained that morning how to clean properly in the army, so they all knew what to do.

They were a little slow, but they finished cleaning before afternoon formation and training.

"First Company, assemble downstairs for training!"

At the duty officer's call, all the recruits put on their caps and belts, grabbed their little stools, slung water bottles over their shoulders, and lined up in front of the barracks.

"Next, each squad leader will take the recruits to the designated area on the field behind us and begin training."

After the duty officer finished speaking, the recruits noticed an officer with one bar and three stars on his shoulder walking with them toward the field.

They were all somewhat curious, but since talking was forbidden while in formation, no one dared to speak up.

The duty officer led the entire First Company of recruits to the large field behind the barracks.

The field was huge, and recruits from other companies were already scattered across it, practicing formation drills.

Their First Company belonged to the First New Recruit Battalion. The brigade had five battalions, each with five companies, all dedicated to training that year's recruits.

That ensured a steady supply of new soldiers for the several large groups of armies under the brigade.

The battalions were spread across different locations, with each one based in a separate area.

Once they reached the designated spot, the duty officer straightened the formation again, turned, and saluted Company Commander Chen Tianjian.

"Company Commander! First Company has ninety recruits present, out of ninety. Please give your instructions!"

Chen Tianjian returned the salute.

"Begin training."

"Yes, sir!"

The duty officer then jogged over to stand in front of the recruits.

This was the procedure whenever the company commander or political instructor was present before training began.

The point was to standardize the whole training process. At least, that was how it worked in the recruit company.

After three months, once they joined their veteran units, they would sometimes skip this procedure.

"Just like we said when we assembled, each squad leader will organize their own squad. Squad leaders, take your squads away."

As soon as the duty officer finished speaking, Squad Leader Chen Ting turned to the recruits in front of him.

"You'll practice formation drills with the squad leader next door."

What the hell? They were supposed to learn formation drills from the neighboring squad leader who'd tried to get a recruit discharged???

Ji Baichang's pupils suddenly contracted. He couldn't help picturing the scene from earlier, when he'd passed their room and seen that squad leader lifting a recruit up and doing... something to him.

Oh, no! If I made a mistake, the veteran would grab me, then hit A, follow with W, then E, then spin with Q, and finish with Noxian Guillotine...

How was anyone supposed to survive that?!

Xue Daochao, standing beside Ji Baichang, looked at him in confusion.

Ji Baichang had been trembling for a while now. It was still hot in September, so it wasn't as if he were cold.

Xue Daochao was standing in the sun and sweating! How was this guy so weak?

Seeing Xue Daochao's look, Ji Baichang just glanced at him. The guy hadn't seen how brutal the squad leader next door was.

If he had, he'd be reacting just like Ji Baichang!

"Squad Leader, it's fine. You can go rest over there."

Wang Yuan nodded and smiled, telling Chen Ting he could go rest.

As the neighboring Second Squad's leader, and a soldier Chen Ting had trained himself in the same company, he had to help him out!

Training one squad was training; training two squads was still training. There was no real difference.

"Okay. I'll treat you to a meal sometime soon."

Chen Ting nodded and patted Wang Yuan on the shoulder.

"Oh, it's fine, Squad Leader Chen! I'll treat you! No need for you and sister-in-law to spend a thing!"

Wang Yuan beamed at Chen Ting, nothing like the brutal squad leader he'd been when dealing with the recruits at noon.