A Hearty Dinner

~

"Silence, tonight, at Cambridge~"

"Squad leader, why aren't you saying anything? Am I still not good enough?"

Seeing Chen Ting's expression twitch, Lü Qinglong couldn't contain his confusion and asked urgently.

I should be pretty good, right? If I ran three kilometers at a normal pace, I could probably finish in exactly nine minutes.

As for the parallel bars and pull-ups, I could manage a hundred.

I had no problem with any of these physical fitness tests. How could I still not get into the Special Operations Brigade?

But I clearly remembered that the requirements for getting into the Special Operations Brigade weren't that high, didn't they?

It wasn't as if joining the Special Operations Brigade automatically made you a Special Forces soldier.

Once, he'd accidentally overheard his father chatting with some of his fellow soldiers about it.

He'd said that in the Special Operations Brigade, only the two Special Reconnaissance Battalions had the combat strength of actual Special Forces. The rest were support units, providing logistical support for those two battalions.

After all, modern warfare didn't just demand that soldiers be physically fit and highly skilled. It also required a unit's logistics to keep up.

"You're good enough. With your physical fitness, you'd be good enough anywhere."

Squad leader Chen Ting fell silent for a moment, but in the end, he gave a fairly fair answer.

In his sixteen years as a soldier, he'd never encountered a freak like Lü Qinglong.

It was a good thing his father was a soldier too.

Otherwise, with his height, he wouldn't have been allowed to enlist. The regulations clearly stated that anyone over two meters tall couldn't join the army.

But his family had powerful connections. Besides, wasn't he practically born to be a soldier?

On the battlefield, just strap him into some bulletproof gear, and in today's small-scale special operations and decapitation strikes—

Wouldn't he be just like a legendary warrior from ancient times? He might even be able to tear the little Japanese apart with his bare hands!

"That's great, Squad Leader!"

After getting Chen Ting's confirmation, Lü Qinglong nodded happily like a child.

Then he started pumping his arms, moving up and down on the parallel bars like he had an electric motor installed.

In the blink of an eye, he'd done dozens of dips.

And he wasn't done. He kept going until he'd passed three hundred, then straightened his legs and stepped down from the bars, looking absolutely radiant.

"Brother Long is something else. He's a total monster. He does pull-ups and dips like it's even easier than eating."

"I finally get why Brother Long can eat so much. With that kind of energy expenditure every day, even just walking must burn several times more calories than it does for a normal person!"

The recruits stared at the freakishly strong Lü Qinglong, at a loss for words. All they could do was silently give him a thumbs-up in their minds.

It'd be a real waste of a physique like his if he didn't join the Special Forces in the Special Operations Brigade!

"Physical training is over. All squads, return to your rooms. Form up in front of the building in twenty minutes and get ready for dinner!"

The duty officer's voice echoed across the training area.

Squad leader Chen Ting went over to the parallel bars and briefly loosened up his arms. He did a few dozen dips, then took the recruits back to their room to change into their heavy camouflage uniforms.

As they assembled in front of the building before dinner, the recruits' faces clearly showed their exhaustion and longing for food.

Most of them had been starving for ages.

They'd only eaten one tray's worth of food at lunch. By the time they wanted to go back for a second serving, the table in the middle of the mess hall was cleaner than their faces!

Boys this age were all bursting with energy. How could one tray of food possibly be enough?

So they'd decided they were going to eat extra at dinner, to avoid getting hungry in the middle of the night.

"One song before dinner. 'Soldier,' ready—sing!"

The duty officer finally showed them some humanity. Knowing the recruits were starving, he didn't make them sing a long song, just a short military tune before the meal.

"A soldier's duty weighs heavy~ ya hey!"

"Military skills must be first-rate~ ya hey!"

"Love the army, train hard, and strive for the best~"

"Make your mark and build your career in the military~ hey hey!"

"Soldier" was also known as the four-line mantra before a meal. The Army, Navy, Air Force, Rocket Force, Strategic Support Force, and Armed Police—in short, nearly every unit sang it before meals.

Or they sang "A Crack Unit." It was simple: the song was easy to sing! Perfect for a quick song before dinner!

"Go on in."

The duty officer nodded in satisfaction. Judging by the way the recruits had sung, it looked like they really were starving.

"First Squad, go get your food!"

The moment the duty officer finished calling, Lü Qinglong's enormous frame sprang up from his seat. He strode ahead and charged toward the serving table in the middle.

"Oh no."

The duty officer thought to himself, how could he have forgotten about this guy?

He ate so much. He hoped the Cookhouse Squad had prepared enough for dinner.

"Oh no."

The recruits in Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Squads all howled inwardly at the same time.

That monster, like a demon god, had charged off to get food! What were they supposed to eat?

Cold wind?

They'd already been hungry at lunch. With Lü Qinglong at the front of the line, he'd probably pull off another outrageous feat, like polishing off an entire huge basin of rice by himself.

"Oh no!"

"I think I got too much rice. Squad leader said we couldn't leave any leftovers. If I can't finish it, will I get chewed out?"

Ji Baichang stared at the half-bowl of white rice on his plate and fell into thought.

He'd barely eaten anything at lunch, and now he was starving.

On top of that, the Cookhouse Squad had made braised pork with radish for dinner!

The dish had been stir-fried to a delicious color, with caramelized sugar!

It looked so tempting that he couldn't help serving himself a little extra.

"It's fine. Just shovel whatever you can't finish into my basin."

Lü Qinglong stood behind Ji Baichang, holding an empty metal basin so huge it was hard to say when it had appeared in his hands.

The very bottom of the basin was already covered with a thick layer of white rice. Every grain looked plump and pearly, like it would taste delicious.

Lü Qinglong walked over to the huge basin of braised pork with radish and poured some into his own.

The caramel-colored sauce spread evenly over every grain of rice. The aroma of meat immediately wafted through the mess hall, reaching the noses of every recruit.

Lü Qinglong was considerate, too. He took only about a quarter of the braised pork with radish for himself.

Then he carried his huge basin over to the second dish.

Every time he passed another dish, the recruits in the five squads behind him couldn't help feeling their hearts tremble.

"Woohoo~"

At last, Lü Qinglong sat back down looking satisfied, and the other recruits finally breathed a sigh of relief.

So far, it looked like Lü Qinglong wasn't some unforgivable sinner after all. He'd left plenty of food for everyone else.

As for how much would be left after the recruits from four other squads had their turn, that was anyone's guess.

The Strategic Support Force is gone now. It's been renamed the Information Support Force!