Instructor

"New recruits from each squad, grab your little stools and assemble in the club to watch the news!"

The duty officer's voice rang through the hallway. The recruits had already gotten their little stools ready, and they marched into the club in formation.

The club was pretty spacious by the standards of the barracks, taking up about as much room as three recruit squads.

But when the recruits from all ten squads filed in together, it still felt a little cramped.

Fortunately, under the duty officer's direction, all ninety recruits soon sat neatly in the club.

The club was quite bare inside. Aside from a television set at the front, there were no other entertainment facilities.

After all, they were still recruits. Once they left New Recruit Company, the clubs in the veteran companies would be much better equipped.

They'd have things like ping-pong tables and pool tables.

New Recruit Company had only been established fairly recently, so it was reasonable that some facilities were still lacking.

"Before we watch Xinwen Lianbo, the Political Instructor will come up and say a few words. Stay quiet while he's speaking, and don't chatter among yourselves."

The duty officer said a few words to the recruits below, then turned and left the club.

A little while later, the club door swung open. The duty officer followed a captain who looked to be in his early thirties, with smiling eyes and a kindly expression.

That's right, a kindly expression.

The face reminded Ji Baichang exactly of the priest character in a promotional trailer for some game.

"Our Political Instructor looks like a really nice guy!"

Ji Baichang could practically tell right away that their Political Instructor would treat them well.

And it seemed he'd been right. The Political Instructor stood before the recruits and greeted them with a cheerful smile:

"Hello, new comrades. My name is Cheng Jun, and I'm a captain. You can call me Instructor Cheng, like the veterans in this company do. I'll be your Political Instructor for the three months you're in New Recruit Company!"

"Judging by your posture and expressions, you're already doing much better than when you first arrived yesterday. You're slowly starting to look like soldiers. Good job!"

Instructor Cheng began by showering the recruits with praise. After a whole day of getting put through the wringer, they were a little embarrassed.

"Instructor Cheng is such a nice guy. It's been a whole day, and he's still praising us!"

Ji Baichang turned to Lü Qinglong and said with approval.

He was just a little surprised. Sure enough, once you joined the army, you met all kinds of people.

The strict duty officer, the kindly Political Instructor, the meathead buddies, the badass squad leader...

"All right. Once the new comrades finish watching the news, there's no need to hold a debriefing. Let them wash up and get to bed early."

"The company commander has something to take care of today, so we won't have roll call."

"Yes, sir!"

The duty officer nodded and watched the Political Instructor leave the club. Only then did he switch on the television, and Xinwen Lianbo, the program they watched every evening at seven, began to play.

Every night at seven, without fail, they watched half an hour of Xinwen Lianbo, except on weekends and holidays.

That half hour had become a rare chance for the recruits to relax completely.

Xinwen Lianbo was pretty dull. By the time it ended, most of the recruits were nearly asleep.

The duty officer stood at the front and coughed twice, jolting them all awake.

He seemed to be entirely used to this sort of thing.

"After you go back, squad leaders, remind the new comrades not to doze off during Xinwen Lianbo. I'll let it slide this time, but I'll be cracking down next time."

"All right. And as the Political Instructor just said, there's no roll call today. Each squad can go back and wash up. Let the new comrades get to bed early. Of course, those who are weak in physical training should get some extra practice at the right time."

After he finished speaking, the recruits were led away in an orderly fashion and returned to their respective squads.

"Our company's Political Instructor looks a lot like a character from a game I used to play."

Back in the squad room, Ji Baichang was still going on about what the Political Instructor looked like.

"Huh? You mean that game where your username was 'Use Wu Jin's Face Mold to Squeeze Out Patriotism'?"

"Not that one. That was Apex. It's full of femboys, and it's not that fun."

"Then what game was it? By the way, are online games really that fun? I've played a few before, but they were just so-so. Too fake."

Lü Qinglong shook his head.

He didn't spend much time online playing games, though when he was in middle school, he'd liked going to the arcade.

But he'd been especially hooked on the '97 version of The King of Fighters, and he particularly loved controlling Chen Guohan, the burly guy who wielded a huge iron ball on a chain.

Back then, with Chen Guohan, he'd beaten everyone at the arcade.

Anyone who sat down to play against him would be so intimidated by the pressure radiating from the characters in the game that they'd tremble all over. They wouldn't even make it through a round before running out of the arcade with their tails between their legs.

Even when he ran into someone a little more skilled, the stool they were sitting on would somehow break during the match. In the end, Lü Qinglong still came out on top!

"The duty officer said we could wash up just now. Want to go?"

Ji Baichang picked up his yellow washbasin, planning to go take a nice shower in the washroom.

He was a bit of a clean freak. In this weather, he had to shower at least once every two days, or he'd feel sticky and uncomfortable.

"But the duty officer also said anyone who didn't meet the physical fitness standard had to do extra training. Maybe we should ask the squad leader what he thinks when he gets back?"

There was a hint of uncertainty in Lü Qinglong's voice.

"Sure. Waiting until the squad leader gets back and asking him is definitely the safest option."

Ji Baichang nodded, put the yellow washbasin back on the rack, and sat down on his little stool to keep chatting with Lü Qinglong:

"Qinglong, we've got nothing to do right now anyway, so let me tell you about the time I met up in person with a femboy I'd been dating online in a game!"

"It was a dark and stormy night. I drove the Ferrari SF90 I'd just bought with my allowance to the airport to pick her—or him—up. I'd already booked a hotel and was planning to—"

"Ahem."

Just as Ji Baichang was about to get to the interesting part, Xue Daochao hurriedly coughed.

Then squad leader Chen Ting walked in from outside, carrying a bag.

Inside the bag were the phones they'd handed in yesterday!

"Holy crap! That's my phone!"

Ji Baichang's eyes went wide. He stared fixedly at the plastic bag in squad leader Chen Ting's hand.

The other recruits wore much the same expressions as Ji Baichang, all of them practically aching for their phones.

Before they enlisted, they'd never been without their phones. You could say their phones were their lives.

After a whole day of grueling training, they could finally get their hands on their own phones again!