Commendation!

"What's all the commotion? You're a non-commissioned officer now, can't you be a bit calmer?"

Squad Leader Chen Ting sat on his bunk, taking a sip of tea that had already been steeped to mush.

The tea Ji Baichang brought over was truly excellent. He had steeped it for the eighth time, and each time he steeped it, he felt something different.

"Squad Leader Chen! I was just eavesdropping at Company Headquarters. They were on the phone with the Company Commander about Battalion matters."

"It sounds like in a month, they're going to hold a competition for new and veteran recruits to boost the new recruits' training enthusiasm. All the veteran soldiers in the entire Battalion will participate."

"It seems Battalion Headquarters also said that new recruits can participate. Whether you're a new recruit or a veteran, as long as you get first place, you'll receive a commendation."

Wang Yuan grabbed a small stool from a new recruit and sat on it, cheerfully explaining.

"Squad Leader! The competition subjects are the pull-up bar and the three-kilometer run. These two subjects aren't just giving you a commendation, they're practically handing it to you!"

The military's rewards, from highest to lowest, are in this order:

"August 1st Medal, Honorary Title, First-Class Merit, Second-Class Merit, Third-Class Merit, Commendation"

Although the commendation is ranked last among these.

Only about 5% of soldiers receive this reward. Being able to receive a military reward is still a sign of considerable excellence.

Normally, a company gets one quota for a Third-Class Merit each year, two for commendations, and several slots for Four Haves Soldier medals.

If it were a normal situation, he might have to work diligently in the company for a whole year, participating in exercises and training, and only at the end of the year might the company allocate a commendation.

But for a competition like this, involving all new and veteran recruits in the Battalion, getting a commendation just for winning first place was, in Wang Yuan's opinion, no different from being given it for free.

After all, let's not forget they were veterans from the Special Operations Brigade, which was entirely different from other veteran soldiers.

Perhaps for veterans in other brigades, running a three-kilometer in eleven minutes would be considered excellent. A time of ten minutes would be very good.

But in the Special Operations Brigade, that would only be considered barely passing.

It wasn't that Wang Yuan was putting others down, but that was simply the reality. Squad Leader Chen Ting was even more terrifying. He was clearly thirty-three years old and had served for sixteen years as a veteran.

On running and other basic physical fitness subjects, he still possessed absolute dominance.

"A commendation? I won't compete for that. I'll give you young people a chance. Last year, the Company Commander wanted to award me a Third-Class Merit, but I didn't even accept it."

"Wang Yuan, this is your third year and you've just transferred to non-commissioned officer. If you have the ability, go ahead and participate. I won't."

Chen Ting shook his head. The rewards that seemed very important to their new non-commissioned officers were clearly not enough in his eyes anymore.

The age of serving in the military was here. He had seen too much, and the youthful passion for competing and winning had long since faded.

"Ah, Squad Leader, is that for real? Then I won't be polite!"

"You little brat, you came here just to test my reaction, didn't you?"

Chen Ting couldn't help but laugh and scold him.

This kid was truly cunning, but the opportunity should still be left to the younger generation.

"Hehe, of course not, Squad Leader!"

"Then I'm leaving!"

The Squad Leader of the Second Squad stood up with a grin, greeted Chen Ting again, and left the First Squad without delay.

Even before leaving the First Squad, his face was still smiling, as if those two commendations were already in his pocket!

"Holy crap, Xue Daochao, did you hear the conversation between the Squad Leader from the next squad and our Squad Leader just now? A competition for new and veteran recruits, and the first place gets a commendation!"

Ji Baichang nudged Xue Daochao, who was beside him straightening his blanket, with his elbow.

"I heard. I'm not deaf."

Xue Daochao shot Ji Baichang a look.

"So, what are your plans? How about we team up and see if we can compete for first place?"

"That's a commendation! It's our first chance to earn merit since joining the army!"

Ji Baichang suppressed his excitement and said in a low voice.

"Don't even think about it. I feel like this thing is going to be tough. Us new recruits competing for this?"

Xue Daochao shook his head. He knew himself well.

His three-kilometer time was ten minutes and fifty-five seconds. While he was far ahead of the other new recruits, it was still far from enough when compared to all the veteran soldiers in the Battalion.

"I can push you from behind!"

"Like when you're out of strength, I'll thoughtfully appear behind you and help you push."

"What do you think!"

Ji Baichang's eyes darted around, and he came up with a bold idea.

"No, are you up to something sneaky? When did you become so kind?"

Xue Daochao stared at Ji Baichang with suspicion.

"Aiya! We're brothers, Ji Baichang! Would I lie to you?"

"I figured if someone else was going to benefit, it might as well be you! After this is all done, you can just cast a divination for me, how about it?"

Ji Baichang patted his chest, putting on a harmless act.

"If you push me, how fast can I possibly go? The most important thing is to first understand the Squad Leader of Class Two next door. How fast can he run the three kilometers? Otherwise, how will we surpass him?"

"Also, before all that, haven't you forgotten that we have Lü Qinglong in our class?"

"Oh my god! I totally forgot we have Qinglong in our class! Alright, the plan to push you from behind is temporarily abandoned. I'll continue with it when you get a girlfriend."

"Get lost!"

Xue Daochao pushed Ji Baichang away speechlessly. This guy was always up to no good.

"Qinglong! For this competition between new and veteran recruits, you absolutely must bring back first place in both events!"

"If I remember correctly, you ran the three kilometers in nine minutes and forty seconds yesterday! That's an unbeatable time! As long as you maintain this pace, first place in the three-kilometer event is definitely yours!"

Ji Baichang walked up to Lü Qinglong, sighing with deep meaning.

He was truly envious. Lü Qinglong's physical fitness was incredibly impressive.

He could do over eighty pull-ups on the pull-up bar. He wasn't sure if there were any veterans among them who could do more.

It was a shame there weren't any events purely based on strength, otherwise Lü Qinglong would have crushed them!!!

"Really? Don't lie to me. What new and veteran recruit competition?"

Lü Qinglong scratched his head.

He had just returned from the toilet and hadn't heard what the Squad Leader of Class Two had said.

"No rush! I'll explain it to you in detail later. Anyway, Qinglong, you're going to achieve great things."

Ji Baichang patted Lü Qinglong's chest, his hand stinging from the impact against the man's exaggerated pectoral muscles.

"Okay."

Lü Qinglong nodded, not quite understanding.

After the new recruits finally completed their grueling three sets of one hundred, they were finally able to wash up and lie on their beds.

These past two days had been exhausting for them. It seemed only the time after lights out, lying in bed, belonged to them.

"Wuwuwu~"

Lü Qinglong's hearing was sharp. He thought he heard the sound of a new recruit crying under his blanket.