The person who had taken his camouflage uniform was definitely a recruit. He might have grabbed the wrong one by accident.
Maybe he'd hung one of his own uniforms outside and thought that one was the one he'd washed, so he'd taken the wrong one.
All right.
Then let's assume there were fifty camouflage uniforms on the clothesline. He'd taken one, leaving forty-nine.
Now all he had to do was find the uniform that belonged to the recruit who'd taken his, and then there would be forty-eight uniforms left on the clothesline.
They'd each have one uniform, so the numbers would add up!
Lü Qinglong suddenly felt that he was really clever!
As for how to find that uniform...
Lü Qinglong swept his hand out, grabbed a size 175 (92–96) camouflage uniform, and swaggered back to his company.
"Did you find your squad leader's camouflage uniform?"
The veteran on duty at the company entrance asked with a broad smile.
"Yep, squad leader. Found it."
Lü Qinglong nodded and strode into the squad room.
"I found your camouflage uniform."
"Huh? Brother Long, you really found my uniform!"
The recruit's eyes lit up. He took the uniform from Lü Qinglong and thanked him repeatedly.
He ran his hand over the fabric and immediately felt that the texture seemed a little different.
"Brother Long, this doesn't seem to be my uniform. This one's so new, like it's brand-new. Mine had a bit of dirt on it that I couldn't wash out."
"No, are you stupid? It's your uniform now."
Lü Qinglong rolled his eyes at the recruit, speechless.
He had no idea what the kid was thinking. Did he expect Lü Qinglong to go rummaging through everyone's bags, one squad at a time?
"Oh, okay. Thanks, Brother Long."
The recruit nodded thoughtfully.
"All right, hurry back to bed. And don't cry next time."
"You're a grown man. What's with all the bawling?"
After saying that, Lü Qinglong turned and returned to the squad room. He lay down and fell asleep in less than a minute.
His sleep quality was excellent. He slept until five o'clock sharp the next morning before opening his eyes.
As he got dressed, he didn't forget to wake up the other recruits in the squad.
"Huh? I feel like I just fell asleep, and now I'm awake again. Another day of training is about to start."
Ji Baichang struggled out of bed, held up only by the thought that he'd get to train with Squad Leader Chen Ting later.
The two of them had told their squad leader the night before and gone to the equipment room to borrow two training rifles. They'd brought them back to the squad room and put them under Lü Qinglong's bed.
"Cheer up a little, Baichang. Don't you think every day is full of hope? We get to learn so many new things every day! I think it's great!"
Lü Qinglong patted Ji Baichang on the shoulder, nearly knocking him onto the floor.
"Ahh!"
"Qinglong, go easy! Are you trying to kill your good buddy?"
Ji Baichang clutched his shoulder and complained through the pain.
That slap from Lü Qinglong had woken him right up. He obediently got dressed and stood outside the squad room.
"Let's go."
Squad Leader Chen Ting put on his camouflage uniform and said calmly, then headed straight for the grove beside yesterday's training field.
The three of them followed at once. Curiosity filled Xue Daochao's and Ji Baichang's eyes. They wanted to know what the squad leader had taught Lü Qinglong the day before.
When they reached the grove, Chen Ting demonstrated the Shooting Method he'd taught Lü Qinglong the previous day.
Ji Baichang and Xue Daochao immediately began imitating him, but perhaps because they'd never handled firearms before, their movements looked awkward and comical.
With Squad Leader Chen Ting making adjustments and Lü Qinglong demonstrating, though, the two of them proved quick learners. They'd basically mastered these several shooting methods.
"Squad leader, are we still practicing holding the gun today?"
Lü Qinglong held the gun in Standing Posture, its muzzle aimed at the tree straight ahead.
"Mm. Practice holding the gun for half an hour first. Then I'll teach you how to advance while holding it, and which steps to use in different situations."
Chen Ting nodded as he answered.
"Yes, squad leader!"
The three of them replied in unison.
Although all three were practicing the same movement, there were clearly differences between them.
After holding the gun for about five minutes, Ji Baichang's arms were already aching and stiff.
Xue Daochao was clearly in better shape than he was. His hands were trembling too, but he could still hold on.
The most ridiculous one was Lü Qinglong. His two thick arms held the gun steady as a rock, without the slightest tremble.
Judging by his expression, the movement seemed as easy as eating or drinking.
"We've all got one head and two hands. There's no way I'm worse than everyone else!"
Ji Baichang's refusal to admit defeat surged up. He rallied himself and kept holding the gun, even though his hands were shaking like a Parkinson's patient.
Only the pained expression on his face grew more and more contorted.
Chen Ting watched all three of them.
They were all doing well enough. Ji Baichang might have had a weaker foundation than the other two, but the kid had a real refusal-to-lose streak.
He glanced down at the time in his hand. It was about time, so he signaled that they could lower their guns.
"Whew!"
As soon as he heard that they could lower their guns, Ji Baichang finally let his drop. His hands trembled uncontrollably.
He'd never imagined that he could work up a sweat just from holding a gun.
Xue Daochao was in much the same shape as Ji Baichang. He wiped the sweat from his forehead, his hands trembling too.
Lü Qinglong was the only one who looked completely unaffected. Instead, he thought the other two were in terrible shape if holding a gun could leave them like this.
"Watch the steps I'm about to demonstrate. You'll need to coordinate them with the posture you just used to hold the gun."
"The step I'm teaching you is called the Rolling Step. It's used in most indoor searches and when you spot enemies in an urban area and need to search and shoot."
"Watch my demonstration carefully to see how it's done. I'll only teach it once."
"Land on your heels. You can arch your soles as your feet touch the ground, and drive the movement with your thighs."
"This greatly reduces the noise you make when you land."
"Adjust the distance of each step to the situation."
"If the enemy is close, take short, quick steps. If they're farther away and you're pursuing them, you can lengthen your stride like this."
After Chen Ting finished explaining, he had the three of them give it a try.
They seemed to understand and began practicing the movements Chen Ting had just taught them.
They appeared to be improving quickly and were already walking back and forth with some semblance of form.
But Chen Ting knew that Ji Baichang and Xue Daochao were using the wrong muscles. They were relying entirely on their calves.
"Squad leader, my legs get sore pretty quickly when I do this. What should I do?"
Before you continue