Chapter Fifty-Two: Commanding Talent

There were no motor vehicles.

Could it be that the Infantry Division was expected to simply run there on foot?

Twenty-three kilometers!

A cross-country run with full gear.

Wouldn’t that leave them utterly exhausted?

“Huai Shan, does this mean that, as Instructor Chang said, the assessment officially begins at eight o’clock?” Tan Hai had caught onto the key point.

Du Huaishan nodded. “Exactly. As Lai Yanlong mentioned, this time it’s a simulation of real combat conditions. So apart from testing our target-chopping and physical stamina, they’ll also assess our coordination speed with logistics.”

“I bet the Logistics Section is being evaluated on how quickly they can distribute military supplies too.”

Hearing this last remark, Tan Hai’s small eyes grew lively again.

At eight o’clock sharp, Lai Yanlong raised his pistol, fired a shot into the sky, and shouted, “Assessment begins!”

Boom.

All the infantry, artillery, and communications soldiers surged chaotically toward the logistics distribution point.

“Hurry up! Give me the map and equipment!”

“I was here first! Give mine first!”

“Move it! If you delay our team’s march, can you take responsibility?”

Anyone questioned by dozens of voices at once would be flustered. Some logistics soldiers tried shouting for everyone to queue up and maintain order, but no one listened.

Everybody wanted to be first to get their supplies, reach the target point quickly, and win first place.

“What do we do now? The logistics point is a mess. When will we ever get our supplies?”

The moment the gunshot sounded, the members of the Eighth Training Team gathered together. Chen Jun, impatient by nature, was the first to lose his composure.

Tan Hai gave a sly smile, clapping Du Huaishan on the shoulder. “Huai Shan, look—who’s that over there?”

“Fatty?” Following the direction of the finger, Du Huaishan indeed spotted Yang Fatty, bundled in his padded uniform and spinning around like a top, shouting himself hoarse at the recruits.

“With a friend like that, we’d be fools not to use the connection. Have Fatty give us our supplies first, and we won’t have to waste time fighting the others for them.”

With that, Tan Hai led the group toward Yang Anfu’s distribution station.

Unexpectedly,

Wu Ming and Guo Tingyu had noticed the same thing and were heading over to “pull some strings” as well.

“Fatty! Hurry! Give ours to us first!”

“Fatty, it’s Old Wu! Ours first, quick!”

Yang Anfu was loudly demanding everyone queue up, but he hadn’t expected Old Wu and Tingyu to crowd in too, making his head spin with their shouting.

Tan Hai was just about to yell as well,

But Du Huaishan quickly held him back. Looking at the red-faced Yang Anfu, he narrowed his eyes and called out, “Eighth Training Team, line up—now!”

“What? Du Huaishan, are you out of your mind? Lining up at a time like this?” Li Anqi was completely baffled.

But in the next second, Xu Yuan quietly stood behind Du Huaishan.

Then Tan Hai, Lin Sizhi, Sun Tian...

It turned out that, after Du Huaishan’s tactical analysis exercises the previous day, the Eighth Team members had already started to instinctively follow his lead.

Left with no choice, Li Anqi obediently joined the line as well.

Once they were all in order, Du Huaishan took a deep breath, mustered his strength, and shouted, “Eighth Team of the 173rd Elite Training, all eight members assembled! Requesting provision of military supplies!”

His voice rang out loud and clear.

Their orderly formation stood in stark contrast to the chaos around them, where the other recruits were like shoppers at a market.

Yang Anfu immediately noticed Du Huaishan’s neatly lined-up team.

The two exchanged a glance, and Fatty’s eyes lit up as if he’d found a kindred spirit. He shouted to his comrades, “Quick! One map, eight marching packs, sixteen pressurized air canisters! Move!”

With clear numbers, the logistics soldiers moved much faster. In no time, a tricycle cart was wheeled over, loaded with exactly the supplies Du Huaishan’s team needed.

“Please sign here.”

The clerk swiftly recorded the quantities and the team’s name, then handed over the register.

As Du Huaishan signed, Li Anqi and Tan Hai stepped forward to help the logistics soldiers with the supplies.

Nearby, some infantrymen protested angrily, “Why do they get theirs first? We were here before them!”

“Yeah, you’re playing favorites!”

But Yang Anfu showed no sign of panic. Instead, he retorted, “You know about first come, first served? How many times did I yell for you to line up? Did you listen? Let me tell you, whoever lines up and follows the rules gets their supplies first from me, Yang Anfu! If you don’t like it, go get your stuff somewhere else!”

Sure enough,

Seeing Du Huaishan’s team receive their supplies smoothly,

The other recruits watched enviously.

Especially the Seventh Elite Training Team, where Guo Tingyu was, and the First Team, Wu Ming’s group—they all started lining up as well.

Immediately, the atmosphere changed.

Many recruits organized themselves into orderly lines, standing quietly at the distribution point.

And, in fact, with proper order, everyone ended up getting their supplies faster than expected.

Not far away,

The instructors, mounted on horseback, watched every move the recruits made.

Lai Yanlong, stroking his goatee as he observed the new soldiers sorting their supplies and the teams that had formed lines on their own, sighed, “It seems some teams have already grasped the key.”

“Some people’s command and leadership abilities are already standing out at this stage.”

As he spoke, Chang Sui’an, Zhou Zhong’ai, and the others all turned their gaze toward Du Huaishan’s Eighth Training Team.

“Hey, Du Huaishan, I was wrong before. I spoke out of turn—my apologies.” Li Anqi, backpack slung over one shoulder, stood tall and saluted Du Huaishan with genuine respect.

Tan Hai was surprised at how quickly they’d received their gear. “Huai Shan, you and Fatty worked together seamlessly. Did you two scheme this last night?”

“There was nothing to scheme about. The army is built on rules and discipline. Instructor Lai taught us that from our very first class.”

Du Huaishan glanced back at the busy Yang Anfu. “I just went along with what Fatty wanted.”

“Let’s go. With our supply advantage, we should get moving right away!” called out the tall Zhang Tiancheng, seeing that other teams were already setting out.

“Let’s take a quick look at the marching map.”

Each squad had only one copy, and it was in Du Huaishan’s hands.

He unfolded the parchment. On it, in black ink, were clearly marked the location of Jun Tun City, the general topography of the wilderness, the route of march, supply points, communications posts, and areas where monsters and ghosts were known to roam.

Compared to a modern map, it was quite rudimentary and imprecise.

“Qingshi Mountain is here. It’s twenty-three kilometers away. Assuming each of us carries seventy pounds, it’ll take at least five hours at a run.”

“Instructor Chang mentioned the artillery bombardment is at two in the afternoon, so we’ll have only an hour for the target-chopping test.”