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墨書 Inktalez
I lay on the ground, barely catching my breath when suddenly I felt someone grab my legs and drag me backward. Before I could turn around, I felt a weight on my back, and at the same time, someone choked me from behind, pulling hard. I was caught in a chokehold!
My breathing became labored, and my back was bending to its limit. If this continued, I would be disqualified in ten seconds at most. Xuanhua would take time to come over. With that thought, I concentrated all my strength into my right hand and, relying on instinct, I clenched my fist and struck backward and upward with all my might!
With a loud thud, I hit something! The grip around my neck loosened slightly, and I took a deep breath. My body surged upward as I threw my head back forcefully to collide with my opponent again. There was another loud bang; this time, I must have hit them squarely in the face.
At that moment, I saw Xuanhua's big foot coming toward me. I quickly ducked down, fearing that it would land right on the chest of the person behind me. I felt the pressure on my back lighten significantly; they must have been knocked over. Without hesitation, I rolled to the side and scrambled to my feet.
"One!" The opponent was still sitting on the ground, covering their face. Without any hesitation, Xuanhua and I pounced on them together!
…
“Wang Wei wins!” the referee shouted!
“Oh!” The brothers watching from the sidelines rushed over. Ignoring the pain, I excitedly embraced all my Brothers. After so long of hard work, it finally paid off! From being underestimated to gradually gaining recognition—what a difficult transformation this has been!
The last one to be knocked down, a Seventh Company Warrior, stood up while covering his face. “Why didn’t you follow the rules? Aren’t we supposed to go one-on-one?”
No one paid him any mind because everyone was too excited surrounding me. Other warriors from Unit also rushed over. To my surprise, they lifted me up and tossed me into the air. In that moment of being airborne, I caught sight of Gao Ge, looking dejected as he stood by the Venue. Perhaps this was the first time he wasn’t in the spotlight. “Gao Ge, I'm sorry; for my squad, I had to win!” I silently thought.
Joy can quickly turn to sorrow; as I was tossed into the air again, someone shouted, “Commander is raising the Sharp Blade Company flag!” The people beneath me scattered in excitement to see it. Only Xuanhua remained standing below in confusion; of course, he couldn’t catch me. So, I fell from his shoulder and hands to the ground with a thud that nearly made me feel like I'd broken something.
Damn it! These guys still don’t see me as their leader!
I stood up despite the pain and pushed through the crowd toward the podium. There, I saw Commander unfurling a red flag with “Sharp Blade Company” embroidered across it horizontally. A military Bayonet pierced through the center of the words from right to left—simple, clear, and meaningful. I liked this design and began to chuckle foolishly.
The Company Commander gave me a shove. “Get up there and receive the flag!!”
As I stepped up to receive the flag, the Commander excitedly proclaimed before handing it over, "I have always believed that every unit must have its own soul, whether it's a regiment, battalion, company, or even a squad. Today, Squad Leader Wang Wei's performance was outstanding; he demonstrated what cohesion, combat effectiveness, and team spirit truly mean! This is their soul! They are indeed the Sharp Blade Company, truly worthy of being called... the Ace!"
I was overwhelmed with emotion as I took the flag of the Sharp Blade Company, nearly forgetting to bow in gratitude to the leaders on stage.
When I turned around to display the flag, cheers erupted from our company, gradually transforming into a unified chant of "Wang Pai! Ace! Wang Pai! Ace!" I couldn't tell if they were calling my name or referring to the Ace. Slowly, the entire unit seemed to catch on, and the sound reverberated across the parade ground like a tidal wave! I felt as if I might float away…
Later on, the title of Sharp Blade Company became less frequently mentioned; instead, "Wang Pai" became a fixed title for our squad. This was unexpected for me. Years later, when I returned to this unit by chance, I discovered that this title still lingered in our squad. However, it had morphed into many tales—some claimed I single-handedly defeated several opponents; others said I had bested martial arts masters.
When I handed the flag to the Company Commander and Instructor, they were half-excited and half-nostalgic as they held it. After some deliberation, they decided to give me the flag to hang in the Barracks rather than next to the Sharp Blade Company's flag at Company Headquarters. The Instructor explained that just like before, it was a collective entity with its own spirit—belonging to Sharp Blade Company yet not entirely part of it. I didn't fully understand but was thrilled to have my first honor in my military career.
After all the soldiers admired it enough, I hung the Sharp Blade Company's flag on the wall directly opposite the entrance of the Barracks so that everyone entering could see it and understand what kind of unit this was. Many years later, when everyone from our row had moved on, future members would forever remember this indomitable spirit we possessed!
After celebrating with everyone for a while, I suddenly thought of Old Bi. I felt a pang of guilt regarding him; he was both a mentor and a friend to me. I always felt like I was stepping up on his shoulders. So that afternoon, I bought two packs of Furong Wang cigarettes to visit him. He was still resting in the Medical Unit when I arrived. Upon seeing me with the cigarettes, Old Bi accepted them without hesitation, opened one up and lit it while saying:
"Hey, not bad! I heard you managed to deal with Gao Ge! He's quite a standout among Squad Leaders these past few years—arrived a year before me and has been an excellent leader ever since. The Seventh Company and even the entire Third Battalion are grooming him; he's quite confident and claims that in ten years' time, he'll be Deputy Chief of Staff. But honestly, I'm not fond of him—he's too ambitious and focused solely on climbing up."
I chuckled lightly. "I just got lucky; I never expected Commander would support us at the last moment."
"The Commander would definitely take charge; I've suspected that for a while now. What surprised me was your company daring to send you out there—you ended up laughing last," Old Bi said somewhat gloomily.
I felt speechless—was this really about me?
"You don't know?" Old Bi was indeed an experienced Squad Leader who knew many insider details. He offered me a cigarette; seeing that I wasn't smoking, he lit one for himself.
"Your Company Commander and Instructor were once soldiers under Commander’s command. When Commander was a Squad Leader, he trained them as new recruits; by their third year, one got promoted while another went off to study. When Commander became Company Commander, your current Company Commander was his Squad Leader; when he became Company Commander again, your Company Commander was Deputy Company Commander then. Your Instructor returned as Assistant Instructor. Just how special is their relationship?"
"Commander is a person who despises evil, and with that relationship, do you think Commander would allow your Unit to be treated unfairly?" Old Bi laughed.
"You Company Commander and Instructor are really something; thanks to you, the old leaders have gained some face."
"They're both leaving at the end of the year," I replied lightly. "One is transitioning out, and the other is being reassigned."
"Ah!" Old Bi exclaimed in surprise. "Damn, they really put in a lot of effort! With your performance and Commander already appreciating you, you might just step up to Company Commander next! Damn it, so many people set up such a big scheme, played such a grand game, and you're the one reaping the rewards! Your luck is always so good! Why don't I have that kind of fate?"
"Good luck? Is that so?" I smiled faintly. I just felt that continuing like this was exhausting. At that moment, I wondered if being a Military Doctor again would be simpler and happier.
"Why is it that whenever you're around, things always turn out unexpectedly?" Old Bi sighed. (Years later, I would understand that Old Bi unintentionally hit upon a mystery surrounding me. More details will be revealed in the second part: Water Impermanence Force. Haha, advertisement done!)
I didn't pay much attention to Old Bi's sentiment at the time because I still had questions. So I asked him, "What role are you playing in this Sharp Blade Company competition? The Reconnaissance Platoon definitely wasn't just thrown in there for numbers, right? How do you know so much?"
Old Bi paused for a moment, then gave a mysterious smile. "Well, you can guess for yourself!"
That's all for now! Stay tuned for Snake Disaster, Love Like the Wind, The Work of Chasing the Wind; tomorrow will be even more exciting!
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