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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing that Lin Hao was about to take the stage, Xiao Yu disregarded her disdain for Old Bi and eagerly craned her neck to look ahead. I quickly turned my head as well and saw Lin Hao stepping steadily out of the ranks, walking into the arena. He faced Team Leader Ding, clasped his fists in salute, and assumed a traditional martial arts starting stance.
Team Leader Ding returned the gesture with a clasped fist, maintaining his usual posture. Under everyone's watchful eyes, Lin Hao took two slow steps forward and stopped. Suddenly, he pushed off with his right foot, twisting his body sharply to the left, and launched a straight punch toward Team Leader Ding's face!
Team Leader Ding remained calm and sidestepped to the right, evading the punch. Before he could make a move, Lin Hao retracted his right fist and swiftly turned his hips and shoulders to the right, slightly raising his left elbow. He struck again in an arc toward Team Leader Ding's face. I noticed that as he twisted his body to the right, he pivoted on the ball of his left foot while rotating his heel outward, generating a whip-like effect with his left punch that shot out like a bullet!
At this moment, Team Leader Ding was sideways and could no longer retreat; he had to lower himself to dodge this punch. Lin Hao immediately followed up by raising his right knee to strike at Ding's face! This scene felt so familiar—hadn't Team Leader Ding used this move against Fatty before? As I recalled this, I heard Old Bi exclaim in surprise. Turning around, I saw him wide-eyed, "He actually knows Muay Thai! The hallmark of Muay Thai is its ability to utilize elbows, knees, fists, and legs for attacks at very close range; it's a martial art that emphasizes practicality and lethality." I thought to myself how clever Lin Hao was to start with a traditional martial arts stance but then launch an attack using Muay Thai—such a deceptive tactic!
Over there, Team Leader Ding had both hands up in front of his face, pressing down on Lin Hao's knee. He then delivered an upward elbow strike aimed at Lin Hao's abdomen! Lin Hao jumped back just in time to evade the elbow strike. What followed was truly eye-opening; after a brief pause, both fighters closed in again. Interestingly, they both employed similar techniques—each executing low sweeps with their right legs. A dull thud echoed as they simultaneously retracted their legs and swept with their left legs again, producing another thud. It was as if they were competing for superiority; they exchanged kicks five or six times without any intention of stopping until the whistle blew, prompting them to create distance between each other. I could clearly see that both of their legs were trembling. It seemed quite painful; I thought maliciously. However, there was no clear victor—Lin Hao had passed!
Muay Thai against Muay Thai! Team Leader Ding knew it too! I felt like groaning; where had these talented individuals learned such skills? Watching them made me feel like my first twenty years had been wasted! Looking around at the other Cadets, they were all buzzing with excitement and praise—though it was unclear whether they were complimenting Team Leader Ding or Lin Hao.
Old Bi continued to scowl and curse Lin Hao; to him, it seemed all handsome guys were his enemies. Meanwhile, Xiao Yu was overjoyed as if she had passed herself!
Thus concluded the Combat Assessment amidst everyone's eager attention. Except for a few Cadets at the beginning, most of the remaining Cadets managed to pass this round thanks to their various advantages. However, what puzzled me was that Old Li's name was not on the assessment roster! After asking him about it, he explained that he couldn't keep up with the younger ones anymore and had voluntarily opted out of the assessment. Old Li was a good person; it was somewhat regrettable, I thought quietly.
The next assessment on capturing prisoners was relatively simpler. Although Team Leader Ding played the role of an imaginary enemy again, this time everything followed predetermined actions according to established content and guidelines without personal improvisation. Team Leader Ding played his role as expected, and most Cadets completed this subject successfully.
And so ended the assessments for the Second Week; nearly twenty Cadets were eliminated. Some units had sent Cadets who had all packed up and left. The remaining Cadets felt both relieved and reflective—who would have thought so many would be eliminated by the end of the Second Week? After dinner, the entire dormitory building fell silent except for the Big Black board downstairs recording those Cadets who had been eliminated as proof of their presence here.
After dinner, Old Bi and I chatted about our training journey this time. Although we still didn't know our final ranking, we had already performed much better than previous years' results from our unit—this would make it easier to report back home; I celebrated inwardly. However, my heart sank again when our captain gathered the remaining Cadets for a meeting to announce the training plan for the Third Week!
The content of the Third Week's assessment involved wilderness survival combined with orienteering training. Early Monday morning, helicopters would take everyone to a remote area hundreds of kilometers away in Guangxi's mountainous region. All participants would be air-dropped into various locations via rope descent; by 1 AM on Saturday night, Cadets must return to the helicopter departure point. Each person was only allowed to carry one canteen of water, one compressed biscuit block, one dagger, one piece of salt, one signal gun (one red for emergencies and one green for withdrawal), one map, and one rain tarp. The elimination rules were straightforward: anyone who failed to return within the specified time would be considered eliminated; if equipment was lost or damaged it would also count as elimination; if everyone returned on time then according to old rules—the last Cadet back would be eliminated.
I calculated the distance and time in my mind and realized that returning this way would be very tight on time. If I took a wrong turn, I probably wouldn't get another chance. Moreover, if everyone else found the right path, then the time to rush back became crucial, as I had no idea where I stood among the group. I had to give it my all to avoid being eliminated! Who came up with this terrible idea? The assessments were getting tougher and tougher!
Perhaps after multiple rounds of elimination, the Cadets had become somewhat numb, or maybe they were just used to passively accepting tasks. There was no obvious reaction from anyone; after disbanding, everyone went off to prepare. I anxiously approached Old Bi, only to find him seemingly unconcerned, chatting with Liu as usual.
"Old Bi, do you think we can make it through this week?"
"I don't know. In the past, our training at school wasn't this far. This time, they didn't even give us a compass. If we are separated and airdropped, everyone's navigation skills vary; it's hard to say."
"Do you have any confidence?" Old Bi shrugged. "We don't even know the target location or what the terrain is like there. We'll just have to rely on our previous Military Topography knowledge!"
"What about you, Liu?" I looked at Liu.
"Don't waste your energy thinking about it. I've heard that the training methods here change every year, but I bet none of the Cadets have ever undergone training like this before. This week's assessment is all about basic qualities—selecting the best among the best. We have no choice."
I wanted to help Old Bi somehow but didn't know how. After all, my current role was that of a Military Doctor and Instructor. Looking at Old Bi's nonchalant smile, I knew he still cared about this training session. After chatting for a bit, I returned to my room deep in thought.
As soon as I got back to my room, Xiao Yu called me to the captain's office. Upon entering, I found Pig Head and Team Leader Ding there as well. Once everyone was gathered, the captain said, "The people in this room, along with a few from the Guard Unit of the warrior group, will form a temporary command center. Our mission is to monitor and ensure their training proceeds safely and orderly."
I was a bit confused—command center? Me? Am I going too?
The captain noticed my bewilderment and continued, "The mountainous area is quite remote; there are no toilets or water for bathing over there, which makes things very inconvenient. Plus, since it’s a long duration, Xiaoyu Instructor shouldn't go. As for Wang Instructor, I hope you can overcome the difficulties and take on your role as Military Doctor; if necessary, you'll need to serve as Military Doctor during helicopter rescues."
Ah, great! Now I've been pulled into this too!
One night passed without incident.
On Monday morning, the remaining Cadets boarded a truck and were transported to an open Venue in the outskirts. Upon disembarking, they discovered five military green helicopters already parked there, each marked with numbers from 001 to 005. To be honest, I had never seen our country's helicopters up close before, so I was captivated as soon as I got off the truck.
A fellow Cadet kindly explained, "This is our country's Z-9 helicopter. It has been modified to perform various combat missions such as anti-submarine warfare, transport, and fire support. It can reach speeds of 50 kilometers per hour and can carry ten people."
While I was still observing the Z-9, the team leader had already gathered everyone to explain some important points. He specifically mentioned that once training began, all Cadets would be low-altitude parachuting to the ground upon reaching the designated area. The team would set up a temporary command post nearby, and helicopters would patrol the area. If any signals were detected, personnel would be dispatched to retrieve the Cadets and return them to their units.
The team leader announced that the command post personnel would board the first helicopter, while other groups would head to the fifth helicopter. After the boarding order was given, I followed Team Leader Ding toward the first helicopter. While looking around, I noticed Old Bi at the fourth helicopter and turned back to see that Old Li was following behind me.
"Old Li! What are you doing with us? Didn't you get eliminated?" I asked in surprise. "Oh, I didn't even participate in the fighting, so there's no need for me to continue. I'm now part of the Guard Unit, here to support you," Old Li replied with a smile. I was somewhat speechless; I had always thought Old Li was quite detached, but this level of detachment surprised me.
And so it was that after all the Cadets boarded, the helicopter roared to life and took off, carrying everyone toward their destination!
(To be continued; more exciting content tomorrow!)
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