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墨書 Inktalez
After passing this section of the Bailey Bridge, the warriors ahead had already begun to nervously connect the segments. I looked up and saw that the two sections of the Bailey Bridge were already aligned, with a Squad Leader checking the joints. Two speedboats were pushing the segments of the Bailey Bridge to maintain a stationary position relative to our side of the river, while the soldiers threw out hooks to quickly bring the Bailey Bridge over.
With a few clinks, the Bailey Bridge was fully connected, extending four sections into the river. The soldiers quickly took their positions on both sides, while I stood in the middle of the bridge waving a flag towards the assessment point on shore, signaling that construction was complete and requesting inspection.
I noticed that people at the assessment point on shore, including the Commander, Deputy Chief of Staff, and Section Chief, were murmuring among themselves and had not yet come down. I felt a bit anxious, unsure of what was happening.
After a while, I saw a large group of people coming down from the shore, walking across the Dock Bridge and looking around. I felt a bit flustered and hurried to meet them.
"Report! Assessment completed, please check, Leader!" I saluted as I faced the approaching Commander and others.
"Mm!" The Commander responded heavily. "Go check if the connection was completed as required." He turned to the Deputy Chief of Staff.
The Deputy Chief of Staff went off to inspect, while the Commander turned his gaze back to me. I felt a bit uneasy but met his gaze nonetheless; there was confusion in his eyes, along with what seemed like surprise.
After a while, the Deputy Chief of Staff returned to report, "All inspections completed; it meets traffic requirements!"
The surprise on the Commander's face was unmistakable as he stared at me and said, "Wang, how did you do it? From being last in training to now setting up four sections of Bailey Bridge in just over seven minutes—you always manage to amaze people."
So that was what it was about. I let out a sigh of relief and scratched my head awkwardly. "Hehe, it's nothing; just diligent training."
The Commander gave me another look and patted my shoulder. "Good job." He turned back towards the assessment point, leaving a group of people exchanging glances at each other. Later I learned that we had set a record time of just over seven minutes; the previous best was nine and a half minutes when the Commander was Company Commander. We had improved by nearly two minutes! Who would have guessed that we were last in land-based training but could improve so quickly in Water Training?
I didn't feel much about it; I always thought we could be faster. For instance, if we had started the speedboats earlier and waited by the riverbank, wouldn't that have been quicker? Back then, it seemed like they connected segment by segment slowly; we connected them in pairs before docking them together—of course that would be faster!
For the remaining time, my unit's soldiers and I relaxed by the shore watching other units' assessments. With our unit's results in hand, it felt like all other units had deflated; none managed to finish in under ten minutes.
The morning's assessments quickly came to an end, and unsurprisingly, we ranked first. The Seventh Company came in second with just over ten minutes.
The warriors were well aware of their training performance, so they didn't pay much attention to it. Each of them lazily found shade under the truck to rest, some even joking and laughing. To be honest, I turned a blind eye to all this; as long as everyone could keep up with the training, I didn't mind letting them relax during their free time.
As May approached, the heat was intense. The sun beat down mercilessly, and everyone was dressed in Camouflage Uniforms and life jackets, sweating profusely and fanning themselves. The bottled water brought by Old Tang was quickly consumed.
Seeing that there was still some time left before we finished, I realized this couldn't go on. I stood up and shouted, "Brothers of Sharp Blade Company! You performed well today! I'm treating you all to ice-cold cola! Let's keep up the good work next time!"
Cheers erupted from the group. I took out my wallet and handed it to Sheng Xiong, asking him to take a few warriors to the nearby store to buy drinks. Old Tang chuckled beside me, "What a generous guy you are!" I shrugged it off with a smile, "It's no big deal. This isn't about money; it's about giving our Unit some face. I have to show my appreciation, haha."
Before long, Sheng Xiong returned with a cart full of colorful frozen drinks. It seemed there weren't enough ice colas, as he had taken the liberty of buying some other beverages as well.
Everyone was happily sipping their cold drinks when I had just taken back my wallet and was about to count how much I had spent when a staff officer suddenly ran over, shouting, "Is Commander here? We need to head to the assessment point immediately!"
Old Tang and I exchanged glances; we wondered what was going on. We hurried towards the assessment point and found only the Commander sitting under the sunshade. The two Commanders from Seventh Company had just arrived as well. Gao Ge—my opponent from last year—was now the Company Commander of Seventh Company. I smiled at him, we greeted each other, and reported in unison as we entered the sunshade.
The Commander looked at us while seated and smiled, "You two Units performed well in the morning assessment; that's commendable. It seems young people are quite impressive! Haha, the future is surely yours!"
Before I could say anything, Gao Ge jumped in, "That's thanks to your excellent guidance, Commander! Especially Captain Wang Dai; with the solid foundation you provided him, he naturally took first place!"
I shot a silent glance at Gao Ge, swallowing my words. The Commander chuckled dismissively, "It has nothing to do with me; it's all about the young people's abilities."
Gao Ge seemed ready to say more when the Commander waved his hand. "The reason I've called you here is that there's an important mission for you both—one that concerns our unit's honor. I'm confident entrusting it to you."
We exchanged looks among ourselves, unsure what could be so serious for the Commander.
Furrowing his brow, the Commander continued, "May is almost here. After May Day, there's an Allies unit from Hubei that shares our nature. You should have heard about them? They will be passing through here on their way south for training and will stay with us for a few days. They are a professional unit and may engage in some business exchanges with us. I hope that by then you two Units can temporarily form a battalion unit for deployment!"
I clearly understood the carefully chosen words of the Commander. I knew there was a unit in Wuhan with a similar nature to ours, but the missions of the two units were different, and we had never crossed paths before. So why were they stopping here for a while on their way south?
I glanced at Gao Ge, who was also with me. We would have to collaborate with Gao Ge Lian to temporarily form a battalion. Was the other side also at the battalion level? How would that work? It was all very confusing.
The Commander noticed our concerns and smiled. "This is just an idea for now; it doesn't necessarily mean it will become reality. This matter isn't settled yet; I've only heard some rumors. However, for future training, Gao Ge Lian and Second Company will swap positions and temporarily form a battalion, just in case. Based on your training results, you two are the best Units. If there happens to be a competition between the two units, at least you won't be at a disadvantage! But let me make this clear: if the unit is needed, in front of honor, you four Commanders must work together and not bring shame upon yourselves! I will provide further details later; for now, you should discuss how to prepare."
"Understood!" we replied in unison.
After leaving the sunshade, we walked to a less crowded spot by the riverbank. The four of us stood still and looked at each other until Old Tang broke the silence. "This is sudden; what are you all going to do?"
The Instructor from Seventh Company said slowly, "It's best if they don't come. If they do come, there will definitely be sparring and competitions. We don't even know what we'll be competing in; there are too many variables, and both our Units will be too passive."
Gao Ge frowned and said, "It's already late April; all regions should be entering specialized training by now. What else could we compete in? It must be similar subjects like before. But why do they want us two companies to form a battalion?"
Suddenly, I had an unsettling thought. I turned back to look at the River Surface, then turned back with a worried expression. "I have a bad feeling about this."
The others chorused, "What?!"
"Isn't the Commander forming a battalion? Whether it's Ground Training or Sea Patrol, aren't they all based on battalions? I'm worried," I hesitated for a moment before continuing, "I'm worried that the final competition will take place on the River Surface using Floating Bridges!"
"What?!" "Impossible!" The other three exclaimed.
"It’s quite possible. Think about it: why else would they combine our two best training units into one battalion if not for competition between Battalions? I believe the Commander anticipated this as well. If these Allies come, they won’t just come for nothing; they’ll definitely want to compete. You all understand that colleagues can become rivals, right?" I looked at the other three.
"Then any battalion could go up against them; why break us apart?" asked the Instructor from Seventh Company.
"I can only guess, who can guarantee that this camp isn't just as hastily assembled as ours?" Old Tang interjected. Indeed, deploying with the strongest lineup was the most basic principle.
Everyone fell silent again. After a while, it was Gao Ge who broke the silence. "What should we do? We just entered the water training program and haven't even practiced building a complete bridge together."
"Didn't you hear Commander? We're going to start practicing from now on. Senior brother, face reality," I said in a low voice.
Another awkward silence ensued. "So who will lead the joint practice?" The Seventh Company Instructor couldn't help but ask, raising a very practical question.
This was an awkward issue. They were all excellent units, all equal. If I were to command Gao Ge Lian, Gao Ge wouldn't comply, and if Gao Ge were to command my unit, my soldiers wouldn't listen to him either.
No one was willing to relinquish command, and everyone fell silent again. "Forget it, let's leave it for tomorrow. Commander must have considered this," Old Tang said, trying to ease the tension.
"It seems we have no choice," Gao Ge murmured, not looking at us as he turned to leave. The Seventh Company Instructor also smiled apologetically before walking away.
Old Tang and I stood in place for a long time, glancing at each other. "Old Tang, this is troublesome," I said listlessly.
(To be continued, more exciting content tomorrow!)
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