Chapter 17: Who Is the Timid One?

Under normal circumstances, when a company welcomes new recruits, the first thing upon their arrival is to assign them to various squads. The squad leaders take them back, organize the personal belongings they brought, let them rest, tour the company grounds, and introduce themselves to one another.

But the Iron Fist Regiment was clearly “abnormal.”

All the new recruits had barely stepped off the bus, not even a sip of water, before they were marched straight to the training ground by Sergeant Second Class, Old Hei, accompanied by a group of veteran squad leaders.

Then again, any regiment boasting a Sergeant Second Class surely wasn’t ordinary.

“At ease! Attention!” came the standard command for forming ranks. Old Hei didn’t bother correcting the crooked lines; instead, he bellowed in his signature roar: “From this moment, you are no longer Shandong men, Shaanxi men, nor will there be distinctions of Henan, Hebei, or Hunan. You have only one identity—soldiers. Green soldiers, yellow soldiers, camouflaged soldiers. First, you are soldiers, only then are you men. Do you understand?”

…

Old Hei’s volume was high and his demeanor intimidating, but not a single recruit replied.

Clearly, this theory of “soldier-men” left them completely befuddled.

Including Xing Xiaolong!

None of the recruits responded. Old Hei’s expression remained unchanged as he continued: “I am the Iron Fist Regiment’s Sergeant Second Class. I am your squad leader, as well as the squad leader for all these veterans behind me. Do you know why my codename is Old Hei?”

He spoke coldly, his face dark as thunder: “Because not only do I hit hard, my heart is even darker. How dark? You needn’t ask, nor wonder. You will have plenty of chances to experience it firsthand.

In the next three months, before you leave the recruit company, every hour of every day, you will endure my torments. I will be your nightmare. I will use every method at my disposal to torment you, so that when you step out of the recruit company, you can become qualified soldiers, defenders of the homeland, powerful weapons on the battlefield.

But until then, you are merely a bunch of soldier-men in uniform—a rabble who can’t even stand straight, nothing at all. Do you understand?”

Perhaps Old Hei’s words were sufficiently terrifying this time, or perhaps his voice rose another notch, but the recruits finally managed a scattered reply: “Understood.”

Only Xing Xiaolong, He Chenguang, and Li Erniu answered with voices raised, somewhat standard.

As for Wang Yanbing—who originally had no real interest in joining the army, unlike He Chenguang who had always dreamed of becoming a special forces soldier like his father, or Xing Xiaolong who loved firearms and voluntarily enlisted—he was merely provoked by Fan Tianlei, unwilling to lose, and so he signed up.

Page 1/3

Upon hearing Old Hei’s blustering speech, Wang Yanbing didn’t take it to heart at all, idly picking his nose.

Reply? Not happening!

Shouting at the top of his lungs on command seemed utterly ridiculous to Wang Yanbing, like a complete fool, and he wouldn’t do it.

Old Hei’s expression didn’t change at the recruits’ ragged response. He strode up to Xing Xiaolong and asked, “What’s your name?”

“Reporting, Squad Leader, my name is Xing Xiaolong.”

“Is your name Xing Xiaolong?”

“Damn, how could I not be Xing Xiaolong? I’ve answered that for over twenty years, would I get it wrong? What kind of question is this?”

This strange query left Xing Xiaolong bewildered, but he could only answer, “Reporting, I don’t know. You’d have to ask my parents.”

“I’m asking you, what’s your name now?” Old Hei raised his voice again.

Suddenly, Xing Xiaolong caught on, realizing what this self-proclaimed iron-hearted, dark-hearted sergeant meant. He quickly replied, “Reporting, my name is Soldier-man.”

“Correct.”

Old Hei’s thick eyebrows lifted slightly, apparently satisfied with Xing Xiaolong’s quick response. He continued, “Though you’re clever enough to get it right this time, I won’t praise you, because you answered wrong before.

Let me repeat one last time: no matter what your name is, what honors you once held in society, whether you’re from the countryside or the city, whether you’re a rich kid or an ordinary child, in my eyes, you’re all the same.

You are simply soldier-men, a bunch of ignorant recruits. Here, you have no identity or status, and even less right to choose. Do you understand?”

“Understood, Squad Leader!” Xing Xiaolong replied loudly, clear and strong.

Having served before, Xing Xiaolong knew the rules of the army and the status of recruits—especially since this was likely the legendary special forces, where the rules would be even stricter.

Even without Old Hei’s reminder, Xing Xiaolong would hold himself to the highest standard.

This was his dream—to become a special forces soldier!

Wang Yanbing, still indifferent, had yet to grasp the particularities of the army. Seeing Xing Xiaolong admit to being a “soldier-man,” he thought it showed a lack of manly backbone.

Page 2/3

With pre-existing friction between them, Wang Yanbing couldn’t help but quietly snicker, “Coward!”

“Who said that?”

In the military, talking in ranks is a serious offense. Old Hei exploded instantly: “Who spoke? Who’s the idiot in this recruit company risking everyone’s lives? If you can’t pay attention to the small things, you’ll lose your head over the big ones. How can you not understand such a simple truth?”

There were dozens of recruits in the ranks, and with their accents still unfamiliar, Old Hei couldn’t pinpoint exactly who spoke.

He prowled along the right side of the formation, face cold, exerting pressure on everyone, hoping the culprit would step forward.

Wang Yanbing watched Old Hei pace in front of him, face grim, back and forth. To say he wasn’t scared would be a lie; his darting eyes betrayed him.

But as someone used to street life, feigning ignorance was second nature.

Admit his mistake? Not a chance!

Wang Yanbing stubbornly pretended it had nothing to do with him, while the recruit to his left grew increasingly anxious.

This recruit, rather short and thin, stood right beside Wang Yanbing and naturally knew who had spoken. The pressure from Old Hei made him want to “report” the culprit.

But Wang Yanbing was tall and burly, evidently not someone to cross. The recruit hesitated for a while, ultimately choosing silence.

Better to avoid trouble!

“If this were the battlefield, one person breaking discipline could get the whole company killed. Who spoke?” Old Hei pressed further.

Standing to Wang Yanbing’s right, Li Erniu glanced furtively at Wang Yanbing, pursed his lips, then suddenly shouted, “Reporting, I said it.”

“Damn, what’s Li Erniu doing?”

Xing Xiaolong hadn’t seen who it was, but he recognized Wang Yanbing’s voice. Now Li Erniu had inexplicably stepped forward to take the blame, leaving him baffled.

Page 3/3