Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 168 Easy First Place, Public Enemy of the Entire School

Didn't have to wait long.

The remaining twelve veterans of the second detachment of the reconnaissance cadets gradually ran to the pre-arranged meeting point.

At this point, four hours had passed, and it was approaching noon.

Most of the teams were busy on the mountaintop or halfway up the mountain.

Very few people remain at the foot of the mountain.

Chen Mo didn't bother to hide much and shouted for the veterans who had run nearby to come and assemble.

Without even asking, just by looking at how these people hop and skip as they walk, you can tell they've had a great haul.

as predicted.

Lai Wei and Liu Mujun approached Chen Mo and, without saying a word, immediately pulled out more than forty maps from their pockets and backpacks.

Lai Wei slapped everything onto the ground and grinned, "Scholar, how's our haul?"

"Damn it, I've gone almost halfway up the mountain and this is all I've got."

"That's enough, class monitor. That's quite a lot." Chen Mo smiled like a miser, gathering all the maps into his hands and starting to compare them one by one.

The other groups were basically the same, collecting around forty or fifty images each.

Roughly speaking, their team alone received nearly three hundred fragments of maps.

Chen Mo couldn't guarantee how much the entire mountain was, but there was no doubt that they could put together a complete map.

After all that work, from fabricating evidence to running all over the place, it's all just to seize the initiative.

"team leader."

"Eh!"

"Take a few squad leaders and bury all the maps we drew ourselves that we haven't sent out."

"Row."

Xie Yong nodded and immediately led his men a short distance away to begin their operation.

Because they had collected so many maps, Chen Mo had a lot to choose from, and it only took him about twenty minutes to piece together the other fourteen maps.

A single hand-drawn map cannot clearly show mountains and roads, but once a complete map is assembled, it becomes much simpler.

Everyone crouched down to take a closer look.

Even without Chen Mo's reminder, Wang Bo, who had been squatting to the side, couldn't help but say, "Holy crap, isn't this the light weapons firing range at the end of Road No. 1, which corresponds to the east gate of the Army Academy?"

"Is this the finish line?"

"Yes."

Chen Mo clicked his tongue. For this assessment, the academy had sent a group of them to the mountains.

Upon receiving a map, most people will instinctively look for markers indicating the corresponding mountainous areas.

Who would have thought that the entire map actually depicts the route from the East Gate of the Army Academy to the foot of Cuiping Mountain, and has nothing to do with the mountainous area at all?
But, think about it, it makes sense.

Indeed, only such a simple paving map can be divided into so many parts without being easily noticed.

After carefully comparing the map again and confirming that there were no mistakes, Chen Mo rearranged the assembled map and stuffed it back into his backpack.

Beside them, a group of veterans were already fully equipped and ready to go.

After working for hours, isn't this the moment we've been waiting for?

"Scholar, now that we know the destination, how do we plan the route?"

Xie Yong was impressed by Chen Mo's imaginative thinking. In previous competitions, he always raced against time, afraid of falling behind.
But this time was different. While racing against time, it even generated a sense of stealth, which was incredibly exciting.

How to set a route
Chen Mo was also a little undecided for a moment. If they crossed the mountains to reach the light weapons firing range, it wouldn't be too far, at most ten or twenty kilometers.

The map shows the east gate of the Army Academy, which leads to the foot of Cuiping Mountain. If you follow the map to the east gate, the distance will be quite far.

You should know that it took fifty minutes just to get here by car, and if we were to walk, it would take at least three or four hours.

They may not be able to reach the finish line within the allotted time.

After thinking it over, Chen Mo gritted his teeth and said, "Captain, we don't need to plan a route. Let's go whichever is closest."

"That map shows the route from Dongdaemun to Cuiping Mountain. Are we really not going to follow the map?" Ding Zeliang asked with concern.

"Need not."

Having made up his mind, Chen Mo no longer hesitated: "I can roughly guess the academy's intentions."

“The colleges participating this time are not only our Army Academy, but also the Army Command and the Military Medical Academy. This map starts from the East Gate, so its purpose is probably not to make us follow the set route.”

"In fact, participants need to climb to the top of the mountain and look out over the layout of the academy at the foot of the mountain to understand this diagram."

“The map needs to correspond to the reference points. We are from the Army Academy, so we are relatively familiar with the academy’s architectural structure.”

"If I'm not mistaken, one of the fragments that make up the complete map is only found on the mountaintop."

Actually, nobody knows the specifics of what happened.

Chen Mo was only half-analyzing and half-bluffing.

But since he sounded convincing, the other veterans in the squad no longer had any objections.

The advantage of being a veteran is...

Even if they know they might be wrong, they won't go out of their way to refute it, because unity of opinion and concerted effort are the greatest factors for victory.

Seeing that no one spoke up, Chen Mo turned his gaze to Xie Yong.

Old Xie nodded, then pointed due north, took out a compass and said, "Brothers, we're just one last push away."

"I just observed the location of the finish line from the mountaintop. We're moving at the foot of the mountain, so it's easy to deviate from the correct direction, but we won't be wrong in general."

"Go all out and strive for first place."

"Comrades, charge!"

"rush!!"

Low growls erupted from the soldiers' mouths.

At the foot of Cuiping Mountain, a group of fourteen people ran around the foot of the mountain like monkeys.

Now that the route has been determined and the destination is known, there is no need to hide from the other participating teams.

the reason is simple.

Those who don't know the finish line won't dare to run with them; those who do know the finish line will only try to race against time and speed.

There's no point in hiding from people anymore.

For the mid-year assessment, the college sets different subjects for different majors.

Orienteering is only for professionals with specialties such as reconnaissance command, battlefield nursing, junior communications command, and network engineering, who are sent to the mountains for training.

After all, the primary requirement for becoming a qualified officer is to have solid basic qualities.

A life of ease and comfort will not make one a commander.

2 PM on the 28th.

Inside a tent at the edge of the Army Academy's light weapons firing range, Yang Shilei, the squadron leader of the 30th Squadron, sat with a slightly irritated expression, fanning himself with his hat.

He was the chief examiner for orienteering this time, Fang Huai, the captain of the student team, was the deputy examiner, and several captains and company commanders from the coaching team accompanied them.

During the assessment period, the entire institute was mobilized. Even if the subjects were not completed, they could not leave their posts at will.

"Hey, Lao Fang, this is really strange." Squadron Leader Yang frowned, staring into the distance. "There are only two hours left until the end, how come not a single squad has completed its mission yet?"

"Could something have gone wrong?"

"What could possibly go wrong?" Fang Huai said, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes half-closed, looking quite content.

He was a member of the coaching team. Although his rank was only that of a major and deputy battalion commander, which was lower than that of a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander, they were not in the same unit and had no direct subordinate relationship.

Therefore, their conversation was relatively casual.

"They're all a bunch of old comrades, each one of them is smarter than a monkey if they're sent out into the mountains. There are still two hours left, no rush."

Hearing this, Yang Shilei felt somewhat relieved.

He stared at the roster on the table in front of him, still feeling that something was off.

For this orienteering event, the Army Academy dispatched a total of three teams.

The reconnaissance cadet team consisted of two groups. Only ten members of the 30th squad were assigned to the squad, while the rest wore police armbands and patrolled the mountains to prevent any accidents during the assessment.

Be ready to respond to rescue efforts at any time.

In addition to their three teams from the Army Academy, there is one team from the Army Command, one from the Military Medical Academy, one from the Armored Forces Academy, and one from the Staff Academy.

The vast majority of the seven teams were veterans. Apart from the medical team, which was somewhat inexperienced, the other six teams were composed of veterans who had been promoted to officer or were senior students in college.

How come, with a ten-hour requirement, eight hours have already passed and not a single team has returned?
Such assessments should not have any bottlenecks.

The light weapons firing range is only a dozen or twenty kilometers away from the assessment area on the back mountain, and the straight-line distance is even shorter.

It's such a small place. If it's hard for others to find a map, do you think those scouts also find it hard?
Something's definitely wrong!!
As time goes on...

Yang Shilei felt his heart pounding harder and harder. He grabbed the walkie-talkie, just about to ask about the assessment situation on the back mountain.

On the main road leading directly from the back mountain to the light weapons firing range, a dozen figures, as if pulled out of the water, finally came into view.

"coming!"

Squad Leader Yang breathed a sigh of relief. He quickly put down the walkie-talkie and tapped the table with his hand.

Inside the tent, the group of examiners, who had been sitting lazily, immediately straightened up and stared intently at the approaching crowd.

"Wow, this is awesome! Are we really number one?" Looking at the deserted light weapons shooting range, apart from a tent pitched in the distance, the huge area was completely empty. Wang Bo couldn't help but mutter to himself.

The sense of ease that comes with being the first to enter is really addictive, especially since there's no one else competing with them.

They didn't encounter any opponents along the way.

Chen Mo remained silent, panting heavily.

He was exhausted; he hadn't eaten breakfast or lunch, and the only bread he had had was long gone.

The mountain road was difficult to travel. Even with a compass, they deviated from the correct direction several times. It was only a dozen kilometers of mountain road, but they ran from near noon until after 2 p.m. before finally reaching their destination.

You can't blame them for that. After all, they weren't familiar with the terrain, and without a map to guide them, it was quite an achievement that they managed to keep going around in circles on the mountain.

"Line up, brothers. If you're number one, you have to act like number one."

Xie Yong smiled and gave a reminder.

The team of fourteen immediately formed two columns and marched with their heads held high toward the tent in the distance.

Under the watchful eyes of the examiners, Xie Yong led his men to the tent and shouted, "Halt!"

Then, Lao Xie, with his fists clenched, ran to the tent in a standard marching posture, stood at attention, and saluted, saying, "Reporting to the captain, the second platoon of trainees has completed its mission. Fourteen men were expected, and fourteen men are present. Please give instructions!"

Fang Huai watched as his team of students reached the finish line first, his eyes full of smiles, but he was not the chief examiner, so he sat there without saying a word.

Meanwhile, Yang, the chief examiner, craned his neck to look at the main road leading into the arena, wondering what was wrong with the reconnaissance soldiers today.

Don't you usually argue quite fiercely?

Why is it that the first team has entered the game today, but the other two haven't made a move at all?
Did you encounter any other teams on your way here?

"Report, no!"

Are there any other teams stopping you?

"Report, no!"

"The whole process went smoothly?"

"Yes!"

Faced with Xie Yong, who seemed clueless, Squad Leader Yang felt that something was amiss.

There has been a first place in orienteering every year, no doubt about it, but no year has ever seen first place won so easily.

What is orienteering?

Competing against each other, pushing each other to the limit, fighting and vying for what is meant by orienteering.

What's going on now? Seven teams are being assessed, and there's absolutely no motivation to improve.

"Alright, go and rest. There's water and some snacks in the rest area. Congratulations on winning first place."

"Disband."

"Yes!"

"Dismissed!!"

After saluting the examiner again, Xie Yong turned around and gave the instructions.

A group of veterans who had been promoted to officers, who had never had much respect for the officers at the academy, were now acting like wild horses.

They rushed towards the rest area in the distance.

The so-called rest area was just a shady spot with a cloth spread on the ground and buckets of mung bean soup on it. Next to it, bamboo baskets covered with blankets contained some cooled red bean buns and some pickled vegetables.

Compared to the food provided by lower-level troops, this is not much worse.

After working hard all day, Chen Mo, who was starving, opened his water bottle, filled it with mung bean soup, grabbed a steamed bun, and started eating.

At this moment.

The other veterans in the team were also big eaters. They were sweating from the heat and had been walking on mountain roads for a long time, so they were starving.

But others eat it without feeling guilty.

At this moment, Chen Mo felt somewhat worried.

They've replaced two or three hundred maps of the back mountain. Could something really have happened to this guy?

Chen Mo ate his steamed bun while looking into the distance.

He was unaware that only seven teams were participating in the assessment, mainly because the squadron leader had initially exaggerated the numbers.

Saying things like "No matter whether there are 20, 40, or 80 teams participating, we must win first place" is very likely to be misleading and prejudiced.

Chen Mo thought the competition would be fierce.

Furthermore, after they left by car, they had no idea that only one team of the 30th Squadron's reconnaissance soldiers participated in the competition, while the rest changed into uniforms and wore armbands to perform police and maintenance duties.

There are a total of seven participating teams. If each team gets 20 maps, then a little over 100 maps are actually enough for the back mountain.

However, considering various factors and the increased difficulty, the academy has invested a lot in repetitive maps in its arrangements.

Nearly 700 maps were used in total to confuse the competition.

Who would have thought.

Chen Mo and his team replaced almost half of it, causing a section of the real map to have gaps.

No wonder no one else can find the place.

Some teams found nearly two hundred maps, but still couldn't piece together a complete finish line map.

At this point, extremely serious cursing had emerged on the back mountain.

"Squad leader, when you changed the map, were the coordinates hidden in the mountains easy to find?"

Chen Mo was still a little worried, so he sat down in front of Ding Zeliang while munching on a steamed bun and asked him.

"Easy to find my ass." Old Ding curled his lip: "Sometimes I have to run hundreds of meters to meet one, but Scholar, your method is really not bad."

“You said there are signs, and there really are. Where there are little red flags, there are maps. Because of that, I can find things faster than others.”

"To avoid creating enemies for us, I moved many of the flags to more concealed places, hehe! They'll have to search for them for ages."

Ding Zeliang's words drew knowing laughter from a group of veterans around him.

Chen Mo opened his mouth, knowing that his worries were justified.

This time, things might really go wrong.

After all, his original intention was to mislead other teams, to delay the progress of those teams that might be lucky, and to buy time for his own side.

But look at the current situation.

It seems that it's not as simple as just slowing down the pace.

They've all been back for half an hour, and the second-place team still hasn't arrived. No matter how strong their team's overall capabilities are.

It can't be that ridiculously strong.

at this time.

Not only Chen Mo realized something was wrong.

Yang Shilei, who was in charge of supervising the assessment, also felt increasingly uneasy. Even Fang Huai, who had been relaxed just moments before, had a worried look on his face.

If no one comes out first, that's fine too.

The first team has been here for half a day, how can the gap between the teams be so big?
"Hello! Hello!! This is Yang Shilei, reporting on the situation over there."

Squadron Leader Yang finally couldn't resist and picked up the walkie-talkie to start asking questions.

"What?!!"

Still looking for a map?

"The assessment is supposed to last ten hours, and nine hours have already passed. What are they doing?"

"Hello? Hello?!!"

"What's wrong, Lao Yang?" Fang Huai realized something was wrong, so he quickly got up and went to Yang Shilei to ask.

"Damn it, what the hell is going on?" Squad Leader Yang cursed as he slung his walkie-talkie over his shoulder, not even bothering to go inside the tent, and stood with his hands on his hips, pacing around in the blazing sun.

He ignored Fang Huai's question.

Damn it, it's a mid-year assessment! The academy attaches the same importance to this kind of assessment as the military region attaches to its annual military exercises.

It's even more important than the year-end performance review.

The reason is simple: after the assessment at the beginning of next month, senior students will be awarded ranks and leave school to go to the military for internships.

Orienteering is just the first event; there are subsequent events as well.

It was almost time to leave, but everyone was still stuck in the mountains and couldn't get out.

Does this seem right?

"Go and contact the Academy's Training Management Department, Political Work Department, and Logistics Support Department. Tell them there's a problem with our assessment."

"It may not be possible to proceed as planned."

"Yes!"

One of the accompanying captain examiners, upon receiving orders, immediately picked up the keys from the table and drove off to report.

Don't underestimate this.

Every assessment process is rigorously formulated by the Academy's Training Department, and it is conducted in a structured and planned manner.

The logistics unit fully cooperated to ensure the smooth running of the process.

The preparation required for the joint assessment of thousands of students at the Army Academy was no less than that required for mobilizing two main divisions in combat.

Now, the targeted assessment is fast approaching, and nearly a hundred people are still trapped in the mountains, their situation and progress unknown. We can't afford to be negligent.

At the very least, the situation should be reported to the college.

"Did something happen?"

Looking into the distance, the examiners were like ants on a hot pan, pacing anxiously in circles.

Xie Yong finally realized that something was wrong.

Because their rest area was too far from the tent, they couldn't hear anything being said over there.

Some of the older, burly veterans had already eaten and drunk their fill and were fast asleep on the ground.

After all, for them, achieving first place is enough; they don't need to worry about anything else.

"Maybe it's because we've changed maps too many times, making it impossible for other teams to collect all the maps."

Chen Mo shared his guess.

He was just one of the contestants, after all, and it was impossible for him to have perfect control over everything. This time, he probably messed up.

"I rely on!!"

"Isn't this going to cause a huge problem?" As a veteran, Xie Yong was unsure whether this behavior would bring trouble to his team.

But with so many teams unable to return on time, it's definitely something serious.

Done.

Xie Yong immediately straightened his uniform and prepared to explain the situation.

As the team leader, he was prepared to take full responsibility.

"Wait a little longer, don't rush, they're all veterans, nothing will happen to them." Chen Mo grabbed Xie Yong's arm and said, "Even if we need to explain the situation, I'll be the one to go. It was my idea to come up with it in the first place."

This is not about taking credit for something.

Chen Mo genuinely didn't think it was a big deal.

The assessment is like a battle, and everyone has to rely on their own abilities. This principle applies whether it's in an academy or the military.

From the perspective of those who participated in the assessment, there's nothing wrong with it.

But if they can't reason with him, Xie Yong might be expelled from school and sent back to his original workplace if he goes there to admit his mistake.

Since things had already gone wrong, Chen Mo decided to see how the academy would respond. He refused to believe that if there really was a problem, the examiners wouldn't connect it to the only group of people present.

In the short time they've been dawdling...

At the entrance to the light weapons firing range, four or five military vehicles drove in one after another.

The vehicle sped by, kicking up clouds of dust, and came to a screeching stop next to the tent.

The car door opened, and Zhang Jinnan, along with several cadres from the training department, got out of the car one after another.

"Hello, Vice Dean!!"

Several examiners who came to greet them quickly saluted.

"Tell me what happened." Zhang Jinnan's face was somewhat gloomy. As the vice dean, he had a lot of work to do every day, and during the mid-year assessment period, he was naturally in charge of various tasks in the training department.

He was also puzzled to hear that the reconnaissance department, the easiest major to manage, had encountered problems.

"Reporting to the Vice Dean," Yang Shilei straightened his posture and said, "According to regulations, orienteering starts at six in the morning and ends at four. It's almost three-thirty now."

"The teams still competing in the mountains are still searching for maps, and only one team has returned."

"Only one team came back?" Vice Dean Zhang stood with his hands on his hips, glaring. "Which college are they from?"

"The second squad of our college's reconnaissance department."

As Yang Shilei spoke, he pointed to the rest area in the distance.

Upon hearing that someone from his own college had won first place, Zhang Jinan's expression wasn't particularly unpleasant.

At least it's not shameful.

But when he looked in the direction Yang Shilei pointed, he saw a familiar young man looking at him furtively.

Vice Dean Zhang couldn't explain why, but he suddenly felt that the orienteering accident must be related to Chen Mo.

Since ancient times, capable people have never been content with their lot; they always manage to stir up trouble in unexpected places.

"Call Chen Mo over and ask him, then we'll know." Zhang Jinnan snorted irritably.

He has even pinpointed the source.

"Chen Mo."

"arrive!!"

"come over!"

Although Yang Shilei didn't know why he was called Chen Mo, what could he say when the vice dean spoke up?

"Squad leader, don't worry about it, I'll go see what's going on." Chen Mo smiled and reassured Xie Yong, then quickly ran to the tent, stood at attention and saluted: "Greetings, sir."

"Hmph, tell me, why haven't the other teams from the back mountain returned?"

As the saying goes, old people are shrewd and experienced. Zhang Jinnan has been in the academy for so many years, what kind of situation hasn't he seen?

The moment he saw this kid, he knew it was no good.

"Report, maybe they can't gather all the maps," Chen Mo said with a forced smile.

"Why can't we collect all the maps?" Yang Shilei felt a little confused. He turned his head to look at the main road coming down the mountain in the distance, and after confirming that no team had arrived yet.

He continued, "A total of seven teams participated this time, and a total of 667 maps were distributed. If we can find all the remaining maps, we can piece together more than a dozen finish line maps."

"How come we can't collect them all?"

"Because I replaced nearly three hundred maps."

Chen Mo shrugged, his face full of innocence.

However, the group of people present were completely stunned by his sudden remark.

"You changed it?" Fang Huai stared wide-eyed.

"I knew you'd be involved here." Zhang Jinnan kicked Chen Mo and turned to walk towards the car next to him.

Just before boarding the bus, he added, "Tell everyone still in the back mountain to come back. We've exchanged three hundred copies; the map is completely disjointed. What's the point of the test?"

"The targeted assessment is now concluded."

After finishing his speech, Zhang Jinnan got into his car and left.

He's the vice dean; if something goes wrong, all we need to do is figure out what happened.

We can wait until the vice president leaves.

Yang, the chief examiner, almost lost his temper on the spot. He jumped up and down and cursed, "Scholar, you son of a bitch, you really know how to cause trouble."

"There were only six hundred maps in total, and you changed half of them?"

"I've been sitting here in the sun for ten hours, and you son of a bitch changed the map?"

"Just wait and see how the other teams deal with you."

"You're my hell, you're the enemy of the whole school."

Yang Shilei was indeed furious and started to speak recklessly.

It took him a long time to vent his anger.

But all they can do is curse. Just now, the vice dean kicked Chen Mo and announced the end of the assessment.

Clearly, this is the final outcome. What can he say?

However, just because you can't do anything to Chen Mo doesn't mean you can't deal with others.

Enraged, Squad Leader Yang picked up the walkie-talkie and roared, "Withdraw! Withdraw! You bunch of idiots!"

"You didn't know the maps had been changed?"

“Stand in the mountains and shout to me, tell all the participants to come back.”

"I want to see all of you within an hour."

"Damn it, I'm so angry!"

the other side.

The veterans of the 30th Squadron, who were still on duty in the mountains, were startled when they heard the order on the walkie-talkie.

What? The map has been changed?

Who is so powerful?
Who made the company commander so angry?

(End of this chapter)