Military career: Starting with a recruitment letter

Chapter 170 Everyone's Number One, The Strongest Team

The Army Academy's light weapons firing range covers a considerable area; regardless of the land area, the cement road built around the perimeter of the range is 400 meters long and wide.

The total area is approximately 16 square meters.

In such a large area, a lap around the track would be about 1.6 kilometers.

Large-scale firing ranges like the Army Academy were rare even in the 1990s, even on a military-wide scale.

at this time.

It was nearly five o'clock in the afternoon. The ground, which had been baked by the scorching sun all day, was almost cracking, with waves of heat rising from it.

On the track, the students, mainly from the second platoon, moved like wild horses, their steps swift and agile.

It has always occupied the top position.

Many people, while running, have to stretch out one hand to support the bottom of their backpacks to prevent stones from falling because the backpacks are too heavy.

Long-distance armed cross-country running is supposed to be a test of endurance and willpower, not physical fitness.

There's no need to rush to catch up if the starting gap is only ten or twenty meters.

Even a mule carrying 30 kilograms of cargo can't run 10 kilometers straight without stopping; it has to catch its breath eventually.

But mules won't do; the People's Liberation Army soldiers will.

Chen Mo, Xie Yong, Lai Wei, and Ding Zeliang took the lead, setting an example for the entire team and boosting the morale of the second squad as they charged forward with all their might.

The heavy-duty off-road team's results are only counted for the last place. That means that if Team Two wants to win first place again, at least the overall results of all team members must be the highest among the seven teams.

The journey is long and arduous. While physical fitness is important, maintaining high team morale at the start is even more crucial.

Hearing heavy breathing behind him, the distance was getting closer and closer.

Chen Mo didn't even need to turn around to know that Commander Lu and the armored squad had caught up.

He and Xie Yong exchanged a glance, and both of them sped up at the same time.

Chen Mo focused his gaze, constantly adjusting his breathing, his eyes fixed on the road ahead, giving it his all.

He pushed himself so hard that the crowd behind him was also affected, and the overall pace began to pick up.

"These kids, youth is their greatest asset, they're really going at it again."

Yang Shilei, the chief examiner who had been watching from a distance, saw that all seven team members were fully engaged in the new round of competition.

He breathed a sigh of relief, turned around and went into the tent, grabbed the bottled water on the table and gulped down more than half of it.

What is performance evaluation?

The Army Academy has so many students, and the academy itself bears a heavy responsibility: to train personnel for the military, which is the state's violent institution.

Commanding talent not only needs a foundation in strategy, but also requires exceptional personal military skills, especially for officers who have been painstakingly trained.

If you're out of breath after running a couple of steps and have to rest after walking a few steps, how can you call yourself a commander?
The mid-year assessment is a quantitative evaluation of each department. The achievement rate of each target must be reported to the superiors for feedback and planning of various training plans for the second half of the year.

to be honest.

Yang Shilei wants this kind of spirit of striving for the top, giving it his all, daring to fight, and fighting for first place.

The orienteering event was vandalized, but the academy didn't say much. Yang Shilei probably knew what had happened.

As for that soldier named Chen Mo, who was always jumping around, he understood what was going on.

In any case, as the captain of the reconnaissance squadron, a lieutenant colonel, he was already considered a mid-level leader among the officers leading troops at the Army Academy.

He had heard that the academy was building a training base recently, and that after the mid-year assessment, he would also be participating in the relevant training as one of the military instructors.

Chen Mo was eager to prove himself and wanted to obtain a legitimate identity to go to the base, and he knew this as well.

Squadron Leader Yang was plotting his own schemes when he squinted, crossed his legs, and looked towards the distant competition field.

The members of the 30th Squadron continued to perform their duties.

There were guards standing by every ten meters and sentries every twenty meters around the runway, and a lot of bottled water was placed in front of them.

To provide fresh water for the soldiers undergoing the assessment.

soon.

On the weight-bearing test field.

The second lap ended, and the group, who had already run at least three kilometers, began to slow down significantly.

Including Chen Mo, their fighting spirit is no longer as fierce as it was at the beginning.

But these things do not affect the fierce competition among veterans.

Qin Xiaojun and Xu Zhanqi caught up from behind, panting heavily. Even though their legs were already weak, they still glared fiercely at Chen Mo and Xie Yong.

They were constantly giving it their all, trying to surpass those guys from the second team.

As the old saying goes, "One should strike while the iron is hot, but after one effort, one's strength will wane; after a second effort, one's strength will be exhausted; and after a third effort, one's strength will be insufficient."

Those who can be selected from other colleges to participate in the assessment together with the reconnaissance department of the Army Academy are not significantly different in strength.

They have now covered nearly a third of the distance, which is the most crucial stage. If they fall behind again at this point, it will be very difficult for them to catch up later.

The group moved forward in unison, and the differences in physical strength and food replenishment were minimized at this moment by their obsession with winning first place.

Chen Mo felt as if every cell in his body was roaring wildly, and the sun overhead seemed to be shining down on him alone.

The stones in his backpack kept hitting his back as he ran, causing intense pain and exhaustion.

Even the air I breathe in and out of my mouth and nose feels hot.

Even so, Chen Mo braved the heatwave, mobilizing all the strength he could muster to move forward with all his might.

Sweat streamed down his forehead from the brim of his hat, down his cheeks, soaking his shirt and obscuring his eyes.

With each step forward, a patch of sweat would remain underfoot; with each breath, the chest would feel as if it were being ripped open by a sharp blade, causing excruciating pain.

But Chen Mo seemed completely oblivious.

He was constantly fighting hard against these veterans; he didn't want to lose in terms of results, and even less in terms of morale.

No one's honor is earned by waiting.

What he needs now is results, he needs a dazzling enough reputation. Changing the map was actually intended to win, to buy time for his team to win first place.

Who knew that those veterans would be so helpful, changing half of the map, ultimately backfiring and exceeding his expectations.

The race continues, lap three, lap four
After four laps, the total distance was nearly seven kilometers, and more than forty minutes had passed.

It was approaching six o'clock, the sun was setting in the west, and dusk was near.

The veterans, who had been competing against each other for most of the day, were still giving it their all. Chen Mo wasn't number one, but he was still in the top tier.

He was constantly fighting against the veterans of the second detachment, and against the Army Command and the people from the Armored Corps Academy.

Chen Mo was truly unsure whether his team could take first place.

After all, this kind of weighted running, without guns, helmets, or even magazines and grenades, was just a group of people running with quilts and stones on their backs.

The heavy equipment was all wrapped up together.

I can't help lighten the burden on my teammates.

However, there is one advantage.

With strong physical fitness as a foundation, once you push yourself to a certain level, your body doesn't feel as uncomfortable as it did at the beginning.

After getting through the most difficult phase, Chen Mo felt that he had entered a very strange state. He always felt that he had inexhaustible energy. The more he ran, the more he wanted to run, and the more he could run.

Just as everyone was pushing themselves into the fifth lap, all grudges and resentments were basically forgotten.

Suddenly, the examiner on duty in the distance grabbed a megaphone and shouted, "Military Medical College team, withdraw from the assessment. Other teams, continue."

Has someone quit?

Hearing the noise, Chen Mo subconsciously turned around to look.

Because the crowd behind him blocked his view, he couldn't see very clearly, but he could still see that two of the military medical team members who had been trailing behind had fallen.

The veterans on duty nearby were helping him to rest on the side.

Seeing this, Chen Mo grinned. The academy's mid-year assessment was a large-scale assessment with relatively high requirements.

Ever since he heard that people from the military medical academy were coming, he guessed that the bottom-ranked team had arrived.

This wasn't Chen Mo being arrogant; after all, they were different branches of the military, and their usual focus was different. He was competing with a group of veteran reconnaissance soldiers.

How many units in the entire army would dare to do this? Let alone military doctors.

Even if special forces come, unless it's a particularly famous combat squad, they can only stand aside as punishment.

Sixth lap.

Chen Mo's discomfort had completely disappeared. Well, no, apart from his back, which was still aching from the stones, at least his legs and lungs no longer hurt.

I'm completely numb.

Other veterans who managed to get to this point have basically all entered this state.

We've reached the final sprint stage.

At the finish line, someone unfurled a colorful ribbon, and the examiners who had been resting inside the tent began to get up one after another.

It's not just them.

The veterans, who were initially in the middle of the pack, suddenly started to exert their full strength.

The crowd on the track charged forward like madmen.

Perhaps because it was nearing evening and the assessments of other departments had temporarily ended, the groups of people who had been taking assessments at the stadium, individual tactical training ground, Hill 2, engineer training ground, and obstacle course all converged on the light weapons firing range.

Chen Mo hasn't reached the finish line yet.

A large influx of people began to pour in from the surrounding area.

The reconnaissance department's assessment process has always been the most watched event by all departments of the Army Academy, attracting a large influx of people.

Many people recognized Chen Mo as the first person to complete the 1,000-meter obstacle course at the military sports training ground yesterday.

"Hey, isn't that the scholar?"

"It really is him! Scholar, hurry up and finish this!!"

A small commotion broke out in the crowd, and Chen Mo, hearing the noise, didn't dare to turn around and respond.

Carrying weights for 10 kilometers, the team's result was to be the last place, and everyone was vying to be the first.

He stared intently at the finish line, slowly moving his body to the inside of the track, aiming for the closest possible distance.

Even though his legs had lost all feeling and running felt like walking on cotton, Chen Mo still stayed at the forefront.

The finish line is only 300 meters, 200 meters, 100 meters, and 50 meters away.

As Fang Huai clenched his fist, everyone's eyes were focused on the finish line.

Chen Mo accelerated sharply, getting two body lengths ahead of Xie Yong in second place, and crashed into the finish line ribbon ahead of time.

"Well done, scholar!!"

Some of the unsuspecting spectators cheered in unison.

But they didn't realize that being ranked first in the county-level examination didn't mean the assessment was over.

He reached the finish line at the same time.

The veteran on duty nearby immediately handed the number plate to Chen Mo and made way for him.

Following closely behind, Xie Yong came in second, Ding Zeliang third, Qin Xiaojun fourth, and Lai Wei fifth.
One by one, the crowd crossed the finish line.

it's not finished yet.

Chen Mo had served as the deputy captain of the second squad before, even if it was only temporarily, so he knew everyone in the squad.

He took off his backpack and put it on the ground.

Chen Mo forced himself to stay upright, his hands pressed against his backpack, trying to stop his limbs from trembling from exhaustion, while looking up at the track.

When the 26th person, which is the last of the 14 students in the second detachment of the reconnaissance department, successfully crossed the finish line.

Chen Mo finally breathed a long sigh of relief.

The figures striving on the track continue, but it no longer has much to do with them.

The fourteen members of the second training team have proven themselves; even without changing the map, they are still in first place.

All members were excellent.

"Haha, we won!!"

Xie Yong lay sprawled on the ground, grinning broadly.

Although he was the captain, being the captain of a squad in the academy didn't carry much weight. Unlike in the grassroots military, where everyone ate, lived, and trained together all day long, the squad was different.

On the field, they have tacit understanding, collective honor, and can fight for a common goal.

Here, as the team leader, there is very little he can do. He can't even help his team members because of the heavy load.

It's really not easy to get first place.

"Scholar, we won, hahaha." Wang Bo dragged his tired body and plopped down in front of Chen Mo, grinning from ear to ear.

It didn't take long.

The rest of the trainees in the second squad also carried heavy backpacks and walked to where Chen Mo and Xie Yong were.

A group of exhausted veterans looked at each other, their faces beaming with undisguised smiles.

People who were sitting stood up, and people who were lying down to rest also stood up.

At this moment, the fourteen people finally let go of their inner grudges and estrangement. After all, without this assessment, they would just be people from two dormitories.

They were a hastily assembled team from seven military regions and all over the country. Who could truly respect whom? And who could so easily integrate into a group?
Although their orienteering results were invalidated, they were still first place. In this weighted cross-country race, Chen Mo and Xie Yong were always at the forefront, setting an example for those behind them.

This is the most direct influence that strength brings.

"Brothers, we've lived up to our mission; we're number one again." Chen Mo smiled and spoke first.

"The assessment isn't over yet. Next, we'll be the strongest team," one of the veterans in dormitory 401 joked.

However, at least half of what he said is true.

If the veterans promoted from reconnaissance companies across the country can truly work together, the second detachment winning first place is not a problem at all.

Just by looking at how fast these guys change maps, it's easy to see how formidable their teamwork is.

"Come on, let's wish each other the best in the upcoming assessment, to overcome all obstacles, sweep away our opponents, and win first place."

Chen Mo spoke again, and a group of people formed a circle, their palms overlapping.

"Captain, you call them." Chen Mo smiled and looked at Xie Yong.

“You’re the vice-captain, so it doesn’t matter if you call me that,” Xie Yong replied with a smile.

"Alright, comrades, let's wish our team a complete sweep of our opponents and a victory in first place."

Chen Mo loudly swore an oath.

A dozen or so veterans laughed and shouted along.

The sound echoed throughout the entire firing range, and even the squads from the Army Command, the Armored Academy, and two squads from the Army Academy were getting a little tired of watching it.

Damn it, when you say you're sweeping away your opponents, aren't you just sweeping away us?

The teams exchanged glances, each reading dissatisfaction in the other's eyes.

But no one said a word.

Who can blame them for being number one?
However, the morale of the second squad did indeed boost the morale of the other squads.

Many veterans instinctively began to assemble.

Whether it's weighted cross-country or orienteering, they're just appetizers in the assessment.

The purpose was simply to get these people to get along.

Since the finish line is set at a small arms firing range.

With so many people being assessed gathering here now, some veterans have already noticed.

The nighttime sessions are likely to be the most intense competition.

This is the moment when the team truly needs to work together.

coming soon.

(End of this chapter)