When you're in the Wolf Pack, your ability to obey orders becomes stronger.

Chapter 5: Veterans who enlisted twice.

Xu Ge woke up, stood up, and let the other person sit inside.

"My name is Kaiyoumu, what's your name, Pengyou?"

"My name is Xu Ge."

Xu Ge was still a little groggy after waking up and didn't know where the train was. He just felt that the temperature was much lower now.

I glanced at the time on the roof of the carriage; it was a little past 2 a.m.

"Dude, where are we now?" Xu Ge asked in a low voice after sitting down.

Kaiyoumu casually tossed his hat onto the table and leaned against the window with a nonchalant air: "We just passed the Flaming Mountains, it's still early. You can keep sleeping. I'll wake you up after we pass the Heavenly Mountains."

Tianshan?

"Do you know where we're going?" Xu Ge became interested and carefully examined Kaiyoumu.

Upon closer inspection, the abnormality of the other person was immediately noticed.

Kaiyu's camouflage uniform was faded and looked old.

"This year's recruit training camp should be near Ali, so we'll definitely have to cross the Tianshan Mountains," Kaiyumu replied.

Xu Ge became even more curious: "Dude, from what you're saying, the location of the military base changes frequently?"

Kaiyumu nodded: "Other units may not know, but our Wolf Brigade is like this, from the Tianshan Mountains to the Qilian Mountains, and then to the Karakoram and Mayan Mountains."

"You're not a new recruit?"

Xu Ge sensed something else in Kaiyoumu's tone and then asked.

"Haha, well, I'm neither a new recruit nor a second-time enlister!"

"Re-enlistment?"

This was the first time Xu Ge had heard this claim, so he immediately pressed for details.

Kaiyumu explained simply: "I stayed in the Wolf Brigade for two years. After I was discharged, I came back physically, but I left my soul in the army. So I came back to find my soul!"

We've run into a veteran!

Xu Ge's mind raced, and he immediately changed his form of address: "Brother, are you hungry? I'll treat you to a late-night snack in the dining car!"

"Who is your recruiting officer? Didn't they tell you not to wander around?"

“It’s normal to eat when you’re hungry. I’ll bring some back for Platoon Leader Luo Shan when I get back.”

Kaiyoumu tilted his head and looked at Xu Ge, then laughed: "Hey, you're different from the others, you're quite clever."

Seeing that Xu Ge was noticeably bolder than the other recruits, Kaiyumu didn't refuse and stood up to follow Xu Ge to the dining car.

As they passed by Luoshan, Xu Ge stopped, bent down, and asked in a low voice, "Platoon leader, let's go to the dining car to get something to eat. What would you like to eat? I'll bring it back for you."

"you?"

Luo Shan, who was pretending to be asleep, turned his head to look behind Xu Ge upon hearing this, his expression somewhat surprised, "Kaiyoumu? You really came back?"

"Good morning, Platoon Leader!"

Kaiyoumu immediately stepped forward and handed Luo Shan a pack of cigarettes. "Platoon leader, I brought these Mahe cigarettes from home. I rolled them myself. Try them!"

Luo Shan accepted the cigarettes without hesitation, and even took one out and smelled it.

Xu Ge was somewhat surprised to see this scene. He had seen many new recruits and their parents give Luo Shan things along the way, but he had always refused.

Luo Shan looked at Kaiyoumu with a complicated expression: "Now that you're back, come with me when we get there tomorrow."

Kaiyumu said happily, "Absolutely, Platoon Leader!"

"I'm not hungry, you can go on your own. Kaiyoumu, keep an eye on Xu Ge!" "Yes!"

. . .

. . .

It's called a food truck, but the menu only has a few dishes, especially at this time of day. Besides instant noodles and snacks, there's only pre-cooked braised chicken left.

Xu Ge had some cash on him, so he ordered a large plate of braised chicken and some snacks and drinks, and found a place to sit down and start eating with Kaiyoumu.

"Brother, do you know Platoon Leader Luo Shan?" Xu Ge asked.

Kaiyumu nodded: "We know each other. We were both in the Sixth Company. He had just been promoted to officer when I was a recruit."

What is promotion to officer?

Since he had already joined the army, it was naturally good to learn more about what was happening in the military, which was why Xu Ge treated Kaiyoumu to a late-night snack.

After taking a sip of his cola, Kaiyoumu began to talk non-stop:

"Promotion to officer means being promoted directly from soldier to officer. Listen to me, Platoon Leader Luo is an amazing guy. He volunteered to join the combat platoon from the mess hall. He's strong, kneading dough, and he got first place in military training..."

Through Kaiyoumu's explanation, Xu Ge also understood why the first skill he drew from Luo Shan was cooking, because Luo Shan originally came from the cooking squad, which made him a legendary figure in the group.

Kaiyoumu and Luoshan are both from the Sixth Company of the First Regiment. According to Kaiyoumu, since Xu Ge was led by Luoshan, he will most likely be assigned to the Sixth Company after the recruit training.

"Brother, you just said that if you make good contributions in the army, you can become an officer?"

Xu Ge didn't ask the second half of the question: Does becoming an officer mean you can issue military orders at will?
"Let me tell you, Zhanyou, once you're in the army, we can't call each other brothers. From now on, just call me by my name!"

Kaiyoumu corrected Xu Ge and continued, "It's too difficult to get promoted by merit. Our Wolf Brigade has a lot of openings, but there are only a few each year. It's better to take the military academy entrance exam. By the way, didn't you just say you took the college entrance exam? What was your score?"

Xu Ge: "More than 620."

"What?!"

Kaiyoumu's eyes widened. "Then why did you even join the army? My sister is a junior in high school this year. She scored over 300 on her final exam, and her teacher said she could go to university. You scored over 600?"

Xu Ge sighed: "It's a long story, Zhan You!"

A late-night snack successfully brought the two closer, and in the time that followed, Xu Ge learned a lot about what was happening in the military from Kaiyoumu.

Many people know that the most comfortable days in military life are during basic training, just as the best times in society are spent on campus, but many people don't realize it at the time.

In basic training, if you want to have a good time, you have to listen to your squad leader.

“When it’s time to assign classes, come with me. I know all the class monitors. I’ll take you to a class monitor who doesn’t like to prank people,” Kaiyoumu said, patting his chest.

Xu Ge understood the implication in the other party's words; it was indeed the norm for new recruits to be disciplined.

But then I thought about it again. Kaiyu didn't seem to be a masochist. Since he had served in the army once and wanted to come back, it meant that there must be something attractive about the military, and it wasn't some den of thieves.

And so, with a mix of trepidation and anticipation, Xu Ge watched as the train passed through the still snow-covered Tianshan Mountains and arrived at its final destination, Yecheng, at dawn.

This time, after getting off the train, we went straight out of the station, where the square outside was already full of military trucks.

Kaiyoumu led Xu Ge into one of the vehicles, which already contained more than a dozen new recruits.

Luo Shan threw in a large bag of dry food and water, gesturing for Kaiyoumu to distribute it to everyone. The truck then set off and drove onto National Highway 219.

The wind howled all the way, and the recruits hadn't slept well the night before. In addition, the altitude was gradually increasing, and everyone was feeling a bit listless, so no one spoke on the bus.

Xu Ge, imitating Kaiyoumu, sat on his luggage and dozed off.

Boom boom clang! Boom boom clang!
Dong qiang dong qiang dong dong qiang!
A sudden burst of intense drumming and gonging reached Xu Ge's ears. He opened his eyes and realized that the truck had stopped sometime earlier.

Luo Shan's loud voice rang out from outside: "Everyone get off the bus immediately! Hurry! The recruit training company has arrived!"

(End of this chapter)