Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

If the squad leader gets scolded by his superiors, the first person he'll scold is the deputy squad leader. If a new recruit makes a mistake, the deputy squad leader is the first one to be held accountable.

They did the work, got scolded, but when it came time to award prizes and give rest slots, the deputy squad leader was still ranked last.

Being at the forefront of the work but getting all the benefits at the end means suffering from both sides. Who would want to do that kind of job? That's why there's a saying that you shouldn't be a deputy squad leader in the army.

Of course, even if you say you won't be a deputy squad leader, you still have to do the work. For most squad leaders, the path is from conscript to sergeant, and the position is first deputy squad leader and then promoted to squad leader.

Perhaps it is precisely because of this kind of inheritance and experience that the person who became the class monitor would tear other people's umbrellas so hard just because he got wet in the rain.

It's easy to understand why guards don't stand on the second or fifth shift, because those two shifts are the two most difficult times of the night.

The regular second shift is from 10 p.m. to 12 a.m. People are lying in bed, just falling asleep, when they are woken up, especially when it is cold. Not only do they not get warm, but they are also still groggy.

After standing there and going back, I was wide awake and it took me a long time to fall asleep, which was really torturous.

The fifth shift is the coldest, most tiring, and most drowsy time of the night. After finishing the shift, it's almost dawn, and just when you're about to sleep, you have to get up for morning exercises, which means you basically wasted the night's sleep.

So, those who stand on the second and fifth posts know what it's like; they're absolutely silent and enjoy the experience.

Of course, these things, especially the first half of the sentence, do not apply to Wu Liuyi. Although he is the deputy squad leader of the third squad, he is always elected with a high number of votes in the squad's annual selection of outstanding individuals.

As for being scolded, he never did. He was the benchmark of the Seventh Company, the best of the best. He was cherished by Company Commander Gao Cheng and Squad Leader Shi Jin. His bad temper was also spoiled by the two of them.

In the past, he might have allocated sentry time fairly, but after serving as squad leader for a while, he learned a lot. Although his fundamental approach remained the same, his methods changed considerably.

Therefore, instead of allocating the guard duty time fairly this time, he allocated it reasonably according to individual circumstances, and he himself took on the most difficult and longest guard duty time.

No one else had any objections to this; they all respected Wu Liuyi and naturally listened to what he said.

Xu Sanduo, however, firmly disagreed, saying that it was inappropriate for Wu Liuyi to endure the two most difficult hours alone.

So the two of them reassigned themselves, with Xu Sanduo guarding the post from 2:00 to 3:30, and Wu Liuyi guarding the post from 3:30 to 5:00.

……

Soon, the night passed.

At 4:50 a.m., when it was still a bit dark, Wu Liuyi took out a few wild garlic cloves he had saved from the night before and put them in his mouth. As he chewed, a spicy taste came over him, and the drowsiness that had been creeping up on him vanished without a trace.

A rustling sound came from behind. Wu Liuyi turned his head and saw that Xu Sanduo, who had only slept for a little over an hour, had already gotten up.

He quietly got up and went to Wu Liuyi's side, saying in a low voice, "Squad Leader Wu, you take a break. I'll keep watch for a while. There's still a long time to go."

"Okay, now that you're awake, you keep an eye on things while I go find something to eat. We still have a day and a night to go, and we can't just eat wild vegetables," Wu Liuyi instructed Xu Sanduo before quietly leaving the ditch.

At five o'clock, the sky was already beginning to lighten, and Wu Liuyi had already adjusted his eyes to the darkness for two hours. In this brightness, finding things was no problem.

He wasn't going to dig up wild vegetables like Xu Sanduo. Well, digging up wild vegetables could fill you up for a couple of bites, provided you didn't do any strenuous activity and didn't expend much energy.

Moreover, most of the wild vegetables on the grassland are high in fiber and water content, and they don't keep you full for very long. Even if you don't move around for more than two hours after eating them, you'll feel hungry again.

Especially under the current circumstances, they not only have to trek 100 kilometers to obtain the defense map of their destination, but also face encirclement and interception by the enemy.

If you only eat wild vegetables, you won't be able to evade capture, let alone trek 100 kilometers in 48 hours. After all, this isn't a straight road.

It's a very simple calculation: carrying a 30-kilogram load, running a long distance in the wild, and having to hide and fight back, the physical exertion in a day would be at least 4500 calories.

If you rely on wild vegetables to supplement your energy, even if you eat five pounds a day, it will only provide about 500 calories. Over time, you will feel weak all over, experience palpitations, and have a decreased concentration.

Today is their first day. They have individual rations and their previous physical reserves, so they are doing well so far.

If they don't get some energy-boosting food, their legs will feel heavy and they won't be able to run by noon, their reactions will slow down, and they'll even make mistakes in tactical maneuvers.

Even if you try your best to tough it out, you can only last until mid-afternoon at most before you experience dizziness, hand tremors, or even blackouts due to low blood sugar.

The entire body will be severely overdrawn, and at that point, you won't even be able to stand steadily, let alone hide or make a run. Moreover, how can you obtain the final defense map without fighting back?

There is an even more fatal flaw, which is the issue of salt content.

Continuous high-intensity exercise can soak your clothes with sweat, which will remove a lot of salt. If you can't replenish the salt, it can cause muscle cramps, weakness, heart rhythm disorders, and in severe cases, paralysis.

So Wu Liuyi went out early in the morning to get some meat to eat, and he had a target in mind: field mice.

Although these things contain bacteria, the risk of infection is reduced if you catch a lively, wriggling animal, skin it, remove its internal organs, and eat only the meat.

Even if you get infected, it will take at least a day or two for symptoms to develop. Right now, let's go to the selection process first.

It's the same principle as military medics saving lives on the battlefield: save lives first, then talk about the illness.

These field mice are plentiful on the grassland, easy to catch, and have lean meat that is high in protein. They are not only filling but also provide some salt, making them the best choice when you can't make a fire.

These little creatures usually burrow on earthen slopes, gentle slopes, and high ground. They have many entrances and shallow tunnels. As long as you find the right burrow, you can dig right in without worrying about making a big commotion.

As for finding the correct burrow, it's quite simple. First, look for mouse trails. In areas where field mice are easily spotted, there will be small, bare trails on the ground, which are the fixed routes that field mice run every day.

You can find the mouse hole by following the mouse trail.

Then there's the reed grass, the edge of the needlegrass clumps. Field mice eat the roots and seeds of the grass and won't go into the dense, impenetrable grass. They stay on the edge of the grass and in the open spaces, making them easy to spot.

There are also places like the riverbank, the hills near the ponds, the abandoned cattle and sheep pens, and the vicinity of the old camp.

As for why we don't catch wild rabbits, the muscle fibers of wild rabbits are coarse and tough. If you don't chew them, they're just strands of tendon, and you can't bite them if you can't start a fire.