Starting from the deputy company commander of the Soldier Assault Team

"Hey, how's the food? Come on, raise your glasses. Everyone's been training really hard lately. Come on, let me give you a shout: one, two, bottoms up!"

"Dry."

"Dry."

Hearing about this lively scene, Cheng Cai walked dejectedly towards the shadows in the corner.

If he hadn't jumped ship from the Seventh Company back then, if he hadn't been so self-centered, if...

If you make the mistakes you can afford to make, and miss the ones you can afford to make, then you should still have time to repent.

It's all my fault. I shouldn't have remained silent when I should have, and I was weak when I should have been brave.

Unfortunately, there are no "what ifs," only the result remains.

As he thought about it, a painful smile crept onto Cheng Cai's lips, a smile tinged with relief. There were no more "what ifs" now; in less than six months, he could go home.

He returned to the small village where he was born and raised, the Banyan Tree Village under the Book Shop.

He returned to the place where he had once vowed to stay in the army and never return.

If this were the original timeline, there would still be a Xu Sanduo, like a quail, hiding in the command vehicle, thinking he was abnormal and wanted to be discharged from the army. He and Cheng Cai could be considered brothers in misfortune.

Unfortunately, Xu Sanduo was busy somewhere at the moment and couldn't come to comfort his childhood friend and empathize with his painful emotions.

Cheng Cai leaned against an armored vehicle, huddled in the shadows, watching the lively scene at the division's reconnaissance battalion, tears welling up in his eyes.

In the past, when other troops came to rest and reorganize, Cheng Cai would never hide away like this. Even when the 702nd Regiment came, he would still be busy running around.

But when faced with the reconnaissance battalion, Gao Cheng, Zhang Anbang, and Wu Liuyi, he really wanted to find a place to hide.

"Come on, let me count to three, one, two, three, cheers!"

"Okay, you guys drink, now bring the gun over."

As soon as he finished speaking, Gan Xiaoning immediately stood up, grabbed his rifle, and jogged towards Gaocheng.

Gao Cheng borrowed the money, pulled the bolt, turned around and asked, "How's this gun?"

Gan Xiaoning nodded without hesitation, "It's been checked, and it's incredibly accurate."

"Okay," Gao Cheng said, fiddling with the Type 95 rifle in his hand while searching for Cheng Cai's figure with his eyes. After looking around and not seeing him, he could only shout loudly, "Cheng Cai, Cheng Cai, where are you? Come here."

Upon hearing the shout, Cheng Cai, who was in the shadows, quickly composed himself, forced a smile, and approached Gao Cheng.

"Take a look at these guns, how about picking one?"

Seeing Gao Cheng's scrutinizing gaze, Cheng Cai remained calm. "Deputy Battalion Commander, I've prepared my own gun."

Gao Cheng's expression remained calm. "Where?"

Cheng Cai said softly, "Give it to me."

Xue Lin, who had been prepared in advance, handed Cheng Cai a rather odd-looking gun.

Everyone stared at the strange-looking gun with curiosity, but Cheng Cai himself stroked it with great care.

Cheng Cai raised the gun to his chest, met Gao Cheng's scrutinizing gaze, and said, "This is my gun."

Gao Cheng looked at the familiar yet strange rifle. Everyone here was familiar with this gun; they had all used it more than a year ago, and it was a classic rifle model that many troops were still using. It was the Type 81 rifle.

When the Bayi Gang was first produced, it did not have a tactical rail. When Cheng Cai left the Old A, Wu Liuyi and Xu Sanduo got a scope from Zhang Anbang.

At that moment, Cheng Cai used canvas straps to wrap the scope around the receiver cover of the August 1st gun, covering the original rear sight.

In other words, at this moment, this Type 81 rifle not only has a not-so-precise sports hunting scope strapped to it, but also completely covers the original iron sights.

This approach seems plausible at first glance, but it's completely impractical. The receiver cover of the August 1st Rifle is just a thin sheet of iron, without a rigid locking structure. It relies solely on the rear boss for limiting and the front buckle for securing it.

During firing, the bolt carrier and piston rod strike each other at high speed, and the recoil of the entire gun is directly transmitted to the receiver cover, causing the thin sheet metal to bounce slightly up and down and back and forth.

The canvas straps are not a rigid fixation either. Once the gun is fired, the straps will come loose after a few vibrations, causing the scope to drift off course and serving no purpose at all.

Just like Xu Sanduo said, this matter is meaningless. However, for Cheng Cai, although the scope is not useful when it is attached to the gun, it has a very different meaning for him. Even though it is useless, he still keeps it attached.

Seeing how Cheng Cai treasured this gun, Gao Cheng curled his lip and said, "This gun is going to break your bones."

"Hahaha," all the soldiers in the division's reconnaissance battalion laughed as soon as the words were spoken.

Cheng Cai's expression changed slightly, but he quickly calmed down and replied with his head down, "That's right, it can be considered a fold."

Gao Cheng stood with his hands on his hips, not giving Cheng Cai any way out, "What do you mean by 'it's a shrug'?"

Cheng Cai lowered his head and didn't speak. He knew very well that Gao Cheng knew what was going on, and Zhang Anbang and Wu Liuyi knew even more clearly what was going on, but they insisted on asking here, obviously wanting him to tell them himself.

But he really didn't know how to start, so he could only lower his head and accept silence as his answer.

Seeing Cheng Cai's expression, Gao Cheng didn't press him further. "Alright, shooting under lighting conditions."

As he spoke, Gao Cheng began to look around for a suitable location. Soon, his gaze settled on a low wall. "How about over there?"

Cheng Cai didn't pay attention to where Gao Cheng pointed, he just nodded slightly, "Okay."

Just as Gao Cheng was about to say something, Cheng Cai spoke again, his tone hesitant, "Deputy Battalion Commander, our Fifth Platoon has not been issued live ammunition."

Gao Cheng was a little surprised. Not only him, but Gan Xiaoning also did not expect the situation in Class 5 to be like this.

For a soldier, running out of bullets is like running out of food in the mess hall. He looked Cheng Cai straight in the eye and confirmed, "You don't have a single bullet."

Cheng Cai did not dodge the question, and said in a deep voice, "No."

Gao Cheng, hands on his hips, turned to the other soldiers of the division's reconnaissance battalion and asked, "Do you believe it?"

The soldiers chorused and replied, "We don't believe it."

Gao Cheng pointed at Cheng Cai and said to the reconnaissance battalion, "There is a real gun king here, but he is a soldier who is not equipped with bullets."

Everyone says that marksmanship is honed through practice with bullets. Cheng Cai, what did you use to train yourself to be like this?

Cheng Cai didn't dare to look Gao Cheng in the eye, and explained with his head down, "Maybe it's because there are few opportunities, so I cherish them more."

"More than that, you're much more stable now than you were in the Seven-Handed Squad," Gao Cheng continued, looking at Cheng Cai who was still keeping his head down. "When your mind is stable, your hands will be stable too."

Cheng Cai said calmly, "Thank you for the compliment, Deputy Battalion Commander."