Chapter 10: All I Ever Wanted Was to Be a Slacker — So Why Do They Keep Making Me Come in First?

Early the next morning.

The recruits went about their routine as usual.

After finishing Barracks Upkeep and eating breakfast, they began the morning's training session.

Out on the drill ground, Xu Da called out in a loud voice: "Starting today, we'll be adding a three-kilometer run before every morning training session. There's only one purpose — to build up your physical fitness!"

Everyone immediately broke into hushed grumbling.

"Are you serious? Training is already exhausting, and now they're adding a three-kilometer run on top of it?"

"Just shoot me already."

"Three kilometers — that's going to kill me!"

Lin Hui said nothing, because he understood perfectly well.

In the Yan Nation, running was the foundation of every soldier's training.

From generals down to the lowest-ranking soldiers, everyone had to be able to run — a tradition carried over from the wartime era.

No army in the world could outrun the soldiers of the Yan Nation.

Lin Hui had suffered through this firsthand. His old man had made him run five kilometers every single day since he was a child, and if he couldn't keep up, out came the belt...

Xu Da's dark face was dead serious. "What's all the whining about? Every soldier in the Yan Nation can run — it's the most basic physical requirement. If you can't even finish a run, how are you supposed to defend your home and country? If that's the case, there's no point in you being a soldier at all. Go home and be a good little boy!"

Everyone fell silent at once.

Wang Yong muttered under his breath: "Run that fast so we can flee when the enemy shows up? Everything gets tied back to 'defending the homeland'..."

"What did you say?" Xu Da's eyes snapped over to him.

Wang Yong flinched and immediately shouted: "Report to Squad Leader — I said you are absolutely right!"

Xu Da gave a cold snort and continued: "As I said yesterday, starting today, only the soldier who finishes first gets to rest. Everyone else keeps training until they catch up to first place!"

"Understood?"

"Yes!" The response came back weak and listless. Wang Yong was so furious he could grind his teeth to dust.

"That bastard — I swear I'm going to destroy him one of these days!"

Lin Hui was suffering on the inside — a thousand curses nearly burst out of him.

Isn't this just deliberately turning me into the enemy of the people?

But when Lin Hui swept his gaze around, he noticed that aside from Wang Yong glaring daggers at him, no one else seemed particularly bothered.

He quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Good thing he'd built up decent relationships in the squad — otherwise Xu Da's provocation tactic would have worked perfectly.

Chen Erhu looked over at Lin Hui with a pitiful expression. "Big Bro, what do we do? I definitely can't finish first — I don't want to get punished."

"Don't panic. I've got a plan."

Lin Hui coaxed Chen Erhu like he was soothing a little kid: "Just follow my lead when we start!"

"Okay!" Chen Erhu sniffled and gazed at Lin Hui with pure admiration.

Lin Hui was at a loss for words. This wasn't what he'd signed up for.

He suddenly felt like he hadn't come to the army to be a soldier at all — he'd come to be a babysitter.

Xu Da barked: "Begin the run — everyone, right... face!"

Everyone turned in unison and jogged toward the drill ground with the enthusiasm of men walking to their own funerals.

Once they'd run a short distance, Lin Hui slowed his pace slightly. "Listen up — everyone stay close to me. As long as we all reach the finish line at roughly the same time, the Squad Leader won't have any grounds to punish us."

Ma Xiaoshan immediately agreed: "Yes, yes, great idea! If we all cross the finish line together, we're all tied for first — and none of us get punished!"

Chen Erhu looked like he'd just found his savior. "Big Bro, I worship you so much — if I were a girl, I'd give myself to you right here and now!"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes inwardly: If you were a girl, I still wouldn't want you — you look like a black garlic bulb that grew legs!

The others all nodded along, clearly already treating Lin Hui as their ringleader.

As long as they could avoid punishment, anything was fine!

"What are you all bunching up for — trying to keep warm? Pick up the pace!"

Xu Da's bellow came from behind them.

Everyone quickened their steps, and Lin Hui reminded them once more: "Remember — match my pace, and whatever you do, don't fall behind..."

Before he could finish the sentence, a figure shot forward like a bullet — faster than a rabbit!

Lin Hui looked up and his eyes went wide.

Damn it! It was that Bastard Wang Yong!

"Wang Yong, get back here..."

Lin Hui hissed, trying to call him back.

Wang Yong turned his head, defiant. "Why should I listen to you? You lot are crawling along like turtles — I'm not waiting around. I'm going ahead!"

In his heart, he seethed: Lin Hui, so what if you can fold a blanket? So what if someone in your family used to be in the military?

What's there to be so smug about?

Right now, I'm going to prove to everyone — I, Wang Yong, am far better than you!

Wang Yong made a smug face at Lin Hui, then kicked into high gear and left everyone in the dust.

Watching that guy sprint off into the distance, Lin Hui was so furious his ears were practically smoking. "You little Bastard! I spent all that effort coming up with a plan, and you just blew the whole thing by yourself!"

The whole idea had been simple: as long as everyone kept the same pace and crossed the finish line together, Xu Da would have no reason to get angry.

Everyone happily slacking off together — what could be better than that?

Why make things so hard?

But Wang Yong had to go and ruin it, pulling further and further ahead.

When the three kilometers ended, he'd take first place and get praised, while Lin Hui and everyone else would be dead certain to get punished.

And the one punished the hardest would undoubtedly be Lin Hui himself.

Lin Hui had grown up in the Military Compound, so he knew exactly how this worked.

If a soldier consistently performed at the top and then suddenly fell apart at a critical moment, the punishment they received would be far harsher than what anyone else got.

"Wang Yong, you sneaky little schemer!"

Lin Hui cursed Wang Yong's entire family tree in his head, and the others began to panic as well.

"What do we do?"

"Wang Yong already bolted — do we chase him?"

"Big Bro, tell us what to do — do we chase or not? What's the plan?"

Lin Hui gritted his teeth. "What choice do we have? We absolutely cannot let him get too far ahead. If he does, he gets off easy while the rest of us suffer!"

"Chase him — go, go, go!"

The others were all cursing Wang Yong in their hearts too.

But there was nothing else to do — they had no choice but to grit their teeth and run.

Ding — Running Ability +1!

Ding — Running Ability +1!

After two laps, two notification chimes rang out in Lin Hui's head.

He immediately felt his stride grow noticeably lighter.

By the third lap, he had caught up to Wang Yong.

"So you think you can run, huh? Then run!"

Wang Yong's eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw Lin Hui had actually caught up.

Back in elementary school, he had been the long-distance running champion — first place at the school sports meet every single year.

He'd even competed in county-level long-distance races and placed well.

When it came to running, he was confident he could hold his own against veteran soldiers.

He'd planned to teach Lin Hui a good lesson — to show this arrogant guy that there's always someone better out there. But he never expected to be caught up to so quickly.

"Fuck! I absolutely cannot let him pass me!"

Wang Yong clenched his teeth and ran with every ounce of strength he had.

He immediately pulled ahead of Lin Hui again.

Lin Hui's face turned green. "What the hell is wrong with you?! Are you missing a few screws? Why are you running so fast? Can't you just wait for everyone and run together?"

"We're a collective — a collective!"

"Collective my ass — whoever falls behind gets punished, the Squad Leader made that crystal clear!"

Wang Yong shouted back over his shoulder: "I'm not running with you! I'm going to prove that I'm better than you — plain and simple!"

What a stubborn jackass!

Lin Hui cursed him inwardly, but he still had to give chase.

If Wang Yong took first place, Lin Hui would be the one who suffered for it!

Ding — Running Ability +1!

Another notification chimed, and Lin Hui's stride grew even lighter.

Without even pushing hard, he caught up to Wang Yong again.

Just to mess with him, Lin Hui deliberately kept exactly one body-length ahead — close enough that Wang Yong couldn't catch up, but not so far that he could relax. All Wang Yong could do was stare and fume.

From beneath the shade of a distant tree, Xu Da's grin was threatening to split his face: "Well, well, well — now they're actually competing. That's more like it! What kind of soldiers don't have any fighting spirit?"

"Didn't expect it — Lin Hui's got that kind of explosive speed? Looks like first place is locked up for him."

He glanced over at the rest of First Squad.

They were quite a bit slower than Wang Yong and Lin Hui.

But compared to the other squads, they were considerably faster — far exceeding his expectations.

Xu Da's mood lifted considerably. "Looks like singling out Lin Hui as the target really did the trick. Results on the very first day — not bad at all!"

At this rate, it wouldn't be long before First Squad's performance shot through the roof.

By then, never mind a Commendation — a Third-Class Merit Citation would be well within reach!

Before long, Lin Hui crossed the finish line in first place.

Wang Yong arrived about ten seconds later.

He glared at Lin Hui with barely contained fury, gasping for breath. "If we ran again — I, I would definitely not lose!"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes. "You're already a defeated opponent. Run it ten more times and the result would be the same."

Wang Yong clenched his fists, the burning desire to win blazing ever higher in his eyes.

Next time — next time he would surpass Lin Hui!

Shortly after, the rest of First Squad staggered back to the finish line, gasping for air, and collapsed on the ground.

Xu Da clasped his hands behind his back, walked up to Lin Hui, and gave him a pat. "You can rest. Everyone else — one hundred push-ups, get ready!"

Ma Xiaoshan pulled a long face. "Squad Leader, we already gave it everything we had."

Chen Erhu flopped out his tongue like a dead dog, panting heavily. "Squad Leader, can we rest for a bit? The regulations say you need to rest after intense exercise, or you could drop dead from it."

"Got the Military Regulations memorized pretty well, do you?" Xu Da glared at him. "The Military Regulations also say: unconditionally obey the orders of your superiors. What the Squad Leader says goes! Everyone — one hundred push-ups, start immediately, or it becomes two hundred!"

At the mention of two hundred push-ups, everyone scrambled to their feet in a panic, planted their hands on the ground, and got into position.

They began grinding out push-ups with grunts and groans.

Wang Yong stared at Lin Hui resting nearby, seething. "Don't get too pleased with yourself — your luck won't hold next time!"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes inwardly: Is this kid missing a brain cell? Why is he so obsessed with competing?

Who told you not to follow my lead? You brought the punishment on yourself.

But it was the rest of the squad that really suffered.

What had they done to deserve this?

* * *

From that day on, Wang Yong latched onto Lin Hui like a vengeful ghost.

He had to eat faster than Lin Hui!

He had to hold his military stance better than Lin Hui!

He had to march in formation more precisely than Lin Hui!

No matter what the training was, he had to compete with Lin Hui — like a thorn against a blade of wheat.

The moment Lin Hui let his guard down even slightly, Wang Yong would immediately surge ahead.

Lin Hui was completely exasperated. He'd seen plenty of hotheads before, but never one this relentlessly dense.

There was nothing he could do — he had no choice but to keep Wang Yong suppressed, or his own life would get a lot harder.

But what he hadn't expected was that Wang Yong was getting more and more into it.

Wang Yong was like a honey badger — the moment he spotted Lin Hui, he went straight for him. It was driving Lin Hui absolutely mad.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed, and the First-Month Recruit Assessment arrived as scheduled.

With his exceptional military aptitude, Lin Hui took first place in the Recruit Company without exception.

He was even held up as a model recruit and commended before the entire company.

And this was with him deliberately holding back.

Lin Hui stared at his certificate of merit, on the verge of tears. "All I ever wanted was to be a slacker — I never wanted to come in first."

He looked at Wang Yong standing nearby with a face full of indignation, and couldn't help but curse inwardly: This is all your fault, you dense Bastard — you're the one who forced me to keep getting stronger!

No — this absolutely cannot go on. If it does, something's going to go seriously wrong...