Chapter 11: An Invitation from the Sixth Blade Company

"Lin Hui!"

"Here!"

Lin Hui turned around to see Xu Da walking over with a grin.

"Head to the company office right away. The Company Commander wants to see you."

Lin Hui blinked. "What does the Company Commander want with me?"

Xu Da shot him a look. "What, you want the Company Commander to come report to you? Obviously it's good news — now get moving!"

Lin Hui rolled his eyes. He was already standing out way too much as it was, and the last thing he wanted was more "good news."

"Did you hear me?!"

"Yes, Squad Leader!"

An order was an order. Lin Hui had no choice but to drag himself over to the Company Commander's office.

The moment Lin Hui left, Xu Da turned to the rest of First Squad and said, "For the First-Month Recruit Assessment, Lin Hui alone scored as much as an entire squad. He even broke several records and brought real glory to our First Squad."

"Look at him, then look at yourselves — why can't you learn something from him?"

"Now, everyone down! One hundred push-ups!"

Chen Erhu immediately dropped to the ground and started pumping out push-ups with gusto, hollering, "Learn from him — I'm gonna be just like Big Bro! I'm gonna bring honor to First Squad too!"

Wang Yong's mouth twitched.

The more he looked at Chen Erhu, the more the guy reminded him of a wooden club.

Getting punished with push-ups and still that happy about it — was something wrong with his head?

And "learn from Lin Hui"? What the hell for? If anything, they should be learning from him!

He worked just as hard. He was just as serious!

Wang Yong glared in the direction Lin Hui had gone and clenched his fists. Lin Hui, just you wait. Next time, I will surpass you. And if not next time, then the time after that — for sure!

The more Wang Yong stewed over it, the more frustrated he got. He let out a stifled shout: "Report!"

"Speak!"

"Squad Leader, I'm requesting an additional hundred push-ups!"

Xu Da smiled pleasantly. "Approved. Everyone else, take a page from Wang Yong's book — fall behind and you get beaten down, so he's adding extra training all on his own!"

Wang Yong, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, threw himself to the ground and hammered out push-ups with a ferocity that looked like he was trying to drill straight through the earth.

Xu Da stood to the side watching, his face lit up with a smile as bright as a blooming flower.

He'd figured it out by now — all it took was mentioning Lin Hui's name.

Wang Yong would instantly transform into a man possessed, chasing after him with everything he had.

Over these past weeks, not only had Wang Yong's abilities improved at a blistering pace, but Lin Hui himself had been pushed to sprint forward like a startled rabbit.

With the two of them locked in this relentless back-and-forth, the atmosphere across all of First Squad had been swept up without anyone even noticing, and everyone had become that much more driven.

It wasn't as if they wanted to — it was just that everyone knew the truth.

If they didn't push themselves to close the gap, they'd be the ones getting punished in the end.

Meanwhile, from the other squads came a chorus of anguished wails...

Lin Hui arrived outside the Company Commander's office.

Knock knock knock.

"Come in."

Lin Hui pushed the door open and saluted the two men inside. "Good day, Company Commander! Good day, Political Instructor!"

Wang Hai set down the military newspaper and circled Lin Hui twice. "Lin Hui, you've really outdone yourself, kid. Not only did you take first place in the First-Month Recruit Assessment, you also broke the three-kilometer run record."

"That record had stood for three years without anyone touching it, and you just went and blew it out of the water. You really pulled off something spectacular."

Lin Hui listened with a stiff smile plastered on his face, feeling thoroughly unsettled inside.

He hadn't wanted to take first place or break any records at all.

He'd been completely and utterly forced into it by that idiot Wang Yong.

If Wang Yong hadn't been snapping at his heels every single day like he had rabies, the System never would have triggered again and again, making him this strong.

Whatever happened to lying low for two years and then living it up on the outside?

Damn it — it hadn't even been that long, and he'd already forgotten his original goal.

Zhang Jiantao cleared his throat and stepped in front of Lin Hui with an awkward expression. "About that... I'm sorry, Little Lin."

Lin Hui froze for a moment, half convinced he'd misheard.

This guy — was actually apologizing to me?

When he'd first arrived at the Recruit Company, this man had taken an instant dislike to him. All this time, he and Xu Da had been playing good cop and bad cop, scheming behind the scenes to find ways to push him out.

What had he eaten today — expired rat poison?

He was actually apologizing to him?

Wang Hai suddenly burst out laughing, breaking the awkward silence. "Alright, Old Zhang, just say what you need to say. All this hemming and hawing doesn't suit you."

Zhang Jiantao took a breath and looked at Lin Hui with a serious expression. "Comrade Lin Hui, I do owe you a genuine apology. When you first arrived, I didn't know the full picture, so I had some prejudices against you and treated you poorly. I hope you won't take it to heart."

"The first time I saw you, I honestly thought you were a hopeless soldier who'd never amount to anything. But now I realize I misjudged you. You're a good soldier."

Wang Hai gave him a punch on the chest with a laugh. "Now that's more like it — owning up to your mistakes. That's the Company Commander I know!"

Lin Hui's brain short-circuited.

Oh no.

The Company Commander had actually admitted he was wrong to me — which meant... just how outstanding had he become?

He'd already been trying so hard to keep a low profile, and yet somehow he'd still let things slip out of control.

Even Zhang Jiantao — who had the temperament of a lit firecracker — was now extending an olive branch and bowing his head. Things were only going to get worse from here!

Lin Hui screamed internally: I don't want your approval! Just keep thinking of me as a hopeless soldier, a useless one — please, don't be nice to me!

But reality was always this cruel. He was now being treated as a standout.

Seeing that Lin Hui wasn't saying anything, Zhang Jiantao assumed he was still sulking, so he patted him on the shoulder. "Little Lin, I hope you can understand — I'm just an ordinary soldier. I don't know much about anything else. All I want is to lead every soldier under my command well."

"You're one of the finest soldiers I've ever seen. I was the one who misjudged you, who looked at you through a biased lens. From now on..."

He took a deep breath and said gravely, "The Recruit Company is only the beginning. It's after you're assigned to your unit that you'll truly have the chance to show what you're made of. At that point, you'll all be distributed to the various regiments of the 602nd Division."

"Our Tiger Regiment is the 602nd's blade — it has a long and glorious history. In past battles, we successfully eliminated three thousand four hundred and sixty-two enemy combatants and won countless engagements. And our Sixth Blade Company is the sharpest edge of the entire regiment — the boning knife that cuts through everything."

"A soldier as outstanding as you — when the time comes, I'll fight to bring you into our company, so you can give full play to your abilities."

Wang Hai nudged Lin Hui with a grin. "Well? Aren't you going to thank the Company Commander? The Blade Company is somewhere countless people have cracked their skulls trying to get into. Most people never get this chance."

Lin Hui forced a smile onto his face while screaming inside.

Thank you, my ass!

Who the hell wanted to join the Tiger Regiment? Who wanted anything to do with the Sixth Blade Company?

He was just a cowardly soldier — couldn't they just forget he existed?

Zhang Jiantao saw the smile on his face that looked worse than crying and assumed he'd been so overwhelmed by the good news that he hadn't come back to his senses yet.

Wang Hai smoothed things over from the side. "Alright, alright — it's normal for a new soldier not to process it right away. After all, being in a blade company also means greater responsibility and pressure."

He looked at Lin Hui and said earnestly, "Little Lin, don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just keep training hard and focus on what you need to do."

"The Company Commander was just speaking off the cuff just now. The final result still depends on your assessment scores. If you don't make the cut, they won't take you."

"Understood."

Lin Hui gave an awkward nod.

He truly could not afford to keep improving.

If the Recruit Company ended and he really got assigned to this Blade Company, he'd never have a peaceful day again.

But figuring out how not to improve was its own headache for Lin Hui.

Everyone else was racking their brains trying to figure out how to get better. He was the only one racking his brains trying to figure out how to fall behind.

If Wang Yong ever heard that, he'd probably spit blood from sheer rage.

Zhang Jiantao turned back to him. "That's all I called you in for today. The regiment will be issuing you a Commendation shortly, and they'll be calling on all the new recruits in every squad to learn from your example. Don't let it go to your head — keep pushing forward."

"Yes, Company Commander!"

"Alright, you're dismissed."

Lin Hui gave a salute and turned to leave, looking thoroughly miserable.

Keeping a low profile had already been hard enough. Now the regiment was issuing him a Commendation and calling on recruits to learn from him.

Wouldn't that just make him a target for everyone?

And if he tried to stay low-key after this, wouldn't that only make things even harder...

Lin Hui was trembling now, though what he feared most was actually his own father.

Knowing his father's personality — if the old man ever found out that his good-for-nothing son had suddenly become this capable...

He'd keep him in the military forever...

"No, I can't let that happen..." Lin Hui whined, his face a picture of misery. "No — I have to fall behind. I want to be a Pampered Young Master!"