Chapter 16: United in Purpose, Collectively Giving Up

Wang Yong was a blubbering mess, tears and snot streaming down his face as he grabbed Lin Hui's hand and refused to let go.

"Brother Hui, I already know how incredible you are. There's no way I can ever catch up to you in this lifetime — you're on a whole other level. Let's just stop competing. I completely submit to you."

Lin Hui felt a warm glow of satisfaction deep in his chest.

Happiness had come so suddenly.

He'd been fed up with this guy for a long time.

He smiled and said, "You sure? Last time we agreed that whoever admitted defeat would have to..."

"I'm your grandson — from now on, you're my grandpa. Grandpa Hui!" Wang Yong blurted out eagerly.

Lin Hui's eye twitched. That title sounded incredibly awkward no matter how he heard it.

Still, the fact that this guy could actually swallow his pride was genuinely surprising.

He patted Wang Yong on the arm. "You've finally come to your senses, kid. You were the only one in the whole squad going up against me. Do you have any idea how much I've suffered these past few days?"

"Things could've been perfectly comfortable, but you, you idiot, made every single day feel like a battle. I haven't had a single easy day!"

"Tell me about it," Wang Yong said, feeling aggrieved. "Forget it — I was wrong before. I shouldn't have been so stubborn, always trying to compete with you."

"I genuinely can't keep up anymore. After five hundred push-ups, I nearly died. I can't take another day of this."

"Honestly... I just wanted to coast through two years, get a decent job placement when I go home. I never actually wanted to compete with you. It's just that you were always so arrogant... I mean, so dazzling!"

Lin Hui burst out laughing. "Alright, let's forget the past. From now on, we keep the peace — nobody takes things too seriously, and we all live comfortably. That's the way."

"Otherwise, we'd just be fighting each other while Xu Da reaps all the benefits."

Wang Yong nodded, and the two of them headed back to the training ground one after the other.

The sky was growing dark.

Another round of training had ended.

Lin Hui sat resting while everyone else received their punishment.

Xu Da walked back and forth in front of the group with his hands clasped behind his back, face stern. "You were all born the same way, all got one head on two shoulders — so how are you so much worse than Lin Hui?"

"Train harder, all of you. You don't get to rest until you reach his level."

Lin Hui kept a smile on his face while cursing inwardly.

He'd already heard from soldiers in other squads about the Squad Leader's plan to use them as a stepping stone for his Officer Promotion.

If the Squad Leader had treated everyone decently — shown a little empathy — Lin Hui might have actually cooperated.

But if all he wanted was to use First Squad as a springboard for his own advancement, then Lin Hui wasn't having any of it.

Nine o'clock at night.

Extra drills over, they returned to the barracks.

Everyone collapsed on the floor with the look of people who had lost the will to live, too exhausted even to wash up.

"When is this ever going to end?"

"Can't we just get assigned to our units already? This is brutal."

"I used to feel sorry for the other squads, but now I dream about being in any other squad. At least they don't suffer like this every single day."

"We're Rookies! He's training us like veterans — no, worse than veterans. Veterans only run five kilometers; we run six!"

Everyone glanced at Wang Yong, their eyes full of resentment.

Wang Yong's eyes went wide. "Don't look at me! I already apologized to Lin Hui today. From now on, no more competing — ever."

"Really?"

Everyone's eyes lit up at once.

These past few days, thanks to that son of a turtle Wang Yong, they had suffered endlessly.

What should have been easy, coasting-through training had turned into something like a battlefield — fighting every single day.

Ma Xiaoshan hauled himself up from his bunk. "Oh, my dear mother — you've finally come to your senses! Heavens above and earth below, we won't have to live like this anymore!"

Chen Erhu chimed in with his own grievances. "You have no idea — you were chasing after Brother Hui without a care in the world, but you dragged the rest of us down with you. Especially me. Look at my face — there's barely any meat left on it."

Wang Yong laughed awkwardly. "It's fine, it's fine. I've got two packs of instant noodles and three sausages in my locker. I'll give them to you to make up for it."

He glanced over and gave Lin Hui a look. "Lin Hui, what do we do next? You always have the most ideas."

Lin Hui poked his head out to check the hallway.

Confirming the Squad Leader wasn't around, he waved everyone in to huddle up. "Do you all know why the Squad Leader is so brutal to us — like we're his enemies?"

Everyone shook their heads. "No idea."

Lin Hui lowered his voice. "Because he wants us to take first place in the entire regiment during the assessment. That way he gets a Third-Class Merit Citation from above and sails through his Officer Promotion."

Wang Yong slammed his fist into the bed frame. "Bastard! No wonder he treats us like we're not even human, drilling us half to death, and stirring up trouble between the two of us every day — there was something in it for him all along!"

"What did you expect?" Lin Hui said with a smirk. "Nobody gets up early for nothing. If it weren't for the Officer Promotion, why would he be this brutal to Rookies?"

"The training intensity we're under right now far exceeds the normal standard for recruit training — it's even more than what veterans do. Veterans run five kilometers; we run six."

The others erupted in anger. "This guy is so underhanded! With those thick eyebrows and honest-looking face, I actually thought he was a decent person!"

"We're the most miserable squad in the whole Recruit Training Regiment. And for the sake of his Commendation, it's only going to get worse!"

"Lin Hui, what do we do now? I don't want to be ground into dust."

Lin Hui rubbed his chin and smiled. "Simple. Starting tomorrow, we keep everything the same — we just stop competing with each other."

"Whether it's running, tactical crawling, or any other training — everyone follows Yu Chaochao's lead."

"Me?"

Yu Chaochao pointed at himself, almost certain he'd misheard.

He ranked second to last in the squad, only slightly better than Chen Erhu.

Lin Hui smiled. "If everyone follows your lead, life will get a whole lot easier for all of us."

Ma Xiaoshan was the first to catch on. "Right, right, right — Lin Hui's got it! We all follow Comrade Yu Chaochao's lead. That way everyone gets a break."

"Yu Chaochao, don't go pulling out some surprise performance on us — just stay exactly as you are. That's perfect!"

Yu Chaochao scratched his head. "Even if I wanted to, my abilities wouldn't allow it."

Lin Hui smiled. "As long as we're all on the same page and maintain the same level, even if our scores slip, the Squad Leader can't do anything about it. When everyone's in on it, no one can be punished!"

"And if he dares to punish us without cause — heh — then we'll file a joint complaint with the Company Commander."

Ma Xiaoshan asked, "Will the Company Commander take his side? I heard the Squad Leader was trained by the Company Commander himself."

Lin Hui thought it over. "Even though Yu Chaochao is at the bottom of our squad, he's still considerably better than the average Rookie."

"If we use that as our baseline, our squad's performance will at least land somewhere in the middle — not bad enough to cause problems."

"Even if the Company Commander wanted to take sides, he wouldn't have grounds to."

Everyone nodded. Chen Erhu pulled a long face. "Big Bro, what about me?"

The others immediately spotted the new problem.

What about Chen Erhu?

His performance was the worst in the entire squad.

If everyone else held to the same standard and Chen Erhu was left out on his own, he'd definitely be punished by a furious Xu Da until he couldn't walk straight.

"Big Bro, save me — I don't want the Squad Leader to beat my backside to a pulp..."

As he said it, Chen Erhu dissolved into tears and snot.

Lin Hui was at a loss for words.

When he'd first arrived, he and Chen Erhu hadn't been close.

Whatever happened to the guy was none of his business.

But after all this time living together — eating from the same pot, sleeping in the same barracks — a genuine bond had formed between them.

And this kid, though a bit of a simpleton, had a sweet mouth — always calling him Big Bro this and Big Bro that.

He'd even helped Lin Hui wash his bowls and socks, practically becoming his little sidekick.

If he just left him to fend for himself, Lin Hui's own conscience wouldn't let him.

His eyes darted around, and an idea came to him at once. "Erhu, don't panic — I've got a plan."

"What plan?"

Chen Erhu's face lit up with excitement.

Lin Hui smiled. "In the army, soldiers with strong military skills get preferential treatment — but soldiers who know how to make themselves useful don't get treated badly either. As long as you get on the right side of people, the Squad Leader definitely won't give you trouble."

"I don't quite follow," said Chen Erhu, looking completely lost.

Lin Hui crooked his finger and whispered a few words in his ear.

Chen Erhu leapt to his feet with joy. "No problem at all — doing chores is literally what I'm best at! Thank you, Big Bro — you're my living Bodhisattva!"

Lin Hui looked around at the others. "We've got the big picture sorted. Starting tomorrow, let's all just... live our lives steadily and comfortably. Being a soldier — the most important thing is to be happy. To be at ease!"

"Understood!"

Everyone laughed and nodded.

They all just wanted to coast through two years without trouble.

Go home afterward, get a decent job placement, or find it easier to land a wife.

If they could take it easy, why suffer needlessly?

Lin Hui looked at First Squad finally pulling together as one, his eyes filled with hope: Now I can finally live the good life. The wide world out there — just wait for me to come back...