Chapter 4: Did the Company Commander Misjudge? This Kid's a Natural!

Inside the barracks.

Every recruit was diligently working on folding their blankets.

They had watched the demonstration twice, but now that they were actually doing it themselves, they realized it was nothing like they'd imagined.

"How do you even do this? Why can't I get it right?" Chen Erhu muttered, sweating profusely and glancing around frantically.

Beside him, Wang Yong was scratching his head in frustration. He remembered it never looked this hard on TV — wasn't being a soldier all about carrying explosive packs and blowing up bunkers? How could folding a blanket be this difficult?

Among the entire squad, only Lin Hui was folding his blanket with any real skill — smooth, precise, and effortless.

"Ding — Barracks Upkeep ability +1!"

Hearing the notification, Lin Hui froze for a moment.

His hands were moving just a little faster than before.

Details he hadn't even noticed earlier now came to him instinctively.

His technique grew noticeably more practiced and refined.

Before long, a sharp-edged, neatly folded blanket appeared before him.

It wasn't quite up to the Tofu-block Fold standard, but it was a massive improvement over what he'd started with.

Lin Hui stared at the finished blanket, dumbfounded. "Damn it, I didn't want to fold it this well. I don't want to stick out. System, stop boosting my abilities!"

"Host, this System will increase your corresponding abilities whenever you learn something!"

Lin Hui's face twisted into a grimace. For the first time in his life, he felt like a windfall wasn't necessarily a good thing.

He only wanted to get a tiny bit stronger — not a ridiculous amount!

Because of his father, Lin Hui knew military life inside and out.

Soldiers competed in everything — not just running and shooting, but even Barracks Upkeep.

If a recruit's Barracks Upkeep stood out above the rest, he'd inevitably be held up as a model and paraded around for demonstrations.

Once that happened, there'd be no avoiding the spotlight.

"Damn it, I can't keep folding. A few more ability boosts and I'll probably be able to fold a perfect Tofu-block with my eyes closed and my hands tied!"

"Mm, not bad. Much better than before."

Lin Hui nearly jumped out of his skin. Xu Da had appeared behind him like a ghost — he hadn't heard him approach at all.

The Squad Leader was nodding with satisfaction. "Decent fold. Starting to look like something. Alright, you're done — go help the others."

"Yes, sir!"

Lin Hui let out a quiet sigh of relief.

He really couldn't afford to keep folding.

The rest of the squad was almost completely lost.

Chen Erhu's blanket in particular looked like a dog had dug through it — an absolute disaster.

Wang Yong wasn't much better; his entire bunk looked like it had been hit by an airstrike. The guy was bouncing around in a panic.

Lin Hui chuckled to himself. Blanket folding was the first hurdle for new recruits — and the one that took the longest to master.

Some soldiers never quite got it right, even after becoming veterans.

Lin Hui swept his gaze across the room, and the smile faded from his face.

Growing up in the Military Compound, he'd heard stories — recruits whose blankets weren't folded properly would have the whole squad's blankets tossed out the window, sent "flying." Or the blankets would be thrown into the latrine, and everyone would have to do push-ups over the squat toilets before folding them all over again.

Lin Hui didn't want to stand out, but he definitely didn't want to be punished either.

"Hey, how's it going?" Lin Hui looked up with a grin at Chen Erhu.

Chen Erhu's brows were knotted so tight they looked like a tangled mess. The moment he saw Lin Hui, his face lit up like he'd found a long-lost relative. "Big Bro, come take a look — I have no idea what I'm doing!"

"What's with this 'Big Bro' business! How many times do I have to say it — in the army, there are only comrades, not big brothers!"

Xu Da's cold voice made Chen Erhu flinch with a start.

"Yes, sir!"

He lowered his voice to a whisper. "Big Bro, I really don't know how to fold this thing. Can you show me?"

Lin Hui glanced at his blanket. "Didn't you fold blankets at home? This looks like something a dog chewed on."

Chen Erhu scratched his head. "My folks never let me do any chores growing up. They'd be out working in the fields, and I'd just stand around watching..."

Lin Hui's eyes rolled so far back they nearly disappeared.

He'd assumed that kids from the countryside were all hardworking and tough.

Apparently, even rural families had their spoiled ones.

"Here's the thing," he said, pointing at the blanket. "To get it into shape, you first have to compress it. The cotton inside is brand new, so it tends to puff up. Like this — use your arms to press firmly outward on both sides..."

Lin Hui guided him step by step, and Chen Erhu followed along, mimicking his movements.

The guy wasn't the sharpest, but he had plenty of strength.

Before long, he'd managed to press the blanket noticeably flatter.

"It's working! It's actually working! This looks so much better than before! Big Bro, you're amazing, you're the best!"

"Hm? There it is again — 'Big Bro'?"

A cold snort drifted up from below.

Chen Erhu said awkwardly, "Squad Leader, I forgot again!"

"There's hope for you yet," Lin Hui said with an approving nod.

"Huh? What's that mean?" Chen Erhu blinked at him.

Lin Hui's mouth twitched. He really couldn't use fancy language with this guy.

"Keep folding. Don't slack off — we've got to bring glory to our squad!" Lin Hui put on the air of a seasoned veteran.

"Got it!" Chen Erhu cheerfully went back to wrestling with his blanket following Lin Hui's instructions.

Seeing that Chen Erhu had actually made some progress, the others began drifting over, eager to pick up some tips.

"Suck-up!" Wang Yong scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"What's so impressive about folding a blanket? Acting like nobody else can do it — show-off!"

Despite his words, his eyes kept sneaking glances over there, quietly copying what he saw.

Before long, under Lin Hui's guidance, Chen Erhu had managed to fold his blanket into something resembling a finished product.

It looked more like a lopsided cotton candy than a proper military fold, but at least it had some shape to it.

Far better than what he'd started with.

Chen Erhu was overjoyed. "Oh wow, thank you so much! This blanket looks incredible! From now on, you're my big brother!"

The other recruits all gave thumbs up.

"That's impressive!"

"Lin Hui, come show me too!"

"Help me out — I can't figure this out!"

Lin Hui climbed down from the bunk and waved a casual hand. "Sure, sure. We're all comrades here — if anyone needs help, I'm happy to pitch in. One at a time, one at a time!"

Wang Yong watched him with his smug little look and felt a surge of irritation.

Back in school, he'd always hated kids from the city.

Always acting superior, always thinking they knew best.

Using their family's money to look down on kids from the outskirts like him.

He hadn't expected to run into the same type here in the army.

"If you can do it, so can I!"

Wang Yong attacked his blanket like it was a personal enemy, using the technique he'd quietly stolen from watching Lin Hui — clamping the corners with his arms and pushing forward with force.

Before long, the rough outline of a square Tofu-block fold began to take shape.

Xu Da watched from the side, eyes bright with excitement.

On the very first day of training, these Rookies were already managing to fold their blankets.

It looked like Barracks Upkeep was going to be First Squad's strongest event this training cycle — far ahead of the other squads.

As long as the other subjects didn't fall apart, he was confident he could turn First Squad into the top squad in the Recruit Company and earn himself a Commendation.

Combined with the two Third-Class Merit Citations he'd already earned, plus all the other honors big and small, his Officer Promotion was as good as guaranteed this time.

Xu Da looked over at Lin Hui, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "The Company Commander might have been a bit hasty. This kid may be a city boy, but his learning ability is something else — and he's willing to help others. Looks like the Company Commander misjudged him this time. I'll have to make good use of him."

He called out loudly, "Keep folding. I'm going to fetch some water for you all."

Lin Hui watched Xu Da's retreating figure, a sly grin spreading across his face.

He knew exactly what the Squad Leader was thinking.

You want to use me as your tool to rack up scores? Not a chance.

Lin Hui's goal was for the entire squad to stay perfectly average — nobody falling behind, nobody standing out.

That way, he could blend into the background and coast through the Recruit Company without drawing attention.

While helping the others with their blankets just now, Lin Hui had already taken stock of the squad's overall situation.

Ten people in the squad, all different heights and builds.

Besides himself, there was one other city recruit — a guy named Yu Chaochao, who was quiet and kept to himself, the type who never said more than necessary.

The rest were rural recruits, or like Wang Yong, from the outskirts between city and countryside.

There was also one called Ma Xiaoshan — skinny and dark as a little monkey, always bouncing around and never shutting up.

From experience, rural recruits tended to be more honest and straightforward, easier to manage.

Veterans generally preferred obedient rural soldiers.

But some of them were a bit rougher around the edges and more likely to get chewed out.

City recruits, on the other hand, tended to be more lively, quicker learners, but also more full of ideas.

So the ideal scenario was for First Squad to maintain a consistent, middle-of-the-road level — not great, not terrible.

That way, he wouldn't get dragged into punishments, and he could quietly wait out his time until he was assigned to a regular unit, then just cruise along.

Lin Hui's eyes darted around as an idea quickly took shape.

He clapped his hands and announced loudly, "Everyone keep folding and listen up — I've got something important to tell you all!"

"What is it?"

Every head turned toward him, eyes full of curiosity.

Even Wang Yong stopped what he was doing, eyeing him with suspicion. "What's this guy scheming now?"

Lin Hui smiled and said, "What I'm about to share is something that'll keep you from getting yelled at or punished for the rest of your time here — and that's no small thing!"