Chapter 7: Nurture Him Right, and He'll Definitely Be a Soldier King

Early the next morning.

A rousing Military Anthem rang out across the drill ground.

"Unity is strength..."

"Unity is strength..."

Inside the barracks, the new recruits lazily dragged themselves out of bed, yawning and stretching.

"Reveille's sounded — move it, hustle!" Lin Hui was the first one up, throwing on his clothes at lightning speed.

Every man in First Squad had already taken him as their model.

Whatever Lin Hui did, they followed.

Everyone moved like seasoned veterans — dressed and sprinting downstairs in no time.

The night before, Lin Hui had already briefed them.

In the army, everything had to be done fast.

The moment you heard a whistle or the Military Anthem, you had to react instantly.

Because only by being fast could you avoid getting chewed out.

The punishment the other squads had suffered last night was still fresh in their minds.

Two full hours of shouting until their throats went hoarse — it had been absolutely brutal.

And Lin Hui had told them that was the lightest punishment; the terrifying physical drills were still to come. That alone had kept Chen Erhu tossing and turning all night.

To avoid being punished, everyone had reached a unanimous agreement: follow Lin Hui's lead.

Wang Yong couldn't stand Lin Hui, but he had no desire to suffer through punishments either, so he grudgingly chose to take Lin Hui's word for it.

Thud, thud, thud...

By the time Xu Da came downstairs, Lin Hui's squad was already standing in formation.

Xu Da was overjoyed. It was as if heaven itself had sent these recruits to help him earn his Officer Promotion!

Over a minute later, the other squads finally shuffled out and finished assembling.

Zhang Jiantao walked over to First Squad and gave a nod. "Good. Fast reaction time."

He then turned to the rest, his expression stern. "Take a good look at First Squad. You're all new recruits — look at them, then look at yourselves."

"Especially you squad leaders — the recruits don't know any better, but do you? Look at the gap between you and the First Squad Leader!"

The other squad leaders' faces immediately darkened.

From yesterday to today, they'd heard First Squad praised so many times their ears had grown calluses.

They turned back to look at their own men and felt their blood boil.

Seeing the murderous look in their squad leaders' eyes, the recruits gulped hard in fear.

They were done for. More trouble was coming.

Xu Da surveyed the formation behind him, beaming with pride.

Zhang Jiantao bellowed, "I will now read out the daily schedule for the duration of recruit training. Everyone prick up your ears and listen carefully!"

"Reveille: 5:40 in summer, 6:00 in winter. Thirty minutes of morning exercises every day — physical training, formation drills, or other exercises, at each squad and platoon's discretion."

"After morning exercises, twenty minutes for Barracks Upkeep — personal quarters, personal hygiene, and general barracks area cleaning."

"Breakfast is at 7:00. Morning drills begin thirty minutes later. Lunch is from 11:30 to 12:00."

"..."

"Dinner is from 17:00 to 17:30. If additional evening training is required, the whistle will signal it."

"Special emphasis: from 19:00 to 19:30 every evening, all soldiers will watch the Evening News Broadcast. Lights out is at 21:30."

Every recruit's face fell.

What the hell was the difference between this and prison?

Lin Hui let out a helpless sigh. Dad really had to go and dump me here to suffer. Wouldn't it have been so much better to just eat, drink, and have fun out there?

Zhang Jiantao roared, "First day of drills — everyone runs two laps around the field. After that, squad leaders take your men back for Barracks Upkeep. All personnel, right... face!"

Everyone snapped to the right and took off toward the drill ground.

The two laps were done quickly. Squad leaders led their recruits back to the dormitories to begin learning Barracks Upkeep.

The night before, following First Squad's example, the other squad leaders had already taught their men how to fold their blankets.

But because they'd been punished so late into the night, there had barely been any time to practice before lights out.

On top of that, after a night's sleep, most of them had forgotten everything.

First thing in the morning, it was chaos — hands flying everywhere.

Some squads were as noisy as a wet market.

"Dumb as pigs!"

"I showed you how to do it last night — how can you still not get it?"

"Look at First Squad, then look at us in Fifth Squad. You're the worst batch of recruits I've ever had!"

The recruits were berated until they couldn't lift their heads, their hearts full of grievance.

When they'd first arrived yesterday, the squad leaders had all seemed like friendly big brothers.

But now those big brothers were gone, replaced by ferocious demons.

They could change faces faster than flipping a page!

Meanwhile, First Squad was already hard at work.

Lin Hui dashed to his bunk and started folding his blanket. "Come on, come on — everyone fold your blankets now! We still have to clean up afterward. No time to waste — we can't fall behind the other squads!"

"Understood!"

Everyone raced against the clock.

Following the method Lin Hui had taught them, they quickly got their blankets into a rough Tofu-block Fold shape.

When it came to Chen Erhu — thick-headed as ever — he was falling behind.

Lin Hui simply stepped in and folded the blanket for him in no time.

Sure enough, a notification chimed in his head: Ding — Barracks Upkeep Skill +1!

Lin Hui cursed under his breath: Damn it, I was so rushed I completely forgot about the System! Never mind that for now!

Once the blankets were folded and personal hygiene taken care of, Lin Hui immediately called out, "Everyone, follow me to clean the Assigned Cleaning Zone!"

Without missing a beat, everyone charged toward First Squad's Assigned Cleaning Zone, grabbed their tools, and got to work.

Chen Erhu mopped the floor while grinning goofily at Lin Hui. "Big Bro, thank goodness you're here. If it weren't for you, I'd never have gotten my blanket folded right — I'd have definitely gotten chewed out."

Lin Hui's mouth twitched. As if I wanted to fold it for you — I did it so we wouldn't get punished.

But he smiled anyway. "You need more practice. Can't be dragging everyone else down. I'll teach you again after training!"

"Sure thing!" Chen Erhu looked at him like he was staring at an idol. "I'll do whatever Big Bro says!"

Wang Yong curled his lip in disdain. "Erhu, you're way too slow. Can't even fold a blanket — come find me later, I'll teach you. I guarantee I'll do a better job than certain people."

Lin Hui rolled his eyes. You learned it all from watching me, and you still have the nerve to say that!

"All done!"

"I'm done too — the floor's so clean it's practically shining!"

"Finished over here too!"

In no time, everyone had finished cleaning the Assigned Cleaning Zone.

Xu Da was grinning from ear to ear as he scurried off to report to Zhang Jiantao.

The moment he left, Lin Hui gathered everyone together.

"Listen up. Keeping up with Barracks Upkeep is just one part of it. A qualified soldier needs to pay attention to the following points. First — Barracks Upkeep. No need to say more; you've all seen how important that is."

"Second — standing at attention and marching in formation. Every movement must be uniform and precise."

"Third — follow orders. As for everything else... just do well enough to get by. You don't need to excel at everything."

"As long as you do what I've said, I guarantee you'll sail through to your assigned unit without any trouble!"

One recruit asked curiously, "Lin Hui, how do you know all this?"

Chen Erhu puffed up with pride. "My Big Bro is smart — he's a genius!"

"Please," Wang Yong scoffed, rolling his eyes.

Lin Hui chuckled. "Honestly, someone in my family served in the military, so I know a bit more than most."

Wang Yong immediately sneered, "No wonder you know so much — turns out you've got connections."

Lin Hui couldn't be bothered to argue. "Anyway — whatever I do, you follow. Everyone takes their cue from me."

"Fine. As long as we don't get punished, we'll do what you say!"

Everyone nodded, quietly accepting Lin Hui as the de facto leader of First Squad.

Wang Yong felt increasingly uncomfortable hearing that.

He despised this type — the self-important city boy who always had to be the top dog.

But there was nothing he could do. The guy just knew more than everyone else.

Just then, a whistle sounded outside.

It was time for breakfast.

Everyone put their tools away and immediately ran out after Lin Hui.

This time, the other squad leaders had learned their lesson too — the moment the whistle blew, they led their recruits out to assemble without delay.

But as they passed by First Squad's dormitory, every squad leader stopped dead in their tracks.

"Holy shit, it's only the second day and their blankets are already properly shaped?"

"Damn, if nobody told me, I'd have thought this was a veteran's dorm!"

Sure enough, First Squad was once again the fastest among all the recruit squads.

The Second Squad Leader couldn't help but shoot Xu Da an envious look. "Worthy of the First Squad Leader! A veteran's a veteran — your skills are on a whole other level. Looks like your Officer Promotion is basically guaranteed."

Xu Da smiled smugly. "It's not that impressive. As long as you all learn from me, you'll get there too someday. Ha ha ha ha..."

Wang Yong, standing at the back, spat inwardly.

Shameless! It was all taught by Lin Hui — what does any of it have to do with you?

Xu Da glanced over at Lin Hui, standing at the head of the formation, back ramrod straight as if a broomstick had been planted along his spine, and smiled. "That kid is truly one in a million. Nurture him right, and he'll definitely become a Soldier King."