Chapter Nine: Standing at Attention
1322 Words
Under pressure from both sides, the team gritted their teeth and persevered in their sprint.
38 minutes.
Zang Chong was the first to cross the finish line.
Following him.
It was boxing champion Hao Lian Yao Yao.
The third was surprisingly the seemingly unremarkable Su Xiao Yu.
Su Xiao Yu looked thin and weak, but her 10,000-meter performance was unexpected.
The fourth was Little Cheetah Xu Kai.
Xu Kai possessed a superb physique and powerful acceleration, but in long-distance running, he was no match for Zang Chong, Hao Lian Yao Yao, or Su Xiao Yu, only managing fourth place.
Fifth place went to Qin Yang, a top student in the Computer Science Department of Tsinghua University.
Sixth place went to Hua Shan Ke, a descendant of a family of traditional Chinese medicine practitioners.
Hua Shan Ke's sixth-place finish slightly surprised Qin Yuan. Could this guy be hiding his true strength?
According to the information they had gathered, Hua Shan Ke's overall strength was extremely formidable. Having been nurtured by his family's traditional Chinese medicine methods since childhood, his physical attributes were exceptionally well-rounded. But he only came in sixth place?
Qin Yuan shook his head.
"Looks like this kid was deliberately hiding his abilities," Qin Yuan pondered slowly. "And that Su Xiaoyu, she usually seems harmless and unremarkable, but I didn't expect her to run even faster than Xu Kai! This guy probably has some talent too."
Seventh place went to the super-rich second-generation Han Xiang.
Han Xiang's overall ability was also outstanding, but because of his bad character, his father specifically sent him to the army.
As for Wang Tianyi, who claimed to be the best in the world?
He was almost at the very back.
Qin Yuan basically ignored him.
41 minutes!
The last recruit crossed the finish line, collapsed on the field, panting.
Qin Yuan finally smiled. "Very good! What surprises me is that you rookies all finished the 10,000 meters within the allotted time!"
"However, I just called the mess hall. Because of the rain this afternoon, they haven't prepared enough ingredients, so dinner will be delayed by an hour!"
"For soldiers, time is life! This hour cannot be wasted."
Qin Yuan smiled, his gaze sweeping over everyone present.
Sure enough, upon hearing that the mess hall hadn't prepared the food, the recruits immediately began to grimace.
However, because Qin Yuan's authority was still intact, no one immediately protested.
"So, I've thought about it, and with such a great training environment today, let's have another hour of standing at attention! I promise, as long as you stand at attention properly, you'll have a hot, delicious meal after an hour!"
Qin Yuan smiled at everyone, then instantly wiped the smile off his face: "Everyone gets it now! One hour of standing at attention!"
"Huh? Seriously? It's raining so hard, we really have to stand at attention?"
"Damn it, this is outrageous! Is this new company commander taking advantage of our fear of resistance and deliberately lying to us?"
"Is there no justice in this world?! Didn't we agree we'd eat after running 10,000 meters? Are they trying to kill us?"
The recruits immediately began to complain quietly.
Everyone was already exhausted and disheveled, and now it was pouring rain, and everyone was standing in the rain—who could stand like this?
And that wasn't all!
Qin Yuan also discovered a very serious problem.
These recruits' postures were all crooked and distorted, not standard at all!
Where was the soldier's bearing? Just then, Qin Yuan saw Wang Tianyi swaying unsteadily, who had actually plopped down on the ground.
Qin Yuan immediately walked over expressionlessly and kicked Zhang Shuai in the shoulder, sending Wang Tianyi sprawling face-first into the ground. "Damn it!...You dare kick me? You're practically asking for death!" Wang Tianyi roared, glaring at Qin Yuan.
"You can't even stand at attention properly, so what if I kick you?" Qin Yuan's voice was icy.
"Heh! I'm not standing today, what can you do about it?" Wang Tianyi sneered coldly.
Qin Yuan snorted and grabbed Wang Tianyi, who panicked. He didn't know what Qin Yuan wanted to do, but Qin Yuan's strength was too great for him to break free from.
"Platoon Leader Zhao! Get the rope."
"Yes, Company Commander!"
Zhao Ruixuan quickly brought over a rope.
"What, what are you going to do?" Wang Tianyi was truly terrified. What exactly is this company commander trying to do?
Is he really fearless?
"What am I going to do?" Qin Yuan smiled brightly, and with a dazzling display of skill, he bound Wang Tianyi tightly to the horizontal bar with ropes, forcing him into a military posture. The ropes were particularly tight.
The heavy rain lashed down on Wang Tianyi's face. He had never felt so wronged; at this moment, he truly felt utterly helpless.
He was so aggrieved he was almost in tears.
"You! How dare you treat me like this? Do you know I can kick you out of here with just one word?"
"Use whatever skills you have!" Qin Yuan glanced at him coldly. "My duty is to teach you how to stand at attention properly!"
"Damn, that's too brutal!"
"You just forcibly tied him up like that?"
"This must feel terrible!"
...
The soldiers were dumbfounded.
Brutal violence at the slightest disagreement?
Where did this company commander get the courage?
"Let him celebrate for a few days. Once Wang Tianyi calls his dad and Zhang Shuai wakes up, this company commander will be in for a world of hurt!"
"Yes, yes, let's give in for now and let him celebrate for a couple of days. Once Shuai and his friends use their connections, this kid's good days are over."
"Hmph, then he'll have nowhere to cry!"
...
With Wang Tianyi being made an example of...
The recruits immediately became obedient.
But only superficially.
Of course, most soldiers were genuinely shocked by what they saw.
After all, they were just ordinary people.
Even the troublemakers in their ranks were treated like this by Qin Yuan; what could the ordinary soldiers dare to say?
"Look at the way you stand at attention! Anyone who didn't know better would think you were old ladies selling vegetables at the gate!"
"Now, watch my demonstration!"
Qin Yuan shouted sharply—and then his entire aura changed, instantly transforming him into a statue!
Standing like a pine tree!
Hands held upright!
Eyes fixed straight ahead!
Formed like a brush!
Just standing there!
Given an aura of menace!
"Wow, this company commander... he's got something!"
"We're both standing at attention, but why does the company commander look so much more spirited and imposing?"
"This isn't just standing at attention, it's like a statue!"
"This is an eye-opener! An eye-opener!"
"This is nothing, it's like nothing at all!"
...
The new recruits were immediately stunned by Qin Yuan's military posture!
They never expected that a simple military posture could exude such imposing presence?
The new recruits instantly felt a sense of inadequacy and frustration.
Wild Man Zang Chong, looking at Qin Yuan's posture, was immediately filled with resentment. "I can't beat you in a fight, but you think you can outdo me at standing at attention? You stand straight? I'll stand even straighter!"
Zang Chong immediately stood up to imitate Qin Yuan.
However, as soon as he tried to imitate him, he felt as if his hands were encased in steel bars—it was incredibly difficult!
"Damn it, I was careless! Standing like that, I'll be ruined!"
"And my neck! If I keep this up for an hour, it might break!"
"This simple military posture has so many intricacies?"
Zang Chong raised an eyebrow, finally realizing his carelessness!
But he didn't want to admit defeat, because he had just discovered that Qin Yuan had already noticed him!
Zang Chong gritted his teeth, "Now, there's only one way out—to go all the way!"
- Writer
