Chapter 20: Success! The Steamed Buns are Ready!

Five minutes later, Xinmu brought Third Platoon back to the basic training ground. The new recruits began to complain, especially those who chose the machine gun package because Xinmu made them carry their weapons during physical training. This was the second stage of training, with more difficult courses and the ability to drain every bit of strength from the new recruits within the same training time.

At the end of a full day of training, more than ten of the twenty-two recruits were lying motionless in the dormitory, too exhausted to even eat.

"Zhou, you're really a monster," said Lao A, whose bed was opposite Zhou Yuan's. He saw Zhou Yuan preparing to take a shower and couldn't help but comment.

Zhou Yuan was the squad leader, but there were those who wanted to take his place. Lao A was the most ambitious, always wanting to defeat Zhou Yuan and become squad leader. But after a whole day of training, he was completely convinced. There was no weakness in his opponent, and no possibility of defeating him.

"This is the advantage of early adaptation," Zhou Yuan shrugged and laughed. "You know, I had contact with various types of training before joining the army, and the instructors were all professional veterans."

He had always explained his talent this way. In fact, there were many such monsters with talents in the mobile unit, but it was difficult for new recruits locked in the barracks to come into contact with them.

"Guys, I'm leaving now," Zhou Yuan greeted everyone before heading to the shooting range.

Indeed, Xinmu had upgraded his identity card, giving him the freedom to enter and leave the barracks. When he arrived, Xinmu was already there, along with David, Stussy, and several other instructors from the new recruit camp. They were chatting together, seeming to get along well.

"Hey, our all-rounder is here," David beckoned with his cigarette, giving off a bit of a gang meeting vibe.

"Officer!" Zhou Yuan didn't know many people's names, so he had to salute them all and call them instructors.

"Alright, it's rest time now," Xinmu waved his hand and gestured towards a folding table with many firearms on it. "Most of these have been introduced before. Let me see what you're capable of."

Tonight, many people came unexpectedly. Xinmu didn't expect this many instructors from other new recruit classes to come, but they did after hearing about the training that Third Platoon went through in the afternoon.

Everyone knew that Zhou Yuan was a physical and shooting prodigy, so when Xinmu announced that he would give Zhou Yuan special training, these instructors decided to come and witness his abilities for themselves.

"Bang!"

Zhou Yuan wouldn't disappoint his audience. The first gun he chose was the A-8 sniper rifle, which was very popular because it only required the replacement of three modules to turn it into a rifle.

With one shot, a hole was blown in the head of a humanoid target one thousand meters away.

"Bang! Bang!"

The next two shots hit the lower left and right of the first hole, making a '△' shape on the head of the target.

"Damn it! Something's not right with this guy!" The instructors looked through their night vision goggles and were shocked by Zhou Yuan's results. The maximum effective range of the A-8 sniper rifle module was only one kilometer, despite its advertised range of two kilometers. Zhou Yuan had surpassed the normal limits of a sniper rifle with his shot. Even the instructors couldn't do better, let alone the fact that Zhou Yuan could mark his targets on the shooting range. This rookie was impressive!

Unaware of what the instructors were thinking, Zhou Yuan was starting to get the hang of it. His hands were getting hot from the intense shooting. Sniper rifles, rifles, pistols, machine guns—he tried them all and achieved near-perfect scores. He even tried holding a Gatling gun. To be honest, it was exhilarating! Unfortunately, Gatling guns weren't suitable for carrying around unless he bought infinite ammunition from the store. Otherwise, the ammo would run out too quickly after just a couple of bursts.

"This guy... I want him!" Instructor Richard's eyes turned green, and he approached Zhou Yuan as soon as he finished shooting. He patted Zhou Yuan on the shoulder and laughed, "Kid, I can guarantee that you can join a special operations team right after basic training."

Hmm... Besides the regular forces, Mars Base had many special operations teams, and Richard was the deputy team leader of one of them. The instructors in the basic training camp were not permanent. They were usually from various units and officer groups, temporarily assigned for a month because of their diverse skills.

"Richard, get lost!" Instructor Simmons pushed Richard away, sounding displeased. He knew exactly what Richard was thinking, and he was sure that everyone had their eyes on Zhou Yuan. Who wouldn't like an all-around infantryman? The thought made him uncomfortable. As a member of the officer group, he couldn't lead a team into battle, let alone think about setting up a base.

"Simmons, relax. We just want to encourage the new recruits," Instructor Joe from the second platoon squeezed in, smiling at Zhou Yuan. "Kid, I'm sure you've heard of the Mechanical Division. They even have missiles there!"

Surrounded by so many instructors, Zhou Yuan felt a bit overwhelmed. He knew that after demonstrating his abilities, he would attract a lot of attention, but he didn't expect to be targeted so soon. Indeed, no matter which world or era, talent was always valued.

In reality, after the end of basic training, new recruits would be randomly assigned to follow-up units by the base system. However, rules were made by people, and those with authority could easily decide a recruit's future with a swipe of their card.

"Fuck!"

"Have these worms gone mad?!"

Suddenly, the two personnel from the armory next to them burst out cursing. They had brought the weapons for tonight's shooting session and would have to take them back afterwards.