Chapter 72: Training Begins

From the second day Lin QiYe arrived at the training camp, new recruits began to steadily trickle in. The dormitory building, which had been eerily empty, was now almost full without anyone noticing.

By the third morning, Lin QiYe was woken by the ruckus in the hallway. He sat up and rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Huh? The fat guy's up this early?" Lin QiYe noticed that the bed next to him, which had looked like a pigsty, was now empty. He raised his brows in surprise.

Seems like this rich kid is different after all.

After spending two days with Bai Li Pang Pang, Lin QiYe had developed a basic understanding of him. He wasn't the arrogant, spoiled rich kid Lin QiYe expected. In fact, it seemed like he was trying to hide his privileged background, pretending to come from a "normal family," though his acting was embarrassingly bad.

Not a bad guy, just a bit slow-witted. This was Lin QiYe's initial impression of Bai Li Pang Pang.

Lin QiYe wasn't afraid of trouble. In fact, in some ways, he hoped his roommate would be a pompous, troublemaking brat—so he could beat him up and take over the room.

But instead… he got a harmless, goofy fat guy!

The silly fat guy was always happy to chat with him, sending him gifts and speaking politely. Lin QiYe often felt like punching him, but hitting him felt wrong. And yet, when the fat guy sneakily pressed his foot against Lin QiYe's face in the middle of the night, it was hard to resist.

What was most irritating was that, after Lin QiYe woke up to the foul smell, Bai Li Pang Pang would sincerely look him in the eye, filled with seven parts expectation and three parts embarrassment, and ask:

"QiYe, don't you think my foot smells good?"

Luckily, Lin QiYe didn't have a knife at hand, or this fat guy wouldn't have seen the next day.

Lin QiYe stretched and, with his toothbrush in his mouth, grabbed his empty hot water bottle and headed to the bathroom.

As soon as he opened the door, he saw a crowd gathered around the opposite dormitory building. Among them, a rotund man, glittering with luxury, was shouting at the top of his lungs:

"Brothers and sisters! I brought some local specialties from my hometown! I hope you all won't mind. Over the next year, I hope you'll take care of me! 

Hey, you there, don't fight over it! Everyone gets one!"

Bai Li Pang Pang raised his chubby arm, which was wrapped with over a dozen different high-end watches, making his hand look like a mummy—radiating expensive taste!

The new recruits immediately went into a frenzy.

"Don't misunderstand, I'm not some rich kid! I'm just an ordinary guy! I just want to get along with everyone…" 

— *Crash!*

Watching the chaos unfold across the dorm building, Lin QiYe gaped in shock, his toothbrush falling from his mouth.

"This fat guy… what exactly is he?" he muttered.

Even the richest of rich kids didn't seem this loaded. There were over 200 recruits in the camp, and he was handing out watches to each one? Was he just throwing money around?

But despite the commotion in the building, some people remained indifferent.

Lin QiYe noticed a young man leaning against the wall on the same floor, coldly observing the scene. He stood apart from everyone else, as though there was an invisible wall around him, cutting off all the noise and chaos. His gaze was calm, like still water.

On the right, at the girls' dormitory, a long-haired girl stood in the hallway, squinting at Bai Li Pang Pang in the crowd, her eyes full of disdain.

The more Lin QiYe observed, the more he realized that there were many people quietly watching the scene. Some wore expressions of indifference, others amusement, some were scornful, and a few seemed ready to make their move…

Bai Li Pang Pang's little stunt had ignited a commotion in the new recruit dormitory while also revealing a hidden scene to Lin QiYe.

At the same time, the people watching the scene had noticed each other as well.

Just then, Instructor Hong and several other instructors stormed into the dorm area, their eyes flashing with fury. They looked up at the noisy dorm building and shouted:

"What the hell is going on here?! 

Are we opening a market or something? Huh?!!

Should I bring in some strippers to spice things up?!"

Several loud shouts echoed between the dorms. The recruits near Bai Li Pang Pang scattered like ants, leaving only the fat man holding his pile of watches. He sheepishly looked down and lay flat on the ground, muttering quietly:

"Can't see me, can't see me, can't see me…"

Instructor Hong's lips twitched as he scowled and shouted:

"Don't think just because training hasn't officially started that you can act like fools! Once you step through that door, you're soldiers! 

Soldiers follow discipline!

This is your first warning! I'll let you off this time! But if I catch anyone causing trouble again, I'll make sure you regret it!!"

Instructor Hong's voice cut through the air like a blade, his gaze sweeping over the three dorms before he slowly spoke again:

"This afternoon at two o'clock, everyone report to the training field!!"

With that, he turned and walked out of the dorm area with the other instructors.

Bai Li Pang Pang, peering cautiously from the hallway, quickly stood up, clutching his watches, and ran over to Lin QiYe.

"That scared me… luckily I hid fast, or I'd have been caught!" Bai Li Pang Pang patted his chest in relief.

Lin QiYe:…

"Sigh, looks like I won't be able to give out the rest of these gifts," Bai Li Pang Pang sighed, looking at the watches in his arms.

"Why are you so obsessed with giving gifts?" Lin QiYe couldn't help but ask.

"If you don't give gifts, how can you get along with people?" Bai Li Pang Pang answered as if it were obvious. "My dad always says, the most important thing in this world is social connections…"

"…" Lin QiYe rolled his eyes. "If social connections were all that mattered, this society would have already collapsed."

With that, he didn't bother whether Bai Li Pang Pang understood or not. He bent down to pick up his toothbrush and continued heading toward the bathroom.

Leaving Bai Li Pang Pang behind, scratching his head in confusion.

…

In the afternoon.

Lin QiYe had changed into the military uniform he picked up from the supply station and was heading straight to the training field.

Bai Li Pang Pang struggled to fit his backside into his pants, hurriedly trailing behind Lin QiYe and occasionally shouting, "QiYe, wait for me!"

By the time they arrived at the training field, most of the recruits had already gathered. However, they hadn't yet formed ranks and were scattered all over, their sizes and shapes all varying.

On the martial arts stage, more than twenty instructors stood tall and straight, their posture like ancient pines.

Standing at the very front was the chief instructor, Yuan Gang, who looked down at the disorganized crowd below, his eyes narrowing slightly…