The next day.
The weather turned cold, with gusts of chilling wind.
Mo Shangjun put on her training uniform and had just opened the door of the dormitory when the cold wind howled in from the doorway.
With the wind carrying a strong chill, brushing over her cheeks and neck, it caused a shudder.
Taking a deep breath, Mo Shangjun straightened her military cap and walked out, closing the door behind her.
At the same time, Lin Qi, who slept on the upper bunk, was awakened by the slight sound of the door closing. His eyes, initially blurry, soon regained clarity.
The wake-up call hadn't sounded yet, it was quiet outside, and the room was lit only by the streetlights shining in, with the sky pitch-black.
Turning over, Lin Qi lifted his left wrist that bore a watch to check the time.
It was past four o'clock, not yet time to wake up.
After being confused for two seconds, Lin Qi immediately awoke and sat up in bed.
So early, what was Mo Shangjun out doing?
Pondering back and forth, various questions flashed through his mind, leaving behind one clear answer—
Training!
*
Ten minutes later.
Dressed neatly, Lin Qi arrived at the training field.
The temperature was very low, a cold breeze was blowing, and a thick fog had just started to rise, enveloping the vast training field. The figure running on the four-hundred-meter obstacle course appeared and disappeared in the faint light and dense fog.
Even though he couldn't see clearly, Lin Qi could still make out the figure's movements—it was undoubtedly Mo Shangjun's silhouette.
Training uniform, military cap, combat boots, zipping past the view, Lin Qi's expression grew more serious with the speed he observed.
To achieve a good performance on the four-hundred-meter obstacle course, one minute and forty seconds was already excellent, yet looking at Mo Shangjun's speed, she probably didn't even need one minute and thirty seconds.
Damn it!
Lin Qi gritted his teeth.
A brief distraction later, the person in the fog had vanished from view.
Coming back to his senses, Lin Qi furrowed his brows. Just as he thought to look for the figure, he heard a clear voice behind him—
"Good morning."
Just two simple words, relaxed and comfortable.
Lin Qi turned around to see Mo Shangjun's figure.
She was standing less than five meters behind him, near the parallel bars, with a towel draped over her shoulder and a bottle of mineral water in her hand. She had just opened it and greeted Lin Qi before taking two sips of water.
"Later than you."
Trying to hide his annoyance, Lin Qi retorted.
In the entire company, except for the cooks, probably no one got up earlier than her.
Hearing his sarcastic tone, Mo Shangjun twisted the cap back on her mineral water, tossed it under the parallel bars, threw the towel onto the bars, and then turned to leave.
"Where are you going?" Lin Qi raised his voice.
"For a run."
Without looking back, Mo Shangjun replied indifferently, and her figure moved farther away into the fog until it disappeared without a trace.
Lin Qi stood in place, feeling the fog growing thicker around him, his brows twitched lightly, then he let out a long breath.
Instead of choosing the running track, Mo Shangjun had opted for a mountain cross-country run. Lin Qi was hesitant about joining her, but the fog was too dense. Not only was it easy to get lost in the mountains but also possible to have an accident, so he settled for the four-hundred-meter track instead.
When running, time always seemed to pass slowly. After about forty minutes of exhausting running, Lin Qi still hadn't seen Mo Shangjun return.
A strong sense of disparity suddenly swept over him.
At five-thirty, the wake-up call sounded.
Lin Qi, as a platoon leader, had to leave the track and lead his platoon to assemble.
An hour and a half of morning exercises wasn't a joint training session for the entire company. Platoons conducted it separately, sometimes with slight adjustments, but the basic training remained the same.
Five kilometers of armed cross-country, five sets of one hundred, five four-hundred-meter obstacle runs, and exercises on the parallel bars.
In this time, the thick fog began to disperse bit by bit, and the field of view on the training ground grew wider and wider.
However, Lin Qi was somewhat distracted while at the training field.
Because since Mo Shangjun had left the training field, he hadn't seen her again.
*
At nine o'clock sharp, Mo Shangjun returned to the dormitory building.
The entire set of combat training gear was soaked with sweat, and the cold wind that assaulted from all directions made it even more chilling to the bone.
Half an hour earlier, she had come down the mountain, grabbed two steamed buns in the canteen, and then went to the guard to collect her luggage.
There wasn't much luggage, just a suitcase and a backpack.
"Deputy Company Leader Mo!"
Upon arriving in front of the dormitory building, she saw a soldier running toward her and saluting her respectfully.
Mo Shangjun saluted back in military fashion.
"Deputy Company Leader Mo, I was sent by the instructor," the soldier, with a face red from the cold, smiled at Mo Shangjun. "If you're free, let me take you around the base to familiarize yourself with the environment."
"Have you been waiting long?" Mo Shangjun looked at him.
The young soldier didn't seem very old—probably a year or two younger than her. His cheeks were round, clearly frozen to a quite severe degree, with both his face and hands bright red.
"Hehe." The soldier chuckled and hurriedly said, "Not long, not long."
Without exposing him, Mo Shangjun simply said, "Let's head up first."
"Yes," the soldier responded and then, seeing the suitcase in Mo Shangjun's hand, immediately reached out to take it. "Let me help you with that."
The suitcase, filled with clothes, wasn't heavy. After he had snatched it away, Mo Shangjun didn't say anything and just took the lead.
The soldier followed obediently behind.
She used the key to open the door and, upon entering, poured the soldier a cup of hot water. Then she took a new set of combat training gear and went to the restroom to change out of her wet outfit.
The soldier, holding the hot water, just stood by the door, gazing through the steam rising from the cup at the clean and tidy bedroom, his eyes rolling curiously.
He had heard about Mo Shangjun's outburst when she first arrived this morning before coming. He had expected her to be a strict, rigid, and difficult-to-approach female officer, but to his surprise—
She seemed quite approachable!
Tsk, and there was even hot water to drink!
He scratched his head, quite puzzled.
After changing, Mo Shangjun didn't linger; she didn't even check her luggage before heading directly out the door with the soldier.
Perhaps it was the "kindness" of that cup of hot water, but the soldier seemed less intimidated by Mo Shangjun and more enthusiastic. As they descended the stairs, he became quite talkative, describing the base's various facilities nonstop to Mo Shangjun.
The base was neither particularly large nor small.
The reconnaissance company didn't have any large equipment, but it was well-stocked with various small training devices. Aside from the outdoor training field, there was also a standalone gymnasium, which included a swimming pool, combat arena, shooting range, and so forth—very complete.
The soldier gave Mo Shangjun a detailed tour of everything.
But—
They had barely finished two-thirds of the tour when their roaming of the base was abruptly brought to a halt.
Mo Shangjun was called to the regiment commander's office.
The soldier, with his warm heart, insisted on escorting Mo Shangjun to the office door before leaving.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
She knocked three times on the door and paused her movements.
"Come in."
A rough and deep voice came from inside.
The door wasn't locked. Mo Shangjun turned the knob and went straight in.
The regiment commander, sitting in his chair next to the desk, was on the phone. As Mo Shangjun entered, she heard him say "okay" several times before he hung up the call.
During this, Mo Shangjun took a few glances at him.
A round face, very amiable in appearance, slightly chubby, but between his brows, there was a distinct air of authority and dignity, balancing out the approachability.
"Mo Shangjun, right?" Before Mo Shangjun could speak, the regiment commander pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Take a seat first."
"Yes!"
With a clear and brief reply, as soon as Mo Shangjun responded, she walked over to the opposite side of the desk and sat down squarely.
Without getting straight to the point, the regiment commander engaged in some pleasantries with Mo Shangjun.
Having met quite a few people with her own mentor, Mo Shangjun was accustomed to the way they spoke and followed the flow of his words accordingly.
Her speech was minimal, for fewer words meant fewer mistakes. Her responses were appropriate, not exceptionally good but certainly not bad either.
After a few minutes of conversation, the regiment commander finally brought up the matter at hand, "By the way, there's something here for which I'd like your opinion."
"Please speak," Mo Shangjun's eyebrows raised slightly.
"Our military region plans to pick some top soldiers for an assessment in two months. We've reviewed your resume—quite impressive, and your military skills are also up to the mark—so you are on the list," the regiment commander looked at her, his expression slightly serious, "just want to ask, what are your thoughts?"