It took some time to listen to Lang Yan explain the routine work.
As the deputy company commander, managing the company's finances and doing some ideological work was one's duty; everything else was not a big deal, as the specific affairs were all handled by the company commander.
Mo Shangjun, half an hour later, had already gotten the hang of the job.
It was mealtime by then, and Lang Yan led Mo Shangjun to the cafeteria for lunch.
It was still a buffet.
The military's food quality had been improving over the past few years, and the taste was more or less similar; Mo Shangjun wasn't picky and was used to it all.
"Tomorrow's Saturday, let's hold a welcome party for you," Lang Yan suggested to Mo Shangjun after finding a seat.
"What's the procedure?" Mo Shangjun asked as she picked up some cabbage.
"Eat, sing songs, things like that," Lang Yan replied truthfully.
"Oh," Mo Shangjun nodded, then asked, "When are the new recruits coming?"
"Next Monday."
"Let's do it together then," Mo Shangjun said nonchalantly.
Lang Yan raised an eyebrow, looked at her, and probably understood her thought, thus he followed her suggestion.
*
In the afternoon, one o'clock.
The rest period ended, and the sound of the assembly bugle echoed across the base.
In the new round of assembly, all the warriors rushing towards the training ground unsurprisingly saw Mo Shangjun standing in the middle of the field.
"Whistle—Whistle—Whistle—"
Mo Shangjun blew the whistle in her hand.
The black whistle, held in her grip with the whistle's black cord wrapped around her hand, she stood beneath the dark clouds, her figure straight as a pine, in a way that was starkly etched into their vision.
The three platoons, which usually trained separately, on seeing her, were led by their platoon leaders to voluntarily line up in front of her.
Lang Yan arrived a step late, and upon reaching the field, saw the neatly arranged ranks, and then Mo Shangjun standing in the forefront, her posture straight and resilient, without any sense of dissonance.
"Come, let me introduce you," Lang Yan said as he clapped his hands and stepped in front of the troops, gesturing to the three platoons, "Mo Shangjun, your new deputy company commander."
"Clap. Clap. Clap."
There was a round of applause, but after three claps, it went silent.
Clearly, the entire company was not very welcoming of the new deputy company commander.
Lang Yan felt somewhat awkward, looked around for a moment, then coughed lightly and continued, "Starting today, the deputy company commander will train with you. Every single one of you, keep in line and cooperate with the deputy company commander's work."
"Tch—"
"Company commander, are you telling us to slack off?"
"Is this how you give us a holiday?"
...
Murmurs rose from the ranks, mostly expressing skepticism about Mo Shangjun's abilities.
Great!
Yesterday Mo Shangjun had shown off a skill; they believed her fighting capabilities were good, and from the five laps she ran, her physical fitness was also considerable, indeed not to be compared with the average female soldier. But they were all carefully selected top warriors, not average military personnel...
They really didn't think much of her, did they?!
But what if they can't keep up and end up dragging them down, and what if this woman loses her temper and takes it out on them?
As for their current mood, they absolutely do not wish to do so, not in the slightest!
"Beep——"
The sharp, piercing whistle instantly suppressed all other sounds.
Mo Shangjun raised an eyebrow, casually fiddling with the whistle in her hand, and lazily looked at them, "It seems you aren't very willing to train with me. But, as you know, I'm not all that interested in training with a bunch of rookies hiding behind the title of 'elite' either."
The moment her voice dropped, a frigid chill instantly swept through the formation.
Even Lang Yan felt a strong murderous aura.
It was really——
Getting more and more troublesome.
Lang Yan sighed lightly.
"However," as if not noticing their mood, the whistle twirled a few times around her finger, Mo Shangjun curved her lips amicably, "since it's my duty, I don't mind giving you guys a hand, to become qualified warriors of the Reconnaissance Camp!"
By the end of her statement, Mo Shangjun's voice grew slightly heavier, with a stern tone, and each word sharply fell into their ears.
She said, she'd give them a hand!
She said, to make them qualified warriors of the Reconnaissance Camp!
This statement, almost a joke, smashed into their faces, yet it was impossible for them to laugh.
"Report!" someone from the formation called out loudly.
"Speak!"
With eyes slightly narrowed, Mo Shangjun's gaze swept over to the person who had shouted like a sharp sword.
The person who shouted, standing at the front of the formation, was the company commander of the third company, Lai Liang.
"I disagree!" Lai Liang spoke sternly and forcefully, "You graduated from the military academy, you are the superior officer, we all acknowledge that, but we are not rookies! And you, if you don't have the ability to convince us, have no right to speak those words! We should be equals; you shouldn't look down on us like this!"
By the side, Lang Yan raised his eyebrows with interest, somewhat expectant of Mo Shangjun's reaction.
"I'm sorry, but your Commander Lang has been too lenient on you, or rather, he couldn't bear to break you down, always praising and encouraging you..." As she spoke, Mo Shangjun's fingers played with the whistle, step by step moving towards Lai Liang, her expression casual yet slightly pitying, "but in my eyes, all of you...sorry to say something very realistic, all of you are useless rookies!"
"..."
Boom——
Her words exploded like a bombardment from the sky, relentlessly smashing down upon the formation!
Immediately, a storm of shock and indignation erupted.
Uncontainable fury surged from the depths of everyone's hearts, as pairs of eyes glared at Mo Shangjun, anger and intent to kill approaching intangibly, mingling with the chilly wind. The heavy atmosphere rapidly spread as if the entire parade ground fell into silence.
Lang Yan, who had been an observer until now, noticed the expressions of these young soldiers and twitched his eyebrows slightly, also inwardly sensing trouble.
Having taken over the second company for a year, he hadn't implemented too many measures, sticking to routine training, prioritizing the soldiers' physical and mental health, never being harsh even when educating them.
Even though the second company had been trailing behind within the Reconnaissance Camp, he had always motivated them, never resorting to stern criticism.
Mo Shangjun's blunt words pushed them from the heights they had always prided themselves on, inevitably shattering that pride and cruelly casting them down into the abyss!
Yet——
Surprisingly, Lang Yan found he couldn't blame Mo Shangjun.
He couldn't say that Mo Shangjun was right, but neither could he say she was wrong.
At that moment, he was different from everyone else present; despite his surprise and embarrassment, there was not a hint of anger, and he began to look forward to what kind of surprise this new deputy company commander would bring to their unit.